By Jason D Searcy

September 15, 2018 – Elko, MN

It was unusually hot weather for Fan appreciation night with racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American series at Elko Speedway sponsored by Safety Kleen: Performance Plus motor oil and presented by K&N Engineering, the fans were thrilled by numerous close finishes.

The first 30 lap Hiway Federal Credit Union Late Model feature had #19 Michael Haggar from Hanover (MN) take the lead off the start, the #13 of Bryan Wrolstad moved up to second place and battled Haggar for the lead at the midway point. On the very last lap Wrolstad drove in hard the last set of corners and it made for a very close finish. Haggar was the winner by .147 seconds, Wrolstad was second, fast qualifier #72 Jacob Goede started 8th and finished third, #26 Lawrence Berthiaume fourth and #3 Chris Marek was fifth of the 15 cars entered.

The second Late Model feature had #14 Devyn Stocker and #52 Chad Walen battle for the lead the first half of the race, they went wheel to wheel many laps. At lap 16 Owin Giles #6 from New Market (MN) cruised to the lead with a strong move on the inside of Stocker. It was a quick moving cautionless race, Jacob Goede #72 moved up from his 8th starting position to challenge for the lead with two laps remaining. Goede tried to pass on the low side and then the high side, the two cars had a drag race down the front stretch on the final lap to the checkers and Giles won by .85 seconds. It was the second win of the season for Owin Giles. Chris Marek #3 finished third, #31 Ryan Varner was fourth and #13 Bryan Wrolstad was fifth.

Jacob Goede #72 had an incredible season totalling 9 wins and winning the Late Model Championship by 324 points over Owin Giles. It was the fifth consecutive Premier Division Championship at Elko Speedway for Goede. Chris Marek finished third in points followed by Chad Walen and Bryan Wrolstad.

The Genz-Ryan Thunder Car 20 lap first feature had #9 Adam Wiebusch take the early lead, he and #3 Conrad Jorgenson were battling for the top spot when #99 Brent Kane took advantage and passed both of them on the high side to grab the point. Wiebusch and Jorgenson tangled and neither of them finished the race. Brent Kane and #25 Eric Campbell from Lonsdale (MN) then had an epic battle after the restart, Campbell edged out front and ended up winning by .792 seconds, it was his fourth win of the season. Kane finished second, Jeremy Wolff #32 was third, fast qualifier #37 Bryce Blohm was fourth and #07 Dillon Sellner fifth of the 16 cars entered.

The second Thunder Car feature had #92 Norm Grabinger from Faribault (MN) took an early big lead and never gave it up during the 20 lap cautionless race. Dillon Sellner #07 was running down Grabinger and caught up to his back bumper on the last lap, Sellner then pushed his car too hard coming to the finish line and spun down to the infield coming out of corner #4. Grabinger won the race by 2.605 seconds over #28 Mike Homan, #25 Eric Campbell finished third, #32 Jeremy Wolff fourth and #37 Bryce Blohm fifth. It was the second feature win of the season for Grabinger.

The Thunder Car season finale is Saturday night September 22nd at Elko Speedway, Bryce Blohm is the point leader with Jeremy Wolff 9 points behind and Eric Campbell within striking distance at 20 points behind the leading going into their final races.

The Pepsi Power Stock first 20 lap feature was led early by #33 Craig Wierson, his lead evaporated by the midway point of the race, #27 Darin Patnode challenged for the top spot and the two made contact, Patnode spun up the track and #56 Paul Hamilton had nowhere to go, the two made heavy contact and both cars sustained big damage, the Wierson car was put to the back of the field. That situation put the #08 of Michael Stoer from Lakeville (MN) up front on the restart, he was challenged by #88 Nick Oxborough numerous times but did not give up the lead, Stoer won by .163 seconds, it was his third win of the season. Oxborough finished second, Joe Prusak #66 crossed the finish line third, fast qualifier #8 Taylor Goldman was fourth and #83 Julie Jorgenson fifth.

The second Power Stock feature had #99 Caden Neisius and #10 Hailey Mann on the front row, #83 Julie Jorgenson started in the second row and on the second lap she made a daring move to shoot through the middle of the front row starters and took the lead. Jorgenson then took a big lead until #8 Taylor Goldman made it a very close race at the end. They went side by side with two laps to go, Goldman pulled up alongside of Jorgenson the last set of corners, they bumped down the front stretch and Jorgenson came out ahead by just .70 seconds at the finish line. Nick Oxborough #88 was third, #08 Michael Stoer fourth and #66 Joe Prusak fifth, it was a battle of attrition as many cars dropped out of the race, only nine finished.

The Unofficial standings now have Taylor Goldman leading Michael Stoer by 109 points and Nick Oxborough 120 points back in third. The Power Stocks will have their Championship night on Saturday September 29th during Eve of Destruction.

The Eternity Homes Great North Legends races had veteran driver #13 Tim Brockhouse from Shakopee (MN) win both 20 lap feature events.

The first Great North Legends feature had #47 Austin Jahr leading until #13 Tim Brockhouse passed on the inside to take the lead on lap five. On lap 15 an incident occurred in which #91 Tristan Swanson spun and brought out the caution, #47 Austin Jahr used the “Tap-out” rule and took responsibility for the spin, as a result, Jahr was sent to the back of the pack and Swanson was given his spot back. Entertaining side by side racing after the restart but Brockhouse held his ground for the win, #12 Sammy Smith finished .371 seconds behind for second, fast qualifier #8 Cole Klein was third, #75 Baiden Heskett was stuck in heavy traffic and could only move up to fourth and Tristan Swanson worked his way back up to finish in fifth of the 16 cars entered.

In the second Great North Legends race #44 Ryan Johnson led the first lap and #03 Robby Carter led the second lap, on lap 6 Baiden Heskett #75 grabbed the top spot with Tim Brockhouse hot on his tail, #13 Brockhouse made the pass for the lead on the inside on lap 13. Brockhouse then had to hold back the hard charges of #8 Cole Klien who finished just .150 seconds behind Brockhouse at the finish line. Klein was second, Heskett third, Sammy Smith #12 finished fourth and #47 Austin Jahr crossed the line fifth. A clean sweep for Brockhouse, his third win of the season at Elko Speedway.

Baiden Heskett continues to lead in the race for the Elko Speedway Championship, he now leads Robby Carter by 245 points with Cole Klein in third position 338 points behind. The Legends will race through September 29th at Elko Speedway.

The Brock’s Flooring Bandoleros had 14 cars competing in the 12 lap feature event. Kody King #14 from Forest City (IA) took the early lead, held on through a caution period on lap 3 and held off a furious charge by #13 Ayden Brockhouse on the last lap to win his third feature event of the year at Elko Speedway. Brockhouse spun in the last corner as he was side by side with King battling for the lead. Defending Champion #8 Colin Stocker finished second, #07 Teddy Kottschade was third, #99 Max Mabee started 9th and moved up to fourth and #56 Clayton Dorner rounded out the Top 5 finishers.

Colin Stocker unofficially now has the point lead by 7 over Max Mabee in the race for the Championship at Elko Speedway. The Bandolero’s will have their final race of the season on September 29th during Eve of Destruction.

All results and point standings are unofficial at this time, official results will be posted midweek at ElkoSpeedway.com

Coming up next at Elko Speedway is the 10th annual Thunderstruck93 event on Saturday September 22nd in memory of Dan Ryan and to benefit the fight against ALS. Spectator Gates open at 4pm, on-track driver meet and greet 4:30-5:30pm, action begins at 6pm. It will be the Thunder Car Championship night, also racing in the Power Stocks, Great North Legends and the 93 lap Big 8 Late Model series finale. Drivers entered from Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com or follow Elko Speedway on social media.

Elko Speedway is a 3/8th mile asphalt oval race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market (MN).