Eisenschenk wins IMCA Sprint special at Sheyenne; Kukowski, Alex Langland, Greseth highlight victors
- tombergie01
- Jul 10
- 7 min read
Sheyenne Speedway held its third night of the season on Thursday, highlighted by a $1,200 to win Superior Customs IMCA RaceSaver main event. Car counts were pretty solid in the INEX Legends, Wissota Midwest Modifieds and Gen X Late Models but a little thin in the Wissota Streets and Mini Stocks.
I think Sheyenne management would be happy with 13 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint cars on hand, considering the class doesn’t run weekly there. Two cars from Nebraska pulled in – Monty Ferriera of Lincoln and Tanner Anderson of Wynot – along with Dylan Waxdahl of Hartford, S.D. The RaceSaver sprints will run at River Cities on Friday with Red River Valley Speedway off, giving those drivers a second night in the area to make the long trek worthwhile. They pile in the numbers in the class at I-90 Speedway near Hartford, S.D., on Saturdays and at historic Huset’s Speedway on Sundays.
I’ve said this before, but Thursday night tracks face challenges when it comes to pulling in cars and fans. With many people working on Friday, starting on time is crucial and doing everything to keep the show moving along, to me as a fan, is important. KRA Speedway, Grand Rapids Speedway, Victory Lane Speedway near Winnipeg and Norman County Raceway in Ada all run Thursdays and face the same issue. One downside of sprint cars is they tend to lengthen a racing program – there require hot laps prior plus the push starting takes time, at the beginning of the race and if there is a red flag. But I think fans in Lisbon were happy to see the sprints in town for their only appearance in 2025.
This was a fast track with some character and you had to be on your game to win features.
In the IMCA Sprint feature, Monty Ferriera grabbed the lead over Laela Eisenschenk of Fargo, but the caution came out quickly as Ty Hanten’s 13 machine stalled in turn two. His night was over as he would require a push to the pits.
Ferriera built a .736 second advantage on Laela Eisenschenk with Tanner Anderson running third and As Ferriera encountered lapped traffic Laela Eisenschenk made a big move for the lead up front to grab the top spot.
A lapped car slowed Laela Eisenschenk but once she cleared that, she would open some breathing room on Ferriera. Anderson was third, Amelia Eisenschenk was running a solid fourth and Waxdahl in fifth.
Laela Eisenschenk would prevail by 1.1 seconds over Ferreira to pick up the $1,200 win, her fourth IMCA sprint victory of 2025. Ferreira was second, Anderson third, Amelia Eisenschenk fourth and Waxdahl was fifth.
Dusty Mund of Lisbon and Clay Smith of Wahpeton had the front row for the INEX Legends feature. Mund grabbed the lead with Alex Kukowski of Edgeley moving into second.
Smith and Scott Richardson of Pelican Rapids were fighting for third with Brian Frederick of Gwinner closing on that group.
Kukowski was mounting a major challenge to Mund for the top spot, and when Mund slid high off the backstretch, that opened the door for a lead change. Jeremy Meyer’s spin with 11 to go brought out the first caution.
On the restart Mund and Smith were on Kukowski’s bumper with Richardson and Frederick looking to move up. Kukowski would open a big advantage up front, climbing to a 2.8 second lead with five to go.
Mund had pressure from Smith while Machart and Richardson were joined by young Regan Reinke of Lisbon in a fierce fight for the fourth spot.
Kukowski turned the race into a rout, winning by a comfortable 4.2 seconds. Mund held off a charging Machart for second. Smith was a solid fourth with Reinke edging Richardson for fifth. The Legends did a nice job with only one caution.
The Ford-powered Langland brothers – Kyle and Alex of Enderlin – led the 15-car Wissota Midwest Modified feature to the green. It would prove to be a good night for that family.
Alex Langland would grab the lead with Zach Reinke of Lisbon moving into second and Kyle Langland in third.
Ryan Ost moved into fourth and Kyle Anderson of Jamestown moved into fifth ahead of Jaren Wibstad, who started 11th but climbed to sixth.
Alex Langland’s lead grew to 1.2 seconds over Reinke with Kyle Langland solidly in third ahead of Ost. Reinke, meanwhile cut Alex Langland’s lead to under a half-second with seven to go when the first caution waved for Todd Wallner, who had a rough night with infield tires and the last hit left him with front end damage that required the hook.
On the restart Reinke chose the outside but fell back as Kyle Langland climbed back to second. Anderson also got by Zach Reinke for third with Nate Reinke of Lisbon moving past Ost for fourth.
Alex Langland had about 4-5 car lengths on his brother as Anderson pressured Kyle Langland for second. Kyle Langland cut the gap late but Alex Langland held on for his first feature win since 2021. For context, though, Alex Langland has scaled back his racing in recent years; he did not race last year and only ran three shows in 2023. Kyle Langland’s runner-up finish was his best of 2025.
Jayden Michaelsohn of Aberdeen led the seven-car Wissota Street Stok field early as Kasey Ussatis of Nome and Cole Greseth of Harwood pressured him. Jayden Bogh of Huron, a first-time visitor, was also in the hunt.
Greseth got the 19 car to stick on the bottom and would pass Michaelsohn with 11 to go. The race turned into a battle for second as Ussatis and Michaelsohn raced side-by-side for second.
Greseth was cruising out front, building the lead to 4.4 seconds as it turned into a runaway.
Ussatis would pass Michaelsohn for second after a hard-fought duel for the spot.
Greseth captured his 12th win of the season – and his first at Sheyenne since 2021 – by 5.1 seconds. Ussatis was second while Bogh edged Michaelsohn for third. Ryan Mund of Milnor rounded out the top five in a caution-free race that lasted less than five minutes.
Alex Tschakert of Kent, who picked up his first career feature win at I-94 EMR Speedway in June, looked to make an early charge but something broke in the front suspension on the first lap and he would leave on the hook.
Andrew Tysdal of Fergus Falls over Kevin Youngquist of Barney. Mike Anderson of Walcott was third with Jeff Nelson of Perham running fourth ahead of Parker Gilbertson of Montevideo, who started in eighth.
Just four laps into the feature, Tysdal lost a drive shaft to end his night and his hopes for a first feature win of 2025.
Youngquist, looking for his first Gen X Late Model win, would inherit the top spot over Anderson. Anderson would make the move into the lead with 14 to go as Gilbertson moved past Youngquist for second.
Parker Gilbertson took advantage of a slipup by Anderson to grab the lead and was simply in his own area code after that. Trevor Walsh of Watertown, who was a DNF in the heat and started in the back, had moved into fourth and was pressuring Nelson.
Anderson would fall back outside the top five.
Gilbertson, meanwhile was destroying the field up front. His lead was up to 8.4 seconds at the checkered in a thoroughly dominant victory, his first of his career. Gilbertson is the 15-year-old son of long-time Montevideo-area racer Matt Gilbertson and will remember his first victory came by more than eight seconds. That’s something never to forget.
Nelson, the opening night winner at Sheyenne, finished second with Walsh close behind in third. Jarrett Huus of Fergus Falls had a solid run to finish fourth with Youngquist recording his second top five of the year in fifth.
Only five mini stocks were on hand with Brayden Mund leading the first lap. Hunter Goulet of Fargo quickly moved to third and set his sights on Dale Mittleider as Chandler Dick was close behind.
Mund built a two-second lead on Goulet who had worked past Mittleider for second. Mund extended his advantage to 2.8 seconds with 10 to go as the field got pretty spread out. Dick and Mittleider had a good battle for third.
Mund’s lead grew to more than four seconds with five to go as Dick captured the third spot. Mund would win by 3.4 seconds over Goulet. Chandler Dick finished third with Mittleider and Pokey Lukes of Lisbon rounding out the top five.
Sheyenne notes
--The Eisenschenk twins, nieces of WOO sprint star Donny Schatz, have been very busy this summer. They’ve raced IMCA sprints, NOSA 410 Sprints and late models this summer.
--Two sets of brothers finished in the top five of the Wissota Midwest Modified feature -- Alex and Kyle Langland and Nate and Zach Reinke.
--Kyle Schell of Aberdeen made his season debut in the Wissota Midwest Modifieds. Schell formerly owned the Pizza Ranch in Lisbon but now owns the one in Aberdeen. Schell won his heat race in his return to his hometown but was a DNF in the feature.
Thursday notes
--Keith Tourville of Janesville topped Justin Vogel of Brooten for the Wissota Street Stock feature win Thursday at KRA Speedway in Willmar. Zach Flickinger of Madison was third, Trey Hess of Grand Forks fourth and Joe Martin of Willmar fifth.
Brian Haben of Holloway topped Don Eischens of Richmond for the Wissota Modified feature win. Ryan Flaten of Madison was third, and Justin VanEps of Kandiyohi was fourth.
Jason Vetjruba of Lake Lillian topped Ryan Flaten of Madison for the Wissota Midwest Modified feature win. Justin Bjorklund of Sacred Heart was third and Tim Kanten of Milan fourth.
Tyler Larson of Willmar won the Wissota Mod 4 feature over his dad Dean. Blake Hawker of Rice was third. Defending national champion Dexton Koch of Becker won the Wissota Super Stock feature.
--Norman County Raceway had the night off and will resume next Thursday with a sprint-car show.
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