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Adams, Myers and Simpson score before Grand Rapids officials cut program short on Thursday night

By Shannon Reigel

GRAND RAPIDS, MN (May 30) - After the first two weeks of the 2024 season were rained out at Grand Rapids Speedway, the track finally caught a break Thursday, May 30. Track workers battled against the effects of the many days of rain and attempted to make a great night. In the end, however, with more rain nearing the race track and tough track conditions, the evening was cut short due to safety concerns after the Modified feature.

WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included David Simpson, Kevin Adams, and Curt Myers.

The 21-car field of WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds were led to green by Scott Thompson and Sam Blevins. Sam was the initial leader, as Mikey Blevins raced along the highside and looked for a way by his brother, which he found soon after.

Farther back, 11th-starter Blake Adams made his way quickly to the front, taking third ahead of David Simpson, with Scott Thompson fifth. A caution for several spun cars reset the field.

Mikey Blevins led the field back to green, while Sam Blevins came under fire from Adams for runner-up honors. Adams took second and looked ahead to Mikey, getting by in corner one for the lead. With just six laps complete, another caution flew for debris on the track.

Adams led the field back to green, ahead of Simpson and Mikey Blevins in a fight for second; Mikey drifted too high on the track, which allowed Simpson to scoot by along the low line and take second. Another caution fell for Darrin Lawler, who stalled on the track and Mikey Blevins left the track for the pits.

Adams led the field back to green-flag action, while Simpson kept close and looked for a way by. Don Smith, who had started 16th, was into third and challenging for second, while 20th-starter Paul Ripley took fourth.

Out front, Adams hit the rough spot in the track and his car bicycled, allowing Simpson to sneak by. Adams regrouped and regained the lead, with Simpson giving it an extra push at the checkered and retaking the lead and the victory. Adams had to settle for second, Smith was third, Ripley was fourth, and Thompson completed the top five.

Dalton Carlson and Andy LaBarge held down the front row for the start of the WISSOTA Super Stock feature. Carlson was the early leader, before third-starter Curt Myers drove by for the top spot. Sixth-starter Rick Simpson raced into third, while Dustin Nelson held fourth and Doug Koski raced in fifth.

Carlson regained the lead one lap later, with Myers second but under heavy pressure from Simpson. They were nearly three wide one lap later, with Carlson still in the lead, Simpson second and Myers back to third. Another lap passed, with Carlson now feeling the heat from Myers, Simpson and now Dustin Nelson, who were three wide for second. Myers drove by the rest into the lead to complete the lap, with Carlson second and Nelson third.

As Myers moved out to more of an advantage, Carlson had to fend off challenges from Nelson. Farther back, ninth-starter Matt Sparby began to turn up the wick and made his way to the front. A few laps later, Simpson made his way into the infield and retired from the race.

Out front, Myers drove on to the win ahead of Carlson, Sparby, Nelson, and Koski in the top five.

Josh Beaulieu and Bob Broking were out front of the pack to start the WISSOTA Modified feature. They fought for the top spot, until Beaulieu lost control and allowed Johnny Broking to sneak in and steal the lead. Bob Broking was second behind his son, while Beaulieu regrouped along the high side and looked for a way by the father-son duo.

Behind the front-runners, Ryan Jensen and Kevin Adams battled for fourth, with Adams overcoming Jensen for the spot. Adams used the high side to his advantage and gained on the leaders. Johnny Broking had trouble navigating lapped traffic two wide ahead of him near the halfway point, which allowed Adams to quickly reel him in. A caution halted the race when Jennie Krause spun on the track.

Now past the halfway point, Adams used the restart to move by Johnny Broking on the high side, but Charlie Castle stalled on the track and the caution fell once again.

Adams blasted out into the lead on the restart, as Broking moved to the top lane to try to track him back down. Coming into the problematic turn one, Johnny went up on two wheels and came to a stop. During the caution, Johnny and Bob Broking left the track with six laps to go.

The event was checkered instead of restarting, and the race was considered complete. Adams pulled into victory lane, taking the checkered flag ahead of Beaulieu, Jensen, John Toppozini, and T.J. Heinle in the top five.

With just three laps left in the Northern Renegade feature, 13th-starter Ken Hron made the pass for the lead and drove on to the hard-fought win, his first for 2024. He was followed to the checkered flag by Chris Lewis, Erik Bjorklund, Danny Wait, Jr., and K.C. Hawkinson in the top five.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1: 1. 40-Kevin Adams[6]; 2. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[1]; 3. 23-Ryan Jensen[7]; 4. T23-John Toppozini[3]; 5. 12-TJ Heinle[9]; 6. 8E8-Jessy Krause[12]; 7. 8E8J-Jennie Krause[11]; 8. 45J-Johnny Broking[5]; 9. (DNF) 2-Charlie Castle[8]; 10. (DNF) 24D-Duane Dale[4]; 11. (DNF) 99-Billy Kendall III[10]; 12. (DQ) 45-Bob Broking[2]

Heat 1: 1. 2-Charlie Castle[1]; 2. 45J-Johnny Broking[3]; 3. 40-Kevin Adams[2]; 4. 45-Bob Broking[4]; 5. 12-TJ Heinle[5]; 6. 8E8J-Jennie Krause[6]

Heat 2: 1. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[1]; 2. 23-Ryan Jensen[2]; 3. 24D-Duane Dale[3]; 4. T23-John Toppozini[4]; 5. 99-Billy Kendall III[5]; 6. 8E8-Jessy Krause[6]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1: 1. 33-Curt Myers[3]; 2. 57-Dalton Carlson[1]; 3. 81X-Matt Sparby[9]; 4. 46-Dustin Nelson[8]; 5. 76-Doug Koski[4]; 6. 11-Kevin Salin[7]; 7. 40-Ellen Lange[10]; 8. 77K-Rick Simpson[6]; 9. 26M-Garrett Masurka[5]; 10. 79A-Andy LaBarge[2]

Heat 1: 1. 76-Doug Koski[3]; 2. 77K-Rick Simpson[4]; 3. 57-Dalton Carlson[5]; 4. 11-Kevin Salin[2]; 5. 81X-Matt Sparby[1]

Heat 2: 1. 46-Dustin Nelson[1]; 2. 33-Curt Myers[3]; 3. 26M-Garrett Masurka[2]; 4. 79A-Andy LaBarge[4]; 5. 40-Ellen Lange[5]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1: 1. 70-David Simpson[7]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[11]; 3. 86-Don Smith[16]; 4. 28-Paul Ripley[20]; 5. 11X-Scott Thompson[1]; 6. 18-Justin Feltus[10]; 7. 4L-Carey LePage[8]; 8. 1-Joe Pangrac[13]; 9. 27X-Brandon Hamlin[15]; 10. 25C-Cole Sondergaard[17]; 11. 5-Rory Taber[18]; 12. 10X-Matthew Cunha[21]; 13. (DNF) 4AL-Dane Olson[5]; 14. (DNF) 10S-Sam Blevins[2]; 15. (DNF) 10JR-Mikey Blevins[4]; 16. (DNF) 19-Darrin Lawler[12]; 17. (DNF) 10B-Michael Blevins Sr[14]; 18. (DNF) 26K-Sam Kolar[6]; 19. (DNF) 62-Jerry Morgan[19]; 20. (DNF) 48-Tim Jackson[9]; 21. (DNF) 10-Mervin Castle III[3]

Heat 1: 1. 70-David Simpson[5]; 2. 48-Tim Jackson[1]; 3. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[3]; 4. 18-Justin Feltus[4]; 5. 1-Joe Pangrac[2]; 6. 86-Don Smith[7]; 7. (DNF) 28-Paul Ripley[6]

Heat 2: 1. 10S-Sam Blevins[2]; 2. 10-Mervin Castle III[1]; 3. 4AL-Dane Olson[5]; 4. 40D-Blake Adams[6]; 5. 10B-Michael Blevins Sr[7]; 6. 25C-Cole Sondergaard[4]; 7. 62-Jerry Morgan[3]

Heat 3: 1. 4L-Carey LePage[1]; 2. 11X-Scott Thompson[2]; 3. 26K-Sam Kolar[3]; 4. 19-Darrin Lawler[6]; 5. 27X-Brandon Hamlin[5]; 6. 5-Rory Taber[7]; 7. (DNF) 10X-Matthew Cunha[4]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

Feature - Information not available at press time.

Heat 1: 1. 40C-Chaston Finckbone[5]; 2. 86J-Jake Smith[3]; 3. 47J-Justin Barsness[1]; 4. 7-Bob Klein[4]; 5. 15-Caylyn Binkley[2]; 6. 8-Karen Puschinsky[6]

Heat 2: 1. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[1]; 2. 22E-Ethan Elhardt[4]; 3. 17JR-Tom Cornelison Jr[5]; 4. 25-Billy Binkley[2]; 5. (DNF) 57-Austin Carlson[3]; 6. (DNF) 18B-Alex Berg[6]

WISSOTA Hornets:

Feature - Information not available at press time.

Heat 1: 1. 33L-Michael Lefler[1]; 2. 71-Nathan Bird[2]; 3. 40R-Bonnie McLynn[5]; 4. 11-Tucker Smith[4]; 5. 31-Zeb Graves[3]; 6. 10-Easton Pfeiffer[6]

Heat 2: 1. 10Z-Cade Johnson[4]; 2. 25K-McKenna Folstad[6]; 3. 79JR-Mikayla LaBarge[5]; 4. 81R-Ryker Larson[3]; 5. 13K-Anastashia Chavez[2]; 6. 08-Shayne Houle[1]

Northern Renegades:

A Feature 1: 1. 46H-Ken Hron[13]; 2. 5J-Chris Lewis[5]; 3. 17B-Erik Bjorklund[1]; 4. 92-Danny Wait Jr[3]; 5. 46-KC Hawkinson[9]; 6. Z15-Zach Olson[10]; 7. 67-Chad Wulff[7]; 8. 11-Jesse Grife[2]; 9. 56-Emma Braford[6]; 10. 17-Mariah LaPatka[11]; 11. (DNF) 51E-Peyton Emerson[12]; 12. (DNF) 2-Teal Arnason[4]; 13. (DNF) 101-Paul Schultz[8]

Heat 1: 1. 101-Paul Schultz[1]; 2. 2-Teal Arnason[5]; 3. 17B-Erik Bjorklund[2]; 4. 92-Danny Wait Jr[3]; 5. 46-KC Hawkinson[4]; 6. Z15-Zach Olson[6]; 7. 17-Mariah LaPatka[7]

Heat 2: 1. 5J-Chris Lewis[5]; 2. 11-Jesse Grife[2]; 3. 67-Chad Wulff[4]; 4. 56-Emma Braford[6]; 5. (DNF) 51E-Peyton Emerson[3]; 6. (DNS) 46H-Ken Hron