By Jason D Searcy
Elko Speedway just celebrated its 60th year in existence in 2025, a year that some thought might be its last. The MEGA ownership group consisting of three long-time businessmen that all have a close tie to the track purchased ELKO in the spring of this year, they brought in some new leadership, retained some of the familiar faces and now the future seems as bright as ever.
2025 had 14 total race nights. 10 Eve of Destruction nights, one ARCA National series night, the eleventh at ELKO, that had 15 year old Max Reaves winning driving a Joe Gibbs Toyota. Rising star Brenden Queen won the pole and local hero Ty Fredrickson made his ARCA debut and finished a strong fourth place.
One ASA Midwest tour event race, the 13th Thunderstruck93 Super Late Model 125 lap race event. 16 year old Ty Fredrickson won and NASCAR weekly series Division I National Champion Jacob Goede won the pole.
One combined Drift event/Race night was held. Mark Bellanger Jr won the $2400 drift competition, and the High School Racing Association, Midwest Dash series and the INEX divisions also competed that night.
One Monster Truck competition night was also held, Jesse Como from Kemptville Ontario Canada won the overall event in his truck named Anger Management.
Chris Marek won his first Late Model title in a decade, he previously has won 3 Big 8 titles plus a Hornets and Power Stock title at ELKO. A total of 30 different drivers raced Late Models in 2025, up from 27 in 2024. Eight different drivers had wins this year led by Jacob Goede with five, Grant Brown four, Chris Marek, Hunter Paine and Owin Giles had three, Billy Mohn and Bryan Wrolstad had two and Michael Ostdiek had one.
Brent Kane won his sixth Championship at Elko Speedway in the Thunder Car division. Kane also won the Division II Midwest Region of the NASCAR weekly racing series, he also finished runner up in the National point standings for Division II. An impressive total of 28 cars raced at ELKO in 2025 which is a sharp increase up from just 18 in 2024. Eight different drivers won a race this year led by Brent Kane with seven, Tom Sorem four, Jimmy Omeara three, Matt Wiebusch, Jason Novak, Conrad Jorgenson and Eric Montour all with two and Ben Gannon had one win at ELKO in 2025.
The Power Stock division was won by Mike Stoer who had won two Bomber Championships at Raceway Park previously but had never won a title at ELKO until this year. 20 different drivers raced this year in the Power Stock division which is down from 24 last year. Nick Oxborough had the most wins with seven, Jimmie Jorgenson and Jesse Fischer each had five, Mike Stoer had four wins, Clayton Dorner and Gary Stokvis each had one win in 2025 at Elko Speedway.
Ayrton Brockhouse won his first Championship in the INEX Legends division at ELKO; he had previously won two Bando titles. He joins his brother Jaycen and father Tim Brockhouse as Elko Speedway Legends division Champions. 41 different drivers scored points this year compared to 44 last year. In 2025 the switch was made to having both heat races and just one feature taking place per race night instead of two features (one of which did not count toward INEX National points). Three drivers won a feature race this year; Tristan Swanson had 7 wins, Ayrton Brockhouse 3 and Jackson Lewis one win in 2025.
Mason Westphal won his first Elko Speedway title in the Bandolero division, the Bando’s also switched this year to racing one main feature in addition to the heat races. 24 drivers raced at ELKO in 2025 down from 27 last year. Six different drivers had a win led by Justice Doubrava with three, Roman Crow, Christopher Flynn and Mason Westphal with two and Carson Cauble and Bentley Thompson each had one win in 2025 at Elko Speedway. They also added a Beginner Bando feature on most nights which was a welcome addition to the program.
On a personal note, 2025 was my 13th season as the Announcer at Elko Speedway, the new ownership brought a fun new vibe to the track that was felt both in the stands and the pits. It was fun to experience the new events to our race calendar and looking forward to seeing what Brockhouse will come up with in 2026! The best news is that the traditional Champions banquet is back, it will be held on stage Saturday December 13th at Rack Shack BBQ inside Elko Speedway.
Dean Reller and I did five Speed Talk shows on Facebook and YouTube in 2025, each episode received several thousand views showing that interest in the track is still very strong. We are planning on traveling down to Charlotte NC this spring and will be doing some special Speed Talk shows showcasing some of the talent from the North that is scattered all over the NASCAR hub. We also plan to knock Bowman Gray Stadium off of our bucket lists. Thanks for a great season race fans, see you at the 2025 Champions Banquet.
Leave a Reply