(RACE RECAP) July 1, 2023 Eve Of Destruction

Race Recap
July 1, 2023- Elko, MN

By Jason D Searcy

Another big crowd was on hand July 1st at Elko Speedway as they celebrated the first of two Independence weekend Eve of Destruction events at the track.

Twenty one of the best NASCAR sanctioned Late Models in the Nation raced two 25 lap feature events at ELKO.

The first feature was won by 9-time ELKO Champion Jacob Goede from Carver (MN). Goede was fast-timer in qualifying and started the race fourth row outside, he slowly picked his way to the front, made the dramatic pass for the lead with just two laps to go and held on to win by 0.638 seconds at the finish. It was the second win of the season for Goede. Jake Ryan #19 scored the second place finish, Billy Mohn #8 third, #94 Hunter Covell-Paine led 8 laps and crossed the line second, he was assessed a 2 position penalty by race control scoring him a fourth place finish. Jeremy Wolff #32 led the first half of the race and then finished fifth during this cautionless race.

The second Late Model feature was won by Jake Ryan from Elko (MN). Ryan started the race on the third row inside, he took the lead on the last corner of the last lap passing on the high side, he won by just 0.079 seconds at the stripe. It was the third win of the season for Jake Ryan at ELKO this season. Ryan Varner had a big lead erased when a caution came out with five laps remaining, he led every lap except for the final one and finished second. Jacob Goede was in the hunt at the end and finished third, #3 Chris Marek was fourth and Jeremy Wolff fifth of the 21 cars entered.

Fourteen year old #36 Ty Fredrickson, Little Elko ¼ midget Champion and son of former Elko Speedway Champion Danny Fredrickson, raced Late Model for the first time at ELKO. He qualified 9th and finished 9th and 10th in the two feature events.

Jacob Goede now has a 13 point lead over Jake Ryan in the race for the 2023 Late Model Championship at ELKO.

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

Tommy Sorem #29 from Northfield started on the front row and won his first race at ELKO in about 20 years. Sorem was in a furious battle for the lead with #07 Dillon Sellner for most of the race. There was some contact on the last lap and the two cars crossed the finish line within 0.119 seconds of each other. Sorem was awarded the win and Sellner was assessed a two position penalty by race control. Brent Kane #99 was second, Sellner was scored third, #14 Tony Holm fourth and #53 Matt Frye was fifth of the 11 cars racing.

The second Thunder Car feature had #99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) winning for the third time in 2023 at ELKO. Kane took the lead on lap 7 and never gave it up, he was pursued by Dillon Sellner who finished 1.095 seconds behind to finish second. Tommy Sorem was third, Tony Holm fourth and #8 Taylor Goldman fifth. Brandon Petersen #7 had a big lead early in the race but ran into trouble and finished 7th.

Brent Kane now has a 10 point lead over Dillon Sellner in the race for the Thunder Car point title at ELKO.

The NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks full-bodied stock cars raced two 20 lap features at ELKO on Saturday night.

Dusty Mann #10 from Elko (MN) started the first feature in the seventh position, he worked his way up to take the lead by mid-race, fought through a couple yellow flags and won by 1.285 seconds. It was the first win of the season for Mann. Mike Stoer #08 led the first portion of the race and finished second, #57 Jesse Fischer was third, #83 Julie Jorgenson fourth and #3 Jimmie Jorgenson fifth of the 15 cars entered.

The second Power Stock feature was won by #3 Jimmie Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN), he started on the second row. Julie Jorgenson #83 and the #56 of veteran racer Paul Hamilton battled for the top spot early, they were involved in some contact and both cars were sent to the rear of the field during a caution at lap 8. That opened the door for Jimmie Jorgenson to race #53 Tom Quade side by side and then take the lead by the halfway point of the race. Jimmie Jorgenson then held off the hard charging Jesse Fischer for the win, the margin of victory was 1.067 seconds. It was the second win of the season for Jimmie Jorgenson. Fischer was second, Mike Stoer third, Dusty Mann fourth and Quade fifth. Dusty Mann’s transmission-torque converter was inspected during post-race tech and later found to be legal.

Dusty Mann now has a 4 point lead over Jesse Fischer and 5 point lead over Jimmie Jorgenson in the race for the Power Stock point title at ELKO.

The INEX sanctioned Legends division raced two 20 lap features during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway. Both races had 23 competitors and neither race was marred by a yellow flag.

The first race was won by #87 Robby Carter from Lakeville (MN) but it was anything but easy. Mark Anderson #8 took the early lead, third row starting Carter grabbed the top spot on lap three with 13 year old and fast-timer #12 Ayrton Brockhouse on his tail. As the tandem weaved their way through lapped traffic Brockhouse took the lead just as the half-way flags flew but then Carter recaptured the lead just one lap later. 2021 ELKO Champion Robby Carter then held on to the lead and just barely held back Ayrton Brockhouse for the win during this cautionless race, the margin of victory was only 0.174 seconds. Brockhouse was second, #03 Ryan Johnson who was the 2007 Legends Champion at ELKO and who now is working as an IMSA and GT world challenge engineer came back home and finished third, #8 Colin Stocker was fourth and #2 Rob Thurston finished fifth of the 23 cars entered in the race.

The second feature was won by defending Elko Speedway Champion #8 Colin Stocker from Northfield (MN). Stocker started the race from the inside of the fourth row and passed Rob Thurston for the lead on lap three. Similar to the first race, young Ayrton Brockhouse followed Stocker to the front and they raced nose to tail for much of the event. Stocker won the race to the finish line by 0.674 seconds, Brockhouse was second, Ryan Johnson third, four-time I-94 Raceway Champion Rob Thurston fourth, Robby Carter fifth and #9 Blake Haynes, who led the first lap of the race, finished sixth of the 23 cars on the track. This was the second win of the season at ELKO for Stocker.

Ayrton Brockhouse does not have a win so far this year but due to his consistency and great qualifying results, he is the point leader by 5 over Colin Stocker in the race for the Legends Championship at ELKO.

The INEX sanctioned Bandoleros raced two 12 lap feature events on the ¼ mile flat track on the infield at Elko Speedway during the Independence day celebration weekend. The first race had #75 Logen Carter leading the first lap until #18 Leighton Rose, a 12 year old from Elko (MN) took the lead. Cohen Henze #88 fought for the lead side by side with Rose for numerous laps. Henze crossed the finish line first by just a whisker but was later disqualified in post-race technical inspection. The win was awarded to Leighton Rose, it was his second win of the season at ELKO. Jackson Kottschade #07 was second, #32 Colton Roe Pershall third, #5 Christopher Flynn fourth and Logen Carter fifth of the 15 cars entered.

The second Bando feature event at ELKO had Leighton Rose take the early lead but then he was crashed while passing a lapped car on lap 5 of the 12 lap race. Cohen Henze took the lead and crossed the finish line first but he was later disqualified in post-race inspection. 12 year old Jackson Kottschade #07 from Ramsey (MN) was awarded the win, it was his second win of the season at Elko Speedway. Colton Roe Perschall was second, Christopher Flynn third, Logen Carter fourth and #89 Makaydee Konop was fifth of the fifteen cars entered.

Jackson Kottschade now has an 8 point lead over Colton Roe Pershall and 11 point advantage over Leighton Rose in the race for the Bando points Championship at Elko Speedway.

For Results click on Scoring.racing https://events.scoring.racing/event/results/644

For Updated Points go ElkoSpeedway.com
https://www.elkospeedway.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/YTD-Points-as-of-July-1-2023.pdf

Nathan Salden from Waconia won the Spectator Drags in his 2004 Ford Mustang.

8 of the best Drifters from the North put on a display of precision driving including Pro Spec Driver Austin Matta from Prior Lake MN.

Paul Virk defended his Heavyweight MAW wrestling title defeating Lennox Leone.

The evening concluded with an awesome FireWorks show lighting up the Minnesota sky.

Up Next at Elko Speedway is an Eve of Destruction on Saturday July 8th, Gates open at 4:30pm. Racing in all divisions, plus Monster Trucks, Jet Car, Fireworks, School Bus Races, Spectator Drags, Bmx Stunts and much more. Get more information and buy advance tickets at ElkoSpeedway.com