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Michael Fullerton (Dennis Peterson Photo)

Konold, Koski, Schmidt, Hess, Schwinn, Leeper and Olafson outrun WISSOTA rivals and Fullerton fantastic in special “500” event at Bemidji Speedway

By Dennis Peterson

BEMIDJI, MN (July 6) - It was “Salute to Service Night” at Bemidji Speedway on Sunday, July 6, on a picture perfect evening for racing. A great crowd enjoyed 114 cars on track in all eight classes.

Along with the Salute to Service, the annual “Michael Fullerton 500” was held during intermission. Michael Fullerton, who has special needs, entered the track sitting in a seat designed for him in a Pure Stock of Alex Berg. With the help of Berg, Fullerton began the race at the back of the pack and slowly worked his way up to the front as the crowd cheered him on. In a dramatic finish to the race, Michael and Alex grabbed the lead and the win to a standing and cheering crowd. When Fullerton, who is nonverbal, was handed the checkered flag, he screamed with joy and hoisted the flag high in the sky. It was one of the most powerful scenes of the summer at Bemidji Speedway, and a very special moment for a very special young man.

Following this intermission race, WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners on the night included Tony Konold, Doug Koski, Brennan Schmidt, Trey Hess, Ashton Schwinn, Kade Leeper and Travis Olafson.

Sixteen WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds roared on track for their feature, led by Brennan Schmidt from the pole. Schmidt was returning for the first time since opening weekend from an injury. He was flanked by Cejay LaValley. Schmidt blasted to the lead, but a crash on lap one sent Landyn Randt tailback for the restart.

When racing resumed Schmidt was out front chased by Darrin Lawler, Carter Matthews, and Skyler Smith. Another caution waved, this time sending LaValley to the rear.

The restart was controlled by Schmidt with Lawler, Smith, Matthews and Mikey Blevins in the top five, before another caution sent Matthews tailback.

Schmidt held off the remaining challenges to pick up the win, his first, following his dad Bret’s win last week. Lawler, Smith, Blevins, and Landon Gross placed in the top five.

The WISSOTA Street Stocks were led to green by Trey Hess and Kolton Brauer. The first lap was cautioned for a spin, and the second try had the same result. After the fourth caution and no laps counted, the flagman moved the drivers to a single-file start, with Hess, Brauer, Doug VanMill, Billy Binkley and Weston Ramsrud in the top five. Once again caution was called with two cars pitting.

The race was then given a green-white-checkered command, with Hess winning the shortened race followed by Brauer, VanMill, Levi Randt, and Ramsrud.

Jayme Gordon and Logan Delaney led a field of 15 WISSOTA Hornets to the green flag. Gordon moved into the lead followed by Delaney, Christian Kast, Russell Kiker, Jr., and Adam Kessler. Kast moved to the outside and passed Delaney for second, with Kiker following into third. Moving up fast through the field, former national champion Travis Olafson gained on the leaders from his fourth-row starting position. Following a caution that sent Kessler tailback, Gordon continued to lead Kiker, Kast, Olafson and 15th-starter Hunter Goulet in the top five.

Following another caution and restart, Kast made the pass for the lead on the back straight. Olafson raced up and challenged the leader; he took the top spot with an inside move into turn two. Olafson drove on to the feature win ahead of Kast, Kiker, Goulet and Chad Reller in the top five.

The 16-car field of WISSOTA Pure Stocks were next up, with Caylyn Binkley and Chris Dudley leading the way. Dudley took control early with Dalton Carlson, Binkley, Dustin Puffe and Kade Leeper in the top five. Puffe moved down low inside Binkley and took third, as Leeper followed into fourth. The top five cars were side by side, and bumper to bumper with Dudley out front, as Puffe and Carlson dueled for the back-up spot; Puffe moved to the top of the track and took over the lead from Dudley. Carlson tangled with the back straight barrier, bringing out the caution and ending his night. With the white flag in the air, Puffe was in the lead, but Leeper was on his tail. Racing inside down the back straight into the final turns, Leeper blasted into the lead and picked up the dramatic win. Puffe, Dudley, Binkley, and Mason Smith rounded out the top five.

Adam Johnson and Josh Beaulieu led the pack of WISSOTA Modifieds down the front straight to the green flag, with Johnson seizing the lead followed by Beaulieu, Tanner Williamson, Tony Konold and Doyle Erickson. The visiting Konold drove by Williamson on the back straight and caught Beaulieu to race into second. Jeff Reed was also on the move from his fifth row starting position into the top five. Beaulieu tried the top side and dropped several positions. A red flag then stopped the race for an incident down the back straight and into turn four, with Reed and Ricky Jacobson going to the pits down for the night.

The restart was led by Johnson with Williamson, Konold, Alan Olafson and Erickson in the top five. A couple of more cautions slowed the action, and though Johnson held the lead throughout the race, he lost grip in turn four late in the race and spun, ending his chance for the win.

Konold took over the lead spot and drove on to the victory. Doyle Erickson got by Williamson for second with Devyn Weleski and Beaulieu in the top five.

In a packed field of WISSOTA Mod Fours, Brooklyn Vernlund held the pole with Blake Erickson to her right. The start of the race was a rough one for rookie driver Lily Knute; making contact with the front wall at the green flag sent her up and over on her top; she was okay, but out of the race.

The restart with no laps recorded finally got going with Erickson out front, followed by Conrad Schwinn, Ashton Schwinn, Vernlund, and Connor Bruss. Ashton raced the top side on the back straight into second. Ashton Schwinn then got by Erickson to grab another victory for his season. Erickson, Conrad Schwinn, Bruss and Dawson Oelrich were top-five finishers.

The 12-car field of WISSOTA Super Stocks was led by Doug Koski on the pole and Dalton Carlson to his outside. Koski grabbed the lead with Alexa Sparby, Brandon Bahr, Matt Sparby and Carlson chasing. Carlson pressured Matt Sparby side by side before the field quickly moved to single-file racing on the blackened track. Matt Sparby and Carlson traded positions a few times, as fifth-row starter Justin Barsness then challenged for a top-five spot with Carlson. Alexa Sparby then slid in turn four and a caution regrouped the field.

Koski led the restart ahead of Bahr, Matt Sparby, Carlson and Barsness in the top five. Matt Sparby raced inside down the front straight into second, with Carlson using a two-in-one move to gain third. The top four cars were bumper to bumper as Koski took the checkered flag.

In victory lane, Koski explained he has “been racing off and on at Bemidji Speedway since the late 1980s and this is the first time I’ve made it to victory lane.”

Sparby, Carlson, Barsness and Bahr finished in the top five.

In the track’s Mini Stock class, Nick McCann was victorious ahead of Cody Bush and Conrad Schwinn on the podium.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 15-Tony Konold[7]; 2. 99-Doyle Erickson[5]; 3. 88-Tanner Williamson[3]; 4. 13-Devyn Weleski[6]; 5. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[2]; 6. 77-Alan Olafson[10]; 7. 1-Matt Fullerton[11]; 8. (DNF) 51E-Peyton Emerson[12]; 9. (DNF) 72-Adam Johnson[1]; 10. (DNF) 4JR-Cameron Brown[8]; 11. (DNF) 2R-Jeff Reed[9]; 12. (DNF) 7J-Rick Jacobson[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7J-Rick Jacobson[1]; 2. 99-Doyle Erickson[3]; 3. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[4]; 4. 72-Adam Johnson[2]; 5. 2R-Jeff Reed[5]; 6. 1-Matt Fullerton[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Tony Konold[2]; 2. 13-Devyn Weleski[1]; 3. 4JR-Cameron Brown[5]; 4. 88-Tanner Williamson[3]; 5. 77-Alan Olafson[4]; 6. (DNF) 51E-Peyton Emerson[6]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 76-Doug Koski[1]; 2. 81X-Matt Sparby[4]; 3. 57-Dalton Carlson[6]; 4. 47J-Justin Barsness[8]; 5. 29X-Brandon Bahr[3]; 6. 27C-Cameron Labelle[7]; 7. 40-Ellen Lange[9]; 8. T26-Nic Lewis[10]; 9. 65-Ron Reed[12]; 10. 17-Faye Lewis[5]; 11. (DNF) X81-Alexa Sparby[2]; 12. (DNS) 10-Gordon Hunter

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Dalton Carlson[1]; 2. 81X-Matt Sparby[3]; 3. 47J-Justin Barsness[2]; 4. 76-Doug Koski[4]; 5. 40-Ellen Lange[6]; 6. T26-Nic Lewis[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 29X-Brandon Bahr[1]; 2. 27C-Cameron Labelle[5]; 3. 17-Faye Lewis[6]; 4. X81-Alexa Sparby[3]; 5. (DNF) 10-Gordon Hunter[4]; 6. (DNF) 65-Ron Reed[2]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[1]; 2. 19-Darrin Lawler[3]; 3. 16-Skyler Smith[7]; 4. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[9]; 5. 15-Landon Gross[11]; 6. 74-Gary James Nelson[10]; 7. 15S-Sam Blevins[13]; 8. 18E-Luke Erlandson[14]; 9. 9W-Hunter Weeks[12]; 10. (DNF) 33L-Cejay LaValley[2]; 11. (DNF) 6K-Noah Bitz[16]; 12. (DNF) 5BA-Aaron Blacklance[15]; 13. (DNF) 11K-Travis Klein[8]; 14. (DNF) 07-Carter Matthews[6]; 15. (DNF) 115-Kalin Honer[5]; 16. (DNF) 11R-Landyn Randt[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 07-Carter Matthews[3]; 2. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[5]; 3. 115-Kalin Honer[2]; 4. 74-Gary James Nelson[6]; 5. 6K-Noah Bitz[7]; 6. 710-Michael Jacobson[1]; 7. (DNF) 18-Justin Feltus[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Skyler Smith[1]; 2. 19-Darrin Lawler[2]; 3. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[5]; 4. 15-Landon Gross[3]; 5. 15S-Sam Blevins[4]; 6. 26-Kyle Davis[7]; 7. (DNF) 6-Dean Eggebraaten[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 33L-Cejay LaValley[1]; 2. 11R-Landyn Randt[3]; 3. 11K-Travis Klein[4]; 4. 9W-Hunter Weeks[2]; 5. 5BA-Aaron Blacklance[5]; 6. 18E-Luke Erlandson[6]; 7. (DNF) 21W-Bruce Hislaw[7]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 15S-Sam Blevins[2]; 2. 18E-Luke Erlandson[6]; 3. 5BA-Aaron Blacklance[3]; 4. 6K-Noah Bitz[1]; 5. (DNF) 26-Kyle Davis[5]; 6. (DNF) 710-Michael Jacobson[4]; 7. (DNF) 6-Dean Eggebraaten[8]; 8. (DNS) 18-Justin Feltus; 9. (DNS) 21W-Bruce Hislaw

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 4-Trey Hess[1]; 2. 34J-Kolton Brauer[2]; 3. 8T-Doug VanMill[6]; 4. 11-Levi Randt[4]; 5. 67-Weston Ramsrud[10]; 6. 18-Scotty Messner[3]; 7. 50-Nick McCann[12]; 8. 70-Chris Dudley[7]; 9. (DNF) 34-Billy Binkley[9]; 10. (DNF) 39-Deryk Weleski[8]; 11. (DNF) 28-Greg Jose[5]; 12. (DNS) 55-Tylar Wilson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 70-Chris Dudley[1]; 2. 4-Trey Hess[5]; 3. 8T-Doug VanMill[2]; 4. 39-Deryk Weleski[3]; 5. 34-Billy Binkley[4]; 6. 55-Tylar Wilson[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Scotty Messner[2]; 2. 28-Greg Jose[1]; 3. 11-Levi Randt[6]; 4. 34J-Kolton Brauer[5]; 5. 67-Weston Ramsrud[3]; 6. 50-Nick McCann[4]

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[6]; 2. 99-Blake Erickson[2]; 3. 6-Conrad Schwinn[4]; 4. 20-Connor Bruss[3]; 5. 4-Dawson Oelrich[8]; 6. T34-Christopher Roller[11]; 7. 29-Kevin Bahr[5]; 8. 119-Brandon Backstrom[10]; 9. C92-Jeffrey Marthaler[9]; 10. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[13]; 11. 37-Dean Larson[7]; 12. 29J-Jayden Bahr[12]; 13. (DNF) 77-Brooklyn Vernlund[1]; 14. (DNF) 26L-Lily Knute[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Blake Erickson[4]; 2. 18-Ashton Schwinn[5]; 3. 37-Dean Larson[7]; 4. 29-Kevin Bahr[1]; 5. C92-Jeffrey Marthaler[6]; 6. T34-Christopher Roller[2]; 7. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Dawson Oelrich[2]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[6]; 3. 20-Connor Bruss[4]; 4. 77-Brooklyn Vernlund[1]; 5. 119-Brandon Backstrom[5]; 6. 29J-Jayden Bahr[3]; 7. 26L-Lily Knute[7]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 3-Kade Leeper[6]; 2. 21X-Dustin Puffe[5]; 3. 70-Chris Dudley[2]; 4. 15-Caylyn Binkley[1]; 5. 21-Mason Smith[8]; 6. 55-Aaron Bitker[12]; 7. 35B-Josh Berg[14]; 8. 18B-Alex Berg[7]; 9. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[4]; 10. 62-Joshua Bitker[10]; 11. 7K-Quintyn Karl[16]; 12. 9L-Landon Weeks[9]; 13. 8-Karen Puschinsky[11]; 14. (DNF) 57-Austin Carlson[3]; 15. (DNF) 54S-Collin Sander[15]; 16. (DNS) 25-Billy Binkley

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21X-Dustin Puffe[1]; 2. 70-Chris Dudley[3]; 3. 15-Caylyn Binkley[5]; 4. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[4]; 5. 9L-Landon Weeks[7]; 6. 7K-Quintyn Karl[8]; 7. 55-Aaron Bitker[6]; 8. (DNF) 35B-Josh Berg[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Austin Carlson[2]; 2. 3-Kade Leeper[4]; 3. 18B-Alex Berg[5]; 4. 21-Mason Smith[6]; 5. 62-Joshua Bitker[7]; 6. 8-Karen Puschinsky[3]; 7. (DNF) 25-Billy Binkley[1]; 8. (DNF) 54S-Collin Sander[8]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature (12 Laps): 1. 00-Travis Olafson[8]; 2. 03-Christian Kast[3]; 3. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[5]; 4. 701-Hunter Goulet[15]; 5. 28R-Chad Reller[6]; 6. 27-Brady Fosso[7]; 7. 7G-Jayme Gordon[1]; 8. 7M-Mateja Dreyer[13]; 9. 33-Ritchie DeLeon[11]; 10. 24JR-Jada Lore[12]; 11. 81R-Ryker Larson[9]; 12. 00C-Calli Watson[10]; 13. 28-Logan Delaney[2]; 14. 72-Aiden Kessler[14]; 15. (DNF) 8X-Adam Kessler[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[3]; 2. 28R-Chad Reller[8]; 3. 7G-Jayme Gordon[6]; 4. 28-Logan Delaney[7]; 5. 81R-Ryker Larson[4]; 6. 33-Ritchie DeLeon[2]; 7. 7M-Mateja Dreyer[1]; 8. (DNF) 701-Hunter Goulet[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 27-Brady Fosso[3]; 2. 8X-Adam Kessler[2]; 3. 00-Travis Olafson[7]; 4. 03-Christian Kast[6]; 5. 00C-Calli Watson[5]; 6. 24JR-Jada Lore[4]; 7. (DNF) 72-Aiden Kessler[1]

Mini Stocks:

A Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[3]; 2. 11C-Cody Bush[4]; 3. 6-Conrad Schwinn[8]; 4. 87-Malachi Albrecht[10]; 5. 5H-Ethan Hunter[11]; 6. (DNF) 77-Hayden Engen[5]; 7. (DNF) 3-Cody Meyers[12]; 8. (DNF) 11X-Jason Bush[13]; 9. (DNF) 19-Troy Foster[6]; 10. (DNF) 22H-Justin Honer[1]; 11. (DNF) 94-Cameron Schwinn[7]; 12. (DNF) 7-Karlie Feda[2]; 13. (DNS) 117-Zack Honer

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Conrad Schwinn[1]; 2. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 3. 77-Hayden Engen[2]; 4. 19-Troy Foster[3]; 5. 117-Zack Honer[4]; 6. 5H-Ethan Hunter[5]; 7. 11X-Jason Bush[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11C-Cody Bush[1]; 2. 94-Cameron Schwinn[4]; 3. 7-Karlie Feda[5]; 4. 22H-Justin Honer[2]; 5. 87-Malachi Albrecht[6]; 6. (DNF) 3-Cody Meyers[3]