8-27 Page 9 | ATD Racing News

Doar, Nelson, Koch, Jensen, Bernick and Jarecki are Gondik Law Speedway winners on a tri-themed Friday night

By Nick Gima

SUPERIOR, WI (August 23) - Gondik Law Speedway took care of a lot of unfinished business on Friday night: it celebrated this year’s Hall of Fame Class, it highlighted suicide awareness, and it named its 2024 track champions.

The sixth annual Suicide Prevention and Awareness Night, which was rained out last Friday, successfully brought a very important issue to the forefront with lots of fundraisers, special vendors, and raffle prizes, as well as special - and emotional - trophy presentations to the feature winners.

Members of the Hall of Fame class were presented to the crowd Friday, including retired drivers Dave Bjorklund, Marshall Andrews and Glenn Hall; active driver Jody Bellefeuille; and pioneer Rick Milinkovich.

On the track, WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included Pat Doar, Darrell Nelson, Dexton Koch, Joey Jensen, D.J. Jarecki and Aaron Bernick.

Doar captured his WISSOTA Late Model feature, won his fourth GLS title in the division and eighth overall, and took home the honors in the season-long KME Late Model Series, worth $7,500.

Doar swept around polestarter Kevin Burdick to pace the early going of the 30-lap run. Doar pushed his lead to nearly a second, but the determined Burdick erased that gap by lap eight and took the spot away on the next go-around, while Shane Sabraski, Mike Bellefeuille, Sam Mars trailed at a distance in the top five.

Laps clicked off quickly as the lead pair diced through backmarkers, with Burdick gradually building a second advantage. But Jeff Massingill’s stalled ride on lap 18 brought the proceedings to a halt, and while under yellow Bellefeuille pulled off the track with mechanical woes, giving Mars fourth and moving Darrell Nelson to fifth for the restart.

Burdick seemed to be in control from there, but as he and Doar caught the slower Taylor Madrinich, Doar pulled a daring thread-the-needle pass to squeeze into the lead on lap 27. Madrinich spun a lap later, and Doar dominated the green-white-checkered finish for his division-leading 57th Late Model feature win in Superior and 67th all-time at the oval.

Sabraski stole second from Burdick on the late restart, and Nelson took fourth away from Mars on the white-flag lap.

Needing only a solid top-10 run, Copp successfully defended his WISSOTA Modified track title from a year ago, while Darrell Nelson took the division’s feature win.

Brady Uotinen was the class of the field for the first 17 of the race’s 20 laps, sprinting away from the field from his pole-position start. Within just five laps, he built an impressive two-second lead on Andrew Inman, Nelson, Jack Rivord and the eighth-starting Copp, who dropped to sixth after he was passed by the new Hall-of-Famer Bellefeuille on lap eight.

Uotinen continued to improve on his advantage while working through slower traffic just after mid-race. The race went uninterrupted until lap 17, when Uotinen, holding a five-second lead, hopped the cushion in turn four, causing the car to smack into the outside wall and ending his night in heartbreaking fashion.

During the cleanup and re-alignment process, Copp dove into the work area in the pits. He rejoined the race in 10th, as the last runner on the lead lap, risking his championship; Rivord and Bellefeuille both restarted in the top-five. Neither could stay with the new leader Nelson, who rolled on to the all-time track-leading 116th career feature win at Superior, and track-best 74th in a Modified, by eight-tenths of a second.

Modified rookie Inman was impressive in taking second, and Rivord took third to finish runner-up in the final points standings. Andrew Mackey snuck past Bellefeuille on that final restart to take fourth. Copp’s eighth-place finish gave him an 11-point margin for the title.

In the WISSOTA Super Stock division, Brandon’s cousin Kyle Copp made things a little more interesting, but held on for his second GLS division crown in the past three years, while the feature belonged to national WISSOTA Super Stock points leader Dexton Koch.

Koch cleared polestarter Rick Simpson out of the first pair of turns to establish himself as the leader, and he did not give up the point throughout the 20-lap run despite several cautions.

After a Myron Basina spin on lap three, Matt Deragon worked his way around Rick Simpson for second. Koch’s lead was nearly a full second on Deragon on lap seven when Dan Peterson’s car stopped on the back straight with issues, and during this caution period Copp, who was running outside the top-10, dropped into the pit work area to change a flat right-rear tire. He returned to restart at the back of the lineup, but yellow flags flew on lap eight for debris and on lap nine for Blom’s slowed racer, denying Copp much chance to make headway through the field.

D.J. Keeler, who was second in points, took the middle route in a three-wide pass into fourth on lap 10, thinning Copp’s points edge as Koch continued to dominate, pushing his lead to 1.4 seconds before a lap 14 stoppage for debris. Copp lined up 10th for this final restart of the race and he stayed there to the checkers, which turned out to be just enough for the championship.

Koch ran away to a huge 1.9-second winning margin over Deragon, who fended off a persistent Simpson. Keeler and Steve Stuart swapped fourth a couple of times over the closing laps before Keeler claimed the position at the finish, but he ended up one spot - and one point - short of the title.

As he did so many times before, Joey Jensen sliced and diced his way to the win in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature, while James Vendela patiently picked his way to a top-10 finish and his first GLS championship in this division.

Dalton Mains set the pace for the first dozen circuits of the 20-lap run, holding a healthy advantage over Justin Bassa, who himself pulled away from Jimmy Latvala, McLean Andrews and Cody Carlson by mid-race. While Vendela, who started 20th, bided his time, second-in-points Ryan Savoy held sixth.

Jensen, who started ninth, ran just behind Savoy when the race’s first slowdown occurred, for Dane Olson’s spin on lap 12. Jensen then attacked on the restart, following Carlson past Savoy, Latvala and Andrews into fourth within two quick laps, then displacing Carlson the next time around for third. On lap 16, Bassa made a strong move around Mains for the race lead, and Jensen followed suit into second just before a caution stop for debris with three laps remaining.

Jensen worked an inside pass to take the lead on the restart, but a get-together between Carlson and Savoy negated the pass. Jensen then went the long way around Bassa on the ensuing restart to take the lead for good, with Andrews working a low-lane pass for second a half-lap later. Jensen crossed under the checkered flag a half-second ahead of Andrews, with Bassa a close third. Latvala and Mains completed the top-five. Vendela’s seventh-place effort, just one spot ahead of Savoy, clinched the title for Vendela.

In the final corner of the Midwest Mod main, Brady Caul, who was running mid-pack, slipped into the soft upper groove and violently barrel-rolled his racer; Caul was shaken up, but otherwise unharmed.

Aaron Bernick needed to finish fourth or better to mount a successful championship defense, and he ran to his third feature win of the season here to ensure it.

Trevor Treviranus took the early lead from his sister and polestarter Jessie Treviranus at the start of the 12-lapper, with Bernick following in his wake to second. Before the first lap was scored, Bernick took advantage of Trevor’s bobble in turn four and took over at the point.

From there Bernick ran away from a tight pack of five drivers battling for second, building as much as a 1.67-second lead before rookie Michael Pederson’s stopped ride on lap eight brought the field back to Bernick’s trunk lid. Tom Treviranus, Bernick’s closest rival for the points crown, restarted second, but could not keep up over the remaining laps, as Bernick secured both the win by a full second and the title.

Shane Basina ran a solid third throughout the second half of the run and finished well ahead of visiting Anthony Schultz and Jessie Treviranus.

Like Bernick, DeJay Jarecki needed to finish top-four to secure a GLS WISSOTA Hornets championship. And, like Bernick, he brought home the feature win.

Front-row starters Cade Johnson and Andy Leino experienced trouble getting going at the drop of the green flag, forcing Jarecki, Nikota Larson - who was second in points - and the rest of the field to take evasive action to get by. The result was Jarecki gaining the lead before a lap was scored, and he stayed there the rest of the way.

Jarecki, Carson Gotelaere, Justin Schelitzche and Larson put on an entertaining show, running mostly nose-to-tail with Schelitzche sneaking looks to either side of Gotelaere in an effort to take second. Defending Hornets champ A.J. House’s car stalled on lap three to pause the fun, but the running order up front stayed the same until lap eight, when Schelitzche finally got by Gotelaere.

After a lap 10 stop for Abby Baum’s stalled racer, Jarecki spent the final two laps looking over either shoulder for a possible pass by Schelitzche, but the pass never happened and Jarecki won his second feature of the season and second points title at the oval. Gotelaere and Larson were close behind in third and fourth, respectively, and Leino finished a distant fifth.

Gondik Law Speedway will finish up its 2024 schedule with its 36th annual Northern Nationals September 4-7. Wednesday’s open practice session is free to the public and is highlighted by its “Showdown in Souptown” challenge race pitting Super Stocks with Midwest Mods, while Thursday’s offering includes full programs for the Midwest Mods, Pure Stocks, Hornets and WISSOTA Street Stocks.

On Friday, the Interstate Racing Association’s Sprint Cars will take to the big oval, while Midwest Mods get another full show, and Late Models, Modifieds and Super Stocks will run qualifying heats. The event caps off on Saturday night with semi-features and features for the Late Models, Mods and Supers, plus full programs for the Mid-Mods and USRA Limited Late Models

For full details outlining the times and events for this weekend, log on to the track's website, www.gondiklawspeedway.com, or the ad in this issue.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Late Models:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 11-Pat Doar[2]; 2. 7A-Shane Sabraski[4]; 3. 30-Kevin Burdick[1]; 4. 44-Darrell Nelson[5]; 5. 28(S)-Sam Mars[8]; 6. 99-Billy Kendall III[12]; 7. 31-Travis Budisalovich[11]; 8. 45J-Johnny Broking[7]; 9. 68-Mike Prochnow[16]; 10. 47-Danny Vang[10]; 11. 29F-Dave Flynn[25]; 12. 16-Derek Vesel[9]; 13. 14N-Keith Niemi[18]; 14. 9M-Ronnie Malecki[20]; 15. 34-Taylor Madrinich[19]; 16. (DNF) 37X-Skeeter Estey[3]; 17. (DNF) 21-Mike Bellefeuille[6]; 18. (DNF) 6M-Jeff Massingill[13]; 19. (DNF) 9-Terry Lillo[26]; 20. (DNF) 19-Steve Laursen[17]; 21. (DNF) 2-Todd Gehl[23]; 22. (DNF) 24(E)-Eric Lillo[24]; 23. (DNF) 11D-Tim McMann[15]; 24. (DNF) 7-Harry Hanson[14]; 25. (DNF) 7C-Robbie Cooper[22]; 26. (DNS) 22-Brett Shafer

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 37X-Skeeter Estey[2]; 2. 21-Mike Bellefeuille[3]; 3. 28(S)-Sam Mars[4]; 4. 47-Danny Vang[6]; 5. 99-Billy Kendall III[9]; 6. 68-Mike Prochnow[7]; 7. 22-Brett Shafer[5]; 8. 2-Todd Gehl[8]; 9. 24(E)-Eric Lillo[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 30-Kevin Burdick[4]; 2. 45J-Johnny Broking[3]; 3. 44-Darrell Nelson[7]; 4. 31-Travis Budisalovich[6]; 5. 6M-Jeff Massingill[8]; 6. 14N-Keith Niemi[2]; 7. 34-Taylor Madrinich[9]; 8. 7C-Robbie Cooper[5]; 9. (DNF) 9-Terry Lillo[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7A-Shane Sabraski[1]; 2. 11-Pat Doar[6]; 3. 16-Derek Vesel[4]; 4. 7-Harry Hanson[3]; 5. 11D-Tim McMann[5]; 6. 19-Steve Laursen[7]; 7. 9M-Ronnie Malecki[8]; 8. (DNF) 29F-Dave Flynn[2]

WISSOTA Modifieds:

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 44-Darrell Nelson[4]; 2. 11JR-Andrew Inman[2]; 3. 19J-Jack Rivord[6]; 4. 7-Andrew Mackey[3]; 5. 11-Jody Bellefeuille[5]; 6. 224-Cody Wolkowski[9]; 7. 18S-Kennedy Swan[14]; 8. 22-Brandon Copp[8]; 9. T23-John Toppozini[12]; 10. (DNF) 7A-Shane Sabraski[7]; 11. (DNF) 9-Brady Uotinen[1]; 12. (DNF) 95-Rick Rivord[11]; 13. (DNF) 98-Al Uotinen[10]; 14. (DNF) 2-Tanner Gehl[13]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19J-Jack Rivord[2]; 2. 7A-Shane Sabraski[1]; 3. 44-Darrell Nelson[3]; 4. 7-Andrew Mackey[6]; 5. 224-Cody Wolkowski[4]; 6. 95-Rick Rivord[5]; 7. T23-John Toppozini[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Brandon Copp[1]; 2. 9-Brady Uotinen[6]; 3. 11-Jody Bellefeuille[5]; 4. 11JR-Andrew Inman[7]; 5. 98-Al Uotinen[4]; 6. (DNF) 2-Tanner Gehl[2]; 7. (DNF) 18S-Kennedy Swan[3]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 78K-Dexton Koch[2]; 2. 27-Matt Deragon[4]; 3. 77K-Rick Simpson[1]; 4. 12K-Duane (DJ) Keeler[5]; 5. 80-Steve Stuart[8]; 6. 25-Dylan Nelson[6]; 7. 7A-Shane Sabraski[9]; 8. 77-Scott Lawrence[16]; 9. 2-Don Livingston[13]; 10. 26-Kyle Copp[7]; 11. 44-Trenton Bond[14]; 12. 81B-Doug Bolt[19]; 13. 15G-Andrew Groom[21]; 14. 19-Larry Both[12]; 15. 11R-Rita Anderson[18]; 16. (DNF) 42-Myron Basina[11]; 17. (DNF) 36-Darin Meierotto[10]; 18. (DNF) 3B-Austin Blom[3]; 19. (DNF) 6-Dan Peterson[17]; 20. (DNF) 5-Danny Doran[15]; 21. (DNS) 24-Andy Grymala

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Kyle Copp[2]; 2. 27-Matt Deragon[4]; 3. 12K-Duane (DJ) Keeler[5]; 4. 36-Darin Meierotto[3]; 5. 2-Don Livingston[6]; 6. 77-Scott Lawrence[7]; 7. 11R-Rita Anderson[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 77K-Rick Simpson[2]; 2. 25-Dylan Nelson[4]; 3. 78K-Dexton Koch[3]; 4. 42-Myron Basina[1]; 5. 44-Trenton Bond[5]; 6. 6-Dan Peterson[7]; 7. 81B-Doug Bolt[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 80-Steve Stuart[2]; 2. 3B-Austin Blom[1]; 3. 7A-Shane Sabraski[4]; 4. 19-Larry Both[6]; 5. 5-Danny Doran[5]; 6. (DNF) 24-Andy Grymala[3]; 7. (DNF) 15G-Andrew Groom[7]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 30-Joey Jensen[9]; 2. 3M-McLean Andrews[6]; 3. 69-Justin Bassa[1]; 4. 21(L)-Jimmy Latvala[3]; 5. 7M-Dalton Mains[2]; 6. 17-Ashley Boyum[5]; 7. 15-James Vendela[20]; 8. 16-Ryan Savoy[7]; 9. 85-Jamie Davis[17]; 10. 89-Kolby Reed[13]; 11. 28-Paul Ripley[15]; 12. 26-Ross Siiter[16]; 13. 8-Jonny Nowak[21]; 14. 50-Brady Caul[11]; 15. (DNF) 4AL-Dane Olson[19]; 16. (DNF) 32III-Cody Carlson[8]; 17. (DNF) 64-Evan Checkalski[10]; 18. (DNF) 14-Adam Shinn[14]; 19. (DNF) 87-William Moelter[12]; 20. (DNF) 21-Wyatt Boyum[4]; 21. (DNS) 70-David Simpson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 30-Joey Jensen[1]; 2. 17-Ashley Boyum[2]; 3. 21(L)-Jimmy Latvala[6]; 4. 64-Evan Checkalski[7]; 5. 89-Kolby Reed[3]; 6. 26-Ross Siiter[4]; 7. 4AL-Dane Olson[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Ryan Savoy[1]; 2. 3M-McLean Andrews[2]; 3. 21-Wyatt Boyum[4]; 4. 50-Brady Caul[6]; 5. 14-Adam Shinn[7]; 6. 85-Jamie Davis[3]; 7. 15-James Vendela[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 32III-Cody Carlson[1]; 2. 69-Justin Bassa[4]; 3. 7M-Dalton Mains[2]; 4. 87-William Moelter[6]; 5. 28-Paul Ripley[7]; 6. 70-David Simpson[5]; 7. (DNF) 8-Jonny Nowak[3]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

Feature (12 Laps): 1. 17-Aaron Bernick[4]; 2. 31-Tom Treviranus[6]; 3. 69ER-Shane Basina[3]; 4. 47-Anthony Schultz[7]; 5. 131-Jessie Treviranus[1]; 6. 33S-Jason Simonson[9]; 7. (DNF) 231-Trevor Treviranus[2]; 8. (DNF) 5M-Michael Pederson[8]; 9. (DNF) 28-Eric Crosby[5]

Heat (6 Laps): 1. 17-Aaron Bernick[4]; 2. 131-Jessie Treviranus[1]; 3. 28-Eric Crosby[5]; 4. 231-Trevor Treviranus[6]; 5. 69ER-Shane Basina[3]; 6. 31-Tom Treviranus[7]; 7. 47-Anthony Schultz[8]; 8. 5M-Michael Pederson[9]; 9. 33S-Jason Simonson[2]

WISSOTA Hornets:

Feature (12 Laps): 1. 0-DeJay Jarecki[4]; 2. 14-Justin Schelitzche[8]; 3. 9G-Carson Gotelaere[5]; 4. 26N-Nikota Larson[3]; 5. 06-Andy Leino[2]; 6. 69-Madisyn Olson[11]; 7. 08-Rick Andrews Jr[10]; 8. (DNF) 7-Abby Baum[12]; 9. (DNF) 19-AJ House[6]; 10. (DNF) 15-Ryan LaBorde[9]; 11. (DNF) 555-Carter Wieringa[7]; 12. (DNF) 10Z-Cade Johnson[1]; 13. (DNF) 29-Eva Lillo[13]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 14-Justin Schelitzche[6]; 2. 26N-Nikota Larson[2]; 3. 555-Carter Wieringa[1]; 4. 06-Andy Leino[4]; 5. 15-Ryan LaBorde[3]; 6. 69-Madisyn Olson[5]; 7. (DNF) 29-Eva Lillo[7]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 0-DeJay Jarecki[1]; 2. 19-AJ House[2]; 3. 9G-Carson Gotelaere[4]; 4. 10Z-Cade Johnson[3]; 5. 08-Rick Andrews Jr[5]; 6. 7-Abby Baum[6]