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At Casino Speedway’s Autumn Classic, opening night winners are Ward, Ames, Scott, Hansen, Marko and Dittman

By Tony Steuck

WATERTOWN, SD (September 20) - Casino Speedway hosted the opening night of the seventh annual Autumn Classic on Friday night, September 20. Dale Ames, Travis Scott and Matthew Dittman each picked up their first wins of the season at the speedway, while Scott Ward, Jason Marko and Scott Hansen made return trips in WISSOTA Dirt Track Series action.

Scott Ward made a three-wide move between David Carlson and Morgan Ward-Grosz out of turn four to complete the opening lap of the WISSOTA Late Model feature as the leader. Ward-Grosz stayed with Ward, and challenged her father briefly to the inside before a caution with three of 25 laps scored.

Josh Skorczewski powered to second after the restart, and the top three remained close for a few laps until Skorczewski lost power and exited the speedway on lap seven.

After a lap-nine restart, Ward-Grosz lost second to Carlson, and then the two exchanged slide jobs before Ward-Grosz nearly spun in turn four and dropped from competition.

Jayson Good battled from 15th on the field, chased down Carlson, and made the pass for second on lap 14. Ryan Engels slipped by Carlson a short time after that.

Ward opened a sizable lead at the front of the field and rolled to his second win of the season in Watertown. Good was second ahead of Engels, Carlson and Chad Williamson.

Kenny Mayer took the lead on the opening lap of the WISSOTA Modified main event with Dale Ames and Mike Stearns in close contention. Ames sped to the lead on the inside of turns one and two on the second lap, and Stearns looked under Mayer for second.

Stearns took second after a restart with two laps scored, and challenged Ames for the lead. Scott Ward battled with Mayer for third at a distance behind the lead duo. Ames crept away from second place, and Dylan Zabel moved into the battle for third in the late going. Ames took the checkered flag with a straightaway advantage over Stearns for his first win of the season at Casino Speedway. Ward secured third from Mayer with a few laps to go, and Zabel slipped by Mayer for fourth on the final lap.

Scott raced to the lead when the green flag dropped in the 15-lap WISSOTA Super Stock main event. Trevor Nelson briefly moved to second, but slid high in turn four and allowed Kody Lehr to sneak by. Nelson regained the spot on lap six and chipped into Scott’s big lead at the front of the pack, but dropped from the race with three laps left.

Scott navigated through lapped cars in the late stages and rolled to the win in the caution-free race. Matthew Larson finished almost a half speedway behind in second with Lehr third, Dominique Menzia fourth and Derek Zastrow fifth.

Chad Williamson pulled away early in the 25-lap WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature. Scott Hansen found a route around Tim Kanten for second a few laps in. After a pair of cautions with four laps recorded, Hansen challenged Williamson for the lead in the middle groove; they were door to door under the flagstand to complete lap five before Hansen secured the spot on the next lap. Kanten and Williamson battled for second before the caution flag fell again with nine laps scored.

Hansen slipped away when the race resumed, and Kanten threatened Williamson for the runner-up position. Mike Nichols went to work in the upper groove and picked off Kanten for third on lap 16, and his brother Tommy attempted to pass for fourth a few laps later. Mike Nichols moved in on Williamson for second with just over five laps remaining, and took the spot in the second corner with less than two laps left. Tommy quickly followed him through, and stayed with his brother to the finish.

Hansen cruised to the checkers for his second win of the season at the oval. Mike Nichols was second with Tommy Nichols third, Williamson fourth and Kanten fifth.

Jason Marko led through several early cautions at the beginning of the 20-lap WISSOTA Street Stock main event. Cory Giessinger held second for much of the early going, with Jayden Bogh and Joe Martin in contention as well.

Zachary Flickinger, who started 11th on the grid, worked his way into second by lap seven, then put pressure on Marko for the lead after the halfway mark. Flickinger stuck his nose under Marko on lap 14, and nearly pulled even with the leader in turns three and four, but Marko turned back the challenge. Flickinger was still close with two laps to go, but Marko edged away over the final lap for his second win of the year at the speedway. Flickinger was second with Martin a close third, Giessinger fourth and Matt Goth fifth.

Jerik Stabler led the opening lap of the WISSOTA Hornet feature, but he was passed to the inside and outside on lap two; Bradley Rossow set the pace until he made hard contact with the wall to bring out a yellow with three laps scored.

Matthew Dittman inherited the lead, and Jeff Rohner closed in to make it interesting in the second half of the race. Rohner looked to the outside of the leader, and then cut inside out of turn four on the final lap, but came up a half length short. Dittman held on for his first win at Casino Speedway, and Rohner was second ahead of Dexyn Habraken, Adam VanDerostyne, and Curtis Borstad.

Trevor Walsh led every lap for the Gen X Late Model win. Parker Gilbertson applied pressure throughout the race, and made an overly aggressive move on the final lap, which caused both cars to turn sideways and stall. Walsh was scored the winner over Tyler McFarland, Scott Harrington, Matthew Larson and Bodie Croninger.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Late Models:

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 37-Scott Ward[4]; 2. 85-Jayson Good[15]; 3. 1-Ryan Engels[3]; 4. 73M-David Carlson[1]; 5. 57-Chad Williamson[7]; 6. 20-Trevor Anderson[11]; 7. 51-Justin Karlen[12]; 8. 87-Curt Kranz[9]; 9. (DNF) T3-Rich Thomas[13]; 10. (DNF) 37JR-Morgan Ward Grosz[2]; 11. (DNF) X-Blake Swenson[8]; 12. (DNF) 14-Nick Schmidt[5]; 13. (DNF) 4J-Lee Grosz[10]; 14. (DNF) 2S-Josh Skorczewski[6]; 15. (DNF) 2T-Todd Thomas[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Engels[1]; 2. 37JR-Morgan Ward Grosz[3]; 3. 14-Nick Schmidt[7]; 4. 73M-David Carlson[2]; 5. 87-Curt Kranz[4]; 6. 20-Trevor Anderson[8]; 7. T3-Rich Thomas[6]; 8. (DNF) 85-Jayson Good[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 37-Scott Ward[2]; 2. X-Blake Swenson[1]; 3. 57-Chad Williamson[3]; 4. 2S-Josh Skorczewski[6]; 5. 4J-Lee Grosz[5]; 6. 51-Justin Karlen[7]; 7. (DNF) 2T-Todd Thomas[4]

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (18 Laps): 1. 6-Dale Ames[1]; 2. 24S-Mike Stearns[4]; 3. 37-Scott Ward[3]; 4. 11Z-Dylan Zabel[7]; 5. 15X-Kenny Mayer[2]; 6. 15-Adam Brotherton[6]; 7. 65-Dave Brooker[9]; 8. 73-Ryan Nelson[8]; 9. (DNF) 13-Cayden Schmeling[5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24S-Mike Stearns[3]; 2. 13-Cayden Schmeling[6]; 3. 6-Dale Ames[4]; 4. 15X-Kenny Mayer[8]; 5. 37-Scott Ward[9]; 6. 15-Adam Brotherton[1]; 7. 11Z-Dylan Zabel[5]; 8. 73-Ryan Nelson[2]; 9. (DNF) 65-Dave Brooker[7]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 71X-Travis Scott[1]; 2. 8-Matthew Larson[5]; 3. 7K-Kody Lehr[2]; 4. 32-Dominique Menzia[6]; 5. E85-Derek Zastrow[8]; 6. 65-Luis Chavez[3]; 7. 8Z-Andrew Zastrow[9]; 8. 10-Rick Whitlock[7]; 9. (DNF) 71-Trevor Nelson[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Matthew Larson[3]; 2. 71-Trevor Nelson[6]; 3. 71X-Travis Scott[5]; 4. 65-Luis Chavez[2]; 5. 7K-Kody Lehr[9]; 6. 32-Dominique Menzia[8]; 7. 10-Rick Whitlock[7]; 8. E85-Derek Zastrow[1]; 9. (DNF) 8Z-Andrew Zastrow[4]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 31-Scott Hansen[5]; 2. 67-Mike Nichols[7]; 3. 28-Tommy Nichols[13]; 4. 54H-Chad Williamson[1]; 5. 16T-Tim Kanten[2]; 6. 61-Zach LaQua[11]; 7. 33-Lorin Johnson[3]; 8. 17-Matthew Cunha[22]; 9. 11S-Darren Engesser[19]; 10. 15-MaKenna Romuld[4]; 11. 51-Toby Eilers[12]; 12. 47-Memphis Klassen[21]; 13. (DNF) 2DR-Tom Neitzel[24]; 14. (DNF) 28T-Scott Tofte[6]; 15. (DNF) 54-Todd Stark[8]; 16. (DNF) 15X-Taylor Schmidt[15]; 17. (DNF) 07HD-Jesse Mckuski[14]; 18. (DNF) 1Z-Dawson Zabel[17]; 19. (DNF) 12-Logan Redlin[16]; 20. (DNF) 48-Camden Rassel[25]; 21. (DNF) 34J-Derek Rieck[9]; 22. (DNF) 17G-Jaden Gannott[23]; 23. (DNF) 69R-Terry Reilly[10]; 24. (DNF) 77J-Nathan Jager[18]; 25. (DNF) 56D-Doug Neitzel[20]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 54-Todd Stark[1]; 2. 28T-Scott Tofte[2]; 3. 34J-Derek Rieck[4]; 4. 28-Tommy Nichols[3]; 5. 1Z-Dawson Zabel[5]; 6. 47-Memphis Klassen[6]; 7. 2DR-Tom Neitzel[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 67-Mike Nichols[2]; 2. 54H-Chad Williamson[1]; 3. 69R-Terry Reilly[4]; 4. 07HD-Jesse Mckuski[3]; 5. 77J-Nathan Jager[5]; 6. 17-Matthew Cunha[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 16T-Tim Kanten[1]; 2. 33-Lorin Johnson[3]; 3. 61-Zach LaQua[4]; 4. 15X-Taylor Schmidt[2]; 5. 11S-Darren Engesser[6]; 6. 17G-Jaden Gannott[5]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Scott Hansen[1]; 2. 15-MaKenna Romuld[3]; 3. 51-Toby Eilers[4]; 4. 12-Logan Redlin[5]; 5. 56D-Doug Neitzel[6]; 6. (DNF) 48-Camden Rassel[2]

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 31-Jason Marko[1]; 2. 15F-Zachary Flickinger[11]; 3. 2-Joe Martin[6]; 4. 73-Cory Giessinger[3]; 5. 17-Matt Goth[17]; 6. 14-Maria Broksieck[14]; 7. 58-Wade Tirrel[8]; 8. 20JR-Jayden Bogh[4]; 9. 99J-Josh Barker[12]; 10. 01-Chris Serr[5]; 11. 4-Trey Hess[7]; 12. 007HD-Austin Dueck[22]; 13. 711-Kenneth Clements[20]; 14. 81-Travis Oxandaburu[23]; 15. 80-Tony Miller[13]; 16. E30-Cooper Butterfield[15]; 17. (DNF) 99-Andy Rossow[9]; 18. (DNF) 0-Wyatt Brooker[10]; 19. (DNF) 314-Tyler Lamb[16]; 20. (DNF) 07HD-Stan Dueck[18]; 21. (DNF) 37W-Ferlin Sheridan[21]; 22. (DNF) 12-Al Schmidt[2]; 23. (DNF) 1X-Clifford Houser[19]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Andy Rossow[1]; 2. 31-Jason Marko[5]; 3. 01-Chris Serr[7]; 4. 0-Wyatt Brooker[6]; 5. 80-Tony Miller[4]; 6. 314-Tyler Lamb[2]; 7. 1X-Clifford Houser[8]; 8. 007HD-Austin Dueck[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Trey Hess[1]; 2. 2-Joe Martin[3]; 3. 58-Wade Tirrel[2]; 4. 15F-Zachary Flickinger[4]; 5. 14-Maria Broksieck[6]; 6. 17-Matt Goth[5]; 7. 711-Kenneth Clements[7]; 8. 81-Travis Oxandaburu[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 12-Al Schmidt[1]; 2. 20JR-Jayden Bogh[7]; 3. 73-Cory Giessinger[6]; 4. 99J-Josh Barker[4]; 5. E30-Cooper Butterfield[5]; 6. 07HD-Stan Dueck[3]; 7. 37W-Ferlin Sheridan[2]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 22-Matthew Dittman[3]; 2. 08-Jeff Rohner[5]; 3. 10-Dexyn Habraken[8]; 4. 3-Adam VanDerostyne[4]; 5. 10B-Curtis Borstad[9]; 6. (DNF) 108-Lenard Lustfield[6]; 7. (DNF) 07HD-Aiden McKuski[7]; 8. (DNF) 7-Jerik Stabler[1]; 9. (DNF) 555-Bradley Rossow[2]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 08-Jeff Rohner[2]; 2. 3-Adam VanDerostyne[5]; 3. 555-Bradley Rossow[6]; 4. 22-Matthew Dittman[7]; 5. 7-Jerik Stabler[3]; 6. 108-Lenard Lustfield[8]; 7. 07HD-Aiden McKuski[4]; 8. 10-Dexyn Habraken[9]; 9. 10B-Curtis Borstad[1]

Gen X Late Models:

A Feature 1 (18 Laps): 1. 15-Trevor Walsh[1]; 2. 19-Tyler McFarland[3]; 3. 14-Scott Harrington[5]; 4. D1-Matthew Larson[6]; 5. 811-Bodie Croninger[8]; 6. 17J-John Winge[4]; 7. 8T-Tony Croninger[7]; 8. 87-Curt Kranz[9]; 9. 22-Brady Mellendorf[10]; 10. 50-Joel Waba[14]; 11. 1E-Tai Engels[13]; 12. 22N-Curtis Newberg[11]; 13. 23JR-Parker Gilbertson[2]; 14. (DNF) 20-Doug Walsh[12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 8T-Tony Croninger[2]; 2. 15-Trevor Walsh[3]; 3. 23JR-Parker Gilbertson[7]; 4. 17J-John Winge[5]; 5. 87-Curt Kranz[6]; 6. 22N-Curtis Newberg[4]; 7. 1E-Tai Engels[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14-Scott Harrington[6]; 2. 19-Tyler McFarland[1]; 3. 811-Bodie Croninger[4]; 4. D1-Matthew Larson[7]; 5. 22-Brady Mellendorf[3]; 6. 20-Doug Walsh[5]; 7. 50-Joel Waba[2]