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Sunday, May 5

Slowly but surely, WISSOTA tracks are breaking free from the bonds of winter and starting the 2024 seasons. Granite City Motor Park did just that on Sunday, May 5. It was one of the nicer days we have had recently, and the mixture of warmer temperatures and sunshine brought out both the race fans and competitors.

It is the fourth year for the James Trantina-led track already, and that hardly seems possible. Trantina has done a lot of work and his sales efforts have ensured the finest point fund for any track in WISSOTA. For those who like to race for track points, there can be great benefits to doing so at the end of the season.

Late Models made their return as a regular division for 2024 and a solid field of 15 pulled in for the opener. It was a sign they will support the track in a strong way, and helps to ensure they will be racing all season.

After charging a mere five bucks for adults to attend the races last year, that amount has gone up to $10 with the addition of the Late Models, but it still remains one of the largest bargains around.

A pit walk early on produced some interesting news. I was not aware that Cole Schill is now the president of the NLRA Late Model group. While he admitted that it might affect where he chooses to race this year, he felt it important to support that group. When no one stepped up as president, he felt he should. We both agree, along with many others, that the NLRA has kept Late Model racing in North Dakota alive. Now it seems to be in one of its strongest places in a long time, with plenty of cars and big races on the schedule. It also features a rookie group that is one of the strongest around.

A long racing weekend made my brain apparently just a bit soft, and until I saw that the Brauer team had three cars in the pits at Granite, I didn't fully realize what I had witnessed earlier in the weekend. On Saturday I saw Braden Brauer's car looking pretty sad, with both doors bashed in among other injuries. When I saw it on the track later, I just assumed that they had replaced the damaged body parts.

Instead, it was actually a third car and I started to put things together. According to Braden, it seems he was in a big crash on Friday at I-94 and his new car was totaled out. Fortunately for him, they had a third car at home and Kolton's car from last year was pressed into duty. How depressing it must have been to total a brand-new car in the first week of May! He was actually taking it a lot better than I would have. His plan moving forward is to drive this car for the rest of the season.

To say that it was a bad weekend for him was an understatement. Later on Sunday he was involved in a three-car crash while battling for the Street Stock lead, and wouldn't you know it, Kolton was one of the other cars involved. Braden again went off on the hook.

There must have been something in the air on Sunday. There were bizarre, dramatic and unforseen circumstances breaking out in nearly every feature race.

Certainly the track played a part, as the new year produced a surface that was soft from all the recent rains. It was humpy and bumpy, no doubt. But there were other strange things that happened that couldn't be attributed to the track, as it appeared to be just one of those nights.

Things started right out with a bang as the Street Stock feature was the first to hit the track. It was going well, with an exciting three-car battle for the lead, when Landyn Randt and the two Brauers collided on the front chute. Braden ended up on a mud bank that likely saved him from flipping, but he had to leave the track on a hook. Kolton continued on with the whole front end torn off his car.

Randt looked like he was home free for the win, when his right front tire went flat and he slowed with just two laps to go. Ty Agen, one of the few to keep his car clean, then took over and led the last two laps for the win. Only five cars finished the distance.

It was a tough weekend for the Randt team as well, as their hauler broke on the way to Red Cedar on Friday and they had to borrow a couple of trailers to get to the track on Sunday.

The strange finishes continued as the Late Models hit the track. Unexpectedly, Dylan Kromschroeder had the jump on Shane Sabraski and led the opening lap. He then pulled away from the pack and looked ready to celebrate his first feature win as a rookie Late Model driver with just a few shows under his belt.

Then it happened: suddenly, on the last lap, he simply lost power and was coasting through the final corner. Larry Fitzsimmons, who was running second, barrelled past and took the win. I’m guessing it’s his first feature win ever in the spec WISSOTA class. Kromschroeder had just enough momentum to putt across the line with no power in eighth. What a revolting development for Kromschroeder!

The fastest car on the track that last half of the event was Ryan Mikkelson, but he started too far back to get more than third.

The Modified feature continued the pattern as only three cars finished the race. Still, it was one of the more thrilling battles of the night, as Jake Smith fought to hold off Kevin Adams for the win. Adams did everything but turn his car inside out in his attempts to pass for the lead, but Smith held him off until there were just four laps to go. Adams finally got by and it was a crowd-entertaining race. Max Nelson, a Modified rookie, was third.

The Mid Mod feature fell under the bizarre category, but again proved to be entertaining. Joey Jensen was the early leader but Blake Adams was on the move after he started eighth. Youthful enthusiasm perhaps trumped his willingness to take care of his race car, as he launched himself repeatedly into the air during his charge. Soon he was challenging Jensen for the lead and took the top spot on lap seven. I believe Jensen was trying to save his car, because when Adams went past him for the lead, Jensen suddenly picked up the pace and the race was on. They battled back and forth and on lap 12 Jensen regained the top spot. Included in the strange affair was the fact that the track caution lights blinked on and the leaders slowed. Adams figured out it was a mistake and he took off again, with Jensen figuring it out just in time to save his top spot. It was clear that many slowed but the race wasn't stopped; this could have led to a massive bruhaha if a lead change occurred because of this.

Jensen held on for the win as Adams’ car suffered failure in his effort to catch the leader. What is really strange is that while 11 cars took the checkered flag, only two were on the lead lap at the finish, Jensen and runner-up Matt Everts! Tell me that last time you saw that.

The Mod Fours staged the most normal feature of the night. Bob Holtquist had the lead for the first six laps but a high-flying Tommy Pogones drove past Holtquist. With only two yellows, both for debris on the track, he then drove away from the field for an impressive win. Dustin Holtquist ended up second with Luke Erlandson third, as only three cars failed to finish this race.

The Super Stocks wrapped up the evening and there was room for just one more shocking finish. After Denis Czech led the first 16 laps of the feature and had a huge lead, his car suddenly slowed and “The Menace” was done. Joey Jensen inherited the lead for the last few laps and drove on for the win over Jordan Henkemeyer and Andrew Johnson, his second of the program.

It was a night many will remember for quite some time for various reasons, and certainly had several moments of exciting action for race fans.

Friday, May 10

The Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series kicked off its extensive 2024 schedule with an opening night appearance at the I-94 emr Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. This was the first of three nights of Challenge Series racing this weekend, as the schedule kicks off with a bang and concludes its first weekend in central Minnesota.

It seems the series has new life breathed into it this year. More than two dozen drivers committed to run the entire season, which will bring them nice perks. This also makes a nice carrot to offer a promoter when the series can tell them there are guaranteed to be more than 25 drivers on hand before the pit gates are opened. Good job to all those who seem to have the series rolling in a big way.

Now if I can just get them to work something out with our neighboring series to the south, which basically runs the same rules, and we can have some sort of showdown series with them, my work will have been done.

The driver turnout for the opener was fantastic, with 46 Late Model drivers signing in from Minnesnowda, Wisconsin, both Dakotas and Canada. There were even some eastern Wisconsin drivers joining in on the fun.

As a side comment, with nearly four dozen drivers here, plus more than 20 drivers at both River Cities and Red Cedar Friday, it seems that the WISSOTA Late Models are alive and well, with renewed popularity in the class. The new crop of drivers joining in make things even more spirited.

A prerace visit to the pits confirmed that Greg Meyer has officially announced his retirement from racing, having sold his car during the off-season to the Sam Zender team. He told me that he is quite comfortable just being in the pits and watching the action. Meanwhile, Casey Meyer continues his perplexing battle with his health issues that sidelined him for what must be at least three years now or more. Greg told me they have a car ready for him, if he can get back to that point where he feels comfortable driving again. Best wishes to him in what has been a protracted and frustrating battle, with still more questions than answers, even from the medical experts.

The Challenge Series format remains unchanged for 2024, with drivers group qualifying for their heat races, and then the top four in each heat inverted. Passing points are then used to set the feature fields, with the top 16 moving directly into the main event and the remaining field split into a pair of B features to determine the rest of the lineup. There are also provisionals that the series director Chris Stepan sorts out nightly.

I'm still not a fan of qualifying and I doubt that will ever change, but obviously the drivers themselves are okay with it given the support they show. To me, it adds one more layer of difficulty for the track prep crew, and can add to time limit or curfew considerations.

Series defending champion Pat Doar was the quickest of the 42, with a lap of 16.182 seconds.

The rest of the evening did not go nearly so well for Pat, as he was forced to run a B feature (which he won) and was barely able to keep from getting lapped in the 40-lap main.

I would say that the Late Model heats and B features provided some of the most spirited qualifying action that I have seen in awhile. The drivers were really running hard, making some daring moves while using up the whole track with their attempted passes.

Twenty-five of them started the 40-lap main, which was slowed by just a single yellow flag. A very promising rookie driver, Kollin Hibdon, had a rocky start to his Challenge Series experience. I'm guessing someone forgot to tighten the lug nuts on a wheel and he lost one while the drivers were circling the track in pre-race mode. Instead of starting midpack, he was forced to go to the tail after a quick pit stop.

Sam Mars, who started on the pole, led the first six laps of the race with Ryan Mikkelson, Jeff Massingill and Dave Mass all close behind. That lone yellow was a big one for the chances of Cole Searing; while he restarted fifth, he immediately tore to the cushion and passed two cars on the restart. He then got by Mikkelson and on lap seven, powered past Mars on the outside to take the lead.

With the last 35 laps of this race going nonstop, Searing did a great job of pulling away from the field. At the halfway mark Jake Redetzke cracked the top five.

With only two cars not completing the entire race, lapped traffic became a factor as the race progressed and it was a challenge for Searing, as he worked to get past a few of the backmarkers. In the last 10 laps things were especially dicey for him.

He started to get held up and what looked like a comfortable lead suddenly started to shrink fast, and a comfortable win suddenly looked less so.

Mars made a banzai attempt on the final lap, and on the final corner made an aggressive move, diving inside Searing on the final corner and sliding up in front of him. Fortunately for Searing, he saw Mars coming, made the appropriate crossover move and nipped Mars at the line by about a car length, or .136 seconds. It was a great finish to a solid opening race for the series. Mikkelson was strong all night and he came home third, so three states were represented on the podium.

I-94 is a popular place to race and always draws good fields of drivers in all classes, but it became a long night of racing. Five classes of WISSOTA racing drew 131 drivers, plus the unsanctioned class. A 27-event program of racing was a lot of racing and it stretched in the early morning hours of Saturday. To the credit of the track, after some dust early when they were racing prelims in the sun and wind of May, the track came around nicely for the features with drivers again all over the track for the mains.

Ryan Gierke was the dominant driver in the Modified feature, which ran nonstop for 20 laps. He followed Avery Anderson for three laps before blasting past him on the outside for the top spot. After that, he was gone. Gierke pulled to nearly a full straightaway on the field and while there was some tough racing behind him, he was not a part of it. Mike Stearns ran second most of the race and Jody Bellefeuille, anxious to get his first race in due to crummy weather in the Twin Ports, made the long pull to get third.

There were three different leaders in the Midwest Mod main event but once Nate Reinke got the top spot, he dominated the last 15 laps to win his second straight feature here at I-94. Jamie Norman was the leader of the first two laps before veteran Ron Saurer, who we're glad didn't retire, made the pass for the lead. Reinke, however, who started fourth, drove past Saurer just two laps later and then gradually pulled away from the pack.

This race was dotted with several yellows, including a late one when it looked like the checkered flag was set to fly. Instead it was backed up for one final two-lap blast to the finish. Reinke again pulled away from the pack for the win. That distinctive pink car of Corey Storck was again in the mix on Friday and raced to second after starting 10th. Corey Mehrwerth, recovering from a scary looking incident when he nearly got turned on the back chute early on, finished third.

The Street Stock feature was again a battle right down to the finish and just like last Saturday night, it was Ty Agen who came out on top, and again with another late-race pass for the win. A big field of Streets, which seems the norm here, ran off a nice race with just a pair of yellows to slow the action.

There were four different leaders in this race. It was Eric Riley first, and then he was passed by Joe Martin. Cory Dykhoff then took the lead five laps later.

Meanwhile, Agen, who started eighth, was patient and moved strategically to the lead pack, who were trading spots and track position at a rapid pace. Dykhoff continued to hold the lead though, while things were wild behind him. With just five laps to go, a late spin bunched the field one more time. The leaders were mostly on the bottom at this point, with Dykhoff having Agen right on his rear bumper.

Sadly for Dykhoff however, coming to the white flag he slipped up the track in turn three and Agen was right there to drive under him and take over the lead. Given the opening, Agen didn't make a mistake on the final tour and passed under the finish line as the winner. Dykhoff made a bold move on the final lap to try and get the lead back but it went south, as he dropped back to fifth. Martin completed his great run to get the second spot ahead of Braden Brauer.

It was quite the comeback for Brauer, who had his car stall on the pace lap of his heat, ending that race. He then came all the way from 21st to third in the feature, with only two yellows to help.

Hornets wrapped up the night and Chase Pourrier had the lead from start to finish in this race, grabbing the top spot on the opening lap after starting third. This race had a scary moment when a two-car tangle on the back chute ended with C.C Starnes pancaked into the jersey barricades that guards the exit road from the infield to the pits. Hitting with tremendous force, the car was narrowed up considerably and the driver, while able to exit the car, was shook up considerably. Starnes limped to the ambulance for a further checkup.

Pourrier continued to lead the last three laps to take the win over Payson Patrin and Kevin Wahl.

Thanks to the folks from the Challenge Series for their help, along with host Don Shaw and all his staff for a big night of racing.

It should also be pointed out that despite a $3,000-to-win Late Model special, the regular admission prices to get into I-94 were charged.

Saturday, May 11

Rice Lake Speedway was back in action for their second week of 2024 on May 11th. The weather has not been friendly to a lot of tracks as of late, and this track has lost two shows already this year.

Improvements are an ongoing thing here. This week new gravel was added to the driveways in the pits, replacing the old sandy driveways that managed to claim a hauler or two over the course of the summer. The pit PA system is now operable, the tech building continues to evolve and there are still plenty of other surprises yet to come.

It was a much better weather night than it had been for the opener, and it showed in the stands. There was a much bigger crowd on hand for the second night of action. It was also a special night, with $1200 to win in the Modifieds and a thousand for second.

All the other classes have at least one big race throughout the year at the track, but other than Labor Day weekend, the Mods never seem to get their own special. It was a struggle trying to figure out a date to host the race. The new ownership, until they get a feel for things, weren’t too excited about trying a midweek show for this event, so a Saturday was picked and off it went.

It was a real guess as to just how many cars might be on hand in the Modifieds. I confess I was slightly disappointed, but the truth is that I don’t know anymore why some races work and others don't. All I can tell you for sure is that the new ownership is working their tails off to improve the speedway and make it the best it can possibly be.

The story for the Modified portion of the program was the stunning drive of winner Kaden Blaeser. His driving style sure seems to fit this track; in just a few appearances here over the last two years, he has now won two main events with Saturday night's win being a big one indeed. Anytime you can drive around Mike Anderson at this joint you're doing something. And on a black and slick track, Blaeser made the second groove work for the winning pass.

Earlier in the night we saw Blake Adams make the same kind of pass to win the Mid Mod feature. Both these two young drivers sure can put on a show. They both show that innate ability to sense when to go and where to pass, using the whole track. It’s something you don't learn — you either have it or not, and both these guys sure seem to have it. Blaeser kind of runs under the radar when we talk about the outstanding young drivers in WISSOTA, but he sure ranks right up there with the best of them.

Two weeks ago when the track struggled to draw enough Pure Stocks to have two heats, an unheard of thing here, I was ready to write off the class as dying. Then on Saturday, nine new driver and car combinations show up, there are 17 cars to race, and I’m told more to come. Now everything looks hunky dory. You just never know.

Simon Wahlstrom showed on Saturday that he will be someone to contend with in the Super Stocks all season, and he might just be the local driver to steal the money when Dennis McCauley brings the Super Stock tour to Rice Lake next month. He made the same kind of second lane pass that Blaeser and Adams did.

Of all the classes Wahlstrom has raced in at Rice Lake over the years, the only one he hasn't won in was the Mods, and he came very close there a couple of times. I believe he has feature wins in four different classes at the track.

Andrew Hanson is off to a strong start to his racing season with Street Stock wins at multiple tracks already this year. I’m glad to see his luck kind of turn at Rice Lake, as who can forget that horrendous flip he took here at the Little Dream a few years ago?

Speaking of bad luck, it just wasn't Jay Kesan's night on Saturday. He started on the front row of a heat and when someone was too anxious and tried to go three wide, nearly before the green had dropped, Kesan got the squeeze job and ended up going airborne down the front chute. He went off on the hook and I thought he was done for the night. However, he returned for the feature and this time, he kind of triggered his own calamity when he got in a bit of a hurry on the green and clipped another car, giving both a flat tire. In two races, he made the grand total of one corner before he was done in both.

Caiden Engel and Dylan Baskin both had their best ever Street Stock finishes at Rice Lake. When you can crack the top three here, you are doing well.

Another generation of racer made their debut on Saturday as Bentley Prochnow is the latest of a long line of racing Prochnows to hit the track. This addition is in the Mid Mods and not surprisingly, numbered No. 78.

The return of Kori Richter to the track was a great addition. Kori hasn't raced in a couple of years but returned with a Super Stock for Saturday night's show and proved he hasn't forgotten a thing. He finished a fine fourth in the feature race in his familiar number No. 14.

Pat Hoffman was again in the pits helping son Aiden with his rookie season in the Mods, and Pat reports he is likely done racing. He still has his car but says he is so busy between working and following his son's sports events, there is little time to be working on a race car. He says he’s also enjoying being a part of Aiden's progress in the Mods. We will miss seeing the No. 90/308 on the track.

It was also good to see Adam Soltis back on the track. He missed the opener two weeks ago and I was worried that perhaps he wouldn't be racing. He showed up Saturday with a fine looking new Street Stock and his debut netted a sixth-place finish in the nonstop feature in that class.

For the second straight week there was no track program available and I'm wondering now if there will be one at all. I hate to see traditions like that end, but many tracks no longer have more than a point list available, if that. It is another fine tradition that is sadly going the way of the buffalo.

In two weeks the Late Models make their first appearance of the year and it will again be interesting (and a little nerve wracking) to see just how many cars can be mustered up for that show, given the Challenge Series is not returning to the track this year. (Hopefully it will in 2025). I believe that special events are the spice that keeps the weekly shows going but to pull off those events and make them successful is a tricky thing to do.

Sunday, May 12

Sunday night the Structural Building WISSOTA Challenge Series group wrapped up its first weekend of the 2024 campaign with a stop at James Trantina's Granite City Motor Park for another $3,000-to-win event. With little racing available to this point in the spring, three straight nights of intense competition brought great fields of competitors together. Twenty-nine cars signed in to race on one of the nicest nights yet of the 2024 racing season.

The track this week was significantly better than last week. In fact, it bore no resemblance to the track that drivers bounced through here last Sunday. It would appear that after one week's hiccup, things have now been whipped into shape for the rest of the year and the issue is now a dead one.

Many were wondering where Late Model veteran Steve Laursen has been so far this year, especially given the strong finish he put together in 2023. Turns out he has been rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery that he had performed during the off-season. Sunday night marked his return to racing, having beaten the doctor's timeline for him to return to racing.

For Midwest Modified driver Landyn Randt, Sunday was his premature end to most of the racing season. He will be having surgery on his torn labrum on May 20 of this month. They have set either the Seitz Memorial or the WISSOTA 100 as their goal date for him to return to competition. His last race before surgery was a frustrating one, as he was turned twice during the Mid Mod feature before finally settling for sixth.

Along with the Late Models running their 40-lap main event, the WISSOTA sanctioned Mid Mods, Super Stocks and Hornets raced on Sunday. This made for a nice field of cars that allowed the officials to move the show along and get done at a respectable hour.

The evening started out quite odd, as it were, with Late Model qualifying halted three times by drivers who crashed hard into the frontstretch wall during their qualifying efforts. I don't know if I've ever seen that before. For both Jesse Glenz and Dylan Kromschroeder, their nights were done before they started, while Steve Laursen was able to make repairs and complete the evening as he did qualify for the main.

With 29 cars, three Late Model heats, and a B feature, 24 cars took the green flag for the 40-lap main after Scott Lehn scratched out of the race. The final tally sheet will show that Tyler Peterson was scored the leader for all 40 laps of the Late Model event, but it was not nearly that easy as it might sound.

He faced off against several other challengers over the course of the event, but turned back those challenges and drove on to the win. Kevin Burdick gave him plenty of trouble early, actually leading a couple of laps, but was not in front when they crossed the line. Burdick was working the high side of the track. Kevin Eder had a good run as he battled with Burdick for second and at the halfway point of the race finally secured that spot.

Shane Sabraski and Cole Searing were also on the move, as both worked their way into contention as the laps wore on. Following the first yellow for debris on lap 25, things really got tight as the top five were running in tight formation, with Sabraski really putting the heat on for the lead.

Searing, who was forced to qualify through a B feature after trouble in his heat race, continued his charge from 19th into the top three. It looked like Peterson just might be in trouble when the red came out on lap 35 after Rick Niemi nosed into the first turn wall and toppled over on to his roof while bringing down some of the wheel fence in that area.

There was a delay while repairs were completed and when racing returned for the final shootout, things had changed with either the track, the car's tires or perhaps both. After quickly testing the waters, most drivers ducked into single file formation for the final few circuits, with Peterson bringing the field home for the win while Sabraski settled for second ahead of Eder, Searing and Jeff Provinzino, who was steady all weekend.

As for the other classes racing, former national champion Jake Smith ended up as the winner of the Mid Mod feature, which turned out to be a real good race. There were too many yellows, but sometimes that happens, too.

Smith and Ryan Putnam raced side by side for nearly the first half of the race, with Smith edging ahead down the back chute. Putnam always had a good run off the top in turn four and edged out Smith at the line, lap after lap. This repeated itself until the halfway point of the race, when Smith finally edged in front and then gradually pulled away.

Corey Mehrwerth was right behind these two, and then it was defending national champion Zach Benson and Blake Adams going wheel to wheel for position behind Mehrwerth. They traded that spot much like the leaders had earlier.

In the end, Smith pulled away to a comfortable lead, Mehrwerth came home second, and Adams edged out Benson for third while Putnam faded back just a bit.

Dexton Koch made easy work of the Super Stock field, taking the lead on the opening lap and scoring the win. After a first lap yellow, the race went nonstop and there were no challengers for Koch to deal with. Trantina finished a strong second and Brandon Linquist came home third.

A nonstop Hornet feature completed the night and it was another powerful victory for Justin Schelitzche. Anthony Jenson had the lead for the first three laps before Schelitzche passed for the point and after that he drove away from the field for the win. Jenna Hagemann came forward from the third row and finished second ahead of Jenson.

All racing was completed by 9:30 p.m., which was great for both the fans and for the drivers who had to make a long drive home. When the Challenge Series returns here again later this summer, there should be no trepidation among the drivers as to whether or not they can put on a good show. And, I invite other tracks to keep the support classes for these specials to a nice workable number like Granite City did.