Speed Talk Charlotte Trip 2026

Jason and Dean from Speed Talk took a week-long trip to Charlotte North Carolina, the NASCAR Hub.

Each day was documented with an unscripted LIVE video, Here is day one from the Dale Earnhardt statue in Kannapolis 

Day 2 had visits to numerous NASCAR race shops with Patrick from Garage Pass Shop Tours, the Team Penske shop is pictured below

We also talked to former Elko Speedway Legend car winner Sammy Smith (below) who now races for Dale Jr in the O'Reilly Auto Parts series.  JR Motorsports is a must-stop location on the tour.

The day two video was shot in a beautiful Kannapolis cemetery.

We also were able to have lunch with former 12 year Speed Talk correspondent Jordan Bianchi who now is a NASCAR writer for the Athletic.

Day three of Speed Talk on the Road featured a nice interview at Joe Gibbs racing with Minnesota NASCAR driver (and former Elko Speedway Legend car winner) and ELKO ARCA winner William Sawalich.

Here is the audio of our interview with William Sawalich Sawalich Audio Link

Days three and four included our trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it was very interactive and full of interesting displays.  Lots of cars on exhibit including new Hall of Fame member Harry Gant.

The Speed Talk crew also took in a minor league baseball game in Kannapolis (NC). 

The crew also went to the Curb Racing and NC music Hall of Fame which included many unique race cars.

US Legend cars was also on the agenda where we took a photo of the very first INEX Legend car ever built circa 1992.

Day four Speed Talk road tripped 2 1/2 hours to Wake County Speedway to watch the Modifieds race.

Burt Meyers and Ryan Newman were in attendance along with our regional racing announcing hero Bob Dillner. 

Day five weather was not ideal, the Racing Museum at Richard Childress Racing was incredible but the racing action at Bowman Gray Stadium was rained out, but not before we were given the full tour of this historic facility.

The final day of Speed Talk on the road we were able to attend the CARS Tour at Caraway Speedway.

Thank you very much for following along with our Charlotte NC area vacation.  We would recommend it to any NASCAR fan, it will provide memories that will last a lifetime.  We plan on returning next year to be able to finally see the Modifieds race at Bowman Gray Stadium.  Thank you to NASCAR Home tracks for being so hospitable, the Southern Charm was truly appreciated.

2026 Elko Speedway schedule

Here is the unofficial 2026 Elko Speedway race schedule.  Lots of variety of events this year, come out to the track and enjoy Motorsports in 2026!   Elko Speedway manager Tim Brockhouse preseason interviews HERE Brockhouse interview

2026 Elko Speedway Schedule: (unofficial)

Sat April 11th   Test and Tune

Sat April 18th   Test and Tune

Fri April 24 - Sun April 26th DRIFTING

—------------------

Sat May 2nd  RACING OPENER All divisions 1 feature & Crown Vics

Sat  May 9th EVE of Destruction - All divisions double features 

Fri May 15 Spring Showdown  INEX  

Sat May 16 Spring Showdown  INEX

Sun May 17  Spring Showdown  INEX

Sat  May 23  EVE of Destruction - All divisions 1 feature

Fri May 29 - Sunday May 31st DRIFTING

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Sat  June 6th  EVE of Destruction - NASCAR double, INEX 1 feature

Sat  June 13th FUKU fest- DASH, HSRA, Crown Vics’s, Junkers 

Sun  June 14  FUKU fest car show  

Sat  June 20th EVE of Destruction - All divisions Single Features

Sat  June 27th ARCA 250 plus NASCAR divisions 1 feature Old Timers Static display

—-------------

Sat July 4th  EVE of Destruction - Double Features

Fri July 10th - Sun July 12th  DRIFTING

Sat July 18th  EVE of Destruction  NASCAR divisions 1 feature & Crown Vics

Sat  July 25th Summer Shootout  INEX & Crown VIcs & HSRA

Sun July 26th Summer Shootout   INEX & Crown Vics & HSRA

—--------------------

Sat Aug 1st EVE of Destruction NASCAR double features, INEX 1 feature

Fri Aug 7th- Sunday Aug 9th  DRIFTING

Sat Aug 15th  THUNDERSTRUCK Midwest Tour, NASCAR divisions & Old timers race

Sat Aug 22nd  OPEN-Makeup

Sat Aug 29th  EVE of Destruction  Double Features 

—-----------------------------------------

Fri Sep 4th- Sunday Sep 6th  DRIFTING

Sat  Sep 12  EVE of Destruction  NASCAR divisions 1 feature & Crown Vics

Sat Sep 19th  INEX divisions & Crown Vics & HSRA & MW Dash

Sun Sep 20th  INEX divisions & Crown Vics & HSRA & MW Dash

Sat Sep 26th  EVE of Destruction  NASCAR divisions 1 feature & Crown Vics

Friday - Sunday Sep 30 - Oct 1st  DRIFTING

ElkoSpeedway.com

Here is some 2025 Race Highlights audio to get your pumped for the new season courtesy of track announcer Jason Searcy

Race highlights Click HERE

ELKO 2025 Awards Banquet

 The 2025 Elko Speedway Awards Banquet was held at Rack Shack BBQ located at Champions Lounge at Elko Speedway on December 13th 2025.

2025 Celebrated the 60th season of racing at Elko Speedway.  The new owners Jaycen, Wade and Pat all addressed the sharply dressed crowd of racers and their guests to start the festivities.  

Plagues and Trophies were given out to many drivers including the newly crowned 2025 Champions.

All five Champions gave speeches with their division rivals joining them on stage and NASCAR weekly series representative Kevin Nevalainen.  Here is a link to each of their comments.

NASCAR Late Model Champion #3 Chris Marek

NASCAR Eternity Homes Thunder Cars #99 Brent Kane

NASCAR Power Stock Champion #08 Mike Stoer

INEX Legends division Champion #12 Ayrton Brockhouse 

INEX Bando Champion Mason Westphal

A Special Inspiration award was given to Chris Marek by Nichole Fredrickson

The Jeremy Johnson "Tire Guy" memorial Sportsmanship award was given to Mick Anderson

It was mentioned that NASCAR changed the rules so each track can only have 6 "Double Feature" nights per year as of 2026.  The schedule would be released very soon.  

It was also mentioned that the Elko Speedway Hall of Fame would be revived, and that was very well received by the audience.

Championship at Elko Speedway 2025

 

Season ending Eve of Destruction Saturday September 27th as Elko Speedway celebrated their 60th season of racing with racing in all 5 divisions plus a Jet Car burn by Magdatude at the end of the evening.

Huge nearly sellout crowd in attendance

Here are the 2025 Point Champion interviews done after the race night:

 Chris Marek - Late Models

Ayrton Brockhouse - Legends Brockhouse raced in all 4 adult divisions on the same race night

Brent Kane - Thunder Cars 6th Title at Elko Speedway, 2nd in National NASCAR Div II points.

Mike Stoer - Power Stocks  First title since Raceway Park closed

Mason Westphal - Bando's 

TWO Monster Trucks including BigFoot 4x4 entertained the fans during Eve of Destruction at ELKO

The 2025 Race Season at ELKO ended with a bang!  Thanks for watching fans, see you in 2026

Speed Talk 5 of 2025

ELKO Speedway announcers Jason and Dean recap the exciting Thunderstruck93 ASA Midwest tour series race also talk about the drama with the Jacob Goede National Championship in the NASAR weekly series that took place at Elko Speedway.

They also talk about the Championship Night and what to expect plus reaction about the first season with new Owners at ELKO.

Watch HERE 

or listen to the audio only version for your car HERE

https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/speedtalk-5-of-2025

Here is an interview with now two-time NASCAR weekly series Div I National Champion Jacob Goede done at Elko Speedway by Dean Reller 

https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/jacobgoede2025

Here is the audio of the Race Call of the big Goede win at ELKO on the last night of NASCAR points

https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/goede2025-lm-win-at-elko

Here is the Audio of the full race broadcast with Jason and Dean of the Thunderstruck93 ASA Midwest tour race including interviews at the break and after the race.  

https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/thunderstruck93-2025-full-race

Thanks for listening in 2025 race fans.  See you for some exciting news in 2026!

Jason and Dean.

Ty Fredrickson wins Thunderstruck93

 By Jason D Searcy

The 13th Thunderstruck93 event took place Saturday night at Elko Speedway.  The ASA Midwest tour Super Late Models were the prime attraction during this event that raises awareness and funds to battle ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in memory of ELKO Hall of Fame driver and car owner Dan Ryan who died in 2009 of the disease.  The trophy for this event is a unique custom painted electric guitar widely considered the best trophy in all Super Late Model racing across America. 

Sixteen year old #36 Ty Fredrickson from Webster (MN) won this prestigious 125 lap event, he started the race 5th on the grid, moved up through the field to take the lead on lap 18 and never gave it up after that, winning by 2.507 seconds.  “The whole Ryan family is here and that is really special,” said Ty Fredrickson in victory lane, “I managed my gap and saved the right rear tire, I was starting to lose it at the end but was able to keep the lead.”  Ty Fredrickson’s father Dan won this memorial race 5 times in the past and he was joyful during the post race celebration that included the traditional ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  “I couldn’t be more happy,” said Dan Fredrickson “Dan Ryan meant so much to me and this is one of Dan Ryan’s old cars, it is 23 years old, this means the world to our family.” 

It is the second win of the season for Ty Fredrickson in the ASA Midwest tour.  Another Minnesota driver #72 Jacob Goede finished second place, "It's my best finish in a Super Late Model in a long time, we are getting better, I just need to race this car more and we could be up there too, congrats to Ty he had the best car by far,” said Goede.  Goede set the fast time in qualifying with a 13.883 second lap, he started the race in 8th and passed a lot of cars on his way to a second place finish.   3-time ASA Midwest Tour Champion Casey Johnson #5 from Edgerton (WI) finished third, “In the first 93 we were really good but after the restart something started smoking and sparking so at that point we were just trying to finish,” said Johnson.  “This is a heck of a facility, (at ELKO) one of the best I’ve been to, it raced great and had two grooves, what more could you ask for,” said Johnson post-race.  

Defending Thunderstruck93 Champion #44 Justin Mondiek finished fourth, #23 Levon Van Der Geest led the first 10 laps and finished 5th.  Elko (MN) driver #91 Tristan Swanson was 6th, #119 Dalton Zehr was 7th, #77 Jonathan Eilen who won the first ever Midwest Tour event in 2007 was 8th, #30 Joe Valento was 9th and Tour point leader #15 Gabe Sommers led 7 laps early in the race but dropped back with mechanical problems, he did return to finish 10th. An impressive 13 cars of the 23 in attendance did finish on the lead lap. 

For ASA Midwest tour results go to    https://starsnationaltour.com/2025-thunderstruck-93-results/

Here is the full race call of the event with Jason Searcy and Dean Reller on the race call.  https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/thunderstruck93-2025-full-race

This is our Speed Talk 5 of 2025 where Dean and Jason recap the exciting Thunderstruck93 ASA Midwest tour race at Elko Speedway. 

Speed Talk Show #4 of 2025

 Elko Speedway announcers Jason Searcy and Dean Reller talk about Local racing in MN, National NASCAR points, Tomah Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Old times at I-94 Raceway, IMCA old timers display, Elko Speedway and much more.

YouTube link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2ac0fUYf9w

Here is the AUDIO ONLY version of the show, so you can listen in your car!  https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/audio-speed-talk-4-of-2025

Max Reaves wins ARCA at ELKO

 

15 year old Joe Gibbs driver #18 Max Reaves won for the first time in the ARCA Menards National series at Elko Speedway during the Shore Lunch 250.

Max Reaves took the lead during the final segment of the race by passing Lavar Scott and he ended up winning by 3.786 seconds.

Brenden "butter bean" Queen #28 was the fast qualifier and finished in second place, it was obvious he had many fans in the Elko Speedway stands.

The weather was unseasonably hot with temperatures in the mid 90's and high humidity.  Numerous cars and some drivers had trouble completing the race due to the heat.

16 year old Ty Fredrickson from Webster MN made his ARCA debut at ELKO and finished a very strong 4th place.  He gave away 200 kids shirts to fans in attendance. 

Here is a video of Elko Speedway announcers Jason and Dean recapping the Shore Lunch 250 at Elko Speedway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0tCE97Jrlk

 

The on-track driver autograph session was a big success and the crowd was large considering the unusually hot weather.

24 cars entered the race, the largest field in over a decade at Elko Speedway.  Drivers from 19 different states raced at ELKO for the Shore Lunch 250, 13 of them were rookies.

Here is the full race replay from announcers Jason Searcy and Dean Reller as heard on the track Public address speakers.  Post-race interviews also included.

https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/arca2025-elko-race-call 

Click here for full field results ARCA Shore Lunch 250 2025

Speed Talk Show #2 of 2025

 Speed Talk hosts and Elko Speedway announcers Jason Searcy and Dean Reller talk about the change of ownership at Elko Speedway as well as the Opening Night news and notes.

Speed Talk episode #2 of 2025