Dykhoff, Reinke, Gilbertson win I-94 EMR features on rain-shortened evening

I-94 EMR Speedway kicked off the 2026 season with 125 cars on hand. The weather did not deal I-94 an ideal hand – a gusty northwest wind was present throughout the evening, and rain would eventually become a factor to shorten the night.

The Wissota Modified feature got about four laps in with Tyler Peterson of Hickson (TPO) leading Talan Thoennes of Nelson for the top pot before the rain started to fall. The Wissota Modified, Wissota Late Model and Wissota Hornet features will be made up at a later date, check the I-94 EMR Facebook page for updates on those makeup dates.

It’s the first night for the track but also the first night out for many drivers, and while there were a good share of cautions in the Gen  X and Wissota Midwest Modified main events, I have to remember there are going to be hiccups for everyone early in the year.

New owner James Trantina spoke at the pit meeting; this is a transition year in terms of ownership at I-94. Don Shaw and Deb Engfer will co-promote this year and the schedule will stay the same but Trantina said he will be at the track several times this summer.

Three features did get completed – Wissota Street Stock, Wissota Midwest Modified and Scott’s Gen X Late Model before a fast-moving rain storm arrived from the northwest.

Kyle Dykhoff of Starbuck has started three Wissota Street Stock features this season – and has won all three, including another solid win on Friday at I-94. The driver he topped, Cole Greseth of Harwood, was also unbeaten entering the night with two wins.  Those two drivers shared the front row of the 11-car main event.

Dykhoff took the lead over Greseth with Weston Ramsrud of Bagley and Jeff Ekdahl of North Branch fought for third. Former Viking Speedway track  champion, Mark Blom of Glenwood, making his comeback in 2026,  Brayden Fleck of Cold Spring was fifth ahead of Tony Miller of Browns Valley.

Dykhoff’s lead stayed at about one second over Greseth who had some breathing room on third-place Ekdahl. The race went green to checkered and lasted about five minutes as Dykhoff remained unbeaten on the year.  Dykhoff has won at Fiesta City and Ogilvie in addition to the win at I-94.

Ekdahl closed the gap considerably on Greseth but fell short in the battle for second at the finish line. Ramsrud was solid in fourth and Fleck topped Miller for fifth.

I expect we will see Dykhoff and Greseth in the hunt for national points later this summer. Greseth is the defending national runner-up while Dykhoff is the defending Dirt Race Central Street Stock Tour champion.

The Wissota Midwest Modified feature was in stock contrast to the quick street stock main event.  I cringed a little when I saw 28 cars take the track for the Wissota Midwest Modified feature, fearing a lot of cautions. Turns out that’s exactly what happened but not unexpected on opening night. Only 11 of the 28 cars would finish.

When there was racing, it was a good duel up front between Nate Reinke of Lisbon and  Jake Smith of St. Joseph.

Smith stormed out front of the feature with Corey Storck of Dilworth and Taylor Bitzan of Brandon in a fight for second. The ageless Ron Saurer, 73 in his 53^rd year of racing, was in a fight with Eric Gadach of New Richmond for fourth ahead of Reinke, a former I-94 champion.

The caution waved for a spin in turn one with 16 to go, a two-second lead for Smith. On the restart Reinke charged to fourth and was working on Taylor Bitzan with Tyler Bitzan running fifth ahead of Cole Neset of Fargo. Tyler Bitzan would get sideways and lose some ground, moving Neset to fifth. Tony Arneson spun in turn three to bring out caution #2.

On the restart Reinke made a charge on the low side of Smith to take the lead when the third caution waved when Arneson spun again.

Smith went to work on Reinke for the top spot with Taylor Bitzan hanging around the top two.

Neset was having a good run in the top five and looked poised for a top five finish but would pull off with about five to go. Neset, by the way is one of a handful of Mopar-powered mid mods.  I didn’t see what happened to Storck but he would pull off, also ending a top five finish.

Smith was diligent in his pursuit of Reinke and took a peek on the final lap but couldn’t make a pass as Reiinke prevailed. Reinke, who missed the last half of 2025 with a broken foot, was the 2024 I-94 champion and clearly has figured the 3/8-mile out. Smith, strong wherever he unloads, finished a solid second.

Canadian Memphis Klassen ran in or near the top five much of the night, and would capture third after starting sixth. Taylor Bitzan capped off a good night in fourth. Watertown driver Tommy Nichols also made a good run through the field, going from 11^th to fifth. Young Noah McFarlane, only 13, went from 15^th to sixth.

The feature ran more than 27 minutes. There are some very inexperienced drivers in the class who really need laps and seat time and maybe getting that time in a B feature would be more beneficial for them instead of in a field of 28 cars.

The Scott’s Gen X Late Models were up next and again had some issues with cautions, including two before the first lap was even completed. After the cautions shuffled the lineup at the beginning of the race, Ben Wolden of Fergus Falls, the all-time Gen X Late Model winner at I-94, would grab the top spot but had some heat from Laela Eisenschenk of Fargo as Parker Gilbertson of Watson moved into third, ahead of defending I-94 champion Trevor Walsh of Watertown. The third caution of the race waved for a spin in turn four.

Wolden pulled away on the restart with Eisenschenk settling into second and Gilbertson in third. Walsh and Tony Croninger of Watertown dueling for fourth. Wolden was starting to catch lapped traffic and Eisenschenk closed the gap when another caution flew for Cade Skytland’s spin in turn three and four.

Wolden’s new challenger on the restart was Gilbertson and the two fought hard side by side for the lead. Gilbertson would take the top spot as Wolden was fighting for Walsh for second. Blake Swenson of Watertown had worked into the top five.

Gilbertson pulled away Wolden on his way to the win. Gilbertson’s dad, Matt, is a long-time top gun down at Fiesta City Speedway. Wolden held off Walsh for second with Eisenschenk and Swenson rounding out the top five.

There were 17 Wissota Mods on hand and it was a stacked field and it’s dcfunfortunate the rain came when it did.

I-94 notes

--The Eisenschenk twins, Laela and Amelia, each won their heat races in the Wissota Late Models. Shane Sabraski of Rice won the other heat.

--TPO and Dusty Bitzan of Brandon won modified heats, while Wissota Hornet heats were won by Jeff Rohner of Willmar, Chase Pourrier of Fergus Falls and Chase Golliet of Fargo. I normally don’t mention heat races but since the features were rained out, what the heck.

--I visited with Chris Mensen of Carlos, who has put together two late models for 2026. Josh Thoennes of Nelson, the long-time modified pilot, drove the #51 machine. Here’s hoping Mensen has some better luck on the track this summer.

--Derek Quinn of Brandon appeared to lose a motor in his Gen X Late Model heat, ending his night early.

--Onyx Johnson of Lowry, son of long-time driver Zach Johnson, has moved from the Wissota Midwest Modified class to the Wissota Late Models.

--There were several double-duty drivers Friday: Travis Saurer (mod and late model), Laela Eisenschenk (Gen X and late), Shane Sabraski (mod and late model), Tyler Peterson (mod and late model), Jonathan Olmscheid (mod and Gen X), Josh Thoennes (mod and late).

Friday notes

--Maria Broksieck of Goodwin won the Wissota Street Stock feature Friday at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen. Lucas Rodin of Marion won the Wissota Modified main event while Dusty Mund of Lisbon won the INEX Legends feature.

--Andrew Jochim of Harwood was second in the IMCA Stock Car feature Friday night at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan.

--Morgan Grosz of Watertown won the Wissota Late Model feature Friday night at Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo.