Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway

By Jason D Searcy

August 29, 2015 - Elko, MN

Billy Mohn from Elko (MN) won his first MN Corn Growers Super Late Model feature since 2010 during Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway.

Mohn started the 30 lap NASCAR Whelen All American series race in the second row and capitalized early when the front row of Jason Schneider and Michael Ostdiek had contact and dropped out.  Mohn then had an intense battle with Bryan Syer-Keske for the lead "after the wreck I started inside of Keske and we ran each other about as hard as you can run anybody" said Mohn, "I think we touched a couple times, but it's not often that you have races like this, we both really respect each other."  Mohn ended up winning by .458 seconds over Keske with Jacob Goede finishing a close third in the 19 car field.

Here is the audio interview with Billy Mohn https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/billy-mohn-super-late-model

The huge crowd was thrilled by the great racing in the second Super Late Model feature, Matt Goede from New Germany (MN) won for the third time this year but it did not come easy.  Nine time Elko Speedway Champion Donny Reuvers swapped the top spot with Goede numerous times during the race, Goede finally took over the lead for good with five laps to go.  Matt Goede won by only .173 seconds over Reuvers with Paul Paine finishing third.  

Defending point champion and current point leader Jacob Goede had to come from the back of the pack during a late race caution and could only work his way up to 14th position at the finish.  Jacob Goede still has an impressive lead in the points, he has an 82 point advantage over his brother Matt Goede in the race for the Championship.

Michael Ostdiek from Lakeville (MN) avoided a first lap wreck, took the lead and never looked back in the first Hiway Federal Credit Union BIG 8 division feature.  This was the second win of the season for Ostdiek, who just recently was enrolled at Iowa State University.  Jamie Farrell finished a close second and Dylan Moore was third in the 17 car field.  Point leader Chris Marek started 16th and worked his way up to 5th at the finish.

Chris Marek from Lakeville (MN) took advantage of a much better starting spot in feature number two, he lead all 20 laps and won his 11th race of the season by 1.392 seconds.  The battle in this feature was for the runner-up position, teenager Cole Anderson and veteran Doug Brown raced side-by-side for most of the race, Anderson edged Brown by .304 seconds at the finish line.

Marek now has a 70 point lead over Ryan Kamish in the race for the Championship.

Three time Champion Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) started and ended up front in the first 20 lap Genz-Ryan Thunder Car main event.  Kane had a good battle with Dillon Sellner early in the race and then held off another three time Champ Conrad Jorgenson by .175 seconds for the win, his 8th of the season.

Jeremy Wolff was a winner for the 3rd time this season in the second Thunder Car feature, "Eric Campbell was right there waiting for me to make a mistake," said Wolff "I made a few mistakes and he was right there."  20 cars raced in both the ultra competitive 20 lap main events, "very good car counts and very good cars, so its been a good year," said Wolff.  Point leader Brent Kane started dead last and worked his way up to 11th at the finish.

Here is the audio interview with Jeremy Wolff https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/jeremy-wolff-wins-thunder-cars

Brent Kane continued his slight point lead over Wolff in the standings, Kane is now 7 points ahead of Wolff in the race for the Championship,

Brandon Petersen from Fairbault (MN) won his second Pepsi Power Stock main event at Elko Speedway in a very dramatic fashion.  Mike Stoer lead every lap of the race except for the final one, Brandon Petersen just edged ahead coming out of corner number four and won a drag race to the finish line.  Petersen won by only .181 seconds over Stoer and 20 other drivers.  

Current point leader Grant Brown finished third in the feature and held on to his lead in the standings, he is now 23 points ahead of Tom Doten in the race for the Championship.

Alex Vincent from Owatonna (MN) won his third consecutive Hornets main event by 3.517 seconds but the race was behind him.  Michael Wachs Jr beat Ashley Bell and Justin Schelitzche to the finish line for the second position by .081 and .132 seconds in a great battle to the checkers.  This was the fourth win of the season for Vincent.  Schelitzche lost the battle in this race but he is still winning the war, he is leading the point standings by 21 over Bell and 50 over Wachs.

For full results and point standings go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com/results

Elko Speedway was honored to have a film crew from NASCAR Home Tracks in attendance shooting racing and crowd footage as well as interviewing drivers who are contending for a NASCAR division National point title.

The Eve of Destruction Spectator drags are always a crowd favorite, Paul Brisson from Bloomington (MN) driving a 1991 Honda CRX and Brian McMenomy from Rosemont (MN) driving a hopped up 1979 Cadillac won their divisions.

Megasaurus put on a great car crunching show as a finale and a Jet powered golf cart melted a car during intermission (this is not a misprint).  It had to be seen to be believed.

  

School bus races entertained the crowd and for the third year the steel wall school bus stunt went perfectly as a bus resting on its tail was crashed into by another bus resulting in the buses resting on top of each other.

Up next at Elko Speedway is racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series on Saturday September 5th, gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm.  Johnny Holm will entertain for free after the races in Champions Event Center.  Get more information by following us on social media, go to ElkoSpeedway.com or by calling (952) 461-7223.  Elko Speedway is located 20 minutes South of the Twin Cities just off of I-35 and County Road 2.

Reuvers wins Behrens memorial race

By Jason D Searcy

August 15, 2015 - Elko, MN

It was a night to celebrate both youth and history at Elko Speedway on Saturday night.

The 22nd Annual Dwain Behrens memorial MN Corn Growers Super Late Model event was raced on Hiway Federal Credit Union "Kids Night" at the races.  

Nine time Elko Speedway champion Donny Reuvers from Dundas (MN) took home the traditional clock trophy going to the winner of this annual event.  "This one means a lot with the history of it, and how much he still means to the sport here, it's awesome," said Reuvers.  Dwain Behrens was an Elko Speedway Champion and eventual Hall of Famer who was killed in a snowmobile accident in 1993.

Here is an audio interview with Reuvers after the races https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/donny-reuvers-slm-winner-at-1

Reuvers started the 40 lap race on the third row but made his way to the top spot by lap 14, he won by .781 seconds over Bryan Syer-Keske and the rest of this impressive looking field of 21 NASCAR All American Series drivers.  It was his second win of the season.  Current Point Leader Jacob Goede started in the 11th position and moved up to 4th by the end of this cautionless race.  Goede still leads in the point standings, he has a 94 point lead over his brother Matt Goede who finished 12th.

Here is a link to a YouTube video of the Reuvers pass for the win.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYy6TEdGMOY

Chris Marek from Lakeville (MN) won his 10th Hiway Federal Credit Union BIG 8 feature event this year at Elko Speedway.  Marek got out front early and never looked back, winning by 1.118 seconds over Jake Ryan and the 15 car field.  Marek now has a 62 point lead in the standings over Ryan Kamish.

Conrad Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN) won the 20 car Genz-Ryan Thunder Car main event. Eric Campbell had the early lead until Jorgenson took the top spot with 19 laps to go in the 30 lap cautionless feature.  "The key moment for me was passing Ted Reuvers early," said Jorgenson "then I just had to look at what Dan Plan put on my dash... C.P.R which stands for Calm, Patient and Relax."  The three time Elko Speedway Champion won for the 4th time in 2015.

Point leader Brent Kane started 10th and finished 4th, he now has a slim 12 point lead over Jeremy Wolff in the standings.

The most dramatic race of the night was in the Pepsi Power Stock division, 21 cars raced 20 laps capped off with an exciting finish.  Colin Neisius led the first half of the race until defending Champion Nick Oxborough Challenged for the top spot.  15 year old Grant Brown from Prior Lake (MN) then came up from his 4th row starting position and passed Neisus on the high side for the lead but also opening the door for Oxborough to fight for the win.  Oxborough tried everything possible to muscle his way past Brown, even a last corner jab to the inside, nothing worked.  Brown emerged with a battered car and another trophy for his collection, this was his 5th win of 2015.  Tim Hollen finished 2nd only .366 behind Brown with Ryan Varner third and Oxborough dropping to 4th on the last lap.

In the race for the Championship Grant Brown now has a 17 point lead over Tom Doten who started 12 and finished 8th on Saturday night.

Here is a very interesting audio interview with Brown after the race https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/grant-brown-power-stock-winner

Brady Fox-Rhode from Loretto (MN) won the Great North Legends feature at Elko Speedway.  Fox-Rhode took the lead from 3 time winner Jaycen Brockhouse with just 4 laps to go in the 20 lap race.  He then had to endure a Green-White-Checkerd finish and a broken oil line on the last lap to grab his 4th win of the season.  

"I was hanging-on at the end just hoping the car wouldn't blow up," said Rhode.  Jaycen Brockhouse finished second and made up a lot of points on Derek Lemke who finished 10th in the feature.  Brockhouse is now only 11 points behind Lemke in the race for the Championship.

Here is an audio interview with Brady https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/brady-fox-rhode-wins-at-elko

Alex Vincent from Owatonna (MN) beat out 12 other cars to win his third Hornets feature of 2015, Vincent topped Michael Wachs Jr by 1.140 seconds for the win.  Justin Schelitzche finished third and holds onto the point lead, he now leads Ashley Bell by 19 points in the race for the Championship.

Owin Giles from New Market (MN) won his 5th Bandolero feature of the year, he finished just ahead of Tristan Swanson for the win, he also extended his point lead to 23 points over Luke Allen in the race for the Point Title.

To get complete results go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com/results

Over 700 kids participated in the School Bus rides around the track, a very popular portion of the Kids Night activities, kids also enjoyed the petting zoo and free pony rides.

Up next at Elko Speedway is racing in the NASCAR All American series on Saturday August 22nd, gates open at 5pm with action beginning at 6pm and opening ceremonies at 7pm.  Get more information by following Elko Speedway on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube or by calling 952 461-7223.  Elko Speedway is located 20 minutes South of the Twin Cities just off of I-35 and County Road 2.

Here is a photo of the vintage 1993 Chevy Lumina Dwain Behrens race car.

Aug 8th Eve of Destruction

By Jason D Searcy

August 8, 2015 - Elko, MN

  A full crowd was treated to some incredible action at Elko Speedway for the Minnesota Professional Towing Association Eve of Destruction presented by Pepsi.


  Matt Goede from New Germany (MN) started 8th in the 20 car field of MN Corn Growers Super Late Models in feature number one, he drove his way to the front by half way through the 30 lap race and stayed ahead of the trouble to win his 2nd race of the season in the NASCAR Whelen All American series at Elko Speedway.

  In a very unusual wreck the car driven by 15 year old James Wenzel ended up on top of the car driven by Bryan Roach causing a restart on lap 15, that was when Matt Goede took the lead and a trio of Championship cars all battled for the runner up position.  Matt Goede won by 2.274 seconds but the next three cars finished only .12 of a second apart.  Former Minnesota State NASCAR Champion Chad Walen took home second followed by former TUNDRA Champion Nick Panitzke and defending Elko Champion Jacob Goede.

  49 year old Paul Paine from Mound (MN) won the second Super Late Model feature of the night.  Jason Schneider took the early lead until Paine grabbed the top spot on lap 10.  Current Point Leader Jacob Goede then made his way to the front, he got past 2 time Champion Schneider and then tried to catch Paine, Jacob Goede came up just short, finishing second by only .14 seconds.

Jacob Goede, the oldest of the two Goede brothers, still has a commanding lead in the point standings.  Jacob leads Matt Goede by 81 points in the race for the Championship.

Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) made it a clean sweep in the Genz-Ryan Thunder Car division at Elko Speedway.  James Lindgren lead the majority of feature race number one, he was passed by Kane on lap 18, two laps before the finish.  Kane won by .629 seconds over Lindgren and David Robinson.

Thunder Car feature number two had a very dramatic finish.  Brent Kane started 13th in the 20 car field, he was making his way to the front but laps were running out, with two laps to go Kane was still in fifth place.  Meanwhile up front there was a furious side by side battle between 3 time Champion Conrad Jorgenson and title contender Jeremy Wolff, contact was made and both cars spun down the front stretch causing a yellow flag and both cars being put to the back of the field.  Suddenly that put Adam Wiebusch and Eric Campbell to the front of the pack on a Green-White-Checkered restart, before the field went back to racing Campbell had to pit and Wiebusch had mechanical problems putting the 5th place car (Kane) on the point.

Kane then held off newcomer Josiah King for the win by .475 seconds and completed the clean sweep of both the Thunder Car features.  The bad luck occurred by Jeremy Wolff dropped him 18 points behind Kane in the race for the Championship.

Defending Elko Speedway Hiway Federal Credit Union BIG 8 Champion Chris Marek from Lakeville (MN) has been on an incredible roll in 2015.  Marek scored his 9th win of the season in feature #1.  Marek got past Ryan Kamish and bested the 17 car field by .957 seconds in the first feature.

  Michael Ostdiek from Lakeville (MN) won the second BIG 8 feature and he led from start to finish in the 20 lap event.  "I got a good draw for the second feature, but the car has been great, just trying to keep the momentum going," said Ostdiek.  Ostdiek held off Cole Anderson and Doug Brown for the win with Chris Marek finishing fourth.

Here is an audio interview with Ostdiek
 https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/michael-ostdiek-big-8-winner

Marek continues to hold onto a 51 point lead in the standings over Ryan Kamish.

Jaycen Brockhouse from Savage (MN) won the Great North Legends feature, that is his second consecutive trophy and third in total for the year.   He started the 20 lap race fourth in the 19 car field, worked his way to the top spot, had a great battle with Brady Fox-Rhode, eventually winning by only .26 seconds.

Point leader Derek Lemke had problems for the second week in a row, came from the back of the pack and finished 8th.  Lemke now holds a 31 point lead over Brockhouse in the race for the title.  Both drivers have won one previous Championship in the Legends division.

Alex Vincent from Owatonna (MN) won his second Hornets feature of the year.  He edged Michael Weiss by .306 seconds with Michael Wachs Jr finishing third and Ridge Oien fourth.  Justin Schelitzche finished 5th and still holds onto the point lead, he has a 19 point lead over Ashley Bell in the race for the Championship.

For full results go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com/results

The Spectator drags saw one truck slam the wall in corner number four in the finals race causing a huge reaction from the large crowd at Elko Speedway, the driver was OK but his truck had extensive damage and had to be removed by two tow trucks.


Jim Bendzick in the Thunder 4x4 Monster Truck thrilled fans with his incredible slap wheelies and award winning cyclone spins.  The Dirty Love Drifters and Vertical Mischief put on a great show for the crowd.



The Olate' Dogs, winners of the 7th season of America's Got Talent, performed twice for the gathered fans on the concourse.

The School Bus figure 8 race concluded another thrilling Eve of Destruction event at Elko Speedway.

Up next at Elko Speedway is Kids night presented by Hiway Federal Credit Union, it also will feature the 22nd annual Dwain Behrens memorial event.  Kids get in FREE also bus rides, petting zoo and pony rides for children.  Gates open at 5pm, action begins at 6pm.  Get more information by calling (952) 461-7223 or by following Elko Speedway on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.  Elko Speedway is located 20 minutes South of the Twin Cities just off of I-35 and County Road 2

50th anniversary night at Elko Speedway

August 1, 2015 - Elko, MN

It was a night to celebrate 50 continuous years of racing at Elko Speedway, the fans were encouraged to remember the racers of the past, but they couldn't help but to appreciate the racing taking place right now.

Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) won his 8th feature event in the MN Corn Growers Super Late Model division, Goede has now won over half of the feature events so far in 2015.

Goede led the field of 20 cars the entire 40 lap main event in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series, he was challenged though by his brother Matt Goede who finished right on his back bumper only .129 seconds behind.


Here is the last lap video of the Goede brothers finishing 1st and 2nd...


Jacob Goede is now 81 points ahead of Matt in the standings with Paul Paine in third and Billy Mohn in fourth.



  Eric Campbell from Lonsdale (MN) started the race 7th on the grid but found a way to best all 20 cars to win the Genz-Ryan Thundercar main event, he was emotional in victory lane since this is the first feature he has won at Elko Speedway since 2010. 

  Adam Wiebusch led the 25 lap race early but he was overtaken by Ted Reuvers and Conrad Jorgenson who both were sent to the back of the pack on a caution with 13 laps to go.  Jeremy Wolff then took the top spot, Campbell fought Wolff side by side and was just slightly ahead when another caution came out with 4 laps remaining, meaning Campbell would start on the point for the single file restart as they raced to the finish.



Here is an audio interview with Eric https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/eric-campbell-thunder-car

  "When the green flew (on the final restart) I didn't even look back, I don't know where anybody else was, I was just focused on hitting my marks, I knew Jeremy (Wolff) was really fast, so I had to figure out a way to get away from him," said Campbell who ended up winning by .851 seconds over Wolff.

Five time winner and point leader Brent Kane finished fourth and holds onto a slight advantage in points, he now has a 1 point lead over Wolff in the standings.

 

  The day for Jake Ryan from Farmington (MN) did not start off well thanks to some ill tempered bee's, but it ended perfectly as he won the Hiway Federal Credit Union BIG 8 feature event.

  Jake had the race car loaded and was about ready to come to the track when he accidentally disturbed a bee hive and was stung nearly a dozen times in the face and head.  The stings quickly swelled up as he arrived at Elko Speedway causing a very challenging situation during the prerace practice sessions.  He talked to the paramedics, took some antihistamine and proceeded to have his best night of racing in years. 

"I won the Championship in the BIG 8 division in 2012 and never won a race, so I haven't won since I raced Super Late Models back in 2010, so it was a lot of fun."

  Ryan passed Ryan Kamish early in the 25 lap race and then held on to win by 1.174 seconds in the caution-less race.  Ryan was happy to take the good-natured ribbing about his bee stings just as long as it ends with a trophy at the end of the night.

Here is an audio interview with Jake Ryan https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/jake-ryan-big-8-winner-at-elko

Point leader and 8 time winner Chris Marek finished fifth in the feature, he still holds a 45 point lead over Kamish in the point standings.

  Grant Brown from Prior Lake (MN) won his fifth Pepsi Power Stock feature of the season.  Cole Neisus led early in the 20 lap race but Brown quickly moved up to the top spot followed closely by Tim Hollen.  Hollen never let up and pressured Brown the entire feature but was never able to take the top spot.  Brown won the race even though smoke poured from his car through turns 3 and 4 on the final lap, he won by .355 seconds over Hollen.

Here is the last lap video of the Brown win..

  Point leader Tom Doten finished 12th in the 20 car field and dropped back into a tie for the lead, he is now tied with Brown as they both have 858 points on the season.  Last year Brown tied for the Championship and lost on the tie breaker because he had no wins.  The situation is much different this year because Brown has more wins (5) than any other driver, Tom Doten is one of three drivers with two wins on the season.

  2009 Champion Jaycen Brockhouse from Savage (MN) won the Great North Legends feature at Elko Speedway.  Brockhouse edged out Matt Allen by .707 seconds to win his second feature of the year.  Point Leader Derek Lemke had a rough night, he had to pit during the race to fix some damage to his front bumper causing him to lose a lap to the leaders, he finished 17th in the 19 car field.

Lemke still holds the point lead but it is now much closer, Brockhouse is now in second only 31 points out of the top spot.

Here is a video of the winning pass in the Hornets division

  After two years of trying, Matt Suhl from Richfield (MN) won his first ever Hornets feature event at Elko Speedway.  Suhl said "patience" and "not wrecking" were the keys to him winning, he finished on top of the 16 car field by .626 seconds over Justin Schelitzche with Michael Wachs Jr in third.

Schelitzche now has a 26 point lead over Ashley Bell in the race for the Championship.

  Luke Allen from Chanhassen (MN) won the Bandoleros main event for his fourth win of the year.  Point leader Owin Giles was caught up in a wreck and did not finish the race.  Giles still leads in points by 13 over Allen in the standings.

For full results and point standings go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com and click RESULTS.

  During this 50th Anniversary night Elko Speedway was proud to unveil a series of vintage photos now framed on the wall in Champions Event Center, vintage race footage was shown on monitors, and lots of memorabilia was on display for the crowd to enjoy.  Three vintage race cars were showcased, the Kamish family brought a Dick Trickle 99 Purple Knight tribute car, Bob Heine brought a #39 Dan Ryan '69 Chevelle race car and Skip Pollack brought his 1955 Ford Sportsman race car.  Long time entertainer Johnny Holm capped off the night with a performance.  For more information on the history of the track, go to www.ElkoSpeedway.com/history

  Up next a Elko Speedway is an Eve of Destruction on August 8th featuring the Thunder 4X4 Monster Truck, the Drifters, Burn-out contest, School Bus Figure 8 race, spectator drags, Double features of racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American series and a special performance by the Olate' Dogs animal act, winners of America's got Talent.

Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm at Elko Speedway located 20 minutes South of the Twin Cities just off of I-35 and County Road 2.  Get more information by calling (952) 461-7223 or by following us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.