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The waiting over, season-opening features at Bemidji won by Adams, Myers, Blevins, Brauer, Puffe, Olafson and Erickson

By Dennis Peterson

BEMIDJI, MN (May 25) - The wait was over Sunday, May 25, as Bemidji Speedway kicked off its racing season with a bang. More than 120 drivers from Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Canada were on hand for the opening day of the two-day Chicken Shack Nationals and Jack Sparby Memorial races.

A packed grandstand of excited fans witnessed WISSOTA Dirt Track Series wins by Blake Adams, Curt Myers, Mikey Blevins, Kolton Brauer, Dustin Puffe, Travis Olafson and Blake Erickson.

The initial running of the WISSOTA Street Stock class for 2025 featured 11 drivers on track, led to the green by Kolton Brauer and Nick McCann in row one. McCann grabbed the early lead, but Brauer and Deryk Weleski raced into contention in a three-wide battle for the lead in turns three and four. Weleski’s chance ended when he pulled into the infield with mechanical issues.

Brauer and McCann continued to wage a spirited race, joined by local Bemidji driver Scotty Messner who also challenged for the lead. McCann slowed and his race was over as he moved to the infield.

Brauer picked up the first feature of the season, with Messner and Greg Jose in the top three.

The roar of 24 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds filled the air for the start of their feature, led by Mikey Blevins on the pole. Blevins powered to the lead with his dad, Michael Blevins, Sr., chasing. Racing into third, Landon Gross battled with Tyler Vernon for position.

Mikey Blevins picked up the win over his dad, in the same car that was his dad’s last season, for his first win of 2025. Blevins, Sr. was second, with Gross third.

Twenty WISSOTA Hornets converged on the track, led by Travis Olafson and Trenton Beel to the green flag. Olafson took the lead on lap two, with Russell Kiker, Jr. taking second. The track’s 2024 champ Chad Reller raced up from his fifth-row start to challenge the leaders, passing Kiker for second.

The top three of Olafson, Kiker and Reller put on a show for the race fans and in the end, Olafson claimed the victory, with Kiker second and Reller third.

Fifteen WISSOTA Pure Stocks were led on track by 2024 track champion Dustin Puffe on the pole, with Kade Leeper to his right. Joining the fray up front, Austin Carlson raced up into third and the top three battled for the entire race in bumper-to-bumper fashion. Puffe held his line and won the race with Leeper and Carlson trailing in the top three.

The mighty WISSOTA Modifieds roared on track next, 11 strong, with Jeff Reed on the pole and Blake Adams to his right. A couple of spins and restarts slowed the action, but once racing got underway the action was furious. Adams took the lead over Reed with Lance Schilling in third. The field spread out, but slowed when Schilling went around in turn four.

Adams controlled the restart with Reed and Alan Olafson in close range. And then it happened - a huge pile of Modifieds on the front straight involving half of the field. Several were able to continue but Olafson, Davey Mills and Doyle Erickson were towed to the pits.

When racing resumed, Adams was in control and brought home the win in impressive fashion. Reed and Cody Carlson trailed the leader in the top three.

Ten WISSOTA Mod Fours entered the track in turn four led by Kevin Bahr and Blake Erickson. A couple of cautions slowed the start until Erickson grabbed the lead followed by Conrad Schwinn and Ashton Schwinn. The younger Schwinn, Ashton, got around his dad for second and took after Erickson, who had a sizable lead. Schwinn gained on the leader as they worked lapped traffic, but Erickson prevailed in picking up the checkered flag for his first win of the new season. Ashton Schwinn and Dean Larson followed in second and third.

Matt Sparby and Dalton Carlson led the WISSOTA Super Stocks to the green flag. Carlson powered up on the outside and into the lead, with Sparby and Brandon Bahr trailing.

Using the top side of the track, Curt Myers moved into third and then dropped down low in turn three. Sparby went sideways and several cars were involved in the tangle, which sent Sparby to the rear.

Carlson led the restart, with Myers and Alex Myers in the second row. Great racing action ensued, as Carlson held off challenges high and low from the Myers father-son duo. Curt Myers again took to the high side in turns three and four to take the lead and drive home with the win. Alex Myers also made the move forward, taking second, with Carlson finishing a strong third.

The Mini Stocks were led to green by Troy Foster and Justin Honer. Foster, who was making his debut in racing, spun and was sent tailback for a restart. Green flag racing followed with Nick McCann taking the lead ahead of Conrad Schwinn and Honer. Several caution slowed the action, but in the end McCann took the checkered flag, followed by Schwinn and Honer.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 40D-Blake Adams[2]; 2. 2R-Jeff Reed[1]; 3. 32-Cody Carlson[8]; 4. 88-Tanner Williamson[10]; 5. 43-Lance Schilling[4]; 6. 13-Devyn Weleski[3]; 7. 74-Shaun Kreyer[9]; 8. 72-Adam Johnson[11]; 9. (DNF) 99-Doyle Erickson[7]; 10. (DNF) 22-Davey Mills[6]; 11. (DNF) 77-Alan Olafson[5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Alan Olafson[2]; 2. 2R-Jeff Reed[4]; 3. 43-Lance Schilling[3]; 4. 13-Devyn Weleski[5]; 5. (DNF) 88-Tanner Williamson[1]; 6. (DNF) 72-Adam Johnson[6]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 1M-Curt Myers[6]; 2. 21M-Alex Myers[3]; 3. 57-Dalton Carlson[2]; 4. 76-Doug Koski[9]; 5. 47J-Justin Barsness[7]; 6. T26-Nic Lewis[8]; 7. 40-Ellen Lange[14]; 8. 81X-Matt Sparby[1]; 9. 17-Faye Lewis[11]; 10. X81-Alexa Sparby[10]; 11. 10-Gordon Hunter[12]; 12. 5-Danny Doran[13]; 13. (DNF) 27C-Cameron Labelle[5]; 14. (DNF) 29X-Brandon Bahr[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21M-Alex Myers[2]; 2. 1M-Curt Myers[3]; 3. 57-Dalton Carlson[4]; 4. 81X-Matt Sparby[5]; 5. 76-Doug Koski[6]; 6. 17-Faye Lewis[1]; 7. 5-Danny Doran[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 29X-Brandon Bahr[5]; 2. 27C-Cameron Labelle[4]; 3. T26-Nic Lewis[2]; 4. 47J-Justin Barsness[6]; 5. X81-Alexa Sparby[1]; 6. 10-Gordon Hunter[3]; 7. (DNF) 40-Ellen Lange[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Davey Mills[1]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[5]; 3. 32-Cody Carlson[2]; 4. 99-Doyle Erickson[3]; 5. 74-Shaun Kreyer[4]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[1]; 2. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[3]; 3. 15-Landon Gross[4]; 4. 41-Tyler Vernon[8]; 5. 18X-Dylan Miller[2]; 6. 21R-Ross Siiter[6]; 7. 19-Darrin Lawler[5]; 8. 40D-Blake Adams[11]; 9. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[7]; 10. 16-Skyler Smith[9]; 11. 115-Kalin Honer[12]; 12. 15S-Sam Blevins[10]; 13. 18XX-Connor Drewry[15]; 14. 9W-Hunter Weeks[18]; 15. 18-Justin Feltus[13]; 16. (DNF) 6-Dean Eggebraaten[14]; 17. (DNF) 28-Paul Ripley[17]; 18. (DNF) 7A-Eric Anderson[16]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Darrin Lawler[2]; 2. 18X-Dylan Miller[4]; 3. 16-Skyler Smith[1]; 4. 15S-Sam Blevins[6]; 5. 18-Justin Feltus[3]; 6. 18XX-Connor Drewry[8]; 7. 11K-Travis Klein[5]; 8. 9W-Hunter Weeks[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Tyler Vernon[2]; 2. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[1]; 3. 15-Landon Gross[4]; 4. 40D-Blake Adams[7]; 5. 28-Paul Ripley[6]; 6. X-Tucker Jacobson[5]; 7. 6K-Noah Bitz[8]; 8. 10Z-Cade Johnson[3]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[2]; 2. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[4]; 3. 21R-Ross Siiter[3]; 4. 115-Kalin Honer[6]; 5. 7A-Eric Anderson[5]; 6. 6-Dean Eggebraaten[8]; 7. 33L-Cejay LaValley[1]; 8. 07-Carter Matthews[7]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 18-Justin Feltus[1]; 2. 6-Dean Eggebraaten[6]; 3. 18XX-Connor Drewry[4]; 4. 7A-Eric Anderson[3]; 5. 28-Paul Ripley[2]; 6. 9W-Hunter Weeks[10]; 7. 6K-Noah Bitz[8]; 8. 07-Carter Matthews[12]; 9. 11K-Travis Klein[7]; 10. 10Z-Cade Johnson[11]; 11. 33L-Cejay LaValley[9]; 12. (DNF) X-Tucker Jacobson[5]

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 34J-Kolton Brauer[1]; 2. 18-Scotty Messner[3]; 3. 28-Greg Jose[5]; 4. 70-Chris Dudley[8]; 5. 67-Weston Ramsrud[11]; 6. 34-Billy Binkley[7]; 7. 19J-Jenna Herrman[10]; 8. 86-Layla Chaplin[9]; 9. (DNF) 50-Nick McCann[2]; 10. (DNF) 39-Deryk Weleski[4]; 11. (DQ) 8T-Doug VanMill[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Scotty Messner[5]; 2. 50-Nick McCann[2]; 3. 70-Chris Dudley[3]; 4. 34-Billy Binkley[1]; 5. 86-Layla Chaplin[6]; 6. (DNF) 67-Weston Ramsrud[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 8T-Doug VanMill[2]; 2. 28-Greg Jose[1]; 3. 34J-Kolton Brauer[3]; 4. 39-Deryk Weleski[4]; 5. 19J-Jenna Herrman[5]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 21X-Dustin Puffe[1]; 2. 3-Kade Leeper[2]; 3. 57-Austin Carlson[3]; 4. 70-Chris Dudley[7]; 5. 25-Billy Binkley[6]; 6. 55-Aaron Bitker[9]; 7. 21S-Mason Smith[11]; 8. 18B-Alex Berg[14]; 9. 11C-Andy Shimpa[4]; 10. 15-Caylyn Binkley[13]; 11. 8-Karen Puschinsky[15]; 12. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[10]; 13. 925-Dnae Rose[12]; 14. (DNF) 9L-Landon Weeks[8]; 15. (DNF) 87-Shannon George[5]; 16. (DNS) 62-Joshua Bitker; 17. (DNS) 88H-Michael Hawkins; 18. (DNS) 47-Terry Hill

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21X-Dustin Puffe[3]; 2. 70-Chris Dudley[1]; 3. 87-Shannon George[9]; 4. 9L-Landon Weeks[7]; 5. 55-Aaron Bitker[5]; 6. 21S-Mason Smith[8]; 7. 15-Caylyn Binkley[4]; 8. 18B-Alex Berg[6]; 9. 8-Karen Puschinsky[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 25-Billy Binkley[2]; 2. 3-Kade Leeper[7]; 3. 57-Austin Carlson[8]; 4. 11C-Andy Shimpa[3]; 5. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[5]; 6. 925-Dnae Rose[4]; 7. (DNF) 62-Joshua Bitker[1]; 8. (DNF) 88H-Michael Hawkins[6]; 9. (DNS) 47-Terry Hill

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature (12 Laps): 1. 00-Travis Olafson[1]; 2. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[4]; 3. 28R-Chad Reller[3]; 4. 21-Colton Lodermeier[8]; 5. 96-Trenton Beel[2]; 6. 188-Ian Vanvickle[10]; 7. 24JR-Jada Lore[9]; 8. 40-William Lange[5]; 9. 20-Chase Golliet[12]; 10. 71-Nathan Bird[19]; 11. 00C-Calli Watson[16]; 12. 72-Aiden Kessler[15]; 13. (DNF) 08-Gunner Olson[11]; 14. (DNF) 28-Logan Delaney[20]; 15. (DNF) 81R-Ryker Larson[14]; 16. (DNF) 25-Blake Watson[13]; 17. (DNF) 37A-Alex Aderman[6]; 18. (DNF) 7G-Jayme Gordon[17]; 19. (DNF) 27-Brady Fosso[7]; 20. (DNS) 0X-Dylan Black

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 28R-Chad Reller[5]; 2. 00-Travis Olafson[8]; 3. 40-William Lange[2]; 4. 21-Colton Lodermeier[6]; 5. 24JR-Jada Lore[1]; 6. 08-Gunner Olson[4]; 7. 25-Blake Watson[10]; 8. 81R-Ryker Larson[7]; 9. (DNF) 00C-Calli Watson[9]; 10. (DNF) 0X-Dylan Black[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[3]; 2. 37A-Alex Aderman[7]; 3. 27-Brady Fosso[8]; 4. 96-Trenton Beel[2]; 5. 188-Ian Vanvickle[4]; 6. 20-Chase Golliet[1]; 7. 28-Logan Delaney[9]; 8. 72-Aiden Kessler[5]; 9. (DNF) 7G-Jayme Gordon[6]; 10. (DNS) 71-Nathan Bird

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 99-Blake Erickson[2]; 2. 18-Ashton Schwinn[8]; 3. 37-Dean Larson[7]; 4. 6-Conrad Schwinn[6]; 5. 4-Dawson Oelrich[3]; 6. 29-Kevin Bahr[1]; 7. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[5]; 8. 29J-Jayden Bahr[9]; 9. (DNF) T34-Christopher Roller[10]; 10. (DNF) 77-Brooklyn Vernlund[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Blake Erickson[4]; 2. 4-Dawson Oelrich[3]; 3. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[1]; 4. 77-Brooklyn Vernlund[2]; 5. 29J-Jayden Bahr[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[1]; 2. 37-Dean Larson[2]; 3. 6-Conrad Schwinn[3]; 4. 29-Kevin Bahr[4]; 5. (DNF) T34-Christopher Roller[5]

Mini Stocks:

A Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[3]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[4]; 3. 22H-Justin Honer[2]; 4. 77-Hayden Engen[5]; 5. 20J-Jonah Espe[7]; 6. 94-Cameron Schwinn[8]; 7. 18-Ashton Schwinn[6]; 8. 11C-Cody Bush[11]; 9. 3H-Kaylie Winge[14]; 10. 19-Troy Foster[1]; 11. 90-Cory Nelson[9]; 12. 117-Zack Honer[10]; 13. 5H-Ethan Hunter[13]; 14. (DNF) 87-Malachi Albrecht[12]; 15. (DNS) 7-Karlie Feda

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[7]; 3. 22H-Justin Honer[4]; 4. 20J-Jonah Espe[2]; 5. 90-Cory Nelson[3]; 6. 11C-Cody Bush[5]; 7. (DNF) 3H-Kaylie Winge[1]; 8. (DNF) 7-Karlie Feda[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Troy Foster[1]; 2. 94-Cameron Schwinn[3]; 3. 18-Ashton Schwinn[7]; 4. 77-Hayden Engen[5]; 5. 117-Zack Honer[2]; 6. 87-Malachi Albrecht[4]; 7. 5H-Ethan Hunter[6]