2-25 Page 6 | ATD Racing News

Johnson’s re-entry into Late Model racing goes well, with WISSOTA wheeler victorious January 25

By Meghan Diemel
ATD Editor

CASA GRANDE, AZ (January 25) - Saturday night was another three-victory night for WISSOTA-area wheelmen, as Zach Johnson, Jess Brekke, and Max Nelson took home wins as the third night of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw came to a conclusion.

Shelby Williams, Tom Berry, Jr., and Ryan Peery were also victorious in the track’s other action.

The Modified feature was first on track Saturday night, led to green by Tom Berry, Jr. and Tate Johnson on the front row. Berry was the early leader, as previous WISSOTA Late Model racer Kollin Hibdon moved into second before a caution fell with two laps scored.

Back under green, Berry took off out front, as Hibdon, Johnson and Tyson Blood held down top-four spots. Hibdon drove to the back bumper of Berry, as Blood moved into third past Johnson; Chaz Baca was fifth.

With the race reaching the halfway point, Berry and Hibdon had entered their own ZIP code; Berry had a half second lead ahead of Hibdon, while Hibdon was more than three seconds ahead of Blood in third.

As Berry began to work the back of the field, Hibdon closed back in on the bumper of Berry, just as Johnson went up in smoke and the fluid caused additional spins and wrecks in the aftermath. The field was under yellow with seven laps still on the board.

Berry was the leader back under green, while Hibdon and Blood raced side by side for second. Baca was fourth and Logan Drake moved into the top five before another yellow brought the field to a halt.

With six to go, the field drove back to the green flag, with Berry holding a narrow lead over Hibdon with five to go. Berry was able to drive back away from Hibdon in the final few laps and drove on to the win. Blood, Ian Whisler and Drake were top-five finishers.

In the Late Models, the front row featured former WISSOTA National Champion Zach Johnson on the pole, with Friday’s winner Clayton Stuckey to his outside. Johnson took the lead along the low side, with Stuckey a lane higher. Weiss used the inside lane to drive by Stuckey into second, with Dylan Thornton fourth and Karl Tipton fifth with four laps complete.

One lap later Johnson began to catch the back of the field, with a lead of about 1.7 seconds. With most racers using the same lane around the track, Weiss was able to quickly cut into Johnson’s lead, before he also had to deal with lapped traffic blocking his path to Johnson.

With 13 laps complete, Johnson again began to struggle to navigate the lapped traffic ahead and Weiss cut the lead down to about .3 seconds. Johnson found breathing room once he got past fellow Minnesotan Larry Fitzsimmons, before calamity struck with the next group; Weiss was able to get by Johnson as he struggled with a cluster of lapped cars, but the caution fell, negating the move, and Johnson was the leader for the restart.

With 12 to go, Johnson was back out front under green. A spin by Karl Tipton, who was running fourth, led to a bigger wreck for much of the field, and the race was back under caution once more.

Back underway, Johnson led the field, with Stuckey moving past Weiss into second. Thornton was fourth and Amelia Eisenschenk was close behind in fifth.

With just five laps to go, Johnson had a two second lead ahead of Stuckey, but was struggling to clear lapped traffic in the preferred groove. Stuckey moved to within a second of Johnson, with Weiss and Thornton nose-to-tail behind. Johnson hung on through the remaining laps to take the win. Stuckey, Weiss, Thornton and Eisenschenk were top-five finishers.

Amelia Eisenschenk (Nick Anderson Photo)

Other WISSOTA-area regulars finishing in the top 10 included Cole Schill (6th); Chad Olsen (7th); Don Shaw (8th); and Tyler Peterson (10th).

The Limited Mods took to the track next, led to green by two WISSOTA area racers in Jake Smith and Jess Brekke. Smith and Brekke were side by side for the top spot to complete the first lap, with Brekke pulling ahead slightly at the line. Tyler Johnson was third, Lucas Rodin was fourth and James Trantina III was fifth.

With five laps complete, Rodin was alongside Johnson for third and took the spot, before a yellow fell for a Joseph Swearingen spin.

Back under green Brekke led out front, with Smith close in second. Rodin held third, with James Trantina now in fourth and Johnson back to fifth. Travis Saurer took the spot from Johnson the following lap.

With 10 laps to go Brekke was under heavy pressure from Smith for the lead, while Saurer slipped by Trantina fourth. Trantina returned the favor a turn later, and they went back and forth for a couple more laps for fourth.

Meanwhile out front, Brekke started to pull away, while Smith began to feel the heat from Rodin for second. With two laps to go Brekke began to work his way through the back half of the field, with Smith trying to hold off Rodin.

Brekke drove off to victory lane, with Smith holding back Rodin’s efforts for second. Saurer won the war for fourth, with Trantina fifth.

Other WISSOTA racers in the top 10 included Onyx Johnson in seventh.

Milaca, Minnesota’s Kaden Woodie led the field of Stock Cars to the green flag, flanked by Mike Albertsen for their 15-lap go. Woodie had the slight advantage to begin the feature, followed closely by Albertsen and Williams side by side for second, and Jason Rogers right on their bumper in fourth. Williams got by Albertsen half a lap later but the caution fell and the field was under yellow.

They were three wide for the lead following the restart, as Williams used the high side to take the top spot and Rogers relegated Woodie to third. Albertsen and Whitfield were fourth and fifth.

The next lap Rogers put the chrome horn to Williams, but it upset the handling on his car and he slid back to third behind Woodie.

With seven laps left on the board, Williams had a healthy lead out front, as Rogers continued to try to find a way by Woodie in second. Albertsen remained fourth and Whitfield held fifth.

Williams lead remained dominant to the end, with the No. 82 taking the checkered flag. Woodie was second, and Rogers narrowly held off Albertsen for third. Whitfield was fifth.

Ron Schreiner, a longtime racer in WISSOTA, was on hand and finished sixth from a 12th-place start in the contest.

The Sport Mods hit the track next, led to green by Ryan Peery and Noah Speicher on the front row. Peery was the early leader, with Jake Kierstead racing into second. Speicher slipped back to third, and Payce Herrera was fourth before the yellow flew for a spun racer.

Peery led the field back to green, followed by Herrera and Kierstead, who fought Speicher for third. Mark Martini was fifth, with Kaden Woodie behind in sixth.

With eight laps in the books, Peery had a second advantage ahead of Herrera, while Speicher was third. Kierstead was under pressure from Martini for fourth when the caution fell once again.

Peery had the lead for the restart, as Herrera began to feel pressure from Speicher. Martini was fourth and Kierstead was fifth, as the field completed the 11th lap. Another caution one lap later brought the field to a halt.

Back under green Peery was the leader, as the field made its way down the backstretch. Woodie went around in front of much of the field, bringing out the caution flag and sending Martini to the back.

Peery led the field back to green, with Herrera, Speicher, Kierstead and Johnson in the top five. Woodie left the track with mechanical issues with about eight laps to go.

With five laps left on the board, Peery led Herrera, Speicher, Kierstead and now Eric Winemiller in the top five.

The top two began to battle one another for the lead, when the caution fell again, this time for Speicher, who had damage.

The restart came with three laps remaining. Peery had a healthy lead following the drop of the green, with Herrera still in second. Peery kept out front and took the checkered flag, with Herrera settling for second. Kierstead, Winemiller and Aaron Spangler were top-five finishers.

The Super Stocks were the final race of the night, led to green by Max Nelson and James Trantina III. Nelson was the early leader, as Trantina had company for second among Dexton Koch and Jordan Henkemeyer; Trantina shook out into second before the caution fell for Allan Cleveland.

With the green back in the air, Nelson drove back out to the lead, with Trantina getting a run to his inside in the fight for first. Henkemeyer and Koch were side by for third. Trantina’s car was upset in the corner, leading to a bobble with Henkemeyer and Koch right on his bumper; Henkemeyer got by for second, with Trantina slipping back to third and Koch ahead of Sparby in fourth.

With five laps in the books, Matt Sparby was spun in turn three and the caution was back out.

Nelson led the restart, as Henkemeyer fell into the clutches of Koch for second. Trantina fell back through the field to fifth, as Jason Hobbs moved past to fourth. The caution fell then with eight laps complete for a Matt Sparby spin.

Nelson drove back out to the lead following the restart, with Koch following closely in second. Henkemeyer was third and Hobbs got back by Trantina for fourth. With three laps left, Hobbs moved by Henkemeyer for third, leaving Henkemeyer and Trantina to battle for the remaining top-five spots.

Nelson grabbed the checkered flags, ahead of Koch, Hobbs, Henkemeyer, and Sparby in the top five.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 32-Max Nelson[1]; 2. 78K-Dexton Koch[3]; 3. 00-Jason Hobbs[9]; 4. 11A-Jordan Henkemeyer[4]; 5. 81X-Matt Sparby[6]; 6. 19X-James Trantina III[2]; 7. 81B-Doug Bolt[8]; 8. 4A-Allan Cleveland[10]; 9. X81-Alexa Sparby[7]; 10. 00B-Beau Brown[5]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 32-Max Nelson[4]; 2. 19X-James Trantina III[5]; 3. 00B-Beau Brown[3]; 4. 81B-Doug Bolt[2]; 5. 4A-Allan Cleveland[1]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 78K-Dexton Koch[2]; 2. 11A-Jordan Henkemeyer[1]; 3. 81X-Matt Sparby[3]; 4. X81-Alexa Sparby[5]; 5. 00-Jason Hobbs[4]

Late Models:

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 73-Zach Johnson[1]; 2. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[2]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss[3]; 4. 38T-Dylan Thornton[4]; 5. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk[9]; 6. 44*-Cole Schill[8]; 7. 10C-Chad Olsen[6]; 8. 42S-Don Shaw[12]; 9. 37M-Rob Mayea[10]; 10. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[11]; 11. 85-Josh Leonard[15]; 12. 38-Thomas Hunziker[20]; 13. 15-Laela Eisenschenk[18]; 14. 6T-Terry Carter[22]; 15. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[16]; 16. 73X-Larry Fitzsimmons[21]; 17. 37-Jason Rogers[5]; 18. 78S-Steve Stultz[17]; 19. 79-Jaden Christ[13]; 20. 2-Rusty Kollman[19]; 21. 11-Blaine Dopler[24]; 22. 63-Maria Hankins[25]; 23. 74-Karl Tipton[7]; 24. 23-Matt Gilbertson[14]; 25. (DNS) 11X-Austin Kuehl

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10C-Chad Olsen[1]; 2. 74-Karl Tipton[2]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss[7]; 4. 37M-Rob Mayea[3]; 5. 85-Josh Leonard[4]; 6. 42S-Don Shaw[8]; 7. 2-Rusty Kollman[6]; 8. 11-Blaine Dopler[5]; 9. 63-Maria Hankins[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 73-Zach Johnson[6]; 2. 44*-Cole Schill[1]; 3. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk[2]; 4. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[3]; 5. 23-Matt Gilbertson[5]; 6. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[7]; 7. 73X-Larry Fitzsimmons[4]; 8. 6T-Terry Carter[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 15S-Clayton Stuckey[3]; 2. 37-Jason Rogers[4]; 3. 38T-Dylan Thornton[7]; 4. 79-Jaden Christ[1]; 5. 78S-Steve Stultz[2]; 6. 15-Laela Eisenschenk[5]; 7. 38-Thomas Hunziker[6]; 8. 11X-Austin Kuehl[8]

Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 77-Tom Berry Jr[1]; 2. 48K-Kollin Hibdon[3]; 3. 97TB-Tyson Blood[5]; 4. 28-Ian Whisler[6]; 5. 111X-Logan Drake[8]; 6. 75JR-Chaz Baca[9]; 7. 82-Eston Whisler[4]; 8. 33Y-Bryson Yeager[10]; 9. 13-Jerry Flippo[18]; 10. 101-Luke Silber[15]; 11. 33BY-Braxton Yeager[12]; 12. 25G-Randy Shafer[24]; 13. 09-Kelsy Wedelstadt[11]; 14. 07X-Troy Morris III[7]; 15. 01-Tyler Leach[23]; 16. 13B-Jess Brekke[14]; 17. 27EH-Lawrence O'Connor[17]; 18. 21JR-Michael Egurola[13]; 19. 22G-Paul Guglielmoni[26]; 20. 118-Jesse Patterson[22]; 21. 16OZ-CR Eisenzimer[21]; 22. 21-KC Dieckman[16]; 23. 413-Tate Johnson[2]; 24. 35-William Miller[25]; 25. 73-Beau Speicher[20]; 26. 75X-Andrew Peckham[19]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Tom Berry Jr[7]; 2. 413-Tate Johnson[9]; 3. 07X-Troy Morris III[6]; 4. 35-William Miller[1]; 5. 16OZ-CR Eisenzimer[3]; 6. 520T-Lukas Tellez[4]; 7. 118-Jesse Patterson[5]; 8. 13-Jerry Flippo[8]; 9. X-Shawn Keena[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Ian Whisler[2]; 2. 75JR-Chaz Baca[3]; 3. 33Y-Bryson Yeager[5]; 4. 33BY-Braxton Yeager[6]; 5. 13B-Jess Brekke[8]; 6. 01-Tyler Leach[7]; 7. 22G-Paul Guglielmoni[4]; 8. 23C-Chuck Grohnke[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 48K-Kollin Hibdon[4]; 2. 09-Kelsy Wedelstadt[1]; 3. 21-KC Dieckman[3]; 4. 21JR-Michael Egurola[6]; 5. 101-Luke Silber[8]; 6. 0-Peyton George[5]; 7. 57-Chris Anderson[7]; 8. 22S-Sean Stacy[2]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 111X-Logan Drake[1]; 2. 97TB-Tyson Blood[5]; 3. 82-Eston Whisler[8]; 4. 73-Beau Speicher[3]; 5. 27EH-Lawrence O'Connor[7]; 6. 75X-Andrew Peckham[4]; 7. 25G-Randy Shafer[2]; 8. 0G-Paxton George[6]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 27EH-Lawrence O'Connor[1]; 2. 13-Jerry Flippo[12]; 3. 75X-Andrew Peckham[8]; 4. 73-Beau Speicher[2]; 5. 16OZ-CR Eisenzimer[5]; 6. 118-Jesse Patterson[10]; 7. 01-Tyler Leach[4]; 8. 25G-Randy Shafer[13]; 9. 35-William Miller[3]; 10. X-Shawn Keena[17]; 11. 22G-Paul Guglielmoni[11]; 12. 520T-Lukas Tellez[7]; 13. 23C-Chuck Grohnke[16]; 14. 0G-Paxton George[14]; 15. 22S-Sean Stacy[15]; 16. 57-Chris Anderson[9]; 17. 0-Peyton George[6]

Limited Mods:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 13B-Jess Brekke[2]; 2. 21-Jake Smith[1]; 3. 19-Lucas Rodin[6]; 4. 1SX-Travis Saurer[4]; 5. 19X-James Trantina III[5]; 6. 25-Adam Bohlman[10]; 7. 73-Onyx Johnson[11]; 8. 711-Payce Herrera[8]; 9. 75-Tyler Johnson[3]; 10. 00T-Kyler Reynolds[16]; 11. 8-Tyler Doell[14]; 12. 2-Ariel Mueller[12]; 13. 65-Cory Wilder[9]; 14. 1S-Scott Bintz[25]; 15. 00-Jason Hobbs[13]; 16. 001-Joseph Swearingen[15]; 17. 50-Brennan Davis[21]; 18. 95-Ted Doell[17]; 19. 28-Scott Tofte[22]; 20. 3D-Jett Ayers[23]; 21. 83X-Garett Veldman[20]; 22. 94-Matt Rice[24]; 23. 0-Dakota Girard[19]; 24. (DNS) 77-Jarod Klein; 25. (DNS) 7TG-Joe Docekal

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1SX-Travis Saurer[2]; 2. 19-Lucas Rodin[1]; 3. 77-Jarod Klein[3]; 4. 25-Adam Bohlman[5]; 5. 001-Joseph Swearingen[4]; 6. 00T-Kyler Reynolds[6]; 7. 0-Dakota Girard[8]; 8. 28-Scott Tofte[7]; 9. 94-Matt Rice[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19X-James Trantina III[1]; 2. 13B-Jess Brekke[8]; 3. 711-Payce Herrera[2]; 4. 73-Onyx Johnson[4]; 5. 8-Tyler Doell[5]; 6. 95-Ted Doell[6]; 7. 50-Brennan Davis[3]; 8. 3D-Jett Ayers[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Jake Smith[7]; 2. 75-Tyler Johnson[8]; 3. 65-Cory Wilder[2]; 4. 2-Ariel Mueller[3]; 5. 00-Jason Hobbs[6]; 6. 7TG-Joe Docekal[5]; 7. 83X-Garett Veldman[4]; 8. 1S-Scott Bintz[1]

Sport Mods:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 21P-Ryan Peery[1]; 2. 711-Payce Herrera[6]; 3. 30K-Jake Kierstead[3]; 4. 44-Eric Winemiller[14]; 5. 16-Aaron Spangler[10]; 6. 75-Tyler Johnson[7]; 7. 0-Dakota Girard[4]; 8. 7TG-Joe Docekal[24]; 9. 28-David Pitt[15]; 10. 217-Tyke Miles[17]; 11. 00T-Crystal Hemphill[12]; 12. 5O-Braydon Whitfield[11]; 13. 2J-Jaylon McEuen[25]; 14. 47V-Virgil Mcarthur[18]; 15. 41-Bill Lundock[23]; 16. 03-Kevin Risacher[22]; 17. 14-Erick Barraza[21]; 18. 21M-Eric Murphy[19]; 19. 73N-Noah Speicher[2]; 20. 3D-Jett Ayers[16]; 21. 4Q2-Mark Martini[5]; 22. 980-Kaden Woodie[9]; 23. 216-Camron Spangler[13]; 24. 316-Brandyn Johnson[20]; 25. 99H-Nick Hankins[8]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 0-Dakota Girard[2]; 2. 99H-Nick Hankins[3]; 3. 73N-Noah Speicher[9]; 4. 16-Aaron Spangler[5]; 5. 3D-Jett Ayers[1]; 6. 217-Tyke Miles[6]; 7. 47V-Virgil Mcarthur[8]; 8. 41-Bill Lundock[7]; 9. 2J-Jaylon McEuen[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21P-Ryan Peery[5]; 2. 980-Kaden Woodie[2]; 3. 711-Payce Herrera[6]; 4. 216-Camron Spangler[1]; 5. 44-Eric Winemiller[4]; 6. 28-David Pitt[7]; 7. 14-Erick Barraza[3]; 8. 03-Kevin Risacher[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 4Q2-Mark Martini[2]; 2. 30K-Jake Kierstead[5]; 3. 75-Tyler Johnson[6]; 4. 00T-Crystal Hemphill[3]; 5. 5O-Braydon Whitfield[7]; 6. 316-Brandyn Johnson[1]; 7. 21M-Eric Murphy[8]; 8. 7TG-Joe Docekal[4]

Stock Cars:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 82-Shelby Williams[4]; 2. 980-Kaden Woodie[1]; 3. 37-Jason Rogers[3]; 4. Z3-Mike Albertsen[2]; 5. 3-Brad Whitfield[5]; 6. 97-Ron Schreiner[12]; 7. 82P-John Parmeley[9]; 8. 22-Larry Brigner[6]; 9. 9-Nic Savaglio[8]; 10. 96E-Clay Erickson[7]; 11. 85-Carlos Barraza[10]; 12. 7X-Casey Murdoch[13]; 13. (DNS) 1X-Don Earven

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 980-Kaden Woodie[6]; 2. 82-Shelby Williams[4]; 3. 22-Larry Brigner[2]; 4. 96E-Clay Erickson[5]; 5. 82P-John Parmeley[3]; 6. 7X-Casey Murdoch[1]; 7. 97-Ron Schreiner[7]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 37-Jason Rogers[2]; 2. Z3-Mike Albertsen[5]; 3. 3-Brad Whitfield[4]; 4. 9-Nic Savaglio[3]; 5. 85-Carlos Barraza[1]; 6. 1X-Don Earven[6]