By: Tami Jo Kuehn
Princeton, MN (June 20) – For the first time in Princeton Speedway history, the Dirt Race Central WISSOTA Street Stock Tour stopped by the central MN bullring and 27 racers showed up to compete. The night was full of WISSOTA Dirt Track Race Series action with Travis Schulte, Max Nelson, Jason VandeKamp, Dustin Holtquist, Tony Jenson and Kyle Dykhoff going home with hardware.
Jason Hobbs and Tim Gonska led the Zoomie’s Race Engines WISSOTA Super Stocks around the track for the night’s opening night. Gonska grabbed the early lead until Max Nelson and Jason Hobbs moved to his side, and they were three-wide for first. Nelson nosed out the lead with Hobbs and Joey Jensen in tow. Drivers settled into points, and laps passed without issue as Max Nelson stretched his lead and took the win. After post-race tech was complete, Dylan Kromschroeder, Joey Jensen, Tommy Bawden and Dustin Nelson were awarded the top five points.
The East Central Sports WISSOTA Mod Fours were next with father and son race team Robert and Dustin Holtquist on row one. Dustin Holtquist took the lead at the end of lap one with Robert in second. Chad Funt took over third and challenged Robert for second as Connor Bruss joined in. Top drivers had slower traffic in sight as the yellow waved and slowed the cars. The field was reset with Dustin Holtquist bringing the racers back to green. Robert Holtquist, Funt, Bruss and Tyler Larson raced door to door and two-by-two after the final restart with Funt and Robert Holtquist side-by-side for second. Contact occurred the final lap between the drivers, however Dustin Holtquist had crossed the line, and took the checkers. The remaining top points were scored with Chad Funt in second, followed by Ashton Schwinn, Connor Bruss and Tyler Larson.
Cole Boston and Jason VandeKamp lined up row one as the Crystal Cabinets WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds went green. VandeKamp claimed first, Cole Boston snagged second as the green waved and drivers battled and swapped throughout the field. Mitch Weiss made his way to third with Joey Jensen on his rear. Boston kept after the #16 of VandeKamp as Jensen slid into third and chased down the leaders. VandeKamp and Boston were nose to nose for first as they encountered lapped traffic. VandeKamp weaved through the traffic first as Boston and Jensen remained close. Racers covered the entire track surface with just four laps remaining. The checkers waved with Cole Boston, Joey Jensen, Mitch Weiss and Landyn Randt in points two through five after post-race tech, while Jason VandeKamp earned the win.
The DRC WISSOTA Street Stock Tour racers made their way to the track with 25 drivers making the call. Sam Fankhauser and Kolby Kiehl took first and second when the green dropped with Justin Vogel and Kyle Dykhoff to their rears. A couple cautions kept the drivers slow, but Frankhauser was in command when the race resumed. Kiehl, Andrew Hanson and Dykhoff went three-wide for second and Dykhoff advanced forward. Other drivers battled two-wide as a couple of cautions were triggered. Dykhoff brought the drivers back to green with Fankhauser and Hanson in tow. Drivers covered the Speedway bullring as slower traffic was mixed in with leaders until the yellow waved. Cars were sorted with Dykhoff, Hanson and Fankhauser as the top three racers. Nick Traynor, Jeff Ekdahl, Vogel and Hanson were nearly four-wide for third as the green reappeared allowing Dykhoff and Fankhauser to pull away. The drivers raced hard for positions the final laps and points two through five went to Sam Fankhauser, Andrew Hanson, Nick Traynor and Jeff Ekdahl when the checkers flew, and Kyle Dykhoff grabbed the win and big check.
Travis Schulte sped off in first as the green appeared for the DRC WISSOTA Modified feature. Adam Bohlman held second while Clayton Wagamon grabbed third. Wagamon moved into second as Bohlman slid off the back-chute, but Bohlman came back and retained third. Drivers spaced out on the surface with Schulte over 3 seconds ahead of his closest opponent. With the checkers in sight, the yellow quickly flew, erasing Schulte’s lead. The restart was a one lap shootout, but Travis Schulte was unphased as he took the green and the checkers. Clayton Wagamon, Dave Cain, Adam Bohlman and Don Eischens rounded out the top five.
The WISSOTA Hornets wrapped up the night’s race program with six drivers lining the clay. Tony Jenson and Bobie Arnes brought the racers to green, but a caution slowed the racers before the end of lap one. Jenson and Arnes brought the racers back to green and Russell Kiker, Jr. made the battle three-wide. Jenson took the lead but Arnes and Kiker, Jr. remained glued to his rear. The top three kept close as laps passed and Kiker, Jr. gave one final push the final lap. As the checkers waved, the difference was a marginal 0.006 seconds and Tony Jenson took the win. Russell Kiker, Jr. finished in second with Bobie Arnes, William Lange and Kaitlyn Kohl as the top five.
Next Friday will be a fun night at the Princeton Speedway as it’s Meet the Drivers Kid’s Night!! All cars, kids and fans will be invited down to the track during intermission for some fun, be sure to mark your calendar for this fun event. Racing will resume at 7:00pm.