8-25 Page 3 | ATD Racing News

Thomas and Randt race to wins at I-94’s annual Gob Gierke Memorial

By Ron Krog

FERGUS FALLS, MN (August 21) - For the last nine years, I-94 Speedway has played host to the Bob Gierke Memorial. The well-attended event is a highlight of each season, and Friday night was no exception. Forty WISSOTA Midwest Mods and 29 WISSOTA Modifieds pulled in to race. Though a rain shower rolled in at 6 p.m., backing up the start of the race for 2 hours, the event was completed as scheduled.

WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included Joseph Thomas, Landyn Randt, Kyle Dykhoff, and Christian Kast.

The WISSOTA Street Stocks had a 16-car field on hand, led to green by Kyle Dykhoff and Cole Kannegiesser. Dykhoff took the early lead followed by Eric Riley, Mark Blom, and Levi Randt. Throughout the race, Dykhoff kept the field at bay, as Randt finally caught Blom and had a great battle going back and forth - right until the end of the race.

Dykhoff drove on to the eventual victory followed by Riley, Randt, Blom and Braedyn Fleck in the top five.

Forty drivers were in the pits for the WISSOTA Midwest Mods, whittled down to 26-car field for the 26-lap feature in honor of Bob Gierke’s car number. Early on there was a great battle up front between Tyler Bitzan and Corey Storck. Bitzan was the early leader, but the front duo continued to exchange the spot during the first several laps. Taylor Bitzan moved into third, and Randt was fourth with five laps in the books. Taylor then moved into second, with Randt third; Taylor began to challenge Tyler for the lead before the caution fell with eight laps complete.

Back under green, Randt slipped by Taylor for second before the caution fell once again. With the green back out, Randt and Taylor exchanged second, before Randt grabbed a hold on the next lap. He then worked past Tyler into the lead, as Jake Smith appeared in the top five and began to pressure Tyler, who had slipped back to third behind Taylor; Smith took the spot and looked ahead to Taylor.

Through lapped traffic Randt continued to work away from Taylor. He picked up the big win ahead of Taylor Bitzan, Smith, Tyler Bitzan and Storck in the top five.

The WISSOTA Modifieds were up next. Joe Thomas had the early lead before Mackenzie Gerdes lost the bite coming off of turn three and four, and spun.

Back under green, Thomas continued to lead. Randy Klein was second under pressure from Travis Saurer and Brady Gerdes for the spot with several laps completed. As Klein fell back into fourth, Saurer and Gerdes traded sliders several times for second before a caution for a racer hard into the wall regrouped the field.

Gerdes tested Thomas back under green for the lead, but Thomas pulled away slightly along the high side. Saurer was third, Brendan Blascyk was fourth and Landon Atkinson cracked the top five. Atkinson drove by Blascyk for fourth, while Saurer reached Gerdes’ bumper and the two exchanged slide jobs for second. Gerdes drove back into second before another caution fell, this time for Dusty Bitzan.

Thomas raced away to a slight advantage when the field got back underway, while Gerdes was solid in second. Saurer began to feel the heat from Atkinson for third, but pulled away and then took off after Gerdes again, taking the spot with 10 to go. A caution fell once again for a spun racer in turn four.

Thomas had another good start, while Saurer and Gerdes were side by side again for second. Justin Froemming worked into fourth and Atkinson was fifth before the caution fell again. Another two cautions with five to go kept the race at a start and stop pace.

With the green back out, Gerdes had his best shot yet at Thomas, while 14th-starter Justin Froemming used the low side to work into third. Saurer slipped back to fourth, while Blascyk was fifth ahead of a gaggle of competitors testing him for a top-five spot.

Thomas set sail in the remaining two laps and took the victory ahead of Gerdes, Froemming, Saurer and Blascyk in the top five.

Kast jumped out to the early lead in the WISSOTA Hornets, but he had a lot of pressure coming from Braxton Schmitz. Schmitz stayed right with him, while last week’s winner Emma Nelson was third ahead of Eli Green.

As the race wore down, Schmitz continued to apply pressure on Kast, but Kast was able to hang on and grab the win. Schmitz was second ahead of Nelson, Eli Green and Hannah Koch.

Parker Gilbertson was dominant in the Gen X Late Models Friday, taking the win ahead of Trevor Walsh, Ben Wolden, Travis Saurer and Tony Croninger in the top five.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (26 Laps): 1. 6T-Joseph Thomas[1]; 2. 2X-Brady Gerdes[7]; 3. 33X-Justin Froemming[14]; 4. 21X-Travis Saurer[5]; 5. 9B-Brendan Blascyk[4]; 6. 26G-Ryan Gierke[18]; 7. 33C-Cole Boston[19]; 8. 7-Bryce Borgen[10]; 9. 9E-Don Eischens[21]; 10. 24-Brandon Dolman[17]; 11. 32C-Curtis Stieh[12]; 12. 17B-Zach Benson[16]; 13. 04N-Nick Ayotte[9]; 14. 21XXX-Randy Klein[3]; 15. 13-McKenzie Mikkelson[2]; 16. (DNF) 18A-Landon Atkinson[11]; 17. (DNF) 51A-Avery Anderson[6]; 18. (DNF) 96-Erv Grossman[15]; 19. (DNF) 10X-Dustin Bitzan[8]; 20. (DNF) 11X-Austin Chyba[13]; 21. (DNF) 6F-Matt Fester[20]; 22. (DNS) 52-Jason Thoennes; 23. (DNS) 10H-Nate Heinrich; 24. (DNS) 51T-Talan Thoennes; 25. (DNS) 112-Brennan Gave; 26. (DNS) 43-John Oeltjen; 27. (DNS) 6*-Brian Haben; 28. (DNS) 15-Ryan Flaten; 29. (DNS) 43L-Lance Schilling

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10X-Dustin Bitzan[2]; 2. 51A-Avery Anderson[1]; 3. 18A-Landon Atkinson[4]; 4. 17B-Zach Benson[3]; 5. 24-Brandon Dolman[6]; 6. 33C-Cole Boston[5]; 7. 6F-Matt Fester[8]; 8. (DNS) 43L-Lance Schilling

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 13-McKenzie Mikkelson[4]; 2. 9B-Brendan Blascyk[6]; 3. 04N-Nick Ayotte[5]; 4. 96-Erv Grossman[2]; 5. (DNS) 112-Brennan Gave; 6. (DNS) 52-Jason Thoennes; 7. (DNS) 51T-Talan Thoennes

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 2X-Brady Gerdes[2]; 2. 21XXX-Randy Klein[1]; 3. 7-Bryce Borgen[5]; 4. 32C-Curtis Stieh[7]; 5. (DNS) 43-John Oeltjen; 6. (DNS) 6*-Brian Haben; 7. (DNS) 15-Ryan Flaten

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 6T-Joseph Thomas[1]; 2. 21X-Travis Saurer[2]; 3. 11X-Austin Chyba[3]; 4. 33X-Justin Froemming[5]; 5. 26G-Ryan Gierke[6]; 6. (DNF) 9E-Don Eischens[4]; 7. (DNS) 10H-Nate Heinrich

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (26 Laps): 1. 11R-Landyn Randt[5]; 2. 24TB-Taylor Bitzan[3]; 3. 21S-Jake Smith[14]; 4. 10B-Tyler Bitzan[2]; 5. 57-Corey Storck[1]; 6. 71-Nate Reinke[8]; 7. 59-Kyle Anderson[13]; 8. 42-Ron Saurer[6]; 9. 33-Jake Hagemann[11]; 10. 81K-Casey Knabe[4]; 11. 28-Tommy Nichols[18]; 12. 4H-Grant Hall[9]; 13. 21Z-Zach Kort[12]; 14. 1-Dusty Peterson[7]; 15. 63JR-Brady Larson[19]; 16. 42TB-Tanner Bitzan[23]; 17. 17-Nick Shumansky[16]; 18. 13-Scott Oeltjen[22]; 19. 77-Chance Kodet[21]; 20. 12X-Jamie Norman[25]; 21. TS42-Scott Samuelson[17]; 22. 110-Tate Kelderman[15]; 23. 82G-Chad Gronner[24]; 24. (DNF) 21-Shane Howell[26]; 25. (DNF) 15-Andrew DeNoble[10]; 26. (DNF) 87S-Reise Stenberg[20]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Nate Reinke[1]; 2. 15-Andrew DeNoble[2]; 3. 59-Kyle Anderson[4]; 4. 82G-Chad Gronner[3]; 5. 13K-Brad King[5]; 6. (DNS) 52-Maddie Swenson; 7. (DNS) 8-Jon Carlson; 8. (DNS) 554-Alan Oeltjen

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 10B-Tyler Bitzan[1]; 2. 33-Jake Hagemann[2]; 3. 21S-Jake Smith[4]; 4. 28-Tommy Nichols[6]; 5. 13-Scott Oeltjen[3]; 6. 9L-Dakota Larsen[7]; 7. (DNS) 8X-Jonathan Hagen; 8. (DNS) 66-Kyle Langland

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 42-Ron Saurer[1]; 2. 1-Dusty Peterson[5]; 3. 110-Tate Kelderman[4]; 4. 21Z-Zach Kort[8]; 5. 10M-Noah McFarlane[7]; 6. 28K-Nick Preston[6]; 7. (DNS) 28W-Brennon Weight; 8. (DNS) 1X-Travis Engebretson

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 81K-Casey Knabe[1]; 2. 4H-Grant Hall[3]; 3. 11R-Landyn Randt[7]; 4. 63JR-Brady Larson[5]; 5. 77-Chance Kodet[4]; 6. 12X-Jamie Norman[8]; 7. 42TB-Tanner Bitzan[6]; 8. 10K-Kurt Mursu[2]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 24TB-Taylor Bitzan[2]; 2. 57-Corey Storck[3]; 3. TS42-Scott Samuelson[1]; 4. 17-Nick Shumansky[7]; 5. 87S-Reise Stenberg[8]; 6. 5X-Dylan McManigle[4]; 7. 21-Shane Howell[6]; 8. (DNS) 15F-Ryan Flaten

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 77-Chance Kodet[4]; 2. 13-Scott Oeltjen[3]; 3. 42TB-Tanner Bitzan[10]; 4. 82G-Chad Gronner[1]; 5. 12X-Jamie Norman[6]; 6. 21-Shane Howell[11]; 7. 5X-Dylan McManigle[8]; 8. 10M-Noah McFarlane[2]; 9. 13K-Brad King[5]; 10. 9L-Dakota Larsen[7]; 11. 10K-Kurt Mursu[12]; 12. (DNF) 28K-Nick Preston[9]; 13. (DNS) 28W-Brennon Weight; 14. (DNS) 1X-Travis Engebretson; 15. (DNS) 8X-Jonathan Hagen; 16. (DNS) 15F-Ryan Flaten; 17. (DNS) 52-Maddie Swenson; 18. (DNS) 8-Jon Carlson; 19. (DNS) 554-Alan Oeltjen; 20. (DNS) 66-Kyle Langland

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 11K-Kyle Dykhoff[1]; 2. 51-Eric Riley[4]; 3. 11-Levi Randt[8]; 4. 6X-Mark Blom[3]; 5. 76-Braedyn Fleck[6]; 6. 19-Cole Kannegiesser[2]; 7. 16-Greg Platzer[10]; 8. 80-Tony Miller[7]; 9. 78-Josh Lawson[9]; 10. 35S-Kegan Stueve[16]; 11. 31X-Anthony Blom[14]; 12. 37X-Quain Busitzky[12]; 13. 12S-Joshua Schroeder[15]; 14. 5F-Mike Flickinger[13]; 15. (DNF) 19C-Charlie Shiek[11]; 16. (DNF) 23-Maverick Janssen[5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 76-Braedyn Fleck[1]; 2. 51-Eric Riley[8]; 3. 23-Maverick Janssen[2]; 4. 80-Tony Miller[3]; 5. 78-Josh Lawson[5]; 6. 19C-Charlie Shiek[7]; 7. 5F-Mike Flickinger[4]; 8. (DNF) 35S-Kegan Stueve[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11K-Kyle Dykhoff[2]; 2. 6X-Mark Blom[4]; 3. 19-Cole Kannegiesser[1]; 4. 11-Levi Randt[5]; 5. 16-Greg Platzer[6]; 6. 37X-Quain Busitzky[3]; 7. 31X-Anthony Blom[7]; 8. 12S-Joshua Schroeder[8]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 30X-Christian Kast[1]; 2. 26-Braxton Schmitz[4]; 3. 11E-Emma Nelson[6]; 4. 42E-Eli Green[5]; 5. 15K-Hannah Koch[3]; 6. 18K-Ally Preston[8]; 7. 11R-Ryan Roeder[2]; 8. 411-Cameryn Taylor[7]; 9. 35P-Tylar Pourrier[9]; 10. (DNS) 35-Chase Pourrier

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 30X-Christian Kast[5]; 2. 11E-Emma Nelson[2]; 3. 411-Cameryn Taylor[3]; 4. 11R-Ryan Roeder[4]; 5. (DNF) 35-Chase Pourrier[1]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 42E-Eli Green[2]; 2. 26-Braxton Schmitz[4]; 3. 15K-Hannah Koch[3]; 4. 18K-Ally Preston[1]; 5. 35P-Tylar Pourrier[5]

Gen X Late Models:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 23JR-Parker Gilbertson[1]; 2. 15-Trevor Walsh[5]; 3. 50-Ben Wolden[2]; 4. 21X-Travis Saurer[8]; 5. 8T-Tony Croninger[7]; 6. 33-Jeff Nelson[6]; 7. 811-Bodie Croninger[9]; 8. 11*-Larry Samuelson[12]; 9. 10X-Blake Swenson[16]; 10. 27-Jarrett Huus[13]; 11. 31-Ryan Lubbers[10]; 12. 75-Cade Skytland[4]; 13. 01-Alex Tschakert[11]; 14. 1M-Jon McCain[15]; 15. 3H-Jerry Hauge[3]; 16. 71-John Plaster[14]; 17. (DNS) 20Z-Scott Zimmerman; 18. (DNS) 18-Mike Anderson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 33-Jeff Nelson[2]; 2. 23JR-Parker Gilbertson[3]; 3. 3H-Jerry Hauge[1]; 4. 75-Cade Skytland[4]; 5. 811-Bodie Croninger[5]; 6. 01-Alex Tschakert[9]; 7. 27-Jarrett Huus[7]; 8. 1M-Jon McCain[8]; 9. (DNS) 20Z-Scott Zimmerman

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 8T-Tony Croninger[1]; 2. 21X-Travis Saurer[7]; 3. 50-Ben Wolden[4]; 4. 15-Trevor Walsh[3]; 5. 31-Ryan Lubbers[2]; 6. 11*-Larry Samuelson[9]; 7. 71-John Plaster[5]; 8. (DNF) 10X-Blake Swenson[8]; 9. (DNS) 18-Mike Anderson