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Gordon & early season dominators win at KRA
By Ray Beste
© 2008 All The Dirt! Racing News, Inc.
WILLMAR, MN (May 8) - Andy Gordon held off a late surge from Nate Heinrich and won the WISSOTA Modified feature Thursday night at KRA Speedway during AMSOIL Dirt Track Series racing action.
Curt Myers and Allen Gessell, Jr. both continued their early season tears with a victory in the WISSOTA Super Stocks and WISSOTA Street Stocks, respectively, while Justin Bjorklund, Jason Hoffman and Mike Flickinger each picked up opening night victories as well. Although the temperature at feature time was quite brisk, the action on the speedway kept the fans warm all night long.
The WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds got the call for the first feature with veterans Tyler Limoges and Hoffman sharing the front row duties; they blasted off in unison when head flagman Stan Ross dropped the green. Hoffman beat Limoges to turn one and grabbed the opening lap advantage.
Ninth starter Brandon Nelson got on the move early on slipping into the top five on the opening lap. Nate Barber retired pitside about the time Nelson moved by Nick Koester for fourth. Hoffman stretched his lead while Nelson continued his onslaught toward the front. On lap 8, Bill Woods’ #18 stalled in turn one and sparked the first caution.
Hoffman led the way on the restart and Nelson went by Limoges for second. Nelson, however, got a bit sideways coming off turn four and looped his machine. That gave fourth place Denis Czech the opportunity to pull up next to Limoges for the next double-file restart. Czech swiped second on the restart while Hoffman immediately distanced himself from the field. Limoges and Czech battled all the way around the track during the rest of the event.
Hoffman scored the opening night victory while the runner-up spot wasn't decided until the final turn when Limoges drove by Czech on the bottom and secured the position. Ryan Studanski and Pee Wee Kuhnau rounded out the top five.
The WISSOTA Street Stocks were next on the docket for their 20-lap A-main with heat winners Scott Paulson and Gessell, Jr. aligned on the front row. Gessell, Jr. grabbed the early advantage and Paulson settled into second. Gessell, Jr. quickly extended his lead while sixth starter Mike Jans moved into third. Jans immediately pressured Paulson, the former national champion, who got into a rhythm by lap four and began to track down the leader. Eighth starter Devin Neske cracked the top five on lap six before the first yellow of the event halted action on lap seven.
Gessell, Jr., Paulson and Jans waged a three-car battle for the lead and Jans grabbed the advantage as they raced down the backstretch. The lead was shortlived, however, because Roger Christiansen took a scary ride over the retaining wall in turn three. Christiansen walked away from the accident that left his race car badly mangled.
After another caution on lap 10, Jans passed Paulson for second with seven laps to go. Ryan Buer and Jimmy “Nitro” Williams, meanwhile, were both surging toward the front. After Paulson regained second from Jans, Buer moved passed each competitor via the bottom groove and claimed second with four laps remaining. Twelfth starter Williams moved into third with two laps remaining while Gessell, Jr. went on to score another win. Buer finished second ahead of Williams, Jans and Paulson.
Heat winner Bjorklund raced to an early lead in the WISSOTA Mod Four feature while the drivers stacked up two-by-two behind him. Fourth starter Tyler Larson moved into second on the opening lap. Larson pressured Bjorklund while the driver of the #99 worked the inside of the speedway with Larson up top. The top two continued their battle for the lead while outside front row starter and fellow heat winner Jesse Yarmon joined the fray on lap seven.
Bjorklund held a two-car length advantage over Larson and Yarmon on lap seven while 12th starter Paul Hartman worked his way through the field. Most of the competitors raced near the tire barrier but Hartman pedaled his machine through the middle with great success. Bjorklund had built a sizeable lead by the time Andy Deters took over fourth.
The order remained in tact until lap 15 when Tyler Larson made contact with Yarmon and spun his machine in turn four. Larson tagged the end of the field for the five-lap dash to the finish. Bjorklund led on the restart while the battle for the third spot heated up between Deters and Hartman. With three laps to go, Hartman snuck by Deters on the top of the speedway exiting turn two.
Bjorklund cruised on for his first feature win of the young season ahead of Yarmon, Hartman, Deters and Dean Larson.
Seventeen WISSOTA Super Stocks made their way out onto the racing surface next with heat race winners Shawn Nolan and Curt Myers, a pair of wily veterans, lined up on the front row. After two failed starts, Myers seized the early lead and Nolan settled into a second place battle with Dave Mass. Tenth starter Tim Johnson cracked the top five on lap five. One lap later, Brandon Larson and Jim Urseth made contact in turn four and brought out the yellow.
With 14 laps still remaining, Myers, Mass, Nolan, Jeff Lien and Tim Johnson took off when the green flag dropped once again. Nolan blasted by Mass for second and as the race wore on, Nolan crept closer and closer to Myers. Mass and Lien, meanwhile, waged the best battle on the speedway with three places at stake and seven laps remaining. Lien ran near the tire barrier with Mass up on the cushion. Mass secured the spot and then began to track down Nolan.
With three laps remaining, Johnson moved by Lien for fourth via the bottom groove in turn two while Mass and Nolan battled for second. Mass completed the pass of Nolan during the final lap but could not deny Myers his fourth feature win of the season. Johnson and Lien completed the top five.
The rumble on the backstretch let the fans know the WISSOTA Modifieds were ready for their lap 20-lap affair. The two heat winners, Murdock’s Andy Gordon and Madison’s Nate Heinrich, shared the front row as head flagman Stan Ross dropped the green. Heinrich backed his Matrix Chassis machine into the moisture in turn one and was scored the leader as the entire field drag raced down the backstretch. Heinrich was still on the point three laps in when Gordon moved up to do battle for the lead.
Jason Thoennes moved into third on lap four while Heinrich continued to lead until lap five when Gordon drove by exiting turn two. Gordon stretched his lead to a couple of car lengths while Heinrich and Thoennes battled for second. After a caution with seven laps to go, Heinrich returned to the top shelf and began to pressure Gordon for the lead. Back in traffic, Watertown, SD invader Todd Stark made some nice moves en route to sixth place with three laps to go.
Gordon fought off Heinrich's final advances and went on to score the opening night victory. Thoennes finished third while Clearwater, MN drivers Dale Mathison and Ryan Canon rounded out the top five finishing positions.
A new addition at KRA Speedway this season is the #94.1 The Loon sponsored Hobby Stock, a car that potential drivers bid for with the money going to charity. John Evenson piloted the machine and fared well behind the wheel. But when the dust settled over the feature field, heat race winner Jamie Flickinger picked up the win. Flickinger was followed to the line by Shawn Fernckes, Adam Olson, Ben Godbee and Mike Flickinger.
KRA Speedway officials wanted to thank all the racers, fans and crew members who helped make opening in 2008 a success and hope to see you all back once again for some Thursday night Thunder, KRA Speedway style. For more information on KRA Speedway log onto the track's website at www.kraspeedway.com. The races start each and every Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
WISSOTA Modifieds:
Feature - Andy Gordon, Nate Heinrich, Jason Thoennes, Dale Mathison, Ryan Canon, Don Eischens, Todd Stark, Danny Bayer, Matt Anderson, John Sertich, Cory Crapser, Jim Nystrom, Cam Schaefer, Tim Alexander, Kent Willms
Heat 1 - Gordon, Crapser, Thoennes, Anderson, Alexander, Bayer, Nystrom, Willms
Heat 2 - Heinrich, Mathison, Canon, Schaefer, Eischens, Stark, Sertich
WISSOTA Super Stocks:
Feature - Curt Myers, Dave Mass, Shawn Nolan, Tim Johnson, Jeff Lien, Steve Weber, Jim Urseth, Jon Stepan, Jay Hedtke, Derrick Lemke, Gary Husmann, Erick Thiesse, Jeff Flaten, Brandon Larson, Jason Vejtruba, Zach Schultz, Scott Thompson
Heat 1 - Nolan, Lien, Thompson, Stepan, Weber, Urseth, Lemke, Husmann
Heat 2 - Mass, Myers, Vejtruba, Larson, Johnson, Thiesse, Flaten, Schultz
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature - Jason Hoffman, Tyler Limoges, Denis Czech, Ryan Studanski, Pee Wee Kuhnau, Chris Mensen, Nick Koester, Brandon Nelson, Bill Woods, Nate Barber
Heat - Limoges, Hoffman, Barber, Studanski, Czech, Koester, Kuhnau, Woods, Nelson, Mensen
WISSOTA Street Stocks:
Feature - Allen Gessell, Jr., Ryan Buer, Jim Williams, Mike Jans, Scott Paulson, Aaron Rauschendorfer, Shaun Feldman, Danica Bleess, Josh Fredeen, Roger Christiansen, Devin Neske, Scott Huston, Travis Forcier, Josh Laney
Heat 1 - Gessell, Jr., Feldman, Rauschendorfer, Buer, Fredeen, Laney, Williams
Heat 2 - Paulson, Huston, Forcier, Jans, Neske, Christiansen, Danica Bleess
WISSOTA Mod Fours:
Feature - Justin Bjorklund, Jesse Yarmon, Paul Hartman, Andy Deters, Dean Larson, Conrad Schwinn, Tyler Larson, Derek Zieske, Dustin Zieske, Nick Egge, Tom Silver, Dave Anderson, Adam Prieve, Kurt Deters, Chris Lindquist, Justin Schneider, Brandon Lindquist
Heat 1 - Bjorklund, Schwinn, Derek Zieske, Andy Deters, Dean Larson, Dustin Zieske, Egge, Chris Lindquist, Prieve
Heat 2 - Yarmon, Tyler Larson, Kurt Deters, Anderson, Silver, Brandon Lindquist, Hartman, Schneider
KRA Hobby Stocks:
Feature - Jamie Flickinger, Shawn Fernkes, Adam Olson, Ben Godbee, Mike Flickinger, Josh Dragt, Derek Noor, Dan Lorensen, Melissa Zieske, Brad Fredeen, Nick Simar
Heat - J. Flickinger, Lorensen, Fernkes, Godbee, Dragt, Noor, Mike Flickinger, Zieske, Olson, Brad Fredeen, Simar
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