Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Monster Jam at Metrodome Cancelled

The January 22nd 2011 Monster Jam event scheduled at the Metrodome in Minneapolis (MN) has been cancelled because the collapsed roof will not be repaired until March.

Click here for more information on ticket refunds http://www.monsterjam.com/News/2010/12/29/1/

The Monster Jam event at the Metrodome on November 13th 2010 took place on the night of the first big Minnesota snowstorm of the year, reducing the crowd to about a half-full stadium.


Here is a link to the race story of that event http://racefansradio.blogspot.com/2010/11/digger-wins-monster-jam-mpls.html

Its really a shame the Monster Jam has to be cancelled, but their is no other indoor local facility that could even come close to holding this event and the outdoor options wouldn't work in January for the drivers or the fans.  Its a long time untill the next scheduled Monster Jam event at the Metrodome, its December 2011.

Monday, December 27, 2010

2010 Speedtalk "quotes of the year"

Jason and Dean traveled to race tracks all over the Midwest and interviewed over 40 different drivers during the 2010 racing season.  Here are some of the memorable "quotes" from 2010 as heard on "Speedtalk on 1360" radio.

"I can just about go through turn one wide open, we hit 180 (mph)."  -- Tony Ave (winner of Trans-Am race at BIR)  *pictured above

"They do such a great job promoting here, we dont get HALF as many fans at some tracks, I get excited every time I get to come here." -- Trevor Bayne (talking about Iowa Speedway)

"You dont want to get too much of a lead." -- Mark Bronstad (talking about figure 8 racing)

"It was pretty wild, we came up on lapped traffic, everyone was gunning for the win & I had to ride the wall for it." -- Chris Marek (on his win by .041 at the August ASA Midwest sportsman race at Elko Speedway)

"It doesn't feel good, these cars are alot safer now than they used to be, but I'll be sore tomorrow." -- Reed Sorenson (talking about his big wreck at Iowa Speedway).

"Thats all you stock car guys think about." -- Gary Curtis (Lead instructor at BIR Performance driving school), responding when Jason asked if anyone had crashed in practice during the Trans-Am race.

"Those last 20 laps I went up top and it hooked up and went, I was surprised, should've went up there sooner." ---Ross Kenseth (talking about ASA Midwest tour race at Raceway Park)

"I will never race again without bug spray." -- Roger Newell (winner of Speedtalk 150 at Hideaway Speedway).

"If you are a real race fan, this is the place to be.  The stuff on TV doesnt even hold a candle to this."  -- Dan Fredrickson (talking about the racing at Elko Speedway).



Thanks to all the great drivers and promoters for treating us well all year long, and thank you fans for your loyal support in 2010 both on the radio and web-site.  http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/

Friday, December 17, 2010

Red Bull New Years Eve event cancelled

The annual Red Bull New Years eve event on ESPN has been cancelled this year because of an injury to Longville MN stud snowmobile racer Levi LaVallee.

Levi was attempting to break the record snowmobile jump, and reportedly had gone 361 feet in training, easily breaking the record of 301 feet set by Paul Thacker in Brainerd MN back in 2009.  He was transported to a San Diego hospital on Dec 14th he broke ribs, cracked his pelvis and collapsed a lung in the crash but is eventually expecting a full recovery . 

Levi was named the athlete of the Winter X Games back in 2008 and has won 7 winter X games medals.  He also has ripped up the snowcross circuit for the last decade or so winning many titles.

The Red Bull "No Limits" New Years eve "LIVE" events have taken the place of Dick Clark in our house the last few years.  Travis Pastrana jumping his rally car last year was awesome, and the motorcycle tricks by Maddo in Las Vegas was amazing.  http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/306/2082/Motorcycle-Article/New-Year-No-Limits--History-Made.aspx

Here is a link to some great Levi LaValle moments from ESPN Video http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5899809

Here is a video of the history of this event http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5891513


*photo courtesy of Polaris Industries

"Speedtalk on 1360" wishes Levi a speedy recovery.

Friday, December 10, 2010

I-94 Raceway history web-site

The history of I-94 Raceway in Sauk Centre (MN) has been documented in a new web-site http://smokejackson.blogspot.com/

This web site completely covers the asphalt years from 1994-2008. 

It also has an article about the early years by Steve Domine (the first track annoncer) http://smokejackson.blogspot.com/2011/01/early-years-at-i-94.html

I-94 is currently closed to racing with very little hope of a racing revival.  Here is a story about the track situation http://racefansradio.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-94-speedway-obit.html

All of the point standings are included in this site along with numerous photo's and video links.

Here is a link to a I-94 Raceway TV Commercial that was broadcast on the "Speedtalk" TV show with Jason and Dean back in 2002. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA2CnaST2NQ

Here is an old TV commercial promoting I-94 Speedway back in 1995 http://www.youtube.com/user/speedtalkon1360video#p/a/u/1/yepj079Pj7A

If you have race photos to share from the I-94 Raceway years, please consider sending them to i94raceway@gmail.com




I encourage all racefans to keep the memory of I-94 Raceway alive, check out this web site. http://smokejackson.blogspot.com/

*photos courtesy of http://www.cricketprints.com/ and http://www.theracingconnection.com/


Monday, December 6, 2010

Changes at Raceway Park in 2011

Donny (pictured above) and Melissa Reuvers will no longer be promoting at Raceway Park in Shakopee (MN).

In a statement on www.goracewaypark.com they said it was a difficult decision but financial circumstances made it no longer possible for Donny and Melissa to continue operating Raceway Park.  They want to thank all the drivers, fans, staff and sponsors for their support over the last two years.

Previous owner John Hellendrung is now taking back ownership of Raceway Park in 2011.  He wanted to announce that the 2010 Awards banquet will be held on Saturday January 22nd at Treasure Island.  The driver registration and 2011 rules meeting will be Saturday January 8th at Turtles Bar in Shakopee.

Raceway Park has a history of over 50 years of racing in Minnesota, its a 1/4 mile asphalt oval in Shakopee MN.  I am told that John Hellendrung is dedicated to keeping racing going at Raceway Park as he has in the past and the rumors of selling the property for development are false.

On a personal note, Donny Reuvers with Raceway Park was a sponsor of "Speedtalk on 1360" and couldn't have treated us better, he is well respected as not only a driver, but also a promoter and a great person.  The car counts went WAY up during his two years as promoter and the racing was really good.  We wish Donny luck in whatever he chooses to do, hopefully he can eventually get back to racing full-time with the ASA Midwest tour.

Jason Searcy
(http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/)

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Snowball Derby results

A 18 yr old female driver by the name of Johanna Long (pictured with Bob Dillner) wins the 43rd "Snowball derby" Super Late Model race and $20,000 prize in her home town of Pensacola Florida on Sunday.


Iowa driver Landon Cassill finished 4th.  Former ASA Champ Mike Garvey finished 12th, Bill Elliott's son Chase Elliott finished 17th.

After an up and down day, Minnesota driver Dan Fredrickson finished with a good run in 15th position.

Wisconsin driver, 17 yr old Ross Kenseth got caught up in someone else's wreck and wasn't a factor at the end finishing 19th.

Pole sitter Cale Gale got wrecked and finished 21st.  NASCAR star David Ragan finished 27th.

After many incidents, only 8 cars finished on the lead lap.


Here is the unofficial TOP 10:
1. Johanna Long (*photo courtesy of her Twitter site)


2. Donnie Wilson

3. Scott Hantz

4. Landon Cassill

5. Dennis Schoenfeld

6. Derrick Griffin

7. Mason Mingus

8. Travis Kittleson

9. John Bolen

10. Jimmy Garmon

For more info click onto  http://www.speed51.com/

Friday, December 3, 2010

Snowball Derby Update



Two of our local Super Late Model drivers from the Midwest are racing at the "Snowball derby" down at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola FL.

Former ASA Midwest tour champion Dan Fredrickson (top photo) and 2010 ASA Midwest tour "Rookie of the Year" Ross Kenseth (bottom photo).

Here are the Friday Qualifying results:

1 Cale Gale 16.335

2 Ryan Lawler 16.403
3 John Bolen 16.417
4 Johanna Long 16.42
5 Grant Enfinger 16.442
6 Jimmy Garmon 16.483
7 Donnie Wilson 16.484
8 Dan Fredrickson 16.495   (MN)
9 Landon Cassill 16.516  (IA)
10 Chase Elliott 16.525
11 Casey Roderick 16.533
12 TJ Reaid 16.562
13 Derrick Griffin 16.565
14 Dennis Prunty 16.579
15 Josh Hamner 16.586
16 Ross Kenseth 16.59  (WI)

We will update information as the weekend progresses.


For updates you can also check http://www.speed51.com/ and http://www.asamidwesttour.com/

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Pick the Podium winner!

ROB THURSTON won our Speedtalk on 1360 "pick the podium" contest on KRWC.  Rob picked the top 3 finishers in the NASCAR Cup series correctly.  He correctly picked Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick in his top 3.

Rob Thurston's name may be fimiliar to many local race fans, he is a former 4 time champion at I-94 Raceway in the Great North Legends division.  He will get an awesome Dale Earnhardt die-cast as a prize.

Rob and his wife Abby, who live in Olivia MN, are expecting their first child in January. 

A big thank you to Darin Nelson and Hideaway Speedway in Isanti (MN) who sponsored this contest.  We hope to do this contest again next year, remember "Speedtalk on 1360" is set to return next April Saturday mornings on KRWC radio.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

We have a winner!


Jordan Bianchi (far right) from http://www.theracinggeek.com/ has won our "pick the winner" contest on Speedtalk this year. 

It was a close competition, here are the final results:  Jordan 31, Jason 28, Dean 24.  Thank you everyone for following along this year.

Thank you to our sponsor of this contest, Darin Nelson with Hideaway Speedway (pictured below).  They race radio controlled cars on an awesome track near Isanti (MN).

Saturday, November 20, 2010

NASCAR at Homestead (FL)

The NASCAR Chase is very close coming into the final race of the long 36 race season.  Before the race at Miami-Homestead (FL) Denny Hamlin leads four time champ Jimmie Johnson by 15 pts, and dark horse Kevin Harvick is only 46 pts back.

Our SPEEDTALK "pick the winner" contest is also close.  Jason leads Jordan by just one point 28 to 27, last years champion Dean Reller is third with 19pts.

Jason is picking Denny Hamlin this weekend, Denny is the defending race winner, he also finished third in 2006 & 2007, he is a two time winner at 1.5 mile tracks this year and they are racing the same car they won with at Texas a couple weeks ago.  Denny was the fastest car at Phoenix last week and is really running well.   Its time for someone new to win the Cup Championship.


Jordan is going with Carl Edwards who won at Homestead in 2008 and has five consecutive "top 10" finishes.  He has the best driver rating (111) and is first in "average running position" at 8.9.   He starts on the front row and was fastest in first practice.  Cousin Carl won at Phoenix and has moved up to fourth place in the standings.


Dean Reller will pick Jimmie Johnson who is looking for "one for the thumb," this weekend.  Jimmie has finished in the "top 5" three of the nine races at Homestead.  He has run a conservative race the last few years protecting a points lead, that is NOT the case this year.   For the 2010 season Jimmie is best in driver rating (108.5) and average running position (9.3).

This contest is sponsored by Darin Nelson and Hideaway Speedway radio controlled car racing track in Isanti MN.

*photos courtesy of NASCAR/Getty Images

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Digger wins Monster Jam MPLS

Jason D Searcy (http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/)

Dennis Anderson driving Grave Digger swept the trophys at the Metrodome on a snowy night in Minneapolis (MN) on Saturday Nov 13th.

Grave Digger sent home the crowd happy, ripping up his truck and scoring a 30 to win the "Free Style" competition.  Here is a you-tube link to his winning run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQmEkHg2-4

Lupe Soza in Grinder never slowed down, even after blowing both tires on the same side of his truck, he finished second with 27pts.  Here is a link to that run  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYdKksW_33c  Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction had an awesome run cut short with mechanical problems, he scored 26.  Jeremy Slifko in Backdraft was the second truck to hit the track, he scored a 25 and held the lead for much of the night.


The racing portion of the night saw Grave Digger as the fast qualifier (18.60), just edging Blue Thunder (18.72), Captains Curse (18.78) and Air Force Afterburner (18.84).

Grave Digger defeated Mohawk Warrior, Grinder and Air Force Afterburner to advance to the finals.  Maximum Destruction beat Brutus, Avenger and Blue Thunder on his way to the end of the bracket.

The "Greatest rivalry in Motorsports" saw Grave Digger edge Maximum Destruction in the racing finals. 

Here is the SPEED Channel broadcast schedule for the Metrodome show.  (All times CENTRAL time zone) Dec 5 11pm-1am.  Dec 10 6am (racing).  Dec 13 6am (freestyle).  Dec 27 4pm (racing).  Dec 28 4pm (freestyle).  Jan 18th 6am (racing).  Jan 19th 6am (freestyle).

Unofficial Free Style results:

Grave Digger                30
Grinder                         27
Maximum Destruction   26
Backdraft                     25
Air Force Afterburner   23
Captains Curse             21
Blue Thunder                20
Mohawk Warrior         19
Brutus                          18
Avenger                       16

Monster Jam returns to the Metrodome on Saturday night January 22nd 2011
http://www.monsterjam.com/Tickets/2011/01/22/Minneapolis,_MN/

Saturday, November 13, 2010

WISSOTA Expo, A Racer's Mall

By Dean Reller

(ST. CLOUD, MN)  Billed as "The last chance to get together before the snow flies," it was a steady falling snow that met everyone as they came to the annual WISSOTA Expo.  The event featured all the components of what it takes to build a race car all rolled into one shopping experience.  The Expo is just part of the WISSOTA Promoter's Association Annual Meetings and National Awards Ceremony at the St Cloud River's Edge Convention center which is undergoing an expansion that forced visitors to navigate a labyrinth filled with twists and turns just to enter the building.  Once inside, it was a smorgasbord of vendors ranging from tires, shocks, brakes and graphic companies just to name a few.  As racers shopped for new parts and pieces to get ready for the 2011 season, they were also able to visit with industry experts and improve their knowledge, which hopefully will improve their on track performance.  A few instructional seminars were held to further explain some of the tricks of the trade.

The overall buzz of the Expo was several new rule changes announced for the Midwest Modifieds and the WISSOTA Modifieds.  A major rule change will force a large majority of the Midwest Modifieds to change their cars to run a 3 link rear suspension which somberly affected the tone of the normally upbeat gathering.  The WISSOTA Modifieds will now be allowed to run quick change rear ends, which created a somewhat lesser reaction.

New at the Expo this year, was the display of the Championship winning cars in each of the WISSOTA divisions.  All in all, it was a good chance to catch up with racers and talk about what will be happening when the snow melts in 2011.


*Pictured above is the WISSOTA Late Model National Champion car driven by Ricky Weiss from Headingley Manitoba Canada and WISSOTA Mod-4 Champion car driven by Rob VanMil from Moorhead MN.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Monster Jam coming to MN

10-31-10


The Monster Jam is coming to the Metrodome in Minneapolis MN on Saturday Nov 13th.

Dennis Anderson driving Grave Digger, Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction, Linsey Weenk in Blue Thunder and Damon Bradshaw in Airforce Afterburner are all scheduled to compete that night.  The show begins at 7:30pm

Last time the Monster Jam came to the Metrodome, 16 trucks competed.  Max D won the racing, and Avenger won the Free-Style with an awesome backflip twice!  Here is a you-tube video of that run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ez8alDf62Y






Unofficial results from January 2010:
Avenger 32
Max Destruction 31
Grave Digger 30


Here is a link to the Official Monster Jam website Minneapolis information http://www.monsterjam.com/Tickets/2010/11/13/Minneapolis,_MN/


Monday, October 25, 2010

I-94 Speedway OBIT

10-26-10
Jason D Searcy http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/

*update 8-10-11
I am told that the power company has rented space for the next 18 months or so at the old I-94 Speedway site for storage of the power polls that are in construction along the freeway all the way from Monticello to Fargo.  No new racing is planned at I-94 Speedway.

After talking with people on all sides of the situation, I believe that I-94 Speedway (Sauk Centre, MN) will never again be open as a racetrack.

The back concessions stand has been torn down and some gravel and fill have been moved around, but this recent activity has nothing to do with racing.  The sound system has been removed and any modification of the property is in an effort to increase the efficiency of storage space for the current owner of the land.

The south parking lot is now a storage area for wood logs and the "pits" area is filled with semi-tractors and trailers.


The track has been vacant for only a year but, the wooden seats on the backstretch stands are already warped and separating.

The racetrack itself looks like a super sized chia-pet gone bad.  Waist high weeds are growing through the dirt surface all the way around this 3/8th mile track.


19 seasons of racing at this amazing facility 1991-2009.   4 years of dirt racing and 15 years as an asphalt track.










I-94 Speedway was built by Dick Johanneck and opened in 1991 as a dirt track.

Notable events:

In 1993 Scott Bloomquist won the UMP Summer Nationals event, he set a fast time of 15.44 seconds and held off Billy Moyer.

1993 Craig Dollansky and Tim Monson won the "Outlaw" Sprint double feature races.  Doug Wolfgang finished second in both races.  Donny Schatz finished third in the second feature.

April 21 of 1994: Dick Johanneck announced he was switching the track surface to asphalt because it was "the future of racing."

Sep 11 1994: was the inaugural "MN Governors Cup," won by Steve Carlson.  Michael Waltrip (back row, 4th from left) and Matt Kenseth (back row, far right) also raced in that event.


Aug 4 1996: was the "Missing Kids" American Indy car 200.  Patty Wetterling was the honorary starter.  Greg Gordon won the race and local star Travis Whitney finished third and Jacques Lazier fourth.

Sep 2000: Dick Johanneck transferred operation of the facility to the Mike Giles/Les Ferris group.

Sep 2001: Tim Olson and his family took over track operations and changed the name to I-94 Raceway.

Jan 2002: I-94 Raceway became one of the original three "ASA Member tracks" in the nation.

July 5 2003:  NASCAR Elite division July Spectacular won by Eddie Hoffman.  Jon Lemke won "fast time" with 16.89 seconds.  Clint Bowyer also raced in this event.

Sep 19 2004:  Fall Nationals event, 166 cars competed. Jeff Van Oudenhoven won the race and Dick Trickle raced in this event.

July 3 2005:  ASL 150 won by Ryan Matthews.  Landon Cassil, Jarit Johnson and Kevin Cywinski also raced in this event.

July 7 2007:  ASA Midwest tour won by Jacob Goede, he also set "fast time" with a 16.97.  Ron Hornaday finished third.

July 5 2008:  ASA Midwest tour won by Dan Fredrickson.  Chris Wimmer "fast time" with 16.76

March 2009:  Dick Johanneck regains operations of track and changes name back to I-94 Speedway.  Removes asphalt and adds new clay surface.

Sep 4 2009:  Final race at I-94 Speedway.  Jamie Lemke won Wissota Mod feature, Zach Johnson in the Late Models and 4 cyl driver Ben Godbee is the final race winner ever.

2010:  Ron Somers and MN Sawdust and shavings takes over operations of the property and discontinue racing.

I raced at this place from 1996-1999 and was the announcer from 2000-2008.  Lots of memories, awesome racing and great people.  Loved every minute of it, hope you did too.

Please check back for more articles on the history of I-94 in the next month on http://www.speedtalkon1360.com/


I-94 Speedway/I-94 Raceway 1991-2009

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Brockhouse wins at Dirt Nationals!

10-16-10


Minnesota driver Tim Brockhouse won at dirt Nationals event in the "Masters division" in Springfield (MO)on Saturday night, over 60 cars were in attendance for the event.

Tim's long racing resume includes nearly 70 feature wins in his career and 6 track championships.  Now he can add a 2010 National Dirt Championship in the "Masters division" to that list.

Tim Brockhouse is the owner of "Great North Legends" get more information at http://www.greatnorthlegends.com/

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Behind the scene's at Oktoberfest

10-13-10

The 41st annual Oktoberfest was a big success for MN drivers.  Danny Fredrickson took home the trophy in the ASA Midwest tour finale.  In picture above Dan, David and his crew changed out a bad alternator just before the main event on Sunday.  

MN drivers grabbed four of the top 5 spots in the ASA Midwest tour race on Sunday.  Including Jacob Goede wrecking during the "Dick Trickle 99" race on Friday night and then going back to MN to get his brother's (Matt) car and finishing second on Sunday.  Fredrickson won the "Trickle 99" race as well. 

Here is a you-tube video of the big wreck on Friday night http://www.youtube.com/user/jacklyndaniels#p/a/u/1/1dGW47UsPYE

Nick Murgic finished third and had a great run on Friday night to win the race on the track but was DQ'd in the tech shed for being 8lbs off on "left side" weight after the third segment.  Nick Panitzke won the "futures" race on Thursday night at Oktoberfest.

Brent Kane finished in second place in the area Sportsman race to end his incredible season and Jeff Heaney of Caledonia (MN) won the Hornets feature on Thursday night.  Bill Collins from South St Paul (MN) finished 5th in the ASA Midwest Truck series finale.

Dean Reller took these "behind the scenes" pictures down in La Crosse (WI)

A Fan's view of the action


 DW replica car

ASA president Dennis Huth

LCQ


Big 8 Cars






Mini Truck getting ready to race on the 1/4 mile


Dustin Karl's new ASA MW truck



Sunday, October 10, 2010

MN drivers at legends Ntl Championship

10-10-2010



Down at the Legends National Championship at Langley Speedway in Hampton (VA), two Minnesota drivers finished in the "top 10."

Tim Brockhouse finished 9th in the Masters division.  Brian Keske finished 9th and Matt Osdiek got 17th in the Young-Lions division.  Dirk Henry got wrecked in the B-Main in the Pro-division and Ryan Johnson blew up his motor and finished 20th.