July 25, 2026 - Elko, MN
By Jason D Searcy
It was an INEX racing double header for the Summer Shootout at Elko Speedway, record hot weather and the Wheel and Reels event with a car show, rock band and Drive-in movie wrapped up the day at ELKO.
The INEX sanctioned Legend Cars raced two 20 lap feature events. The first race was won by 10 year old phenom Frank Jirik #82 from New Prague (MN), Jirik started on the front row and took the lead on the first lap, after a caution on lap two the defending point Champion #12 Ayrton Brockhouse grabbed the top spot. Jirik and Brockhouse then raced side by side for numerous laps until Jirik regained the lead, Jirik then had to defend as fifteen year old #15 Justice Doubrava raced up from his 6th starting position to challenge for the win. Jirik was able to hold on and edged Doubrava by only 0.133 seconds at the line. It was the 3rd win of the season for Jirik at ELKO. Doubrava finished second place, Robby Carter #87 was third, Brockhouse faded back to fourth and #27 Riley Goodwin finished fifth of the 14 cars in attendance. Robby Carter was the fastest car in qualifying with a lap of 15.571 seconds. Mason Westphal #03 and Justice Doubrava won the two heat races.
The second Legend Cars feature was the finale of the race day. Mason Westphal led the opening laps until fifth starting Ayrton Brockhouse took over the top spot on lap three. Justice Doubrava then drove up from his eighth starting spot to challenge Brockhouse for the lead, they drove side by side until having contact on lap eight causing both cars to spin and opening the door for veteran driver #87 Robby Carter from Lakeville (MN). Carter was able to take the lead and held on after a restart at the midway point of the race and then he held off hard charging Frank Jirik for the win, Carter crossed the finish line just 0.161 seconds ahead. It was the first win of the season for masters division racer Carter who was an ELKO Champion back in 2021. Frank Jirik finished second place, Justice Doubrava was able to rebound for a third place finish, Riley Goodwin was fourth and #6 Declan Whitney finished fifth. Robby Carter was the fast timer in qualifying with a 15.673, Mason Westphal and Justice Doubrava won the two heat races.
The INEX sanctioned Bandoleros raced two 15 lap feature events during the Summer Shootout at ELKO. The first race had siblings fighting for the top spot as #11 Adriana and #59 Caleb Hawes vying for the lead. After a caution occurred on lap four and Caleb Hawes took over the lead and then another yellow flag period happened on lap seven, then #5 Christopher Flynn from Farmington (MN) grabbed the top spot, he raced side by side with Adriana Hawes for a couple laps when another caution reset the field resulting in a green-white-checkerd finish. Flynn was able to race to the finish line first and won by 0.401 seconds, it was his fifth win of the season at Elko Speedway. Point leader Roman Crow #27 jumped up to finish second place, Adriana Hawes finished third, #52 Andrew Brelji was fourth and #8 Thomas Poretsky was fifth of the fourteen cars entered. Caleb Hawes was the fast qualifier with a lap of 15.878 and the heat race winners were #72 Theo Crow and #27 Roman Crow.
The second Bando feature event had young 8 year old Andrew Brelji leading the first lap and Caleb Hawes taking over the top spot on lap two, Christopher Flynn then shot to the front on lap three and never looked back, he won a feature event for the second time of the day and sixth time of the year at Elko Speedway. Flynn won by 1.027 seconds, Roman Crow finished second, Adriana Hawes was third, Theo Crow was fourth and #57 Kam Martinez fifth. Christopher Flynn was the fastest in group qualifying with a lap time of 15.885 on the flat ¼ mile inside track at ELKO. Roman Crow and Christopher Flynn were the two heat race winners.
The new Crown Vic class raced two feature events on Saturday at ELKO, the first feature was 15 laps in length and six cars competed. Doug Brown #14 from Prior Lake (MN) won the race, he started on the front row, took the lead on the first lap and led every lap during this cautionless race, he won by 0.591 seconds, it was the second win of the season for Brown. Lots of good racing near the front as 18 year old Danny Mann #10 finished second place, #62 Tom Doten battled hard with Mann but finished third, #47 John Kabat has improved the speed in his car to finish fourth and #34 Kennedy Kruger was fifth in his debut at ELKO. Doug Brown won the heat race and also was the fastest in qualifying with a time of 17.796.
The second Crown Vic feature was 10 laps and Doug Brown also won that race but this time was not as easy. Tom Doten led the first eight laps of this race, Brown was able to pass Doten just before the white flag flew and won by 0.707 seconds for his third win of the season at ELKO. Tom Doten was second place, Danny Mann was third, John Kabat fourth and Kennedy Krueger fifth. Tom Doten won the second heat race of the day and Doug Brown was the fast qualifier with a time of 17.692 seconds.
The High School Racing Association had four cars competing at this event. Sixteen year old Alivia Moore #19 from Sparta (WI) had a clean sweep of all the events. Alivia Moore won both features, she also won both heat races and was the fastest in qualifying both times, her fastest lap was 18.296. Impressive performance all around by Alivia Moore. Monte Odegard #01 finished second in both features, Kennedy Krueger #34 finished third in the first feature and Cruz Pierce #18 finished third in the second feature event.
All results are UNOFFICIAL as of this release. Get more information and details at ElkoSpeedway.com <http://elkospeedway.com>
Rival 5 entertained the crowd with music after the racing concluded, the Southern Car Cruisers put on a wonderful car show, Tires Plus set up games and entertainment for kids celebrating their 50th anniversary and a showing of Grease took place at ELKO drive-in.
Up Next at Elko Speedway is an Eve of Destruction event on Saturday August 1st. Racing in all 5 regular divisions plus Mega Jump BMX, BigFoot Monster Truck, School Bus racing, Spectator Drags and much more, subject to change. Gates open at 4pm and action begins on the track at 4:45pm.
Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned 3/8th mile asphalt race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market Minnesota. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com <http://elkospeedway.com>
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