Shaw Trucking Fall Classic Moves To ‘The Big O’ This October

For Immediate Release – July 20th, 2016 – St. Cloud, MN

Coming off the heels of a very successful Great Lakes Border Battle over the 4th of July holiday weekend, FYE Motorsports Promotions owner Chris Stepan is excited to announce that the annual Fall Classic that his promotions company promotes will see a new venue for the first time in the 13 year history of the season ending mega-event.

The Fall Classic, which has been held during the first weekend of October annually at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minnesota for the past 12 seasons, will move to the Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, MN for the 13th running of the event on October 6th, 7th and 8th of this year. The Ogilvie Raceway is a state-of-the-art, 3/8 mile clay oval located on Highway 23 just outside of Ogilvie, MN, which is just an easy 45 minute drive from the St Cloud and Twin Cities metro areas. The central location makes the Ogilvie Raceway a great new location for the year-ending event.

Stepan said ‘Viking has been a great host for the Fall Classic over the past 12 seasons, but after 12 years in the same location, it was time for a change of venue and in the fast paced world we live in, what better time than the present to move the event to a new home. The Wagamon family, Nate Fischer and I have been talking about having an FYE event at Ogilvie for the past couple of years and they have just recently installed a new wireless scoreboard, a go-kart track, a new VIP bar and lounge area and now has a VIP deck for patrons as well, so it seemed to be the perfect time to relocate the Fall Classic. The move to Ogilvie will also allow many racers and fans from the Twin Ports, Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Western Wisconsin the opportunity to attend the event and not have to travel as far to get there. Plus, its still just a quick drive down I-94 from Fargo and Grand Forks and pretty easy to get to Ogilvie from the Iron Range and Southern Minnesota as well.’

Viking Speedway Board of Directors President Ryan Schmitz said ‘after much discussion amongst the Viking Speedway Board and Chris at FYE Motorsports, we all felt that it was in the best interest of both groups and we have mutually agreed to move the Fall Classic this year. The speedway board hates to see the event go, but we wish to thank Chris and FYE for the many great shows over the past 12 years and we wish him and his promotions company nothing but success in the future.’

The 13th annual year-ending Fall Classic is set to wrap up the 2016 racing season in grand style on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 6th, 7th and 8th 2016. The event has quickly grown into one of the Midwest’s premier and must see events with car counts typically reaching near 300 throughout the course of the weekend. The venue switch should breathe new life into the event and should once again see 300+ cars in attendance as the season winds down.

Stepan concluded by saying ‘I would like to give a huge thank you to the previous and current boards at Viking Speedway, our great sponsors, the employees, volunteers, racers, crews and the great fans of Central Minnesota for your support of our FYE events at Viking over the past 12 seasons. We have made some awesome memories at the ‘high flyin’ half mile’ and I want to give a heartfelt thank everyone for their support and we hope to see you all at the Big O for this year’s Fall Classic!’

Ogilvie Raceway Co-Owner Tom Wagamon said, ‘the entire Wagamon family could not be more thrilled to be the chosen location to host the new chapter of the Fall Classic here in Ogilvie. Since purchasing the track, we have always wanted to host an event of this magnitude and when the opportunity arose to partner with Chris and FYE Motorsports, we jumped at the chance to bring this incredible event to the Big O. We feel that this will be a great opportunity for us to show off our hard work. Hopefully the new fans will enjoy our facility and the new drivers will enjoy our track surface. We’re hoping that once they experience the Big O they will want to experience it again and again and again!!!’

This event, promoted by FYE Motorsports Promotions from nearby St. Cloud, Minnesota, will once again see Ham Lake, Minnesota’s Shaw Trucking Inc. as the title sponsor with associate sponsorship from Allstate Peterbilt Group and GRP Motorsports continues its support of the Fall Classic for the 13th straight year as well.

Ogilvie Raceway Promoter Fischer stated about getting the chance to host such a big event, ‘we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Chris and FYE Motorsports and host the Fall Classic here in Ogilvie. An event of this caliber will be a great addition to our schedule and we are very much looking forward to the weekend.’

The 13th running of the Fall Classic will feature WISSOTA Late Models racing for a large purse of $4,000 to win; WISSOTA Modifieds, who will run for a top prize of $3,000 to win; WISSOTA Super Stocks running for $2,000 to win; WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds will run for $1,500 to win; the Street Stocks will be gunning for a whopping $1,000 to win and again the WISSOTA Mod Fours will be on the card, racing for a sizeable $500 to win payday, plus event organizers have added the WISSOTA Pure Stocks and Hornets to this year’s event, racing for $250 to win a piece, setting up the 13th annual Fall Classic to be the ONLY post season event featuring all 8 of WISSOTA’s divisions, making the 13th running of the Fall Classic the biggest all-WISSOTA event of the 2016 season.

Event details will be much like in previous years and will feature an open practice session on Thursday night, October 6th from 6pm to 9pm for anyone interested in coming and testing prior to the event. A social gathering will then take place after practice on Thursday night. Friday, October 7th will then see the grandstand and pit gates both open at 2pm with the draw cut off at 6:30pm with racing beginning at 7pm. All heat races will be run on Friday night. Saturday, October 8th will see the pits and grandstand gates both open at 3pm with racing beginning at 5pm. A Sunday, October 9th raindate has also been scheduled if needed. Passing points will be used in all eight divisions to qualify cars into the features.

Log onto www.FYEMotorsports.com and www.OgilvieRaceway.com or call Chris at (715) 497-8916 for event details and updates throughout the coming weeks and months. Details on reserved seats, pit parking, lodging and camping will be available within the next several days as well. We hope to see you in Ogilvie for the 13th annual Fall Classic on October 6th, 7th and 8th, 2016.

Fans should keep in mind that the Ogilvie Raceway will still continue to host the Topless Nationals on Friday and Saturday, October 21st and 22nd as well to wrap up their 2016 racing season.

Don Shaw Takes Fall Classic Top Honors

For the past number of  seasons, race teams from around WISSOTA land have converged on the Viking Speedway for the annual Fall Classic. This year marked the 12th annual Viking Fall Classic presented by Shaw Trucking, GRP Motorspots, and Extreme Auto and Gas. When the dust settled this year, Ham Lake, MN driver, Don Shaw, who has a history of performing well during the Viking Fall Classic, used an early race pass and went on to dominate the WISSOTA Late Model feature on Saturday night. Shaw, who picked up his sixth career Fall Classic win, picked up $4000 for his efforts. Other drivers who added their names to the Fall Classic Hall of Champions included, Jordan Tollakson in the WISSOTA Street Stocks, Tyler Peterson in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, Dustin Zieske in the WISSOTA Mod Fours, Tim Johnson in the WISSOTA Super Stocks, and Seth Brede capped off an incredible weekend with a Fall Classic WISSOTA Modified feature win.

Tim Johnson and Ryan Satter sat on the front row for the twenty eight car WISSOTA Street Stock feature event. Johnson, who was the Viking track champion in 2015, jumped to the early lead, while Satter came under seige from fifth starting Jordan Tollakson. Satter who couldn't find any bite on the high side of the speedway, began to slip back, as Johnson led Tollakson, Justin Pogones, and Ryan Pommerer. The first caution of the event flew over the track only six laps into the event for a multi car incident. With the field lined back up, Johnson raced back into the lead with Tollakson in hot pursuit. Near the midway point of the race, last year's Fall Classic champion, Justin Vogel raced his way into the fifth spot. As the laps continued to tick down, Johnson and Tollakson were locked in a heated battle for the lead, with Tollakson looking for a way around Johnson. As the leaders passed the stripe with two laps remaining, Tollakson raced to the outside of the speedway and pulled even with Johnson in turn two. After the duo raced side by side into turn three, Tollakson emerged as the leader as the duo took the white flag. Johnson looked to the inside of Tollakson in turn one, it was clear that Tollakson was the class of the field, as he raced to the Fall Classic win. Johnson was second, Pogones third, Pommerer fourth, and Vogel rounded out the top five.

Tyler Peterson and Kelly Haack paced the twenty five car WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature to the green. Haack, who looked strong in the second half of 2015, jumped out to the early lead with Peterson in tow. Peterson was quickly joined by Jamie Thorstad and a battle ensued for the second spot. The caution flew over the speedway only two laps into the twenty lap event, for Travis Saurer, who suffered an engine issue and he came to rest over the banking in turn four. With the field reset, Haack once again jumped to the lead while Peterson settled into the number two spot. On the following lap, Thorstad got too high on the track and slipped towards the rear of the field. Back up front, Haack continued to lead while Peterson worked to find a way around him. Behind the leaders, Blake Swenson and Jason Vandekamp moved into the third and fourth spots, when the caution flew for debris on the speedway with only ten laps remaining. On the restart, Haack's machine got loose sending him sliding back to the sixth spot, and handing the lead to Peterson. Behind Peterson, Vandekamp moved into the second spot and Swenson settled into the third spot. As the laps ticked down it was clear that no one had anything for Peterson as he cruised to the win. Vandekamp was second, Swenson third, David Carlson fourth, and Justin Froemming rounded out the top five.

Twenty four WISSOTA Late Models rumbled onto the speedway next for their 40 lap main event. Matt Aukland and Cole Schill manned the front row of the star studded event. Head flagman, Mike Blom, brought the field to life and third starting Don Shaw quickly raced by the front row starters into the lead, with Aukland in the second spot. Shaw, who has been blistering fast at Viking this season, began to open up a large lead over Aukland, John Kaanta, Lance Matthees, and Pat Doar. As the leaders began to enter lap traffic around lap ten, Aukland began to cut into Shaw's lead. Meanwhile, back in traffic, the man on the move was Jeff Wildung. Wildung, who started tenth, cracked the top five only fifteen laps into the event and began to put heavy pressure on Doar for the fourth spot. Wildung was able to complete the pass in lap traffic and quickly raced up to challenge Kaanta for the third spot. Wildung was able to complete that pass on lap twenty one. Back up front Shaw was able to clear the lap traffic and once again raced to a large lead over Aukland, who was searching for a way through the lap cars. The first caution of the event would fly over the speedway with only twelve laps left on the board. On the restart, Shaw blasted to the lead, while Wildung began to pressure Aukland for second. Wildung was able to complete the pass on the following lap and began to search for a way to reel in race long leader, Shaw. As the laps ticked down, Shaw continued to stretch his lead and he raced to the win, his sixth career Fall Classic win. Wildung was second, Aukland third, Doar fourth, and Kaanta fifth.

Tim Johnson and Bryan Hellerman shared row one for the twenty four car WISSOTA Super Stock main event. Johnson raced out to the early race lead, while Hellerman was quickly overcome by Don Shaw who raced into the second spot. With Johnson and Shaw comfortably in the top two spots, Hellerman was locked in a battle with Dave Mass for the third spot. Mass was able to move by Hellerman just a few laps later and began to look to join the party for the top spot. Mass quickly got to the inside of Shaw and moved by him before the yellow would fly with thirteen to go. On the restart, Mass chose the lowside of the track for the double file restart. Johnson jumped back to the lead, but as Mass and Shaw entered turn one, Shaw's machine drove up and over the banking, bringing out the caution once more. Shaw would retire pitside with mechanical issues, and Johnson led Mass and Hellerman to the line for another restart. Once again, Johnson moved into the lead, with Mass hot on his heels. With the leaders running bumper to bumper, the main battle on the speedway was for the fourth spot with Dominic Baker and Matt Miller battling side by side for position. Back up front, Johnson continued to hold Mass off and he raced to his first career Super Stock Fall Classic win. Mass was second, Ben Wolden third, Baker fourth, and Miller fifth.

Fourteen WISSOTA Mod Fours rolled on the speedway next for their Fall Classic main event. Brennan Gave and Dean Larson sat on the front row and Larson wasted no time moving into the lead, in search of the Fall Classic title. With Larson up front, Brandon Lindquist and Dustin Zieske began to battle for the second spot. The caution would fly for the only time in the race with eleven laps to go. On the restart, Zieske wasted no time blasting to the low side of the track in order to race by Larson, into the lead. Zieske, driving a borrowed car for the weekend, began to stretch his lead while Larson began to battle with his son Tyler for the second spot. Back up front it was all Zieske, as he cruised to the win. Dean Larson was second, Tyler Larson third, Robert Holtquist fourth, and Brandon Lindquist fifth.

The final event of the Fall Classic weekend belonged to the high powered WISSOTA Modifieds. Seth Brede, fresh of his $11,000 mod nationals feature win, and Brady Gerdes sat on row one for the the 30 lap shootout. Brede, picked up right where he left off on Friday night, and he bolted into to the lead with Gerdes in the second spot. Only two laps into the event, the field was slowed by a caution for Josh Thoennes, who broke on the exit of turn two. With the green back out, Brede jumped to the high side of the track, into the lead, while Blake Jegtvig and Tim Johnson moved into the second and third spots. With the top three running out front, Jake Hartung and Matt Gilbertson were able to work their way around Gerdes into the fourth and fifth spots. The caution would once again blink on over the speedway only ten laps into the event with Brede leading Johnson and Jegtvig. On the restart, Johnson raced to the low side of the track and moved into second while Jegtvig began to battle with Gilbertson for the third spot. Gilbertson was able to make the pass on the following lap and moved up to challenge Johnson for the second spot. With only seven laps to go, Gilbertson moved into the number two spot and began to cut into Brede's large lead lap after lap. As the white flag waved over the track, Gilbertson raced up towards Brede's back bumper. Gilbertson was unable to put any real pressure on Brede, and he capped off an incredible weekend, as Brede picked up the Fall Classic win. Gilbertson was second, Johnson third, Jegtvig fourth, and Hartung rounded out the top five.

The staff at FYE Motorspots and Viking Speedway would like to thank everyone who helped make the 12th Annual Fall Classic a success. As we head into the offseason, you may keep up with any Viking Speedway news by visiting them online at www.vikingspeedway.net or "like" the track on Facebook. For more information regarding FYE Motorsports events please visit them online at www.fyemotorsports.com or "like" FYE Motorsports on Facebook.

Summary:
WISSOTA Late Models:
Feature: Don Shaw, Jeff Wildung, Matt Aukland, Pat Doar, John Kaanta, Cody Skytland, Dustin Strand, Lance Matthees, Marshall Fegers, Shawn Kirwin, Cole Schill, Rick Schroeder, Matt Gilbertson, Zach Johnson, Corey Nelson, Brad Parson, Travis Budisalovich, Clarence Washburn, Scott Lehn, Robert Odegard, Rob Lynch, Adam Fischer, Chris Winter, Blake Jegtvig

Heat 1: Kaanta, Doar, Wildung, Kirwin, Odegard, Schroeder, Jegtvig, Lynch

Heat 2: Schill, Gilbertson, Aukland, Budisalovich, Fischer, Nelson, Lehn, Winter

Heat 3: Shaw, Skytland, Matthees, Fegers, Strand, Johnson, Parson, Washburn
WISSOTA Modifieds:

Feature: Seth Brede, Matt Gilbertson, Tim Johnson, Blake Jegtvig, Jake Hartung, Jason Thoennes, Dave Cain, Dustin Bitzan, Scot Danzeisen, Danny Bayer, Don Eischens, Jason Vandekamp, Mike Stearns, Cory Tammen, Mark Noble, Jesse Glenz, Zach Johnson, Jeremy Nelson, Corky Thomas, Brian Haben, Brandon Aggen, Brett Hoium, Tyler Peterson, Brady Gerdes, Josh Thoennes

Bmain 1: Vandekamp, Stearns, Z. Johnson, Hayden Hanson, Dustin Wahl, Dan Ebert, Mike Storck, Shaun Peterson, Terry Engebretson, Dustin Bluhm, Chris Mensen, Scott Greer, Peter Loecken, Jason Blascyk

Bmain 2: Hoium, Thomas, Aggen, Haben, Scott Tofte, Arne Anderson, Travis Saurer, Aaron Olson, Tim Alexander, Jeff Flaten, Gary Reents, Jay Richardson, Matt Leer, Jeff Wildung

Heat 1: T. Johnson, Ja. Thoennes, Jo. Thoennes, Tofte, Thomas, Flaten, Mensen, S. Peterson, Loecken, Wildung

Heat 2: T. Peterson, Brede, Nelson, Bayer, Hoium, Storck, Richardson, Anderson, Leer

Heat 3: Cain, Hartung, Eischens, Stearns, Z. Johnson, Olson, Aggen, Engerbretson, Hanson

Heat 4: Bitzan, Gerdes, Noble, Tammen, Wahl, Bluhm, Blascyk, Reents, Saurer

Heat 5: Gilbertson, Jegtvig, Glenz, Danzeisen, Vandekamp, Haben, Greer, Alexander, Ebert

WISSOTA Super Stocks:
Feature: Tim Johnson, Dave Mass, Ben Wolden, Dominic Baker, Matt Miller, William Lund, Tyler Vanderby, Jason Cook, Jon Stepan, Kurt Becken, Christopher Lynch, Alex Wolff, Kevin Salin, Dylan Nelson, Trent Brutger, Allan Cleveland, Scott Lawrence, Jeff Flaten, Bryan Hellerman, Don Shaw, Mike Peterson, Donnie Lofdahl, Jeff Kluver, Jeremy Tyson

Heat 1: Johnson, Shaw, Lund, Lawrence, Nelson, Salin, Lynch, Peterson

Heat 2: Mass, Stepan, Vanderby, Baker, Wolff, Lofdahl, Kluver, Cleveland

Heat 3: Hellerman, Miller, Wolden, Flaten, Brutger, Becken, Cook, Tyson
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:

Feature: Tyler Peterson, Jason Vandekamp, Blake Swenson, David Carlson, Justin Froemming, Kelly Haack, Shawn Olson, William Lund, Jason Hoffman, Grant Hall, Jamie Thorstad, Haley Lee, Josh Muzik, Matt Thoennes, Brian Kakela, McKenzie Gerdes, Austin Hunter, Blake Boelens, Tony Caissie, Brooke Hellerman, Shane Howell, Ron Saurer, Travis Saurer, Brock Gronwold, Jeremy Kerzman

Bmain 1: R. Saurer, Olson, Lund, Jon Stepan, Corey Storck, Andrew Hulstein, Scott Tofte, Dave Mass, Terry Merten

Bmain 2: Kakela, Hunter, Kerzman, Ashley Mehrwerth, Mckenzie Gerdes, Chris VanMil, Sam Zender, Corey Bruggeman, Kyle Reents

Heat 1: Haack, Boelens, Thoennes, Hellerman, Muzik, Hoffman, Mehrwerth, Storck, Stepan

Heat 2: Carlson, Peterson, Vandekamp, Froemming, R. Saurer, VanMil, Tofte, Reents, Hunter

Heat 3: Thorstad, Hall, Howell, Caissie, Bruggeman, Gerdes, Kerzman, Mass, Hustein

Heat 4: T. Saurer, Lee, Gronwold, Swenson, Lund, Olson, Merten, Zender, Kakela
WISSOTA Steet Stocks:

Feature: Jordan Tollakson, Tim Johnson, Justin Pogones, Ryan Pommerer, Justin Vogel, Durand Peterson, Ryan Satter, Kyle Dykhoff, Andrew Bangsund, Mark Blom, Jim Williams, Jordan Fisher, John Adams, Kelly Hoerner, Ethan Liams, Tami Naslund, Cory Dykhoff, Scott Huston, Brendan Scott, Eric Riley, Tyler Erdman, Robert Petroff, Brandon Fah, Justin Tammen, Adam Burrows, Brian Oehlert, Bruce Lundin, Brett Miller

Heat 1: Tollakson, Adams, Satter, Scott, Erdman, Fisher, Huston, Hoerner, Miller, K. Dykhoff

Heat 2: Johnson, Riley, C. Dykhoff, Naslund, Williams, Burrows, Oehlert, Tammen, Lundin

Heat 3: Pogones, Pommerer, Vogel, Petroff, Blom, Peterson, Fah, Liams, Bangsund
WISSOTA Mod Fours

Feature: Dustin Zieske, Dean Larson, Tyler Larson, Robert Holtquist, Brandon Lindquist, Dustin Holtquist, Brandon Ferris, Brennan Gave, Laramie Peker, Mike Christanson, Myron Flickinger, Josh Gebhart, Forrest Foster, Cody Jacobson

Heat 1: T. Larson, D. Larson, Gave, Peker, Zieske, Flickinger, Gebhart

Heat 2: Lindquist, R. Holtquist, Jacobson, Ferris, Foster, D. Holtquist

Brede Bags Biggest-Career Payday in Modified Nationals Finale

Seth Brede etched his name in the WISSOTA history books as he claimed the largest payday in WISSOTA Modified history on Friday night at the Viking Speedway. The race, which was the conclusion of the Performance Auto Minnesota Modified Nationals presented by Allstate Peterbuilt  saw Brede become the 11th different winner of the event in 11 years. Brede tracked down race long leader, Scot Danzeisen and made a daring last lap pass to claim the win.

Danzeisen led Brady Gerdes and Brede to the green when the racing action picked up with 55 laps left on the board. At the drop of the green, Danzeisen found his groove in the middle of the speedway and raced to the lead while Gerdes and Brede settled into the second and third spots. Behind the lead trio, all other drivers were jockeying for position as the laps began to tick away. With 43 laps remaining, Matt Leer pulled his machine to the infield ending his run at the Mod Nationals crown, while Danzeisen continued to build his advantage. With Danzeisen out front, the battle for the second spot began to heat up, as Brede began to put some pressure on Gerdes.

With 40 laps remaining, Danzeisen continued to hold a large advantage, with Gerdes in the second spot and Brede holding strong in third. Behind them, Jeremy Nelson sat comfortably in the fourth spot, while Dan Ebert, Brian Haben, Tim Johnson, and Jason Thoennes battled behind Nelson. The running order would remain the same, and the yellow would blink on over the speedway with 35 laps remaining. On the restart, Brede went to the lowside of the speedway and passed Gerdes for the second spot. With everyone racing hard, the yellow flew over the speedway for the fuel stop with 30 laps remaining. Danzeisen continued to lead, with Brede, Gerdes, Ebert, and Johnson in the top five. During the fuel stop, several drivers rolled the dice and came into the pits for tire changes, including Brett Hoium and Danny Bayer.

With the cars lined back up, head flagman, Mike Blom, waved the green and once again Danzeisen jumped back to the lead, but Brede was able to put some pressure on him as the exited turn two. Danzeisen was able to clear Brede and began to flex his muscle once more and raced out to eight car length lead. Behind the leader, Thoennes moved his way into the top five after passing Johnson with 26 laps to go. Meanwhile, back in traffic, the driver on the move was Alexandria's Shaun Peterson. Peterson who restarted at the tail of the field had moved into the top ten and looked poised to make a run towards the front. Back towards the front of the field, Gerdes was able to work his way back around Brede and looked to make a move on Danzeisen who had a solid lead on the field. The caution would once again blink on over the half mile speedway for Jeff Wildung, who suffered mechanical issues and stopped in turn one. This reset the field, with only 18 laps remaining and once again Danzeisen held Brede and Gerdes off on the restart. Brede moved into the second spot on the following circuit while Gerdes found himself locked in a great battle with Ebert.

The final yellow of the event would fly over the speedway with only 13 laps remaining. On the yellow flag period, sixth place running Tim Johnson, pulled to the infield with issues, ending his quest for the mod nationals crown. As the cars were being realigned for the restart, fourth running Ebert pulled to the infield. Ebert's crew went to work on his 60 machine and found that they had hurt a motor, but Ebert rolled back onto the speedway, only to pull off the back chute, ending his night. Blom threw the green flag and once more Danzeisen withstood heavy pressure from Brede as he looked for a way around. With ten laps remaining Danzeisen held a six car length lead on Brede, while Peterson cracked the top five for the first time in the race.

As the laps continued to tick down, Danzeisen seemed to change his line, in an effort to save his tires. As Danzeisen searched for a different line, Brede moved to the high side of the speedway and began to find traction and he began to eat into Danzeisen's lead. With Brede closing fast and the fans at the edge of their seats, Brede pulled even with Danzeisen with two laps remaining in turns one and two. As the leaders rocketed down the back chute, Danzeisen powered back to the lead, and Brede once again showed his bumper in turn three. As the white flag flew over the speedway, Danzeisen continued to lead, with Brede in hot pursuit. Brede went back to the top shelf in turn one and once again pulled even with Danzeisen as they raced down the back straightaway. The duo entered turn three in a dead heat, with Danzeisen in middle of the track and Brede on the top. The duo stayed side by side and as they exited turn four, Brede made the pass stick and raced first to the checkered flag, earning him the title of Minnesota Modified National champion. The win also earned Brede a staggering $11,000. Danzeisen was second, Thoennes third, Peterson raced from 24th to fourth, and Nelson rounded out the top five.
Summary:

MN Modified Nationals Feature: Seth Brede, Scot Danzeisen, Jason Thoennes, Shaun Peterson, Jeremy Nelson, Mike Stearns, Brady Gerdes, Jesse Glenz, Brian Haben, Jason Vandekamp, Scott Greer, Zach Johnson, Tyler Peterson, Travis Saurer, Brandon Aggen, Brett Hoium, Dan Ebert, Tim Johnson, Jeff Wildung, Danny Bayer, Matt Leer, Bob Gierke, Darrell Nelson, Shane Sabraski, Johnny Broking, Corky Thomas

FYE Motorsports Promotions No Longer Affiliated With Wild West Shootout

 St. Cloud, Minnesota ~ For Immediate Release (September 23rd 2015)

 FYE Motorsports Promotions owner Chris Stepan announced officially today that he and his promotions company will no longer be affiliated with the 2016 Wild West Shootout event at the USA Raceway in Tucson, Arizona.

 Stepan, along with Chris Kearns from CK Presents, co promoted the 2015 miniseries at the USA Raceway along with silent partner Kevin Montgomery.
 
 Stepan, Kearns and Montgomery had an agreement that the trio would promote the Wild West Shootout during the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons and then again in 2018 and 2019 if the two remaining one year options were picked up on the lease of the facility by the track owner.
 
 On July 14th, 2015, Kearns informed Stepan on a conference call, facilitated by DirtOnDirt.com co owner Michael Rigsby, that he was being cut out of the partnership, presumably so Kearns and Montgomery could take Stepan's share of the profit and keep it for themselves.

 Stepan said 'We had a handshake-type deal made over the phone that we would run the Wild West Shootout as a team for the first 3 years of the contract and then for the 4th and 5th years if the lease was extended. We definitely entered into an oral contract which Kearns went back on. In hind sight, I should have demanded a written and signed contract. Obviously, that was a mistake on my part not to require one.'

 Stepan had served as the announcer for the event since 2004 when it was originally held at the Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, AZ and during its transition to the track in Tucson in 2010. Stepan's work promoting, recruiting drivers, fans and sponsors during the last 10 years has been a huge asset to the event as a whole, especially since a majority of the drivers and fans that attend this event are from the Northern parts of the United States, an area where Stepan lives, promotes races and is very active and well respected in the racing community.
 
 Stepan went on to say 'the truth is, its just a shame that you can’t trust people these days. I was warned by dozens of people not to trust Chris or Kevin due to their reputations in the racing industry, but everything appeared to be going well leading up to the event and I like to form my own opinions of people and not let other's opinions influence mine. I guess I should have listened to those folks. I was working on trust, because when I give my word to someone, I follow through with it. I was hoping and assuming that those two would do the same, but that was not the case. I have worked really hard over the last 10 years to convince fans and racers to come to Arizona and race in the winter, but I guess Kearns just used me to ensure the success of the event this past January.'

 Stepan finally said 'I'd be happy to discuss more on this topic with anyone who wishes to know more privately. There is a lot more to the story, so if you wish to know more details, feel free to contact me, but after discussing the situation with my attorneys, their advice was to let all of the drivers, fans and sponsors associated with the event in 2015 know that we will not be affiliated with the event in 2016. I do wish anyone who chooses to travel to Tucson in January the best of luck dealing with what you will have to deal with.

9th Annual Seitz Memorial Conquered by Chad Mahder

By Mike Spieker

GRAND FORKS, ND (September 11) - After six very highly fought heat races were contested and won by Jake Redetzke, Don Shaw, Shane Edginton, Dustin Strand, AJ Diemel and Jeff Provinzino, Friday night's racing program concluded with the Turk Enterprises “Go Hard or Go Home” $920-to-win Fast Dash with East St. Paul, Manitoba’s Shane Edginton and Edmonton, Alberta’s Dave Smith on the front row. 

Edginton grabbed the early advantage in Jake and Sharnel Bitker’s brand new Victory Late Model as Pat Doar slid into second. As the laps wore on, Doar’s “Double One Express” kept getting faster and faster. On lap six, Doar drove by Edginton to take the lead. Once out front, Doar put his machine on cruise control and checked out on the field. Back in the pack, however, a trio of Wisconsin drivers including Chad Mahder, Jake Redetzke, and AJ Diemel were all fighting for the runner-up position. 

Diemel took the position away from Redetzke on the final lap, but he was over a half lap behind Doar, who took the victory and will start on the pole for Saturday night’s 92-lap, $9,200-to-win A-main. Redetzke, Mahder, and 2015 NLRA champion, Dustin Strand, rounded out the top five.  

Two B-mains kicked off the night for the WISSOTA Late Models on Saturday night. In the first B-main, Steffen Snare, Joey Pederson who was last year’s runner-up, and Curt Gelling all transferred to the A-main. 

Brad Seng, the only two-time champion of the Seitz, also found himself in a B-main, despite winning his heat race on Friday night. That’s because Seng was light at the scales and was disqualified, forcing him to start dead last in the consolation race. Seng went on to finish seventh in the B-main, but since Pederson was able to race his way into the show, Seng received the final provisional as the highest finishing driver from last year’s event not yet locked in the main event.

Steve Laursen won B-main two and brought Kyle Peterlin, and Tommy Waselski along with him to the A-main. Grand Forks’ Steve Anderson came home one spot shy of a transfer spot.

The “win and you’re in” last chance race took Blake Jegtvig into the 92-lapper. The former WISSOTA Modified national champ held off multiple threats from Anderson, who once again finished one spot short of making the big dance.

The 92-lap, $9,200-to-win main event was set with 2009 champion, Pat Doar, on the pole and defending champion, AJ Diemel, to his outside. The green flag flew and the thunderous field charged into turn one, led by Doar. Diemel. Jake Redetzke, Chad Mahder, and Dustin Strand all shuffled into the top five on the freshly farmed racing surface. By lap four Strand moved his #71 into third as he made passes on Redetzke and Mahder. Mahder quickly returned the favor to regain third and set his sights on Diemel for second. Mahder passed the Elk Mound, WI driver’s #58 to take the runner-up spot as Doar began to enter lapped traffic on lap 13. By lap 30 Mahder had reeled in Doar and made a bid for the lead in traffic. Doar and Mahder went three wide with Jeff Hapala down the back stretch. Mahder came around to lead the lap at the line.  The yellow flag was displayed on the following lap for the scheduled fuel stop. The running order at the stop was led by Mahder, Doar, Strand, Diemel, and Don Shaw.

Then after eight minutes, the race resumed and so did the action. Strand, Diemel, and Shaw went three wide for third off of turn two. The result was Shaw moving into fourth and Diemel sliding back to sixth as Redetzke seized an opportunity to crack the top five once again. Diemel quickly found his groove again, however, and drove back to the fourth position. 

With 42 to go, Shaw realized that it was go time and the Ham Lake, MN pilot was charging through the field. Shaw moved from fifth to third in one corner as he made a pass on Diemel and Strand which put the second place runner, Doar, in his crosshairs. Shaw maneuvered past the “double one express” of Doar with 37 to go, but he wasn’t done yet. With Mahder caught in lapped traffic, Shaw quickly erased the gap and challenged for the lead. Shaw powered by the Toppers Pizza #55C with 31 to go and began to pace the field. Shaw was fast on the low side of the speedway and opened up a comfortable lead. It looked as though Shaw was destined to win the race he so desperately wants to win, but with 11 circuits remaining Shaw found himself at a disadvantage. A pack of three soon-to-be lapped cars were all racing for position right in front of Shaw on the bottom of the track. Shaw was very patient as he tried to get by the slower cars, which allowed Mahder to pull right up to his rear bumper. Mahder then switched his line to the cushion and drove by Shaw for the lead. Shaw watched helplessly as the gap between himself and Mahder became larger with each passing lap. When the checkers flew Mahder took the victory with Diemel in second, and Shaw in third. Jeff Massingill finished fourth from 13th, while John Kaanta rounded out the top five. 

Brad Seng was the race’s hard charger. Seng drove the S&S Transport #12s from 26th to ninth. 

Randall Wins Over $14,000 at Rice Lake Speedway's Little Dream

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, August 4 – The 2014 version of the Street Stock “Little Dream” race at the Rice Lake Speedway was so spectacular that everyone wondered if this year's version of the race could maintain the high standards that this race has set.

They shouldn't have been concerned. Tuesday night, Jimmy “The Blade” Randall topped a record field of sixty four Street Stock competitors from four states and two Canadian Provinces and in the process, due to tremendous contributions from fans and race supporting businesses, Randall went home with a check for $14,152.12, smashing last year's record payoff by over $2,000 and setting what is believed to be a national record first place prize for the Street Stock type of race car. The event was sponsored by Mahle Motorsports, BuzzSigns.com and FYE Motorsports Promotions. 

Randall, a local driver from Rice Lake, fought tooth and nail with defending “Little Dream” and current WISSOTA national Street Stock point leader Tim Johnson, making the winning pass with only three laps left in a race that saw the top spot swapped officially three times in the last ten laps of the race. Randall edged Johnson by a car length at the line while third place finisher Jordan Tollakson came from thirteenth to finish another car length behind at the finish.

The WISSOTA Modifieds were also on the card on Tuesday night's program and current Modified national point leader Kevin Adams fought off a hard challenge from Kevin Eder and Jason Gross to record the feature win in that class.

Twenty seven of the sixty four Street Stocks on hand took the green flag for the thirty lap main event. Randall, who started on the outside pole, raced side by side with another Rice Lake driver, Kori Richter in the early going. While Randall was scored the leader of the first sixteen laps, most of those laps saw Richter either right beside him or, at worst, riding his rear bumper.

Right behind the lead duo, Adam Soltis battled with a charging Jim Gullikson, who had quickly moved up from the fifth row, along with Mike Blowers and Travis Krause. Meanwhile, Johnson was also on the move as he started twelfth on the grid but quickly moved to the low groove and started his charge to the front, with Tollakson, who started just behind Johnson, following suit.

As Randall continued to show the way, with Richter challenging him on every lap, Johnson showed his strength as he worked his way up to third, and by lap fifteen, had caught the leaders. A three car collision on lap sixteen slowed the action, and on the double file restart, Johnson moved up the track and pulled up beside Randall as the green dropped. Jimmy appeared to be having some problems getting through the corners as he car began to slip off the bottom and Richter looked to get inside of him.
As they raced down the back chute following the yellow, Richter dove to the inside of Randall while Johnson went to his high side and they raced into turn three, three wide. However, Richter couldn't hold his car down in the low groove and he slid up, clipping both Randall and Johnson and sending then spinning, which caused the field to scramble and triggered the yellow once again.

Richter was sent to the tail for the restart and Johnson inherited the lead. Two more quick yellows slowed the action again but then everyone settled down and the last thirteen laps of the race went green. Johnson moved to the point and led the next three laps while Randall and Tollakson battled for second. The double file restart forced Randall to the outside and he found traction in the second lane. He pulled back up beside Johnson and the leaders ran side by side, battling for the top spot. Randall fought his way past Johnson and led laps twenty one and twenty two by inches, only to see Johnson fight his way back into the top spot and lead the next four laps.

Randall was slipping just a bit in the corners as he fell back by nearly a car length but once again Randall made an adjustment as he moved slightly lower on the track and adjusted his entry line to the corners. This worked as once again he clawed his way back up beside Johnson, who was running on the tires on the inside of the track. With two laps to go, Randall once again edged into the lead and as Johnson pushed into turn one, his car slid up the track just enough that Randall was finally able to clear him. The white flag found the top three running nose to tail and while both Johnson and Tollakson gave it their best shot, Randall kept the middle groove working and he drove home to take the win by a car length with Johnson and Tollakson in tow as the massive crowd let out a thunderous roar.

Krause, who had fallen back several position during the mid portion of the race, made a strong charge following the last yellow and also working the high side, raced his way past Gullikson to take fourth at the finish. The second five at the line consisted of Sam Fankhauser, Kevin Bogdanovic, Mike Knudtson who started twentieth, Ryan Pommerer and Kolby Kiehl, who started twenty fourth.

Randall, who won his second “Little Dream”, previously having won the event in 2012, has now taken over $20,000 out of the Rice Lake Speedway with his two wins in this race.

Eight heat races set the grid for the main event using passing points along with three B features that completed the starting field. The non qualifiers race went to Aaron Johnson who opted to forfeit the $500 first place prize and instead start at the tail of the main event. He ended up fifteenth in the thirty lap main event.

Adams started on the outside pole for the Modified main event and led every lap, although things got tight for the leader following a couple of late race yellows. The first twenty two laps of the race went nonstop and Adams, working the high side of the track, had pulled out to a ten car length lead over Eder and Jason Gross. Gross picked up the pace near the midpoint of the event and moved past Eder to take over second and appeared to be cutting into Adams' lead to some degree.

Meanwhile, the duo of Jake Hartung, defending champion of this event, and Johnson, who was doing double duty running both Street Stocks and Modifieds, were on the move.

A spin on the front chute slowed the action and on the green, Eder picked up the pace and was able to drive back around Gross and take over second spot. Adams briefly tried the low groove but when Eder got right to his rear bumper, Adams again moved back up the track and started to extend his lead.

One move yellow slowed the action with only three laps to go. This time Adams pulled away from the field and extended his advantage while Hartung drove past Gross for third and tried to pressure Eder for the runner up slot. Adams continued to roll on and he drove under the line for the win, unchallenged at the end. Eder fought off a hard challenge by Hartung for second with Gross and Johnson completing the top five.

Racing action continues at the Rice Lake Speedway on Saturday, August 8th. A five division program will see warm ups begin at 6:30 p.m with racing to follow. At intermission, bike races will be held with divisions for both the kids and adults. Check the speedway face book page for more updates on the racing schedule for the rest of 2015.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
August 4, 2015

WISSOTA Street Stocks

30 lap “Little Dream” Feature – Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Tim Johnson(Brainerd MN), Jordan Tollakson(Montevideo MN), Travis Krause(Buffalo City), Jim Gullikson(Zimmerman MN), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Kevin Bogdanovic(Wausau), Mike Knudtson(Osseo), Ryan Pommerer(Oriska N.D.), Kolby Kiehl(Cameron), Ron Hanestad, Ryan Kostreba, Cody Kummer, Justin Pogones, Aaron Johnson, Tylar Wilson, Broc Stout, Chris Peterson, Tyler Wahlstrom, Adam Soltis, Travis Robertson, Justin Vogel, Mike Blowers, Jay Kesan, Kori Richter, Danny Hanson, Jon Tollakson

15 lap Non Qualifer – A. Johnson(Brainerd MN), Danny Richards(Mondovi), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Kyle Dykhoff(Perham MN), Royce Jawaski(Horace N.D.), Jim Williams(DeGraff MN), Eric Riley(Morris MN), Stout(Winner S.D.), Tyler Lamb(Clark S.D.), Don Cook(Barron), Noah Grinstead, Billy Kendall, Kris Peterson, James Tandeski, Ryan Johnson

8 lap Dash – Richter(Rice Lake), Randall, Soltis(Ladysmith), Wahlstrom(Mondovi), Pommerer, Hanestad(Glenwood City), Blowers(Waseca MN), Krause

12 lap B Feature 1 – Kummer(Medford), Robertson(Moorhead MN), C. Peterson(Amery), Grinstead(Austin MN), Kendall(Baxter MN), Stout, Lamb, K. Peterson, Bill Maruca, Cory Dykhoff, Denny Cutsforth, Cooper Berlin, Gary Kasparek, Brandon Fah, Scott Huston, Brad Schmidt

B Feature 2 – Bogdanovic, Knudtson, Pogones(Zimmerman MN), Richards, A. Johnson, R. Johnson, K. Dykhoff, Riley, Wilson, Jake Huston, Nate Langeberg, Mike Jans, Ryan Nelson, Rob Grabon, Kyle King

B Feature 3 – Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), J. Tollakson(Montevideo MN), Kiehl, Tandeski(Christine N.D.), Van Gilder, Williams, Jawaski, Cook, Josh Amans, Mitch Kesan, Ryan Glembin, Russell Peterson, Zach Elward, Andrew Ausmann, Brad Sheridan, Wayne Dean

10 lap Heat 1 – Randall, Stout, C. Peterson, Robertson, VanGilder, Jans, Lamb, Amans

Heat 2 – Krause, Blowers, Nelson(Madison MN), Knudtson, S. Huston(Benson MN), King, Glembin

Heat 3 – Hanestad, Bogdanovic, Kostreba(Elk River Mn), Cook, Michael Truscott(Chippewa Falls), Ausmann, K. Peterson, Berlin

Heat 4 – T. Wahlstrom, Hanson(Alma), J. Tollakson, Kiehl, R. Johnson(Karlstad MN), Kendall, Grabon, Wilson

Heat 5 – T. Johnson, J. Tollakson, Schmidt(Elk River MN), A Johnson, Tandeski, Langeberg, Riley, R. Peterson

Heat 6 – Richter, Fankhauser, Williams, Cutsforth(Rice Lake), K. Dykhoff, Jawaski, K. Kesan, C. Dykhoff

Heat 7 – Vogel(Brooten MN), Gullikson, Richards, Pogones, Kummer, Maruca, Grinstead, J. Huston

Heat 8 – Soltis(Ladysmith), Pommerer, J. Kesan, Dean(Fall Creek), Fah(Hewitt MN), Elward, Simon Wahlstrom, Sheridan

WISSOTA Modifieds
30 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Kevin Eder(Ashland), Jake Hartung(Elmwood), Jason Gross(Cushing), Tim Johnson(Brainerd MN), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Kerry Halopka(Wheeler), Dave Baxter(Eau Claire), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Jeffery Lein Jr, Jay Richardson, Buddy Mayala, Tim McMann, Neil Balduc, Wayne Poteet, Dave Mayala, Cory Mahder, Steve Hallquist, Jeff Spacek

10 lap Heat 1 – Johnson, Gross, Mahder(Eau Claire), Anderson, Balduc(Bessemer MI), Baxter, Spacek

Heat 2 – Eder, Hallquist(Eau Claire), Koehler, McMann(Duluth MN), Hoffman, Lein Jr, D. Mayala

Heat 3 – Hartung, Adams, Halopka, Richardson(Spring Valley), B. Mayala(Barron), Poteet

Dirt Track Nationals Event Cancelled

For Immediate Release – St. Cloud, Minnesota– July 23rd, 2015
St. Cloud, Minnesota based FYE Motorsports Promotions has decided to cancel the Dirt Track Nationals event that was scheduled to be held at the Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota on August 6th-8th. The event was scheduled to be the largest paying event in the WISSOTA’s Midwest Modified division history, but due to a much smaller number of pre entered drivers than expected and other concerns of the timing of the event, event promoter Chris Stepan has decided to put it on hold.

Stepan said ‘the buzz around the event when we originally announced it back in March was outstanding and the event format and payout was also awesome, but many racers that I have spoken to recently have expressed concern with the timing of the event as well as other circumstances that were potentially going to keep them from attending, so we felt that the right thing to do was to cancel the event for now before getting everyone here and having a less than ideal event. Maybe we can re-think the timing and hold this event at a time that is better suited for most people and can still bring this event to the drivers and fans of WISSOTA-country.’

Any drivers that pre-entered will be receiving their pre entry fee back. Thank you for your understanding, thanks for the support, sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and good luck the remainder of 2015.

It should be noted that the Granite City Speedway will still hold racing action on both Friday and Saturday nights (August 7th & 8th) with complete WISSOTA-sanctioned programs for Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds, Mod Fours and Hornets. The Street Stocks and Pure Stocks will have the weekend off. Feature winner bonuses have been added to each night by Granite City sponsor Wild Country 99 increasing the winning payouts for each class each night. Modifieds will be racing for $750 to win each night. Super Stocks will be racing for $600 to win each night. Midwest Modifieds will be running for $500 to win nightly. Mod Fours will be racing for $400 to win a night and the Hornets will be racing for $150 to win each night.