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Jenson, Smith & Thell thunder to MPH Invitational victories to cap 2025 season

By Meghan Diemel, ATD Editor

SAUK RAPIDS, MN (September 6) - The Speedway Motors MPH Invitational for WISSOTA Pure Stocks, Hornets and Mod Fours got underway Saturday night at Granite City Motor Park. When the final checkered flag waved, Keith Thell added another big title to his pile of career accolades in the Mod Fours, while Jake Smith topped the Pure Stock action. Anthony Jenson, in a heated battle for WISSOTA national points, took home the hardware in the Hornet feature.

In the WISSOTA Pure Stocks, Josh Berg and Smith led the field to the green flag. Smith was the early leader, pulling away from the field quickly as Austin Carlson moved into second, Berg was third, and Mason Smith and Dylan Helget held early top-five spots.

Jake Smith continued to add to his lead out front of the 25-lapper, with Carlson a little less than a second and a half behind. Berg held third, Mason Smith was fourth and Eric Crosby supplanted Helget for fifth with six laps scored.

Out front Jake Smith began to work his way through backmarkers before a caution fell for debris on the frontstretch.

Back under green, Jake Smith held command ahead of Carlson and Berg, while Mason Smith was passed by Crosby for fourth.

As the field fell in line, Carlson was all over the bumper of Smith for the lead with 10 laps in the books. Berg was under heavy pressure from Crosby for third, as George Richards appeared in the top five. Richards moved into fourth, with top-five runner Mason Smith leaving the track with mechanical issues with 13 laps to go. Three consecutive cautions kept the field at a standstill.

At the halfway point Jake Smith continued to hold the lead ahead of Carlson, Berg, Richards and Crosby. Carlson continued to work the bumper of Smith out front, as Crosby pulled off the track into the infield, boosting Austin Fencl into the top five.

With the lead in contention between Smith and Carlson, Berg and Richards fought for third. Smith hung on in the remaining laps to pick up the MPH victory, ahead of Carlson, Josh Berg, Richards and Alex Berg in the top five.

Tyler Larson and Rowan Tramm led the field of WISSOTA Mod Fours to the green flag, with Tramm the early leader by the slightest of margins. Thell powered into second in turns three and four past Larson, while Larson was under heavy pressure from Blake Hawker and Dustin Holtquist in the top five.

Tramm and Thell were side by side with four laps complete, and continued their side-by-side duel for a couple laps before Thell gained the lead down the backstretch with five laps scored - but a yellow for debris negated the move.

Back under green, Tramm couldn’t hold off the highside charge of Thell, as Thell again took the lead. Larson was third, but Holtquist was right alongside the No. 7L for the spot. Hawker was fifth with six laps scored. Hawker moved into third the next go-round, with the caution reappearing a lap later.

Thell moved away from the field on the following restart, but another caution regrouped the field for the fourth time in eight laps. Back under green, Tommy Pogones fell off the pace and dramatically slowed into turns three and four; the yellow fell but the call on the track was for debris on the frontstretch, and Pogones was given his spot back.

Thell pulled away once again when the race resumed, while Tramm was second ahead of Hawker and a side-by-side battle for fourth between Tyler Larson and Dustin Holtquist; Larson took the spot and moved by Hawker in the next turn for third. Hawker fought back for the spot, but settled into a contest for fourth with Holtquist. Another caution with 17 laps left on the board brought the field back together once again.

With the green back out over the field, Thell moved to a near 1-second lead out front, as Larson was second, Dustin Holtquist took third from Tramm and Pogones cracked the top five with 14 laps to go. A yellow fell three laps later for Brian Bruss spin.

Thell held command back under green, while Holtquist moved by Larson into second, Tramm was fourth and Bob Holtquist appeared in the top five. With five laps to go, Bob Holtquist spun by himself and another caution fell across the field.

As the field took the green once again, Thell shot out to a healthy lead ahead of Dustin Holtquist, with Larson in third. Jamie Flickinger moved into fourth while Tramm held fifth and the duo went back and forth for the spot with two to go. The field came to a halt yet again for a Gerrald Nohner spin with two laps to go.

Thell survived the final two laps - and another two cautions - to grab another season’s-end headlining victory, ahead of Larson, Dustin Holtquist, Flickinger and Hawker in the top five.

Adam Throener and Nikota Larson led the field of WISSOTA Hornets to the green for their feature. Throener was the early leader ahead of a side-by-side battle for second between Larson and Anthony Jenson; Jenson grabbed the spot and immediately pressured Throener for the lead. Jenson took it in the next turn, with Larson moving by Throener into second. Nick Ruzich and William Lange were early top-five runners. Scott Erickson moved into fourth - ahead of Lange - on the next go around as Ruzich fell back to sixth. A caution fell with six laps complete for Ruzich, who lost power down the frontstretch.

Following the restart Jenson held the lead, as Throener regained second from Larson. Lange was fourth and Russell Kiker, Jr. moved into the top five with 17 laps left on the board. Another wreck, this time along the frontstretch, regrouped the field under yellow.

Jenson’s gap on the field under green was nearly a second after the first lap, while Throener continued to lead Larson in second. Lange was fourth, and Kiker continued to hold fifth. Kiker took advantage of a three-wide bout with Larson and Lange for third, before Larson slowed with mechanical issues the next turn.

With 12 to go, the track was under green once more, with Jenson leading the way. Kiker grabbed second from Throener, but another yellow regrouped the field.

Jenson continued to lead with 10 laps to go following the restart, as Kiker held second ahead of a side-by-side battle for third between Throener and McKenna Folstad. Throener held off her efforts for several laps, as Folstad then fell back a bit and was off the pace with a tire leaving for greener pastures, and the field under yellow once again.

During the final six-lap sprint to the checkered flag, and one more caution, Jenson held strong out front for the MPH victory. Kiker was second, and Throener was third across the finish line. Post-tech, Throener was DQ’d for reasons not provided by press time, so Lange was elevated to a third-place finish. Twentieth-starter Adam VanDerostyne was fourth, and Josh Backstrom was fifth.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Mod Fours:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 00-Keith Thell[3]; 2. 7L-Tyler Larson[1]; 3. 5H-Dustin Holtquist[6]; 4. 16-Jamie Flickinger[9]; 5. 21-Blake Hawker[4]; 6. 5-Robert Holtquist[12]; 7. XL1-Andrew Funt[20]; 8. 44-Chad Erlandson[23]; 9. 21B-Matt Brenny[22]; 10. 41-Clint Jensen[10]; 11. 37-Dean Larson[15]; 12. 14T-Rowan Tramm[2]; 13. 25-Jordan Thayer[24]; 14. (DNF) 99-Blake Erickson[13]; 15. (DNF) N88-Gerrald Nohner[21]; 16. (DNF) 3-Josh Madson[16]; 17. (DNF) 22-Brian Bruss[11]; 18. (DNF) 18P-Tommy Pogones[5]; 19. (DNF) 18S-Ashton Schwinn[19]; 20. (DNF) 114-Khi Jackson[14]; 21. (DNF) M1-Mike Rau[17]; 22. (DNF) 6-Devin Wolter[7]; 23. (DNF) XL21-Chad Funt[8]; 24. (DNS) 9T-Thomas Burgard

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7L-Tyler Larson[4]; 2. 5H-Dustin Holtquist[3]; 3. 16-Jamie Flickinger[5]; 4. 6-Devin Wolter[8]; 5. 7-Rob Arlaud[1]; 6. 617-Patrick Specht[2]; 7. 30K-Keith Roush[6]; 8. 25-Jordan Thayer[10]; 9. N28-Hailey Nohner[9]; 10. 45H-Dilon Hardesty[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Blake Hawker[2]; 2. 00-Keith Thell[4]; 3. 5-Robert Holtquist[3]; 4. 37-Dean Larson[5]; 5. 9T-Thomas Burgard[1]; 6. XL1-Andrew Funt[7]; 7. 44-Chad Erlandson[6]; 8. 9C-Andrew Christenson[8]; 9. 99B-Brooke Erickson[9]; 10. 13A-Austin Goedker[10]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 18P-Tommy Pogones[10]; 2. 22-Brian Bruss[1]; 3. 99-Blake Erickson[3]; 4. 3-Josh Madson[2]; 5. N88-Gerrald Nohner[4]; 6. 102-Kyle Hardesty[5]; 7. 40-Jack Post[6]; 8. 21B-Matt Brenny[7]; 9. 02K-Bill Kuhrt[8]; 10. 4-Branden Torres[9]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 14T-Rowan Tramm[3]; 2. 41-Clint Jensen[2]; 3. XL21-Chad Funt[4]; 4. 114-Khi Jackson[5]; 5. 4T-Tristan Torres[6]; 6. M1-Mike Rau[7]; 7. T34-Christopher Roller[8]; 8. 63-Nicholas Foster[9]; 9. (DQ) 18S-Ashton Schwinn[1]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. M1-Mike Rau[3]; 2. 18S-Ashton Schwinn[12]; 3. N88-Gerrald Nohner[1]; 4. 44-Chad Erlandson[6]; 5. T34-Christopher Roller[5]; 6. 617-Patrick Specht[4]; 7. 99B-Brooke Erickson[9]; 8. 7-Rob Arlaud[2]; 9. 13A-Austin Goedker[11]; 10. 40-Jack Post[7]; 11. 02K-Bill Kuhrt[10]; 12. (DNF) 9C-Andrew Christenson[8]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 9T-Thomas Burgard[2]; 2. XL1-Andrew Funt[3]; 3. 21B-Matt Brenny[8]; 4. 25-Jordan Thayer[5]; 5. 63-Nicholas Foster[7]; 6. N28-Hailey Nohner[9]; 7. 4-Branden Torres[11]; 8. (DNF) 30K-Keith Roush[6]; 9. (DNF) 45H-Dilon Hardesty[10]; 10. (DNF) 102-Kyle Hardesty[4]; 11. (DNF) 4T-Tristan Torres[1]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 86J-Jake Smith[2]; 2. 57-Austin Carlson[3]; 3. 35B-Josh Berg[1]; 4. 5R-George Richards[12]; 5. 18B-Alex Berg[8]; 6. 52W-Austin Fencl[13]; 7. 3-Kade Leeper[9]; 8. 24-Dylan Helget[5]; 9. ONE5-Shane Basina[10]; 10. 13D-Dylan Elhardt[16]; 11. 56-Stephen Erickson[15]; 12. 47-Dusty Caspers[20]; 13. 11C-Chris Smeby[7]; 14. 44P-Peyton Swenson[17]; 15. 10A-Riley Ament[14]; 16. 925-Dnae Rose[19]; 17. (DNF) 7-Bob Klein[18]; 18. (DNF) 28-Eric Crosby[6]; 19. (DNF) 21-Mason Smith[4]; 20. (DNF) 00-Derek Ament[11]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 86J-Jake Smith[2]; 2. 28-Eric Crosby[1]; 3. 18B-Alex Berg[3]; 4. 11C-Chris Smeby[6]; 5. 5R-George Richards[7]; 6. 44P-Peyton Swenson[4]; 7. 7-Bob Klein[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Austin Carlson[2]; 2. 21-Mason Smith[4]; 3. 3-Kade Leeper[3]; 4. ONE5-Shane Basina[5]; 5. 52W-Austin Fencl[7]; 6. 13D-Dylan Elhardt[6]; 7. 925-Dnae Rose[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 35B-Josh Berg[3]; 2. 24-Dylan Helget[2]; 3. 00-Derek Ament[1]; 4. 10A-Riley Ament[4]; 5. 56-Stephen Erickson[5]; 6. (DNF) 47-Dusty Caspers[6]

WISSOTA Hornets:

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 23T-Anthony Jenson[3]; 2. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[8]; 3. 40L-William Lange[5]; 4. 3-Adam VanDerostyne[20]; 5. 19-Josh Backstrom[7]; 6. 3S-Scott Erickson[4]; 7. 21-Colton Lodermeier[14]; 8. 89-Randy Jacoboski[12]; 9. 24JR-Jada Lore[15]; 10. 43-Brandon Downs[24]; 11. 22-Matthew Dittman[11]; 12. 44-Brendan Bockwitz[17]; 13. (DNF) 29-Austin Jacobson[22]; 14. (DNF) 25K-McKenna Folstad[10]; 15. (DNF) 5T-Tristan Raths[16]; 16. (DNF) 57-Spencer Smith[18]; 17. (DNF) 42E-Eli Green[23]; 18. (DNF) 26N-Nikota Larson[2]; 19. (DNF) 27-Brady Fosso[19]; 20. (DNF) 275X-Travis Bruns[9]; 21. (DNF) 03-Christian Kast[13]; 22. (DNF) 9-Nick Ruzich[6]; 23. (DNS) 34-Selena Owen; 24. (DQ) 8X-Adam Throener[1]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13K-Russell Kiker Jr[1]; 2. 19-Josh Backstrom[4]; 3. 22-Matthew Dittman[5]; 4. 9-Nick Ruzich[9]; 5. 42E-Eli Green[6]; 6. 78-Zander Zuehlsdorff[7]; 7. 13X-Pat Hoecke[2]; 8. (DNF) 31-Zeb Graves[8]; 9. (DQ) 20-Christopher Winter Jr[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 3S-Scott Erickson[2]; 2. 25K-McKenna Folstad[3]; 3. 89-Randy Jacoboski[5]; 4. 275X-Travis Bruns[8]; 5. 34-Selena Owen[7]; 6. 555-Bradley Rossow[4]; 7. 35P-Tylar Pourrier[1]; 8. (DNF) 81-Nathan Smith[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 40L-William Lange[2]; 2. 21-Colton Lodermeier[1]; 3. 24JR-Jada Lore[4]; 4. 27-Brady Fosso[6]; 5. 47F-Raeann Hanson[3]; 6. 43-Brandon Downs[8]; 7. 87TJR-Paxton Tjaden[5]; 8. 19A-Alysha Christenson[7]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 23T-Anthony Jenson[3]; 2. 8X-Adam Throener[7]; 3. 5T-Tristan Raths[4]; 4. 44-Brendan Bockwitz[5]; 5. 22A-Austin Raths[2]; 6. 40-Max Post[6]; 7. (DNF) 45JH-Dannie Burkholder[1]; 8. (DNF) 95-Brett Moffenbier[8]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 26N-Nikota Larson[4]; 2. 03-Christian Kast[2]; 3. 3-Adam VanDerostyne[1]; 4. 29-Austin Jacobson[3]; 5. 57-Spencer Smith[8]; 6. (DNF) 26-Braxton Schmitz[5]; 7. (DNF) 71X-Adam Castle[6]; 8. (DNF) 32-Bailey Johnson[7]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 44-Brendan Bockwitz[2]; 2. 27-Brady Fosso[1]; 3. 34-Selena Owen[3]; 4. 42E-Eli Green[4]; 5. 555-Bradley Rossow[7]; 6. 78-Zander Zuehlsdorff[5]; 7. 71X-Adam Castle[10]; 8. 35P-Tylar Pourrier[9]; 9. 22A-Austin Raths[6]; 10. 13X-Pat Hoecke[8]; 11. (DNS) 95-Brett Moffenbier; 12. (DNS) 45JH-Dannie Burkholder; 13. (DNS) 20-Christopher Winter Jr

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 57-Spencer Smith[1]; 2. 3-Adam VanDerostyne[2]; 3. 29-Austin Jacobson[3]; 4. 43-Brandon Downs[4]; 5. 47F-Raeann Hanson[5]; 6. 87TJR-Paxton Tjaden[7]; 7. 26-Braxton Schmitz[9]; 8. 40-Max Post[6]; 9. 19A-Alysha Christenson[8]; 10. (DNF) 31-Zeb Graves[10]; 11. (DNF) 32-Bailey Johnson[11]; 12. (DNF) 81-Nathan Smith[12]