Thunderstruck Race Recap
September 21, 2024- Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy
The last day of Summer was a special day at Elko Speedway as the 12th Thunderstruck93 event was held in memory of Dan Ryan, a well respected racer and car owner who passed away from ALS in 2009.
The ASA Midwest tour was the main attraction on Saturday night and fans were excited to see Super Late Models back at ELKO for the first time in 7 years.
Justin Mondeik #44 from Gleason (WI) made his NASCAR Truck series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night and then won the prestigious Thunderstruck93 event and infamous guitar trophy just two days later. Joe Valento #30 led the first few laps of the race, he and #23 Levon VanDerGeest from Merrill (WI) spun on lap six to bring out the first caution of the 125 lap race. VanDerGeest got his spot back, he then battled for the top spot with Midwest Tour point leader #15 Gabe Sommers until a caution at lap 12 occurred. VanDerGeest retook the lead after the yellow and fast-timer #72 Jacob Goede drove hard and worked his way up to the second place position by lap 20. Mondeik started the race sixth, he worked his way up to pass Goede for second on lap 27 and then he battled VanDerGeest for the lead on lap 68, he was able to take over the top spot on lap 77, he then put numerous fast cars a lap down. Only 8 cars of the 21 cars entered were on the lead lap at the 10 minute break on lap 93.
10-time ELKO Champion Goede had used up his tires the first half of the race and was holding on the last 32 laps, 9-time ELKO Champion Donny Reuvers #41 from Dundas (MN) was the last car on the lead lap going into the break but he rushed up through the field late in the race, thrilling the crowd and passing cars left and right.
Justin Mondeik weaved his way through lapped traffic and won the race by 1.394 seconds, Levon VanDerGeest was second, Donny Reuvers finished third. Jacob Goede was fourth, fifteen year old Ty Fredrickson #36 was fifth as he was racing a back-up car due to a blown motor during pre-race practice, Gabe Sommers was 6th, #77 Jonathan Eilen seventh and #81 Bryan Syer-Keske was the last car on the lead lap finishing 8th.
Jacob Goede was the fastest in qualifying with a lap time of 13.915 seconds, he bested #8 Billy Mohn by 0.005 seconds.
Get more information and full results at starsnationaltour.com/midwest/
All five ELKO divisions raced double features during the Thunderstruck93 event. The Late Model division presented by Interim HealthCare Staffing had two 25 lap feature events. The first one was won by Jeremy Wolff #32 from Chaska (MN), he led the entire cautionless race and won by 0.907 seconds. It was the first win of the season for the 2016 Thunder Car Champion Wolff. The fast qualifier #72 Jacob Goede raced up from his 10th starting position to finish second, #50 Steve Anderson Jr was third, #3 Chris Marek fourth and point leader #19 Jake Ryan finished 5th of the 16 cars entered.
The second NASCAR sanctioned Late Model race was won by Jacob Goede from Carver (MN). Ryan Varner #31 and #6 Owin Giles raced side by side early before Varner took over the top spot, he held that lead until Goede drove up from his 10th starting position to take over the point on lap 17, Goede held on to win by 1.279 seconds, it was his fourth win of the 2024 season at ELKO. Varner finished second, Giles was third, #75 Joel Theisen was fourth and #3 Chris Marek finished fifth. Point leader Jake Ryan was involved in an opening lap spin and had to race from the back of the pack, he moved his way up to finish 8th by the end of the race.
Going into the final race night Jake Ryan now has a 20 point lead over #52 Chad Walen in the battle for the Late Model Championship.
The NASCAR sanctioned Thunder Cars raced two 20 lap feature events during Thunderstruck93 at Elko Speedway Saturday night. 2010 Power Stock Champion #88 Jason Novak returned to Elko Speedway and led a majority of the first race, he held on through a caution period on lap 15 but then was passed on the high side on lap 18 by 7th place starter #83 Julie Jorgenson from Dundas (MN) who then held on for her first Thunder Car win of 2024, she won by 0.435 seconds. Novak finished second, #16 Jimmy Omeara was third, #99 Brent Kane fourth and #8 Taylor Goldman fifth of the 14 cars competing.
Brent Kane #99 from Lonsdale (MN) won his 11th Thunder Car feature event of 2024 in the second race of the night. Kane started the race in 11th place and he worked his way to the front, finally taking the lead with a high-side pass of Tommy Sorem #29 on lap 13. Kane held on through a caution on lap 15 and won the race by 1.38 seconds. It was the 140th career win for Kane. Sorem finished second, #41 Ben Gannon was third, #9 Adam Wiebusch fourth and #16 Jimmy Omeara fifth.
Brent Kane has a 75 point lead in the Thunder Car division going into the final race night at Elko Speedway.
The NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks raced two 20 lap features Saturday night at Elko Speedway. Both races were held without a caution, the first race was won by Mike Stoer #08 from Prior Lake (MN), Stoer started the event in the 8th position, he raced up through the field and passed #45 Gary Stokvis on the high side on lap 8 for the lead and eventually the win. Stoer won by 1.69 seconds, it was his division leading 5th win of 2024. Stokvis finished second, #57 Jesse Fischer was third, #14 Clayton Dorner fourth and point leader #83 Julie Jorgenson fifth of the 15 cars racing.
A couple former Elko Speedway stars returned to racing the Power Stock division on Saturday night, former Champions Grant Brown (2015) and Dusty Mann (2004, 2017) both returned to racing. Title contender #57 Jesse Fischer spun on lap two of the second Power Stock feature event, he did not go a lap down but he did spend the remainder of the race trying to catch the field. Jimmie Jorgenson #3 from Elko (MN) started on the front row, led every lap and won by 2.242 seconds, it was his third win of the season at ELKO. Clayton Dorner finished second, Julie Jorgenson started 10th and finished third, Dusty Mann #10 was fourth, Mike Stoer fifth and #08b Grant Brown finished sixth. Four cars dropped from the race with mechanical problems.
Going into the final night of racing defending Champion Julie Jorgenson has a 20 point lead over Jesse Fischer and 21 point lead over Mike Stoer in the race for the 2024 Power Stock title.
The INEX sanctioned Legends division had two 20 lap features during the Thunderstruck93 race night. Baiden Heskett #75 from Hastings (MN) had a clean sweep of the night winning both feature events and setting the fast-time in qualifying. He now has 5 feature wins on the season at Elko Speedway.
Heskett started 11th in the first feature, challenged for the lead late and crossed the finish line first after #87 Robby Carter spun down the backstretch coming to the white flag. Heskett won by 0.983 seconds. Riley Goodwin #27 finished second, Robby Carter recovered for third, #13 Ayden Brockhouse fourth and #3 Zach Geiger fifth of the 20 cars competing. Top competitors #12 Ayrton Brockhouse and #66 Tristan Swanson had contact on the first lap and neither of them were able to continue the race.
The second Legends feature had #01 Elliott Weiler leading the first few laps until #3 Zach Geiger held the top spot and then Heskett took over the lead on lap 7 until the finish line. Heskett won the race by an impressive 2.327 seconds. Ayrton Brockhouse #12 started in the back of the pack and raced up to finish second, Robby Carter #87 was third, #27 Riley Goodwin recovered from a second lap spin to finish fourth and Zach Geiger rounded out the Top 5.
Heskett has a 113 point lead in the Legends division going into the final race night at Elko Speedway. Maximum points possible per night in that division is 133.
The INEX sanctioned Bandoleros for kids as young as 7 years old raced two 12 lap feature events Saturday night during Thunderstruck93. The first race had current point leader #32 Colton Roe Pershall dropping from the race early with mechanical problems. George Brochman #56 led the first lap after a couple spins delayed the beginning of the race, #32 Mason Westphal led the second lap until #57 Rev Heitkamp took over the top spot on lap 5. The lead shuffling finally stopped when #5 Christopher Flynn from Farmington (MN) took over the lead after a restart on lap 6 and he held on through the checkers winning by 0.47 seconds. It was the third win of the season for Flynn. Heitkamp finished second, Westphal third, Justice Doubrava #01 was fourth and #76 Oliver Weinkauf was fifth of the 18 cars competing.
The second race was just as eventful as #27 Roman Crow led the first lap, then #76 Oliver Weinkauf from Merrill (WI) grabbed the top spot. Weinkauf was bested for the lead for one lap just before the finish by #32 Colton Roe Pershall who had to start this race at the back of the field, but then he rebounded to squeak back into the lead in the drag race to the checkers, Weinkauf won by just 0.196 seconds at the stripe for his first win of the season at ELKO. Roe Pershall finished second, #82 Frank Jirik was third, #24 Blake Michael fourth and #32 Mason Westphal fifth. First feature winner Christopher Flynn finished the second race in 8th.
Going into the final night of racing at Elko Speedway, Colton Roe Pershall now leads Christopher Flynn by a slim 2 points in the race for the 2024 Bando point title.
All points and results are UNOFFICIAL at this time, go to ElkoSpeedway.com for more information
Up Next at Elko Speedway is the final Eve of Destruction of the year Saturday September 28th with double features in all 5 divisions plus, Monster Trucks, School Bus races, Spectator Drags, BMX bikes, Project Fireball, the Jet Car Burn down, Fireworks and the world famous figure 8 trailer race. Gates open at 4:30pm, action at 5:15pm.
Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned 3/8th mile asphalt oval race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko/New Market MN.
ElkoSpeedway.com #ElkoSpeedway
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