8/15/2020 - Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy
Minnesota Race fans rejoiced on Saturday night because of the beautiful weather and that the normal racing routine at Elko Speedway has returned with proper social distancing guidelines in place.
Late Models are the premiere NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Hometrack series division at ELKO, both of the 25 lap features were raced with no cautions to slow the pace. The first race had #19 Michael Haggar from Hanover (MN) take the lead from the pole position and he never relinquished it, this was the second win of the season at ELKO for Haggar. Adam Bendzick #21 challenged for the top spot for much of the race and finished second, Lawrence Berthiaume #26 finished third, #52 Chad Walen was fourth and #29 Andrew Schultz was fifth. Former ELKO Power stock champion #14 Grant Brown was the fast qualifier with a time of 14.663 seconds. Defending Champion #72 Jacob Goede never got through traffic and finished 10th of the 15 cars entered.
The second feature in the Late Model division had #31 Ryan Varner take the early lead until #72 Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) grabbed the top spot on lap 6 and never looked back, Goede won by 0.585 seconds. Chris Marek #3 started in the second row and followed Goede closely all the way to finish second, #52 Chad Walen was third, #23 Steve Schultz fourth and 9 time ELKO champion #75 Donny Reuvers started 13th and moved all the way up to finish fifth. It was the second win of the season at Elko Speedway for Goede.
2020 is the first season of racing for the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds at ELKO. Former 2010 Great North Legends champion Bryan Syer-Keske #81 from Lakeville (MN) swept the night winning both the semi-feature and 15 lap Feature event. Brent Kane #99 finished 1.355 seconds behind for second, Kane had a great battle to hold off #25 Eric Campbell who finished third followed by #100 Aaron Marthaler fourth and #5 Todd Kamish fifth.
The first Thunder Car 20 lap feature was cautionless, #28 James Lindgren led the race early until mechanical problems had him drop off the track on lap 5, #9 Adam Wiebusch from Jordan (MN) then acquired the lead and never gave it up winning by 0.615 seconds. The best battle on the track was for second place as #3 Conrad Jorgenson edged #07 Dillon Sellner. Fast qualifier #37 Bryce Blohm started fourteenth and finished fourth and #32 Jeremy Wolff was fifth of the 15 cars entered.
The second Thunder car feature at ELKO had #52 Dave Reed take the early lead, on lap six a big incident occurred which resulted in #3 Conrad Jorgenson riding all the way down the front stretch wall on two wheels and #75 Keith Paulsrud spun out sideways in corner #1, #92 Norm Grabinger had nowhere to go and T-boned Paulsrud in the drivers side causing major damage to both cars. Amazingly Jorgenson pitted and returned to the race but finished two laps down and finished 11th. After the restart #07 Dillon Sellner and fast qualifier #37 Bryce Blohm from Prior Lake (MN) battled side by side for the top spot with Blohm eventually coming out on top for his second win of the season, he won by 1.158 seconds over Sellner and the rest of the field. Adam Wiebusch #9 started fourteenth and moved up to third, Dave Reed was fourth and #32 Jeremy Wolff finished fifth.
A great field of 18 Great North Legends cars raced at Elko Speedway on Saturday night. In the first 20 lap feature veteran drivers dominated the first part of the race as Robby Carter #03 had the early lead, #71 Jon Lemke took the lead on lap three and then #100 Tim Brockhouse from Shakopee (MN) grabbed the lead at the halfway mark. On lap 16 a caution period made Brockhouse work hard to retain the lead off the restart, sixteen year old #47 Austin Jahr finished second, #8 Cole Klein racing for the last time before leaving for college was third, fast qualifier #91 Tristan Swanson finished fourth and #75 Baiden Heskett was fifth. It was the #206th win of his career for Brockhouse.
The second Great North Legends feature had former four time I-94 Raceway Champion #2 Rob Thurston lead the first half of the race, Dells Champion #91 Tristan Swanson took over the top spot on lap 13 until a yellow flag slowed the field on lap 15. Thurston retook the lead off the restart until Swanson fought back for the top spot, then #47 Austin Jahr and #100 Tim Brockhouse charged up to the front just in time for another restart with just a couple laps to go. Jahr and Swanson had contact in the first corner then Brockhouse pounced and took the lead, Swanson fought back and made it close on the last lap but Brockhouse won by 0.205 seconds at the finish line. It was the 207th career win for Brockhouse and third this season at ELKO, Swanson finished second, #71 Jon Lemke started fourteenth and finished third, Rob Thurston was fourth and #75 Baiden Heskett fifth in this thoroughly entertaining race.
The first Power Stock feature event had #8 Taylor Goldman lead the early laps until the veteran driver #66 Joe Prusak from Clayton (WI) took over the top spot on lap 5 of 20. After a brief caution period with three laps to go Prusak battled with fast qualifier #88 Nick Oxborough, the two were side by side swapping the top spot, it was a drag race down the front stretch and Prusak won by just 0.125 seconds at the finish line, it was the 200th win of his career and second win this season at Elko Speedway for Prusak. Oxborough finished second, Mike Stoer #08 was third, #13 Matt Frye fourth and #56 Paul Hamilton fifth of the fourteen cars entered.
The second Power Stock feature had Ben Gannon #41 lead early after #83 Julie Jorgenson had a flat tire during the hot laps period just before the race. Tom Doten #62 challenged for the lead on lap 7 and took over the top spot on lap 10 of 20. Just after the half-way point the defending ELKO champion #88 Nick Oxborough from Lakeville (MN) burst through to the lead, he had to withstand a caution with three laps to go but held off #08 Mike Stoer by just 0.161 seconds at the line to win. Stoer finished second, Tom Doten third, Ben Gannon fourth and #66 Joe Prusak started fourteenth and finished fifth.
The first Bandolero feature had #07 Jackson Kottschade lead the first lap and his brother #70 Josiah Kottschade take the lead on lap two, then #12 Ayrton Brockhouse from Shakopee took the top spot. After a restart it was a great three-way battle for the lead with Ayrton Brockhouse, Josiah Kottschade and #901 Alex Hartwig until Hartwig had had mechanical problems and dropped from the race. After another restart Ayrton Brockhouse held off the many challenges by Josiah Kottschade to win by 0.286 seconds, #06 Adam Ratliff was third, Jackson Kottschade fourth and #05 Tucker Bodendorfer finished fifth of the 11 cars entered.
The second 12 lap feature had #05 Tucker Bodendorfer from Muskego (WI) who travelled five hours to race at ELKO take the early lead until #70 Josiah Kottschade grabbed the top spot on lap 3. A caution on lap 9 bunched up the field and enabled the defending Champion #901 Alex Hartwig from Portage (WI), who started 10th, the opportunity to take challenge for the lead, it was a furious battle to the finish with Hartwig edging Josiah Kottschade by 0.54 seconds at the line. Ayrton Brockhouse #12 was third, Tucker Bodendorfer fourth and #J3 Justin Ziemiecki finished fifth.
All results are unofficial at this time, results will be posted at ElkoSpeedway.com
Next Saturday August 22nd expect racing in all five divisions at Elko Speedway in addition to Figure 8 Bus racing. Gates open at 5pm, with on track action just before 6pm. Fans are encouraged to follow Elko Speedway on social media and buy their tickets online by going to ElkoSpeedway.com or download the free app by searching Elko Racing.
Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned 3/8th mile asphalt race track with stadium seating located just 10 minutes South of Lakeville in Elko/New Market (MN).
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