By: Tami Jo Kuehn
Princeton, MN (July 5) – 95 drivers signed in Friday night for some WISSOTA Dirt Track race action on the 7th Annual Bill Siercks Memorial at the Princeton Speedway. The night featured all six of our regular classes and the WISSOTA Super Stocks were finally able to complete their feature event from May 17th. Joey Jensen claimed the make-up win, while Shane Sabraski took two wins and Branon Nyberg, Kye Howland, Josh Litzau and Ben Lewis also earned trophies.
The WISSOTA Super Stocks ran their make-up feature early in the night as drivers lined up to finish out their 14 laps. Joey Jensen brought the Supers to the green with Dustin Nelson and Dexton Koch in tow. Koch grabbed second and chased after Jensen as the top two drivers separated from the field. The race went by quickly without incident, and Joey Jensen took the win with Dexton Koch, Dustin Nelson, Shane Sabraski and Dylan Nelson grabbing points two through five.
The WISSOTA Street Stocks were first up for the night’s regular features, and a caution was triggered just as the green flew. The field was reset, and Tommy Pogones took the early lead with Jeff Ekdahl keeping close to the #04. Kyle Howland made his way into top points and raced alongside Ekdahl for second while Pogones stretched his lead. Howland broke away from Ekdahl and chased after Pogones as the top three drivers separated from the field. One final caution slowed the drivers, and when the green waved, Howland, Pogones and Ekdahl were three-wide. Howland pulled ahead, and with a couple laps to go, Kyle Howland took the checkers. Remaining top points went to Jeff Ekdahl, Tommy Pogones, Hunter VanGilder and Rachel Boston.
A stellar group of WISSOTA Mod Fours filled the track surface with Blake Hawker and Robert Holtquist leading the drivers to green. A caution soon followed the green and drivers were sorted with Holtquist alone in front. Drivers raced three-wide as they battled for points and Ashton Schwinn moved into second. The top two racers pulled away from traffic until the yellow waved. As the race resumed, Holtquist stretched his lead with Gerald Nohner, Dustin Holtquist and Josh Litzau racing close for second. Nohner fell to fourth while Litzau and D. Holtquist remained side by side until D. Holtquist slid over the track edge and Litzau secured second. With two laps to go, Robert Holtquist’s tire went flat and he spun to the infield allowing Litzau to assume the lead. Josh Litzau held the point the final lap and put his #8R into victory lane. Gerald Nohner, Dustin Holtquist, Jordan Fischer and Alexander McFarlen rounded out the top points.
The WISSOTA Modifieds took the clay for the next race event with Tim Patchen and Kyle Kirberger on row one. Drivers remained side by side and door to door the opening laps with battles remaining close for points. A quick caution reset the field, and Shane Sabraski claimed first when the green waved. Drivers were three and nearly four-wide for points as Sabraski stretched his lead. Patchen, Clayton Wagamon and Travis Schulte went three-wide for third as Dave Cain patiently waited to make a move. Zach Benson sat comfortably in second with intense battles to his rear. Drivers settled into positions with five laps to go, while Sabraski prepared to lap the back of the pack. The margin of difference between Sabraski and remaining drivers was 6.33 seconds when Shane Sabraski grabbed the win. Zach Benson finished second with JT Johnson, Dave Cain and Travis Schulte in the top five.
The main event of the night lined up with the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds racing the Bill Siercks Memorial race. Adam Bohlman and Ben Lewis sat on row one and brought the stacked field to green. Bohlman sped off with the lead, Lewis held second, and Joey Jensen slid into third as the opening laps clicked by. The top five drivers separated from the field while Jensen and Lewis fought for second. Jensen took the point and worked the track grooves to get around Bohlman and was successful in his mission. Jason VandeKamp dropped low on the track and worked his way alongside Bohlman for second with Lewis close by. They soon raced three-wide for second as a caution was triggered. As the race resumed, Jensen felt the heat of VandeKamp and Lewis when Lewis dropped low on the track and slid up to steal the top point from Jensen. Jensen raced back to Lewis’ door and the top two drivers repeated these steps until Lewis secured the point. The yellow lights flipped on a final time with two laps to go, and when the race resumed, Lewis, Jensen and VandeKamp were three-wide for first. The top three remained close the final laps, but Ben Lewis held his line and took the win. Joey Jensen, Jason VandeKamp, Ryan Putnam and Cole Boston earned points two through five.
Kris Peterson and Dylan Nelson led the field of WISSOTA Super Stocks to the green and after a quick caution, Dylan Nelson claimed the lead. Dustin Nelson and Kris Peterson fought for second as Andrew Johnson and Shane Sabraski waited to make a move. Sabraski swerved his way into second just as the yellow waved. Dylan Nelson remained in command on the restart, but Sabraski raced to his side and soon took the lead. A few back-to-back cautions kept the Supers at a slow pace, and when the checkers finally flew, Shane Sabraski not only took the win, but earned his 900th win! Remaining top points went to Dylan Nelson, Dustin Nelson, Austin Niemeyer and Andrew Johnson.
The WISSOTA Hornets closed out the night with eight drivers taking the green. Colton Trembath and Josh Backstrom lined the first row and sped off when the green waved. Trembath took the lead with Backstrom in second and Brandon Nyberg in third. Nyberg and Backstrom prepped to take the doors of Trembath as Nyberg snuck by with the lead. Jenna Hagemann made her way to second as a yellow was triggered with two laps to go. Brandon Nyberg led the final laps and took the win with Jenna Hagemann, Anthony Jensen, Josh Backstrom and Payson Patrin as the top finishers.
The Princeton Speedway will be off next week as the Ogilvie Raceway hosts Mod Wars, but we will be back on Friday July 19th for a night of WISSOTA Dirt Track Race action. Racing will resume at 7:00pm.