A lot was going on at Sheyenne Speedway on Sunday night. You had Night 3 of the Steffes Street Stock Tour, the $750 to win TOP GUN Wissota Midwest Modified feature sponsored by RHR Swag, and Night 3 of the Minn-Kota Legends Tour.
Winners on the night included Justin Vogel (Wissota Street Stocks), Corey Storck (Wissota Midwest Modifieds), Tye Wilke (INEX Legends), Jayden Michaelsohn (Pure Stock) and Pokey Lukes (Mini Stock).
The wind was a nightmare, a gusty southeast wind that was between 20-30 mph with higher gusts, much like it was at Devils Lake a night earlier. It left for a dry slick track with dust and sun to contend with, and it meant patience. Some drivers displayed this, a few didn’t, and it led to a few banged up race cars, which was unfortunate. I credit Sheyenne officials for running an efficient show — done in three hours with 90 cars in attendance — despite the wind which was beyond annoying.
Justin Vogel of Brooten, interviewed above, has rarely had much luck at Sheyenne. In fact, he told me after the races that in all his visits there, he’d only made it to tech once in his 10 car. Vogel’s curse at Sheyenne is over, as he got by leader Eric Riley of Morris as the laps wound down to pick up his first-ever win in Lisbon. The win was worth $700. Vogel, for those outside the area, is a top Wissota Street Stock driver in west central Minnesota. He’s won the past two Wissota 100s and was the 2018 Wissota Street Stock national champ (and the runner-up to Jonny Carter in 2019). He’s damn good.
Riley, who won the Don Gumke Memorial in Jamestown on Saturday, led for much of the race and ended in second. He had three top 10 finishes on the weekend. Three different drivers won Street Stock Tour races — Jonny Carter, Riley and Vogel. A good start for that bunch.
Jake Froemke continues to impress me. The International Falls, Minn., driver was seventh at Dacotah Speedway on Friday, second at Jamestown on Saturday and capped off the weekend with a third-place finish on Sunday. He now has five top five finishes in six starts this season. By the way, he is only 16 years old, what a promising racing future he seems to have ahead of him.
Jonny Carter of Lisbon started 12th on the field and worked his way to fourth at the checkered. He drove a good race, it is just the competition was tough and passing people wasn’t easy. Veteran Royce Jawaski of Horace was fifth, and Kyle Anderson of Jamestown made a nice run, finishing sixth after starting 14th.
The midwest modified feature saw Lindsey Hansen of Jamestown set the pace early, looking smooth on the high line. Cody Lee of Alexandria was closing the gap, however. Lee had extra incentive besides the $750 winning check; if he had won, he would receive a $500 bonus for winning both Top Gun Races (he won at Jamestown last week). Lee got on Hansen’s bumper, and then made an aggressive move in turn four, trying a slider. Unfortunately he didn’t quite clear Hansen and there was contact with Hansen going off of turn four. The caution was charged to Lee sending him to the back. Not a dirty move — Cody doesn’t drive that way — but he was going hard for the win and he had more riding on that race than any driver. It just didn’t work out. He did recover to finish seventh.
Hansen was able to continue, fortunately but on the restart, Corey Storck of Morris, the Week 1 winner at Sheyenne made the pass for the lead. Also on the move was Nate Reinke of Lisbon, who was running the lower line and moved into the top three, along with fellow Lisbon driver Randy Klein.
Storck, interviewed above, was mistake-free was able to open up a few car lengths on the field and picked up the win over Reinke, who had his best finish of 2020. Klein also took a gamble late, trying to make a move on the high side but slid off and lost several positions and finished 11th. Klein is much like his buddy Jonny Carter — he won't just settle for second and will push hard for the win. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Jared Wibstad of Jamestown ran an excellent race and was right behind Reinke, placing third. Hansen finished a solid fourth and had one of his best nights every at Sheyenne while Jeffrey Schwind Jr. of Jamestown had a nice run, finishing fifth after starting 12th.
Tye Wilke of Detroit Lakes didn’t have a good night at Night 1 of the Minn-Kota Legends Tour in Ada, hitting a tire and ending his night. He won the final two features of the weekend, including Sunday at Sheyenne (he also won at Red River Valley Speedway on Friday). Wilke didn’t make any mistakes. Brody Carlsrud of Moorhead is Mr. Consistent, taking second, while Donavin Wiest of Wishek made a good run through the field, taking third after starting ninth. Ryan Braseth of Ulen and Alex Kukowski of Edgeley rounded out the top five.
Jayden Michaelsohn of Aberdeen wins the Comeback of the Night Award. He was charged with a caution and went to the back of the 14-car field in the Pure Stock feature, but stormed back through traffic using the high line and moved into second, setting his sights on Bo Gregor of Lisbon, who had won the first two features in the class this season.
Gregor was slowed a bit by lapped traffic, and Michaelsohn had caught him. In turns three and four, Michaelsohn got underneath Gregor and was able to make a run on the low side and edged Gregor by a few feet for the win. Dylan Steele of Jamestown keeps running well, finishing third after starting seventh. Hayden Aberle of Lamoure ran in the top five all night and was fourth, while Dillon Thorpe of Ellendale was fifth after starting 10th.
The Pure Stock feature was a dandy, with several cars battling up front. Nick Nord of Enderlin and Nick Thoreson of Valley City battled for several laps for the lead, but soon Gregor joined that battle. Steele and Aberle were also in that bunch. It was good to see some good battles in the class.
One of the happiest guys on the night was Pokey Lukes of Lisbon, who won the Mini Stock feature in his #28 Mustang. Lukes is one of the most popular people at the track, stemming from his days as an announcer, and anytime he gets to victory lane it’s a popular victory. Dalton Aabrekke of Lisbon, who led for a while, finished second, with teenager Gavin Walton of Englevale finishing a solid third. Shawn Beto of Wahpeton and Kevin Youngquist of Barney rounded out the top five.
Sheyenne Notes
—It isn’t often both Jonny Carter and Todd Carter miss the re-draw in the street stocks. Both were in competitive heat races and passing wasn’t easy. Todd had a tough feature and left with some damage and did not finish. He’ll bounce back. Keep in mind, Todd won at Wishek on Thursday and third at Dacotah on Friday so all was not lost on the weekend.
—Ninety cars signed in to compete at Sheyenne, another great car count. I was a little bummed there were only 19 street stocks although the quality was excellent. More on that later.
Comments