2-25 Page 9 | ATD Racing News

Koch comes out on top of Super Stocks in Arizona finale, as Early Thaw comes to close

By Meghan Diemel
ATD Editor

CASA GRANDE, AZ (February 1) - WISSOTA-licensed racers made an appearance in Central Arizona Raceway’s victory lane once again Saturday, February 1, to close out action at the Casa Grande-area race track and put a bow on the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw.

An all-North Dakota front row started the feature in the Limited Mods, with Lucas Rodin and Jarod Klein leading the field to green. Rodin had a slight lead to complete the first lap, as Klein settled into second ahead of Rob Moseley, Eric Winemiller and Jake Smith. Smith got by Winemiller into fourth, as Winemiller then had his hands full with Payce Herrera for fifth. The caution fell for Scott Bintz, who was spun on the backstretch.

Rodin and Klein were side by side for the lead, with Rodin having the slight advantage to complete the next lap under green. Moseley was third, Smith was fourth and James Trantina III entered the top five to complete the seventh lap.

Out front Rodin continued to lead, as Klein tried to hold back Moseley for second at the halfway point. Smith and Trantina filled out the top five. A yellow for a spun Jason Hobbs brought the field back under yellow.

Moseley took the lead around the outside of Rodin back under green, with Smith following through to second. Trantina also got by Rodin, with the two of them battling side by side on the bumper of Smith down the backstretch. The battle continued for a couple of laps, with Payce Herrera in fifth. Travis Saurer moved by Herrera, and then drove by Rodin for fourth.

Out front Moseley’s lead was a little more than one second, with Smith second. Another caution regrouped the field with just two to go.

Moseley led Trantina and Smith to the green flag, with Trantina to the inside and Smith to the outside of row two. Back under green Trantina and Smith were side by side for second behind Moseley, while Trantina crossed the start/finish line in second. He was later DQ’d, elevating Smith to second, 12th-starter Adam Bohlman to third, Rodin fourth and Saurer rounded out the top five.

The Late Models were next on track, led to the green by Austin Kuehl and Tyler Peterson. Peterson was the early leader along the high side, as Ricky Weiss displaced Kuehl to third the next lap. Jaden Christ and Rob Mayea raced in the top five.

Peterson’s lead was quickly under fire from Weiss, as Kuehl was third, and Christ was supplanted by Dylan Thornton for fourth.

Out front Peterson was under heavy pressure from Weiss for the lead as they began to approach lapped traffic; Weiss nearly had the pass made to complete lap 10, but Peterson found his footing again down low and pulled back away from the No. 7. A caution then flew for Amelia Eisenschenk, who was spun by Mayea in turn four two laps later.

The field regrouped, with Weiss, Kuehl, Thornton and Christ in the top five. Peterson shot back out to the lead, with Weiss under pressure from Kuehl who had found his groove up against the wall. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long as he jumped the berm and spun, bringing the caution back out over the field and causing damage on the machine of Christ.

It took Thornton one turn back under green to get by Weiss following the restart, as Peterson continued to hold the lead. A wreck in turn four brought the field to a halt with 15 laps in the books.

Peterson was the leader once again for the restart, as Weiss and Thornton fought for second. Thornton cleared Weiss and looked ahead to Peterson; Peterson continued to use the low side in the corners, while Thornton made up time along the high side in the turns. Mayea and Eisenschenk were top-five runners, with 11 to go. Another caution, this time for a dustup between Chad Olsen and Steve Stultz regrouped the field.

Thornton remained committed to the top side, as Peterson held the lead back under green. Thornton used a slide job to complete lap 24, with Peterson and Thornton racing each other hard for the top spot, exchanging slide jobs in the remaining laps. Thornton took the lead for good and drove on to the victory, with Peterson finishing second ahead of Weiss, Mayea and Justin Kay in the top five. WISSOTA racer Rusty Kollman was sixth.

Luke Silber and Troy Morris led the field of Modifieds to the green, with Morris the early leader. Ian Whisler moved into second, with Silber third, Braxton Yeager and Eston Whisler in the top five. A yellow fell for Brad Whitfield, who was spun on the track.

Morris was back to the lead following the restart, with Ian Whisler right on his bumper. Silber was third, while Kollin Hibdon moved to fourth, with Braxton Yeager fifth as the field completed lap six. Silber pulled off the track, as Eston Whisler drove back into the top five and settled in fourth with a pass on Yeager.

At the halfway point Morris had healthy lead ahead of Ian Whisler, Hibdon, Eston Whisler and Braxton Yeager. Chaz Baca was close behind in sixth.

Morris, with sixth laps on the board, continued to work his way through lapped traffic. Disaster struck when he hit the wall and rode it for a bit, coming to a stop on the backstretch. He left the track, pitted, and the field regrouped under yellow.

Ian Whisler was the leader for the restart, with Hibdon and Eston Whisler behind in row two. Hibdon cut across the track on the restart, gaining the lead with the Whislers very close behind in second and third. Baca and Braxton Yeager filled out the top five.

With five laps left on the board, Hibdon had less than a half second lead ahead of Ian Whisler, with Eston Whisler ahead of Baca and a fight for fifth between Braxton and Bryson Yeager.

Hibdon took the white flag and made it one more lap with no trouble, taking the victory ahead of Ian Whisler, Eston Whisler, Baca and Bryson Yeager in the top five.

On the track next were the Super Stocks, led to green by Matt Sparby and Dexton Koch. Koch drove to the early lead ahead of Sparby and Beau Brown in the top three. Jordan Henkemeyer pressured Brown for third, while Trantina ran behind in fifth. Henkemeyer took third and brought Trantina with him into fourth, while Brown slipped back to fifth. With about three laps complete Henkemeyer pulled his race car into the infield and the field remained green.

Koch had a healthy lead of more than three seconds out front, as Sparby was second. Trantina, Brown and Jon Tribble held top-five spots.

Just past the halfway point Koch had grown his lead to more than seven seconds, as Sparby had about a second and a half lead ahead of Trantina. Brown remained fourth, with Tribble holding fifth.

Koch continued on his way to the dominating victory, taking the checkered flags ahead of Sparby, Trantina, Brown and Tribble in the top five.

Shelby Williams was the leader to start the Stock Car feature, with Milaca, Minnesota’s Kaden Woodie second. Trevor Hidalgo, Jason Storbakken and Mike Albertsen were top five runners, as the field completed the second lap. Storbakken got by to third one lap later.

With four laps complete Albertsen cleared Hidalgo for fourth, while Williams continued to lead by more than a second out front. Woodie held second and Storbakken continued in third.

At the halfway point, Williams remained the leader, with Woodie second, Storbakken third, Albertsen fourth and Hidalgo holding onto his top-five spot. He had company, with Casey Murdoch and Tyler Johnson close behind in a three-way battle for the top-five spot.

Williams suffered calamity during the final run to the checkered, as he had his hood come up and partially block his vision.

He managed his way to victory lane however, taking his third of the series in 2025. Woodie finished in second, ahead of Storbakken, Albertsen, and Hidalgo.

In the Sport Mods, Ryan Peery, Payce Herrera and Joe Docekal were three wide for the lead down the backstretch, with Peery nipping Docekal at the start/finish line to complete the first lap. Herrera took second from Docekal, as they then fought back and forth for the spot to complete lap three. Kaden Woodie was fourth, with Tyler Johnson in fifth. A caution with five laps in the books.

Williams led the restart, but Johnson hit the wall and the field was back under yellow. Top-five runner Payce Herrera also left the track with what appeared to be a flat tire.

Back under green Williams was the leader once again, with Docekal and Woodie in the top three. Aaron Spangler was close in fourth, as Dakota Girard cracked the top five. A multi-car crash brought the field back together.

Peery was the leader once again when the field took the green flag. Docekal continued to hold second ahead of Woodie, while Girard supplanted Spangler to fifth with 11 to go. Another multi-car spin and ensuing wreck brought the yellow flag out once again.

Peery led the field back to green once again, as Docekal was second. Woodie had a slight advantage for third, with Girard and Spangler close behind fighting for top five spots with eight to go. Another yellow two laps later ground the field to a halt.

Following the restart Girard drove by Woodie to third, while Peery continued to lead Docekal in second out front. Another yellow for a spun competitor brought the yellow back out.

Peery continued to lead to the checkered flag, with Docekal getting second, 25th-starter Jorddon Braaten third, Girard fourth, and Woodie fifth.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 78K-Dexton Koch[2]; 2. 81X-Matt Sparby[1]; 3. 19X-James Trantina III[5]; 4. 00B-Beau Brown[3]; 5. 3T-Jon Tribble[6]; 6. 81B-Doug Bolt[7]; 7. 00-Jason Hobbs[11]; 8. 4A-Allan Cleveland[4]; 9. 9-RC Geiss[10]; 10. X81-Alexa Sparby[9]; 11. 11A-Jordan Henkemeyer[8]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 19X-James Trantina III[1]; 2. 78K-Dexton Koch[5]; 3. 4A-Allan Cleveland[6]; 4. 81B-Doug Bolt[3]; 5. X81-Alexa Sparby[2]; 6. 00-Jason Hobbs[4]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 81X-Matt Sparby[5]; 2. 00B-Beau Brown[4]; 3. 3T-Jon Tribble[3]; 4. 11A-Jordan Henkemeyer[2]; 5. 9-RC Geiss[1]

Late Models:

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 38T-Dylan Thornton[13]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[2]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss[4]; 4. 37M-Rob Mayea[6]; 5. 15K-Justin Kay[7]; 6. 2-Rusty Kollman[5]; 7. 85-Josh Leonard[21]; 8. 44*-Cole Schill[14]; 9. 15-Laela Eisenschenk[12]; 10. 6T-Terry Carter[18]; 11. 79-Jaden Christ[3]; 12. 10CO-Charlie Olsen[16]; 13. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk[8]; 14. 78S-Steve Stultz[19]; 15. 10C-Chad Olsen[9]; 16. 11N-Denver Nickeson[17]; 17. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[15]; 18. 74-Karl Tipton[11]; 19. 11X-Austin Kuehl[1]; 20. 85JR-Braxten Leonard[20]; 21. 11-Blaine Doppler[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11X-Austin Kuehl[6]; 2. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk[1]; 3. 15K-Justin Kay[5]; 4. 15-Laela Eisenschenk[4]; 5. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[2]; 6. 44*-Cole Schill[7]; 7. 85JR-Braxten Leonard[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 79-Jaden Christ[2]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[6]; 3. 11-Blaine Doppler[1]; 4. 10C-Chad Olsen[5]; 5. 74-Karl Tipton[7]; 6. 6T-Terry Carter[4]; 7. 85-Josh Leonard[3]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Rusty Kollman[1]; 2. 37M-Rob Mayea[3]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss[6]; 4. 38T-Dylan Thornton[4]; 5. 10CO-Charlie Olsen[2]; 6. 11N-Denver Nickeson[5]; 7. 78S-Steve Stultz[7]

Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 48K-Kollin Hibdon[8]; 2. 28-Ian Whisler[3]; 3. 82-Eston Whisler[5]; 4. 75JR-Chaz Baca[6]; 5. 33Y-Bryson Yeager[7]; 6. 33BY-Braxton Yeager[4]; 7. 77X-Mike Wedelstadt[11]; 8. 13B-Jess Brekke[12]; 9. 141-Matt Bonine[17]; 10. 09-Kelsy Wedelstadt[9]; 11. 28H-Kolby Hannah[10]; 12. 07X-Troy Morris III[2]; 13. 58-Devon Reed[13]; 14. 97TB-Tyson Blood[15]; 15. 01-Tyler Leach[19]; 16. 118-Jesse Patterson[14]; 17. 21JR-Michael Egurola[20]; 18. 21-KC Dieckman[18]; 19. 23C-Chuck Grohnke[23]; 20. XM-Mike Dimond[21]; 21. 72J-Bert Jones[16]; 22. 11HB-Troy Householder[25]; 23. 520T-Lukas Tellez[24]; 24. 35-William Miller[22]; 25. 101-Luke Silber[1]; 26. 44-Brad Whitfield[26]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 101-Luke Silber[6]; 2. 33BY-Braxton Yeager[4]; 3. 07X-Troy Morris III[7]; 4. 72J-Bert Jones[1]; 5. 28H-Kolby Hannah[8]; 6. 118-Jesse Patterson[9]; 7. 21JR-Michael Egurola[5]; 8. 44-Brad Whitfield[3]; 9. 11HB-Troy Householder[10]; 10. 15S-Bill Slocum[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Ian Whisler[2]; 2. 82-Eston Whisler[4]; 3. 77X-Mike Wedelstadt[3]; 4. 33Y-Bryson Yeager[8]; 5. 58-Devon Reed[7]; 6. XM-Mike Dimond[5]; 7. 141-Matt Bonine[9]; 8. 03C-Joseph Craft[1]; 9. 13-Jerry Flippo[10]; 10. 520T-Lukas Tellez[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 75JR-Chaz Baca[1]; 2. 09-Kelsy Wedelstadt[2]; 3. 13B-Jess Brekke[3]; 4. 48K-Kollin Hibdon[7]; 5. 01-Tyler Leach[4]; 6. 97TB-Tyson Blood[9]; 7. 35-William Miller[6]; 8. 21-KC Dieckman[5]; 9. 23C-Chuck Grohnke[8]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 141-Matt Bonine[2]; 2. 21-KC Dieckman[8]; 3. 01-Tyler Leach[1]; 4. 21JR-Michael Egurola[5]; 5. XM-Mike Dimond[3]; 6. 35-William Miller[4]; 7. 23C-Chuck Grohnke[10]; 8. 520T-Lukas Tellez[12]; 9. 44-Brad Whitfield[9]; 10. 11HB-Troy Householder[6]; 11. 15S-Bill Slocum[13]; 12. 03C-Joseph Craft[11]

Limited Mods:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. M17-Rob Moseley[5]; 2. 21-Jake Smith[8]; 3. 25-Adam Bohlman[12]; 4. 19-Lucas Rodin[1]; 5. 1SX-Travis Saurer[4]; 6. 73-Onyx Johnson[19]; 7. 711-Payce Herrera[7]; 8. 13B-Jess Brekke[17]; 9. 0-Dakota Girard[15]; 10. 7TG-Joe Docekal[18]; 11. 20-Andy Sole[22]; 12. 2-Ariel Mueller[24]; 13. 001-Joseph Swearingen[11]; 14. 1S-Scott Bintz[20]; 15. 00-Jason Hobbs[23]; 16. 75-Tyler Johnson[10]; 17. 00T-Kyler Reynolds[13]; 18. 95-Ted Doell[16]; 19. 44-Eric Winemiller[3]; 20. 59-Travis Sutherlin[21]; 21. 77-Jarod Klein[2]; 22. 8-Tyler Doell[25]; 23. 79J-Joey Jock[14]; 24. 28-Scott Tofte[6]; 25. 43-Jett Ayers[26]; 26. (DQ) 19X-James Trantina III[9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 711-Payce Herrera[1]; 2. 19X-James Trantina III[3]; 3. 28-Scott Tofte[6]; 4. 21-Jake Smith[8]; 5. 20-Andy Sole[5]; 6. 7TG-Joe Docekal[7]; 7. 2-Ariel Mueller[4]; 8. 00-Jason Hobbs[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Eric Winemiller[2]; 2. 77-Jarod Klein[5]; 3. 79J-Joey Jock[1]; 4. 001-Joseph Swearingen[6]; 5. 562-Craig Walker[4]; 6. 65-Cory Wilder[3]; 7. 1S-Scott Bintz[7]; 8. 118-Dylan Patterson[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Lucas Rodin[6]; 2. 75-Tyler Johnson[1]; 3. 25-Adam Bohlman[3]; 4. 00T-Kyler Reynolds[5]; 5. 95-Ted Doell[7]; 6. 23-Zackery Law[8]; 7. 73-Onyx Johnson[4]; 8. 8-Tyler Doell[2]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 1SX-Travis Saurer[2]; 2. M17-Rob Moseley[4]; 3. 0-Dakota Girard[1]; 4. 59-Travis Sutherlin[3]; 5. 13B-Jess Brekke[5]; 6. 43-Jett Ayers[7]; 7. 94-Matt Rice[8]; 8. 83X-Garett Veldman[6]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 13B-Jess Brekke[3]; 2. 7TG-Joe Docekal[5]; 3. 73-Onyx Johnson[11]; 4. 1S-Scott Bintz[9]; 5. 59-Travis Sutherlin[1]; 6. 20-Andy Sole[2]; 7. 00-Jason Hobbs[14]; 8. 2-Ariel Mueller[10]; 9. 94-Matt Rice[7]; 10. 562-Craig Walker[4]; 11. 65-Cory Wilder[8]; 12. 118-Dylan Patterson[12]; 13. 8-Tyler Doell[15]; 14. 83X-Garett Veldman[13]; 15. 23-Zackery Law[16]; 16. 43-Jett Ayers[6]

Stock Cars:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 82-Shelby Williams[2]; 2. 980-Kaden Woodie[4]; 3. 16-Jason Storbakken[6]; 4. Z3-Mike Albertsen[5]; 5. 5M-Trevor Hidalgo[1]; 6. 7-Tyler Johnson[8]; 7. 7X-Casey Murdoch[10]; 8. 5G$-Grady Clements[12]; 9. 21MF-Mitchell Ferguson[3]; 10. 22-Larry Brigner[11]; 11. 3-Mike Tipton[16]; 12. 9-Nic Savaglio[7]; 13. 292-Kenny Hatfield[17]; 14. 97-Ron Schreiner[14]; 15. 93AR-Anthony Smith[13]; 16. 15X-Dennis Losing[15]; 17. 85H-Loren Hovland[18]; 18. 69X-Marcos Bojorquez[9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 82-Shelby Williams[3]; 2. 980-Kaden Woodie[4]; 3. 5M-Trevor Hidalgo[8]; 4. 22-Larry Brigner[2]; 5. 5G$-Grady Clements[5]; 6. 7-Tyler Johnson[9]; 7. 97-Ron Schreiner[1]; 8. 15X-Dennis Losing[6]; 9. 292-Kenny Hatfield[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21MF-Mitchell Ferguson[2]; 2. 16-Jason Storbakken[3]; 3. Z3-Mike Albertsen[6]; 4. 7X-Casey Murdoch[4]; 5. 9-Nic Savaglio[7]; 6. 69X-Marcos Bojorquez[9]; 7. 93AR-Anthony Smith[8]; 8. 3-Mike Tipton[5]; 9. 85H-Loren Hovland[1]

Sport Mods:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 21P-Ryan Peery[1]; 2. 7TG-Joe Docekal[2]; 3. 84-Jorddon Braaten[25]; 4. 0-Dakota Girard[12]; 5. 980-Kaden Woodie[5]; 6. 16-Aaron Spangler[9]; 7. 216-Camron Spangler[10]; 8. 5O-Braydon Whitfield[14]; 9. 217-Tyke Miles[16]; 10. 2J-Jaylon McEuen[17]; 11. 79J-Joey Jock[11]; 12. 873-Taven Woodie[15]; 13. 14-Erick Barraza[13]; 14. 43-Jett Ayers[7]; 15. 54-Jerry Elliott[23]; 16. 20-Andy Sole[19]; 17. 94-Matt Rice[22]; 18. 21M-Eric Murphy[18]; 19. 118-Joseph Patterson[20]; 20. 03-Kevin Risacher[24]; 21. 44-Eric Winemiller[8]; 22. 47V-Virgil Mcarthur[21]; 23. 75-Tyler Johnson[4]; 24. 711-Payce Herrera[3]; 25. 28-David Pitt[26]; 26. 4Q2-Mark Martini[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 980-Kaden Woodie[1]; 2. 711-Payce Herrera[5]; 3. 16-Aaron Spangler[4]; 4. 5O-Braydon Whitfield[2]; 5. 216-Camron Spangler[8]; 6. 217-Tyke Miles[7]; 7. 20-Andy Sole[6]; 8. 118-Joseph Patterson[9]; 9. 28-David Pitt[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21P-Ryan Peery[8]; 2. 44-Eric Winemiller[2]; 3. 75-Tyler Johnson[7]; 4. 873-Taven Woodie[1]; 5. 0-Dakota Girard[6]; 6. 2J-Jaylon McEuen[5]; 7. 47V-Virgil Mcarthur[3]; 8. 94-Matt Rice[4]; 9. 54-Jerry Elliott[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 4Q2-Mark Martini[1]; 2. 7TG-Joe Docekal[7]; 3. 43-Jett Ayers[5]; 4. 79J-Joey Jock[4]; 5. 14-Erick Barraza[6]; 6. 21M-Eric Murphy[2]; 7. 23-Zackery Law[9]; 8. 03-Kevin Risacher[3]; 9. 84-Jorddon Braaten[8]