By: Tami Jo Kuehn
Princeton, MN (August 1) – After taking a week off, the Princeton Speedway was back in action Friday with a full night of WISSOTA Dirt Track Race Action. It was Kids Night – Meet the drivers Night and fans were treated to double features in a couple of classes. Ryan Geirke, Joey Jensen, Mitch Weiss, Jim Gullikson, Brady Fosso and Tyler Larson all claimed wins, with Brady Fosso and Joey Jensen snagging Make-Up feature wins.
The first feature of the event of the night was the Crystal Cabinets WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds make-up feature from a couple weeks ago. Joey Jensen and Dustin Nelson took their positions on row one, however an immediate caution caused the field to be reset. As the race resumed, Jensen sped off in the lead and never looked back. The remainder of the race ran caution free, with Joey Jensen snagging the win. Mitch Weiss, Erik Gruhlke, Ryan Putnam and Kaden Woodie finished in points two through five.
Colton Lodermeier and Brady Fosso brought the WISSOTA Hornets to the green for the next make-up feature, and Fosso claimed the early lead. Lodermeier held second and challenged Fosso the opening laps, however Brady Fosso held the point. Lodermeier kept pressure on the leader, and as the white flag waved, the yellow followed and the drivers were sorted. Brady Fosso brought the drivers back to green, and took the win while Tony Jenson, Colton Lodermeier, Bobie Arnes and William Lange rounded out the top points.
After the excitement of kids night wrapped up, the Zoomie’s Race Engines WISSOTA Super Stocks aligned the speedway for the night’s opening feature race. Joey Jensen took the lead at the end of lap one with Dustin Nelson and Doug Koski in tow. Laps passed quickly and soon, Jensen put a slower driver down a lap. Top drivers remained in the same order with Jensen nearly two seconds ahead of the competition. Dylan Kromschroeder and Dexton Koch moved forward to challenge Koski for third and the drivers were three-wide for the point as the race ended. Dustin Nelson, Dexton Koch, Dylan Kromschroeder and Doug Koski finished second through fifth respectively, as Joey Jensen took his #21 Super to victory lane.
Thomas Worth claimed the lead as the Hy-Tech Automotive WISSOTA Street Stocks went green, but Kyle Howland kept close. Howland worked the low groove to challenge Worth as Jim Gullikson closed in. Worth felt the heat of Howland and Gullikson as they raced door to door behind the leader. Gullikson passed Worth for first as the yellow flag waved. Gullikson was in command on the restart with Howland and Worth at his rear. Tommy Pogones made the battle for second three-wide, and Pogones advanced with the point. Pogones chased after Gullikson with few laps to go, but Jim Gullikson sped away and took the win. Tommy Pogones settled for second with Thomas Worth, Kyle Howland and Braedyn Fleck as the top finishers.
Ryan Gerike took first, Bryce Borgen claimed second while Tim Patchen, Eric Lamm and Adam Bohlman raced three-wide for third when the green flew for the Dirt Race Central WISSOTA Modifieds. Lamm edged out the third point, however Dave Cain quickly made the pass. Cain raced the high groove and challenged Borgen for second as the yellow waved for a couple tangled cars. Another caution was triggered after the restart, and as the green reappeared, Cain and Bohlman went three-wide with Gierke for the lead. Ryan Geirke held the point and led the race from start to finish and earned the win. Adam Bohlman, Dave Cain, Bryce Borgen and Eric Lamm rounded out the top five.
The East Central Sports WISSOTA Mod Fours went green, and Tyler Larson immediately stretched his lead to nearly two seconds before the first caution was triggered. Larson continued to lead through another caution but felt the heat of Rowan Tramm on his rear. The top two drivers separated from the field with Tramm not letting Larson out of his sight. Tramm changed his groove the final lap, but Tyler Larson was quicker as he took the checkered flags. Remaining top points went to Rowan Tramm, Ashton Schwinn, Gerrald Nohner and Blake Hawker.
The Crystal Cabinets WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds took the clay with Mitch Weiss and Kaden Woodie on row one. Drivers raced door to door throughout the field during the opening laps while Weiss pulled away. Dustin Nelson made his way to second but had Joey Jensen and Woodie at his door. They were nearly three-wide for the point until Jensen snagged it and looked ahead at Weiss. The half-way flags were displayed as the first caution was triggered. Racers knocked off a couple laps at a time as a handful of cautions occurred throughout the second half of the race. Jensen kept after Weiss during each restart, and attempted a slider to snag the lead, however, Mitch Weiss remained victorious and took his #23 to victory lane. Joey Jensen settled for second with Ben Lewis, William Moelter and Dustin Nelson as the top finishers.
Brady Fosso and William Lange brought the WISSOTA Hornets to the green in the final feature of the night. The green waved with Fosso in the lead while Tony Jenson took second. Fosso stretched his lead at the start, but Jenson closed the gap and was at Fosso’s door. The top two had a solid lead as they remained glued to one another. The final laps passed, and Brady Fosso held the lead to grab his second feature win of the night. Tony Jenson, Bobie Arnes, Josh Backstrom and William Lange rounded out the top five points.
Next Friday is Fair Night at the Princeton Speedway as the Mille Lacs County Fair will fill the grounds. All six regular classes will be in action, along with the MN Micro sprints and Mod Four make-up feature from July 18th. Racing will begin at 7:00pm.