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Benson, VandeKamp, Henkemeyer and Funt finish atop WISSOTA features as Princeton Speedway powers into 2024

By Tami Jo Kuehn

PRINCETON, MN (May 10) - After nearly 10 years of racing under dual sanctioning, Princeton Speedway opened Friday under the new management of the Wagamon family and the track was back to full WISSOTA sanctioning.

The track kicked off its 2024 race season Friday with a program featuring the WISSOTA Modifieds, Super Stocks, Mod Fours, and Midwest Modifieds, as well as the Minnesota Micro Sprints. Nearly 100 drivers filled the pits, fans packed the stands, and everyone enjoyed a night of WISSOTA Dirt Track Series racing. Winners included Zach Benson, Jordan Henkemeyer, Chad Funt, and Jason VandeKamp.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds were the first feature of the night, led to the green by Ashton Schulte and Jason VandeKamp. VandeKamp claimed the early lead as the green waved, but was soon under heavy pressure from Joey Jensen.

Laps passed by with Jensen working the high and low grooves, but VandeKamp retained the lead. The top two racers caught slower drivers as a caution waved for debris on the track.

With only five laps to go, VandeKamp led the field back to green, with Jensen and Ryan Putnam on his bumper. Putnam grabbed second, but was quickly under fire from Jensen and Zach Benson, and they raced three wide. Putnam held second and began to challenge VandeKamp with just one lap to go. Putnam gave it a final shot, but VandeKamp held the point and took the win. Putnam settled for second with Benson, Jensen and Garrett Paull as the top-five finishers.

The WISSOTA Mod Fours took to the track next for their feature race, led to green by Dustin Holtquist and Tommy Pogones. The top two drivers battled for the lead, with Pogones shaking out into the top spot to close out the first lap.

A couple cautions slowed the Mod Fours, but as the race continued Tommy Bawden began to challenge Pogones; Pogones held the point. As the top runners began to catch lap traffic, more cautions occurred.

As drivers were sorted and realigned, Bawden inherited the lead with Chad Funt and Dustin Holtquist behind him. After a couple laps, Bawden caught a spot in the track, rolled in turn three, and the red flag waved. Bawden was okay and climbed from his car while the track was cleaned, and drivers sorted.

Holtquist was in command as the race resumed, under pressure from Funt. Holtquist got squirrely in the corner and Funt shot into the lead with the white high in the sky. Funt led the only lap that counted and took the win with Holtquist, Josh Litzau, Tyler Larson and Rowan Tramm in the top five.

Zach Benson and Eric Lamm brought the WISSOTA Modifieds to the stand and Mod rookie Benson snagged the early lead. Lamm held second while Dave Cain and Brandon Copp fought for third. Cain moved forward, slid by Lamm for second and looked ahead at Benson. Benson was ahead by nearly a straightaway as the yellow waved and the field was reset.

Benson led the restart, followed by Cain and Lamm and Brennan Gave, who joined the battle and went three-wide for second. As Benson stretched his lead out front, drivers jockeyed for second, three wide for the spot several times. Lamm and Cain remained door-to-door for second with just a handful of laps left. Benson drove on to his first-ever WISSOTA Modified feature win, with Dave Cain, JT Johnson, Jake Smith and Brennan Gave in the top five after post-race tech.

The Minnesota Micro Sprints rolled on the track surface for their feature event, led by Carson Berglund and Garrett Tatnell on row one. Tatnell, Berglund and Caleb Moen battled close for first as the yellow flew with one lap in.

Tatnell brought the drivers back to green, but Moen quickly made the pass on the back chute and took the top spot. Drivers began to space out as laps passed by, and with just three laps to go, Moen’s lead exceeded a straightaway. Caleb Moen took the double checkers to win the feature, as Berglund, Tatnell, Jacob Anderson and Tyler Pelofske completed the top five.

The WISSOTA Super Stocks closed out the season opener, led to green by Jeremy Nelson and Jordan Henkemeyer on row one. As the race went green, Nelson, Henkemeyer and Rick Simpson raced three-wide for first. Henkemeyer claimed the lead and soon stretched it out as others remained side-by-side for top positions. Simpson, James Trantina and Dexton Koch settled into second through fourth, with Denis Czech moving in to challenge the top drivers. Henkemeyer however kept his car on cruise control, led the event from flag to flag, and grabbed the win. Rick Simpson, Denis Czech, Dexton Koch and Jeremy Nelson completed the top five.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 17B-Zach Benson[1]; 2. 2C-Dave Cain[5]; 3. 89JR-JT Johnson[9]; 4. 21-Jake Smith[8]; 5. 112-Brennan Gave[4]; 6. 74C-Clint Hatlestad[15]; 7. 22-Brandon Copp[6]; 8. 25-Adam Bohlman[11]; 9. 32-Max Nelson[13]; 10. 2K-Kyle Kirberger[16]; 11. (DNF) 06-Jeremy Nelson[3]; 12. (DNF) 3T-Travis Schulte[10]; 13. (DNF) 14W-Clayton Wagamon[12]; 14. (DNF) WIN1-Karl Leavenworth[17]; 15. (DNF) 27-Tony Proell[18]; 16. (DNF) 15-Devin Fouquette[7]; 17. (DNF) 66-Kevin Lear[14]; 18. (DQ) 88-Eric Lamm[2]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 06-Jeremy Nelson[2]; 2. 112-Brennan Gave[1]; 3. 88-Eric Lamm[3]; 4. 3T-Travis Schulte[5]; 5. 32-Max Nelson[6]; 6. 2K-Kyle Kirberger[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 89JR-JT Johnson[2]; 2. 22-Brandon Copp[3]; 3. 15-Devin Fouquette[5]; 4. 25-Adam Bohlman[4]; 5. 66-Kevin Lear[6]; 6. WIN1-Karl Leavenworth[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17B-Zach Benson[2]; 2. 21-Jake Smith[1]; 3. 2C-Dave Cain[5]; 4. 14W-Clayton Wagamon[3]; 5. 74C-Clint Hatlestad[4]; 6. 27-Tony Proell[6]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 11A-Jordan Henkemeyer[3]; 2. 77K-Rick Simpson[4]; 3. 2-Denis Czech[9]; 4. 78K-Dexton Koch[6]; 5. 06-Jeremy Nelson[2]; 6. L1-Andrew Johnson[13]; 7. 33-Austin Niemeyer[12]; 8. 44-Kris Peterson[16]; 9. 46-Dustin Nelson[10]; 10. 00-Jason Hobbs[15]; 11. 24W-Chris Wark[14]; 12. 25-Dylan Nelson[11]; 13. 47J-Jeremiah Gebhardt[18]; 14. (DNF) 19X-James Trantina III[7]; 15. (DNF) 24-Eric Martini[17]; 16. (DNF) 9-Dylan Kromschroeder[5]; 17. (DNF) 21-Joey Jensen[8]; 18. (DNF) 21X-Joel Collins[1]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Joey Jensen[1]; 2. 19X-James Trantina III[5]; 3. 21X-Joel Collins[2]; 4. 46-Dustin Nelson[4]; 5. L1-Andrew Johnson[6]; 6. 44-Kris Peterson[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Denis Czech[5]; 2. 9-Dylan Kromschroeder[1]; 3. 06-Jeremy Nelson[2]; 4. 25-Dylan Nelson[3]; 5. 24W-Chris Wark[6]; 6. 24-Eric Martini[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 11A-Jordan Henkemeyer[1]; 2. 78K-Dexton Koch[4]; 3. 77K-Rick Simpson[3]; 4. 33-Austin Niemeyer[6]; 5. 00-Jason Hobbs[2]; 6. 47J-Jeremiah Gebhardt[5]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 16V-Jason VandeKamp[2]; 2. 46-Ryan Putnam[8]; 3. 17B-Zach Benson[11]; 4. 30-Joey Jensen[4]; 5. 16X-Garrett Paull[3]; 6. 28-Paul Ripley[16]; 7. 85-Jamie Davis[7]; 8. 3P-David Pixley[6]; 9. 19X-James Trantina III[20]; 10. 16-Cory Jorgensen[12]; 11. 24-Cole Elton[9]; 12. 8-Justin Jones[10]; 13. 71B-David Siercks[18]; 14. 33-Jason Helmbrecht[13]; 15. 00AZ-TJ Wyman[15]; 16. 4W-Joey Wagamon[14]; 17. 23-Mitch Weiss[19]; 18. (DNF) 11-Ashton Schulte[1]; 19. (DNF) 63X-Grayson Pratt[17]; 20. (DNF) 33H-Jake Hagemann[5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 16X-Garrett Paull[2]; 2. 11-Ashton Schulte[4]; 3. 24-Cole Elton[3]; 4. 33-Jason Helmbrecht[7]; 5. 19X-James Trantina III[5]; 6. 5-Brecken Froehlich[6]; 7. (DNS) 50-Nick McCann

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 85-Jamie Davis[1]; 2. 16V-Jason VandeKamp[2]; 3. 8-Justin Jones[3]; 4. 4W-Joey Wagamon[4]; 5. 13-Tate Kostreba[5]; 6. 23-Mitch Weiss[6]; 7. (DNF) 2-Ariel Mueller[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 46-Ryan Putnam[3]; 2. 3P-David Pixley[2]; 3. 17B-Zach Benson[5]; 4. 00AZ-TJ Wyman[1]; 5. 71B-David Siercks[6]; 6. 2S-Scott Splittstoesser[4

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 30-Joey Jensen[3]; 2. 33H-Jake Hagemann[2]; 3. 16-Cory Jorgensen[1]; 4. 28-Paul Ripley[4]; 5. 63X-Grayson Pratt[5]; 6. 32-Nick Helmbrecht[6]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 63X-Grayson Pratt[4]; 2. 71B-David Siercks[3]; 3. 23-Mitch Weiss[6]; 4. 19X-James Trantina III[1]; 5. 32-Nick Helmbrecht[8]; 6. 13-Tate Kostreba[2]; 7. 2-Ariel Mueller[9]; 8. 5-Brecken Froehlich[5]; 9. (DNF) 2S-Scott Splittstoesser[7]; 10. (DNS) 50-Nick McCann

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. XL1-Chad Funt[7]; 2. 5H-Dustin Holtquist[1]; 3. 8R-Josh Litzau[19]; 4. 7L-Tyler Larson[9]; 5. 14T-Rowan Tramm[12]; 6. D5-Doug Frederick[13]; 7. 18-Ashton Schwinn[18]; 8. (DNF) N28-Hailey Nohner[17]; 9. (DNF) TB81-Tommy Bawden[6]; 10. (DNF) 04-Tommy Pogones[2]; 11. (DNF) N88-Gerrald Nohner[5]; 12. (DNF) 18E-Luke Erlandson[10]; 13. (DNF) 13-Casey Traxler[4]; 14. (DNF) 11-Jesse Turnvall[14]; 15. (DNF) 119-Brandon Backstrom[16]; 16. (DNF) 31J-Jordan Fischer[15]; 17. (DNF) 5-Robert Holtquist[8]; 18. (DNF) 21-Blake Hawker[3]; 19. (DNF) 9T-Thomas Burgard[11]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. XL1-Chad Funt[4]; 2. 21-Blake Hawker[1]; 3. 13-Casey Traxler[2]; 4. 18E-Luke Erlandson[6]; 5. D5-Doug Frederick[5]; 6. 119-Brandon Backstrom[3]; 7. (DNF) 8R-Josh Litzau[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. TB81-Tommy Bawden[2]; 2. 7L-Tyler Larson[1]; 3. N88-Gerrald Nohner[4]; 4. 9T-Thomas Burgard[3]; 5. 11-Jesse Turnvall[6]; 6. (DNF) 18-Ashton Schwinn[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Robert Holtquist[1]; 2. 5H-Dustin Holtquist[2]; 3. 04-Tommy Pogones[6]; 4. 14T-Rowan Tramm[3]; 5. 31J-Jordan Fischer[4]; 6. N28-Hailey Nohner[5]

Micro Sprints:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 88-Caleb Moen[4]; 2. 7CB-Carson Berglund[2]; 3. 25-Garrett Tatnell[1]; 4. 71-Jacob Anderson[10]; 5. 323-Tyler Pelofske[8]; 6. 19L-Landry Singleton[5]; 7. 128-Marshall Willing[12]; 8. (DNF) 42-Jake Luark[9]; 9. (DNF) 3-Jack Lobin[3]; 10. (DNF) X-Paul Wrazidlo[6]; 11. (DNF) 8N-Noah Berglund[7]; 12. (DNS) C71-Carter Jensrud; 13. (DNS) 99-Mason Seubert

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3-Jack Lobin[3]; 2. X-Paul Wrazidlo[5]; 3. 19L-Landry Singleton[1]; 4. 8N-Noah Berglund[6]; 5. 128-Marshall Willing[7]; 6. 42-Jake Luark[2]; 7. (DNF) C71-Carter Jensrud[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Caleb Moen[2]; 2. 7CB-Carson Berglund[1]; 3. 25-Garrett Tatnell[5]; 4. 323-Tyler Pelofske[6]; 5. (DNF) 71-Jacob Anderson[3]; 6. (DNS) 99-Mason Seubert