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