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Friday, May 15

The 2026 edition of the Structural Buildings Late Model Challenge Series opened up its season on Friday, May 15 at I-94 emr Speedway. Friday night was the first of an important three-night swing to begin the series. For those chasing points, the hope was to get the season off to a good start on the high banks of the Fergus Falls, MN track.

At last check, 21 drivers signed up to be a part of the series with special perks going to those drivers who agreed to run all the races.

I understand this number is fluid and in fact, there were drivers who wanted to be added to that list and some who bowed out already, even before the first race took a green flag.

Along with the Late Models, WISSOTA-sanctioned Midwest Mods, Street Stocks and Hornets were also part of the program, plus the Gen X Late Models.

Summer returned for at least one day to the upper Midwest with temperatures well into the mid 80s. Along with that, the wind was incredibly strong and many of the teams reported it was tough to keep their big haulers pointed in the correct direction on the freeways. Track prep was challenging, to say the least.

Thirty-three Late Models pulled through the gates on Friday night, with one driver opting not to run the Challenge Series event, but still race (more on that later).

Not much has changed in procedures for the Challenge Series with the drivers still qualifying to begin the program. The top four are then inverted for the heat races and passing points are used to determine just who makes the main event. The top 16 move onto the A-main, with the rest running a B-feature that moves six more to the main. The rest of the field is filled out by provisional racers based on Challenge Series criteria.

Cory Crapser was the quick qualifier at 16.390 seconds, and the field was divided into four heats. The other three quick qualifiers were all within a couple tenths of each other, so the track wasn't slowing down dramatically from start to finish.

Among the entrants was the three driver contingent from eastern Wisconsin, including the Franks and Joel Bennett. Rookie drivers James Trantina III, Dexton Koch and Onyx Johnson were also part of the field.

The night was light on drivers from western Wisconsin, which was disappointing, and other tracks racing precluded certain drivers from being on hand for the opener. I expect those drivers will be seen sporadically at events to come.

Twenty-five drivers took the green flag for the 40-lap main event on a track that supplied two-groove racing for much of the contest. There were three different leaders during the race and lots of passing back and forth for both the top spot and other spots within the top five.

Jeff Provinzino was the initial leader and he led the first seven laps of the race. Tyler Peterson was both high and low on the track, as he worked his way forward from the second row, and on lap eight he drove past Provinzino to take over the top spot.

After that, it was primarily a three-driver battle for the lead, as Peterson, Kevin Burdick and Kevin Eder mixed it up. Unofficially, I have four more lead changes during the rest of the race; Burdick and Peterson primarily put on the show as they slid each other a multitude of times battling for the lead.

A lap-35 yellow set up a five-lap sprint to the finish, but Burdick remained strong up front. With the track turning bottom-dominant in the late going, Burdick needed to keep Peterson from getting underneath him and he did so en route to the victory.

Cole Schill, who did not appear in the top five until the last restart, made a strong drive from 12th to finish fourth and Shane Sabraski—who wasn't in the top five until the final laps—was fifth.

Nineteen drivers finished the contest and all were on the lead lap. Only one driver did get lapped and the “Lucky Dog” saved him on that occasion. The only possible drawback to this race was that the yellow flag flew five times, mainly for minor spins. There was not a car damaging accident throughout the event.

It was a nice win for Burdick, who I don't necessarily consider a strong big track runner. However, that seems to be an incorrect assessment, as he has now won here at I-94 the last two years for this event. He is a driver racing on a budget with his family-owned and operated team, and is one of the few competitors who arrives “old school” on an open trailer. He races with a dogged determination, just as he did in the Super Stocks before he moved up to the Late Models several years ago.

Full shows were also held for three other WISSOTA divisions from the weekly schedule here at I-94. The Midwest Mod field of 26 was a nice one, with all drivers qualifying for the main event after they ran four heats.

Landyn Randt took the initial lead and led the first 12 laps of the Mid Mod feature. He started on the outside pole and set a quick pace, chased by Tanner Bitzan and Jake Smith. Randt was so fast he caught the back of the pack quickly and that was trouble for him.

There was so much traffic that he got hung up and Bitzan took advantage, cutting into the lead. In fact, as they steered through the rush hour traffic, Bitzan found a hole and moved into the lead.

Randt tried to get back by him and after a mighty run down the front chute, he dove hard to the inside of Bitzan in turn two, where the leaders made quite hard contact. However, both drove on with the running order the same and Smith still lurking close behind.

A yellow, the first of the race on lap 17, slowed the field and under that yellow, Randt had a tire deflate while he was in second. This moved Smith up to second and in the final three laps, he took a run at Bitzan but Bitzan held him off as he drove home for the win. Dusty Peterson held on after starting on the pole and he came home third, while Nate Reinke and Travis Engebretson completed the top five.

The Street Stock field was small indeed on Friday, with only eight drivers on hand. This helps continue an early season tremor throughout the racing community about just how many Streeters there will be this year.

However, despite the small group, the first few laps featured a good battle for the lead. Two No. 11s battled it out—Levi Randt and Kyle Dykhoff, with Randt getting the early lead. He was not able to hold off the charge of Dykhoff, however, who passed him on lap four and then gradually pulled away from the field. After a first-lap spin, the rest of the race ran green to checkers.

Braedyn Fleck continues his improvement as he held off Jeff Ekdahl for third, while Greg Platzner completed the top five.

A big field of 19 Hornets ran green to checkered in their 12-lap main event. Lincoln Miller led the first three laps before Jeff Nohner came up from the third row to take over the lead. Nohner looks to be a strong candidate for national points once again; after taking the lead, he pulled away from the pack and raced comfortably home for the win. Miller did a great job to finish second ahead of Eli Green, Brady Fosso and Emma Nelson in the top five. All 19 starters were still on the track at the finish.

We got surprise on race day with an additional event added to the program. The Late Model feature, along with several other features, were rained out here last week and the Late Model event was added on to the program tonight.

In the original field, Dave Mass missed the makeup after having mechanical issues early during the Challenge Series feature, which is not a good start for the defending champion. Several other drivers who had run during the opener were not in attendance for various reasons while Chris Mensen, who opted not to run the Challenge Series event, instead tagged the back of the pack for the makeup show.

Rookie Dexton Koch led the first seven laps of the race and it looked like the rookie might get his first feature race win early. However, two consecutive yellows at that point proved to be his down fall; when the green was dropped, both Shane Sabraski and Tyler Peterson blew by him on both sides into turn one.

Those two then battled it out for the win and Sabraski prevailed. Koch did hold on for third, and Ryan Mikkelson and Schill completed the top five. It proved to be lots of laps for a number of the Late Model drivers on this night.

It was a long night of racing but a full night, particularly if you were a Late Model fan. Thanks to everyone at I-94. A number of familiar faces are still working there, despite the recent ownership change. It has a big season ahead of it with many premier races on the schedule, and as always, it was good to hear “The Legend” Ron Krog back in action calling the races in his distinctive style.

Saturday, May 16

Knock on wood, Rice Lake Speedway is now four for four in races scheduled vs. races completed. The weather has not always been the best, but it has been manageable. No coat was needed until at least the halfway point of the night this past Saturday, making it the best night so far. While the wind was again strong, it was blowing in the correct direction, and should not have been a bother to fans in the stands.

The “Bomber Bash” is a fun event for the Pure Stocks. At one time I could call them the entry-level class, but there is no such thing as entry level anymore. A considerable investment is even necessary to build and race a Pure Stock.

It is nice to see them get more money from time to time, and area fans and businesses helped them out: winner Mark Barta went home with $1,684 for his efforts, and a number of other positions also saw a boost in their envelopes.

More than a dozen drivers were on hand and they made their first starts of the year at the track Saturday night, which seems quite high to me, now a month into the season. I would guess that much of this has to do with those tracks that are still anxiously waiting to get their seasons underway.

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