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Gustin becomes seventh Mod Nationals Winner

Alexandria, MN (July 3rd, 2011) – Marshalltown, IA ace Ryan Gustin made his first ever appearance to Viking Speedway a memorable one, taking home a $7,000 payday Sunday night at Viking Speedway. Shane Sabraski held off a late surge from Travis Saurer to score the win in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main while Dean Larson took top honors in the WISSOTA Mod Four finale. One of the largest crowds ever witnessed at Viking Speedway congregated once again for day two of the 7th Annual “Minnesota Modified Nationals” held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Alexandria, MN.

With 28 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds yet to qualify for the 30-lap, $2,000 to win WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main, two B-mains were held to lock in the final eight competitors. The first B-main was dominated by Villard, MN driver Jason Hoffman. Hoffman moved by George Dalbeck early on and never looked back on his way to victory. Dalbeck, in his first ever visit to the speedway, looked great finishing second ahead of a hard charging Skeeter Estey (started 13th). Glencoe, MN product Josh Larsen was the final driver to qualify for the A-main, moving up four spots from his eighth starting position to finish fourth.

Dustin Bitzan looked to have B-main two in hand before suspension trouble sent him pitside handing the lead over the Denis Czech near the midway point of the race. Sixth starter Chris Mensen would patiently work his way by Czech for the lead, ultimately taking the win. Czech, 11th starter Josh Muzik, and Travis Vanderby all punched their tickets to the A-main by finishing in the top four in the second and final B-main. Andrew Nelson reigned victorious in the last chance qualifier becoming the final car to transfer to the feature event.

The star studded front row of Scot Danzeisen and Travis Saurer proved to be too much for the competitors of B-main one for the WISSOTA Modifieds with each driver moving on to participate in the main event. Mike Storck, Jake Wildman, Curt Lund, Bryce Borgen, Matt Gilbertson, and Danny Bayer all moved on to the Last Chance qualifier by finishing in spots three through eight.

The second of three B-mains was dominated by Manhattan, KS traveler Chase Junghans. Junghans, a regular on the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS), looked very strong during the 20-lap event taking the win in impressive fashion. Eighth starter Terry Engebretson outlasted Shane Edgington and Dave Schroeder to take the final transfer spot in B-main two. Edgington, Schroeder, Shayne Laske, Luke Dykstra, Mark Esala, and Jamie Davis all transferred on to the last chance qualifier.

The third and final B-main for the WISSOTA Modifieds went to Kelley Lake, MN hotshoe Kelly Estey. Estey was glued to the bottom of the speedway from the get go and never looked back on his way to victory. Ward Imrie and Jason Miller battled side by side for several laps for the final transfer spot with Miller ultimately taking the position. Imrie, Jayme Lautigar, Steve Lavasseur, Dennis Bitzan, Jason Blascyk, Jamie Trautner all transferred on to the Last Chance Qualifier, which proved to be the final qualifying event of the evening.

The final qualifying event of the weekend belonged to the WISSOTA Modifieds with 18 drivers making the call for the 20-lap last chance qualifier. With just two competitors transferring on to the A-main, the fans anticipated an action packed event. Shane Edgington took the early lead but it didn’t last long as Curt Lund moved from his seventh starting position to take the lead on lap eighth. Once out front Lund stretched his advantage and earned himself the 23rd starting spot for the night’s A-main. The best battle on the speedway was for the second spot with Luke Dkystra outlasting fellow Canadian Ward Imrie on his way to qualifying for his first Minnesota Modified Nationals A-main. Lund and Dkystra would prove to make up the 12th and final row of the $7,000 to win main event.

With all the qualifying events in the books, the WISSOTA Mod Fours took to the speedway with 12 cars making the call. After the first two circuits, the track began to clear off with Dean Larson taking the lead. Dustin Zieske moved into the second spot before the midway point of the race, drawing closer and closer to Larson as the laps clicked off the board. With two laps remaining, Larson and Zieske caught up to the of some heavy lap traffic. Larson, however, made few mistakes taking the win over Zieske. Josh Abrahamson, Justin Smith, and Tyler Larson all scored top five finishes for the 1,650 lb. machines. Tom Silver and Abrahamson each scored heat race wins earlier in the evening for the WISSOTA Mod Fours.

The best race of the weekend proved to be the $1,000 to win WISSOTA Modified Non-qualifiers race. Alexandria’s own Dwayne Clarke checked out early on and looked as if he had the race in hand despite the fact that Dave Schroeder and Jamie Trautner had other ideas. A mid-race caution put Schroeder and Trautner on the rear bumper of Clarke for a Delaware double-file start. On the restart Schroeder jumped to the lead momentarily before Trautner blasted back on the top side taking the lead. The duo raced side by side for the remainder of the race with Schroeder making a last lap pass for the win coming off of turn four. Schroeder, Trautner, Jason Blascyk, Jody Bellefeuille, and Mark Esala rounded out the top five for the non-qualifiers race.

Shane Sabraski took the early lead on lap one of the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main. Sabraski looked smooth out front and was scored the leader at the conclusion of the first lap. Saurer and VandeKamp battled side by side for the second spot behind Sabraski while Shawn Nolan raced in fourth. Fourteenth starter Steve Houle looked very strong from the get go moving up seven spots early finding a home in the seventh spot, eight laps in. Back in traffic, Kelley Lake, MN hard charger Skeeter Estey began a spirited march to the front just 10 laps in as he cracked the top ten behind the front runners. A few yellows halted action during the middle stages of the event before order was restored. With six laps remaining, Saurer executed a power move on the top side of the speedway moving by Sabraski for the lead. Shane, however, would grab the lead back on the next lap and would never relinquish it in the final four times around. Estey’s magical run finally stalled after moving up 19 positions in 30 laps to finish fourth after starting 23rd! In the end it was Sabraski taking the $2,000 payday. Saurer, Houle, Estey, and VandeKamp all turned in top five performances. Twentieth starter Chris Mensen, Shawn Nolan, William Lund, and 21st starter George Dalbeck rounded out the top ten for the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds.

With all the weekend’s activities in the books, Ryan Gustin and Craig Thatcher brought the 25-car field to the green flag. The front row duo was locked in an early battle with it nearly impossible to determine the lap one leader. Thatcher climbed the hill on lap two and grabbed the lead as the field battle side by side from front to back. As the race wore on, Gustin became quicker and quicker taking the lead on lap 14. Fourth starter Dave Cain began to move forward nearing the 30-lap fuel stop taking the second spot from Thatcher in the process. Gustin negotiated a few lapped cars before taking the checkered flags at the conclusion of the first 30 laps. As the cars pulled in to the work area, fifth place running Jason Grimes headed pitside to change tires in an attempt to gain on the competition for the stretch run. With order restored Gustin brought the field back to the green. By this time it was more than apparent that the two cars on the move were fellow row ten starter Kelly Estey and Scot Danzeisen. With two to go, each had cracked the top ten still moving forward in the process. A couple yellows halted action during the ladder stages of the event which bunched up the field behind Gustin. With seven laps remaining it was Gustin followed by Cain, eighth starter Cody Skytland, Darrell Nelson, and Thatcher. The green flag dropped once again with Gustin showing the way. Skytland made a power move on the top side of the speedway and overtook Cain for the second while Darrell Nelson pulled up lame entering turn three. The field was able to negotiate Nelson without any contact with the race staying green. Estey continued his march to the front moving by Thatcher for the fourth spot on the final trip around. In the end it was all Gustin taking his first career Minnesota Modified Nationals Title. Skytland, Cain, Estey, Thatcher, Danzeisen, Jason Thoennes, Chase Junghans, Ryan Aho, and Jason Grimes rounded out the top 10 in one of the most star-studded fields you will ever see.

On behalf of FYE Motorsports and everyone at Viking Speedway we’d like to thank all the drivers, fans, pit crew members, and sponsors that made the weekend a success. Join us once again next Saturday night for another regular race program at the “High Flying ½ mile.” For more information regarding Viking Speedway log onto the track’s website at vikingspeedway.net.

SUMMARY:
WISSOTA Modifieds:
Feature- Ryan Gustin, Cody Skytland, Dave Cain, Kelly Estey, Craig Thatcher, Scot Danzeisen, Jason Thoennes, Chase Junghans, Ryan Aho, Jason Grimes, Dallas Gulbrandson, Travis Saurer, Shane Sabraski, Josh Thoennes, Kyle Koehntop, Luke Dykstra, Dale Mathison, Jeremy Houle, Curt Lund, Dave Schroeder, Darrell Nelson, Rick Jacobson, Terry Engebretson, Jason Miller, Kyle Wieberdink
B-main 1- Saurer, Danzeisen, Storck, Wildman, Lund
B-main 2- Junghans, Engebretson, Edgington, Schroeder, Laske
B-main 3- Estey, Miller, Imrie, Lautigar, Lavasseur
Last Chance Qualifier- Lund, Dkystra

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature- Shane Sabraski, Travis Saurer, Steve Houle, Skeeter Estey, Jason VandeKamp, Chris Mensen, Shawn Nolan, Brian Haben, William Lund, George Dalbeck, Levi Arneson, Matt Weisman, Denis Czech, Phil Braun, Josh Larsen, Andrew Nelson, Darrin Braaten, Jason Hoffman, Travis Vanderby, Brady Gerdes, Randy Laage, Troy Berends, Matt Suckow, Josh Muzik, Derek Quinn
B-main 1- Hoffman, Dalbeck, Estey, Larsen, Olson
B-main 2- Mensen, Czech, Muzik, Vanderby, Nelson
Last Chance Qualifier- Nelson, S. Olson

WISSOTA Mod Fours:
Feature- Dean Larson, Dustin Zieske, Josh Abrahamson, Justin Smith, Tyler Larson, Tom Silver, Ryan Buer, Brandon Linquist, Dustin Holquist, Dwight Gilyard, Chad Funt, Corey Nehk
Heat 1- Silver, D. Larson, T. Larson, D. Holquist, Gilyard, Nehk
Heat 2- Abrahamson, Zieske, Smith, Buer, Lindquist, Funt

Thatcher and Lee victorious on night one at Viking
By Ray Beste

Alexandria, MN (July 2nd, 2011) – Knapp, WI legend Craig Thatcher outlasted Ryan Gustin taking top honors in the 25-lap WISSOTA Modified Qualifying Feature Saturday night at Viking Speedway. Starbuck, MN driver Cody Lee scored his first ever WISSOTA Super Stock victory while Shane Sabraski reigned victorious in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified Qualifying A-main. The capacity crowd in attendance was treated to nail biting finishes in all three divisions taking part in day one action with all three feature events being decided on the final trip around the speedway. Drivers, pit crew members, sponsors, and racing enthusiasts from all over the Upper Midwest packed the Douglas County Fairgrounds once again for the 7th Annual, “Minnesota Modified Nationals.”

With all the pre-race activities put to rest, the WISSOTA Super Stocks took to the speedway first to qualify for the night’s 20-lap A-main. Alexandria’s own Jeff Crouse led all 10-laps from the pole taking the win in heat race one while Montevideo, MN traveler Jeremy Jerve moved from his second row outside starting position to take the win in heat race two. Shane Sabraski proved to be passing points leader in the WISSOTA Super Stock division, which drew 16 strong entries.

The next item on the docket was five stacked WISSOTA Midwest Modified heat races with some of the best in the business in attendance. Brandon, MN driver Derek Quinn shocked a lot of those in attendance by dominating heat race one while Brady Gerdes nursed a broken left front to the checkers in second. Levi Arneson charged up six positions in the 10-lap affair coming home third ahead of Steve Houle and Zach Hintermeister.

Although Jason VandeKamp led early on, it was Travis Saurer reigning victorious in heat race two. Saurer moved out front from his sixth starting position on lap four, never looking back on his way to the win. VandeKamp, George Dalbeck, seventh starter Randy Laage, and Denis Czech rounded out the top five finishing order.

Viking Speedway regulars William Lund and Todd Berg drag raced to turn one to see who would grab the early lead in heat race three. Lund was able to get there first and was scored the leader at the conclusion of the first lap. Despite the fact Lund would lead wire to wire, Sabraski would move up four positions into second locking himself into the night’s qualifying feature with Jason Hoffman finishing third. Berg and Shawn Olson were also members of the top five finishing order as well during heat three.

Heat four proved to be a good one with Annandale, MN driver Shawn Nolan taking the win behind the wheel of the Schleusner Motorsports #97 Skyrocket. Nolan battled with defending Viking Speedway track Champion Brian Haben early on before scoring the victory in fine fashion. Haben, Troy Berends, Matt Suckow, and Tim Ims all scored top five runs in heat race four.

The fifth and final heat race was dominated by Danube, MN WISSOTA Midwest Modified rookie Phil Braun. Braun worked his way by Kelly Haack and Andrew Nelson never looking back on his way to victory. Matt Weisman charged from eighth to second during the 10-lap affair with Nelson, Darrin Braaten, and Rick Spanswick all scoring top five runs, as well.

With 58 WISSOTA Modifieds on hand, they were broken into six heat races. Like in past years, passing points was the system used to determine where an individual would start in night one’s qualifying feature event. The first heat race of the night went green, white, checkered with outside pole sitter Dallas Gulbrandson punching his ticket to the big dance in dominating fashion. Sixth starter Craig Thatcher steadily worked his way forward to finish second with Jake Wildman third, eighth starter Kyle Wieberdink fourth and Jason Miller fifth.

Heat two proved to be an absolute slobber-knocker between WISSOTA Modified standouts Dave Cain and Cody Skytland. Cain grabbed the early lead from the pole while Skytland sliced and diced his way to the front moving into second near the midway point of the race. Skytland closed up on the backside of Cain a few times during the middle stages of the event but in the end it was Cain taking the win. Skytland put on his dancing shoes finishing second ahead of Modified standouts Travis Saurer, Jody Bellefeuille, and Shayne Laske; each members of the top five, as well.

The most exciting qualifying race of the evening belonged to heat three which featured a battle between Jason Grimes and Scot Danzeisen. After Danzeisen took the lead from the pole early on, Grimes was able to wheel by on the top side of the speedway with three laps remaining. Danzeisen did his best to regain the top spot but was unable to negotiate the #99 of Grimes. In just his second race of the season, Rick Jacobson punched his ticket to the A-main starting eighth and finishing third in heat race three. Jeremy Houle and Ryan Canon finished fourth and fifth respectively in heat three, which featured nine entries.

WISSOTA Modified heat four was dominated by Marshalltown, IA traveler Ryan Gustin. Gustin, who starter ninth, wheeled the #19R machine wherever he needed to on his way to a jaw dropping heat race triumph. Josh Thoennes, Chase Junghans, Kelly Estey, and Curt Lund battle for spots two through five with Thoennes coming home second. In the end it was Gustin, Thoennes, Junghans, Estey, and Lund.

Ryan Aho took the early lead on lap two of heat five for the WISSOTA Modifieds. It wasn’t long, however, before he was joined by Jason Thoennes. Thoennes, who started sixth, pulled even with Aho several times before finally taking the lead with four laps remaining. Shane Sabraski put his third car of the evening in a feature event moving from eighth to fourth in heat five. Out front it was all Thoennes taking the win. Aho, Ward Imrie, Sabraski, and Dave Schroeder were each members of the top five, as well.

The sixth and final heat race was led flag to flag by 2009 Minnesota Modified Nationals Champion Dale Mathison. Mathison looked strong during the 20-lap affair never seriously being challenged. Row four starters Darrell Nelson (second) and Kyle Koehntop (third) each locked them into Saturday night’s $7,000 to win main event while Jayme Lautigar and Shane Edgington rounded out the top five. The final rundown included Mathison, Nelson, Koehntop, Lautigar, and Edgington.

With all the qualifying events in the books, the WISSOTA Super Stocks took to the speedway with Larry Lund and Cody Lee starting on the front. The green flag dropped over the field with Lee taking the early advantage. Fourth starter Scott Brown quickly moved up into the third spot behind Lee and Lund while Sabraski cracked the top five on lap two. Lee continued to lead on lap seven while Sabraski continued his onslaught toward the front. Sabraski moved into second with eight laps remaining with ninth starter Jeff Crouse cracking the top five on the same trip around. Lee chose the top with Sabraski on the bottom as the duo locked horns in a battle for the ages. Sabraski edged ahead on more than one occasion but Lee kept his top side momentum up, holding the lead in the process. With the field taking the white flag Sabraski loaded up his #7A machine one final time in an attempt to overtake Lee. Cody, however, made zero mistakes going on to post his first career WISSOTA Super Stock victory. Sabraski settled for a hard fought second ahead of Crouse, who nipped Brown at the line for third. Jeremy Jerve was the final member of the top five.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modified Qualifying Feature was a barn burner from the start with past National Champions Shane Sabraski and Travis Saurer battling for the top spot with Jason VandeKamp right at their heels. Sabraski remained smooth throughout the 15-lap affair, fending off Saurer’s advances taking the win in the process. VandeKamp remained within striking distance during the duration of the race coming home third with Brian Haben fourth, and Derek Quinn fifth. Because Sabraski took the win in the night’s Qualifying Feature he was able to choose where he wanted to start Saturday’s $2,000 to win A-main. Sabraski chose the outside pole which meant he would be joined on the front row by Saurer on Saturday night.

With the top 16 in passing points locked in, the WISSOTA Modified qualifying feature rolled out onto the speedway for the final event of night number one. WISSOTA standouts Jason Grimes and Rick Jacobson manned the front row starting duties as 25-laps were put up on the board. The green flag waved over the 16-car field with Jacobson taking the early advantage. Third starter Craig Thatcher looked very strong early on moving into second while the rest of the field sliced and diced behind. Ninth starter Ryan Gustin used his familiar diamond maneuver as he cracked the top five just six laps into the event while Thatcher now took the lead out front. Gustin continued his onslaught toward the front moving into second with seven laps remaining while Jason Thoennes looked to be on the move, as well. Thoennes rolled off from the 10th starting spot and moved all the way up to the fifth at the line. Out front the final three laps featured a three car battle between Thatcher, Gustin, and Grimes. Gustin closed up on the backside of Thatcher several times in the remaining laps but it was not enough as Thatcher would take home the win. Gustin, Grimes, Dave Cain, and Jason Thoennes completed the top five putting a cap on night one at the Mod Nationals.

As always, for more information regarding Viking Speedway, log onto vikingspeedway.net.

SUMMARY:
WISSOTA Modifieds:
Qualifying Feature- Craig Thatcher, Ryan Gustin, Jason Grimes, Dave Cain, Jason Thoennes, Rick Jacobson, Ryan Aho, Cody Skytland, Kyle Koehntop, Darrell Nelson, Josh Thoennes, Shane Sabraski, Dallas Gulbrandson, Dale Mathison, Kyle Wieberdink, Jeremy Houle
Heat 1- Gulbrandson, Thatcher, Wildman, Wieberdink, Miller, Dykstra, Clarke, Engebretson, Hoium, Schilling
Heat 2- Cain, Skytland, Saurer, Bellefeuille, Laske, Bitzan, Bayer, Gilbertson, Borgen, Tofte
Heat 3- Grimes, Danzeisen, Jacobson, Houle, Canon, Mickelson, Blascyk, Trautner, Werk
Heat 4- Gustin, Jo. Thoennes, Junghans, Estey, Lund, Esala, Davis, Trautner, S. Bruns, Sersha
Heat 5- Ja. Thoennes, Aho, Imrie, Sabraski, Schroeder, Lavasseur, Sjoman, Olson, Arneson
Heat 6- Mathison, Nelson, Koehntop, Lautigar, Edgington, Storck, Hilluka, M. Bruns, Gierke

WISSOTA Super Stocks:
Feature- Cody Lee, Shane Sabraski, Jeff Crouse, Scott Brown, Jeremy Jerve, Larry Lund, Matt Miller, Jeff Flaten, Mike Peterson, Jon Stepan, Alan Johnson, Jeff Kluver, Ashley Donald, Derrick Lemke, Dusty Peterson, Terry Merten
Heat 1- Jerve, Sabraski, Kluver, D. Peterson, Brown, Donald, Johnson, Lemke
Heat 2- Crouse, Stepan, Lund, Lee, Miller, Flaten, Merten, Peterson

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Qualifying Feature- Shane Sabraski, Travis Saurer, Jason VandeKamp, Brian Haben, Derek Quinn
Heat 1- Quinn, Gerdes, Arneson, Houle, Hintermeister, Mensen, Larsen, Thompson, Estey
Heat 2- Saurer, VandeKamp, Dalbeck, Laage, Czech, B. Johnson, Bitzan, Reents, Greeley
Heat 3- Lund, Sabraski, Hoffman, Berg, Olson, B. Spanswick, Thorstad, Bruder, Schleusner
Heat 4- Nolan, Haben, Berends, Suckow, Ims, Rizer, Donahue, Kerzman, Muzik
Heat 5- Braun, Weisman, A. Nelson, Braaten, R. Spanswick, Vanderby, Haack, Tofte

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