(RACE RECAP) September 16, 2023 Eve Of Destruction

Race Recap
September 16, 2023 – Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy

The Minnesota Professional Towing Association sponsored an Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway on Saturday night.

The NASCAR sanctioned Late Model division raced two 25 lap feature events, both of them were raced without a caution period. The first race was won by #52 Chad Walen from Prior Lake (MN), he led every lap but the win was anything but easy, he raced side by side with #94 Hunter Payne for numerous laps early and he was challenged by 9-time Champion #72 Jacob Goede as they raced wheel to wheel the final two laps. Walen won the drag race to the checkers by only 0.057 seconds at the line, it was the fourth win of the season at ELKO for Walen. Jacob Goede was second, fast-timer #19 Jake Ryan was third, Hunter Payne fourth and #6 Owin Giles finished fifth of the 13 cars entered.

The second Late Model feature had #31 Ryan Varner from Minnetonka (MN) led every lap and ran away with the win by 0.902 seconds, it was his second win of the season at ELKO. Billy Mohn #8 finished second, #19 Jake Ryan finished third, #32 Jeremy Wolff was fourth, #6 Owin Giles fifth and #72 Jacob Goede sixth. Former Power Stock Champion Taylor Goldman made her debut in the Late Model division and finished on the lead lap during both of the races.

Jacob Goede is still the leader but only by 8 points over Jake Ryan in the race for the 2023 Late Model track Championship at Elko Speedway. Two race nights remain in the season.

The NASCAR sanctioned Thunder Cars raced two 20 lap feature events during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway both races were raced caution-free.

The first race was won by #29 Tommy Sorem from Northfield (MN). Jason Novak #88 led the entire race until Sorem was able to move up from his 8th starting position to challenge for the lead with two laps to go and then take the top spot on the last lap with a bold move from the inside lane. Sorem was able to win by just 0.081 seconds at the finish line, Novak finished second, #20 Devin Schmidt was third, #8 Taylor Goldman fourth and point leader #07 Dillon Sellner was fifth of the 11 cars entered.

The second Thunder Car feature was won by #07 Dillon Sellner from Randolph (MN), he was able to take over the top spot from #99 Brent Kane on lap 5 of 20. Kane finished the race in second, 3.299 seconds behind Sellner. Taylor Goldman #8 finished third, Devin Schmidt #20 was fourth and #29 Tommy Sorem was fifth of the 11 cars entered.

Dillon Sellner now has a 25 point lead over Brent Kane in the race for the 2023 Thunder Car Championship at ELKO with two race nights remaining.

*Thunder Car results are not official pending lab results

The NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks raced two 20 lap features during Eve of Destruction at ELKO on Saturday night. The first race was won by #08 Mike Stoer from Prior Lake (MN), he snatched the lead from #77 Payton Letcher on lap 3 and then ran out to a big lead, winning the race by an impressive 3.157 seconds. The drama of the night happened behind the leader, a caution happened on lap 5 that caused point leader #83 Julie Jorgenson with the need to pit because of a flat tire. Her crew was able to replace the tire in time for her to continue the race albeit from the back of the pack. Dusty Mann #10 is second in points, his usual race car was damaged last week so he was forced to borrow and race the #14 car normally driven by Brock Westermayer, Mann raced side by side with Payton Letcher for many laps just behind the leader and then he was challenged by 5-time Champion #88 Nick Oxborough who finally slipped past and raced up to finish second. Mann had to settle with a 3rd place finish, #8 Taylor Goldman started 11th and finished fourth, #45 Gary Stokvis rounded out the Top 5 finishers. Letcher finished 6th and Julie Jorgenson was able to race back up to salvage a 7th place of the 15 cars entered. The win for Mike Stoer was his 4th win of the season at ELKO.

The second Power Stock feature had point leader #83 Julie Jorgenson race side by side for the lead 11 consecutive laps before the eventual winner #25 Reggie Mitchell from Cedar Rapids (IA) took the top spot and won by 1.292 seconds. 15 year old Mitchell finished with 6 wins this year at Hawkeye Downs his home track, he also scored a win at Elko Speedway in his lone appearance. Julie Jorgenson finished second, Mike Stoer #08 was third, #45 Gary Stokvis fourth and #88 Nick Oxborough was fifth of the 14 cars entered. Dusty Mann in his backup car finished 8th.

Julie Jorgenson now leads Dusty Mann by 22 points in the race for the Power Stock Championship at ELKO with two race nights remaining.

The INEX sanctioned Legends division raced two 20 lap features at ELKO on Saturday night. The first race started out with a red flag for a big crash up into the wall with #14 Chris Benny and #11 Wyatt Moren not being able to continue. Ayden Brockhouse #18 led lap one, Robby Carter #87 was the leader on lap two, he led the race until just after the half-way point as fastqualifier #66 Tristan Swanson from Elko (MN) took over the top spot. Swanson was able to hold on to the lead even after a Green-WhiteCheckers situation and won by 0.65 seconds at the finish line. Robby Carter finished second, current point leader #8 Colin Stocker third, #75 Baiden Heskett fourth and #12 Ayrton Brockhouse fifth of the 19 cars entered.

The second Legends division feature had #8 Mark Anderson Jr lead the first four laps until #12 Ayrton Brockhouse took over the top spot. Brockhouse held onto the lead even after a caution on lap 7 until #66 Tristan Swanson was able to sneak past Brockhouse on the last lap and win by 0.502 seconds at the finish line, it was the 8th win of the season in just 10 attempts at ELKO for Swanson. Ayrton Brockhouse finished second, Baiden Heskett was third, Colin Stocker fourth and #87 Robby Carter fifth of the 17 cars entered.

Colin Stocker now has a 79 point lead over Ayrton Brockhouse in the race for the 2023 Legends division title at Elko Speedway with two race nights remaining.

*Legends division results are not official pending lab results

The INEX sanctioned Bandoleros raced two feature events at Elko Speedway during Eve of Destruction on Saturday night. The first race had 6 cautions and went 11 laps and ended after the 20 min time limit. Jaden Miller-Schmitz led the first lap until #32 Colton Roe Pershall grabbed the top spot, he was caught up in some lapped traffic and lost the lead to #18 Leighton Rose from Elko (MN) on lap 4. Rose then held on and won by 0.989 seconds when the final caution was presented. It was the 5th win of the season for Rose. Point leader Jackson Kottschade finished second, Jaden Miller-Schmitz third, #89 Makaydee Konop fourth and Logen Carter fifth of the 12 cars entered.

The second Bando feature at ELKO went 12 laps and had only two cautions. #8 Thomas Poretsky led the first lap, Jaden Miller-Schmitz #64 took over the top spot on lap 2 but then Leighton Rose #18 grabbed the lead after a restart. Point leader #07 Jackson Kottschade was able to take over the point on lap 5 as they weaved through lapped traffic counting down the laps to the Checkered flag. Leighton Rose, who has struggled with a damaged car since a mid-season wreck now finally has things going his way, he retook the lead with a last lap pass and won by 0.309 seconds. It was the sixth win of the season for Rose. Jackson Kottschade finished second, Colton Roe Pershall third, Jaden Miller-Schmitz fourth and Makaydee Konop rounded out the top 5.

Jackson Kottschade now has a 38 point lead in the race for the ELKO Bando Championship with two race nights remaining. Get official results and points by going to www.ElkoSpeedway.com

The Minnesota Professional Towing Association special drag races are highly anticipated and they did not disappoint. Karra Kreminski drove a Saab station wagon to win the event in dramatic fashion bringing the crowd to its feet.

Two Monster Trucks entertained the crowd as Rod Schmidt drove Redneck Rampage and Mike Rowley drove Bearly Tame and crushed cars in the infield.

The Rocketman Valencia brought his human cannon from Texas and soared 60 feet in the air and was shot 160 feet from a cannon onto a net two separate times in a death defying display of skill and bravery.

The School Bus Races entertained as usual and the night ended with a rollover in the X.

Up next at Elko Speedway is the Thunderstruck93 event on Saturday September 23rd. Gates open at 4:30pm, on-track autograph session from 4:45-5:45pm. Double features in all the ELKO divisions plus a 125 lap race featuring the ASA Midwest tour Super Late Models. Get advance tickets and save $5, go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com for details.

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