June 7, 2025 - Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy
It was Advance Auto Parts night at the races on Saturday at Elko Speedway and senior director of NASCAR weekly racing operations Kevin Nevalainen was on hand to greet the big crowd at the start of the evening.
In the first NASCAR Late Model division 17 cars took to the track but an early caution on lap 1 resulted in Dusty Mann #10 up against the wall in corner three with heavy damage. When the race resumed front row starters #8 Billy Mohn and #6 Owin Giles from New Market (MN) battled side by side for numerous laps before Mohn established himself as the leader. Another caution on lap 16 set up an epic 9 lap run to the finish as the two veteran drivers fought for the top spot, Giles snuck past Mohn with two laps to go and held on to win by just 0.084 seconds at the finish line. It was the first win of the season for Giles, Mohn finished second, Steve Anderson Jr #50 was third, #27 Paul Paine fourth and fast qualifier #52 Chad Walen was fifth. Walen won qualifying with a time of 14.637 seconds.
The second 25 lap Late Model race at ELKO saw #14 Grant Brown take over the race lead from the green flag until #3 Chris Marek from Elko (MN) passed Brown on the high-side 10 laps into the race to take the top spot. Marek then held on for the victory during this cautionless race by 0.823 seconds, it was his first win of the season. Brown finished second, defending Champion #19 Jake Ryan was third, #31 Ryan Varner fourth and #32 Jeremy Wolff fifth of the 14 cars that took the track.
Chris Marek now has a 4 point lead over Grant Brown in the early season race for the Late Model Championship at ELKO, Chad Walen sits just 8 point out of the lead.
The Eternity Homes sponsored Thunder Car division sported a nice field of 15 cars Saturday night at Elko Speedway.
Jimmy Omeara #16 from Randolph (MN) won the first 20 lap feature event but it was anything but easy. Omeara jumped out to the big lead early but had to hold on through three different caution period restarts to finally win by 0.896 seconds at the line. Conrad Jorgenson #3 came out of a short-lived retirement to move up from his 7th starting position to finish in the runner-up position, #29 Tom Sorem was third, #83 Julie Jorgenson fourth and #99 Brent Kane fifth. It was a battle of attrition as five of the drivers who started did not finish this race. It was the first win of the season for Omeara.
The second NASCAR sanctioned Thunder Car race also had three caution periods. Taylor Goldman #8 had the early lead until 2023 Tomah-Sparta Speedway champion #15 Michael Gilomen took over the top spot. Five-time ELKO Thunder Car champion #99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) overtook Gilomen at the halfway point of the race with a high side pass on lap 10 of 20. Kane won the race by 1.955 seconds, Tom Sorem #29 was second, Gilomen third, #13 Matt Frye fourth and #16 Jimmy Omeara fifth place. It was the first win of the season for the defending ELKO champion Brent Kane who now has an 18 point lead over Tom Sorem in the race for the Thunder Car Championship.
The NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks raced two caution-free 20 lap feature events during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway on Saturday night. The first feature was dominated by #45 Gary Stokvis from Shoreview (MN), he had a huge lead most of the race until the gap narrowed late as drivers were navigating through some oil dropped on the track. Stokvis won by 0.362 seconds at the finish line, it was his first win of the 2025 season at ELKO. Jesse Fischer #57 started 8th and raced up to finish second place, #14 Clayton Dorner was third, #08 Mike Stoer fourth and #3 Jimmie Jorgenson fifth of the 11 cars competing. Five-time Power Stock Champion #88 Nick Oxborough did not get a good present on his birthday, the engine let go with three laps remaining in the race.
The second Power Stock race had #18 Alexis Montour lead lap number one and #24 Donovan Michaud taking the top spot on lap two. Eventual winner #3 Jimmie Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN) raced side by side with Michaud for many laps before finally taking over on lap 6 with a high-side pass. Jorgenson then increased his lead and won by an impressive 2.913 seconds. It was the second win of the season for Jorgenson.
In a sign of great competitiveness this season, three drivers are all tied in Championship points after four feature events. Jimmie Jorgenson, Mike Stoer and Jesse Fischer all tied with 210 points.
The INEX sanctioned Legends division raced a very entertaining 20 lap feature event on Saturday night during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway. Veteran driver #2 Rob Thurston led the opening few laps until Robby Carter #87 grabbed the top spot after a restart. Carter held the lead until #12 Ayrton Brockhouse from Shakopee (MN) jumped up from his seventh starting spot and took over the lead on lap seven. Brockhouse then had to expertly weave his way through lapped traffic and he held off fast qualifier #3 Dirk Henry to win by 0.69 seconds at the finish line. It was the first win of the season at ELKO for Brockhouse. Cam Panitzke #22 was third, Robby Carter finished fourth and #11x Wyatt Moren fifth of the 17 cars competing.
Cam Panitzke and Wyatt Moren won the heat races. The fast-time in qualifying was 15.741 seconds by Dirk Henry.
Ayrton Brockhouse now has a 14 point lead over Dirk Henry in the race for the Legends car Championship at ELKO.
The INEX sanctioned Bandoleros raced a 12 lap feature event at Elko Speedway Saturday night. It was a very entertaining race with an exciting three-way battle throughout. Macie Ryan #11 led the opening lap and #5 Christopher Flynn bolted up through the field to take the lead on lap two. Justice Doubrava #15 took over the top spot after a restart and then #32 Mason Westphal took his turn with the lead as we neared the half-way point. After a caution period on lap 10 those three drivers swapped spots like waves lapping onto a beach, a continual flow of circular motion as they raced from one end of the track to the other. Mason Westphal from Farmington (MN) slid from third to first on the last lap to win by 0.353 seconds at the line, it was his second win of the season at ELKO. Christopher Flynn finished second, Roman Crow #27 was third, Justice Doubrava fourth and #11 Adriana Hawes finished fifth of the 11 cars in the race.
Theo Crow #72 won the 6 lap Bando Beginners feature event.
Mason Westphal and Christopher Flynn won the two Bando Heat races.
Mason Westphal now has a slim 1 point lead over Christopher Flynn in the race for the Bando Championship at Elko Speedway.
All results and points are UNOFFICIAL at this point. Get more info at ElkoSpeedway.com <http://elkospeedway.com>
Jony Damyan from Edina won a spectacular Spectator Drags race in a 2008 WRX STI.
Monster Trucks BigFoot driven by Josh Baumgartner and Bear Foot driven by Scott Chisholm squared off in a freestyle battle crushing cars.
12 drifter cars entertained the crowd in advance of the big ELKO Drifter Bash coming up next weekend.
MAW wrestling competed in the squared circle with Rampage Santana winning the final match of the evening over Chad Poutine in front of a huge crowd on the West Concourse at Elko Speedway.
Up next at Elko Speedway is the ELKO Drift Bash Friday-Sunday June 13-15. Then the ARCA Menards series Shore Lunch 250 on Saturday June 21st. This night includes the ELKO NASCAR divisions plus the ARCA Menards series.
Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned 3/8th mile high banked asphalt track with stadium seating located just 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market MN. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com <http://elkospeedway.com>
LATE MODEL 17 entries
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Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 6-Owin Giles[2]; 2. 8-Billy Mohn[1]; 3. 50-Steve Jr Anderson[5]; 4. 27-Paul Paine[7]; 5. 52-Chad Walen[9]; 6. 19R-Jake Ryan[10]; 7. 8S-Colin Stocker[12]; 8. 31-Ryan Varner[11]; 9. 3M-Chris Marek[4]; 10. 32-Jeremy Wolff[13]; 11. 14-Grant Brown[8]; 12. 9-Tim Anderson[14]; 13. 07-Dillon Sellner[6]; 14. J3-Justin Ziemiecki[16]; 15. (DNF) 41-Donny Reuvers[15]; 16. (DNF) 10M-Dusty Mann[3]; 17. (DNS) 10-Danny Mann
Feature 2 (25 Laps): 1. 3M-Chris Marek[4]; 2. 14-Grant Brown[2]; 3. 19R-Jake Ryan[7]; 4. 31-Ryan Varner[5]; 5. 32-Jeremy Wolff[3]; 6. 27-Paul Paine[9]; 7. 8-Billy Mohn[11]; 8. 07-Dillon Sellner[13]; 9. 6-Owin Giles[12]; 10. 52-Chad Walen[8]; 11. 8S-Colin Stocker[6]; 12. 50-Steve Jr Anderson[10]; 13. 9-Tim Anderson[1]; 14. J3-Justin Ziemiecki[14]; 15. 10-Danny Mann[17]; 16. 10M-Dusty Mann[16]; 17. 41-Donny Reuvers[15]
Qualifying 1 (5 Laps): 1. 52-Chad Walen[6]; 2. 27-Paul Paine[11]; 3. 07-Dillon Sellner[13]; 4. 14-Grant Brown[14]; 5. 50-Steve Jr Anderson[7]; 6. 3M-Chris Marek[1]; 7. 10M-Dusty Mann[17]; 8. 6-Owin Giles[10]; 9. 8-Billy Mohn[3]; 10. 19R-Jake Ryan[5]; 11. 31-Ryan Varner[4]; 12. 8S-Colin Stocker[8]; 13. 32-Jeremy Wolff[9]; 14. 9-Tim Anderson[12]; 15. 41-Donny Reuvers[2]; 16. J3-Justin Ziemiecki[15]; 17. 10-Danny Mann[16]
15 entries THUNDER CAR
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Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 16-Jim Omeara[1]; 2. 3-Conrad Jorgenson[7]; 3. 29-Tom Sorem[6]; 4. 83-Julie Jorgenson[3]; 5. 99-Brent Kane[10]; 6. 18-Eric Montour[5]; 7. 15-Michael Gilomen[14]; 8. 53-Matthew Frye[13]; 9. 8-Taylor Goldman[4]; 10. 27-Gary West[12]; 11. (DNF) 7-Brandon Petersen[15]; 12. (DNF) 09-Matt Wiebusch[9]; 13. (DNF) 41-Benjamin Gannon[8]; 14. (DNF) 20C-Spencer Corrigan[11]; 15. (DNF) 88N-Jason Novak[2]
Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 99-Brent Kane[6]; 2. 29-Tom Sorem[8]; 3. 15-Michael Gilomen[4]; 4. 53-Matthew Frye[3]; 5. 16-Jim Omeara[10]; 6. 8-Taylor Goldman[2]; 7. 18-Eric Montour[5]; 8. 88N-Jason Novak[15]; 9. 83-Julie Jorgenson[7]; 10. 09-Matt Wiebusch[12]; 11. 27-Gary West[1]; 12. 7-Brandon Petersen[11]; 13. (DNF) 3-Conrad Jorgenson[9]; 14. (DNS) 41-Benjamin Gannon; 15. (DNS) 20C-Spencer Corrigan
11 entries POWER STOCK
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Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 45-Gary Stokvis[1]; 2. 57-Jesse Fischer[8]; 3. 14D-Clayton Dorner[6]; 4. 08-Michael Stoer[10]; 5. 3-Jimmie Jorgenson[9]; 6. 77-Payton Letcher[4]; 7. 24-Donovan Seals[7]; 8. 22-ZEKE OPPEGAARD[2]; 9. 18-Alexis Montour[3]; 10. 10-Brock Westermayer[5]; 11. (DNF) 88-Nick Oxborough[11]
Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 3-Jimmie Jorgenson[5]; 2. 24-Donovan Seals[3]; 3. 57-Jesse Fischer[8]; 4. 08-Michael Stoer[6]; 5. 14D-Clayton Dorner[7]; 6. 18-Alexis Montour[1]; 7. 45-Gary Stokvis[9]; 8. 22-ZEKE OPPEGAARD[2]; 9. 10-Brock Westermayer[10]; 10. 77-Payton Letcher[4]; 11. (DNF) 88-Nick Oxborough[11]
17 entries LEGENDS
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Feature (20 Laps): 1. 12-Ayrton Brockhouse[7]; 2. 3H-Dirk Henry[5]; 3. 22-Cameron Panitzke[8]; 4. 87-Robert Carter[6]; 5. 11X-Wyatt Moren[9]; 6. 11M-Jason Michaud[3]; 7. 27-Riley Goodwin[4]; 8. 30-Jensen Vadnais[1]; 9. 2-Robert Thurston[2]; 10. 51-Justin Henry[17]; 11. 97-Jacob Baker[10]; 12. 22M-Mitch Peterson[12]; 13. 55K-Justin Kimball[11]; 14. 7-Devon Johnson[14]; 15. 46-Adam Gerlach[13]; 16. 55-jon mccabe[15]; 17. 72-Michael Veen[16]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 22-Cameron Panitzke[4]; 2. 87-Robert Carter[5]; 3. 27-Riley Goodwin[2]; 4. 2-Robert Thurston[3]; 5. 97-Jacob Baker[1]; 6. 22M-Mitch Peterson[6]; 7. 7-Devon Johnson[7]; 8. 72-Michael Veen[8]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 11X-Wyatt Moren[4]; 2. 12-Ayrton Brockhouse[5]; 3. 3H-Dirk Henry[6]; 4. 11M-Jason Michaud[1]; 5. 30-Jensen Vadnais[3]; 6. 55K-Justin Kimball[7]; 7. 46-Adam Gerlach[9]; 8. 55-jon mccabe[8]; 9. 51-Justin Henry[2]
Qualifying: 1. 3H-Dirk Henry[4]; 2. 87-Robert Carter[1]; 3. 12-Ayrton Brockhouse[2]; 4. 22-Cameron Panitzke[5]; 5. 11X-Wyatt Moren[3]; 6. 2-Robert Thurston[6]; 7. 30-Jensen Vadnais[8]; 8. 27-Riley Goodwin[9]; 9. 51-Justin Henry[7]; 10. 97-Jacob Baker[10]; 11. 11M-Jason Michaud[14]; 12. 22M-Mitch Peterson[15]; 13. 55K-Justin Kimball[12]; 14. 7-Devon Johnson[11]; 15. 55-jon mccabe[13]; 16. 72-Michael Veen[17]; 17. 46-Adam Gerlach[16]
14 entries BANDOS
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Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 32-Mason Westphal[10]; 2. 5-Christopher Flynn[9]; 3. 27-Roman Crow[7]; 4. 15-Justice Doubrava[8]; 5. 11-Adriana Hawes[5]; 6. 56-George Brochman[4]; 7. 8-Thomas Poretsky[3]; 8. 21-Aiden Kubiszeski[11]; 9. 11R-Macie Ryan[1]; 10. 99-Jamie Dougherty[2]; 11. 59-Caleb Hawes[6]
B Feature 1 (6 Laps): 1. 72-Theo Crow[2]; 2. 19-Caster Kane[3]; 3. 2-Anna Athmann[1]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 32-Mason Westphal[5]; 2. 15-Justice Doubrava[4]; 3. 59-Caleb Hawes[2]; 4. 56-George Brochman[3]; 5. 99-Jamie Dougherty[1]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Christopher Flynn[5]; 2. 27-Roman Crow[4]; 3. 11-Adriana Hawes[3]; 4. 8-Thomas Poretsky[1]; 5. 11R-Macie Ryan[2]; 6. 21-Aiden Kubiszeski[6]
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