By Jason D Searcy
July 16, 2016 – Elko, MN
Country Joe Homes presented NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing at Elko Speedway on Saturday night and raised 17,000 dollars for the Community Cares organization. Kevin Nevalainen, director of weekly racing operations for NASCAR, was in attendance for this event.
Joey Miller #15 from Lakeville (MN) won the first of two MN Corn Growers Super Late Model features. Rick Burns #33 led the first 13 laps of the 30 lap race until Miller came from his 8th starting spot to grab the lead. Miller then extended his advantage on this cautionless race and won by 2.781 seconds over #50 Steve Anderson, Burns finished 3rd, #72 Jacob Goede 4th and #02 Joey Garofalo 5th. Miller is a former NASCAR Truck series racer who has come back to his roots and is racing full time this year at Elko Speedway, his home track in MN. It was the 3rd win of the year for Miller.
The second feature was won by 3 time Midwest tour Champion #36 Danny Fredrickson from Lakeville (MN), it was his 2nd win this year at Elko. Chad Walen #52 was the early leader but Fredrickson took over the top spot on lap 6 and held onto the lead through a couple restarts. Mark Lamoreaux #26 won last week and continued his hot streak with a 2nd place finish, only .772 seconds behind Fredrickson. Joey Miller finished 3rd, #28 Matt Goede 4th and Chad Walen 5th. Point leader Jacob Goede had to come from the back of the pack after a mid-race restart and only could muster a 10th place finish.
Jacob Goede continues to lead in points, he now has a 42 point advantage over Joey Miller in his quest for a 3rd consecutive Championship at Elko Speedway.
The first Hiway Federal Credit Union Big 8 feature event was an epic affair. Jon Lemke #17 from Shakopee (MN) and Michael Ostdiek #18 from Lakeville (MN) swapped the lead back and forth numerous times during this 20 lap race. They raced side by side for most of the event, and when they weren’t wheel to wheel, they were passing each other. These two competitors put on a show that fans won’t soon forget, if this was a boxing match, it would’ve ended in a draw. In racing we declare a winner and Jon Lemke was in front by .269 seconds at the finish line. Ostdiek had to settle for 2nd, #54 Dylan Moore was 3rd, #15 Michael Giloman 4th and #4 Grant Brown finished 5th in the full 18 car field.
The second race saw four time Champion #14 Doug Brown lead most of the race, #5 Todd Kamish from Lakeville (MN) came on strong and took the lead in dramatic fashion as they were coming to the white flag lap. Kamish won by .355 seconds over Brown with a hard-charging Dylan Moore finishing 3rd, #40 Michael Beamish was 4th and Michael Ostdiek was 5th.
With his two consistent runs and fastest time in qualifying, Dylan Moore extended his lead in the standings, he now leads both Doug Brown and Jon Lemke by 19 points in the race for the Championship.
Both Genz-Ryan Thunder Car 20 lap main events were run without a caution flag. Adam Wiebusch #9 from Shakopee (MN) drove a perfect race and led every lap of his feature, it was his first career win. Four time Champion Brent Kane #99 was putting pressure on him but Wiebusch never cracked, he won by .524 seconds, #3 Conrad Jorgenson was 3rd, #25 Eric Campbell was 4th and #32 Jeremy Wolff finished 5th.
The second feature was won by Jeremy Wolff from Chaska (MN), he has now won 3 of the last 4 Thunder Car events at Elko Speedway. Conrad Jorgenson was right on Wolff’s tail but could not get close enough to make the pass, Wolff won by .416 seconds. Eric Campbell finished 3rd, Ted Reuvers 4th and Brent Kane was 5th.
With his hot streak, Wolff has taken over the lead in points, he now has a 12 point advantage over Campbell and 24 point lead over Kane in the race for the Thunder Car Championship.
The crowd in attendance were treated to two very entertaining Pepsi Power Stock features. Michael Stoer #08 and #88 Nick Oxborough battled for the lead early in feature number one until the caution came out just before half-way through the 20 lap race. Then Oxborough and #8 Taylor Goldman vied for the top spot with Goldman finally taking the lead for good with 5 laps remaining. “There was a lot of action, a lot of respectful passing, some bumping and racing but that’s what it is all about,” said Goldman “I’m super excited that I was able to pull off the win.”
Bryce Blohm #37 finished in the second position just .264 behind Goldman, Oxborough was third, #54 Tim Hollen was 4th and #7 Brandon Petersen finished 5th. Goldman has now rebounded from a big wreck early in the year to win her second feature, she thanks Greg Larsen and her father David Goldman for doing the work necessary to get her mangled car back out on the track and running well.
The second Pepsi Power Stock feature was won by Brandon Petersen from Faribault (MN) but he had an incredible battle with #27 Darin Patnode throughout the entire race. Patnode finished .443 seconds behind Petersen but he spent most of the 20 lap feature side by side and running two wide all the way around the 3/8 mile track at Elko Speedway. Bryce Blohm was the 3rd place finisher, Taylor Goldman was 4th and #62 Tom Doten finished 5th in the second 20 lap feature. This was the 3rd win of the season for Petersen.
Rookie driver Bryce Blohm has now taken over the lead in Championship points, he is now 17 ahead of Tom Doten in 2nd and Brandon Petersen is 21 points out of the lead in 3rd.
Dirk Henry #3 from Sauk Centre (MN) won the Great North Legends 20 lap main event at Elko Speedway. Will McCully led the opening laps until Henry took the top spot and never looked back. Henry won the caution free race by 1.007 seconds over #22 Shon Jacobsen. “It’s been a long time coming, I’ve been trying and trying so hard and getting 2nd place finishes,” said Henry “It’s been over two years since I’ve won a race and I’m finally glad to get another one.” Two time Champion #71 Derek Lemke finished 3rd, Matt Allen #16 was 4th and #8 Cole Klein finished 5th of the 20 cars in attendance.
Henry is a former I-94 Raceway Champion and has won a lot of races in his career, so Dirk chose to give his trophy to a couple fans in victory lane “it sound like it was their first time being here, so I hope that made them happy,” said Henry. That was a selfless act that did not go unnoticed, and a perfect example to set on a race night that was dedicated to charity work with the Community Cares program and with over 60 members of the MN Adult and Teen Challenge program in attendance.
Derek Lemke retains the lead in points by 44 over Shon Jacobsen in the race for the Championship.
Brandon Olson #36 from Minneapolis (MN) won his third Hornets feature of 2016. Olson took the lead from the green flag and never gave it up, #3 Michael Wachs Jr stayed within striking distance but could never challenge Olson for the lead, the winning margin was .528 seconds. Ashley Bell #41 finished 3rd, Ridge Oien #7 finished 4th and #14 Justin Schelitzche rounded out the top 5.
Justin Schelitzche still retains the point lead, he now has an 18 point lead over Brandon Olson with #36v Alex Vincent in 3rd, 21 points behind.
Thirteen year old Lennon Watkins #48 from Faribault (MN) won his first career Bandolero’s main event Saturday night at Elko Speedway. Watkins used lapped traffic to his advantage on the final lap to score the win. Watkins shot to the low side of the track as #3 Luke Allen and #56 Kolton Guralski both got bogged down working through the slower racers. Watkins emerged victorious and scored his first ever Feature win, Allen was 2nd and Guralski finished 3rd.
Luke Allen retains the point lead, he now leads Watkins by 24 points in the race for the Championship.
All results and point standings are unofficial, check ElkoSpeedway.com or the new ELKO Racing app for official results mid-week.
The next event at Elko Speedway is Saturday July 23rd with an Eve of Destruction presented by the MN Lottery. In addition to racing you can experience two Monster Trucks, a Burn-out Competition, Figure 8 Bus racing, Spectator Drags, Drifters, Freestyle Motocross, a Petting Zoo and much more. Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm. Get more information by following Elko Speedway on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, by downloading the new ELKO Racing app, by going to ElkoSpeedway.com or by calling (952) 461-7223.
Elko Speedway is a 3/8th mile asphalt NASCAR sanctioned track located 30 minutes South of Downtown Minneapolis just off of I-35 and County Road 2 in Elko, MN.