9/7/2019 - Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy
The rain drops did not dampen the mood at Elko Speedway on Saturday
night, it was an action packed Eve of Destruction filled with racing
and destruction. It was the second to last night of racing for 2019
NASCAR Hometrack points and two Minnesota drivers competing at ELKO,
Nick Panitzke and Jacob Goede, were the top two in the Nation in
Division I coming into the race night. A Minnesota driver has never
won a National Division I NASCAR Championship.
In the first 30 lap Late Model feature event sponsored by The Car Lot
in Prague (MN) #13 Bryan Wrolstad had the early lead but was
challenged by #54 Dylan Moore lap after lap. A spin occurred on lap
20 that left Wrolstad up front and had Moore restart in the back.
Jacob Goede #72 from Carver (MN) was the fast-timer in qualifying and
started the race 10th, Goede had moved all the way up to the second
row on the restart. Ryan Varner was looking for his first career Late
Model win, he passed Wrolstad and grabbed the lead off the restart, he
was then immediately challenged by Goede who captured the top spot on
lap 27 and motored to the victory by 0.501 seconds. Ryan Varner
finished second followed by #52 Chad Walen, Bryan Wrolstad and #32
Jeremy Wolff. It was the 5th feature win of the season for Goede at
ELKO and because of his poor starting spot, it earned him maximum
NASCAR bonus points, important in the battle for the National
Championship. The other National title contender Nick Panitzke
started 13th and finished the race 8th of the 16 cars entered.
After dodging some raindrops the second Late Model feature had Elko
Speedway 2016 Big 8 division Champion #54 Dylan Moore of Northfield
(MN) take the early lead, a couple cautions occurred and Moore held
onto the top spot. Jacob Goede #72 started 14th and was working his
way up through the field, on lap 9 Goede took responsibility for a
caution with the “Gentlemens tap-out rule,” sending himself to the
back of the pack and giving #21 Adam Bendzick and #6 Owin Giles their
running positions back. Bendzick took advantage and challenged Moore
by racing side by side for the top spot. Bendzick finally took over
the lead on lap 21, held the lead and crossed the finish line first
for what looked like his fourth win of the season. Nick Panitzke #22
started the race 7th and worked his way up to cross the finish line
3rd, both Panitzke and Bendzick were later Disqualified in post race
inspection for being under the minimum weight. That gave the victory
to #54 Dylan Moore, #6 Owin Giles second, followed by #32 Jeremy
Wolff, #19 Michael Haggar and #72 Jacob Goede. It was the first win
of the season for Moore. He became the 13th different driver to win a
Late Model feature at Elko Speedway in 2019.
Jacob Goede scored enough points to clinch the Late Model title at
Elko Speedway. “It’s really cool,” said Goede “this year was really
tough, the field gets tighter every year, we couldn’t get away, Chris
Marek kept it close, nobody really dominated, all the different
winners this year proves it, to win (the Championship) again is cool.”
Goede has a 165 point lead over #3 Chris Marek going into the final
night of points, a driver can only earn a maximum of 133 points per
race night, so Goede has clinched his 6th consecutive Premier division
Championship at Elko Speedway.
The first Genz-Ryan Thunder Cars feature had #14 Tony Holm lead early
until #9 Adam Wiebusch passed for the lead on the high side on lap 5
of 20. A caution occurred on lap 8 and tightened up the field,
Wiebusch grabbed the lead until fast qualifier and 12th place starter
#3 Conrad Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN) challenged and took the top
spot on lap 11. Jorgenson then cruised for the win by 2.796 seconds,
it was his 8th win of the season. Keith Paulsrud #75 finished second,
#32 Jeremy Wolff third, title contender #37 Bryce Blohm fourth and
Wiebusch finished fifth of the 15 cars entered.
The second Thunder Car feature had #86 Brandon Petersen lead early
until #25 Eric Campbell from Lonsdale (MN) took over the top spot and
he never looked back. Campbell won the cautionless race by 1.376
seconds, it was his second win of the season. Bryce Blohm #37 charged
up from his 8th starting spot to finish second, #3 Conrad Jorgenson
went from 13th to third, #92 Norm Grabinger was fourth and #75 Keith
Paulsrud fifth.
With just two more points weeks of racing in the Thunder Car division
Conrad Jorgenson has a slim 16 point lead over Bryce Blohm in the race
for the Championship.
The first Pepsi Power Stock feature had veteran driver #66 Joe Prusak
from Clayton (WI) take the early lead and never give it up. Prusak
outran the field in this cautionless race and won by 1.546 seconds, it
was the 193rd feature win in his long career. Mike Stoer #08 finished
second, #10 Dusty Mann third, fast qualifier #88 Nick Oxborough fourth
and #83 Julie Jorgenson fifth of the 9 cars entered.
The second Power Stock 20 lap feature had #8 Taylor Goldman from
Minnetonka (MN) take the lead from the front row, she was immediately
challenged by #41 Jason Michaud and #88 Nick Oxborough. Michaud got
side by side with Goldman for the top spot and the two swapped the
lead back and forth on lap 14. Goldman edged back out front on the
last lap and won by 0.201 seconds, it was extremely tight for second
place as Nick Oxborough edged Jason Michaud by 0.011 seconds for the
runner up position. Michael Stoer #8 was fourth and #10 Dusty Mann
fifth. It was the third win of the season for Taylor Goldman.
Nick Oxborough continues to lead in the race for the Power Stock
Championship, he now has a 34 point lead over Mike Stoer.
All points and results are unofficial at the time of this release.
The other Eve of Destruction events were very entertaining as the
Drifters put on a great show of precision and power. Brandan Tulachka
from Green Bay (WI) won freestyle in his Monster Truck “Just Get er
Done II” and Brad Shippert came from Dixon (IL) with his Monster Truck
titled “Against the Grain.” The Wildman Clay Gallagher did two
old-skool stunts including the Double Wall of Fire crash and the Hot
Coffin stunt. Cole Lundeen from Elko (MN) won the spectator drags in
his 1995 BMW M3. The Timberworks LumberJacks entertained the large
crowd gathered for Eve of Destruction and Good for Gary had the crowd
on their feet to end the night at Elko Speedway.
Up next is Late Model Championship night at ELKO presented by
Minnesota Lottery on Saturday September 14th with racing in the Late
Models, Thunder Cars, Power Stocks, Great North Legends and the
Bandolero’s. Gates open at 5pm, first Bando feature is at 5:40pm,
then group qualifying other features begin at 7pm. Get more
information at ElkoSpeedway.com
Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned moderate banked oval 3/8th mile
asphalt racetrack with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the
Twin Cities in Elko-New Market (MN). Get more information by
following Elko Speedway on social media, downloading our free app or
going to ElkoSpeedway.com
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