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Bitzan was so fast it seemed like he could just drive on for the win but Saurer came from the third row to run close behind Bitzan. And shockingly, with eight laps completed, Bitzan jumped the cushion in turn four and Saurer drove under him to take over the lead. Once in front, Saurer was not about to be caught as Bitzan then couldn't stay with him. The last 16 laps ran off nonstop and Saurer was in control to take the win with Bitzan and Brady Gerdes trailing.

Peterson again had the pole for the makeup feature but Saurer, who started right behind him, took the lead on the first lap and then just pulled away from the field to take his second win of the night. Peterson was on the “struggle bus,” as both Joseph Thomas and Bitzan passed him under racing conditions to finish up second and third.

Brothers-in-law Reese Stenberg and Matt Schow battled it out for the win in the Midwest Mod feature. A big field of 26 drivers took the green, as everyone was allowed to race the main. Stenberg got the jump at the start to lead the opening lap. However, Schow got up on the cushion and was able to drive around Reese and claim the lead on lap two, just before a big collision in turn one slowed the action.

The rest of the race ran off green to checkers and gradually Schow pulled away from Stenberg. Schow did a good job in traffic, as he had to maneuver his way through about a half dozen slower cars.

Late in the race Jake Smith, who started seventh, was able to close the gap on Stenberg but with no yellows, it was tough to make up ground and he settled for third.

The Street Stock field was not large but certainty had some fast drivers who battled it out for the win. Eric Riley was scored the leader of all 15 laps but he was pressured from start to finish. Early on he battled with Cole Greseth, who had swapped some serious paint with him during their heat race. They raced hard once again but without incident, and Riley claimed the top spot.

Later on Levi Randt got by Greseth for second and he ran Riley hard, with just one mistake necessary for a lead change. However, that didn't happen and Riley drove on for the win as Greseth settled for third.

Lots of Hornets were on hand and Jeff Rohner dominated for yet another feature win. Lincoln Miller led for a single lap before Rohner drove past him; once in front, he cruised the rest of the way, never challenged despite three slowdowns in the first three laps. There was a good battle behind him though, with about five drivers jockeying for position. In the end, Chase Golliet came home second with Christian Kast third.

It was a tough night mechanically on the Hornets and only nine out of 21 were still running at the end. There were not a lot of crashes, more of just mechanical issues that sent drivers to the pits.

All racing was done sometime after 11 p.m. but with all the races, extra races and activities associated with the Meet the Drivers, I thought they did very well to get done when they did. Of course, the number of nonstop races also helped a great deal. Of particular note was just how well the track raced and how well it held up all night under the pounding of so many cars for so many laps.

Saturday, June 20

Rice Lake Speedway was back in action with a five division program, along with the USRA Late Models, on Saturday, June 20.

Even with more than 2.5 inches of rain earlier in the week and no decent drying weather, track officials had the track in racing shape. The infield was a sea of mud, and the driveway, which was flooded for the show two weeks ago, was built up and was passable for the spectators to get to the upper parking lot. The water was still lapping right up to the edge of the road, however.

The track itself turned out to be fine for racing. It had a little chop to it but nothing serious; if I want to see a perfectly smooth track without a bit of character, I'd go see tar racing!

Former track owner and prep man “The Dirt Maestro” Mitch Hansen was brought in on Saturday to take care of things in Kolby Kiehl’s absence for a wedding. When Mitch agreed to take care of things this week, he obviously didn't know this would be one of the most taxing weeks of the year. A lot of intense work was needed throughout the day to get the track ready and by the time the racing began, he looked beat.

Regular flagman Tom Clausen was also absent and former starter Jim Sauls came down to flag the show on Saturday. Sauls is on the board at Proctor and flags the Sunday shows at that track. Despite the changes, things went smoothly and the show was still done before 10 p.m.

The story of the night had to be the Super Stock win by Eric Olson. One of the longest tenured drivers at the track, Olson was involved in a bad crash during the Fastlane Super Stock Series race at Rice Lake last year and missed much of the season. This year he has raced sparingly; he made the opener but then parked his car to focus on daughter Carsyn's Pure Stock racing career. However, when he brought the car back out for the last race, he ran very well and that seemed to pick up his spirits.

Tonight he took the lead from Andrew Davis on lap eight and then pulled away to get his first feature win of the year, matching his total from last year. I think Olson gave many in the crowd a near heart attack when he chose the outside for the double-file restart, since he made a career out of running the “ditch.”

But here's the interesting part: his win on Saturday was his 81st feature win at Rice Lake with 39 in the Street Stocks and 41 now in the Super Stocks. He's a former Little Dream winner in the Streets and a multi-time track champion in both classes. He is fourth on the list of all-time wins at the track, trailing only Kevin Adams, Dave Morgan and Russ Laursen. Add in the documented 14 feature wins by his father Howie and the 13 (and counting) of his son Ryan and the Olson family has visited victory lane at Rice Lake a whopping 107 times! Those are some monumental numbers.

And talk about longevity — his first Street Stock win came way back in 1991 and the first Super win in 1998. That's a career where he has remained competitive for more than 30 years and based on Saturday night, he’s not ready to slow down any time soon. This is certainly one of the first families of the speedway. I suspect it won’t be too terribly long before we see Carsyn in victory lane also.

Another longtime driver at the speedway, Street Stock standout Jay Kesan, made his first appearance of the year on Saturday. He came within just over a lap of winning the feature race in his first time out. Hunter VanGilder did a great job of working the second lane on the track, which allowed him to pass Kesan coming to the white flag. The Street Stock class remains the most competitive at the track, with five different winners already this year.

Kesan is the only driver to have raced in every Little Dream Street Stock race and based on his early (for him) start to the season, and his competitive opener, he will be a factor when that race is held.

It was a big night for the Kesan family. Along with a stout opening by Jay, his son Mitch won the Pure Stock feature. It was Mitch's second race of the year and it made him a two-time winner at the track, having won a main back in 2021. In victory lane Mitch announced he was turning over the driving duties to his son, and retiring from racing. Now Jay will have another reason to be at the track every week.

Aiden Hoffman did a great job of “getting back on the horse,” so to speak. Running his first race since he totaled his Modified in a wild flip that also gave him a concussion, he finished a close fourth in the Modified feature and led a lap. His replacement car is the Modified that Neil Balduc raced, which I believe was originally a Kevin Adams car back in the day.

The saga surrounding Alyson Karshbaum continues. Having had two violent wrecks already this season, their team refuses to give up. She was back on the track Saturday with a car that looked like it was the front half of one wrecked car, stuck together with the back half of the other wrecked race car! But it worked and she started and finished both her heat and the feature race.

Super Stock driver Joey Fitzsimmons was a new face for me. I assume he is some relation to Larry, who had his Late Model on hand as well. He did well considering he never raced the track before and got a top-10 finish in the Super Stocks.

Car counts continue to hang in there and remain very competitive with the other tracks that race on Saturday, as well as with other area tracks. I was getting worried on Saturday, but there was a big rush just before cut off time. Not as many drivers feel they need to be at the track hours before starting time, as they did back in the days of old.

Sunday, June 21

The DRC Street Stock Tour completed its first weekend of racing for 2026 at Granite City Motor Park in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. After racing on both Friday in Princeton and then Saturday night in Ogilvie, they still had 20 drivers on hand to fight it out during the third night of their point season.

And fight it out they did — more on that later!

Along with the Street Stocks, the Hornets, Mod Fours, Modifieds and Late Models ran a full program Sunday, while the Midwest Mods and Super Stocks had the night off.

Improvements continue, with a nice new building to sell pit passes and conduct the drivers’ draw out of. It replaces the old building that was too small and required half the staff to sit outside in the weather on a folding chair and portable table. This is much, much better.

A new slab for teams to pit on has also been completed and runs for about 200 feet in an easterly and westerly direction just past the tech building on the north side of the pit area. It was barely half full Sunday, but perhaps teams in some of the classes not racing on Sunday pit there, or maybe not all the spots have been sold as of yet. Either way, it is also a nice addition for those that plan to race the track on a weekly basis.

Car counts were decent in all classes except the Hornets, where only one heat race was held. Twenty good Street Stocks can put on a great show and the Mod Fours seem to be making a comeback of sorts. I’ve noticed that quite a few of the tracks that run them have seen an uptick in their numbers.

Mike Jans was among the visitors to the track for the Street Stock Tour. Larry Jans told me the chance to go racing was his Father's Day gift to himself. He reported that it was 2014 the last time they raced at Granite City, and it was a track that looked much different back then and ran under a different name.

“Much better than a tie,” he said of his gift to himself.

Street Stock car counts are not a problem in their area like they seem to be at some of the more eastern WISSOTA tracks. The Jans team had themselves a good night, keeping their nose clean and out of the wild last-lap scramble. They came home with a fine third-place finish in the main event.

The race track was very smooth but really slick, and many teams needed to adjust. It was a totally different style of driving needed than the last time I visited GCMP. Critical thinking was needed by the drivers and the teams in setting up their cars and then executing their race plan.

As always, some succeeded more than others.

The DRC Street Stock Tour race was the featured event and they did not disappoint as they produced a feature race that will be reviewed, discussed and dissected for many days to come. It doesn't get any more spectacular than the final lap of this race.

Three different drivers led during the 25-lap feature and many lead changes occurred during the course of the event.

Jeff Ekdahl took the initial lead from the outside pole but he was quickly challenged by Braedyn Fleck. Fleck had what was likely the best race of his short career, as he fought his way into the lead. However, Ekdahl regained the lead on lap nine, with Fleck returning the favor one lap later.

While this battle was happening, there were a host of other drivers all racing within several car lengths of the lead and using every lane on the track.

At the halfway point of the race Fleck still led but many drivers had moved in right behind him including Tommy Pogones, Justin Vogel, Levi Randt and Parker Anderson. One lap later Pogones used the inside line to take over the lead for the first time. At one point the top three all got together and stopped; all three were restored to their positions but Fleck was out with damage.

In the last few laps it got down to Pogones, Randt and Anderson. In fact, as the white flag waved, Randt and Anderson got together in turn one and the yellow was needed, setting up a wild one-lap sprint to the finish.

It was crazy and Pogones and Randt raced side by side down the back chute and into turn three, racing for the win. Randt came down on Pogones to try and pinch him off into the final corner. Pogones responded by moving up the track and trying to block Randt's charge up against the wall. They made contact, Pogones was turned sideways and Randt didn't back off, literally shoving him sideways across the finish line where the starter was waving double checkered flags, not the yellow.

Many of the others in the lead pack were also right in the middle of this mess, as cars went in all directions, sliding through the infield and everywhere else except the parking lot.

It was, in a word, spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen a dirt track race that finished quite like this one, with a driver pushed sideways across the finish line.

There were cars all over the track and plenty of uncertainty; no one knew exactly what was ruled the official finish. Wreckers were at the scene to clear the two main combatants and race team members, track officials and others all drifted around on the track, waiting for some kind of call to be made. It was a wild few minutes and those of us in the stands were just as much in the dark as anyone else.

I'm assuming that officials were reviewing the tape as they tried to find some clarity in the wild finish. It took several minutes but eventually Pogones was declared the winner ahead of Randt and Jans. There really was no other way they could have gone with the ruling, as Pogones was clearly first over the line. Since no penalties were assessed, as they shouldn't have been in my opinion, he was the winner of the race. It's not often the winning car is deposited in victory lane on the back of a wrecker, but that was the case following this wild event.

Suffice it to say that there will be discussion about this race for quite some time. Promoters at Red Cedar, where the next tour race is held, should be licking their chops to get some promo out for that upcoming event. As usual, the Street Stocks seldom disappoint.

The other racing seemed somewhat timid compared to the Street Stock banger, but other drivers had good nights also.

Dave Mass led from start to finish to win his second Late Model feature of the weekend. Shane Sabraski made a nice run from eighth to second but couldn't cut down the big lead that Mass had built up early. Cole Schill finished third.

The Mod Four Feature had a wild finish also. Chad Funt took the initial lead but three laps into the race Dustin Holtquist moved past him to take over the top spot. Holtquist put some distance on Funt and it seemed like the race was history. However, Funt didn't quit and gradually, with many laps of green flag racing, managed to close the distance to Holtquist. The fast line on the track seemed to change and Funt caught it just right. He may have surprised the leader, as Funt repassed for the top spot with just a lap to go, and then drove away for the win.

Blake Adams led from start to finish to win the Modified feature but Joseph Thomas spent most of the race just behind Adams. Three yellows kept the field bunched and a couple times Thomas got a nose under Adams, but couldn't complete the pass. Late in the race, the track took rubber and Adams spotted this and got to the bottom to protect his lead. Sabraski finished third.

The Hornets wrapped up the evening and Austin Jacobson went wire to wire to win that event.

It was Kid's Night and a good sized crowd was on hand to enjoy the races on a very nice night for racing.