The Dirt Race Central Street Stock Tour was the highlight at I-94 EMR Speedway’s show on Friday. A huge 136-car field was on hand on a very nice, calm June evening.
I-94 has become a track with several big weekends this season. You have the prelude to the King of the Dirt and King of the Dirt weekend in June which attracted a boatload of cars; this weekend with the Street Stock tour and the big World of Outlaw Late Model event on Saturday; and of course, the four-day Wissota 100 in September. The turnout on Friday was excellent except for the super stocks, but that is a class I-94 does not race weekly.
The Wissota Street Stock, Wissota Midwest Modified and Wissota Modified fields were completely stacked with talent – and depth. The Wissota Mods will run for $1,200 to win on Saturday on Viking and I would expect a few of those cars from out the year to be there since I-94 doesn’t run them on Saturday as part of the World of Outlaws Late Model show.
One thing I-94 announced recently is a bump in winning pay. It is now $750 to win the Wissota Mods, $450 to win the Gen X Late Models and the Midwest Modifieds, $400 to win the street stocks and $150 to win the Short Trackers. That is very good pay to win in my opinion and should help I-94 attract more cars to regular weekly racing.
The 26-car Wissota Street Stock feature – out of a field of 37 – was led by Zachary Flickinger of Willmar and Jaden Christ of Jamestown in what was a very deep field. They didn’t make it through the first corner as a multi-car incident took place. Young Levi Randt of Siren, Wis., was pushed off with an issue at that time.
The Wolverine Justin Vogel of Brooten, coming off an impressive win at Sheyenne on Thursday, wasted no time getting into the lead. He started fourth but got to the front by the end of the first lap. Christ settled into second ahead of Eric Riley of Morris.
Flickinger had Nick Traynor of Rice Lake, Wis., who has two tour wins this season, had worked into the top five. A spin in turn four would bring out the caution with 18 to go.
Traynor was the car I was watching, as Kyle Genett of Auburndale, Wis., was also on the move into the top five after starting 12th.
Christ slid high in turns three and four and scarped the wall, and that allowed Riley to take over second and Traynor to take over third. Genett was into fourth as Anderson worked on Christ for fifth.
Vogel opened up a commanding 2.3 second lead on second. With 14 to go Traynor cleared Riley for second but was facing a huge deficit. Genett was locked in a fight with Riley for third.
Vogel was running up high with Traynor stuck to the bottom. Riley had a mechanical issue and would slow and eventually stall in turn three; he would leave on the hook, ending a potential top five run. Vogel did not want to see that yellow as a 2.3 second lead was wiped out with 10 to go.
The restart brought Genett and Traynor to Vogel’s bumper. Those two would fight for second as Vogel had a few car length lead. Traynor would get into second and was trying desperately to make the lower line work to catch Vogel. Anderson was running a strong fourth. One car on the move was Andrew Hanson of Iron River, Wis., who started 10th but had worked to fifth.
A spin with five to go wiped out a bit of an advantage for Vogel, and ultimately would turn the tide of the race.
Traynor and Vogel put on a heck of a show for the lead over the final five laps. Traynor, who started seventh, got an excellent restart on the final one of the race with five to go and that may have been the difference. He would make a great run on the bottom of turns one and two while Vogel would surge back on the outside. They would trade the lead several times over the final laps as Genett was lurking close.
Also on the move was Jim Gullikson of Nowthen, who started way back in 22nd but had climbed to the top five. Gullikson is no slouch and a long-time strong veteran in the streets.
Traynor -- a two-time winner of the Little Dream at Rice Lake -- won the duel with Vogel by .174 seconds in a thrilling finish. Genett went from 12th to third. Gullikson went from 22nd to fourth. Wisconsin driver Jeff Nowak also made a big run through the field, going from 20th to fifth. Gullikson was the Hard Charger. There were so many good cars and if you made your way through the field, you earned your finishes. It was a tremendous race.
Dylan Nelson of Merrifield took the early lead in the Wissota Super Stock feature as Matt Sparby of Bemidji and William Lund of Brandon battled for second. The always-fast Trevor Nelson of Warner, S.D., moved into fourth and soon was working on Sparby for third.
The caution would wave as Sparby and Trevor Nelson got together in turn four; Nelson was sent to the tail. On the restart, Lund was in second as Dylan Nelson maintained the lead. Jack Koranda of Bluffton moved into fourth.
Dylan Nelson slid up high in turn two and Lund made a surge to pull beside down the backstretch. Dylan Nelson would weather that storm but it turned into a great duel up front. Sparby and Trevor Nelson went at it hard for third with Koranda close by.
With four to go Trevor Nelson cleared Sparby for third but faced a straightaway deficit on the top two. William Lund would close the gap in turns one and two, but Dylan Nelson was quick on the exit and would open a few car lengths. By the checkered Dylan Nelson, who was the 2022 track champion at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, would open a 1.5 second margin on Lund for the win. Trevor Nelson was third, Koranda was fourth and Andrew Johnson of Brainerd rounded out the top five. Andrew Johnson’s dad, Tim, won a ton of races at I-94 in the supers and streets.
The Wissota Midwest Modified feature had 24 cars on hand and Shane Howell of Buffalo would jump out to the early lead. Jaren Wibstad of Jamestown, who won Thursday at Sheyenne Speedway, was battling with Ron Saurer of Dalton for second. Lucas Rodin of Marion and Mike Nichols of Watertown were closing on those two. Corey Storck of Morris and Nate Reinke of Lisbon were fighting for sixth.
The caution would wave as a few cars spun in turns one and two with 14 to go. ON the restart Wibstad took a peak under Howell, but the L1 would pull away. Soon, Rodin, a former national champion, had moved into second on the bottom and started to close on Howell.
Wibstad, Storck and Nichols were now in a fight for third; Storck would move into third with 10 to go as the 57 car was on the charge.
Rodin stayed close to Howell as Storck was closing in on the top two. Nichols got by Wibstad for fourth.
Storck was making the low line work – extremely well – and would take the lead briefly with five to go. It turned into a fierce duel up front between Howell and Storck for a couple of laps; but Storck would clear Howell and pull away late. Rodin soon challenged Howell for second with Nichols closing on the bottom.
Storck’s margin of victory was 1.672 seconds in what was his fifth win of the season. It was a big win for Storck, who started 11th and was extremely impressive working through the field. Howell held on for second with Rodin and Nichols close behind. Wibstad rounded out the top five. The track was fantastic for the Wissota Midwest Modifieds with racing throughout the field, and only one caution flag. They did a nice job with 23 of the 24 cars finishing. Some nights they have a lot of issues at I-94, but they raced extremely well on Friday.
There were 14 Gen X Late Models on hand and Bodie Croninger of Watertown took the early lead. Andrew Tysdahl of Fergus Falls was in third. The caution would wave four laps into the race for Kevin Youngquist’s spin in turn two; he would get pushed in.
ON the ensuing restart, Croninger and Derek Quinn got together and that led to a multi-car mess on the frontstretch. Ben Wolden of Fergus Falls, who has won every Gen X late model championship at I-94, was also involved along with Dave Mass of East Bethel. Croninger would leave on the hook while everyone else continued; it looked much worse than that initially. Mass did suffer a flat and had it changed and returned at the rear of the field.
Quinn got a good restart and went to the bottom as Wolden went up high. Tysdal was running well in third ahead of Scott Zimmerman of Rothsay, who won his first career feature last week. Another spin with seven to go brought out the caution.
Brad Staples of Herman started 11th, but thanks to patience and cautions, had worked up to third behind Wolden. Quinn would open a few car lengths on Wolden on the next restart.
Staples found something on the high line and would make a massive charge on the outside of Wolden for second and quickly caught Quinn for the lead with five to go. Staples flew by for the lead and went on open a straightaway lead on second in a big-time display of speed. Staples would win by three seconds for his third victory of 2023; Quinn was second, Wolden third, and Mass, who had gone to the rear after changing a tire, worked back to fourth. Tysdal capped off a good run in fifth.
A terrific 26-car Wissota Mod field was on hand with Avery Anderson and the MIllenial Farmer Zach Johnson leading the field. Unfortunately, things didn’t get off to a smooth start as Anderson spun in turns one and two. Two-time national champion Tyler Peterson of Hickson was involved after some contact, and would pull in, I was expecting the 1TPO to contend.
Brendan Blascyk of Hoffman started third but surged on the restart on the outside of Johnson to take the lead. Joseph Thomas of Fargo, who started ninth and is having a breakout season, had worked to third with Brady Gerdes of Villard moving into fourth.
Blascyk was flying around the outside but got into lapped traffic, allowing Johnson and Thomas to close a little. But once those cars were cleared, Blascyk re-established some breathing room.
The top five, which included Eric Lamm of Zimmerman, got spread out until a caution waved when Nate Heinrich’s 10H car stalled at the top of turn four. Heinrich had front-end damage and left on the hook.
Thomas moved into second as Johnson slid high in turns three and four. Gerdes would take over third. Thomas, meanwhile, was closing on Blascyk and was within a car length with two to go. Gerdes, running down low, closed in.
Thomas made one last charge on the bottom of turns three and four, but Blascyk had the momentum to take his first Wissota Modified win of his career. He won numerous features in the Wissota Midwest Modifieds but this was his first A mod win. Thomas settled for second, Gerdes was third, Johnson was fourth and Lamm capped off a good run with a fifth-place finish.
The 14-car Short Tracker feature capped off a full night of racing. Brady Molter of Rothsay was the early leader, but with nine to go Matthew Dittman of Willmar surged into the lead with nine to go.
Molter would face a challenge from Cameron Haas of Fergus Falls for second. Defending I-94 champion Shawn Beto of Wahpeton and Peter Martin of Willmar were also running in the top five.
Dittman reestablished the lead with Molter, opening some distance for second. Haas and Beto were dueling for third with Martin and Kevin Wahl of Fergus Falls giving chase.
Dittman was on cruise control and picked up the win with Molter running a strong second. Beto edged Haas for third with Martin rounding out the top five.
I-94 notes
I was visiting with Cole Neset of Fargo, who races the No. 30 Wissota Midwest Modified, before the night. We had talked about just making the show being a big deal when there are 38 cars on hand. His goal was to avoid running a B main after starting sixth in his heat. By moving up to fourth he did just that. Making the show, on nights like that, is a big challenge.
Tanner Bitzan of Brandon made quite a comeback in the Wissota Midwest Modifieds. He was a DNF in his heat, meaning he had to start seventh in the second B main. He worked up to third and made a late pass of Terry Reilly of Watertown to secure second, which was the final transfer spot.
I was joking with Kyle Dykhoff of Starbuck a while back that his retirement wouldn’t last long. The 2022 Wissota Street Stock national champion planned to take a break this season after the grind of racing 3-4 nights a week for national points last year. Well, he was back with a different car on Friday, which was his first time out this season. He went with a black, white and red look this year and it’s sharp.
There were quite a few 17 and under drivers in the Wissota Midwest Modified class in attendance on Friday. That includes Onyx Johnson of Lowry (13 years old), Ethan Dutchak of Prescott Wis., (12), Cole Boston of Lindstrom (17), Landyn Randt of Siren, Wis. (16), Tucker Tschakert of Kent (17) and Tayten Blascyk of Kensington (17). Landyn RAndt is a former Wissota Mod 4 driver.
--Speaking of Tucker Tschakert, he had a career-best second place finish at the Sanders Sport Mod Shootout at Red River Valley Speedway on Thursday, finishing second to Rich Pavlicek. The Tschakert brothers, son of former Wissota Street Stock national champions, have raced both IMCA Sport Mods and Wissota Midwest Mods this season.
--There were also quite a few 17 and under in the Wissota Street Stock class: Rachel Boston of Lindstrom (16 years old), Levi Randt of Siren, Wis. (13), Ty Agen of Chippewa Falls (17) and Cole Greseth of Harwood. It’s hard to realize Cole Greseth is almost a veteran in the class but is still only 16.
A fireworks show took place after the Wissota Midwest Modified feature and a few people had asked why it took place then. It’s simple: it allowed families with kids to see the show at a reasonable hour instead of at 11:45 or later. Plus, you have to wait til dark to have a good fireworks show.
Reynolds and Pederson Win at River Cities
Nate Reynolds of Manvel won the Wissota Midwest Modified feature Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. Jory Berg was second, Eric Haugland of Lawton third, Austin Hunter of Winnipeg fourth and Lance Schill of Langdon fifth.
Tucker Pederson of East Grand Forks won the Wissota Street Stock feature over John Halvorson of Warren. Trey Hess of Grand Forks was third, Weston Ramsrud of Bagley fourth and Seth Klostreich of Grand Forks was fifth.
A night after a flat tire spoiled his hopes for a win, Ryan Gustin won the World of Outlaw Late Model feature at River Cities over Kyle Bronson.
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