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Dustin Bitzan (Danny Reichel File Photo)

Field of 142 whittled down Friday at I-94 Speedway until the only ones left standing are Bitzan, Peterson, Schow, Turner and Pourrier

By Ron Krog

FERGUS FALLS, MN (August 23) - It was a very busy night at I-94 emr Speedway Friday, as 142 cars made their way into the pits for action in the WISSOTA Dirt Track Series and the track’s Gen X Late Models.

Dusty Bitzan, Tyler Peterson, Matt Schow, Darek Turner, and Chase Pourrier were winners in sanctioned action, while Ben Wolden took the win in the Gen X Late Models.

The showcase was the Fallen Lineman Mod special, running for $2,000 to win. This was the ninth running of this very special race, which raises money for families of fallen powerline workers and the volunteers have done an amazing job with the event.

The WISSOTA Mods blasted out of the gate with 26 tough competitors in the field; Dusty Bitzan took the early lead for the 30-lap A-main. Six laps in, Travis Saurer caught Bitzan and used a slide job to take the lead, but Bitzan came right back and returned the favor. The two went back and forth for four laps before Saurer hit the wall in turn two, sending him to the pits. Ryan Gierke made his way to the front, and he and Bitzan swapped the lead three different times, but finally Bitzan was able to slip away.

A yellow flag reset the field and this time Tyler Peterson came calling; he grabbed the lead in turns one and two, but Bitzan took it back in turns three and four. As the final laps wound down, Dan Ebert was closing in third, but after a hard-fought battle, Bitzan held off Peterson, Ebert and Gierke for the big win.

A group of folks got together and put up another $1,000 to the hard charger — and that went to Avery Anderson, who started 26th and finished 12th.

In the 21-car WISSOTA Late Model feature, Blake Boelens took the early lead as he continued to impress, but Travis Robertson got by with five laps scored. Tyler Peterson started ninth, and by lap eight had moved to third. A caution with 10 laps left reset the field and it almost looked like something broke, as Robertson hit the wall and slowed.

Kollin Hibdon assumed the lead and was keeping Peterson at bay when he broke with four laps to go, and that opened the door for Peterson. He drove to the eventual victory with Josh Zimpel second and Travis Saurer — making a rare Late Model appearance — third in Scot Rachel’s backup car. Cole Schill charged from 14th to fourth. Mitch Johnson completed the top five.

A whopping 38 WISSOTA Midwest Mods rolled in and after five heat races and two B-mains, the field was set. Matt Schow took the lead with Brennon Weight right on his back bumper. Taylor Bitzan and Weight had a great battle for second that lasted seven laps, as Reise Stenberg and Haley Dykhoff also joined in the top-five action.

In the end, Schow was too strong as he took the win with Weight second, Bitzan third and Dykhoff fourth. Fourteenth-starter Shane Howell completed the top five. The hard charger of the race was Corey Mehrwerth as he charged from 21st to seventh.

As usual the WISSOTA Street Stocks had a dandy battle, as the 26 cars all ran the feature. Darek Turner and Wade Bergerud led the field from the front row, with Turner the early leader ahead of a battle for second between Ty Agen and Cory Dykhoff.

With six laps to go, Eric Riley looked like the fastest car on the track as he caught Agen, and they swapped spots four different times. With two laps to go, a caution came out putting more pressure on Turner, who was looking for his first win at I-94. On the restart, Turner was strong as he grabbed the very popular win, with Agen edging Riley for second. It was Turner second win in two nights of action, as he won his first-ever feature last weekend at Buffalo River Speedway

In the 11-car WISSOTA Hornet feature, Chase Pourrier led all the way for his eighth win of the season with Bobie Arnes strong in second, and Christian Kast and Nick Shirley running third and fourth. Jeff Rohner completed the top five.

I-94 emr Speedway thanks all the sponsors for their great support: Lubetech, Dehn Oil & Propane, All State Peterbilt, Viking Coca-Cola, Gallagher, Titan Machinery and Del Med. Next Friday, Aug 30 is season championship night with all classes running. Green flag drops at 7.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Late Models:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[9]; 2. 5-Josh Zimpel[5]; 3. 66X-Travis Saurer[6]; 4. 44*-Cole Schill[14]; 5. 00-Mitch Johnson[2]; 6. 10K-Shawn Kirwin[11]; 7. 15X-Blake Boelens[1]; 8. 27-Jared Zimpel[15]; 9. 66-Sam Zender[17]; 10. 50-Ben Wolden[12]; 11. 25T-Jamie Trautner[16]; 12. 18X-Shawn Meyer[7]; 13. 9R-Erik Robertson[19]; 14. 24-Mike Hart[13]; 15. 3H-Jerry Hauge[18]; 16. (DNF) 48K-Kollin Hibdon[4]; 17. (DNF) 8R-Travis Robertson[3]; 18. (DNF) 2-Dave Mass[8]; 19. (DNF) 10R-Kevin Robertson[20]; 20. (DNF) 18-Josh Rieck[10]; 21. (DNS) 32T-Lindsey Hansen

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 48K-Kollin Hibdon[4]; 2. 5-Josh Zimpel[6]; 3. 00-Mitch Johnson[2]; 4. 18-Josh Rieck[5]; 5. 24-Mike Hart[3]; 6. (DNF) 10R-Kevin Robertson[7]; 7. (DNF) 32T-Lindsey Hansen[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 8R-Travis Robertson[2]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[1]; 3. 18X-Shawn Meyer[7]; 4. 10K-Shawn Kirwin[6]; 5. 44*-Cole Schill[5]; 6. 25T-Jamie Trautner[4]; 7. 3H-Jerry Hauge[3]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 66X-Travis Saurer[1]; 2. 2-Dave Mass[2]; 3. 15X-Blake Boelens[5]; 4. 50-Ben Wolden[4]; 5. 27-Jared Zimpel[7]; 6. 66-Sam Zender[3]; 7. 9R-Erik Robertson[6]

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 10X-Dustin Bitzan[1]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[8]; 3. 60-Dan Ebert[9]; 4. 26G-Ryan Gierke[6]; 5. 18A-Landon Atkinson[12]; 6. 2C-Dave Cain[2]; 7. 6X-Zach Johnson[11]; 8. 52-Jason Thoennes[10]; 9. 4-Jeremy Nelson[21]; 10. 2X-Brady Gerdes[17]; 11. 24-Brandon Dolman[7]; 12. 51A-Avery Anderson[26]; 13. 51-Josh Thoennes[19]; 14. 15-Ryan Flaten[20]; 15. 7-Bryce Borgen[13]; 16. 112-Brennan Gave[22]; 17. 9B-Brendan Blascyk[15]; 18. 19-Lucas Rodin[23]; 19. 6T-Corky Thomas[25]; 20. (DNF) 5H-Brett Hoium[14]; 21. (DNF) 10H-Nate Heinrich[4]; 22. (DNF) 6SL-Seth Brede[5]; 23. (DNF) 6ST-Joseph Thomas[18]; 24. (DNF) 21X-Travis Saurer[3]; 25. (DNF) 6*-Brian Haben[16]; 26. (DNF) 11X-Austin Chyba[24]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10H-Nate Heinrich[2]; 2. 2C-Dave Cain[1]; 3. 6X-Zach Johnson[6]; 4. 6*-Brian Haben[4]; 5. 5K-Tyler Kaeter[5]; 6. 15F-Jeff Flaten[7]; 7. 5JF-Jonathen Feda[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Brandon Dolman[2]; 2. 21X-Travis Saurer[6]; 3. 18A-Landon Atkinson[5]; 4. 2X-Brady Gerdes[7]; 5. 51A-Avery Anderson[3]; 6. 7M-Brandon Mehrwerth[1]; 7. (DNF) 11X-Austin Chyba[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Jason Thoennes[2]; 2. 26G-Ryan Gierke[6]; 3. 7-Bryce Borgen[4]; 4. 6ST-Joseph Thomas[7]; 5. 112-Brennan Gave[3]; 6. 6T-Corky Thomas[1]; 7. 19-Lucas Rodin[5]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 6SL-Seth Brede[4]; 2. 60-Dan Ebert[7]; 3. 5H-Brett Hoium[6]; 4. 51-Josh Thoennes[5]; 5. 121-Dano Ostrander[2]; 6. (DNF) 4-Jeremy Nelson[1]; 7. (DNF) 33X-Justin Froemming[3]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 10X-Dustin Bitzan[4]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[5]; 3. 9B-Brendan Blascyk[3]; 4. 15-Ryan Flaten[6]; 5. 2G-Brock Gronwold[1]; 6. (DNF) 2J-Blake Jegtvig[2]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 4-Jeremy Nelson[11]; 2. 112-Brennan Gave[3]; 3. 19-Lucas Rodin[10]; 4. 11X-Austin Chyba[13]; 5. 6T-Corky Thomas[8]; 6. 51A-Avery Anderson[2]; 7. 2G-Brock Gronwold[5]; 8. 121-Dano Ostrander[4]; 9. (DNF) 15F-Jeff Flaten[6]; 10. (DNF) 7M-Brandon Mehrwerth[7]; 11. (DNS) 5K-Tyler Kaeter; 12. (DNS) 5JF-Jonathen Feda; 13. (DNS) 2J-Blake Jegtvig; 14. (DNS) 33X-Justin Froemming

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 2S-Matt Schow[1]; 2. 28-Brennon Weight[2]; 3. 24TB-Taylor Bitzan[3]; 4. 50H-Haley Dykhoff[8]; 5. 42B-Tanner Bitzan[9]; 6. L1-Shane Howell[14]; 7. 27-Corey Mehrwerth[21]; 8. 71-Nate Reinke[10]; 9. 46J-Taylor Jacobson[5]; 10. 2B-Tayten Blascyk[15]; 11. 19-Lucas Rodin[20]; 12. 28S-Ryan Schow[17]; 13. 39-Jamie Dietzler[22]; 14. 10B-Tyler Bitzan[12]; 15. 48-Tim Jackson[18]; 16. 73J-Onyx Johnson[25]; 17. 30-Cole Neset[16]; 18. (DNF) 28T-Scott Tofte[13]; 19. (DNF) 13-Scott Oeltjen[24]; 20. (DNF) 11R-Landyn Randt[26]; 21. (DNF) 87S-Reise Stenberg[7]; 22. (DNF) 22Z-Zach Reinke[19]; 23. (DNF) 66-Kyle Langland[23]; 24. (DNF) 42-Ron Saurer[4]; 25. (DNF) 28K-Nick Preston[11]; 26. (DNF) 111-Jason Halverson[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 46J-Taylor Jacobson[3]; 2. 111-Jason Halverson[7]; 3. 28K-Nick Preston[2]; 4. 30-Cole Neset[8]; 5. 13T-Tate Kostreba[5]; 6. 21Z-Zach Kort[6]; 7. (DNF) 3T-Tucker Tschakert[4]; 8. (DNF) 11X-Kenny Watson[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Brennon Weight[3]; 2. 87S-Reise Stenberg[4]; 3. 10B-Tyler Bitzan[1]; 4. 28S-Ryan Schow[7]; 5. 554-Alan Oeltjen[2]; 6. (DNF) 13-Scott Oeltjen[5]; 7. (DNF) 9M-Jake Molitor[6]; 8. (DNF) 10K-Kurt Mursu[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 2S-Matt Schow[4]; 2. 50H-Haley Dykhoff[6]; 3. 28T-Scott Tofte[5]; 4. 48-Tim Jackson[7]; 5. 110-Tate Kelderman[2]; 6. 75JR-Daniel Harstad[1]; 7. 10M-Noah McFarlane[3]; 8. 1M-Jon McCain[8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 42-Ron Saurer[1]; 2. 42B-Tanner Bitzan[2]; 3. L1-Shane Howell[4]; 4. 22Z-Zach Reinke[3]; 5. 39-Jamie Dietzler[5]; 6. 11R-Landyn Randt[7]; 7. 73J-Onyx Johnson[6]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 24TB-Taylor Bitzan[2]; 2. 71-Nate Reinke[3]; 3. 2B-Tayten Blascyk[5]; 4. 19-Lucas Rodin[1]; 5. 27-Corey Mehrwerth[6]; 6. 66-Kyle Langland[4]; 7. 13K-Brad King[7]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 27-Corey Mehrwerth[3]; 2. 66-Kyle Langland[5]; 3. 73J-Onyx Johnson[6]; 4. 13T-Tate Kostreba[1]; 5. 3T-Tucker Tschakert[8]; 6. 110-Tate Kelderman[2]; 7. (DNF) 1M-Jon McCain[7]; 8. (DNF) 11X-Kenny Watson[9]; 9. (DNF) 75JR-Daniel Harstad[4]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 39-Jamie Dietzler[2]; 2. 13-Scott Oeltjen[7]; 3. 11R-Landyn Randt[4]; 4. 21Z-Zach Kort[3]; 5. 554-Alan Oeltjen[1]; 6. 9M-Jake Molitor[8]; 7. 10M-Noah McFarlane[5]; 8. 13K-Brad King[6]; 9. 10K-Kurt Mursu[9]

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 10T-Darek Turner[1]; 2. 26-Ty Agen[6]; 3. 51-Eric Riley[8]; 4. 3C-Cory Dykhoff[3]; 5. 2K-Tyler Klugman[9]; 6. 12-Kevin Pender[15]; 7. 11R-Levi Randt[18]; 8. 30B-Wade Bergerud[2]; 9. 12W-Chris Welk Jr[19]; 10. 52-Joe Arndt[14]; 11. 44-Dylan Arndt[13]; 12. 17-Nick Shumansky[26]; 13. 35S-Kegan Stueve[22]; 14. 76-Braedyn Fleck[21]; 15. 16-Greg Platzer[10]; 16. 12S-Joshua Schroeder[25]; 17. 57-Jason Fechtner[20]; 18. (DNF) 91-Shane Swenson[16]; 19. (DNF) 2-Joe Martin[7]; 20. (DNF) 84-Doug Martin[24]; 21. (DNF) 18-Scotty Messner[11]; 22. (DNF) 78-Josh Lawson[17]; 23. (DNF) 18J-Justin Peterson[4]; 24. (DNF) 24X-Scott Horn[23]; 25. (DNF) 11K-Kyle Dykhoff[5]; 26. (DNF) 80-Tony Miller[12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 51-Eric Riley[5]; 2. 11K-Kyle Dykhoff[1]; 3. 2K-Tyler Klugman[2]; 4. 44-Dylan Arndt[4]; 5. 78-Josh Lawson[6]; 6. 76-Braedyn Fleck[7]; 7. 12S-Joshua Schroeder[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Joe Martin[2]; 2. 10T-Darek Turner[6]; 3. 16-Greg Platzer[3]; 4. 52-Joe Arndt[5]; 5. 11R-Levi Randt[7]; 6. 35S-Kegan Stueve[1]; 7. (DNF) 17-Nick Shumansky[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 18J-Justin Peterson[1]; 2. 26-Ty Agen[4]; 3. 18-Scotty Messner[6]; 4. 12-Kevin Pender[3]; 5. 12W-Chris Welk Jr[2]; 6. 24X-Scott Horn[5]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 3C-Cory Dykhoff[1]; 2. 30B-Wade Bergerud[3]; 3. 80-Tony Miller[5]; 4. 91-Shane Swenson[6]; 5. 57-Jason Fechtner[2]; 6. 84-Doug Martin[4]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 35-Chase Pourrier[3]; 2. 94A-Bobie Arnes[2]; 3. 03-Christian Kast[5]; 4. 17-Nick Shirley[6]; 5. 08-Jeff Rohner[8]; 6. 988A-Andrew DeNoble[4]; 7. 10-Dexyn Habraken[10]; 8. I94-George Spanjers[11]; 9. 45W-Kevin Wahl[7]; 10. (DNF) 35P-Tylar Pourrier[9]; 11. (DNF) 80K-Hunter Goulet[1]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 94A-Bobie Arnes[2]; 2. 03-Christian Kast[5]; 3. 17-Nick Shirley[3]; 4. 08-Jeff Rohner[4]; 5. 35P-Tylar Pourrier[1]; 6. I94-George Spanjers[6]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 35-Chase Pourrier[3]; 2. 45W-Kevin Wahl[1]; 3. 80K-Hunter Goulet[4]; 4. 988A-Andrew DeNoble[5]; 5. 10-Dexyn Habraken[2]

Gen X Late Models:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 50-Ben Wolden[5]; 2. 49-Andrew Tysdal[3]; 3. 20Z-Scott Zimmerman[9]; 4. 0-Shawn Beto[12]; 5. 00-Kevin Youngquist[1]; 6. 4C-Brent Clemensen[10]; 7. 71-John Plaster[11]; 8. (DNF) 2-Derek Quinn[4]; 9. (DNF) 10-Brad Staples[8]; 10. (DNF) 1776-Joseph Thomas[7]; 11. (DNS) 11*-Larry Samuelson; 12. (DQ) 18A-Mike Anderson[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1776-Joseph Thomas[1]; 2. 50-Ben Wolden[5]; 3. 49-Andrew Tysdal[4]; 4. 10-Brad Staples[3]; 5. 20Z-Scott Zimmerman[6]; 6. 71-John Plaster[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Derek Quinn[2]; 2. 18A-Mike Anderson[1]; 3. 00-Kevin Youngquist[3]; 4. 11*-Larry Samuelson[6]; 5. 4C-Brent Clemensen[5]; 6. 0-Shawn Beto[4]