Iowa 250 presented by Enogen

Here is our Audio Recap (including interviews) of the entire weekend at Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway Opening Weekend 2018 RECAP

Justin Allgaier #7 won the 8th annual Iowa 250 presented by Enogen NASCAR Xfinity series race at Iowa Speedway.  The entire race was really a dog fight from beginning to end, the lead was swapped numerous times but Allgaier led 182 of the 250 lap event.  "It was a fun day and Cole (Custer) and the other guys all raced me clean, we performed well today," said Allgaier after the race.  Christopher Bell #20 had a fast car all race long, he took the lead two times, but was immediately passed back by Allgaier both times.

Bell finished second place, he started the race at the back of the field after failing tech and not attempting a lap in qualifying. Daniel Hemric #21 finished third and led two laps, #00 Cole Custer had a strong car and led two laps as well he finished fourth, #19 Brandon Jones finished a strong fifth place finish.  Here is our post-race interview Brandon Jones (photo below with Jason Searcy)

"The hot and slick track conditions made for great racing, plus the talent in this series is incredible" said Iowa 250 winner Justin Allgaier.  Former Iowa Speedway winner Elliott Sadler #1 Brushed the wall in the first segment and fell back he eventually finished 28th place.

Riley Herbst driving #18 for Joe Gibbs made his Xfinity series debut and finished 6th, here is our interview post-race Riley Herbst (photo below)

Ty Majeski #60 had a career best 7th place finish in the #60, here is our interview with him post-race Ty Majeski.  Majeski said he was happy to finally get a good run with his Roush team, he also said it was nice to have his Late Model guys in attendance watching him race.

Kaz Grala finished 10th in the 61 car, here is our exclusive interview with him Kaz Grala in what could be his final race in the Xfinity series because of a lack of sponsorship.

Pole sitter Austin Cindric #22 finished 11th after racing up front for much of the race.  Cindric earned  his first career Xfinity series pole.  Here is our interview with him Austin Cindric

Justin Haley was making his Xfinity Series debut and he finished 12th, here is our exclusive interview with him from pit road.  Justin Haley

The weather was blistering hot and the race lasted 2 hours 8 minutes.

Dean Reller, Jason Searcy and Shane Carlson will have a full recap of the Iowa Speedway NASCAR weekend including all the interviews on Speed Talk on 1360 Radio Click this Link for the Podcast
 Recap of Opening Weekend 2018 at Iowa Speedway

Speed Talk on 1360 radio from 10-11am (Central) every Saturday on 1360am or search KRWC on the free Tunein app for your phone or go to KRWC1360.com for your lap top.

For additional coverage, go to our Facebook page Speed Talk on 1360 Facebook group

Photo credits Dean Reller and Jason Searcy

Elko Speedway Race Recap 9/17/2016

 By Jason D Searcy

September 17, 2016 - Elko, MN

Under beautiful clear skies and a full harvest moon fans witnessed real life drama rarely seen in motorsports as two drivers fought for the title in the Hiway federal credit union Big 8 division..

After a full year of racing the point standings were incredibly close with #54 Dylan Moore from Northfield (MN) leading #17 Jon Lemke by 11 points coming into the night.  Jon Lemke was faster in qualifying and picked up two points so entering the first feature Moore led by only 9 points.

In the first 20 lap feature Moore and Lemke started nose to tail mid-pack.  Lemke is a former two time Late Model Champion at Elko Speedway, he used his veteran skills to get past Moore and finish fourth, Moore started sixth and finished sixth in that first Big 8 main event.  So after that race Moore was still leading Lemke by 5 points.

Moore has raced in the Big 8 division since 2008 and has finished second in points twice, he was very motivated to win his first ever Championship.  Coming into the second feature Moore again started just ahead of his rival, he was 9th and Lemke was 11th.  Early in the race things seemed to be going well for Moore, he was still ahead of Lemke mid-pack.  On lap 7 everything changed, there was a chain reaction accident that sent numerous cars spinning, including Moore.  The result of the wreck was chilling for Moore, "with how many times we got hit after we spun, I thought for sure we were done, but my spotter told me there was air in all four tires and it moved when I put it in gear so I drove it back to the pits," said Moore.

His car sustained major damage with the entire rear bumper cover hanging on by a thread and obvious suspension damage.  "About half the pits had rolls of duct tape and we taped it back together and was able to get back out," said Moore.  "Before I pulled back out to the racetrack my steering wheel was turned about half a turn and I asked the guys which way my wheels were turned and they said it was straight, so I knew obviously something wasn't right, but we went out and gave it everything we had and that is what teamwork is all about and never give up attitude," said Moore.

After a delay to clean up the track and clear the other wrecked cars the race resumed with the #54 car driven by Moore in last place of the 19 car field.  Meanwhile Jon Lemke was having his own problems, his car was fast but he just could not get in position to make a pass, Lemke was blocked in behind two other cars in 10th place.

The rest of the feature went cautionless, Moore could keep up with the field but was still in last place, fortunately for him Dylan Warner, Nick Beaver and Adam Benzick never got their cars back on the track after the big wreck and Bryan Wrolstad couldn't keep up and eventually pulled into the pits moving Moore up to the 15th position.  On the last lap Lemke tried to get by #51 Justin Neisius for 9th but came up just .144 seconds behind.  Lemke finished 10th scoring 32 points, Moore finished the race with his tires rubbing and tire smoke pouring our from under the fenders, he finished the last car on the lead lap in 15th scoring 27 points.

Since Moore had a 5 point lead coming into the race and there is a 1 point differential for every position between 10th and 15th place, the two drivers ended up TIED with 1061 total points for the season.  The tie-breaker is number of total wins and Moore had four wins this year to Lemke having just one, so after a short delay to make sure the points were correct, Moore was declared the Champion.  "It was a huge roller coaster of emotions going from getting wrecked and thinking we lost it to then winning it, it's pretty hard to explain," said Moore.  This was the first ever Championship for Dylan Moore.

Jon Lemke showed his true class shortly after the races posting on social media a congratulations to Dylan Moore and the #54 team.

Here is my post race interview with Dylan Moore https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/dylan-moore-elko-champ-m4a

Michael Ostdiek #18 finished third and fourth in the two Hiway federal credit union Big 8 features and he ended up third place in the Elko Speedway points, only 11 behind Moore and Lemke.  Ostdiek is also racing for a National title in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Division II, he was the point leader in the entire country coming into the night.  NASCAR takes a drivers TOP 14 best finishes in Division II to determine the standings so, with those two good finishes Ostdiek may have become the National Champion.  We will update this story as soon as NASCAR declares the official final points.

The first Big 8 feature was won by #5 Jake Sernett from Prior Lake (MN), Jake is a 16 yr old driver in his third part-time year driving a stock car.  Sernett was a three time "Little Elko" Quarter Midget Champion that also traveled the country winning hundreds of races and many National titles.  This was his first ever Hiway Federal Credit Union Big 8 win, Grant Brown #14 finished second, #18 Michael Ostdiek was third, #17 Jon Lemke finished fourth and #13 Bryan Wrolstad was fifth.

The second feature event went to #7 Tony Brewer from Shakopee (MN) it was his second consecutive feature win after going years without a win at Elko Speedway.  Brewer held off #40 Michael Beamish who has been red hot the second half of 2016, #14 Doug Brown finished third, #18 Michael Ostdiek was fourth and #2 Kyle Kirburger was fifth.

The MN Corn Growers Super Late Model Championship was not as dramatic as #72 Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) won his third consecutive title at Elko Speedway.  Goede was fast all night long being second quick in qualifying and scoring third and fifth place finishes in the two 30 lap main events.

"It took a long time to win that first Championship but now to be three in a row it's pretty sweet and Matt (Goede) pulling off second place for the second year in a row is pretty impressive, for what we have going on to finish one and two is pretty cool" said Goede.  Goede ended up finishing the points season with three wins and a winning margin of 84 points over his brother Matt #28 with Joey Miller #15 finishing third in points.

Here is my interview with Jacob Goede https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/jacob-goede-elko-champ-m4a-1

Nick Panitzke #22 from Sauk Centre (MN) won his first MN Corn Growers Super Late Model feature of 2016 at Elko Speedway.  Panitzke is a former TUNDRA Series Champion, he won the first of two features by 1.099 seconds over #3 Chris Marek with #72 Jacob Goede finishing third, #28 Matt Goede getting fourth and #41 Donny Reuvers a 9 time Elko Champion finishing fifth.

The second 30 lap feature went to #91 Ty Majeski from Seymour (WI), he battled #62 John Heath for a few laps before taking the lead after a restart on lap eight.  Majeski then shot to a big lead and won by 3.599 seconds.  Heath finished second, Matt Goede third, #77 former Midwest Tour Champion Jonathan Eilen fourth and #72 Jacob Goede fifth.  Majeski did what he could to secure enough points to win the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Division I National Hometracks Championship, NASCAR takes a drivers TOP 18 finishes in the Super Late Model division to crown a Champion and coming into the night Majeski was in third place Nationally.

Twenty five of the top Super Late Models in the entire country raced at Elko on Saturday night.  The star studded field included #91 Ty Majeski, two time defending ARCA Midwest tour Champion and winner of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program last year who is currently signed with Roush-Fenway racing on a developmental deal.  Austin Nason #14 from Roscoe (IL) was the fastest in qualifying, #35 Travis Dassow came from West Bend (WI), #23 Chris Weinkauff from Merrill (WI) who a State Park Speedway Champion, #77 Jonathan Eilen who was a Thunder Car Champion at Elko Speedway and former Midwest tour Champion, #41 Donny Reuvers a nine time Elko Champion and #44 Justin Mondeik from Gleeson (WI) who was "Rookie of the Year" at three different race tracks in 2016.

These drivers and many others will return to race the Thunderstruck93 ARCA Midwest Tour even next Saturday September 24th at Elko Speedway.  On track Autograph session begins at 3pm with action on track beginning at 4pm.

The first Genz-Ryan Thunder Car 20 lap event was won by #3 Conrad Jorgenson from Lakeville (MN) it was his sixth win of the season at Elko Speedway.  Jorgenson squeezed past #8 Ted Ruevers on the low side to take the lead at the half way point of the race and then he held Reuvers off by 1.802 seconds for the win.  Reuvers finished second with #18 Tina Davis coming across third, point leader #32 Jeremy Wolff was fourth and #07 Dillon Sellner finished fifth.

The second Genz-Ryan Thunder Car feature was won by #99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN), Kane is a four time Champion at Elko Speedway and is currently second in the point standings.  This was the first win of the season for Kane, he won this caution free race by a full straight-away and a margin of 3.918 seconds over #25 Eric Campbell, Dillon Sellner was third, Jeremy Wolff fourth and Ted Reuvers finished fifth.

Jeremy Wolff now holds a 31 point lead over Brent Kane going into the final night of racing in the Thunder Car division next Saturday night during the Thunderstruck93 race event.

It was a very dramatic win for #56 Paul Hamilton from Hastings (MN) in the first of two Pepsi Power Stock features.  Hamilton followed closely behind #3 Ryan Varner the entire 20 lap race until the final set of corners, Hamilton and Varner had some contact on the last lap and then had a drag race down the front stretch.  Hamilton had the better drag car and won by .003 seconds at the finish line, it was the third win of the season for Hamilton.  Varner finished second, Taylor Goldman #8 was third, #37 Bryce Blohm fourth and #6 Joey Prusak finished fifth of the 18 cars that finished.

The second feature saw former Champion #88 Nick Oxborough from Savage (MN) win his first trophy of 2016 in the Pepsi Power Stock division.  Oxborough had to fight back the many challenges of #54 Tim Hollen for the win by only .355 seconds, #62 Tom Doten the current point leader was third followed by Bryce Blohm and Ryan Varner.  Championship contender Brandon Petersen #7 had nothing but back luck, with mechanical problems prerace taking out his primary car and then a wreck in a borrowed car in the second feature causing him to finish dead last.

The point standings are incredibly close coming into the final night of racing in the Pepsi Power Stock division next Saturday during the Thunderstruck93 event.  Tom Doten #62 leads Bryce Blohm #37 by only 6 points.

The Great North Legends feature event was once again a very exciting affair.  Brady Fox-Rhode #4 took the early lead.  Tim Brockhouse, the national INEX point leader in the Masters division, was involved in a wreck on lap three and could not continue.  The race was then between Fox-Rhode and #71 Derek Lemke, those two drivers swapped the lead and were side by side and seemingly on the brink of disaster every lap.  Finally with four laps to go Lemke made the pass on the inside coming out of corner four and he held on by .450 seconds for the win.  Some of the most intense racing we have seen at Elko Speedway in quite some time, it was the sixth win of the season for Lemke.  Fox-Rhode was second, #3 Dirk Henry third, #16 Matt Allen fourth and #7 Jackson Lewis fifth out of the large 21 car field.

With the win Lemke has a huge 82 point lead in the standings as he is looking for his third straight Championship at Elko Speedway.

Alex Vincent #36 from Owatonna (MN) won his third Hornets feature of 2016 at Elko Speedway.  Vincent took the early lead and then watched in his mirror as #36 Brandon Olson and #7 Ridge Oien raced each other for the runner up position.  Olson ended up edging Oien by only .027 for second place, #14 Justin Schelitzche fourth and #55 Brandon Plekkenpol finished fifth of the 12 cars competing.

13 cars raced in the Bandolero division, #3 Luke Allen from Chanhassen (MN) won again with #48 Lennon Watkins finishing second, Allen is the current point leader at Elko Speedway.

Justin Schelitzche now has a 28 point lead over Brandon Olson in the Championship standings, the Hornets, Bando's and Great North Legends all end their points season on October 1st during the final Eve of Destruction at Elko Speedway.

These results and points are unofficial at this time, official results will be posted later in the week at ElkoSpeedway.com

Up next at Elko Speedway the the Thunderstruck93 event in honor of Dan Ryan in support of the fight to cure ALS.  It is Saturday September 24th, spectator gates open at 3pm and an on-track autograph session will occur until action begins at 4pm.  Racing includes a 125 ARCA Midwest tour feature, 58 lap Big 8 Late Model feature, Thunder Car and Power Stock Championships plus Great North Legends and Hornets.

Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com or follow Elko Speedway on social media or the free Elko Racing App.  Elko Speedway is located 30 minutes South of Downtown Minneapolis just off of I-35 and County road 2 in Elko (MN).

Super Late Model Championship preview at ELKO

September 14, 2016

 

By Jason D Searcy

The first of three Season Championship nights is coming up on Saturday September 17th as the MN Corn Growers Super Late Models and the Hiway Federal Credit Union Big 8 divisions will both crown a Champion at Elko Speedway.

The premier Super Late Model division comes down to two heavyweight contenders with similar resumes.  Jacob Goede #72 from Carver (MN) is the two time defending Champion at Elko that returned to his home track after years racing the Regional Touring Series circuit.  Goede has won some very impressive races over the years, including an ASA Late Model event at both Iowa Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007.  He also was the Midwest Tour "Rookie of the Year" in 2009 and won races at I-94 Raceway and Illiana while racing the Midwest Tour.

He also has won the most prestigious events at Elko Speedway as well, claiming an overall victory in the Dwain Behrens memorial this year and in 2014.  He also won the Thunderstruck93 inaugural race in honor of Dan Ryan in 2009.

Jacob returned home to race at Elko and has dominated the Super Late Model division, winning the Championship and scoring wins in the double digits the previous two years.  This year has been a little different, he has the point lead, but has scored only three wins at Elko Speedway.

Joey Miller #15 from Lakeville (MN) is looking to take the crown from Goede.  Ten years ago Miller was a rising young star in racing, he raced the National ASA Tour and then scored five wins in the ARCA series before making his way all the way up to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and racing for Darrel Waltrip.  He scored at Top 5 finish in Mansfield OH in 2006. 

Since that time Miller has taken some time off from racing and done just a part-time schedule but just this year he returned to his home track at Elko Speedway in hopes of winning a title.

In his first year back racing full-time Miller hasn't missed a beat, he has scored five wins and is in contention coming into the final night of racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series season at Elko Speedway.

Here is the situation-  Goede has a 65 point lead. 

Both drivers will qualify with an opportunity to score 15 points for winning "Fast Time"

second will get 14, third will get 13 points and so on until fifteenth gets 1 point.

They will race Two 30 lap Feature Events.

The winner can score 51 points, second 48pts, Third 46pts, Fourth 44pts, Fifth 42pts, Sixth 40pts, Seventh 38pts, Eighth 36pts, Ninth 34pts, Tenth 32pts, Eleventh 31pts, Twelfth 30pts, Thirteenth 29, Fourteenth 28, Fifteenth 27, Sixteenth 26, Seventeenth 25 and Eighteenth and below all scoring 24 points.

Which means Miller potentially could gain 15 points on qualifying and if both cars start both features that is a maximum of 27 points gained per feature.  If he wins Miller has the potential to gain a total of 69 points on Goede plus Miller has the tie-breaker of most wins (5 to 3). 

Goede will look to take the pressure off by laying down a fast lap in qualifying and then finishing the first feature.  Goede would like to have at least a 28 point lead going into that second feature so just by taking the green flag he would have his third consecutive Championship sewn up.

Another factor on Championship night at Elko Speedway is that #91 Ty Majeski from Seymore (WI) is expected to attend.  Majeski is racing for the NASCAR Hometracks Division I National Championship, coming into the weekend he is only a handful of points out of the lead and if he scores one or more wins at Elko Speedway he could add National NASCAR Champion to his already stacked racing credentials.  This will be the final night of racing in the NASCAR points season.

Majeski is the two time defending ARCA Midwest tour Champion, overall winner of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program award and was recently signed to a development deal by Roush-Fenway racing.  Majeski knows Elko well, he has raced here two weekends this year, he scored a second place finish on September 3rd.  He also won the Thunderstruck93 Midwest Tour race here one year ago.

Race fans should expect twenty or so of the best Super Late Models in the Midwest and some great racing for the Season Championship in the MN Corn Growers Super Late Models Saturday night September 17th.  The Hiway Federal Credit Union Big 8 division will also crown a  Champion that night and racing as well in the Pepsi Power Stocks, Genz-Ryan Thunder Cars, Great North Legends, Hornets and Bandolero's.

Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm.  Get more information by going to ElkoSpeedway.com, or following Elko Speedway on Social Media, or by downloading the free ELKO Racing app.

Elko Speedway is located 30 minutes South of Downtown Minneapolis just off of I-35 and County Road 2 in Elko (MN).

Fredrickson HOT at Oktoberfest

By Jason D Searcy - Speed Talk on 1360

On a sunny and 80 degree day #36 Danny Fredrickson from Lakeville (MN) won his fourth ARCA Midwest tour event at the 46th annual Oktoberfest 200 at La Crosse (WI) Fairgrounds Speedway.

After spinning in qualifying Fredrickson started the 200 lap race 19th on the grid, he worked his way though the field but had to pit during a caution period because of overheating.  Fredrickson cooled his car enough to make a run at the lead, he took the top spot from Ty Majeski after a wild restart with 10 laps remaining. "

"Everybody's car was real hot, its a common problem on these Sunday afternoon races" said Fredrickson.   "I think the fuel was boiling in the carb because it was so hot, Ty's car started missing down the straight away and I shot under him, actually I got a good run off underneath him then my car started missing and then (Jacob) Goede got along side of me, so we came into number one three-wide.  I think the fans liked it, but I'm glad we came out on top on the other end."

"My motor was running really hot" said #91 Majeski.   "I had a bunch of leaves stuck on the grill, I tried to suck-up on the pace truck but it just wasn't enough, the motor vapor locked on me coming down the front stretch and out of turn two so I didn't have any power and they got around me."  Ty Majeski from Seymore (WI) finished third in the race and won his second ARCA Midwest tour Championship.

"It was one heck of a season, we set the record for the most ARCA Midwest tour wins in a season (5) and had a really good back half, we won 4 of the last 5 races and the sixth one come up just a little bit short" said Majeski who will now return to college in UW Madison studying Mechanical Engineering.  His future racing plans are undecided as of now, but he hopes to come back and win Oktoberfest next year, "we are working on a few things, hopefully something good will come through," said Majeski.

#72 Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) had a great run and finished second to Majeski just as he did a few weeks earlier at #Thunderstruck93 at his home track Elko (MN) Speedway where he had 10 wins and a Championship this year.  Minnesota drivers took three of the top 4 spots with Nick Murgic from Rosemount (MN) finishing 4th and Skyler Holzhausen 5th, Tim Sauter 6th, Natalie Decker 7th.

Here is an audio interview with winner Dan Fredrickson
https://soundcloud.com/dean-reller/dan-fredrickson-wins

Here is an audio interview with ARCA Midwest tour Champion Ty Majeski
https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/ty-majeski-midwest-tour-champ

Here is the YouTube Highlight Video of the Oktoberfest 200
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmnbsMd91lk


Here is the YouTube Video of the starting line-up just before green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFMfjdljZo

NASCAR Star Johnny Sauter accepted the $5000 Ultimate Challenge to start at the back of the 28 car field.  He advanced up to second by lap 58 but faded back and had mechanical problems resulting in a DNF.

#91 Ty Majeski won the BIG 8 Style JMcK overall title, he tied the record for the best score ever with two wins and a second place finsh (4 points).  Cole Anderson from Northfield (MN) scored the other win.  Michael Beamish from Eagan (MN) finished second in the first segment of the race.

Two Elko Speedway drivers finished out the podium with #3 Chris Marek finishing second and #5 Ryan Kamish coming in third.

Many vintage cars raced, Woody Poole was the winner in the finals.

Majeski wins #Thunderstruck93

By Jason D Searcy

September  26, 2015 - Elko, MN

With one of the most improbable moves ever seen at Elko Speedway Ty Majeski from Seymore (WI) passed both Dan Fredrickson and Jacob Goede in the last three laps to win the 7th annual Thunderstruck93 ARCA Midwest tour race presented by NAPA Auto Parts.

Dan Fredrickson won fast time in qualifying with a lap of 13.595 seconds, Fredrickson is a four time winner of this event, and a two time Midwest tour Champion.  Jacob Goede is the 2009 winner of this event and he dominated racing at Elko Speedway this summer, scoring 10 wins in route to his second MN Corn Growers Super Late Model title. 

Front row starters Steve Apel and Matt Goede battled for the top spot early, but then a spin by Paul Paine brought out the caution at lap 20 of this 125 lap race.  Majeski was involved in the accident and put to the back of the 26 car field.  "I dug myself in a hole early, I had some contact with the 27 car (Paine), just one of those racing deals," said Majeski "I tried to methodically make my way up through the field and I tried not to use too much tire, I knew the two guys I had to beat were up front already."

Dan Fredrickson and Jacob Goede were in the familiar position of racing each other for Thunderstruck glory.  In the 2012 race these same two guys battled throughout and then had contact on the last lap with Fredrickson pulling out the victory. 

Fredrickson took the lead from his 10th starting spot just after the restart on lap 20, he and Goede then swapped the top spot numerous times with frequent side by side and close racing for the lead.

The traditional 10 minute break in the race is at lap 93, the number used by Dan Ryan, an Elko Speedway Hall of Fame member who died from A.L.S (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2009 and who this race is a memorial for.

At the break and with 32 laps to go Dan Fredrickson was the leader with Jacob Goede second, Ty Majeski had made his way back up to fifth on the board.  On the restart Goede shot to the lead and the battle with Fredrickson continued.

Meanwhile Majeski was ready to pounce "When I got into third they were at least a straightaway in front, I didn't know if I would have enough time to get them but they started battling, they got into lapped traffic and I was able to make some ground up and make the move for the win" said Majeski.

Fredrickson and Goede raced so hard for the lead that they both wore out their tires and that opened up the door for Majeski to make one of the most epic runs to the front ever seen at Elko Speedway.  "I saw the top two were sliding each other up in the 3rd and 4th groove and I got underneath Fredrickson and cleared him and then got a good run on Goede, I got to the inside of him, trying to get at least even with him, I used him up a little bit in 3 and 4 and it was enough at the line" said Majeski.

It was the closest finish in Thunderstruck93 history, Majeski beat Jacob Goede by only .054 seconds with Fredrickson a car length behind rounding out the podium trio.

"I've wanted this guitar (trophy) for a while, I almost had it last year and really wanted it this year," said Majeski "I'm really thankful for the Ryan family, its really special to win on this night, it means a lot to me for sure."

Here is a YouTube video of the wild final few laps of #Thunderstruck93 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLCe-bxDGSI

Here is the audio interview with Ty Majeski after the races https://soundcloud.com/speedtalkon1360/ty-majeski-wins

Chris Weinkauf had a consistent run finishing 4th with veteran racer Tim Sauter in 5th and Jonathan Eilen finished 6th even though he had a tire slowly going down.

Full results can be found at www.arcamidwesttour.com

Austin Nason from Roscoe (IL) won the 68 lap BIG 8 Late Model series race at Thunderstruck93 he took the lead on lap 26 and held off numerous charges from Elko Speedway Hiway Federal Credit Union 12 time winner and BIG 8 Champion Chris Marek for the win.  Michael Beamish finished third in this impressive 23 car field.

Full results can be found at www.Big8series.com

#99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) held off a great challenge by Jeremy Wolff to win his fourth Genz-Ryan Thunder Car title at Elko Speedway.

Both drivers won their heat races, Wolff won his heat in spectacular fashion, going three wide in the closing laps not once but twice bringing the large Thuunderstruck93 crowd to its feet.

The two drivers started the feature side by side in the fifth row.  Kane had a 9 point cushion so Wolff had to get to the front and hope that Kane had problems.  Wolff did his part, weaving through traffic and passing cars left and right, but Devin Schmidt from Belle Plane (MN) ran away from the field, took a big lead, and won his second feature of the year by 1.978 seconds.

Wolff finished second and Kane did the smart thing, held his position, finished 6th and won the Championship by 5 points.  Kane was emotional in victory lane thanking his crew, sponsors and all the people who had helped him win 9 races in 2015. 

Eric Campbell finished third, Tina Davis fourth and Dillon Sellner fifth in points.

15 year old Grant Brown from Prior Lake (MN) won his first ever Pepsi Power Stock Championship at Elko Speedway.  Brown finished the feature in second place and won the title by 56 points over Tom Doten with Taylor Goldman third, Brandon Peterson finishing fourth and Paul Hamilton fifth.

The 20 lap and 22 car feature had a wild ending.  Joey Prusak from Hopkins (MN) was declared the winner.  Paul Hamilton led most of the race, he was caught by Brandon Peterson on the last lap and the two had contact through turns 3 and 4.  Hamilton ended up with heavy damage and into the wall and Peterson was disqualified giving Prusak his first ever win at Elko Speedway.

It has been a challenging season for Prusak who has struggled with mechanical problems and bad luck all year long, but his luck changed at the right time.  "I told my dad that I didn't care if I won a race all year long just as long as I win Thunderstruck93!" said Prusak.

It was a big week for #14 Grant Brown who got a phone call from NASCAR telling him he was declared the National Champion in Division 4.  "I didn't know until Friday, during my fourth hour biology I got the call from NASCAR that I had won."  Grant and his crew will be honored by NASCAR as National Champions at the awards banquet in Charlotte (NC) this winter.

Derek Lemke from Shakopee (MN) won his 4th Great North Legends feature of the year, he beat 16 year old Wil McCully by 2.044 seconds at the line, it was a career best finish for McCully.  Shon Jacobsen finished third, Brady Fox-Rhode fourth and Jaycen Brockhouse fifth.

With the win Lemke extended his lead to 25 points over Brockhouse in the race for the Championship.  The Great North Legends will crown their Champion next Saturday night October 3rd at Elko Speedway.

Matt Suhl from Richfield (MN) won his second Hornets feature of 2015.  Suhl started up front and stayed there the entire 15 lap race.  Alex Vincent gave Suhl a good run but Suhl ended up winning by .226 seconds with Craig Allers finishing third and Ashley Bell fourth.

Justin Schelitzche finished the race in 7th but still has a sizeable lead in the race for the Hornets Championship.  Schelitzche leads Ashley Bell by 49 points going into the final night of racing next Saturday October 3rd.

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

The #Thunderstruck93 event saw a great turnout for the on-track autograph session, over 100 cars participated before the racing began at 4pm.  Thunderstruck93 is in memory of Elko Speedway Hall of Fame racer Dan Ryan who passed away in 2009, it has raised thousands of dollars to help fight ALS, to donate go to www.araceworthwinning.org

Up next at Elko Speedway is the final race of the 2015 season and Eve of Destruction presented by Leo's South on Saturday October 3rd.  Champions will be crowned in the Hornets, Great North Legends and Bandoleros divisions plus entertainment by the Green Mamba Jet car, Burn out contest, the world famous Figure 8 trailer race and much more.  The evening will conclude with a huge Rock n Roll Fireworks show.  Gates open at 5pm, action begins at 6pm.

Elko Speedway is 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, go to www.elkospeedway.com or follow Elko Speedway on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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