8-5 Page 28 | ATD Racing News

Williamson, Sparby, Nelson, VanMill, Smith, Schwinn and Kiker are the Sunday speedsters at Bemidji’s quarter mile

By Dennis Peterson

BEMIDJI, MN (August 3) - Kids Night at Bemidji Speedway is always a highlight for the kids, the drivers and the fans. All kids 12 and under received free admission and more than 25 school backpacks were given out, filled with school supplies, among several other fun activities.

The pits were packed with 104 cars and newlyweds Alexa Sparby and Landon Gross carried the colors.

WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included Tanner Williamson, Matt Sparby, Gary James Nelson, Doug VanMill, Ashton Schwinn, Jake Smith, and Russell Kiker, Jr.

Billy Binkley and Doug VanMill led the field to the green flag in the WISSOTA Street Stocks, but a spin sent Binkley to the rear for a restart. The restart was controlled by VanMill, with national point leader Kolton Brauer moving into second and Chris Dudley in third. Brauer raced low on the track along the backstretch and took the lead from VanMill. Mechanical failure then slowed Brauer and sent him to the infield, ending his night.

VanMill took over the lead, and then fought off Scotty Messner for the win. Dudley, Nick McCann and Binkley took home top five honors.

The high-flying WISSOTA Hornets were 13 strong, led to green by William Lange and Riker Larson. A first-lap crash on the frontstretch sent Bemidji fire personnel onto the track to check on Aiden Kessler and Jada Lore. Both were okay, but Lore was towed to the pits.

When racing resumed Larson led out front with Lange, Russell Kiker, Jr., Adam Kessler and Jayme Gordon in the top five. Ninth-starter Chad Reller was on the move, charging into third. The race was led by Larson until late; Kiker, Jr. charged into turn one and used the inside lane to take the lead. Kiker, Jr. maintained his current point lead at Bemidji and claimed his third feature win. Larson, Reller, Lange and Gordon trailed in the top five.

Nineteen WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds roared on track led by Sam Blevins and Dean Eggebraaten. Eggebraaten took control early, but several cautions slowed the action. Blevins slowed into the infield, giving Darrin Lawler second with Gary James Nelson, Mike Blevins, CeJay LaValley and Skyler Smith in contention. LaValley lost the grip creating a caution in turns one and two, sending her tailback for the restart.

Back under green Eggebraaten continued to lead, with Nelson now in second and Mike Blevins third. More cautions slowed the action and forced the field into a green, white, checkered finish. Eggebraaten held the lead until the final lap; he pushed high in turn four, handing the lead to Nelson, who picked up his first win of the season with Blevens second. Eggebraaten settled for third.

Eighteen WISSOTA Pure Stocks were led to the green by Chris Dudley and Brandon Puschinsky. Puschinsky grabbed the early lead with Dudley and Jake Smith chasing him. Smith quickly moved outside and into second before the caution flag waved for an incident in turns three and four.

The restart was three wide for the lead, with Smith taking the front spot. Dustin Puffe was on the prowl from seventh into second, and Kade Leeper followed him into the top three. Smith had to withstand a couple of cautions due to spins, but held his lead and picked up the win, his first at Bemidji. Puffe and Leeper were close behind. Chris Dudley and Puschinsky completed the top five.

Tanner Williamson and Jeff Reed led the field of WISSOTA Modifieds to the green flag. Williamson powered into the lead with Reed close behind and Doyle Erickson, Bryce Borgen and Lance Schilling in the top five. The field of Modifieds spread out quickly around the track, with blazing speeds.

Late in the race Josh Beaulieu and Schilling put on a show, fighting for the top five with Schilling holding the advantage. The race belonged to Williamson from the start picking up his second feature win of the season at Bemidji. Reed, Borgen, Erickson and Schilling trailed in the top five.

Brooke Erickson and Ashton Schwinn led the field of WISSOTA Mod Fours to the green flag, with Erickson challenging Schwinn for the lead. Schwinn powered around for the lead into turns one and two. The first caution waved for an incident in turn three, sending Dean Larson to the pits for repairs. He returned tailback for the restart.

Again Schwinn raced around the first turns to take the lead back under green. Another caution flew for a spin in turn two. The restart was controlled by Schwinn, with two Ericksons right behind him - Brooke and Blake were in second and third. Blake gained the advantage on his sister and moved into second behind Schwinn. Fourth-row starter Rowan Tramm was on the move into the top five right behind last week’s winner Dawson Oelrich.

No one was going to stop Ashton Schwinn from gaining national points on Larson, as he picked up his fourth feature win. Blake Erickson was second with Tramm third and Oelrich fourth. Larson charged back into fifth.

Ellen Lange and Matt Sparby led the field of WISSOTA Super Stocks to the green flag. Sparby raced to the lead, with Brandon Bahr and Lange in the top three. Dalton Carlson charged along the high side into fourth, and then proceeded to catch and pass Lange for third.

Out front Sparby built his lead to three car lengths ahead of Bahr and Carlson. A spin and crash on the frontstretch brought out the caution. On the outside, Carlson found grip and raced around Bahr for second with nine laps to go. Cameron LaBelle made large advances from the back and moved into fourth, and then challenged for third in terrific racing action. A five car spin and crash then sent both Bahr and LaBelle into the pits for the night.

The race was finally given a green flag once again, with Sparby in control and Carlson steady in second. Alexa Sparby made heads turn as she blasted into third late in the race. Matt Sparby won his second feature of the summer with Carlson and Alexa second and third. Ellen Lange was fourth and Justin Barsness fifth.

Conrad Schwinn built a huge lead during the Mini Stock contest and drove on for his fifth feature win at the track, with Nick McCann and Cody Bush in the top three.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 88-Tanner Williamson[1]; 2. 2R-Jeff Reed[2]; 3. 7B-Bryce Borgen[5]; 4. 99-Doyle Erickson[3]; 5. 43-Lance Schilling[4]; 6. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[6]; 7. 13-Devyn Weleski[8]; 8. 72-Adam Johnson[9]; 9. 5JF-Jonathen Feda[7]; 10. 51E-Peyton Emerson[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tanner Williamson[1]; 2. 43-Lance Schilling[4]; 3. 99-Doyle Erickson[2]; 4. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[5]; 5. 72-Adam Johnson[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2R-Jeff Reed[2]; 2. 13-Devyn Weleski[1]; 3. 7B-Bryce Borgen[3]; 4. 5JF-Jonathen Feda[4]; 5. 51E-Peyton Emerson[5]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 81X-Matt Sparby[2]; 2. 57-Dalton Carlson[6]; 3. X81-Alexa Sparby[7]; 4. 40-Ellen Lange[1]; 5. 47J-Justin Barsness[8]; 6. 69X-John Sharpnack[3]; 7. 17-Faye Lewis[9]; 8. 65-Ron Reed[10]; 9. 72-Mike Johnson[11]; 10. (DNF) 27C-Cameron Labelle[12]; 11. (DNF) 29X-Brandon Bahr[4]; 12. (DNF) T26-Nic Lewis[5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 47J-Justin Barsness[1]; 2. 69X-John Sharpnack[3]; 3. 81X-Matt Sparby[5]; 4. 40-Ellen Lange[4]; 5. 17-Faye Lewis[2]; 6. 72-Mike Johnson[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Dalton Carlson[1]; 2. 29X-Brandon Bahr[5]; 3. T26-Nic Lewis[6]; 4. X81-Alexa Sparby[2]; 5. 65-Ron Reed[4]; 6. 27C-Cameron Labelle[3]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 74-Gary James Nelson[5]; 2. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[9]; 3. 6-Dean Eggebraaten[2]; 4. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[15]; 5. 16-Skyler Smith[8]; 6. 18X-Connor Drewry[12]; 7. 7P-Cory Peterson[18]; 8. 6K-Noah Bitz[17]; 9. 11K-Travis Klein[11]; 10. 26-Kyle Davis[14]; 11. (DNF) 9W-Hunter Weeks[16]; 12. (DNF) 15-Landon Gross[13]; 13. (DNF) 18-Justin Feltus[10]; 14. (DNF) 33L-Cejay LaValley[7]; 15. (DNF) 32B-Brennan Schmidt[6]; 16. (DNF) 15S-Sam Blevins[1]; 17. (DNF) 19-Darrin Lawler[3]; 18. (DNF) 21W-Bruce Hislaw[19]; 19. (DNF) 07-Carter Matthews[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Dean Eggebraaten[2]; 2. 07-Carter Matthews[1]; 3. 19-Darrin Lawler[4]; 4. 18-Justin Feltus[3]; 5. 15-Landon Gross[5]; 6. 9W-Hunter Weeks[6]; 7. 21W-Bruce Hislaw[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 33L-Cejay LaValley[1]; 2. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[4]; 3. 15S-Sam Blevins[5]; 4. 11K-Travis Klein[2]; 5. 26-Kyle Davis[3]; 6. 6K-Noah Bitz[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 74-Gary James Nelson[1]; 2. 16-Skyler Smith[2]; 3. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[3]; 4. 18X-Connor Drewry[4]; 5. 10JR-Mikey Blevins[5]; 6. 7P-Cory Peterson[6]

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 8T-Doug VanMill[2]; 2. 18-Scotty Messner[3]; 3. 70-Chris Dudley[4]; 4. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 5. 34-Billy Binkley[1]; 6. (DNF) 34J-Kolton Brauer[5]; 7. (DNF) 39-Deryk Weleski[7]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 34J-Kolton Brauer[2]; 2. 8T-Doug VanMill[1]; 3. 18-Scotty Messner[7]; 4. 70-Chris Dudley[5]; 5. 34-Billy Binkley[3]; 6. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 7. 39-Deryk Weleski[4]

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[2]; 2. 99-Blake Erickson[4]; 3. 14T-Rowan Tramm[8]; 4. 4-Dawson Oelrich[5]; 5. 37-Dean Larson[7]; 6. 6-Conrad Schwinn[6]; 7. 29-Kevin Bahr[9]; 8. 29J-Jayden Bahr[3]; 9. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[1]; 10. (DNF) T34-Christopher Roller[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[5]; 2. 4-Dawson Oelrich[1]; 3. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[3]; 4. 29J-Jayden Bahr[2]; 5. 29-Kevin Bahr[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14T-Rowan Tramm[2]; 2. 37-Dean Larson[1]; 3. 99-Blake Erickson[3]; 4. 6-Conrad Schwinn[5]; 5. T34-Christopher Roller[4]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 86J-Jake Smith[4]; 2. 21X-Dustin Puffe[8]; 3. 3-Kade Leeper[7]; 4. 70-Chris Dudley[1]; 5. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[2]; 6. 15-Caylyn Binkley[3]; 7. 9L-Landon Weeks[11]; 8. 55-Aaron Bitker[16]; 9. 70W-Hunter Westcott[13]; 10. 38-Nate Zanter[17]; 11. 18B-Alex Berg[9]; 12. 11C-Chris Smeby[10]; 13. 62-Joshua Bitker[12]; 14. 29XT-Aaron Sigerud[14]; 15. 7K-Quintyn Karl[18]; 16. (DNF) 25-Billy Binkley[5]; 17. (DNF) 8-Karen Puschinsky[15]; 18. (DNF) 21-Mason Smith[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3-Kade Leeper[1]; 2. 70-Chris Dudley[4]; 3. 21-Mason Smith[6]; 4. 18B-Alex Berg[3]; 5. 62-Joshua Bitker[5]; 6. 29XT-Aaron Sigerud[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Caylyn Binkley[1]; 2. 25-Billy Binkley[2]; 3. 38-Nate Zanter[6]; 4. 11C-Chris Smeby[5]; 5. 70W-Hunter Westcott[4]; 6. 8-Karen Puschinsky[3]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21X-Dustin Puffe[1]; 2. 86J-Jake Smith[5]; 3. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[4]; 4. 9L-Landon Weeks[3]; 5. 7K-Quintyn Karl[6]; 6. (DNF) 55-Aaron Bitker[2]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature (12 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[7]; 2. 81R-Ryker Larson[2]; 3. 28R-Chad Reller[9]; 4. 40-William Lange[1]; 5. 7G-Jayme Gordon[3]; 6. 19-Josh Backstrom[13]; 7. 28-Logan Delaney[8]; 8. 8X-Adam Kessler[5]; 9. (DNF) 7M-Chris Isensee[4]; 10. (DNF) 27-Travis Bruns[11]; 11. (DNF) 24JR-Jada Lore[6]; 12. (DNF) 72-Aiden Kessler[10]; 13. (DNF) 0X-Dylan Black[12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[1]; 2. 81R-Ryker Larson[2]; 3. 28-Logan Delaney[4]; 4. 24JR-Jada Lore[5]; 5. 28R-Chad Reller[7]; 6. 27-Travis Bruns[3]; 7. 19-Josh Backstrom[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7G-Jayme Gordon[2]; 2. 8X-Adam Kessler[3]; 3. 7M-Chris Isensee[4]; 4. 40-William Lange[5]; 5. 72-Aiden Kessler[6]; 6. 0X-Dylan Black[1]

Mini Stocks:

A Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 6-Conrad Schwinn[2]; 2. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 3. 11C-Cody Bush[4]; 4. 77-Hayden Engen[7]; 5. 94-Cameron Schwinn[1]; 6. 87-Malachi Albrecht[3]; 7. 19-Troy Foster[8]; 8. 90-Cory Nelson[9]; 9. 117-Zack Honer[11]; 10. 3-Cody Meyers[13]; 11. 26-Brooke McCann[10]; 12. 5H-Ethan Hunter[12]; 13. (DNF) 7-Karlie Feda[15]; 14. (DNF) 87S-Shannon George[14]; 15. (DQ) 14-Cooper Francis[5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[3]; 2. 11C-Cody Bush[2]; 3. 19-Troy Foster[4]; 4. 94-Cameron Schwinn[6]; 5. 90-Cory Nelson[5]; 6. 117-Zack Honer[7]; 7. (DNF) 3-Cody Meyers[8]; 8. (DNF) 7-Karlie Feda[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Hayden Engen[1]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[6]; 3. 14-Cooper Francis[2]; 4. 87-Malachi Albrecht[4]; 5. 26-Brooke McCann[5]; 6. 5H-Ethan Hunter[7]; 7. (DNF) 87S-Shannon George[3]