9-23 Page 18 | ATD Racing News

Paul Bunyan show split in half at Bemidji, but Erickson, Koski, Jacobson, Dudley, Schwinn, Carlson and Kiker chop down rivals on Saturday

By Dennis Peterson

BEMIDJI, MN (September 20) - The 46th Annual Paul Bunyan Stampede was set for September 20-21 at Bemidji Speedway. As the track’s annual finale, it’s one of the biggest and best race weekends of the year, drawing cars and drivers from throughout the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada. This year’s installment was cut one day short due to weather, but Saturday’s show was completed in full.

In the pits, 113 cars were on hand for action with WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners including Doyle Erickson, Doug Koski, Tucker Jacobson, Chris Dudley, Conrad Schwinn, Austin Carlson and Russell Kiker, Jr.

Chris Dudley and Weston Ramsrud led the WISSOTA Street Stocks to the first green flag of the weekend. Dudley led the charge into turn one followed by Ramsrud, Tyson Waller, Scotty Messner and Deryk Weleski. Dudley and Ramsrud battled door to door, with Ramsrud on the inside and Dudley up high. With each challenge, Dudley held his line and the lead. A caution flag then waved for the first time, which sent Trent Keller to the rear of the field.

Following the restart, Messner drove up high and around Ramsrud for second, while out front Dudley took the checkered flag for a Stampede feature win. Messner and Ramsrud were second and third.

Kevin Bahr and Conrad Schwinn led the field of WISSOTA Mod Fours to the green flag, waved by flagman Lynn Johnson. Conrad Schwinn led Bahr, Dawson Oelrich, Ashton Schwinn and Blake Erickson down the backstretch, as Ashton used the high side to drive by Oelrich and Bahr for second, and set chase to his dad Conrad. The two Schwinns pulled away from the pack and raced side by side until Ashton pulled into the lead down the backstretch. He had begun to lap the field before he slowed into the infield and ended his race.

Conrad inherited the lead, with Erickson now in contention in second, followed by Bahr. That is where they finished, with Conrad adding another Stampede trophy to his career list, trailed by Erickson and Bahr.

The largest field of cars of any class was in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks, with 22 led to the green by Kade Leeper and Austin Carlson. Carlson held the early advantage ahead of Leeper, Dusty Caspers, Billy Binkley and Brandon Puschinsky in the top five. The first of many caution flags came early with Dylan Helget sent tailback for the restart.

Following the restart, Caspers used the inside line to take second from Leeper. The second caution came out when Karen Puschinsky’s racer lost a wheel in turn four. Leeper also pitted for repairs and returned tailback.

When the field was finally back under green, Carlson was in control with Caspers, Mason Smith, Josh Berg and Brandon Puschinsky in the top five. Berg caught and passed Smith for third late in the race, as Carlson picked up the clean sweep out front with the feature win to complement his heat race win earlier in the program. Caspers and Berg completed the podium.

Tucker Jacobson held the pole for the start of the WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature, with Cejay LaValley to his right. The leaders raced side by side for the top spot under green, with Jacobson finally taking the spot before the first caution of the race; Brennan Schmidt headed to the pits, out of the race.

After the restart Jacobson and LaValley battled for the lead with Darrin Lawler, Hunter Weeks and Sam Blevins in the top five. Blevins got by Weeks for fourth, while LaValley inched up on Jacobson and took control of the lead on the super fast track. Another caution for a four-car crash and spin slowed the action; Cejay LaValley was pit bound with a flat tire, returning to the rear of the field for the restart.

Back under green Jacobson picked up his first-ever feature win with Lawler and Blevins on the podium.

Twelve WISSOTA Hornets entered the track led by Dylan Black and Jerry Larson in row one. Larson pulled out into the lead with Jayme Gordon, Chad Reller, Russell Kiker, Jr. and Mark Gangl in the top five. Racing single file around the track, Larson controlled a two-car length lead as Kiker raced along the high side into third.

Following a caution, Larson held the lead ahead of Kiker, Reller, Gangl and Nick Ruzich. Kiker used the high side once more to take the lead and drove on to the clean sweep in the class and the Stampede trophy. Ruzich and Larson completed the podium.

The WISSOTA Super Stocks were led on track next with Mike Johnson and Doug Koski in row one. Koski blasted into the lead with Cameron LaBelle, Justin Barsness, Johnson, and Brian Vajdl in the top five. The first caution flag waved early for spins on the backstretch.

Racing resumed with Koski out front, followed by Barsness, Labelle, Johnson and Dalton Carlson. Johnson slid up high in turn two and dropped several positions.

Out front Koski was on a mission with a huge half-lap lead, ahead of a tight bunch of racers vying for top-five spots. Labelle caught and raced around Barsness for second as Carlson followed into third. The race was all Koski, as he picked up his second feature win of the year at Bemidji Speedway and the Stampede title. Labelle and Carlson finished on the podium.

Doyle Erickson was the early leader of the WISSOTA Modified feature ahead of Jonathon Feda, Rick Jacobson, Davey Mills, and Brock Gronwold in the top five. Jacobson moved up to challenge Feda for second, racing side by side in a great battle for runner-up honors behind Erickson. Feda then raced too high and dropped back several positions.

Erickson was building a huge lead over the field as Jacobson, Mills and Josh Beaulieu waged a battle of their own for second through fourth. Beaulieu raced to the inside out of turn four to take third; Mills tried to cross over, but Beaulieu held the fast lane.

A late caution brought the field back together with Devyn Weleski sent to the rear with just four laps remaining. Erickson held his line and the lead followed by Jacobson, Beaulieu, Mills and Gronwold. Jacobson raced high and Beaulieu low, with Beaulieu moving into second on the last lap. Gronwold made a late pass of Jacobson to take third. Erickson pulled into victory lane with a Stampede trophy waiting for him, as Beaulieu and Gronwold completed the top three.

In a caution-filled Mini Stock feature, Nick McCann took over the lead with just a couple laps remaining and picked up the clean sweep of the action. Conrad Schwinn and Cory Nelson finished in the top three.

In addition to the racing, the newest class of Bemidji Speedway Hall of Fame members were announced over the weekend. Members inducted were Larry Mills (driver), Jack Reed (driver), Bret Schmidt (driver), Ron Paulbickie, Sr. (driver), Dale Lindell (driver), Ron Caskey (driver, crewmember and fan), Steve Heller (driver and Promoter) and Red and Sue Harris (flagman and Chicken Shack concession founders).

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 99-Doyle Erickson[1]; 2. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[4]; 3. 2G-Brock Gronwold[7]; 4. 7J-Rick Jacobson[3]; 5. 22-Davey Mills[6]; 6. 2R-Jeff Reed[10]; 7. 5JF-Jonathen Feda[2]; 8. 72-Adam Johnson[9]; 9. 57-Michael Tiani[11]; 10. (DNF) 13-Devyn Weleski[8]; 11. (DNS) 99E-Blake Erickson; 12. (DNS) 4JR-Cameron Brown

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Davey Mills[2]; 2. 13-Devyn Weleski[1]; 3. 5JF-Jonathen Feda[4]; 4. 4JR-Cameron Brown[3]; 5. 72-Adam Johnson[5]; 6. (DNS) 99E-Blake Erickson

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 22B-Josh Beaulieu[1]; 2. 2G-Brock Gronwold[2]; 3. 7J-Rick Jacobson[3]; 4. 99-Doyle Erickson[5]; 5. 2R-Jeff Reed[4]; 6. 57-Michael Tiani[6]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 76-Doug Koski[2]; 2. 27C-Cameron Labelle[4]; 3. 57-Dalton Carlson[8]; 4. 47J-Justin Barsness[6]; 5. 81X-Matt Sparby[7]; 6. 41X-Brian Vajdl[3]; 7. T26-Nic Lewis[9]; 8. 72-Mike Johnson[1]; 9. X81-Alexa Sparby[5]; 10. 2-Don Livingston[11]; 11. 17-Faye Lewis[14]; 12. 65-Ron Reed[13]; 13. 10M-Alex Morgan[10]; 14. (DNS) 10-Gordon Hunter; 15. (DNS) 41-Mikey Vajdl

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Dalton Carlson[5]; 2. 81X-Matt Sparby[2]; 3. X81-Alexa Sparby[1]; 4. 47J-Justin Barsness[3]; 5. T26-Nic Lewis[4]; 6. 10M-Alex Morgan[6]; 7. 2-Don Livingston[8]; 8. (DNF) 65-Ron Reed[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 76-Doug Koski[6]; 2. 27C-Cameron Labelle[7]; 3. 72-Mike Johnson[5]; 4. 41X-Brian Vajdl[3]; 5. (DNF) 10-Gordon Hunter[1]; 6. (DQ) 17-Faye Lewis[2]; 7. (DQ) 41-Mikey Vajdl[4]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. X-Tucker Jacobson[1]; 2. 19-Darrin Lawler[3]; 3. 15S-Sam Blevins[5]; 4. 9W-Hunter Weeks[4]; 5. 44-Brayden Rewertz[15]; 6. 14G-Brant Gruba[11]; 7. 16-Skyler Smith[19]; 8. 33L-Cejay LaValley[2]; 9. 7P-Cory Peterson[13]; 10. 74-Gary James Nelson[7]; 11. 6K-Noah Bitz[16]; 12. (DNF) 22E-Ethan Elhardt[14]; 13. (DNF) 11K-Travis Klein[12]; 14. (DNF) 15-Landon Gross[8]; 15. (DNF) 13-Nicholas Jessen[20]; 16. (DNF) 115-Kalin Honer[9]; 17. (DNF) 32B-Brennan Schmidt[10]; 18. (DNF) 10-Michael Blevins Sr[6]; 19. (DNS) 57-Blake Higginbotham; 20. (DNS) 26-Levi Undeberg

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15S-Sam Blevins[1]; 2. 10-Michael Blevins Sr[4]; 3. 74-Gary James Nelson[6]; 4. 32B-Brennan Schmidt[7]; 5. 7P-Cory Peterson[5]; 6. 44-Brayden Rewertz[3]; 7. (DNF) 16-Skyler Smith[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9W-Hunter Weeks[4]; 2. 15-Landon Gross[3]; 3. 19-Darrin Lawler[6]; 4. 14G-Brant Gruba[5]; 5. 22E-Ethan Elhardt[1]; 6. 6K-Noah Bitz[2]; 7. (DNF) 13-Nicholas Jessen[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. X-Tucker Jacobson[2]; 2. 115-Kalin Honer[5]; 3. 33L-Cejay LaValley[4]; 4. 11K-Travis Klein[3]; 5. (DNF) 26-Levi Undeberg[6]; 6. (DNF) 57-Blake Higginbotham[1]

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 70-Chris Dudley[1]; 2. 18-Scotty Messner[5]; 3. 67-Weston Ramsrud[2]; 4. 24-Andrew Piilo[4]; 5. 22-Tyson Waller[7]; 6. 39-Deryk Weleski[6]; 7. 34-Billy Binkley[8]; 8. 8T-Doug VanMill[9]; 9. 27-Trent Keller[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Scotty Messner[1]; 2. 70-Chris Dudley[2]; 3. 67-Weston Ramsrud[3]; 4. 24-Andrew Piilo[5]; 5. 27-Trent Keller[6]; 6. 39-Deryk Weleski[8]; 7. 22-Tyson Waller[4]; 8. 34-Billy Binkley[9]; 9. (DNF) 8T-Doug VanMill[7]

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 6-Conrad Schwinn[2]; 2. 99-Blake Erickson[6]; 3. 29-Kevin Bahr[1]; 4. 4-Dawson Oelrich[3]; 5. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[7]; 6. 29J-Jayden Bahr[8]; 7. 26L-Lily Knute[9]; 8. (DNF) 18-Ashton Schwinn[5]; 9. (DNF) T34-Christopher Roller[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Ashton Schwinn[8]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[2]; 3. 4-Dawson Oelrich[1]; 4. 29-Kevin Bahr[4]; 5. T34-Christopher Roller[6]; 6. 99-Blake Erickson[5]; 7. 99JR-Brooke Erickson[3]; 8. 29J-Jayden Bahr[7]; 9. 26L-Lily Knute[9]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 57-Austin Carlson[2]; 2. 47-Dusty Caspers[4]; 3. 35B-Josh Berg[10]; 4. 21-Mason Smith[11]; 5. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[5]; 6. 11C-Chris Smeby[6]; 7. 9L-Landon Weeks[7]; 8. 38-Nate Zanter[13]; 9. 69ER-Shane Basina[8]; 10. 55-Aaron Bitker[14]; 11. 3-Kade Leeper[1]; 12. 52W-Austin Fencl[19]; 13. 62-Joshua Bitker[15]; 14. 18B-Alex Berg[12]; 15. 7-Jenny Smith[17]; 16. 70-Chris Dudley[22]; 17. 24-Dylan Helget[18]; 18. (DNF) 15-Caylyn Binkley[16]; 19. (DNF) 25-Billy Binkley[3]; 20. (DNF) 8-Karen Puschinsky[20]; 21. (DNS) 21X-Dustin Puffe; 22. (DNS) 86J-Jake Smith

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 9L-Landon Weeks[2]; 2. 47-Dusty Caspers[4]; 3. 69ER-Shane Basina[1]; 4. 35B-Josh Berg[8]; 5. 38-Nate Zanter[5]; 6. 15-Caylyn Binkley[7]; 7. 52W-Austin Fencl[3]; 8. 8-Karen Puschinsky[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Austin Carlson[1]; 2. 88B-Brandon Puschinsky[2]; 3. 25-Billy Binkley[6]; 4. 21-Mason Smith[3]; 5. 55-Aaron Bitker[5]; 6. 7-Jenny Smith[7]; 7. (DNF) 21X-Dustin Puffe[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 11C-Chris Smeby[1]; 2. 3-Kade Leeper[3]; 3. 86J-Jake Smith[4]; 4. 18B-Alex Berg[5]; 5. 62-Joshua Bitker[7]; 6. 24-Dylan Helget[2]; 7. 70-Chris Dudley[6]

WISSOTA Hornets:

A Feature (15 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[5]; 2. 9-Nick Ruzich[3]; 3. 81-Jerry Larson[2]; 4. 8X-Adam Kessler[9]; 5. 96-Trenton Beel[7]; 6. 34-Mark Gangl[8]; 7. 28R-Chad Reller[6]; 8. 72-Aiden Kessler[11]; 9. (DNF) 7G-Jayme Gordon[4]; 10. (DNF) 7M-Mateja Dreyer[10]; 11. (DNF) 0X-Dylan Black[1]; 12. (DNS) 27-Brady Fosso

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 96-Trenton Beel[2]; 2. 7G-Jayme Gordon[6]; 3. 34-Mark Gangl[3]; 4. 0X-Dylan Black[1]; 5. (DNF) 7M-Mateja Dreyer[5]; 6. (DNS) 27-Brady Fosso

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[1]; 2. 9-Nick Ruzich[3]; 3. 81-Jerry Larson[2]; 4. 28R-Chad Reller[6]; 5. 8X-Adam Kessler[5]; 6. (DNF) 72-Aiden Kessler[4]

Mini Stocks:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[3]; 2. 6-Conrad Schwinn[5]; 3. 90-Cory Nelson[8]; 4. 3-Jason Hunter[10]; 5. 115-Justin Honer[9]; 6. 72-William Foster[6]; 7. 26-Brooke McCann[13]; 8. 7-Karlie Feda[14]; 9. 5H-Ethan Hunter[11]; 10. 3E-Kurt Derby[12]; 11. (DNF) 77-Hayden Engen[4]; 12. (DNF) 14-Cooper Francis[7]; 13. (DQ) 19-Troy Foster[1]; 14. (DQ) 18-Ashton Schwinn[2]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Nick McCann[6]; 2. 77-Hayden Engen[1]; 3. 14-Cooper Francis[2]; 4. 18-Ashton Schwinn[5]; 5. 115-Justin Honer[7]; 6. 5H-Ethan Hunter[4]; 7. 26-Brooke McCann[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Conrad Schwinn[5]; 2. 90-Cory Nelson[2]; 3. 19-Troy Foster[3]; 4. 72-William Foster[6]; 5. 3-Jason Hunter[1]; 6. 3E-Kurt Derby[7]; 7. (DNS) 7-Karlie Feda