(RACE RECAP) May 27, 2023 Opening Night

By Jason D Searcy

The 58th opening night of racing was held in front of a packed crowd of race fans Saturday night May 27th during Eve of Destruction at ELKO.

An impressive field of 23 NASCAR sanctioned Late Models raced two 25 lap feature events. The first race had #6 Owin Giles take an early big lead. The yellow flag flew with five laps remaining, #8 Billy Mohn from Elko (MN) took the lead off the restart and then he held back 9-time defending Champion #72 Jacob Goede after another Green/White/Checkers restart for the first win of the season. Goede finished second followed by Owin Giles, #50 Steve Anderson Jr and #52 Chad Walen.

The second Late Model feature event had Chad Walen take the early lead, he was tracked down and passed on the high-side by fast qualifier #19 Jake Ryan from Elko (MN) on lap six. Jacob Goede was able to race up to second and then challenge Ryan for the win the last handful of laps before the finish, the two veteran drivers raced side by side for numerous laps but Ryan was able to hold on and win by 0.13 seconds. Goede finished second, followed by Billy Mohn, #10 Dusty Mann and another 9-time Champion #41 Donny Reuvers.

Jake Ryan was the fast qualifier of the night with a time of 14.462 seconds. Unofficially Jake Ryan leads Jacob Goede by two points in the Championship standings after one night of racing.

Ten NASCAR Thunder Cars raced two 20 lap feature events during Eve of Destruction at ELKO. The first race saw a couple caution periods early and #29 Tommy Sorem took the lead, he was passed by #14 Tony Holm. The #8 of Taylor Goldman was the leader for a couple laps after some contact and then she was passed by eventual winner #99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN). Kane beat #07 Dillon Sellner by 1.369 seconds for the win followed by Tommy Sorem, Taylor Goldman and Tony Holm.

The second Thunder Car feature event was also won by Brent Kane, he raced up from his seventh starting position and passed Dillon Sellner for the lead just after mid-race. Kane had to hold off Sellner after a late restart and the two raced side by side for numerous laps, Kane ended up winning by just 0.11 seconds at the line. Sellner was second, Taylor Goldman third, Tony Holm fourth and #88 Jason Novak was fifth. Matt Frye #53 led some laps and finished sixth.

Four-time ELKO Thunder Car Champion Brent Kane now unofficially has a six point lead over Sellner after one night in the books.

An impressive field of 20 INEX sanctioned Legends cars raced two 20 lap feature events during Eve of Destruction on Saturday night at Elko Speedway.

Blake Haynes #9 led the first few laps and then #75 Baiden Heskett originally Texas and now living in Hastings (MN) took the lead and never let it go to win the first Legends race of the season. After a late restart the defending Champion #8 Colin Stocker was able to race up to second place and finish 0.317 seconds behind Heskett, fast-qualifier #12 Ayrton Brockhouse was third, followed by #64 Tyler Ledbetter and #87 Robby Carter.

The second Legends feature was won again by #75 Baiden Heskett, this time Heskett had to weave his way through lapped traffic, he lost the lead to Colin Stocker and then regained it again on a bold pass in heavy traffic late in the race. Heskett won by 0.443 seconds, Stocker was second, Robby Carter third, Ayrton Brockhouse fourth and Tyler Ledbetter fifth.

Thirteen year old Ayrton Brockhouse won qualifying with a record setting time of 15.597. Heskett has a 7 point lead over Brockhouse in the early season point standings.

The NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks raced two 20 lap feature events on opening night at Elko Speedway. Julie Jorgenson #83 from Lakeville (MN) won the first race in a runaway, it was a cautionless affair. Payton Letcher #77 led a couple laps and so did #62 Tom Doten before Jorgenson grabbed the top spot and never let it go. #08 Mike Stoer finished second and #10 Dusty Mann moved up from tenth to finish third. Tom Doten was fourth and #56 Paul Hamilton was fifth of the fourteen cars entered.

The second Power Stock feature was won by teenager Jimmie Jorgenson #3 of Lakeville (MN), making it so both of the Jorgenson siblings came home with a trophy. Gary Stokvis #45 had the early lead until Jorgenson took the top spot with a bold move on the high side, he also had to fight back #57 Jesse Fischer for numerous laps. Near the end of the event Julie Jorgenson had raced up to second but then dropped from the field with mechanical problems. Jesse Fischer finished second by a couple car lengths, Dusty Mann was third, Paul Hamilton fourth and Stokvis Jr was fifth.

Dusty Mann has a slim 1 point lead over Jimmie Jorgenson in the very early point Power Stock standings at ELKO.

Fourteen INEX sanctioned Bandolero cars raced at Elko Speedway on opening night. Bentley Thompson #22 from West Salem (WI) won both of the 12 lap races to start the season at ELKO. Thompson had the good fortune to start in the front row on both feature events and no car was able to challenge him on the night. Leighton Rose #18 was able to finish both races in second place and #07 Jackson Kottschade finished third in the first race and #75 Logen Carter finished third in the caution-filled second race.

Ten year old Bentley Thompson has a six point lead over Leighton Rose in the very early Bando point standings at ELKO.

Mark Chlan from Lonsdale (MN) won the Spectator drags in his 1992 Nissan 240 SX.

The Drifters put on a smoke-filled show of precision driving including National Touring star Austin Matta from Shakopee (MN).

Rod Schmidt, a former decade long Grave Digger Monster Truck driver and Josh Baumgartner crushed cars with Monster Trucks Redneck Rampage and Mechanical Mischief in front of the huge ELKO crowd.

The LumberJacks entertained on the concourse and the Figure 8 School Bus races capped the finale of the evening with Good for Gary playing music in Champions Lounge.

Photos from the event can be seen here http://www.redlinegraphics.net/5.27.23Elko/index.html

Full results are listed HERE at ElkoSpeedway.com

Results

Next up at Elko Speedway is an Eve of Destruction on Saturday evening June 17th sponsored by Interim Healthcare Staffing. Get more info and advance tickets at ElkoSpeedway.com