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Thursday, June 18

It was another Thursday night racing program at Grand Rapids Speedway June 18. The weather was not an issue for a change, and the cool temperatures made it feel more like early fall than mid June.

The Late Models were on the program again on Thursday, giving the track six divisions of WISSOTA Auto Racing.

Despite a half inch of rain on Wednesday, the track raced the driest it has been all season. There was no big cushion built up for drivers on Thursday. It was slick track racing and for a number of drivers, it was a struggle; some who had been running consistently well here so far had a tough time putting in good laps. The track was smooth though, except for one spot going into turn one; it looked like the water had built up as it drained and a bit of a bump developed. But, this is dirt track racing, and it wasn't that bad, just something the drivers had to deal with.

I got the chance to speak with a few drivers in the pits before the show commenced. Josh Beaulieu was on hand with two cars, the Late Model and the Nelson racing team Midwest Mod that is housed at his shop and maintained by Beaulieu. He told me that he is having great fun racing the Late Model. He said it's not easy but he is still enjoying it. His plan was to oust Blake Adams from victory lane in the Midwest Mods in the Nelson car, as Adams has been almost unstoppable so far this year at Grand Rapids. He said that he might as well be the one to topple him.

He did make a good attempt at doing so later, but had to settle for third as Adams again won the Midwest Mod feature.

Kevin Salin reported that his Super Stock was destroyed in that grinding wreck that happened on the first lap of the Super Stock heat last Sunday. He was fortunate that the direct hit he took was not in the driver's door, but just slightly back from that location. He said the frame rails were moved over and that everything was twisted up. About the only thing he could save was the fuel cell.

Fortunately for Salin, he does have a second Super Stock he was planning on selling, but will likely now be his race car for the rest of the season; TRC won't be able to deliver him a new one in the near future. He will now devote all his energy trying to get this car faster.

Darrin Lawler reports that his Midwest Mod has been running quite well but that due to work obligations, he hasn't been able to get out and race as much as he would like. In fact, he had to go to work right after he was done racing on Thursday. However, he must have headed off to work with a smile on his face, as he later had his best run of the year — he finished second to Adams in the Midwest Mod feature race.

Jarrett Huis was a surprise entrant Thursday in the Late Models. From Fergus Falls, MN, he was set to be in a wedding during the weekend and was not going to be able to race. Because of that, he went looking for someplace else he could race. He is experimenting with his car and wanted some seat time. Normally a Gen X car, he raced his 604 with the Late Models on Thursday night, feeling that on the short (and slick) track at Grand Rapids, he would be fine. As it turned out, he did just fine, running competitively and just missing a top-10 finish.

If it wasn't enough that the Metro team normally brings three race cars to the track, they added a fourth Thursday. Illinois UMP Modified driver Will Krup was on hand to drive one of Shane Sabraski's cars. Krup is a shock expert as well as a very fast Modified driver, and is familiar with the Elite chassis. He came in this weekend to drive Sabraski's new car and provide some feedback.

As it turned out, both drivers stood out in the Modified class. Sabraski had his old car tuned in just fine and he ran away with the feature race, easily outclassing the field. Krup, meanwhile, finished second with the other car, causing fans in the stands some confusion on just who was who and where.

The show started on time and was quick and efficient, which has turned into a common practice at Grand Rapids. I’m sure both fans and competitors appreciate that on a work night.

There was good feature action, with at least half of the feature races highlighted by close finishes and battles right down to the wire.

In the Mid Mod feature, Adams got to the lead by the second lap and then gradually pulled away from the field, with most of the drivers hugging the inside line for this race. The slick track tripped up more drivers in this class than all the others combined, and there were several one-car spins that slowed the action.

Lawler and Beaulieu had a good battle for second, with Lawler holding the spot until lap 14. One lap later the last yellow waved and Lawler had a great restart, retaking the spot from Beaulieu and they finished in that order.

For the second time in the last two weeks, a late yellow flag cost Kevin Carlson another potential Late Model win. Going for two in a row after winning last Sunday at Proctor, he followed Beaulieu for the first four laps before making a move to take over the lead. As Kyle Peterlin moved into second, there was an excellent battle for position going on behind those two among Zach Wohlers, Derek Vesel, Kevin Burdick, Sabraski and Jeff Provinzino.

Carlson was rolling the high side, just as he did last Sunday. While Peterlin could stick a nose under him in the corners, Carlson's momentum kept him in front, lap after lap.

However, debris on the track triggered a yellow flag and for whatever reason, Carlson's car just does not take off as well as some of the others. Peterlin had a good run down the front chute and threw a slider in turn one to take over the top spot. Carlson then got hung out to dry and slipped all the way back to fifth, much like what happened at Proctor two weeks ago. Vesel had his best run with a second place finish and Burdick took third. Vesel had actually passed Peterlin for the lead on the first restart, but was saved by a second yellow when Burdick was turned.

The nonstop Super Stock feature was a good one and front-row starters Dylan Nelson and Sabraski battled for 15 laps. Nelson got the jump and led the first half of the race with Sabraski close behind. Sabraski found some speed off turn two and edged into the lead, but Nelson did not give up. He fought back and regained ground until they were very close again.

In fact, Sabraski had to go into defense mode, twice slamming the door on Nelson on the final two laps, as Nelson tried to sneak under and take over the lead down the front chute, both times causing Nelson to have to back off. Tyler Kintner finished third.

The Mods also went nonstop and this was a Sabraski walk-away. He started on the front row, led all laps and was nearly a full straightaway in front of his look-alike car driven by Krup. Devyn Weleski had a nice run to finish third.

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