The Rebel Midwest Mod Tour kicked off its 2023 tour at Norman County Raceway in Ada. The NLRA Late Models and IMCA RaceSaver Sprints were also on hand on Night 2 of the Ada Nationals.
There were 33 Midwest Modifieds registered on MyRacePass and 30 in attendance (29 would start the feature), not bad considering the forecast going into the day wasn’t good. The forecast for the next two nights, however, is bleak in terms of racing, although many areas do need a good shot of rain. I have learned that most weather apps are about as accurate as a broken compass when it comes to forecasts.
Veterans Shane Howell of Buffalo and Justin Jones of Bemidji led the 30-car Wissota Midwest Modified feature to the green.
I was a little nervous about 29 midwest modifieds starting the feature together. A couple of reasons for this: first, a lot of these drivers have never raced this track, and let’s be frank, the Wissota Midwest Modified class can have some nights that make me cringe with the amount of cautions and carnage. This was not one of those nights, thankfully.
Jones knows NCR well and would take the lap one lead with Howell right on his tail. Jarod Klein of Jamestown – who has a win at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon this season -- was in third with Hunter Hougard of Warren moving into fourth.
The first caution waved with 23 to go for Alex Tschakert’s spin in turn two. Under that caution, Lucas Rodin of Marion, the two-time tour champion, had his car checked by officials and would pull in.
Jones and Howell pulled away, but Jaren Wibstad of Jamestown, who started sixth, went to work on Klein for third, taking over that spot with 20 to go. The 36 would prove to be a car to keep an eye on.
I was also watching Corey Storck of Morris, who has been fast everywhere this season with four wins and 13 top fives in 15 starts entering the night. He moved into the fifth spot when a caution waved for Jory Berg’s spin in turn four. Berg, a top runner at River Cities, would pull in and his night was over; I just caught the tail end of the incident. A multi-car tangle in turns one and two would bring out the caution on the ensuing restart.
Jones was really good on the restarts as he opened a few car lengths on Wibstad, who had cleared Howell for second. Storck would move into third. Nate Reinke of Lisbon was pressuring Klein for the fifth spot.
Jones led by .470 seconds but Wibstad was closing in, especially in turns three and four. Howell had moved past Storck for third. Storck, however, slid up high in turns one and two and lost a bunch of positions to drop outside the top 10.
Wibstad was tremendously fast on the high side of turns three and four and that is where he made up a lot of ground on Jones. Jones was quicker on the bottom in turns one and two and would open a few car lengths, but it was the opposite in three and four. Wibstad got a huge run with seven to go and made the pass on the outside with seven to go.
Jones would stay right in Wibstad’s tracks as Howell and Klein fought very hard for third. ON the final lap, Jones went up high in turns one and two looking for a run, but got up in the marbles and would lose several car lengths. Wibstad would pick up the big win by .814 seconds over Jones. Those two put on a good show up front for the lead and raced very clean, my kind of race.
I’ve watched Wibstad progress for several years in the Midwest modified class, mainly at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon. Each year he’s gotten better and now has to be considered a threat to win wherever he goes. This year he has four wins, including two wins at Jamestown and one at I-94 EMR Speedway.
Howell would fend off Klein for third with Reinke capping off a solid run from ninth to fifth. Haley Lee of Starbuck went from 19th to finish 10th. The hard charger was Ryan Ost of Adrian, who went from 30th to 14th.
Dustin Strand of East Grand Forks took the lead early in the NLRA Late Model feature with Rusty Kollman of Carrington passing Shane Edginton of East St. Paul, Man., for the second spot. Tyler Peterson of Hickson settled into fourth as Don Shaw of Ham Lake and Cole Schill of Hawley battled for fifth.
Strand had opened a few car lengths but Kollman was closing quick when the caution waved with 19 to go when Ryan Corbett’s C4 car slowed on the backstretch.
Edginton would get by Kollman for second, and Peterson would follow. The caution would wave as Jeff Hapala and Corbett made contact with 18 to go.
ON the restart, Edginton and Peterson were right on Strand’s heels, and Peterson made an aggressive move for the lead; he drove slid up Strand in turns three and four and took over the lead. Area fans have probably heard those two had a get together up at River Cities last week. Strand certainly made a point to show the 1TPO his feelings under a caution and I know there’s no way those two grabbed beers together afterward. We can safely say a rivalry has developed there, and I’m curious what the next chapter will be.
After Amelia Eisenschenk’s #15 machine bounced off the front stretch wall the caution would wave. Peterson and Edginton would open up a lead on third-place strand with Shaw in fourth and Schill in fifth.
The track took rubber on the lower line as passing was at a premium over the final 10-12 laps. Edginton would stay close to the 1TPO but Peterson would prevail by .789 seconds. Edginton settled for second with Strand, Shaw and Schill rounding out the top five. By my count Jesse Teunis of Lockport, Man., was the hard charger going from 18th to seventh.
One note about the late models, IMCA Stock Car driver Kalvin Kesselberg made his debut in the class, driving Jake Bitker's 19B machine
Some in the IMCA RaceSaver Sprints, to be blunt, had some major issues. and it led to several early cautions. Tye Wilke of Detroit Lakes – who knows NCR very well – surged into the lead from the pole as things were a bit dicey behind him with some cars all over the track. There were 12 cars in attendance which was solid, but seven were from outside the area and I’m not sure how many had raced at NCR before.
Wilke would lead after a pair of restarts with Trevor Serbus of Olivia settling into second. Andy Pake of Felton moved into third.
With nine to go Pake would pass Serbus for second and would like to close the gap on Wilke. Matt Johnson was in fourth with Morgan Nyquist of Moorhead fifth.
Pake was inching close as Wilke caught the tail of the field. With things dominant on the bottom, finding a way to pass was difficult. Wilke cleared a lapped car that would slow Pake briefly, allowing the 72 to open some breathing room on the final lap for the win. Pake would settle for second. Serbus was third with Johnson and Nyquist rounding out the top five.
Ryan Braseth Wins Minn-Kota INEX Legends Tour Race at Sheyenne
Ryan Braseth of Ulen won the INEX Legends tour race Thursday night at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon. A 19-car field was on hand.
Scott Richardson of Pelican Rapids was second with Alex Braseth of Ulen taking third. Kody Machart of Moorhead was fourth with Bo Gregor of Lisbon fifth.
Jonny Carter of Lisbon topped Kyle Anderson of Jamestown for the Wissota Street Stock win. Hunter Carter of Lisbon was third, Tucker Pederson of East Grand Forks was fourth and Todd Carter of Lisbon was fifth.
Mason Bogart of Milnor topped Chandler Dick for the Mini Stock win. Hunter Goulet of Fargo was third, Dale Mittleider was fourth and Roger Lukes of Lisbon was fifth.
Jayden Michaelsohn of Aberdeen topped Billy Carow of Jamestown for the Hobby Stock win. Tyce Boisjolie of Enderlin was third, Ryan Mund of Milnot was fourth and Kelby Anderson of Fort Ransom was fifth.
Joseph Thomas of Fargo topped Mike Stearns of Hecla for the Wissota Modified win. Randy Klein of Enderlin was third, Tim Thomas of Fargo was fourth and Erv Grossman of Fargo was fifth.
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