6-25 Page 31 | ATD Racing News

Kids get a bunch of goodies from drivers at Bemidji, and Beaulieu, Koch, Honer, Marthaler, Weleski and Vernlund get Sunday scores

By Dennis Peterson

BEMIDJI, MN (June 22) - Meet the Drivers night is always a highlight of the summer at Bemidji Speedway. Sunday, all kids 12 and under received free admission and during intermission were allowed down on track to meet and greet their favorite drivers and also pick up autographed photos, toys and treats.

A total of 83 cars were on hand for the special night and a huge crowd enjoyed the special events. Kids returned to the grandstand with bags full of goodies and big smiles. In the action on the track, it was a night for first time winners with each class adding a new feature winner to the winner list in 2024.

WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included Josh Beaulieu, Dexton Koch, Kalin Honer, Jeffrey Marthaler, Deryk Weleski, and Megan Vernlund.

Twenty-one WISSOTA Pure Stocks started the night, with 18 qualifying for the feature. Billy Binkley and Chad Tabaka led the pack to the green flag with Tabaka taking the lead over Binkley, Nate Zanter, Deryk Weleski and Shannon George.

Following a caution, a door-to-door race developed for the lead between Weleski and Tabaka, with Dustin Puffe close behind in third; Weleski gained the advantage. The field of Pure Stocks spread out around the track with Justin Barsness charging up from his fifth row start into the top five. Weleski went on to pick up his first win of the summer with Puffe, Tabaka, George and Barsness trailing.

A dozen WISSOTA Super Stocks powered down the front straight to the green, with Maxwell Dondelinger and Dexton Koch out front. The first try at a start ended with Ellen Lange sideways on the front straight forcing a restart. The second try was also unsuccessful with Faye Lewis sent tailback.

The third try stayed green with Koch out front followed by Dondelinger, Cameron Labelle, Matt Sparby and Nick Lewis. The two leaders pulled away slightly from the field with Sparby and Labelle side by side for third in an excellent race; Sparby gained a slight advantage after several laps.

After another caution, Koch was out front in control with Dondelinger challenged by Sparby for second. Sparby made the pass only to lose the spot to Dondelinger with an inside pass. Koch picked up his first win of the season at Bemidji Speedway with Dondelinger, Sparby, Nic Lewis, and Dalton Carson in the top five.

Aiden Kessler and Megan Vernlund led the WISSOTA Hornets to the green flag with Vernlund quickly taking the lead and Jayme Gordon, Michael Lefler, Kessler and Chad Reller in the top five. Kessler moved to the outside and up top of turns one and two. The race car slid up over the top of the turn and rolled violently down the banking. Kessler was attended to by track safety personnel and Bemidji Fire and Rescue and was okay, but out of the race.

When racing resumed, it was all Vernlund as the young racer powered to her first win and a clean sweep. Reller, Lefler, Gordon and Mateja Dreyer completed the top five.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds were led on track by Kalin Honer and Cory Peterson in row one. Honer grabbed the early lead with Hunter Weeks, Brennan Schmidt, Peterson and Conner Drewry in the top five early. Skyler Smith started in the fourth row and quickly moved up into fourth with Doyle Erickson following into fifth.

The field raced single file for a good portion of the race before Smith and Schmidt put on a show, dueling side by side for third. Schmidt fought off the challenge and raced up to take second from Weeks in a turn three attempt. The action was successful and Schmidt took second. Out front Kalin Honer crossed the finish line for his first-ever win in the Midwest Modified class. Schmidt, Weeks, Smith and Erickson made up the top five in a flag-to-flag race.

Brooke Erickson and Jeffrey Marthaler led the WISSOTA Mod Fours down the front straight to the green flag, with Marthaler gaining the advantage. He was followed by Ashton Schwinn, Casey Traxler, Nick Seitz and Kevin Bahr. Ashton Schwinn quickly tried a high side pass while Traxler raced alongside Schwinn. Seitz was looking strong in fourth with Bahr holding fifth. The first caution waved for Chris Benny, spun in turn two.

The restart was controlled by Marthaler with Schwinn, Traxler, Seitz and Bahr holding position. Traxler and Schwinn raced door to door, with Conrad Schwinn on the move up into fifth. Now it was Seitz on the move, as he passed both Schwinn and Traxler for second. Marthaler took the checkered flag, his first at Bemidji Speedway, with Seitz looking very fast finishing second. He was followed by Traxler, Ashton Schwinn and Blake Erickson.

With the sun setting in turns three and four, the WISSOTA Modifieds roared on track led by Alan Olafson on the pole and Josh Beaulieu to his right. With the green flag waving, Beaulieu powered to the lead with Olafson, Lance Schilling, Jeff Reed and Cameron Brown trailing on the super fast track. Schilling made the first move forward, passing Olafson in turns one and two after a door-to-door battle, but Olafson charged back on the back straight to regain second. Schilling continued to challenge Olafson and later retook the second spot on the back straight.

Beaulieu was in control out front and drove to the eventual win. It was his first win of the 2024 season at Bemidji Speedway. Schilling, Olafson, Reed and John Farrington finished in the top five.

A total of 12 Bemidji Mini Stocks drove on track with Jonah Espe on the pole. It was Cody Bush’s night, however, as the young driver powered to the lead followed by Gordon Hunter, Ashton Schwinn, Conrad Schwinn and Gabriel Espe. Ashton and Conrad Schwinn both raced by Espe for second and third before a yellow flag slowed the action with Hunter going over the top of turns three and four.

The restart was controlled by Bush out front and he survived several more cautions to pick up his first-ever feature win. Conrad Schwinn was second followed by Hunter, Jonah Espe, and Hayden Engen.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[3]; 2. 43-Lance Schilling[5]; 3. 77-Alan Olafson[2]; 4. 2R-Jeff Reed[4]; 5. 40F-John Farrington[7]; 6. 8T-Doug VanMill[1]; 7. (DQ) 4JR-Cameron Brown[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 43-Lance Schilling[2]; 2. 2R-Jeff Reed[4]; 3. 77-Alan Olafson[1]; 4. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[3]; 5. 8T-Doug VanMill[6]; 6. 4JR-Cameron Brown[5]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 78K-Dexton Koch[2]; 2. 44-Maxwell Dondelinger[1]; 3. 81X-Matt Sparby[4]; 4. T26-Nic Lewis[7]; 5. 57-Dalton Carlson[12]; 6. 27C-Cameron Labelle[5]; 7. 65-Ron Reed[11]; 8. 11-Riley Groshong[10]; 9. 40-Ellen Lange[9]; 10. (DNF) 26M-Garrett Masurka[6]; 11. (DNF) 29X-Brandon Bahr[8]; 12. (DNF) 17-Faye Lewis[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 81X-Matt Sparby[2]; 2. 78K-Dexton Koch[5]; 3. T26-Nic Lewis[3]; 4. 17-Faye Lewis[6]; 5. 40-Ellen Lange[4]; 6. (DNF) 65-Ron Reed[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 27C-Cameron Labelle[2]; 2. 44-Maxwell Dondelinger[4]; 3. 29X-Brandon Bahr[5]; 4. 26M-Garrett Masurka[3]; 5. 11-Riley Groshong[6]; 6. (DNF) 57-Dalton Carlson[1]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 115-Kalin Honer[1]; 2. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[6]; 3. 9W-Hunter Weeks[3]; 4. 16-Skyler Smith[8]; 5. 99-Doyle Erickson[7]; 6. 74-Gary James Nelson[13]; 7. 13-Devyn Weleski[10]; 8. 15-Landon Gross[5]; 9. 6K-Noah Bitz[12]; 10. 7P-Cory Peterson[2]; 11. 18X-Connor Drewry[4]; 12. 19-Evan Gust[9]; 13. (DNS) 11K-Travis Klein

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18X-Connor Drewry[5]; 2. 9W-Hunter Weeks[1]; 3. 7P-Cory Peterson[2]; 4. 15-Landon Gross[3]; 5. 19-Evan Gust[6]; 6. (DNF) 11K-Travis Klein[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[1]; 2. 99-Doyle Erickson[2]; 3. 16-Skyler Smith[6]; 4. 115-Kalin Honer[4]; 5. 13-Devyn Weleski[5]; 6. (DQ) 6K-Noah Bitz[3]

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. C92-Jeffrey Marthaler[2]; 2. 92-Nick Seitz[5]; 3. 13-Casey Traxler[6]; 4. 18-Ashton Schwinn[4]; 5. 99-Blake Erickson[7]; 6. 44-Chad Erlandson[9]; 7. 29-Kevin Bahr[3]; 8. 77-Brooklyn Vernlund[11]; 9. 119-Brandon Backstrom[12]; 10. 995-Brooke Erickson[1]; 11. (DNF) 6-Conrad Schwinn[10]; 12. (DNF) 14-Chris Benny[8]; 13. (DNF) 18E-Luke Erlandson[13]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13-Casey Traxler[2]; 2. 92-Nick Seitz[1]; 3. 99-Blake Erickson[4]; 4. 18-Ashton Schwinn[6]; 5. 44-Chad Erlandson[5]; 6. 6-Conrad Schwinn[7]; 7. 77-Brooklyn Vernlund[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. C92-Jeffrey Marthaler[2]; 2. 29-Kevin Bahr[5]; 3. 995-Brooke Erickson[6]; 4. 14-Chris Benny[4]; 5. (DNS) 119-Brandon Backstrom; 6. (DNS) 18E-Luke Erlandson

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 39-Deryk Weleski[5]; 2. 21X-Dustin Puffe[6]; 3. 23-Chad Tabaka[2]; 4. 10-Shannon George[7]; 5. 47J-Justin Barsness[10]; 6. 38-Nate Zanter[3]; 7. 3-Kade Leeper[8]; 8. 62-Joshua Bitker[12]; 9. 57-Austin Carlson[9]; 10. 15-Caylyn Binkley[4]; 11. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[15]; 12. 18B-Alex Berg[16]; 13. 25-Billy Binkley[1]; 14. 29XT-Aaron Sigerud[13]; 15. 55-Aaron Bitker[11]; 16. 8-Karen Puschinsky[18]; 17. 47-Terry Hill[14]; 18. (DNF) 21-Mason Smith[17]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21X-Dustin Puffe[2]; 2. 25-Billy Binkley[1]; 3. 15-Caylyn Binkley[3]; 4. 47J-Justin Barsness[6]; 5. 29XT-Aaron Sigerud[4]; 6. 18B-Alex Berg[7]; 7. 24-Tabatha Conkle[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 39-Deryk Weleski[7]; 2. 10-Shannon George[6]; 3. 38-Nate Zanter[3]; 4. 55-Aaron Bitker[1]; 5. 47-Terry Hill[2]; 6. (DNF) 21-Mason Smith[4]; 7. (DNF) 59F-Lilian Farrington[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Chad Tabaka[1]; 2. 3-Kade Leeper[3]; 3. 57-Austin Carlson[6]; 4. 62-Joshua Bitker[2]; 5. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[5]; 6. 54S-Collin Sander[7]; 7. 8-Karen Puschinsky[4]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 18B-Alex Berg[1]; 2. 21-Mason Smith[5]; 3. 8-Karen Puschinsky[4]; 4. (DNF) 59F-Lilian Farrington[6]; 5. (DNF) 24-Tabatha Conkle[3]; 6. (DNS) 54S-Collin Sander

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 77-Megan Vernlund[2]; 2. 28-Chad Reller[5]; 3. 33L-Michael Lefler[4]; 4. 7G-Jayme Gordon[3]; 5. 7M-Mateja Dreyer[6]; 6. (DNF) 72-Aiden Kessler[1]; 7. (DNS) 81R-Ryker Larson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Megan Vernlund[2]; 2. 33L-Michael Lefler[1]; 3. 7G-Jayme Gordon[6]; 4. 72-Aiden Kessler[4]; 5. 28-Chad Reller[3]; 6. (DNF) 7M-Mateja Dreyer[5]; 7. (DNF) 81R-Ryker Larson[7]

Mini Stocks:

A Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 11C-Cody Bush[2]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[8]; 3. 15-Gordon Hunter[4]; 4. 20JE-Jonah Espe[1]; 5. 77-Hayden Engen[5]; 6. 94-Cameron Schwinn[11]; 7. G17-Gabriel Espe[3]; 8. (DNF) 18-Ashton Schwinn[6]; 9. (DNF) 3H-Kaylie Winge[10]; 10. (DNF) 5H-Jason Hunter[7]; 11. (DNF) 4-Dawson Oelrich[9]; 12. (DNF) 117-Zack Honer[12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Conrad Schwinn[2]; 2. 18-Ashton Schwinn[1]; 3. G17-Gabriel Espe[4]; 4. 5H-Jason Hunter[5]; 5. 4-Dawson Oelrich[6]; 6. (DNF) 94-Cameron Schwinn[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Gordon Hunter[2]; 2. 77-Hayden Engen[1]; 3. 11C-Cody Bush[4]; 4. 20JE-Jonah Espe[5]; 5. 3H-Kaylie Winge[3]; 6. (DNF) 117-Zack Honer[6]