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Friday, June 21

As has been the case for the past few weeks and it seems like months, once the weekend arrives so does the bad weather. Tracks throughout WISSOTA were forced to cancel their programs due to actual rain, the effects of the week of rain leading up to race night, or both.

One of the few tracks to get a show in Friday was I-94 emr Speedway in Fergus Falls, MN, which is where I headed.

Friday night was one of the many special nights I-94 has going on this year. On Friday, the NLRA Late Models were in attendance, racing along with three other WISSOTA-sanctioned divisions and one local division.

The NLRA is always one of the best supported series in the upper Midwest. They had 29 Late Models sign in to race, including the top 13 in NLRA points.

There was a palatable lack of enthusiasm in the Late Model pits, much of it due to the passing of Late Model driver Nick Minske earlier in the day. The East Grand Forks Late Model driver was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident several days prior. He was kept on life support so arrangements could be completed for organ donation, so others might survive and prosper in the wake of this tragedy. The Walk of Honor for him, a service done to honor organ donors as they’re walked to that final surgery, was held Friday morning at the Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, with hundreds reportedly attending.

Nick didn't race many other tracks other than at River Cities, but he was a beloved part of the River Cities family, having raced WISSOTA Street Stocks for a number of years before he moved up to Late Models in the last couple of years. Nick was just 35 years old and leaves behind a wife and five children. His loss is a profound one for the local racing community and they were definitely feeling the impact Friday.

When it came to the racing on the track, solid fields of drivers were on hand in the other WISSOTA classes on hand as well.

Thought the weather may have scared off some, both in the pits and in the grandstands, the clouds and humidity made for a great race track. The surface was very fast but remained smooth. And with the cloud cover, I don't believe that we saw the water truck on the track once the whole night after the first green flag was waved.

During their very quick break after the heats, all they did was pack and the track remained good for the conclusion of the show, providing speed and multiple grooves.

I always stop by and say hello to Larry Samuelson, who races in the unsanctioned class at the track in addition to helping track owner Don Shaw with a lot of the improvements and repairs around the track. Samuelson told me they had recently installed a number of new LED track lights, hoping to beef up the track lighting. I must admit, I thought that my last visit earlier this year was a bit darker than it had been. Samuelson said many of the existing lights dated back to when Dick Johanneck built the track and many of them were reportedly used even at that point. A number of existing lights also needed to be repositioned, too.

Larry has a WISSOTA Late Model ready to go, but with some carburetor issues and the rain he hasn't been able to get any testing time. Until he is sure that the car will run correctly, he doesn't want to risk having trouble during a race and possibly messing up other drivers.

The 14 qualifying events were clicked off in fast order, with the yellow flag flying only three times in total. A very quick break to roll in the cushion took place and then, with rain reportedly on the way, the running order was changed and the Late Model feature was the first one rolled onto the track following the break.

I commend the track officials for paying attention to what was going on and also for their decision to make sure they got their featured attraction completed, just in case it did rain. As it turned out, it sprinkled just a little during the final laps of the Late Model feature and also briefly during the Midwest Mod main, but then stopped entirely, allowing the completion of the whole show.

Cole Schill came off the outside pole to grab the early lead with Brody Troftgruben, Shane Edginton and Tyler Peterson following closely. Peterson was the driver on the move, as he quickly raced into second, and then challenged Schill for the lead. On lap four, Peterson went blowing by on the high side to take over the top spot and for many, they assumed the race was over.

However, that assumption proved very wrong. Dave Mass, who started seventh, roared up through the pack and when the yellow flew on lap seven for a spin, he was up to third in the running order. A second yellow on the restart proved to be the only stoppages of the race. When the green was dropped for good after that second slowdown, Mass went tearing to the cushion, got a tremendous run off turn two, and drove past Peterson to take over the lead.

The race then went nonstop for the final 19 laps and Mass was in control the rest of the way as while Peterson — and later, Schill — remained close, they had no challenges for Mass. The biggest worry for the leader was lapped traffic, of which there was enough. Mass did a masterful job of driving through the slower cars with 10 of them on the track at the end of the race.

Peterson ran second for much of the race but late in the contest, Schill picked up the pace, retaking second and then closing in on the leader. He did run out of time and had to settle for second with Peterson third. Shane Sabraski and Edginton seemed to spend most of the race battling each other for fourth, with Sabraski winning out at the end. Only five of the 29 failed to finish the race and all the drivers did a great job of navigating a congested race track.

Twenty-two Mid Mods took to the track for their 20-lap main event and Blake Adams, who probably made the longest tow to get to the races, led from start to finish to take the win. He got the lead right at the start but his constant challenger throughout the race was Tanner Bitzan, who ran just behind him all twenty laps and tried his darndest to get past. Tanner tried different lines and tried both getting inside or going to the cushion to get past Adams and while he was close, Adams refused to be flustered.

There were three yellows and on each restart, Bitzan was all over Adams but just couldn't quite get past. Once he got under Adams in turn four and they were dangerously close together, but Adams held off the challenge.

Taylor Bitzan drove up from eighth and then challenged his brother for second until he spun just past the halfway point of the race and ended his run. Tayten Blascyk then joined the fun to make it a three-car battle and Bitzan had to fend off Blascyk.

For Adams, he drove a smart race, always found his line lap after lap, and refused to be buffaloed into making mistake. Cole Elton also drove a strong race, finishing fourth, right in the lead pack.

An interesting side note on Adams ... he started bugging his mother Megan around noon to perhaps go racing on Friday night, with all the local tracks cancelling. It's a four-and-a-half hour pull from Cameron to Fergus, but he always has his way with her!

His dad, Kevin (Buzzy), was working and not available to go, so if he was going to race, Blake needed her to drive the rig, since he's not yet old enough to do so. Megan is familiar hauling horse trailers so it was not a new experience for her but she said St. Cloud traffic was a challenge. I'm not sure if this was the first time that Buzzy was not at the track for a Blake race, but likely the first feature win he has missed. The boy is growing up.

The Modified feature was nonstop for 20 laps and a dominant performance was put on by Landon Atkinson, who started on the outside pole, got up on that fast cushion, and led all 20 laps and was never really challenged. Atkinson was followed by Brendan Blascyk, who ran in that position for all 20 laps, despite having to fend off some challenges from Travis Saurer. Brady Gerdes made a strong late charge but ran out of time and settled for fourth and Kennedy Swan held her own just fine, thank you. She started eighth, and raced up to fifth while fighting off Dusty Bitzan late.

There were 15 Hornets for their feature race. A good race for the lead included Dustin Wahl in front for the first six laps, as Justin Schelitzche moved up from sixth and was running on his rear bumper by the time they reached the halfway point. One lap later, Schelitzche drove past to take over the top spot and he then drove on the rest of the way for the win.

Schelitzche can show up anywhere and everywhere in WISSOTA and you can never predict where he might race next. No matter where he goes, he is always a tough nut to beat. Once he got in front, he withstood a late yellow with just four laps to go and then drove away for the win. Kole Kampsen made a late charge and withstood a pretty solid hit on the restart to wind up second with Payson Patrin, who was not even in the top three following that late yellow, suddenly appearing in third at the finish. Wahl, after his strong start, met trouble in the tech shed and didn't record a finish.

The final checkered flag waved at right around 10 p.m., making for a short and satisfying night at the track. The racing was good, there were not a lot of yellows, the track remained fine and we didn't have to see the water truck an overabundant amount. Life was good on Friday I-94. Thanks to Don, Ron and everyone else for a good show despite less-than-favorable weather conditions.