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Tuesday, August 11

A recently held nonsanctioned event took place at Eagle River Speedway in Eagle River, Wisconsin. The $10,000-to-win B Modified show allowed various sanctioning bodies to run their own rules with a single tire rule in effect.

Nineteen of the drivers ran under WISSOTA rules. They included Matt Kelley, Jake Stai, Kory Joliff, Marcus Dunbar, Nick Koehler, Ross Siiter, Michael Truscott, George Dalbeck, Cooper Aho, Justen Seipel, Matt Joslin, Tyler Vernon, Dave Dishaw, Tad Schoonover, Brady Larson, David Simpson, Lucas Rodin, Josh Smith and Jeff McDonald.

The WISSOTA drivers did not fare particularly well in this event, whether it was the tires or perhaps their unfamiliarity with this uniquely shaped oval. Of the seven who made the feature, their finishing positions included Vernon-7th, Seipel-9th, Rodin-11th, Dunbar-13th, Joliff-19th, Koehler-21st and Truscott-23rd. Iowa drivers finished first and second, taking home $15,000 between the two of them.

Thursday, August 13

A busy week for the Late Model drivers racing the Structural Building WISSOTA Challenge Series began on Thursday, August 13 with a race at KRA Speedway in Willmar, Minnesota. It was the first of two races this week held at non-traditional Late Model tracks.

Between this fact and the fact it was a Thursday night, the car count crashed from in the 30s where it has been for most of the series so far this year, down to 17 drivers on hand.

It seemed like there should have been more drivers on hand, given there are a lot of Late Model teams that aren't really that far away from Willmar.

In any event, the spectators didn't seem to be complaining and there was a very large crowd on hand for the race on Thursday, far more than for any other night I had attended earlier this year.

Point contender Kevin Eder was back in his own equipment on Thursday. He had both the car and engine freshened up in anticipation of some sucessful racing from now through the fall. Things did not start off smoothly for Eder, however, as he had a problem with his car as soon as he gassed it for qualifying. He pulled into the infield and needed a wrecker to get back to his pit. He did not reappear the rest of the night, putting his points position in jeopardy.

The track was fast from the start on Thursday, with several drivers breaking the existing track record and Shane Sabraski, as the 14th driver out, set the new standard at 15.445 seconds.

Only two heat races were held and all drivers on hand, minus Eder, started the 40-lap feature race. Cole Searing was in control on Thursday, leading from start to finish and was not every really challenged. He had to be careful though through six yellow flags and their ensuing restart. However, he managed them all nicely and never let anyone push him on those restarts.

Early on Ryan Mikkelson ran second but a flat tire triggered the second yellow and sent him to the tail of the field. Cory Crapser ran in the top three for most of the race until he slammed the wall late, knocking off his whole spoiler and damaging the rear quarter panels, after which he dropped steadily back in the field.

The driver who made the biggest advances was 10th-starter Kevin Burdick. He charged through the field and he and Sabraski had quite a tussle for fourth at that time, with some paint traded in that one.

However, Burdick continued to mush forward and following the sixth yellow for a spin with only five laps to go, he drove into second past Dave Mass. These advances, along with an average performance by Tyler Peterson, allowed Burdick to assume the point lead in the series and will require a spoiler change before the field moves to Princeton on Friday night.

Johnny Broking rounded out the top five and I inquired before the races, with everyone at Willmar, who was running the show at Grand Rapids? Since the Broking men were racing in Willar, I was informed that “The Ladies” were in charge at Grand Rapids and that everything would go smoothly in their absence.

Only three drivers failed to finish the Challenge Series race, one of whom was Dexton Koch. He had the whole right side of his car cleaned right off as he clipped a spinning driver.

For Searing it was his third straight feature win in a special event at KRA. He professed to not knowing exactly why he runs so well at the oddly shaped, third-mile track at sea level.

Two other WISSOTA classes were a part of Thursday night’s program. The Street Stock feature probably produced the best race of the night as the battle for the lead was a tense one between Justin Vogel and Keith Tourville. After Ethan Iiams led the opening lap, Vogel drove past him to take over the top spot and was scored the leader the rest of the way.

It was far from being an easy win, however.

Vogel had built up some distance over the field in the first half of the race but Tourville, who started eighth, worked his way into second by the halfway point of the race and then, just one lap later, a yellow bunched the field and the race for the lead grew flaming hot.

Surprisingly, Vogel, who is usually a cushion pusher, was running the middle lane of the track while Tourville went to the top. Lap after lap, Tourville tried to beat Vogel out of turn two and get a run on him down the back chute. And lap after lap, Vogel had just enough to hold off Tourville.

Keith knocked on Vogel's back door a few times into turn three, and I wonder if that was just a ploy to try and get Vogel to change his line but in any case, it just didn't work. Both cars were very equal and Tourville just didn't have the extra speed needed to dry by Vogel, finishing up nailed to his rear bumper as they crossed the line, a race that got the crowd fired up.

Midwest Mods were also racing and after a first lap spin, this race ran off green to checkered. Landyn Randt got to the front quickly, which was important to gain an advantage over Jake Smith, who started seventh.

Randt took one lap to pass Justin Van Eps for the lead and then, without any slowdowns, he built almost a full straightaway lead over the pack. Smith finally broke loose and got second but he was facing a considerable distance to catch Randt. With both racers fast and no chance to bunch the field, it was hard.

Smith may have gained a bit of distance in the last nine laps of the race but Randt was very fast himself and there was never any challenges for the top spot. Both drove on to finish first and second. Van Eps held on for third.

Interestingly, even though the Late Models were the special attraction, the unloading of a car in one of the other classes drew as much attention as anything all night. It’s been a while since Shane Sabraski has run a Midwest Mod, but in the day he racked up a lot of feature wins and took special events in this class.

The story that I was told was that this car has been prepped for Shane's daughter, who will be racing it at some point this year. Since they only had one car in the trailer for KRA with the other classes off for the night, they felt this a good night to try out the car. It is a JMR chassis that was used for a special event at Granite City and has been sitting in a corner of the garage until tonight.

It was a checkered night for its initial run. Sabraski ran away with a heat race, only to be disqualified in post-race tech (I was not able to determine why). It must have been something minor as he lined up at the back of the pack for the feature.

Again the car was fast, as he raced to fourth and was having a pitched battle with Van Eps for that spot that lasted for several laps. However, on the last corner, still racing for third, the car did a quick hook slide around backward suddenly, almost as if something had broken or locked up. He finished at the back.

The Late Models ran third in the running order with the Midwest Mods finishing up the night. This is one track where the vast majority of the crowd stays to watch the whole show, thus making for a much more clogged exit from the speedway. However, it was barely 10 p.m. so there was no rush to get on the road.

Friday, August 14

The Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series moved to Princeton Speedway on Friday night, August 14. Along with the WCS, five other WISSOTA divisions raced full programs, thus giving the fans a full night's worth of entertainment.

It was kind of a weird weather day, with the skies very cloudy and an unsettled feel was punctuated by a quite strong east wind, generally a wind that foretells the arrival of storms. But that was not to be the case, as the night remained dry with pleasant temperatures and I'm sure the cloudy conditions helped with the track prep on this night.

This was probably reflected by the Late Model qualifying, where Cory Crapser set a new track record with a lap clocked at 12.608 seconds. That's not a lot of time to get around the high-banked quarter mile here at Princeton. It was the first time the Late Models had raced here in a few years and likely many of the competitors had never ran here before. They took to the track quickly, put on a good show and certainly avoided the wrecks and spins that can occur here in the tight quarters racing.

As it turned out, the fields in the various classes were fine and representative of what most tracks are getting these days. They could have used a few more Street Stocks but the Late Model field was again the one that disappointed me the most.

Princeton is another one of those tracks on the WCS schedule that has no weekly drivers to fall back on since they don't run the Late Models. Their sister track in Ogilvie does, and there are certainly a good number of Late Models stationed not very far away from this track. Yet, at 15, the number of entrants was even worse than on Thursday at KRA. The drivers who were on hand put on a good show but for the extra dollars the fans were asked to cough up, I - as a fan - might expect just a few more cars and more of a show than two heats and a longer feature.

There was a good crowd on hand and I heard no complaints about the size of the field; everyone seemed to leave satisfied. However, if I was management I wouldn't have been thrilled.

If special events are booked and provided, there simply must be participation from the competitors or those races will go away — and oh my, would there be the complaints then.

Pre-race info indicated Sabraski was 23 pounds light in the heat, resulting in the DQ. They threw an extra 50 pounds on for the feature and Sabraski, while in an intense battle for third on the final lap, accidently clubbed the turn four infield tractor tire, thus resulting in a spin.

A couple new drivers debuted on Friday night, plus a couple of familiar faces returned to the racing scene. Grant Bemboom was in the No. 99 Mod Four, the car that until recently was driven by Brooke Erickson. Also, for the first time I believe, Jack Post was doing double duty. In addition to his Mod Four, he also had a Modified with a hand-taped number on it. I recognized it as the former No. 8k driven by Cory Koenig, which Post has apparently purchased.

The 2025 WISSOTA National Hornet champion, Anthony Jenson, had disappeared from the racing scene. That is, until Friday night when he made his debut driving a Super Stock for the first time ever. His first night was a success, getting laps and shaking down the car and just missing a top-10 finish. He took everything home in one piece.

It was also good to see Kurt Becken back in racing. I noted that he recently showed up in the MRP finishes from the east central Minnesota tracks and he was on hand Friday driving a Super Stock. He has been a longtime racer in this area in both the Street and Super Stocks.

As mentioned above, Cory Crapser was quick qualifier for the Late Models with Tyler Peterson just a .01 of a second slower in the second group. The track did not slow down measurably, perhaps based on the fact that it wasn't pounded by a considerable number of drivers.

As track and series officials like to do, the Late Models were slotted in toward the middle of the racing program, thus giving the track the opportunity to be at its best for them.

In their running order, the Street Stock feature was the first and it provided some of the wildest action of the night, along with the winner getting perhaps the loudest reception of any winner to victory lane.

Layla Chaplin had quite the story to tell after this race. Not only did she win the feature, she had to come from the back to do so after getting a flat tire early in the event while running second.

Tommy Pogones was the initial leader with Chaplin right behind him when the first yellow was triggered by a spin with just two laps completed. At this point, Layla pulled to the work area with a flat tire and there was a mad scramble with her crew and lots of others helping change the tire and get her restarted as she needed a push. She returned to the track just in time to tail the field.

One lap later Kyle Howland made a strong move around the outside of Pogones to take over the lead with Jim Gullikson moving into second, as Chaplin was back up to fourth by the halfway point.

A shocking spin by Gullikson as he was pushing for the lead slowed the race again; Chaplin was up to third two laps later when Gullikson and Trent Keller tangled.

Then she made the move of the race on the restart, using the banking beautifully as she blazed past both Pogones and Howland to take over the lead as the crowd went wild. Gullikson came back up through the field to make a late challenge but Chaplin was fast on the banking and she held on for the win, a victory that was very popular with the fans. Pogones and Howland finished up next in line.

Jason Vandekamp is a master of this track and even when his starting position doesn't look promising, he manages to make the best of it. He started seventh Friday with some quick cars in front of him, and with his smooth driving and yellows to help, he ended up in victory lane once again.

Dustin Nelson led for much of the early going with both Adam Bohlman and Eric Gruhlke giving him a strong challenge. Often they were going into the turns nearly three wide, with Gruhlke using the banking while Bohlman tried to sneak under him.

As the yellow flags continued to mount, VandeKamp gradually crept to the front, first showing in the top five as a lap 13 spin slowed the race for the fifth time.

And that's when Vande struck. On the restart he drove past both Gruhlke and Nelson for the lead and once in front, he pulled away from the battle behind him. There were two more yellows yet, but he successfully pulled away each time to take the win going away, with Gruhlke and Nelson finishing behind him.

The Late Model Challenge Series race was a two-car battle and a case of Cole Searing taking advantage of the break when it happened. Dave Mass got the jump on him at the start and led early, with Searing running second and those two pulling away from the field.

Mass and Searing were running the banking as were most of the other competitiors, but with no outside wall here and with character to the surface, one slight error could prove fatal. And that's what happened to Mass.

With 15 laps in the book, he got into turn one just a bit hot and slipped over the banking. He was able to save his car but by the time he got back and going, Searing had passed him for the lead.

Having swapped spots, that was the way they ran the rest of the race with Searing several car lengths ahead to the finish.

Things did get changed up a bit at the end, as a lap 29 yellow for a medical emergency on the grandstand side stopped the action briefly. The restart gave Kevin Burdick the chance he needed after he had worked his way to the front from seventh. He got by Mass on the restart for second but had nothing for Searing, who drove on for the win. Tyler Peterson also got past Mass late for third.

Dexton Koch put on a show in the Super Stock feature, coming from the fourth row to pass both Shane Sabraski and Dylan Kromschroeder to get the win in that class. Kromschroeder had taken the early lead with Sabraski moving in to challenge him but Koch was flying to the front. He was up to fourth when the first yellow flew and was still on the charge when racing resumed.

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