By Jason D Searcy

September 10, 2016 – Elko, MN

As Autumn approaches the racing intensity in the NASCAR Whelen All American series is heating up at Elko Speedway, especially during a MN Lottery Eve of Destruction event.  Twenty-one cars competed in the Hiway Federal Credit Union Big 8 division on Saturday night.  The first twenty lap race went cautionless and was won by #7 Tony Brewer of Shakopee (MN).

Brewer ran side by side with #10 Nick Beaver for over half of the race, he finally pulled ahead with seven laps remaining and then held on to win by .867 seconds.

“I have never won at Elko before,” said Brewer “the last time I won was at Raceway Park the last year they raced Late Models (before it closed).  The competition is so tough (in the Big 8 division) and the guys are so good, to have the honor to drive with them makes me choke up a little bit, they are that good.”

Bryan Wrolstad #13 finished a close second, Michael Beamish #40 came across the finish line third, #4 Grant Brown was fourth and #17 Jon Lemke finished fifth.

The second Big 8 style Late Model feature event went to #18 Michael Ostdiek from Lakeville (MN), it was his fourth win of the year at Elko.  Ostdiek had to battle with #42 Ryan Kamish early in the event and then pulled away, he won by .830 seconds even though he struggled with brake problems.  Michael Beamish #40 continued his good night and finished second, #17 Jon Lemke was third, #13 Bryan Wrolstad was fourth and #99 L.B. Berthiaume had a strong return after a month off to finish fifth.

Michael Ostdiek is a part of the Kulwicki Driver Development program that helps young drivers succeed and keeps the memory of the Legendary driver from Wisconsin alive.

Point leader #54 Dylan Moore started deep in the field both races and had finishes of 12th and 13th in the two Big 8 feature events.  Moore still leads in the standings, but now by only 11 points over #17 Jon Lemke and 37 points over Ostdiek going into Championship night for the Big 8 division on Saturday night September 17th.

Tina Davis #18 from Rosemount (MN), one of the most popular drivers at Elko Speedway, won her first Genz-Ryan 20 lap Thunder Car main event of the year on Saturday night.  Eric Campbell #25 led early in the race but was overtaken by Davis after a restart on lap 10, Davis slipped by in the low groove and never looked back, she won by 1.317 seconds.

Eric Campbell finished second, Dillon Sellner #07 came across the line third, #3 Conrad Jorgenson was fourth and current point leader #32 Jeremy Wolff finished fifth and defending Champion #99 Brent Kane finished sixth out of the 16 cars participating.

Wolff still leads in the standings, he now has a 34 point lead over Brent Kane, the Championship night in the Thunder Car division will take place over the Thunderstruck93 event on September 24th.

Elko Speedway officials confiscated the tires of the top finishers in the Thunder Car division to undergo and inspection, as always, these are preliminary results and they won’t become official results and point standings until late in the week.

Matt Ryan #93 won his second Pepsi Power Stock trophy of the year during a twenty lap cautionless race on Saturday night.  Ryan battled side by side with #36 Brandon Olson the first nine laps before taking the lead outright on lap ten, Ryan then stayed ahead of a hard charging #37 Bryce Blohm to win by .376 seconds at the finish line.  Brandon Olson dropped to third, Brandon Petersen #7 was fourth, #1 Dan Strieff fifth and #62 Tom Doten finished sixth of the 19 cars entered in the race.

Tom Doten is still leading in the standings, he now has a four point lead over Bryce Blohm and a 23 point lead over Brandon Petersen in the ultra-competitive Power Stock division.  All three of these drivers are looking for their first ever point title at Elko Speedway.  The Championship night in this division is also during the Thunderstruck93 race night on September 24th.

The Great North Legends 20 lap main event was a thrilling affair.  Shon Jacobsen #22 took the early lead until #13 Tim Brockhouse took over the top spot on lap three.  Brockhouse is the National INEX point leader in the Masters division, he is not accustomed to being passed for the lead, but that is exactly what happened as #71 Derek Lemke from Shakopee (MN) took over the top spot with two laps remaining and beat Brockhouse to the finish line by .130 seconds.

“There is nothing better than racing Brockhouse, especially with us going to Connecticut this year for the (INEX) Nationals, he really knows how to race, he has been around these Legends cars for a while and he is probably the hardest driver to pass at Elko or anywhere, so it’s nice to race him and give myself a taste of what I will get myself into as we go to Connecticut in a few weeks” said Lemke. 

Matt Allen #16 finished third, #3 Dirk Henry was fourth and #7 Jackson Lewis crossed the finish line fifth out of the impressive 21 cars racing in the Legends division Saturday night. 

Lemke now has a commanding 68 point lead in the standings, Championship night for the Great North Legends at Elko is during Eve of Destruction on October 1st, the final night of racing at Elko Speedway in 2016.

Justin Schelitzche from Lester Prairie (MN) won the Hornets main event, this was the third win of 2016 at Elko Speedway for Schelitzche.  Brandon Plekkenpol #55 was looking for his third straight win, he led early in the 15 lap race but had trouble on lap three and finished dead last.

The top three cars then broke away from the ten car field, Schelitzche won by .345 seconds over a hard charging #36 Alex Vincent with #7 Ridge Oien coming home a close third, #22 Craig Allers was fourth and #3 Michael Wachs finished fifth.

Schelitzche extended his lead in the points because #36 Brandon Olson had a bad night and finished ninth, Schelitzche now leads Olson by 22 points in the standings.  The Hornets will crown their Champion during the final race night at Elko on October 1st.

All results and point standings are unofficial at this time and could be revised later in the week.

The huge Eve of Destruction crowd was thrilled by Clay Gallagher and Captain Crash doing their automobile jumps.  Two wheel stunts were exciting as well with Vertical Mischief and JJ Romans entertaining the crowd.  Tailgator Monster Truck crushed a half-dozen cars, the spectator drags and Figure 8 bus races also provided a good show and the Timberworks Lumberjacks along with also entertained the large MN Lottery Eve of Destruction crowd.

Up next at the 3/8th Mile asphalt oval at Elko Speedway is Championship night for the MN Corn Growers Super Late Models and Hiway Federal Credit Union Big 8 division on Saturday September 17th.  This is also the final night for national NASCAR Home Track points in all the other divisions racing at Elko Speedway.  Gates open at 5pm, action begins at 6pm.

Get more information by calling (952) 461-7223, by following Elko Speedway on Social Media, downloading the new ELKO RACING app or by going to ElkoSpeedway.com.

Elko Speedway is located 30 minutes South of Downtown Minneapolis just off of I-35 and County Road 2 in Elko (MN).