(RACE RECAP) September 30, 2023 Eve Of Destruction

September 30, 2023 – Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy

Race fans were greeted with unseasonably warm temperatures for the final Eve of Destruction and Championship night at Elko Speedway.

Jacob Goede #72 from Carver (MN) won his 10th consecutive Elko Speedway premier division Championship.

Goede started the evening by winning NASCAR sanctioned Late Model qualifying, but just barely, his closest rival #19 Jake Ryan finished the qualifying session just 0.016 seconds slower than Goede, the pair qualified first and second place. That earned Goede 3 more points than Ryan and increased his point lead to 11 going into the first of two 25 lap feature events.

The first race was won by Goede but it was anything but easy. Ryan Kamish #42 led the first 11 laps until #8 Billy Mohn took over the top spot. On lap 14 a red flag was displayed because of a big wreck on the backstretch resulting in four cars being eliminated from the race including contender #6 Owin Giles. A few laps after the restart Goede was able to take the lead, he battled Mohn and eventually won by just 0.388 seconds. It was the fifth win of the season for Goede. Mohn finished second, Jake Ryan was third resulting in a loss of 5 more points to Goede in the standings, #8 Colin Stocker was fourth and Ryan Kamish finished fifth of the 15 cars entered.

Going into the final race of the season Goede held a 16 point advantage over Jake Ryan and he started 8th on the grid, knowing if he lost any positions on the track, it would open the door for Ryan to win his first title since 2012 at ELKO. Jake Ryan did what he needed to do, he passed #52 Chad Walen for the lead on lap 6 and increased his advantage during a cautionless race to win by an impressive 1.294 seconds. Chad Walen finished second and Jacob Goede picked his way through the field, ran a consistent race and finished third, Billy Mohn was fourth and Ryan Kamish finished fifth. The win was the 6th of the season for Ryan, the most of any Late Model driver at ELKO but Ryan finished 11 points shy of the point title

Jacob Goede won his 10th consecutive premier division Championship at Elko Speedway earning him one more than Donny Reuvers and tying him with legendary driver Jeff Martin for the most in ELKO’s 58 year history.

A total of 32 different drivers earned points in the Late Model division this year at Elko Speedway.

Dillon Sellner #07 from Randolph (MN) won the NASCAR sanctioned Thunder Car title.

Sellner came into the race night with a 25 point cushion over 4-time Champion #99 Brent Kane. Sellner got the night off to a great start, he won the first 20 lap feature event, he took the lead by passing #83 Julie Jorgenson after a restart on lap 14. Sellner held on through another restart and won by 1.291 seconds, it was his 6th win of the season at ELKO. Tom Sorem #29 finished second, Jorgenson finished third, #99 Brent Kane was fourth and #18 Eric Montour finished fifth of the 11 cars entered.

Sellner only had to start the second feature event to secure the 2023 Thunder Car point title. Taylor Goldman #8 took the lead from the start, she held on through a couple different restarts and ran away with the win by 1.586 seconds, it was the third win of the season for Goldman at ELKO. Matt Frye #53 finished second, Tom Sorem was third, Brent Kane finished fourth and Dillon Sellner finished fifth. Sellner scored a TOP 5 finish in all 21 races this year at Elko Speedway, the only Thunder Car driver to do so. He also secured the title by a total of 30 points. It was the second Thunder Car Championship at ELKO for Sellner.

A total of 21 different drivers raced in the Thunder Car division this year at Elko Speedway.

Julie Jorgenson #83 from Lakeville (MN) wins her first Power Stock title at Elko Speedway.

Jorgenson started the race night with a 22 point lead over #10 Dusty Mann. The first NASCAR sanctioned 20 lap Power Stock feature saw Mike Stoer #08 and #3 Jimmie Jorgenson both start up front and battle for the top spot early in the race. Dusty Mann was in the hunt but was never able to take the lead, Julie Jorgenson had a couple close calls but stayed just behind the leaders knowing a crash could endanger her advantageous points position. Jesse Fischer #57 drove up from his 10th starting position to challenge for the lead and came up just short, Mike Stoer won the race by 0.116 seconds, it was his 5th win of the season at ELKO. Fischer finished second, Jimmie Jorgenson was third, Dusty Mann fourth and Julie Jorgenson fifth of the 16 car field.

Julie Jorgenson held a 20 point lead going into the final Power Stock race of the 2023 season, only needing to finish 11th or better to secure the title. Dusty Mann grabbed the lead from the start, Jimmie Jorgenson took over the top spot on lap 3 but #57 Jesse Fischer wouldn’t be denied this race. Fischer was the leader by lap 8 and held on to win by 0.406 seconds, it was his second win of the season at ELKO. Dusty Mann finished second, Mike Stoer was third, Julie Jorgenson finished fourth followed by her brother Jimmie Jorgenson in fifth.

Julie Jorgenson won the Power Stock title by 16 points, it is her first Championship at Elko Speedway after finishing second in points two previous times. Julie joins her father Conrad Jorgenson as an ELKO Champion, Conrad had seven titles in his 30 year racing career at Elko Speedway.

A total of 25 different drivers earned points in the Power Stock division this year at Elko Speedway.

The INEX sanctioned Legends division raced two 20 lap feature events during Eve of Destruction on Saturday night. Colin Stocker #8 from Northfield (MN) won his second consecutive ELKO points Championship, he led the field with a total of 19 Top5 finishes out of 20 races, he also scored three wins in 2023 at Elko Speedway.

The first feature event saw a huge wreck on the first lap which resulted in five cars being unable to continue the race. Mark Anderson #8 took the early lead after the restart until #75 Baiden Heskett grabbed the top spot on lap two. Fast-timer #66 Tristan Swanson worked his way up from the 10th starting position to run side by side with Heskett and then take the lead on lap 11. Swanson was able to hold on through a Green-White-Checkers situation at the end of the race and he won the drag race to the finish line by only 0.066 seconds, it was his 9th win of the season in just 11 races attempted at ELKO. Baiden Heskett finished in second place, #12 Ayrton Brockhouse third, Colin Stocker fourth and #158 Tim Brockhouse fifth of the 19 cars entered.

The second 20 lap feature had former Elko Speedway Champion Tim Brockhouse lead the first few laps, this was his first night racing at ELKO this year, he has been recovering from Cancer treatments. Ayrton Brockhouse #12, the youngest son of Tim Brockhouse then took over the lead on lap three, he ran away from the field and won this cautionless race by an impressive 2.542 seconds. It was the first win of the season at ELKO for Ayrton Brockhouse, he also has the maximum possible points in the INEX Asphalt Young Lions division, giving him a share of the National regular season points Championship. Baiden Heskett finished second place, Tristan Swanson was third, Colin Stocker fourth and Tim Brockhouse finished fifth.

A total of 42 different drivers earned points in the Legends division at Elko Speedway in 2023.

Jackson Kottschade #07 from Ramsey (MN) won his first Elko Speedway Bandolero points Championship. Kottschade finished with 7 wins and won the point title by 27 points.

The first INEX sanctioned Bando feature saw 6 caution flags and timed out at the 20 minute mark. Colton Roe Pershall #32 led the first couple laps until #18 Leighton Rose took over the top spot, Rose then had to fight back the hard charges of some visiting Wisconsin drivers, both #22 Bentley Thompson and #5 Pen Sauter came close to gaining the lead but were denied because of a yellow flag being displayed and scoring having to be reset to the last completed lap. Rose was declared the winner at the 20 min time limit, it was his 7th win of the season at ELKO. Bentley Thompson finished second, Pen Sauter third, Jackson Kottschade fourth and Colton Roe Pershall fifth of the 18 cars entered.

The second Bando feature event at Elko Speedway on Championship night only had two yellow flags, #29 Alel Oldenhoff took the early lead until #5 Pen Sauter from Deforest (WI) took over as the leader on lap two. Pen Sauter is the son of NASCAR Truck Series Champion Johnny Sauter, he won by an impressive 1.925 seconds at the finish line. It was the first win at ELKO for Sauter. Bentley Thompson finished second, Axel Oldenhoff third, #32 Colton Roe Pershall fourth and #18 Leighton Rose rounded out the Top5.

A total of 27 different drivers raced in the Bando division at ELKO in 2023.

Results and Points can be found at www.ElkoSpeedway.com

The Huge Eve of Destruction crowd was entertained by Kayla Erickson driving the Magdatude Jet truck that melted down a bus. Sam Buckner from Bloomington won the Spectator Drags in a 1987 Chevrolet Corvette. The Figure 8 Trailer race had the crowd on its feet and the Figure 8 Bus race ended in a rollover. Josh Bumgartner in “the Boss” and the debut of 19 year old Carson Schmidt in “Redneck Rampage,” crushed cars and did an incredible freestyle show. Huge fireworks show ended the evening and the season at Elko Speedway.

The 59th season of racing at Elko Speedway is scheduled for Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend 2024.

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