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Beaulieu, Labelle, Blevins, Bitker, Schwinn and Kiker cash out of Bemidji Sunday as feature winners

By Dennis Peterson

BEMIDJI, MN (August 10) - A total of 95 cars filled the pits at Bemidji Speedway on Sunday. Valuable season points were up for grabs in tight points races, and just two nights remain on the schedule to move up in the standings.

Josh Beaulieu, Cameron Labelle, Michael Blevins, Josh Bitker, Ashton Schwinn and Russell Kiker, Jr. claimed Sunday’s WISSOTA Dirt Track Series feature wins.

A packed field of 18 WISSOTA Pure Stocks entered the track in turn four with Josh Bitker on the pole and Chris Smeby to his right. At the green flag, Dustin Puffe split two drivers up the middle to take second behind Bitker. Following in line were Austin Carlson, Mike Blevins and Kade Leeper.

Several cautions for crashes and spins slowed the action through the middle stage of the race, but with each new green flag, Bitker held his line and his lead. Leeper moved up on the inside line and took over third, moving Carlson to fourth and Alex Berg fifth. Bitker held off the field to pick up his first feature win. Puffe, Leeper, Carlson and Berg were top-five finishers.

A tremendous field of WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds were led on track by Mike Blevins and Gary James Nelson. The first lap ended in chaos with a multi-car crash in turn one bringing out the caution flag for a restart.

Once the restart went green, Blevins led the pack with Nelson, Connor Drewry, Dean Eggebraaten, and Mikey Blevins in the top five. Mike Blevins powered out to a three-car-length lead while Mikey Blevins got by Eggebraaten for fourth. Mike Blevins pulled away from the field while Nelson and the field of Midwest Mods battled for position bumper to bumper. Blevins took the checkered flag in dominating fashion to pick up his third feature win. Nelson, Drewry, Mikey Blevins, and Eggebraaten were the top five finishers.

An even dozen WISSOTA Hornets buzzed on track led by Russell Kiker, Jr. and Ryker Larson. Kiker raced to the lead with Larson, Brady Fosso, Adam Kessler and Logan Delaney chasing bumper to bumper. Fosso and Larson dueled side by side before the caution flag waved, sending Kessler to the rear for the restart.

With the green flag displayed, Delaney — in his rookie year — raced up into third. More cautions slowed the action and sent numerous contenders tailback. Delaney’s night ended with an up-close meeting with the back retaining wall. Bemidji Fire personnel were on scene quickly giving the thumbs up that Delaney was ok. The race was called at this point, with Kiker picking up another feature win and adding to his point lead. Fosso, Chad Reller, Jayme Gordon and Aiden Kessler completed the top five.

A dozen WISSOTA Mod Fours entered the track with Conrad Schwinn and Ashton Schwinn in row one for the start. The younger Schwinn — Ashton — took the lead out of turn two with the senior Schwinn second followed by Blake Erickson, Chris Roller and Dawson Oelrich in the top five. Erickson’s night came to a quick end when something gave out in turn two; he was towed into the infield.

Ashton Schwinn had a large lead at the front of the field when his dad Conrad’s Mod Four went up in smoke, ending his night. As the race resumed, Oelrich was on the move into second with national point leader Dean Larson now up in third, followed by Kevin Bahr and Roller. Ashton Schwinn cruised to the clean sweep win with Oelrich, Larson, Roller and Bahr in the top five.

The field of 14 WISSOTA Super Stocks entered the track in turn four with Cameron Labelle on the pole and Faye Lewis to his right. Two cautions spoiled the start of the race and sent national point contender Rick Simpson to the rear of the field. Two additional cautions slowed the race again with more drivers sent tailback.

When racing finally began, Labelle was in the lead with Lewis, Justin Barsness, Dalton Carlson, and Matt Sparby in the top five. Barsness caught and passed Lewis for second with a high side pass. Past feature winner Doug Koski was on the move from his fourth-row start, taking over fifth, which Sparby later regained.

It was Labelle’s night as the young driver blasted out to a quarter-lap lead over the field and cruised to his first feature win in impressive fashion. From second on back it was bumper to bumper with Barsness, Carlson, Lewis and Sparby holding onto top-five finishes.

The WISSOTA Modifieds rolled on track with Alan Olafson — returning after a couple of weeks off — on the pole and Tanner Williamson to his right. It was a wild, three-wide race for the lead with Jeff Reed joining Olafson and Williamson chasing the lead spot. Olafson gained the advantage with Williamson and Reed second and third. The race was fast and furious with Williamson gaining in the corners, but on the straights Olafson seemed to have the advantage. With the white flag in flagman Lynn Johnson’s hand, it was now or never for Williamson; a tangle ensued and Williamson was sent tailback for a final restart.

On the restart, Josh Beaulieu charged by Reed and Olafson on the inside to pick up the dramatic win, with Reed second and Olafson third. Devyn Weleski was fourth and Williamson made it back into the top five. This was Beaulieu’s second feature win in 2025.

Cody Bush paced the Mini Stock feature until the latter stages when he slid up high, and Nick McCann seized the opportunity to take the lead and the win. Conrad Schwinn, Hayden Engen, Bush and Cooper Francis finished in the top five.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[6]; 2. 2R-Jeff Reed[4]; 3. 77-Alan Olafson[1]; 4. 13-Devyn Weleski[5]; 5. 88-Tanner Williamson[2]; 6. 99-Cameron Labelle[8]; 7. 72-Adam Johnson[7]; 8. 51E-Peyton Emerson[9]; 9. (DNF) 5JF-Jonathen Feda[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tanner Williamson[2]; 2. 2R-Jeff Reed[1]; 3. 5JF-Jonathen Feda[4]; 4. 77-Alan Olafson[3]; 5. 13-Devyn Weleski[5]; 6. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[7]; 7. 72-Adam Johnson[6]; 8. 99-Cameron Labelle[8]; 9. 51E-Peyton Emerson[9]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 27C-Cameron Labelle[1]; 2. 47J-Justin Barsness[3]; 3. 57-Dalton Carlson[6]; 4. 17-Faye Lewis[2]; 5. 81X-Matt Sparby[5]; 6. 76-Doug Koski[8]; 7. 77-Rick Simpson[7]; 8. X81-Alexa Sparby[12]; 9. T26-Nic Lewis[10]; 10. 69X-John Sharpnack[4]; 11. 72-Mike Johnson[9]; 12. 10-Gordon Hunter[11]; 13. 29X-Brandon Bahr[14]; 14. (DNF) 65-Ron Reed[13]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 76-Doug Koski[2]; 2. 77-Rick Simpson[7]; 3. 69X-John Sharpnack[4]; 4. 17-Faye Lewis[1]; 5. 72-Mike Johnson[3]; 6. 10-Gordon Hunter[5]; 7. (DNF) 29X-Brandon Bahr[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 27C-Cameron Labelle[3]; 2. 47J-Justin Barsness[4]; 3. 81X-Matt Sparby[5]; 4. 57-Dalton Carlson[2]; 5. T26-Nic Lewis[7]; 6. X81-Alexa Sparby[6]; 7. 65-Ron Reed[1]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[1]; 2. 74-Gary James Nelson[2]; 3. 18X-Connor Drewry[4]; 4. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[5]; 5. 6-Dean Eggebraaten[7]; 6. 15-Landon Gross[12]; 7. 16-Skyler Smith[9]; 8. 11K-Travis Klein[14]; 9. 115-Kalin Honer[16]; 10. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[15]; 11. 15S-Sam Blevins[13]; 12. 19-Darrin Lawler[11]; 13. 77B-Logan Bauer[17]; 14. 33L-Cejay LaValley[10]; 15. 21W-Bruce Hislaw[20]; 16. (DNF) 29-Cylen Vargason[6]; 17. (DNF) 26-Kyle Davis[18]; 18. (DNF) 7P-Cory Peterson[19]; 19. (DNF) 9W-Hunter Weeks[8]; 20. (DQ) 6K-Noah Bitz[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6K-Noah Bitz[1]; 2. 6-Dean Eggebraaten[4]; 3. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[5]; 4. 33L-Cejay LaValley[2]; 5. 15S-Sam Blevins[7]; 6. 115-Kalin Honer[6]; 7. 26-Kyle Davis[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18X-Connor Drewry[1]; 2. 29-Cylen Vargason[2]; 3. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[5]; 4. 19-Darrin Lawler[6]; 5. 11K-Travis Klein[4]; 6. 21W-Bruce Hislaw[7]; 7. (DNF) 7P-Cory Peterson[3]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 74-Gary James Nelson[1]; 2. 16-Skyler Smith[2]; 3. 9W-Hunter Weeks[3]; 4. 15-Landon Gross[4]; 5. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[6]; 6. 77B-Logan Bauer[5]

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[2]; 2. 4-Dawson Oelrich[5]; 3. 37-Dean Larson[7]; 4. T34-Christopher Roller[3]; 5. 29-Kevin Bahr[6]; 6. 25-Jordan Thayer[10]; 7. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[8]; 8. (DNF) 29J-Jayden Bahr[9]; 9. (DNF) 6-Conrad Schwinn[1]; 10. (DNF) 99-Blake Erickson[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Blake Erickson[2]; 2. 37-Dean Larson[3]; 3. 29-Kevin Bahr[1]; 4. T34-Christopher Roller[4]; 5. 29J-Jayden Bahr[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[1]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[3]; 3. 4-Dawson Oelrich[2]; 4. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[4]; 5. 25-Jordan Thayer[5]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 62-Joshua Bitker[1]; 2. 21X-Dustin Puffe[4]; 3. 3-Kade Leeper[7]; 4. 57-Austin Carlson[5]; 5. 18B-Alex Berg[8]; 6. 55-Aaron Bitker[12]; 7. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[14]; 8. 25-Billy Binkley[15]; 9. 38-Nate Zanter[9]; 10. 11C-Chris Smeby[2]; 11. 29XT-Aaron Sigerud[17]; 12. 8-Karen Puschinsky[16]; 13. (DNF) 9L-Landon Weeks[13]; 14. (DNF) 21-Mason Smith[10]; 15. (DNF) 15-Michael Blevins Sr[3]; 16. (DNF) 70-Chris Dudley[6]; 17. (DNF) 87-Shannon George[11]; 18. (DNS) 70W-Hunter Westcott

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3-Kade Leeper[1]; 2. 15-Michael Blevins Sr[4]; 3. 11C-Chris Smeby[2]; 4. 21-Mason Smith[6]; 5. 9L-Landon Weeks[5]; 6. 8-Karen Puschinsky[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21X-Dustin Puffe[2]; 2. 62-Joshua Bitker[1]; 3. 18B-Alex Berg[3]; 4. 87-Shannon George[6]; 5. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[4]; 6. 29XT-Aaron Sigerud[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Austin Carlson[1]; 2. 38-Nate Zanter[4]; 3. 70-Chris Dudley[3]; 4. 55-Aaron Bitker[5]; 5. 25-Billy Binkley[6]; 6. (DNF) 70W-Hunter Westcott[2]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature (12 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[1]; 2. 27-Brady Fosso[5]; 3. 28R-Chad Reller[8]; 4. 7G-Jayme Gordon[10]; 5. 72-Aiden Kessler[9]; 6. 28-Logan Delaney[7]; 7. 24JR-Jada Lore[6]; 8. 8X-Adam Kessler[4]; 9. (DNF) 81R-Ryker Larson[2]; 10. (DNF) 7M-Mateja Dreyer[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24JR-Jada Lore[2]; 2. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[5]; 3. 7M-Mateja Dreyer[4]; 4. 28R-Chad Reller[3]; 5. 72-Aiden Kessler[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 27-Brady Fosso[2]; 2. 81R-Ryker Larson[4]; 3. 28-Logan Delaney[5]; 4. 8X-Adam Kessler[3]; 5. (DNF) 7G-Jayme Gordon[1]

Mini Stocks:

A Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[7]; 3. 77-Hayden Engen[4]; 4. 11C-Cody Bush[1]; 5. 14-Cooper Francis[2]; 6. 19-Troy Foster[8]; 7. 117-Zack Honer[10]; 8. 87-Malachi Albrecht[5]; 9. 5H-Ethan Hunter[11]; 10. 94-Cameron Schwinn[9]; 11. 26-Brooke McCann[12]; 12. 22-Tania Denny[13]; 13. (DNF) 3-Cody Meyers[14]; 14. (DNF) 7-Karlie Feda[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Conrad Schwinn[5]; 2. 19-Troy Foster[1]; 3. 11C-Cody Bush[7]; 4. 7-Karlie Feda[2]; 5. 94-Cameron Schwinn[6]; 6. 5H-Ethan Hunter[3]; 7. (DNF) 3-Cody Meyers[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[2]; 2. 77-Hayden Engen[4]; 3. 14-Cooper Francis[7]; 4. 87-Malachi Albrecht[6]; 5. 117-Zack Honer[5]; 6. 26-Brooke McCann[3]; 7. 22-Tania Denny[1]