Sunday, September 21, 2014

Fredrickson wins Thunderstruck93




Dan Fredrickson from Lakeville (MN) was the class of the field on a stormy night in the ARCA Midwest tour Thunderstruck93 event presented by NAPA Auto Parts at Elko Speedway. 

The 6th annual Thunderstruck event is in memory of Elko Speedway Hall of Fame member Dan Ryan who died of ALS.  To Dan Fredrickson this race has special meaning "my buddy Dan died of Lou Gehrig's disease, its really a tough deal to experience and I think about him a lot," said Fredrickson who has now won 4 of the 6 Thunderstruck93 races and its trademark guitar trophy.

Here is an emotional interview with Dean Reller and Danny right after the race 

Fredrickson is both a former Elko Speedway track Champion in 2003 and two time ARCA Midwest tour champion in 2008 and 2013.  Dan took most of this year off from racing but came back to racing at Elko Speedway a few weeks ago to get his car ready for Thunderstruck93.  "It payed off," said Fredrickson "the car was pretty good, much better than last year."

Fredrickson was fastest of the 32 cars in Time Trials with a time of 13.700 but the 12 car inversion for the 125 lap feature after a short rain delay put him back in the 6th row to begin the race.  Brad Keith from West Bend (WI) lead the race early but fell back after Hampton (MN) driver Jonathan Eilen shot to the lead on lap 6.  Fredrickson passed Eilen on lap 24 and never gave up the lead even though he got loads of pressure late in the race from Ty Majeski from Seymore (WI).  "We thought it might rain, so I worked my tires a bit too hard early in the race" said Fredrickson.  Majeski who was 2nd in ARCA Midwest tour points moved to second on the track by lap 100 and raced side by side with Fredrickson for the lead the rest of the race "I gave him the bottom a couple times, I was nervous that I might miss a corner here or there, but it was a really good race," said Fredrickson.


19 year old Majeski (photo above) finished second by only .326 seconds and moved into the Midwest tour point lead.  Here is an interview with Dean Reller and Ty after the race


Rosemount (MN) driver Nick Murgic (above) finished 3rd.  Here is Dean Reller an interview with Nick immediately after the race



ARCA Midwest tour point leader Nathan Haseleu from Marshall (WI) finished 4th and Elko Speedway MN Corn Growers Super Late Model Champion Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) rounded out the top 5.  Veteran racer Tim Sauter 6th, TUNDRA Champion Nick Panitzke 7th, Jason Weinkauf 8th, Chris Weinkauf 9th and MN Driver Joel Theisen got his first ever Midwest Tour Top 10 finish.

The Big 8 Late Model series appeared in Minnesota for only the second time ever at Thunderstruck93 and it was 18 year old Austin Nason from Roscoe (IL) who won.  Nason started the 58 lap race 10th but worked his was to the lead by lap 18, he passed Joe Neisius from Rosemount (MN) on the high side for the top spot.  Nason then had to hold off Elko Speedway Big 8 Champion Chris Marek and then Big 8 point leader Casey Johnson from Edgerton (WI) for the win.  Nason won by only .203 seconds at the finish line with Johnson 2nd, Marek 3rd another Minnesota driver Jon Lemke in fourth and Neisus dropped to 5th in the 24 car field.

The 11th annual Genz-Ryan Thunder Car Nationals race also took place at Elko Speedway during Thunderstruck93.  It was Dillion Sellner from Farmington (MN) leading the 25 car field the entire 50 lap race.  Sellner was challenged numerous times during the race by Ted Reuvers from Dundas (MN) and then it was Tina Davis from Rosemount (MN) putting on the pressure late, Sellner won by .240 seconds.  Scott King finished 13th, he and his bride Tracy (Photo below) were married at the track just before opening ceremonies.


The Mid American Stock car series raced a 50 lap feature at Thunderstruck93.  Lyle Nowak from Wausau (WI) started on the front row, took the lead and then fought back a hard charging Scott Dunning from Bolingbrook (IL) for the win.  Dunning started fourth row outside, made some bold moves diving down low early in the race and ran his way up to second place by the half-way mark, he closed the gap but could get no closer, he finished second by .267 seconds behind Nowak.  Jeremy Spoonmore finished third and picked up a few points on Championship leader Jeff Holtz who finished 5th.

Tim Brockhouse from Prior Lake (MN) won the 20 lap Great North Legends main event, he had a furious battle with Dirk Henry from Sauk Centre (MN) as the two went side by side for much of the race, swapping the top spot.  "It was really cool, Dirk and I must have rubbed 7 or 8 times, he raced me clean though and we didn't crash and he was the first one to shake my hand in victory lane," said Brockhouse.  Point leader Derek Lemke from Shakopee (MN) broke a gear mid-race and finished 15th in the 19 car field, Brady Fox-Rhode finished 8th and closed the gap in the point standings.  Lemke has only an 8 point lead over Fox-Rhode going into the final race night.

Ridge Oien from Bloomington (MN) won the 20 lap Mini Stock race, Oien lead the entire way for his first win of the year.  Brandon Olson who won last week finished second, Ashley Bell third and point leader Brian Adams coming in 4th.  Adams increased his point lead over Michael Wachs Jr to 57 points going into the final race night at Elko Speedway.


Listen for full coverage of the Thunderstruck93 event on Speed Talk on 1360 radio Saturday morning 10-11am on www.krwc1360.com

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Power Stocks on the rise at Elko Speedway


The Power Stock division have been very entertaining this summer at Elko Speedway.  The racing has always been good in the Power Stocks but now the weekly car count has increased to over 20 and that has turned up the intensity a notch. 

Fans have also been treated to a pretty good points race as well with two new rookies in the mix for a Championship.
Before this season Nick Oxborough had only raced a couple times in a Mini Stock at Elko Speedway.  This year Nick won on opening night in the Power Stocks and has held onto a slim point lead each week along with a picking up a couple more wins.

"I'm very surprised how well we've done," said Oxborough "I've got to thank my dad and all the pit guys behind me, I couldn't ask for any better help." 
Fighting for a point title can put a lot of pressure on a race team but the number 88 car seems to remain consistent.

"I'm trying not to think about points as much, because it starts getting in your head," said Oxborough "when I get to the track I try to throw all that out but then on Monday morning I'm back looking at the points!"
#14 Grant Brown is another Power Stock rookie in the hunt at the age of just 14.  He was the 2012 Bandoleros Champion at Elko and he raced in the Short Tracker division at Raceway park last year.  Grant seems to be very calm behind the wheel but also has the intensity needed to fight for the lead in a tough division.

"I feel very grateful to be able to run so great in my rookie year" said Brown.  "A lot of rookies don't seem to have much experience, so they usually don't have this much success, while next year I will already have been racing for ten years."
"I feel especially lucky that I am able to compete against so many strong competitors," said Brown "I am learning new things every Saturday."  Grant seems to be a very respectful kid who has been taught well by his father Doug Brown who is a four time Champion in the Sportsman/Big 8 division at Elko Speedway.
Tom Doten was the "Hard Luck Loser" in a very tight Power Stock point battle last year.  Doten lost to John Lebens by only 2 points in 2013 and is still in the hunt this year after recently scoring his first win of the season.
Early this season Doten had to race a back-up car for several weeks after crashing their primary car but, now he is back in his familiar #62 and ready to make a run.  "If we keep running the way we're running, we've got a shot at it" said Doten.  "I have the same feeling as last year, I'm real hungry."
Brandon Peterson, Paul Hamilton, Paul Neisius, Shaun Prins, Taylor Goldman, Ryan Varner and Cole Neisius have all won feature events this year too.  So far, thirty-eight different drivers have earned points this year and that makes for both quantity and quality racing in the Power Stock division at Elko Speedway.

The Season Championship in the Power Stock division is this Saturday night September 13th at Elko Speedway.  Currently Nick Oxborough has a 4 point lead over Grant Brown with Tom Doten 21 points out of the lead. 

Get more information at www.ElkoSpeedway.com

*Photo by Scott Searcy/Cricket Prints

Monday, September 1, 2014

Peterson wins Trans-Am again at BIR




Doug Peterson from Bonita Springs (FL) won the 100 mile Trans-Am series race at Brainerd International Raceway for the second consecutive year, "it was awesome," said Peterson "we were definitely working out there."

Peterson started on the pole because rain washed out qualifying and the field was set via point standings.  Peterson held that advantage the entire race but it was not a easy win as lapped traffic racing with each other caused some uneasy moments, "I wanted to let them race," said Peterson "we are so much faster then them in the straight away but in the turns we are pretty darn close."

With his 5th win of the season in 8 races Peterson extended his point lead to 39 points with only 3 more events on the schedule.
Peterson was impressed with Brainerd International Raceway "Its a great track, it has a lot of heritage, slow speed and high speed and you really have to drive this thing" said Peterson.


Amy Ruman from Kent (OH) finished second 7.3 seconds behind Peterson and had a great battle back and forth with Cliff Ebben for the second position.  "He seemed to be faster in the corners, we were having a little issue with grip," said Ruman "so I set him up out of (corner) 13 and got a good run down the straight away and passed him back."
Ruman moved back into the second position in the point standings with her runner up finish, "with all our bad luck lately, I'll take the second" said Ruman. 
Cliff Ebben finished third only 1 second behind Ruman.  Simon Gregg finished 4th and he was 36 seconds behind Peterson at the finish line in this caution free race.
The 40 lap race took only 1 hour and 2 minutes to complete the 100 miles with and average speed of 96.277 mph.



Ron Keith (middle) from Shawnee (KS) won the TA2 division finishing just ahead of a hard charging Tommy Kendall (right) for the win, Adam Andretti (left) made it to the podium with a third place finish.
Jerry Greene from Minnetonka (MN) won the TA3 division.   29 cars competed in this event and that is the largest number of cars since Trans-Am returned to BIR in 2010 and there was a noticeably larger crowd of spectators for this event than previous years.
For full results to go www.gotransam.com

Speed Talk on 1360 Radio will broadcast interviews with Trans-Am drivers Doug Peterson and Amy Ruman and also post race interviews with Tommy Kendall and Ron Keith on Saturday September 6th between 10-11am while we are on-location at the Classics by the Lake car show in Buffalo.
Listen on 1360 am radio, on the "Tune-In" app or at www.krwc1360.com