6-17 Page 24 | ATD Racing News

Vang tops headliner, Sabraski scores twice and Castle claims MidMods at Grand Rapids Speedway

By Shannon Reigel & Meghan Diemel, Editor

All The Dirt! Racing News

GRAND RAPIDS, MN (June 14) - Grand Rapids Speedway was back in action this week, this time on Saturday as the track moved forward with the originally scheduled show after the cancellation of the Northern Storm Series portion of the event.

WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included Mervin Castle, Danny Vang, Austin Carlson, Shane Sabraski, and Tristen McLynn.

Blake Adams and Dylan Miller led the pack of WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds to the green, but two early cautions kept the field at a stop-and-go pace.

Back under green, Adams held the lead with Mikey Blevins in second. Mervin Castle raced to third and showed his nose to Blevins, as Jake Hagemann and Justin Jones raced in fourth and fifth, respectively.

With much of the field in line, Castle nosed to the inside of Blevins to try and get by. At about the halfway point of the race, Castle slid by Blevins in turns one and two to steal second.

Coming into the final turn, race-long leader Adams was unable to hold the car to the inside line; he drifted high and Mervin Castle squeaked by at the checkered flag for the win. Adams, Blevins, Hagemann and Jones rounded out the top five.

Sabraski and Jason Hobbs were out front of the pack in the WISSOTA Super Stocks, but more than a few cautions before a lap could even be complete marred the complexion of the feature.

With the restart coming single file and Sabraski in the lead, he immediately stepped out from the field. Patrick Beeksma was second, but Kolby Kiehl soon drove by for the spot, leaving Beeksma to fight with Tristan LaBarge for third. Dalton Carlson was fifth.

As Sabraski began to move through the backmarkers with five laps scored, one spun directly in front of him and he narrowly avoided catastrophe. The field was reset under yellow.

The field was brought to a halt for yet another caution with just eight laps scored.

Back under green Sabraski moved out to a slight lead ahead of a war for second between Kiehl and LaBarge, but another yellow ground the field to a halt once again.

The class met its curfew and the race was brought to a close with a green, white, checkered finish. Sabraski grabbed the victory ahead of Kiehl, LaBarge, Beeksma and 12th-starter Dylan Nelson in the top five.

Zach Benson and Sabraski led the field of WISSOTA Modifieds to the green flag. Benson challenged Sabraski to the inside for the lead, as Tyler Kintner was third. Canadian visitor Tanner Williamson was fourth, before sixth-starter Bob Broking moved into top-five contention and challenged Kintner for third. Blake Adams hung close.

Broking took third and then began to work Benson for second, as Adams used the inside lane to get by Kintner for fourth, and Jack Rivord began to apply pressure to Kintner.

Benson and Broking fought back and forth for second, as farther back Rivord stole fifth. Benson then stalled and the field regrouped under yellow.

Sabraski kept out front back under green, as Broking, Adams, Rivord and Kintner fought in a pack for runner-up honors. Broking inched into second, Adams kept close in third, Rivord raced to fourth, and Kintner and Josh Beaulieu battled for fifth at the halfway point of the race.

In the second half of the feature, Sabraski continued to hold command out front as the field strung out. Adams challenged Broking for second in the latter stages, but did not have enough to get by and finished third. Rivord and Beaulieu were top-five finishers.

Danny Vang and Rick Niemi led the field of WISSOTA Late Models to the green flag. Vang and Billy Kendall battled side by side for the lead at the drop of the green, while Niemi, Johnny Broking, Jeff Provinzino, and Zach Wohlers fought for top-five spots. A caution for a Mark Heinle spin halted the race with two laps in the books.

After a faulty restart that nearly piled the field up in turns one and two; Vang held the lead back under green. Kendall was second, Niemi was third, Provinzino worked into fourth and Sabraski moved into fifth.

With seven laps scored Vang continued to set the pace out front, followed by Kendall, Niemi, Provinzino and now Kyle Peterlin in the top five. Sabraski fought back into fifth a couple laps later, and the duo continued to trade the spot back and forth.

As the feature came to its conclusion, Kendall was able to move back in on Vang as he tried to navigate backmarkers, pulling even in the turns, but Vang remained consistent and held off Kendall’s efforts for the victory. Niemi, Peterlin and Sabraski completed the top five.

Eric Crosby was the early leader of the WISSOTA Pure Stock feature, after a caution on the opening lap. Brandon Puschinsky and Billy Binkley raced hard for second, while Bob Klein and Aaron Bitker raced in the top five.

With four laps scored, Crosby was able to put distance on the fight for top-five spots. Jake Smith had worked his way into second from his seventh starting spot, while 10th-starter Chris Dudley followed through to third. Binkley and Carlson were fourth and fifth.

As the laps wound down, Crosby began to catch the back of the field three wide ahead of him. As he worked the lapped traffic, Smith closed to his bumper heading into turn one; contact from Smith upset Crosby’s car and the aftermath left a hole for Carlson to slip through into the lead as the top three raced through the heavy lapped traffic.

Carlson continued to lead with Crosby recovering for second, and Smith behind in third. Dudley was fourth and Puschinsky was fifth.

During the final lap, Crosby moved to the inside of Carlson and they were side by side coming to the checkered flag. In a photo finish, Carlson nipped Crosby at the line. Following the race Crosby was DQ’d, and the official rundown had Smith second, Dudley third, Puschinsky fourth and Klein fifth.

Tristen McLynn led the early laps of the WISSOTA Hornet feature, with Brady Fosso second. A yellow with 10 laps to go reset the field. Another caution a lap later kept things at a standstill and a rollover in turn one on the ensuing restart continued the night’s caution streak.

Back under green it was a side by side battle for the lead between McLynn and Fosso. Russell Kiker, Jr. had worked his way into third, with Makenna Folstad in fourth and Ryker Larson fifth.

McLynn edged away in the waning laps to garner the victory by a slim margin ahead of Fosso. Kiker, Folstad and Larson were top five finishers.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Late Models:

A Feature 1: 1. 47-Danny Vang[1]; 2. 99-Billy Kendall[3]; 3. 54-Rick Niemi[2]; 4. 23-Kyle Peterlin[10]; 5. 7A-Shane Sabraski[7]; 6. 6M-Jeff Massingill[8]; 7. 45J-Johnny Broking[4]; 8. 30-Kevin Burdick[11]; 9. 7-Harry Hanson[17]; 10. 37X-Skeeter Estey[9]; 11. 16-Derek Vesel[13]; 12. 12X-Ben Heinle[14]; 13. 24-Eric Lillo[12]; 14. 13-Roger Paolo[16]; 15. 34-Taylor Madrinich[15]; 16. (DNF) 71-Zach Wohlers[5]; 17. (DNF) 12-Mark Heinle[18]; 18. (DQ) 28-Jeff Provinzino[6]

Heat 1: 1. 47-Danny Vang[2]; 2. 54-Rick Niemi[4]; 3. 7A-Shane Sabraski[6]; 4. 23-Kyle Peterlin[5]; 5. 16-Derek Vesel[3]; 6. 13-Roger Paolo[1]

Heat 2: 1. 28-Jeff Provinzino[1]; 2. 37X-Skeeter Estey[2]; 3. 6M-Jeff Massingill[3]; 4. 30-Kevin Burdick[6]; 5. 12X-Ben Heinle[4]; 6. 7-Harry Hanson[5]

Heat 3: 1. 45J-Johnny Broking[1]; 2. 99-Billy Kendall[2]; 3. 71-Zach Wohlers[4]; 4. 24-Eric Lillo[3]; 5. 34-Taylor Madrinich[6]; 6. (DNF) 12-Mark Heinle[5]

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1: 1. 7A-Shane Sabraski[2]; 2. 45-Bob Broking[6]; 3. 40D-Blake Adams[7]; 4. 19J-Jack Rivord[8]; 5. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[11]; 6. 22-Tyler Kintner[4]; 7. 17B-Zach Benson[1]; 8. 4JR-Cameron Brown[5]; 9. 88-Tanner Williamson[3]; 10. 13-Devyn Weleski[12]; 11. 43-Lance Schilling[9]; 12. 12-TJ Heinle[14]; 13. M2-Chris Magistad[16]; 14. 14F-Blake Ferris[17]; 15. 2-Charlie Castle[10]; 16. 99-Doyle Erickson[15]; 17. (DNF) 72-Adam Johnson[18]; 18. (DNF) 4S-Steve Stavenger[19]; 19. (DNS) 23-Ryan Jensen

Heat 1: 1. 7A-Shane Sabraski[5]; 2. 45-Bob Broking[2]; 3. 43-Lance Schilling[1]; 4. 2-Charlie Castle[3]; 5. 23-Ryan Jensen[4]; 6. M2-Chris Magistad[6]; 7. 4S-Steve Stavenger[7]

Heat 2: 1. 19J-Jack Rivord[1]; 2. 22-Tyler Kintner[5]; 3. 88-Tanner Williamson[2]; 4. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[6]; 5. 12-TJ Heinle[3]; 6. 14F-Blake Ferris[4]

Heat 3: 1. 17B-Zach Benson[2]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[4]; 3. 4JR-Cameron Brown[5]; 4. 13-Devyn Weleski[3]; 5. 99-Doyle Erickson[6]; 6. 72-Adam Johnson[1]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1: 1. 7A-Shane Sabraski[1]; 2. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[5]; 3. 19-Tristan LaBarge[4]; 4. 21C-Patrick Beeksma[3]; 5. 25-Dylan Nelson[12]; 6. 57-Dalton Carlson[8]; 7. 80-Steve Stuart[7]; 8. 79A-Andy LaBarge[9]; 9. 40C-Chaston Finckbone[14]; 10. 27C-Cameron Labelle[18]; 11. 33-Austin Niemeyer[24]; 12. 41-Mikey Vajdl[10]; 13. 01-Trevor Arens[11]; 14. 47J-Justin Barsness[13]; 15. 41X-Brian Vajdl[15]; 16. 11-Kevin Salin[16]; 17. 71X-Travis Scott[22]; 18. 62-Dalton Truchon[6]; 19. 00-Jason Hobbs[2]; 20. 17-Faye Lewis[19]; 21. 81X-Matt Sparby[20]; 22. X81-Alexa Sparby[17]; 23. (DNF) 69X-John Sharpnack[23]; 24. (DNF) 05V-Gavin Voss[21]

Heat 1: 1. 21C-Patrick Beeksma[1]; 2. 80-Steve Stuart[6]; 3. 79A-Andy LaBarge[2]; 4. 47J-Justin Barsness[4]; 5. X81-Alexa Sparby[3]; 6. 05V-Gavin Voss[5]

Heat 2: 1. 57-Dalton Carlson[2]; 2. 7A-Shane Sabraski[4]; 3. 41-Mikey Vajdl[1]; 4. 40C-Chaston Finckbone[3]; 5. 27C-Cameron Labelle[5]; 6. 71X-Travis Scott[6]

Heat 3: 1. 19-Tristan LaBarge[4]; 2. 00-Jason Hobbs[5]; 3. 01-Trevor Arens[6]; 4. 41X-Brian Vajdl[3]; 5. 17-Faye Lewis[1]; 6. (DNF) 33-Austin Niemeyer[2]

Heat 4: 1. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[3]; 2. 62-Dalton Truchon[2]; 3. 25-Dylan Nelson[5]; 4. 11-Kevin Salin[1]; 5. 81X-Matt Sparby[4]; 6. 69X-John Sharpnack[6]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1: 1. 10M-Mervin Castle III[5]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[1]; 3. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[3]; 4. 33-Jake Hagemann[9]; 5. 8-Justin Jones[10]; 6. 10X-Matthew Cunha[14]; 7. 15S-Sam Blevins[17]; 8. 11X-Scott Thompson[15]; 9. 12A-Alex O'Dell[12]; 10. 71-Jacob Anderson[16]; 11. 07-Carter Matthews[19]; 12. 15-Landon Gross[11]; 13. 18X-Dylan Miller[2]; 14. 14G-Brant Gruba[20]; 15. 19-Darrin Lawler[4]; 16. 10Z-Cade Johnson[21]; 17. 22E-Ethan Elhardt[18]; 18. 31-Randy Haupt[23]; 19. 33L-Cejay LaValley[25]; 20. (DNF) 62-Ryan Kough[22]; 21. (DNF) 7A-Eric Anderson[7]; 22. (DNF) 16-Skyler Smith[13]; 23. (DNF) 980-Kaden Woodie[6]; 24. (DNF) 1-Joe Pangrac[24]; 25. (DNS) 10-Michael Blevins Sr

Heat 1: 1. 19-Darrin Lawler[1]; 2. 980-Kaden Woodie[3]; 3. 33-Jake Hagemann[2]; 4. 16-Skyler Smith[7]; 5. 15S-Sam Blevins[4]; 6. 10Z-Cade Johnson[5]; 7. 31-Randy Haupt[6]

Heat 2: 1. 7A-Eric Anderson[2]; 2. 18X-Dylan Miller[4]; 3. 8-Justin Jones[3]; 4. 10X-Matthew Cunha[5]; 5. 22E-Ethan Elhardt[1]; 6. (DNF) 1-Joe Pangrac[6]

Heat 3: 1. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[3]; 2. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[4]; 3. 15-Landon Gross[2]; 4. 11X-Scott Thompson[6]; 5. 07-Carter Matthews[1]; 6. (DNF) 33L-Cejay LaValley[5]

Heat 4: 1. 10M-Mervin Castle III[4]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[6]; 3. 12A-Alex O'Dell[1]; 4. 71-Jacob Anderson[5]; 5. 14G-Brant Gruba[3]; 6. 62-Ryan Kough[2]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

A Feature 1: 1. 57-Austin Carlson[8]; 2. 86J-Jake Smith[7]; 3. 70-Chris Dudley[10]; 4. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[4]; 5. 7-Bob Klein[3]; 6. 15H-Dusten Holub[13]; 7. 47-Dusty Caspers[11]; 8. 25-Billy Binkley[1]; 9. 55-Aaron Bitker[6]; 10. 21S-Mason Smith[12]; 11. 15-Caylyn Binkley[5]; 12. 925-Dnae Rose[9]; 13. 13D-Dylan Elhardt[15]; 14. 8-Karen Puschinsky[14]; 15. (DQ) 28-Eric Crosby[2]

Heat 1: 1. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[3]; 2. 7-Bob Klein[1]; 3. 25-Billy Binkley[4]; 4. 55-Aaron Bitker[6]; 5. 925-Dnae Rose[5]; 6. (DNF) 15H-Dusten Holub[8]; 7. (DNF) 8-Karen Puschinsky[2]; 8. (DNF) 13D-Dylan Elhardt[7]

Heat 2: 1. 57-Austin Carlson[2]; 2. 86J-Jake Smith[4]; 3. 28-Eric Crosby[6]; 4. 15-Caylyn Binkley[7]; 5. 70-Chris Dudley[5]; 6. 47-Dusty Caspers[3]; 7. 21S-Mason Smith[1]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature 1: 1. 40R-Tristen McLynn[2]; 2. 27-Brady Fosso[3]; 3. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[7]; 4. 25K-McKenna Folstad[6]; 5. 81R-Ryker Larson[1]; 6. 79JR-Mikayla LaBarge[5]; 7. 19-Addison LaBarge[4]; 8. 64-Eric Pfundt[13]; 9. 11-Tucker Smith[18]; 10. 24JR-Jada Lore[10]; 11. (DNF) 50Z-Jaz Ziebol[17]; 12. (DNF) 94-Bobie Arnes[8]; 13. (DNF) 96-Trenton Beel[9]; 14. (DNF) 88-Asher Tuttle[12]; 15. (DNF) 69K-Nathaniel Kinne[19]; 16. (DNF) 10-Easton Pfeiffer[11]; 17. (DNF) 44-Olive Henagin[20]; 18. (DNF) 13-Anastashia Chavez[14]; 19. (DNS) 9-Nick Ruzich; 20. (DNS) 16-Joey Tracy; 21. (DNS) 08-Shayne Houle; 22. (DNS) 92S-Zachary Sims

Heat 1: 1. 27-Brady Fosso[3]; 2. 40R-Tristen McLynn[2]; 3. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[5]; 4. 24JR-Jada Lore[7]; 5. 64-Eric Pfundt[6]; 6. 9-Nick Ruzich[1]; 7. 11-Tucker Smith[8]; 8. 69K-Nathaniel Kinne[4]

Heat 2: 1. 94-Bobie Arnes[6]; 2. 25K-McKenna Folstad[1]; 3. 96-Trenton Beel[2]; 4. 10-Easton Pfeiffer[5]; 5. 13-Anastashia Chavez[7]; 6. 50Z-Jaz Ziebol[4]; 7. (DNF) 16-Joey Tracy[3]

Heat 3: 1. 79JR-Mikayla LaBarge[1]; 2. 81R-Ryker Larson[2]; 3. 19-Addison LaBarge[5]; 4. 88-Asher Tuttle[6]; 5. 08-Shayne Houle[4]; 6. (DNF) 44-Olive Henagin[3]; 7. (DNF) 92S-Zachary Sims[7]