(RACE RECAP) August 5, 2023 Eve Of Destruction

ELKO Race Story
August 5, 2023 – Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy

Elko Speedway hosted another huge night of motorsports action for Eve of Destruction Saturday August 5th.

Jake Ryan #19 from Elko (MN) won the first of two 25 lap feature events in the NASCAR sanctioned Late Model division. Ryan started the race in the second row behind 9-time Champion #72 Jacob Goede who took the lead from the start, Ryan was able to slide alongside Goede on lap 4 and then take the top spot-on lap 9. Ryan was able to extend his lead during this caution less race to 2.206 seconds at the checkers, it was the fourth win of the season for Jake Ryan. Fast-timer #52 Chad Walen moved up from the third row to finish second, Jacob Goede was third, #50 Steve Anderson fourth and #8 Billy Mohn fifth of the 14 cars entered.

The second Late Model race was won by #94 Hunter Covell-Paine from Elko (MN). Covell-Paine led every lap of the race and was never seriously challenged for the top spot, even after a late race caution reset the field. Covell-Paine blasted out to the lead and never looked back, winning by 0.811 seconds at the finish line. Owin Giles #6 took home the second position followed by #7 Jackson Lewis in third, Jake Ryan started 10th and moved up to finish fourth, Billy Mohn fifth and Jacob Goede 6th.

The rare off night for Goede opened the door for Jake Ryan to take over the Championship point lead by 9 points in the Late Model division.

The NASCAR sanctioned Thunder Car division raced two 20 lap feature events during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway on Saturday night.

The first race was won by 2016 Thunder Car Champion #32 Jeremy Wolff from Chaska (MN), Wolff is racing full-time with the Late Models and parttime in the Thunder Car division this year. Wolff started the race in the fifth row and worked his way all the way up to be the leader of the pack just after mid-race. Brandon Petersen #7 led early but was overtaken by #14
Tony Holm, was challenged by #8 Taylor Goldman side by side but then both drivers dropped from the field with mechanical problems on lap 12. Wolff was then the lead dog and he huffed and puffed to the finish winning by 0.292 seconds at the stripe. It was the second win of the season for Wolff. Julie Jorgenson #83 moved up from the 9th position to
finish second, #07 Dillon Sellner was third, #29 Tommy Sorem fourth and #53 Matt Frye fifth of the 15 cars entered.

The second Thunder Car Feature event was won by #29 Tommy Sorem from Northfield (MN). Sorem grabbed the lead from Matt Frye on lap 4 and had to fight hard the last few laps to hold back Dillon Sellner and win by 0.102 seconds at the finish line. Sorem took almost 20 years off before returning to racing at Elko Speedway last year on a part-time basis. 2023 has been a great year for Sorem scoring two wins now and currently sitting in third position in the points. Sellner finished second, Julie Jorgenson was third, Jeremy Wolff fourth and #99 Brent Kane fifth place. Kane, a four-time ELKO Champion, injured his achilles last week and was racing with a cast on his throttle foot.

The Championship point battle in the Thunder Cars is very close with just 2 points separating Dillion Sellner and the point leader Brent Kane for the top spot.

The NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks raced two 20 lap features at Elko Speedway. The first feature was won by #83 Julie Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN). Jesse Fischer #57 led most of the race, he held the lead through a couple caution periods on laps 6 and 13 but Jorgenson shot past Fischer on the high side with 3 laps to go and she held on to win by 0.317 seconds. Jimmie Jorgenson #3 finished right behind his sister to score the runner-up position, Fischer was third, #45 Gary Stokvis was fourth and #10 Dusty Mann fifth of the 16 cars entered. It was the 3rd Power Stock feature win of the season for Julie Jorgenson who had to postpone the victory lane celebration and immediately switch cars in the infield to race in the Thunder Car division, she did have time to high-five with her dad Conrad before switching cars in the infield.

The second Power Stock feature event was won by 5-time ELKO Champion #88 Nick Oxborough from Lakeville (MN). Dusty Mann led the first half of the caution less race until Oxborough moved up from his fifth starting position to take the lead. Lapped traffic was a moving obstacle at the end of the race, but Oxborough was able to hold off a hard-charging Jesse Fischer to win by 0.244 seconds. Fischer was second, Mann finished third, Jimmie Jorgenson was fourth and Gary Stokvis rounded out the night with two Top 5 finishes. Point leader Mike Stoer was sixth and first feature winner Julie Jorgenson was only able to move up to finish 7th in this strong field of cars. It was the 3rd win in just his 6th race of the season for Oxborough who stood on his car and celebrated the win in front of the big Eve of Destruction crowd at Elko Speedway. Julie Jorgenson and Mike Stoer are 4 points behind, and Dusty Mann is the current point leader for the 2023 Power Stock Championship.

The INEX sanctioned Legends cars raced two 20 lap feature events on the 3/8th mile high banks during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway Saturday night. The first race was extremely competitive, it had #11 Jesse Mahoney leading lap 1, then 13 year old #12 Ayrton Brockhouse taking the lead on the second lap. Brockhouse held the top spot through a caution on lap 6, on the restart defending Champion #8 Colin Stocker grabbed the lead, but then he had a real battle on his hands after another caution occurred on lap 11 of 20. The top few positions were up for grabs the second half of the race. Tristan Swanson #66 from Elko (MN) moved up from his fourth row starting position to finally take the lead on lap 16 but then on the last lap the caution flag flew again. Swanson was just barely able to hold off a hard-charging #75 Baiden Heskett to win by a nerf-bar bumper 0.078 seconds at the finish. It was the third win in five races at ELKO this season for Swanson. Fast-timer Heskett finished second, Stocker was third, Ayrton Brockhouse fourth and #87 Robby Carter fifth of the 24 cars entered.

The second Legends race was just as entertaining as the first one, it played out much different, but we had the same victor. Dirk Henry #3 led the first few laps, Ayrton Brockhouse took the lead on lap three and Tristan Swanson grabbed the top spot-on lap four. A caution flag flew on lap seven, on the restart Swanson had to make a bold move from the high side to hang onto the lead. Another caution happened with just six laps to go and the battle for the top spot was intensified. Swanson ended up beating Heskett to the finish stripe by just 0.192 seconds. Colin Stocker crossed the line third. Robby Carter was fourth, Ayrton Brockhouse was fifth across the finish line. It was the fourth win of the season for Swanson and it was a clean sweep of the feature races at ELKO.

Colin Stocker retains the point lead in the race for the 2023 Legends car Championship at Elko Speedway.

The INEX sanctioned Bandoleros division raced two 12 lap feature events on the flat ¼ mile pit lane track in front of the huge crowd at Elko Speedway Saturday night.

The first race was won by #32 Colton Roe Pershall from Sartell (MN), it was his first career win at ELKO. Roe Pershall led every lap of the race and won by 0.652 seconds over #11 Ben Meyer who traveled the 6 hour drive with his family from Michigamme (MI) to race at Elko Speedway. Leighton Rose #18 spun across the finish line backwards and finished third, #10 Derek Meyer was fourth and point leader #07 Jackson Kottschade fifth. Bentley Thompson #22 was in the hunt for the win early in the race but then dropped back with mechanical problems and finished 14th of the 15 cars entered.

The second Bando feature was won by #18 Leighton Rose from Elko (MN), it was his fourth win of the season at ELKO. Jackson Kottschade finished 0.413 seconds behind in second place, Colton Roe Pershall was third, Bentley Thompson was fourth and #89 Makayee Konop finished fifth of the 15 cars entered.

Jackson Kottschade continues to lead the point standings by 25 in the race for the 2023 Bando Championship at ELKO.

Two Monster trucks entertained the huge Eve of Destruction crowd, ATV Big Air brought some of the best action athletes in the nation, Summer Sholl from Prior Lake (MN) won the spectator drags in her 1999 Chevrolet Corvette. Youth Impact racing provided free R/C car racing for all kids in attendance, the drifters put on an amazing show of skill and precision driving and MAW wrestling crowned a new Warriors Champion at Elko Speedway on the West concourse with “the King Cobra” Cordoba defeating Rampage Santana ending his 363 day title reign. The figure 8 school buses ended the night with a huge rollover thrilling the
crowd.