(RACE RECAP) September 4th, 2021 Eve Of Destruction

By Jason D Searcy

Saturday was Back to School night Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway many prizes including backpacks filled with school supplies and bikes were given away to kids courtesy of the ELKO drivers themselves, children were also given bus rides around the track before the races began. We were also honored to be joined in person by NASCAR executive Brett Tisdale.

The NASCAR sanctioned Late Model division sponsored by The Car Lot of New Prague raced two 25 lap feature events, in the first race 9-time ELKO Champion #41 Donny Reuvers from Dundas (MN) racing a part-time schedule this year led an impressive field of 24 cars to the green flag. Reuvers took the lead from the start until a caution period on lap six, Reuvers then raced side by side with #40 Michael Beamish for numerous laps before reestablishing the top spot and holding on for the win by 0.202 seconds, it was his first win of the season at ELKO. Adam Bendzick #21 raced up to finish second, current point leader and 7-time ELKO Champ #72 Jacob Goede finished third, Michael Beamish fourth, #52 Chad Walen fifth and fast qualifier #8 Billy Mohn sixth.

In the second Late Model feature event #14 Grant Brown grabbed the lead off the start and #50 Steve Anderson Jr took over the top spot on lap 3 and led a majority of the race until Jacob Goede #72 from Carver (MN) moved up from his fourth row starting spot and took over the lead on lap 17. Goede then weaved through lapped traffic during this cautionless race and won by 0.643 seconds, it was his third win of the season at ELKO. Billy Mohn #8 was second, Steve Anderson Jr third, #13 Bryan Wrolstad fourth and #52 Chad Walen fifth of the 24 cars entered.

Jacob Goede is now 109 points ahead of Chad Walen in the race for the 2021 Late Model Championship at Elko Speedway.

The NASCAR sanctioned Genz-Ryan Thunder car division raced two 20 lap features at ELKO, in the first race #56 Johnny Magnum took the early lead until on lap six fast-qualifier #07 Dillon Sellner took over the top spot with an outside pass, Sellner then rocketed to a huge lead, winning by 4.051 seconds. It was the second win of the season for Sellner. Adam Wiebusch #9 finished second and his brother #09 Matt Wiebusch was third, Johnny Magnum was fourth and #8 Taylor Goldman finished fifth. Point leader Conrad Jorgenson #3 had mechanical problems and finished 10th of the 11 cars entered.

The second Thunder Car feature had #14 Tony Holm take the early lead until former Power Stock Champion #8 Taylor Goldman raced him side by side and took over the top spot on lap seven. Dillon Sellner #07 from Randolf (MN) started the race in the 8th spot, he worked his way up through the field and took over the lead with an outside pass of Goldman on lap 11. Sellner then held back the pack and won by 1.512 seconds, it was a clean sweep for Sellner and his third feature win of the season at ELKO. Adam Wiebusch #9 was second, Taylor Goldman third, Tony Holm fourth and #92 Norm Grabinger fifth. Conrad Jorgenson #3 went to a backup car and finished 8th of the 11 cars entered.

With his clean sweep of the night Dillon Sellner took over the point lead from 6-time ELKO Champion Conrad Jorgenson who is now tied for second with Matt Wiebusch both at 29 points behind Sellner.

The INEX Sanctioned Legends cars raced two 20 lap features at Elko Speedway, in the first race #88 Christopher Konop took the lead on lap 1 and #89 Justin Kimball grabbed the lead on lap 2, a yellow flag was displayed on lap 3 that put Kimball and #2 Rob Thurston to the back and #43 Bruce Allen to the infield with mechanical problems. After the restart #8 fifteen year old Colin Stocker from Farmington (MN) grabbed the top spot and never gave it up, even though it was far from easy, he won for the first time ever at ELKO in a Legends car. Austin Jahr #47 passed Stocker on lap 15 but Stocker was not discouraged, he fought back and retook the lead with an inside pass on lap 17. The top seven cars were all jumbled together in a pack as they motored to the finish, Stocker won the drag race to the line and won by just 0.014 seconds. Austin Jahr was second, fast-timer #87 Robby Carter third, #7 Jacob Tiegen fourth and #71 Jon Lemke fifth followed by #3 Dirk Henry and #63 Tyler Ledbetter, the top 7 all finished less than 1 second apart at the finish.

The second 20 lap Legends feature had defending ELKO Champion #13 Tim Brockhouse and #03 Ryan Johnson racing side by side for nearly half the race bunching up the field, Brockhouse established the lead on lap 11 but he was quickly gobbled up by #3 Dirk Henry from Sauk Centre (MN) on lap 14 who held on for the win by 0.211 seconds, it was his first win of the season at ELKO. These competitors were very evenly matched in this race, the top 8 cars all finished within one second of the leader when crossing the finish line. Tim Brockhouse finished second, #7 Jacob Tiegen third, #47 Austin Jahr fourth, #71 Jon Lemke fifth, point leader #87 Robby Carter sixth, first feature winner #8 Colin Stocker 7th and #03 Ryan Johnson 8th.

Robby Carter is now 53 points ahead of Jon Lemke in the race for the 2021 Legends Championship at Elko Speedway.

The NASCAR sanctioned Pepsi Power Stocks raced two 20 lap features at ELKO Saturday night, 13 cars started the first race and outside pole sitter #66 Joe Prusak from Clayton (WI) took the lead from the start and never let it go, he led every lap of this cautionless race and won by 1.406 seconds, it was his second win of the season at ELKO and he has more than 200 wins in his long career. Mark Berg #19 finished second, #56 Paul Hamilton third, #83 Julie Jorgenson fourth and #13 Matt Frye fifth. Point leader and fast-timer #88 Nick Oxborough finished 7th.

The second Power Stock feature also had #88 Nick Oxborough from Lakeville (MN) take the lead from the outside pole, Oxborough led every lap even after a caution when he lined up side by side with his main rival #83 Julie Jorgenson, Oxborough proved to be the strongest in this race, winning by an impressive 1.411 seconds, it was his 5th win of the season at ELKO. Jorgenson finished second, #08 Mike Stoer third, #56 Paul Hamilton fourth and #19 Mark Berg fifth.

Oxborough now has a 45 point lead over Jorgenson in the race for the 2021 Power Stock title at Elko Speedway.

*All points and results are unofficial

Brandon and Mikayla Tulachka smashed cars and drove their Monster Trucks named Just Get Er Done and Just Get Er Done Gen II in front of the huge Eve of Destruction crowd at ELKO

Former ELKO Champion Dan Fredrickson won the spectator drag races.

Action athletes backflipped and thrilled the crowd with the ATV Big Air Show and the Figure 8 school busses smashed together and ended the festivities with a bang.

Good for Gary played music in the Champions Event Center at Elko Speedway.

Up Next at ELKO is a patriotic Eve of Destruction Saturday September 11th featuring Fireworks, the debut of Mega Trucks, School Bus races, Car Races, Spectator drags, petting zoo and music by Fender Bender. Gates open at 5pm. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com or follow Elko Speedway on Social media or download the free ELKO RACING app

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