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Monday, September 2

Another Labor Day weekend has come and gone, far too fast. For many, it is the signal for their most exciting time of the year, the fall specials season.

Me, not so much. The hassle involved with all these races sometimes feels like it is more work than it is worth. Sure, I will be at the majority of them, as I always am, but not in the spirit that I used to be.

One tradition that has slipped away over the years is having big special events on holidays. I can remember when some of the biggest races used to be on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. I remember going to big doubleheader races at the old Tri Oval in Fountain City and the Central Wisconsin State Fair in Marshfield, as well as other locations. Now it’s hard to even find races during the summer holidays; most tracks take that weekend off to let folks go to the lake or some other silly thing.

Thankfully one long-standing tradition continues: the Labor Day show at Madison Speedway in Madison, Minnesota. Come to think of it, they also cover Memorial Day too, with their traditional opener.

Getting to see a show at Madison also exorcised a couple of demons I had with the track. Last year’s trip was in the middle of a brutal heat wave, with 100 degrees the order of the day. I drove all the way out to Madison, before they had to cancel, because they couldn’t keep moisture in the track. That one stuck in my craw for quite some time before I let it go—or at least I think I let it go.

That was after several attempts of trying to see a show there, only to get rained or “tornadoed” out. It was good to finally get there, see the sun shine, the temps remain reasonable, and see cars turn laps.

Labor Day was the last regular season event at Madison and they crowned track champions Monday.

Madison runs seven classes total, of which five are WISSOTA sanctioned. Champions included Kolton Brauer in the Street Stocks, Derek Rieck in the Mid Mods, Andrew Hedtke in the Super Stocks, Nate Heinrich in the Mods and Adam VanDerostyne in the Hornets.

This is also the time of year when you see travelers who are chasing national points show up. There always used to be a huge number of them who would be on hand, especially for the fair race scheduled for next week. There aren't so many anymore, but Mike Stearns, Dexton Koch, Justin Schelitzche and Jeff Rohner showed up on Labor Day as part of the 2024 point chasers.

This was the first time I had run into Stearns all year and it was good to get caught up on the racing scene from his perspective. He told me he is having fun driving the Late Model this year for Brian Diede. While they drive differently than a Mod, he said it was pretty easy to adapt to. He won't be racing the Late Model in too many fall shows, as they just don't have crew to keep two race cars going. He will be driving it in the 100, but he is still a Modified guy at heart. While he’s still trying to garner points in his chase to the title, he feels Cole Chernosky is in the driver's seat for points in the Mods. He did say he was still contemplating making a trip to Thunder Bay for their fall event to against Chernosky. The fact that it is a 10-hour trip might affect that decision, however, especially when I reminded him he will lose another hour when they cross the border!

I also noted that Payton Asche made his move from the Street Stocks to the Mid Mods, having also raced a Hornet at one time. It was the Mid Mod that Johnny Lindgren normally drives, I believe, and it was mentioned that he might be in this car full time in 2025.

On a night when the majority of feature winners started right up front in their mains, in a quirk of fate, Street Stock winner Brauer put on the strongest show. He had to come from the third row and make up a considerable amount of acreage to win the feature. This was also probably the wildest of the five features, with the battle for the win marked by a series of slide jobs.

Josh Long started on the pole and with this race going green to checkered, he was able to get away from the pack and build up a nice-sized lead early on. Brauer, meanwhile, started sixth and he had some fast cars to get past before he could think about challenging for the lead.

However, by the halfway point of the race, he was up to second as he got past both Dylan Arndt and Alex Grinager, who were having their private war for position. Then Brauer really kicked it into high gear as he began to reel in Long quite quickly and by lap 14, he threw a slider and took over the top spot.

However, Long was not laying down and came right back with his own haymaker for the top spot. The next three laps were marked by wild action between the two, as they tossed the lead back and forth with a series of sliders. Coming for the white flag, Brauer had the lead but when Long tried to return the favor, he buzzed his tires badly leaving turn four—this opened the door for Brauer. He used the advantage gained to drive home one lap later for the win. Mike Jans and Maria Broksieck both used late charges to crack the top five.

Shane DeJong was a rocket ship in the Mid Mods, starting on the pole and pulling away from the pack. Tim Kanten gradually moved up from the third row into second but he was still quite far behind the leader.

A late yellow with just four laps to go bunched the field, but DeJong was up to the challenge as he fought off pressure and then pulled away for the win. Scott Tofte passed his son-in-law, Jake Molitor, for the apparent third place honors in a spirited battle, but Tofte—a track icon here—failed post-race inspection and he was DQ'd, with Molitor getting the spot back ahead of Rieck and pizza master Kyle Schell.

Andrew Hedtke got away from the field early in the Super Stocks and then held on after a late-race yellow gave Dexton Koch the chance to pass him. Hedtke built up a big early lead, as most rode the cushion. Koch, looking to score some more national points, was running third but not able to get past Zach Schultz. A late-race debris incident brought out the yellow flag and changed that for Koch.

On the green, Koch drove by Schultz and closed on leader Hedtke; he was actually alongside him as they took the white flag. But Koch chose to not try a wild maneuver and stayed low in turns one and two, trying to drive under Hedtke for the win. However, the low groove was just not strong enough and Hedtke pulled away and took the win. Koch must be getting sick of running second; it was the third straight time this weekend. Schultz was third.

Local driver Ryan Flaten started in front and finished right there in the Modifieds, as he pulled away from the pack and showed lots of speed. He put distance on the field early and was never really challenged. The fact that this race ran off green to checkered probably didn't hurt either, as he made his early lead stand up without a problem. The battle for the next four spots was a good one however, and Stearns eventually took the position with Nate Heinrich, Brian Haben and Seth Brede all close together.

The Hornet feature wrapped up the night, as it always does here, and after drawing the pole, Schelitzche drove away from the field for an easy win. Point champion VanDerostyne drove up to finish second with Dexyn Habraken making a late charge to get to third.

A nice size holiday crowd was on hand to witness the program that wrapped up sometime after 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, September 4

The 36th annual Northern Nationals kicked off on Wednesday night, September 5 at Gondik Law Speedway in Superior, Wisconsin. The opening night is always a rather interesting one, with practice held alongside the “Showdown in Souptown,” a match race between the Midwest Modifieds and the Super Stocks.

The top eight in track points in both classes are invited by promoter Joe Stariha, a nice benefit for supporting the track all year and being successful there. Alternatives are brought in, in case drivers opt out.

The winner of the race receives $2,000, while second place pays $1,000 and third place pays $500.

Previous to the race, I was told this will be starter Ray Stuart's last Northern Nationals, as he is retiring from flagging. I missed him before the action started and he was already on the stand when I got over to the frontstretch, so I wasn' able to confirm this with him. He did announce once before that he was retiring and then changed his mind—I'm hoping he will do so again.

Ray Stuart is a lot of things but for a blind man, he's a pretty good flagman. In all seriousness, while there are a number of good starters around, I think Ray is the best flagman in WISSOTA. He does his job well without being showy, and he shows great enthusiasm for the job. He appears to really enjoy flagging. A flagman is supposed to be part of the show, but not the whole show, and he has found that fine edge on a consistent basis. Don't quit Ray, we still need you!

This year a new twist was added to this event. In previous years the 16 drivers drew for their starting positions, but this year the decision was made to time trial the field. I guess that's not too surprising, because time trials seem to be back en vogue again.

In any event, Super Stock driver Dylan Nelson was quickest at 17.980 seconds. There were two Supers and three Mid Mods in the top five. The time trials proved to be very important, as the field was started straight up off the qualifying times. If they really wanted to have some fun and spice up this event, they could have rolled the dice after time trials to see if the start was straight up or if they inverted perhaps six or eight cars for the feature. That would have been fun. Maybe next year?

The race itself was pretty cut and dried. Nelson started on the pole, drove away from the field immediately, and was never seriously challenged for the lead. There was a good battle for second however, as Evan Checkalski held that spot but was constantly challenged by D.J. Keeler, who tried to get under Checkalski several times.

Battling for third proved to be unfortunate, however. First Ryan Savoy spun while trying to get third, triggering the first yellow flag of the race. Then, on the last lap, Checkalski, who had slipped back a bit, jumped the cushion while racing for that spot and the driveshaft came out of his car. Leader Nelson was coming to the checkers when the yellow instead flew, as the driveshaft was laying on the track which caused a safety issue.

The call was for a double-file restart, even though there was just a one-lap sprint to the finish, once again reinforcing my dislike for the double-file restarts. Third-place Cody Carlson was several car lengths behind second-place runner Keeler prior to the yellow, but on the double-file restart, he was allowed to get right up alongside him. In the final corner, Carlson used a nice move in combination with a Keeler slip-up to steal second and pick up an additional $500.

First and third place were Super Stocks, while Mid Mods filled out the other three places in the top five.

In a totally unrelated matter, I'm told that Dan Bargender has been at Rice Lake Speedway making some practice laps in his Late Model. There was speculation that after his violent crash and roll at another track recently his season was done. Hopefully that does not appear to be the case.

Thursday, September 5

The 18th annual John Seitz Memorial race kicked off on Thursday night, September 5 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

As had been the case in recent years, the Seitz began with the Prelude to the Johnny on Thursday, which is also championship night for the NLRA Late Model Series. Along with the Late Models, full shows were held for the WISSOTA Modifieds, Midwest Modifieds and Street Stocks. The Super Stocks, not a normal part of racing programs at River Cities, ran heat races with their first feature scheduled for Friday night. Everybody gets to run at least two full programs over the course of the next three nights, with the Modifieds the big winners, racing three full shows for three consecutive nights.

Things were even bigger this year, as the finale for the WISSOTA Street Stock tour is part of the program. If that wasn’t enough to fill the grandstands, it was also the second annual Howie Schill Memorial Thursday for the Late Models, upping the ante.

Parking was extremely tight, but understandable given the recent construction near the fairgrounds and the high number of cars on hand. I was told Thursday's crowd in the grandstand was also the largest in recent memory.

As for the race car counts, they just keep getting bigger for this race. There were 60 Late Models present for Thursday! Those kinds of numbers are simply off the charts and there were Late Model drivers on hand from both Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as a great Canadian contingent.

There were also a few interesting items noted. I believe this was Bryan LaPier's first race of the year, as he never seems to have time to race all summer—but never misses a Seitz. This was Lee Grosz’s first Seitz after racing a Sprint Car here before. Both of Donny Schatz's nieces, the Eisenschenks, raced Thursday. Shane Edginton, the defending Seitz winner, had his car wrapped like John Seitz’s last Late Model. A second Edginton car was driven by Aaron Turnbull and he later put in a spectacular run, finishing a strong third in the Schill Memorial.

Sam Mars was on hand for his first-ever Seitz and he placed in the top five of the main. Ryan Corbett stated he simply couldn't miss the Seitz, so after his car was destroyed in a big wreck at Ogilvie, he has picked up the Late Model driven briefly by Chad Fouquette and John Kaanta before that for the weekend.

As he always does right after Labor Day, TPO's car has returned to the Harry Gant green and numbered “33,” which will now confuse me for the coming weeks. Don Shaw has a new Late Model out and I believe it to be a new Longhorn.

For years I'm grown used to seeing Jamie Trautner drive a Modified but he is now in a Late Model, as the number of drivers in that class continues to grow in this area. It’s truly becoming one of the Late Model hotbeds of the upper Midwest. As amazing as it might seem, even with 60 cars entered on Thursday night, it was easy to pick out at least a half dozen others who were expected but didn't show for whatever reason.

Passing points were used for the Late Model preliminaries instead of the normal draw/redraw, and a few were having some trouble digesting that change. Eventually all came around.

With such a large group of drivers, six heats and three B features were necessary to set the grid for the Late Model 30-lap feature, paying $2,404 to win with, as might be expected, a large number of very worthy drivers left on the sidelines to watch the main.

Twenty-seven drivers took the green flag for the feature. Mike Greseth took the early lead and we came very close to having two members of the same family visit victory lane. That scheme of things ended during the feature with just two laps left, when Dustin Strand made the winning pass after following Greseth from about the halfway point of the race onward. Greseth was running an interesting line around the track, racing right through the middle lane. Most drivers were either hugging the ditch or trying to pound the cushion. The top side wasn't as strong as it normally is, and I would guess all the laps wore it down. The track raced differently Thursday than it normally does; it was just a bit bumpy and that seemed to really throw off a number of drivers. Running consecutive good laps was hard to come by for many.

As he stated later, Strand was just biding his time and waiting until the right time to go; what a luxury that must be, but this has been his track this year. As the NLRA champion, it was most appropriate he made his move near the end and drove on for the win. Turnbull and Mars, as stated earlier, both did a great job to get top five spots. Chad Becker will be one to watch on Saturday, as he drove from 11th to finish fifth. Only five drivers didn't finish this race, and it always amazes me there aren't more big wrecks on such a tight race track.

Thirty-five Modifieds signed in to race for their first of three full programs here.

While Tyler Peterson didn't get quite the Late Model run he hoped for (sixth), he made up for it with a dominating run in the Modified feature, leading from start to finish.

Brock Gronwold held second for most of the race, which was slowed four times for yellows. On every restart, Peterson pulled away while drivers including Jordan Duray, Ward Imrie and Dale Ames were all having good runs battling each other in the top five.

Imrie drove past Gronwold and become the chief challenger for Peterson. Meanwhile, a late-race crash eliminated Gronwold and also collected Ames and Duray, but they were able to continue.

Peterson slipped off the bottom a couple times late and Imrie almost got past him, but Peterson then got back in his groove and pulled away for the win, with Ames third, Cayden Schmeling making a charge to fourth, and Duray having a great run here for a top five.

Forty-five Midwest Modified jammed the grounds with five heats and a pair of big B features needed to set the grid for their main event. Blake Adams started on the pole and the high school student from Cameron, Wisconsin led all 20 laps to take the win.

It was a difficult win for him, with the race marked by five yellow flags that kept the contest from having much flow.

Adams led the early going with Jason Halverson and Austin Overwater close behind in the early going. Yellows at laps nine, 10 and 11 for spins kept the field bunched and didn't allow the race to get any rhythm.

By this time, Schow, who started ninth, was up to second and the first serious challenge of the event occurred. Schow, who is a master at this track, found a line on the top side and was able to drive around Adams, who had been getting great bite down low. Schow took over the lead down the frontstretch.

As Schow set his car down into turn one, his left-rear wheel sheared off and nearly cleared the wheel fence in turn one. He was done for the night and Adams went back to the point.

Adams got great bite on the start and pulled away from the pack for the win, as he shows great savvy for a young driver. Aaron Blacklance patiently worked his way through the field and came from 12th for second, while another great area driver, Reise Stenberg, came all the way from 19th to third. Halverson and Austin Hunter also held top-five spots.

Thirty-three Street Stocks signed in as a part of their tour race weekend, with 24 starting the main event. This race ended up being a battle from start to finish, with Cole Greseth and Braden Brauer fighting it out for the win. Greseth was scored the leader of every lap but Brauer was never far behind. Four yellows for spins kept the field bunched.

Early on, Brauer fought for second with Darek Turner and Turner was a part of the lead group until a late-race excursion into the infield set him back many spots.

Parker Anderson and Nick Shumansky were also racing with the leaders and there was quite a swarm of cars close behind, jockeying for position. Greseth was running the same line as the elder Greseth, but making that middle groove work. Brauer preferred running up as high as possible.

A grinding crash with just five laps to go eliminated Shumansky, running fifth at the time, along with Jeff Ekdahl and Levi Randt.

Greseth managed to hold off Brauer to the finish, but it was close, with Anderson advancing to third after Turner's bad luck. Hunter Carter and Seth Kosterich completed the top five.

Bad luck hit Andrew Hanson earlier in the night. After the driver pulled all the way from Wisconsin to race, he appeared to blow a motor on the first lap of his heat race and was done for the night.

With the nearest Super Stock track more than 100 miles away, the opening night number slumped to just 13. They just ran heats on Thursday, with their first feature set for Friday night. They again were set to run a full show on Saturday. Unfortunately, their heat races proved to be a bit of a bomb; a first-lap crash in the first heat eliminated more than half the field. Some drivers who pulled a considerable distance were done before they could turn a lap.

With a grand total of 34 races run, it was a long night and even my “fun meter” was starting to be pegged by the end, with the final checkered flag waving somewhere after midnight. However, with this show, it’s understood there will be lots of racing and lots of yellows to go along with that.

Friday, September 6

Friday, September 6 was the second of three nights of racing for the John Seitz Memorial at River Cities Speedway. The second day was held under beautiful racing conditions and a very nice sized crowd was on hand for the second night of action.

Car counts again proved to be a big topic of discussion, starting with the Late Model field. Everyone returned who raced on Thursday night, and there were a couple extra Minnesota drivers who pulled in for Friday’s qualifying heats, bringing the total to 62 Late Models. The general opinion among those on hand was that only a Rumble event at Aberdeen before 2000 rivaled that number of Late Models for an event. At any rate, it was a historic night.

The other classes produced excellent numbers as well, with 35 Street Stocks, 47 Midwest Mods and 39 Modifieds present. The Super Stocks continued to sport 13. Believe it or not, the Mod count is actually down slightly from last year, but with 200 different drivers signing in to race this weekend, no one seems to be complaining. There were 14 new arrivals on the grounds on Friday and their biggest challenge was to find a place to park their rigs. The existing facility is jammed to the rafters with cars parked in every available inch of space.

The program highlights for Friday included the 15th annual Big Al Delaine Memorial race for the Modifieds, and first-round feature race action for the Super Stocks. There were also qualifying heats in the Street Stocks, Late Models and Mid Mods for Saturday night’s big features. The evening ended with the Late Model Go Hard Or Go Home Dash to set the first four rows for the 92-lap finale Saturday.

Of course, what would a special event in this area be without a sighting of “Woodtick,” the South Dakota legend who works at tracks throughout this area. After working here at the Seitz, he will move on to the 100 in Fergus for a full week and then, who knows where he might reappear?

I ran into Don Shaw in the pits, who is getting ready for the invasion of racers and fans next week for the 100 at his track, I-94 Speedway. After several years of hosting, his staff has things under control to the point that he was able to go racing this weekend and will also race the 100 next week.

Sporting a brand-new Longhorn Late Model, the car he was driving was originally scheduled to be part of the Ronnie Delk team, whose main driver is Mike Marlar. In a change of plans, Shaw was able to purchase the car, which is one of the reasons it is “Marlar blue.”

Shaw reports negotiations for his Winter Series in Arizona have heated back up and there might be something to report the week after the 100. Many are waiting for news, hoping the series will be held again in January 2025. People enjoyed the Arizona racing and the break from winter. The series is now the only one that fits the type of cars we race in our area.

Thursday night racing took its toll on a number of teams and it was truly amazing to see nearly 100 percent of drivers return for Friday, considering some of what they had to deal with.

Andrew Hanson and his team did indeed blow a motor in their Street Stock Thursday, but thankfully the Street Stock gang hangs together. Hanson was able to race on Friday night thanks to great help from Darek Turner. Turner loaned them a motor to race the rest of the weekend and they changed it on Friday morning at Turner’s shop in Fargo. Hanson has another motor at home they will put in the car, perhaps for the 100, and return the other motor to Turner at some point. What a gesture by Turner!

Later, in a Street Stock heat, Hanson finished fourth in a heat, with Turner right behind him.

Darrin Lawler, courtesy of another driver, went for a flip in turn four on Friday night with his Mid Mod. He was ready to call it a weekend and start to work on the car for the 100, but his crew wanted to fix it and they did. The radiator was replaced, shocks fixed or replaced, and the new body was straightened back out. He was ready to race when the call was made on Friday night.

Levi Randt, Nick Shumansky and Jeff Ekdahl were all involved in a grinding crash on the front chute during Thursday night's Street feature. But somehow, all three cars were repaired and were racing on Friday night. And in a turn of irony, all three found themselves in the same heat race!

The Late Models were up to seven heat races on Friday night and again, passing points determined who made the Seitz main, who made the dash, and who will had to battle it out in a B Feature on Saturday night.

The top eight drivers in passing points ran the dash as the last race of the night to set the front four rows. Chad Becker looks to be very strong, as he pulled away from that group and will start on the pole on Saturday night. Mike Greseth finished second and Aaron Turnbull continues to do amazing things with the second Edginton car, finishing third. It is his first Late Model racing of the year. Only two local drivers, Greseth and Dustin Strand, locked themselves into the feature, while visitors filled the other spots.

The Big Al Delaine Modified feature, paying just over $3,000 to the winner, was won by Tyler Peterson, a driver who dominates at this track on a regular basis.

Twenty-five drivers made the Modified feature at a distance of 35 laps. Things got off to a rocky start in this race, as the first start was called back for a jump. The second attempt was also called back, and I think the driver punished—Ryan Gierke—was baited into it the second time.

Gierke was moved back a row, and was obviously irrate. He then overdrove the corners, flying off the end on lap four and calling it a short, frustrating night.

Dale Ames took the early lead with Zach Johnson, Blake Jegtvig and Dustin Strand close behind. A spin and then Gierke's yellow were the only slowdowns of the race, with the last 32 laps going green.

By the second yellow, ninth-starter Peterson was up to fourth and flying as he was, he took the lead from Ames only two laps later. After that, he pulled away from the field. The other driver really making headway was Cole Chernosky, who started 12th. He marched to the front at a steady pace and by the halfway point of the contest, was up to second with Ames, Strand and Jegtvig trailing.

Peterson and Chernosky pulled away from the pack and stayed relatively close to each other. Lapped traffic became a huge concern and some of the best racing of the night was watching those two maneuver through the slower cars.

The track was primarily a low-groove dominant fast lane, after it was worked on before this race. However, those faster cars had to figure out a way to get past the lapped cars, who were also running that same line. Peterson was fearless, moving to the top lane as he needed to. Several times this did allow an opportunity for Chernosky to close on him, but TPO always seemed to know just where to be when it most benefitted him, holding onto the lead.

The lapped traffic was heavy and constant and what a battle it was for the duo trying to cut through the rush hour traffic.

While Peterson was in control and was able to later build up a lead, things went south for Chernosky on the last lap. He got hung up with some slower cars, was driven into a ute tire in turn one, and lost a considerable number of positions with the checkered flag in sight. Peterson crossed the line as the winner, with Strand elevated on the last lap to second. Ames finished third ahead of Jegtvig, while Kevin Adams fought his way from 18th to complete the top five. Chernosky fell all the way to seventh.

While 23 cars finished the race, there were only 11 on the lead lap at the finish. Peterson had four lapped cars between himself and Strand.

The Super Stocks also got their first chance to run a feature race on Friday night and Jordan Henkemeyer was the winner of that contest. He led all 25 laps after starting on the outside pole. Henkemeyer built up a big lead in the early going as he pulled away from Trevor Nelson and Jeremy North.

With only a single yellow on lap nine to slow the action, drivers started to have room to change their lines and move around on the track.

After he was wrecked on Thursday, Dave Mass made a concerted effort to drive from deep in the pack. He started 11th but after things opened up a bit, he really started to pick up the pace. Meanwhile, Nelson found the high groove to be working as he started to shorten up Henkemeyer’s lead while running in second.

So, as both Nelson and Mass closed on Henkemeyer, the laps started to run down. While it looked for awhile that both just might catch Henkemeyer, each of the chasers made at least one gaff that cost them time and they ran out of laps to catch the leader.

Henkemeyer held on for the win with Mass driving by Nelson right at the end for second. Terran Spacek was another who came from the back and he made it up to fourth, ahead of North.

It was a good night of racing and the speculation about how things will shake out on Saturday was already high. With considerably less races that were run on Friday, the final checkered waved before 10:30 p.m., which was nice. It allowed a lot of fans to head for the pits and greet their heroes.

Saturday, September 7

The 18th annual John Seitz Memorial was completed on Saturday night, September 7 at River Cities Speedway. For the third straight day, the weather was good. This has actually been one of the few Seitz events where the weather has not caused some kind of an issue.

Three more race cars pulled in on Saturday to join the field and for the three nights of racing, there have been 203 different race teams who have competed. I wonder if the city fathers note the extra activity this weekend at the fairgrounds, and the number of out-of-state plates in the parking lot. I feel that while the track gets plenty of sponsor support from area businesses and individuals, the city itself doesn't seem to pay much attention to this event. They seem to be more concerned with what is going on at the Alerus Center down the road. This, unfortunately, is not a rare occurrence these days—even in small-town America, even in the Heartland.

The track promoters seemed very pleased with how the weekend has transpired. Large fields of race cars and good crowds in the grandstands have seemed to make this a very successful Seitz. The biggest crowd of the weekend contributed to an almost $1400 dollar 50/50 Split the Pot event.

Saturday's program included feature racing in all five classes on hand this year. The Super Stocks and Modifieds ran a full show, while the Mid Mods and Street Stocks raced their B features and feature races from their second program that began on Friday. The Late Models ran three stacked B features that left plenty of good cars in the pits come feature time. There was also a Last Chance race to allow one more driver to start the main.

With 62 Late Model drivers battling for what turned out to be 27 starting spots, you can imagine just how high intensity those three B features were. To me, a highlight of those races was when Mitch Johnson, the winner of the very first Seitz Memorial way back in 2008, came from the fifth row to take the last qualifying spot in his B feature and get to start the main.

There were also a rash of flat tires very early in the racing, with at least five right rears blown in the first few preliminary events. With perhaps a debris issue on the track, the track team spent a few minutes combing the surface looking for foreign objects. While there never was any kind of announcement, after they did this the flat tires seemed to no longer be an issue.

For the third straight night, the racing surface seemed to be giving the drivers fits. Much as it was the first two nights—and as described to me by various drivers—the racing surface had strips of tack then slick then tack again, making it difficult for drivers to establish a smooth line. Time and time again this year, we've seen drivers complete a great lap and then follow it right up with another where they push right up the track and give away everything they previously gained. Turning consistent laps has been a real challenge and the top side of the track has never come in fully all weekend.

Heavy rains previous to this event are being blamed for the unusual racing conditions and rutty track, which has also been challenging and never fully cured either. With the kind of money and prestige that goes along with this event, however, drivers will press on no matter what the circumstances.

The highlight of the weekend of course is the 92-lap Seitz Memorial feature for the Late Models, which pays $9,200 to win and is run as the last feature of the Saturday program.

With the car count so large, the number of drivers allowed to race the feature was raised and this year, for the first time, 27 drivers, including provisional starter Cole Schill, took the green for the 92-lap marathon. As always, a fuel stop is built in for this race, with it planned for lap 32 unless a yellow intervenes near that point.

The drivers up front usually claim to just be riding the first part of the race until the fuel stop. Those near the back, meanwhile, are trying not to get lapped because once that happens, it is impossible to get back on the lead lap. However, at the breakneck pace they seem to be riding, is sure doesn't look like they are taking it easy.

With only one yellow in that first 32 laps, all but Tyler Peterson were still on the track at the break. It was a very disappointing run for Peterson. Before the weekend he would have been considered a strong favorite, but his weekend just wasn't what he would have hoped for in the Late Model. Motor issues are suspected to be his curse.

Chad Becker was the early leader of the race with Mike Greseth and Aaron Turnbull close behind. After the lone yellow with 13 laps completed, both Turnbull and Cole Searing turned on the jets, charging up to the lead and second, respectively, by the time the break took place.

Bad luck hit Greseth when a tire failed him just one lap after they went back to green, and he had to pit and change that tire. He then went to the tail of the field.

Turnbull was running a bit higher on the track than most and making it work, while most were right in the ditch. On lap 45, Searing drove under Turnbull and took the lead. He then led the rest of the way through a number of yellows, three of which occurred in the final 12 laps and really kept things tense.

Turnbull battled hard for the lead, even climbing on the back of Searing's car one time down the back chute, but there was no damage and both continued on. With just over 10 laps to go, Dustin Strand picked up the pace and drove into second.

He then began to pressure Searing hard for the lead, getting up alongside him on one of the restarts, but Searing was smooth, kept his line and fought off all challenges. In the last few laps he pulled away and the battle for second was between Strand and Turnbull, with Strand fighting off Turnbull for the spot.

Greseth made a monumental charge back up through the field from the back, cracking the top five and then driving past A.J. Diemel to finish fourth, with Diemel completing the top five.

This was Searing's first Seitz win, but he now must quickly get back to business as he heads into Wednesday night of the 100, where he will battle with Peterson for the WISSOTA Challenge Series championship at I-94.

Tyler Peterson seldom gives away a Modified feature after he has taken the lead, but that rare occurrence happened Saturday. He was passed by Joseph Thomas with just three laps to go, after Peterson pushed up the track and opened the door to Thomas.

This started out as a very interesting race but my “fun meter” was pegged once again at the end because there were so many late yellows for cars slipping over the banking. That, in my opinion, is the one flaw this track has. Because there is no outside wall, and running the cushion is so tricky, cars frequently slip over the banking and the yellow waves way too often. A wall would end all that, but that is not in the cards in my lifetime.

There were strange circumstances in the heat races earlier in the night. In the Modified heats Mike Stearns was involved in a crash, had his front bumper jammed into the car, and yet somehow, he recovered to get a good finish and draw the outside pole for the Modified main. He then took advantage of that to take the early lead, and continued to hold the top spot at the halfway point of the 30-lapper.

On lap 17, Thomas got past him and drove out front, but Stearns, Peterson, Cayden Schmeling and Ward Imrie were all in the hunt for top honors. Peterson picked up the pace and was able to make the pass for the point on lap 22, but then he had Imrie challenge him and nearly get past.

The yellow flew again and this time it was Peterson who pushed up the track, with Thomas taking advantage of the opening to drive into the lead, after starting in third after the previous yellow.

He then held off Peterson and Schmeling for the win as the top five jockeyed their way to the finish.

Dave Mass took the early lead in the Super Stock feature but he was pinching down in the ditch so much it killed his momentum. Trevor Nelson jumped up to the cushion and drove past Mass to take over the lead following the only yellow of the event on lap five.

Once Nelson took that lead, he began to build it up until Mass moved back up to the cushion and started to slowly whittle away on the advantage. Terran Spacek also picked up the pace, and slowly but surely, both began to shorten up the lead that Nelson had.

If there had been a yellow flag, this race might have had a different ending but it stayed under the green and Nelson had just enough to hold off the charge of those two closing in from behind. In fact, Spacek did get past Mass right at the end to claim second, while Dexton Koch moved up from the sixth row to finish fourth and Jason Havel completed the top five.

Matt Schow used all his knowledge from racing at this track to his advantage on his way to the win in the Midwest Modified feature race. He started fourth, while Austin Hunter was the early leader. A big pileup with just one lap completed banged up some cars, and then the red flew as Jason Halverson became the second rollover victim of the weekend. He was okay but done for the race.

Schow had moved past Blake Adams to take second by that point and following the red, he blasted past Hunter on the outside to take over the lead once racing resumed.

The last 17 laps ran off green to checkered, and the top three were kind of spaced out and weren't challenged. Schow took the win ahead of Hunter and Adams. Dawson Zabel and Reise Stenberg were also in the top five.

Cole Greseth became the weekend's only double winner, taking the Street Stock win for the second straight night. He topped a huge field for about $1300 in what was also the Street Stock Tour finale.

Greseth led all 25 laps but it wasn't an easy run; he was challenged early by Braden Brauer and then even more significantly by Justin Vogel. Brauer started on the pole but Greseth used the outside to take the early advantage with Brauer all over him for the point.

However, Brauer pushed so hard for the lead that he spun on lap 15 and had to go to the tail, which opened the door for Parker Anderson to move into second. Kasey Ussatis was running second at this point but then it was time for Vogel, in fourth, to go to his favorite spot on the track—the cushion.

As he three-wheeled his car around the outside, he passed both Ussatis and Anderson to take over second and then challenged Greseth for the lead. A three car collision on lap 19 set up the sprint to the finish and Vogel went for broke.

He pushed around the cushion, again nearly passing Greseth; Greseth maintained his line and Vogel, his big effort spent, then fought to hold off Anderson for second.

Greseth was smooth and never faltered as he ran the ditch and he came home the winner. Anderson did indeed drive back under Vogel to take second with 11th-starter Ty Agen and 14th-starter Andrew Hanson completing the top five. Agen, pulling all the way from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, was crowned the series champion.

Reflecting now on the weekend, and how one might improve the late nights, maybe having a practice night for those interested on Wednesday would help rationalize eliminating the Thursday hot laps to speed things up and save the race track some laps. An earlier start time would also help on Thursday. There is also perhaps the need to pare down the number of classes to four. The obvious choice would be to eliminate the Super Stocks, given their numbers. They’re set up for failure a bit, as I discussed earlier, because the closest track that races them is many miles from here now. Four classes is plenty for this event with the limited space they have.

This year's Seitz would have to be considered the most successful of them all. The crowds were large and the car counts big, with a stunning number of Late Models on hand. Each year, more and more folks are keying in on this event as one they must attend. Thanks go out to the promoters and all the track workers for a fine event as we always enjoy our time in North Dakota.