10-20 Page 25

Every year visitbarroncounty.com (the tourist agency responsible for tourism in Barron County, Wisconsin) publishes its “Best of the Best” awards after a public survey across many categories. It’s covered with a slick insert, and then distributed to all the county newspapers. These categories cover every single business and industry in the county.

For the 2026 awards, Rice Lake Speedway was included in seven different categories. This is by far the most times the speedway has ever been mentioned in this publication. It’s clear the speedway’s efforts to become more involved in the community is paying dividends.

The categories the speedway was included in were: Best Holiday Event - the Firecracker special (runner-up); Best Kept Secret (nominated); Best Place to Meet New People (runner-up); Best Place to Take Your Kids (runner-up); Best Place to Take Out of Town Guests (runner-up); and Best Tourist Attraction (nominated).

And finally, other categories featuring local racers included Favorite Local Celebrity-Kolby Kiehl (nominated), and Best Heating and Cooling Business in Barron County - Solution Heating and Cooling (winner). The business is co-owned by Modified driver and Street Stock car owner Joe Chaplin, Jr.

Congratulations to everyone who is responsible for this return on their investment of time and talent. All the extra activities that were available for the kids at the track did not go unnoticed, and the pleasant demeanor of the track employees was recognized. The little things were also appreciated, like not gouging customers on ticket prices, and offering the extra drawings. The track’s community involvement is huge. There was even a nice picture of drivers in action racing at the track on the inside cover of the magazine.

A big year is coming up for the track, with its 75th anniversary to be celebrated in 2027. I can’t wait to see what they have cooked up for next year.

Veteran race fans, and in particular, Late Model fans of the “Glory Days,” will recognize the name Kenny Mann. Mann raced out of the Twin Cities area and when he showed up, he was always one of the competitors to take note of. Driving his black No. 2, the Mopar with a big block Chrysler under the hood of his Roadrunner was a car that could vibrate the fillings in your teeth when he passed by under a covered grandstand. He won a lot of big races and was one of the best. I recently saw notification that he had passed away. Condolences to his family and friends.

Several national point titles have yet to be decided, with just two weeks of point racing left in the 2026 racing season. It is always interesting to check the strategy teams are using.

Heading into the first weekend in October, the closest races were in the Pure Stocks, Modifieds and Late Models. As I type this on Saturday morning, the Pure Stocks had the night off last night with no point racing scheduled. But you can bet that both Austin Carlson and Jake Smith, flat smack tied in the Pure Stock national points, will both be in Bemidji on Saturday and Sunday, racing head to head for that title. Then the following weekend they wrap up the season at Ogilvie.

The Modified point race was very close; Shane Sabraski led both Jody Bellefeuille and Blake Adams by a single point. Friday night both Sabraski and Bellefeuille opted to race the Red Clay Classic in Ashland. Bellefeuille won a heat race and started somewhere in the first two rows for the feature on Saturday, while Sabraski broke in his heat race and had to start somewhere toward the back in the Modified B Feature on Saturday. Bellefeuille likely opted for ABC given his familiarity with the track while Sabraski was able to run all four of his cars, with the Late Model national title still somewhat up for grabs.

Adams, on the other hand, opted to cross the border and run in Emo, with the attraction there being two full shows on Friday and Saturday. Adams swept the evening Friday, winning both a heat and feature. The Mods had two more weeks of point racing left, including Ogilvie and I-94.

The Late Model race was fairly close but it seemed that Tyler Peterson was now in the driver’s seat ahead of Sabraski and Kevin Burdick. Peterson raced Aberdeen Friday night and was second in the feature. Both Sabraski and Burdick were at Ashland; Sabraski won a heat and Burdick was third in his heat, with feature racing coming on Saturday.

The split shows are not nearly as attractive to the drivers, but at this time of the year, many times they have no choice and the split shows do generally pay better.

Friday, October 2

The 51st Red Clay Classic at ABC Raceway had opened action on Friday, October 2. Drivers in four WISSOTA divisions raced Friday with the Midwest Mods, Mods, Super Stocks and Late Models on hand.

Things actually kicked off on Thursday night with its annual fundraiser at the Neighborly Bar. The fundraiser is for the “Bridesmaid” contest, which is a highlight of the weekend. This puts a lot of the racers in Ashland on Thursday, and cuts down on the hauler traffic on the highways on Friday.

This year’s event follows last year’s huge 50th anniversary blowout, and there was the feeling of a bit of a “hangover” from last year’s event, which offered incredible prize money in all classes.

Certainly, 167 drivers signed in to race in four classes is a very good number, but it did pale in comparison to last year’s giant turnout. There were 27 less Midwest Mods this year from last, 21 Super Stocks, 21 Mods and 24 Late Models. That means that this year’s event had 93 less drivers in the pits than last year, and that is a stunning number.

Obviously the return of a more conservative purse had an effect, but it is still one of the best paying events of the autumn season.

This is the time of year when drivers start purchasing rides for next year and make a late-year appearance or two in their newly purchased equipment. Some drivers are ready to call it a year as well, and car owners seek out other drivers to wheel their cars in competition one last time.

Among the many changes for this weekend, Joey Jensen was behind the wheel of Jake Hartung’s Modified for the Red Clay. Jensen is one of the top drivers in the SSR camp.

Kevin Eder, as he has done now for a number of years, was driving a second car in the Modifieds for Clayton Wagamon.

Curt Myers, out of retirement or not, was back in the Super Stock this weekend that Alex Myers raced this year. Curt first showed up in Thunder Bay last weekend driving the car.

Brent Prochnow was not only driving his Modified this weekend but also the Midwest Mod of son Bently. Brandon Duellman took the spot of father Les behind the wheel of the Runkle tribute Midwest Mod, as well as his own Super Stock.

Mike Anderson was also driving a Midwest Mod this weekend in a Quality Propane entry that will need further investigation. It turns out that Quality Propane owner Bryan Nayes is making a comeback into racing. As many will remember, Nayes started in a Super Stock a number of years ago and then also raced Midwest Mods and Mods, all with the distinctive ID “QP,” short for his business name. After a few years he got too busy to race but has been a longtime supporter of Mike Anderson’s Modified efforts, who I believe is an employee of Nayes.

With the reopening of a race track five miles from his lake home, Nayes tells me that the itch to get back and do some racing overcame him. His car will be an SSR that was raced by both Anderson and Kennedy Swan at one time, and has been sitting in the shed for a few years. Anderson is shaking it down this weekend, as Nayes has a sciatic issue right now that makes crawling into a race car hard.

Nayes has been keeping himself busy in recent years with racing boats, and he tells me his boat will cruise along at more than 100 miles per hour.

It was good to see Robby Bunkelman back and racing. He tells me that his new interest is now pulling antique tractors, plus crewing for some friends Legend cars. His car was only raced three times in the last two years, but he likes to get it out for this event. It is a Pierce chassis Modified.

Andy Nezworski was finally able to make the trip up from Iowa successful. He fought rain and smoke in his last two attempts. Unfortunately, he ended the evening on the wrong end of the wrecker.

Mitch Kieber was also in a tribute car, his Midwest Mod which he was racing in memory of his father Steve. I believe this was the first time he has had the car on the track at ABC this year.

In addition to his Modified, Cole Spacek caught a ride in the No. 7p Midwest Mod, a car that has appeared at a number of specials over the years with various drivers. Unfortunately, I believe they grenaded the motor during the course of the evening.

With a weekend off from racing and nothing better to do, national Modified driving star Rodney Sanders was behind the wheel of the #91 Joe Duvall tribute car, owned by Jimmy Mars. Showing he’s easily adaptable to any car, which is probably part of what makes him so good, Sanders ran away with a Modified heat race and was set to start right up front on Saturday.

The program began with track announcer Nick Gima singing both the Canadian and American national anthems. As good of an announcer as Nick is, I believe he is an even better singer.

The Red Clay Classic remains the only special event in WISSOTA that has a large field of drivers but still uses the draw/redraw format. This make the pill draw tremendously important to the success of the weekend’s racing. Ten of the 18 heat races contested were won from the front row.

For the first time ever that I can remember for this event, smoking was only allowed in the concourse area behind the grandstands. Of course, this rule was not totally followed. There did seem to be a considerable improvement in the quality of the air hanging over the grandstands, however. ABC was always, quite frankly, one of the worst for smoke hanging over the crowd. They are making positive steps, one at a time. Now if only they can be convinced to not allow smoking under the low roof at Gondik Law Speedway, a major battle will have been won.

With less cars in the pits, the program becomes just a bit easier to run and moves along more quickly. Starting right at the advertised time, the 18 heat races moved along nicely with no major delays. Because the weather forecast for Saturday looks a bit iffy, it was decided by management to run the Midwest Mod B features after the completion of the heat races. Even with the addition of the two extra races, the whole program was completed before 10 p.m., giving folks plenty of time to kick up their heels and wet their whistles, a good thing or perhaps not. However, the less B features that need to be run on the second day of a show is always a good thing.

With the ABC rainout on Saturday, I have been able to identify three drivers who took advantage of the fact that ABC wasn’t racing to head elsewhere and try their luck.

Ryan Kough didn’t make the ABC feature in a late B feature on Friday night at Ashland, so he headed to Bemidji and ran there on Saturday night.

Two Modified drivers who were at Ashland also moved on. Zach Benson missed his heat race at ABC when they didn’t get time to change a transmission, so he headed to Bemidji and won the feature race on Saturday there. J.T. Johnson didn’t have a great night at ABC either, so he pulled to Bemidji as well and finished as runner-up to Benson.

Sunday, October 4

Sunday afternoon racing at a dirt track is not a combination that mixes very well. However, after a rainy Saturday in Ashland, the board of directors of ABC Raceway had little choice in the matter.

Their only choice, other than to call the event and send everyone home angry, was to race the remaining B features and four championship features on Sunday afternoon. They had a pit full of racers and a campground full of fans and somehow, some way, they had to run the rest of their weekend program.

Some of the drivers packed up and left on Saturday after it started to rain. Some left on Sunday morning but the majority of drivers stuck around to race on Sunday, fully knowing what they would likely get to race on. Surprisingly, a few of the drivers locked into the feature races also left early, with perhaps other commitments already in place for Sunday.

Honestly, things could have been and have been a lot worse other years when rain hit. The local area is suffering through an extreme drought this year, and while there were some muddy spots in the pits, it really wasn’t epic in nature. The track itself rolled in rather quickly and was ready to race on by noon.

The afternoon racing began with some thought-provoking words from track chaplin Merle. The Byholm No. 444 Race has not been able to be run the last two years due to rain, but Merle gave us all something to consider when he reminded us all that October 4 would have been Tanner’s 31st birthday.

The track was pounded down hard by Friday night racing, so the rain didn’t penetrate too deeply and the track crew was able to blade and take care of the top slime rather easily. By the time the five B features were completed, the dust was flying and a complete redo then preceded the four championship feature races. A brisk breeze from the northwest was also greatly appreciated.

It turned out to be a record-breaking day for Shane Sabraski. First, he raced in all four feature races, which was an event record. He did have to send home for his second Modified, which was delivered to the track and he started in the back of the pack with that car. He was given a provisional as the previous year’s winner. At a two-day event, teams are allowed to change cars, motors and most anything for multi-day shows.

He also set an event record by winning three feature races. To be fair, it also needs to be mentioned that he started in the front row for all three of his feature races, which was a great place to be on a rubbered-up track that was very narrow.

The Late Models ran their feature first, with the thought to get their power and wide tires on the track as soon as possible. Their 50-lapper certainly worked quickly to create a black track. They were able to race in more than one groove early, but as the event moved along, their fast lane also narrowed quickly.

This was one race where Sabraski needed a little help, and he got it when a lapped car changed the course of the event. Sabraski took the early lead but the leaders were in lapped traffic quickly and Skeeter Estey, who looked strong, passed Sabraski on lap 11 when Sabraski was hung up in traffic.

Estey looked fast as the leader but as he was continuing to work through traffic he made contact with a lapped car with the right rear of his car. One lap later he slowed and then pulled up with a flat tire, handing the lead back over to Sabraski.

This gave second to Ashley Anderson, who then closed in on Sabraski and twice looked ready to pass him for the lead, only to have the yellow flag wave. However, after that last yellow on lap 34, Sabraski pulled away and was not challenged after that. Anderson settled for second with defending winner Kevin Eder finishing third.

Jody Bellefeuille was scored the leader for all 40 laps of the Modified feature after he started on the pole. Early on, he was challenged by Shane Halopka, who came close a couple times to make a pass but just couldn’t quite pull it off.

Following two yellow-flag restarts, Rodney Sanders went for broke and tried to pass Bellefeuille on the outside, getting up alongside him but again not quite able to make it stick. There was no second lane and as Bellefeuille reported later, the inside line started taking rubber. After that, it was just a matter of Bellefeuille making laps and he took the win ahead of Halopka and Sanders.

The Super Stock feature had the closest finish, with Rick Simpson just four laps away from scoring the win — until one bobble ended his chances for victory. Simpson surprisingly got the jump on Sabraski to take the early lead, with Shane Kisling settling into third.

The top two pulled away from the pack and Sabraski was all over Simpson, following him tightly and trying to provoke a mistake from the Canadian. Several times Sabraski tried to roll to the outside and get past, but the inside line was just too fast and Sabraski had to settle back in and tailgate, hoping for an opening.

Sabraski raced Simpson very clean with just one instance of his front end tickling the rear of Simpson’s car. On a track like this where rooting and gouging to move a driver out of the groove is often the only way to pass, I was surprised just how clean the fields in all classes raced, with very few cases of “hit and run” seen.

With just four laps to go Simpson got into turn one too hot, slipped off the bottom for just a second, and that was all Sabraski needed. With his car much faster, he pulled away quickly from Simpson and then drove on for the win. Kisling rode home third.

Sabraski then wrapped up the afternoon by using another pole to drive to victory in the 25-lap Midwest Mod feature. He pulled out to a big lead, despite the yellow waving five times. Kolby Reed was making his car very wide in second and Joey Jensen, while appearing to be faster, just couldn’t find a way past. He followed Reed for the longest time, trying and trying to find an opening.

He was aided by a lap-16 yellow that nixed a Jensen pass, but two laps later Jensen finally got by for second.

Sabraski had about a full straightway on the field by then but yellows brought them back together. Jensen had nothing for Sabraski, however, who pulled away for the win. Jensen and Reed followed.

It was afternoon racing and pretty much what we had expected. Rubber quickly made the inside line far faster and made passing almost impossible. I thought that perhaps they might try to hit the groove with a bit of water and try to negate the rubber building up, but other than a misting of the cushion, where no one was running anyway, once the Mods hit the track they pretty much left the track alone.

The activities Thursday night made the “Bridesmaid” runner-up awards very lucrative once again. The second place finisher in each feature took home an extra $1250, which actually helped Jensen bank more than winner Sabraski in the Midwest Mod feature!

The drivers did well on Sunday afternoon with not nearly as many spins and wrecks as one might have expected. The final checkered waved around 4 p.m., giving everyone the opportunity to get an early start on their travels.

Most importantly, the track was able to complete the feature races and put on a show for the fans who stuck it out on what was a less than favorable weather weekend. The crowd was still pretty good on Sunday, despite all that happened. Lots of extra hours were put in by the volunteers who do the many jobs at the track to keep the show running.

Friday, October 9

The 23rd annual Fall Classic rolled off Friday, October 9 at Ogilvie Raceway under sunny skies and above-average temperatures.

This show is a marathon of racing for those who want to see every class imaginable. What has been a nine division program in recent years swelled by one more class as the unsanctioned Crown Vics, which are racing at several tracks in this area, were added for 2026. Every WISSOTA-sanctioned class is in action here, in addition to a combined-rules Limited Late Model class and the aforementioned Crown Vics.

Friday night 272 drivers signed in to race in the WISSOTA classes. Throw in another 34 in the unsanctioned classes and you have a grand total of 306 drivers ready to race. Wow — that is a lot of race cars and teams.

However, the count was actually smaller by about 20 drivers from last year, primarily because of a new unsanctioned event that was held in Wisconsin.

The program consisted of 36 eight-lap heat races, with passing points used to determine who moved directly to the feature races on Saturday. Twenty of those heats ran off green to checkered and it was a remarkably smooth program. All racing was completed by 11:30 p.m., after starting just a few minutes after 7 p.m.

Some driver changes continue to occur. Mark Heinle was in a new-to-him Late Model, racing a newer MB that came from Lyndon Bolt in South Dakota.

For the second week, Don Eischens was running a Mod owned by Kent Willms, which he put his own motor in and has been experimenting with. This car is a Vanderbilt and he said he is just testing the waters, so to speak, to get an idea of what the other brands offer before he decides what he is doing for 2027.

Parker Anderson had his Street Stock all spruced up with a new body and it did look nice. Anderson tells me he is not actively looking to sell the car, but if someone comes up with the money he is looking for, he might be tempted. Otherwise, he will keep the car for next year as it is still mighty fast, like Little Dream fast, and he will race it again.

It was great to see “The Legend” Rich Thomas tow over from South Dakota to race this event. It marked the first time I had seen Thomas race this year. Arne Anderson also came over from South Dakota. He’s back this year and racing pretty hard this fall.

Two national point titles were still up for grabs, in the Pure Stocks and Modifieds. Because no Pure Stock races were scheduled for the following weekend, Ogilvie’s show was it for Jake Smith and Austin Carlson.

Carlson got the edge when he beat Smith in the first heat race of the entire night on Friday. In that same heat, Austin Fencl, who has been running everywhere to try and improve his point standings, was crashed just two laps into the race by a backmarker and his weekend was likely done.

The Modifieds are the other class where the points are very close with Blake Adams, Jody Bellefeuille and Shane Sabraski all within 10 points of each other. Bellefeuille got the edge on Friday when he won a heat race, while both Adams and Sabraski finished third in their heats.

There were a couple of key incidents during the heat races that changed things up a bit. Dexton Koch and Joey Jensen got into a scuffle on a restart of a Super Stock heat following a yellow. Koch’s slide job found him planted on the nose of Jensen’s car, and Jensen had no qualms about then dumping Koch, triggering another yellow. Koch went off on the wrecker while Jensen did get his spot back.

Coming to the checkers in a Late Model heat, contact between Kevin Burdick and Cole Schill ended with Schill grinding to a halt short of the finish line in a shower of sparks. Burdick was scored second and Schill went off the track on two wreckers, with some severe damage done to his car. Blood pressures were high.

A couple of the hardest chargers of the night were in the Midwest Mods, where Jake Molitor drove from ninth to the win in a heat, and Rowan Tramm went from 10th to third in his heat. Tramm was driving the ex-Landyn Randt car, which the Randt team told me was sold to Tramm this week.

Blake Hawker made his return to racing in one of the Larson Mod Fours and went from sixth to second in his heat race.

Dustin Holtquist, who has the Mod Four title wrapped up, missed his heat race when he couldn’t get back from a family engagement in South Dakota in time. I assumed he would start from the back of the feature on Saturday, which should spice things up in that event.

There was bad luck for Weston Ramsrud, who had a good starting position for a Street Stock heat. When the green flag waved, his car simply didn’t take off and he was headed for the infield shortly thereafter.

While it was a smooth racing night for most, for a couple of drivers it was a violent night they will long remember. Butch Butcher slammed the frontstretch wall right under the flagstand and with a horrible bang, the car started to barrel roll down the track. It was violent and the crowd let out a collective sigh when Butcher climbed out of the car after the track crew righted it, as it landed upside down. The car was a mess with just about the whole body having departed the frame and it was indistinguishable as a race car.

Nathan Kelley pulled his Hornet all the way down from Fargo, only to stand it on its nose in turn one and do a series of barrel rolls into the infield, landing too close for comfort to one of the photographers. He, too, was fine but a couple of race cars certainly ended their seasons on sour notes.

Other than a couple instances when the track was rolled in by heavy equipment, no track prep took place all night. The track remained fast and did have some “character” in both corners, something not seen here too often. But the emphasis here is on high speed, and when things happen, they happen quickly.

The 50/50 Split the Pot was a very nice $1,735.

Saturday, October 10

It was a record-breaking weather day in east central Minnesota and that helped bring a packed house to Ogilvie for the second night of the annual Fall Classic. With the race time temperature at 87 degrees, it made one think it was the middle of July, not nearly halfway through October.

While the fans enjoyed the mild temperatures, with a strong south wind blowing directly into the grandstand it made for a challenging night for the track prep crew. They did a good job, given the number of laps and the weather.

One more Hornet driver flew in for the Saturday night show, pumping the WISSOTA numbers to a total of 273 and the program total to 307.

Nine B features started off the program, with 10 feature races to complete the evening. Before the show, longtime Modified driver Al Uotinen was honored, as it was his last race of his 47-year career. Later, when the last feature race for the Crown Vics was running and there were about 10 people left in the grandstands, Al and his entourage were still sitting in the stands, drinking Milwaukee’s finest and sharing laughs, almost as if they didn’t want to see the night ever end.

With 227 laps of feature racing action run once the B features were completed, this is what is called racing overload. Thank God this doesn’t happen every week!

Some of the biggest story lines that developed over the course of the evening included the two very close battles for national point titles, with one decided Saturday. A back-of-the-pack-to-first charge to the win was also a part of the evening’s action and unfortunately, a disqualification cost one driver his biggest win to date. That DQ also affected the point fight in the Modified class.

Austin Carlson and Jake Smith raced head to head to settle not just the feature win, but the national point title as well. They came into the weekend tied in points, but as I stated earlier, Carlson finished one position better during Friday night’s heat races.

Thus, Carlson carried a very small lead. Smith had to beat Carlson and hope that someone else finished between them to give him enough points to win.

Their feature race was the first of the night and Carlson, who started on the outside pole, got the jump on Dylan Helget and was the early leader. Two yellow flags in the early going kept things bunched; each time Carlson maintained his lead ahead of Smith, who had moved to second. They pulled away from the field while fighting their own personal war. They seemed evenly matched and it was going to take a mistake from Carlson to open any doors for Smith.

Smith pushed as hard as he could on the final lap but he stayed clean and didn’t try to boot Carlson off the inside line; they crossed the line first and second, with Carlson claiming the national title as well as the Fall Classic honors.

The other extremely tight battle is in the Modifieds, where Blake Adams carried a 5-point lead ahead of Jody Bellefeuille. Bellefeuille started sixth in the feature and he needed a good finish to increase his point total. Adams, who finished third in a heat on Friday, needed a win to improve his standing and that seemed unlikely due to his 13th-starting spot.

In the feature Joe Thomas took off as the early leader ahead of Clayton Wagamon and Travis Schulte. A yellow waved after one lap was completed and then the next 34 laps rolled off green to checkers. Thomas continued to lead with Schulte, who started fifth, moving into second by the halfway point. Wagamon, Bellefeuille and Shane Sabraski followed at this point.

Thomas seemed strong but slowly Schulte began to close, slowly at first and then more rapidly cutting into Thomas’ advantage.

On lap 28 Schulte drove past Thomas to take over the lead and he showed real strength as he pulled away during the last seven laps to score what seemed to be certainly one of his biggest wins. But when Thomas appeared at victory lane later as another winner was celebrating, it didn’t look good.

Schulte was disqualified in tech for a frame height issue, one that has been catching several drivers over the last few weeks. With the disqualification, Bellefeuille was elevated to second in the finishing order and thus was awarded a pair of bonus points; when he and Adams go head to head at I-94 emr next weekend, there will be just a single point difference between the two.

For the second time this year, Dustin Holtquist came from the back of a feature field and won the main event. Having done it earlier this year at Granite City, this was perhaps even more impressive, with a field that was both stronger and larger in number.

Holtquist started 22nd on the grid and was moving up from the drop of the green. Connor Bruss was in the No. 00T car this weekend and took the immediate lead from the outside pole. He led the first 15 laps of the race, which also encompassed seven yellow flags that certainly helped Holtquist’s case. He gained positions each time the field was bunched up.

By the halfway point he was up to fourth and he just continued to charge. He drove by Tyler Larson to move into second and then caught the last yellow. One lap later, he drove around Bruss to take over the lead and he then pulled away from the field.

In a field where most drivers are using the same equipment, it seemed almost amazing that he could be so dominant. Bruss settled for second with Chad Funt third. Despite all the yellows, only four drivers failed to finish.

Surprisingly, the Late Model feature was another that was bogged down by yellow flags, with the bunting waving nine times in the 40-lapper. Matt Gilbertson led the opening three laps before Darrell Nelson drove past him for the lead. During the first 15-laps or so, it looked like Nelson was going to dominate, as he pulled out to a small lead each time the race went back to green.

However, Tyler Peterson was able to get to the cushion from his seventh starting spot and once he got up on the wall, he started to make time, picking off the drivers in front in rapid fashion. By lap 14 he was up to second and when they dropped the green once again, he drove past Nelson to take over the lead.

He was able to put distance on the pack during the longest green flag run of the race. A good battle for second between fifth-row starter Kevin Burdick and Nelson ended with Burdick grabbing second, while Dave Mass came from 23rd to fourth and Devin Fouquette scored a dazzling top-five finish.

Cole Schill did a great job this weekend as well. After the incident on Friday, much to my shock and surprise he reported to the track for a B feature. He failed to finish that race but started the feature as a provisional. I expected him to take the green and pull off but that is not in his DNA. After 40 laps of hard racing, he had managed to work his way from 25th to seventh!

Jason VandeKamp made a great move on the opening lap of the MidMod feature, as he found an opening and came from fifth to lead the opening lap, which was a wild, scrambled lap. Joey Jensen then had some adversity as he moved into second, only to be turned by another driver on lap five. He managed to keep from getting creamed by the field and was restored to second.

Surprisingly, on the following lap, he had a great run and drove by VandeKamp to take over the lead. After that yellow, the last 20 laps of this race ran off without a single yellow the two veterans chased each other.

They seemed equally matched and while VandeKamp pushed for all he was worth, Jensen was in his groove and was not caught. Jake Hagemann had a great run and finished an outstanding third, holding off Jake Smith and Sabraski for that spot.

The Street Stock drivers did a great job as they ran 27 laps nonstop, with only a single driver in the 27-car field not making the call. Keith Tourville turned in a dominating performance to take the win. Cody Kummer sat on the pole and led the opening two laps but pushed up the track and opened the door for Tourville, who quickly moved forward from his sixth starting spot.

Once Tourville took the lead, he drove away from the pack with an impressive performance, three-wheeling it around the track. With so many cars and so long of a green-flag run, lapped traffic was a major concern but Tourville handled it well. At the finish, there were 10 drivers at least a lap behind, and five lapped cars between Tourville and runner-up Eric Riley.

Kummer slipped back to fifth by the halfway point, but he made some adjustments on the fly and drove his way back up to third, finishing ahead of Parker Anderson and Braedyn Fleck.

Matching the Street Stock performance, the Super Stocks went 30 green flag laps in their main event without a stoppage. Jensen was looking for a double win after having handled the MidMod field and he led the first several laps after starting on the pole.

However, Dylan Nelson picked up the pace quickly and turned some very fast laps and drove past Jensen to take over the top spot. He set a blistering pace and was quickly into lapped traffic, but he handled it well and maintained his lead over Jensen.

Sabraski started 12th on the grid and it took him some time to break loose from traffic. Once he was free, he started picking off drivers at a rapid pace and by the halfway point of the race, he was up to third. He then got past Jensen for second and set off after Nelson.

However, between the lapped traffic and the hot pace that Nelson was still maintaining, Sabraski was never able to cut the margin by much and Nelson drove home the winner. Sabraski settled for second ahead of Jensen. Only four drivers failed to finish this race.

The Hornets also raced green to checkered with 15 clean laps in their feature. It was a two-car battle with Adam VanDerostyne leading the first two laps before Christian Kast got past him. It was then a chase between the two, and they were considerably faster than the competition. Kast set a blistering pace and while VanDerostyne was able to stay with Christian, he was never able to provide a challenge as he settled for second behind Kast. Will Lange finished third.

Once again fans dipped deep in their pockets as the 50/50 was $2750.

It was a long evening of racing. The first green flag flew at 5:17 p.m. and the final checkered for those who hung around for all 10 features was at 1:06 a.m. Sunday morning. In between, it was almost nonstop racing except for the one break needed to do extensive track prep before the features started. For race fans who like lots of cars and racing, this is the event to attend. However, afterward it usually takes a couple of days to decompress from this mega racing event.

However, I chose — on two hours of sleep — to attend another race in Iowa on Sunday afternoon. Not so smart, right?

Thanks to all the workers at the Big O who are the real heroes on this weekend. FYE moved on to the I-94 emr Speedway for one last week of WISSOTA Auto Racing with one national title still to be determined. By the time you read this…that also will be settled.