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Cain Captures $7,000 Mod Nationals Title

Alexandria, Mn (July 7th, 2007) - Although Jay McDoanld took the lead on lap nineteen, Dave Cain roarded back during the 50-lap WISSOTA Modified event to gain the win at the third Annual Minnesota Modified Nationals. Perennial WISSOTA national front runners Danny Bayer (WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds) and Cory Rosen (WISSOTA Street Stocks) each picked up might impressive wins as well during night two of the Mod Nationals.

Before the 25-car field could be set for the WISSOTA Modifieds, three B-mains and a last chance qualifier had to be held to determine the 25-car starting grid. 20 laps was put up on the score board for the first B-main with Dennis Bitzan and Kevin "Buzzy" Adams aligned on the front row. Adams blasted off to the early lead while Bitzan was left to do battle with Rick Jacobson for the second spot. Bitzan ran the low side of the speedway with Jacobson up top. With only the top three competitors locking into the A-main, the action was hot and heavy early. Scott Tofte was up on the cushion "doing work" on lap fourteen when he overtook Bitzan for the lead in turn four. Jacobson followed Tofte to the highside and dropped Bitzan back to the final transfer spot with four laps remaining. Bitzan and Nate Heinrich would battle door to door during the remaining laps with Bitzan holding on to the transfer spot. Out front it was Tofte picking up the win in dominating fashion. Jacobson, Bitzan, Heinrich and Steve Pfeifer were also members of the top five.

With the track sporting two solid grooves, WISSOTA Modified B-main #2 rolled out next with Dallas Gulbrandson and Mike Storck showing the fifteen car starting field to the green. Gulbrandson beat Storck to turn one and was scored the leader at the conclusion of the first lap. The battle for second was a good one early on between Storck and Andy Gordon before eleventh starter Dale Mathison joined the fray. Mathison pedaled his machine on the extreme high side of speedway cracking the top five with six laps remaining. Mathison would dispose of both Gordon and Storck in the remaining laps taking home a very impressive second place finish behind race winner Gulbrandson. Gordon and Randy Tarno rounded out the top five finishing order.

Jamie Lemke scored the victory in B-main #3 in dominating fashion. After sharing the front row with Jason Thoennes, Lemke blasted off and gained an early eight car length advantage over Thoennes. Don Eischens would also move by Thoennes for position in the ladder stages of the event as Thoennes had a motor going away. Scott Gilbertson moved up to do battle with Thoennes on the final lap for the final transfer spot. Thoennes, however, was able to hold off Gilbertson to make it in to his third consecutive Minnesota Modified Nationals A-main. Gilbertson's run was important, however, it would put him on the pole for the last chance qualifier's race.

Gilbertson parlayed his strong B-main finish into a win in the LCQ. Not only would that earn Gilbertson a $700 starting spot in the A-main, but it also gained him a brand new Hoosier race tire donated by Cory Oberg of Premiere Real Estate Services. Bald Knob, AR ace Wayne Brooks was the other to transfer out of the LCQ qualifying for the A-main event.

The WISSOTA Street Stocks were first to get the call for their 15-lap main event with Cory Rosen and Cory Crapser sharing the front row duties. Rosen carried the high side momentum to grab the opening lap advantage while Crapser settled into second. Crapser's weekend took another turn for the worse on lap four when he slowed drastically on the back straightaway. Crapser would once again retire pitside with motor trouble. Seventh starter Shawn Wageman moved into second with four laps remaing as He and Rosen battled for the top spot. Wageman would take a peak to the inside or Rosen several times in the remaining three laps but was never able to overtake Rosen for the win. Out front it was Rosen picking up his first Viking Speedway feature win of the season. Wageman continues to be up front with consistency coming home second ahead of Jason Long, Scott Horn and Aaron Leininger. Crapser and Wageman picked up heat race victories earlier in the evening for the WISSOTA Streets.

Valley City, ND driver Randy Klein took the lead on the opening lap of the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main. Klein would lead early and often while third starter Danny Bayer would move into second. Klein would lead each of the first seven laps before Bayer powered by using the ditch in turn four on lap seven. Jason Hoffman followed Bayer's move and took over second one lap later while Jake Wildman began to march his way to the front. After starting nineteenth, Wildman found himself in the seventh spot with five laps remaining. Joining Wildman in a hard charging effort was Glenwood, Mn driver Dave Schroeder. Schroeder started the 20-lap A-main in the 24th starting position and came home seventh at the line. Wildman would dispose of Ryan Mikkelson and Kyle Krafthefer in the remaining laps ending an unbelievable run in the fourth spot. Out front it was Bayer stretching his advantage in the remaining laps picking up yet another Viking Speedway triumph. Hoffman, Klein, Wildman and Mikkelson rounded out the top five. Brock Gronwold, Bayer and Jeremy Kerzman picked up heat race wins earlier in the contest for the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds.

With all the weekend's activities in the books, the WISSOTA Modifieds rolled out onto the speedway for their 50-lap A-main. Driver introductions took place with each driver readying for the 50-lap contest. Order was quickly restored afterwards as the cars aligned in a four wide salute to the fans. The field stacked up two by two shortly there after with Jay McDoanld and Dave Cain showing the twenty-five car field to the green flag. When the green flag dropped, Cain slammed his right rear tire on the cushion in turn one and carried enough momentum off of turn two to grab the opening lap advantage. McDonald settled in behind and ran near Cain's rear bumper on the high side of the speedway. Cain would hold the lead while Jim Chyba and Craig Thatcher battled for the third spot. Chyba ran the bottom with Thatcher in the middle. Thatcher would overtake the position on lap seventeen while McDonald still applied pressure to Cain up front. With the checkered flags waving for the 20-lap fuel stop, McDonald ducked under Cain for the top spot garnering the position at the line. After the cars re-fueld their machines, McDonald showed the field around once again as the green flag waved. McDonald experimented with the bottom groove on the restart and Cain was once again blasted by off of turn two. Madison, Mn driver Scott Tofte found the high side of the speedway to his liking on lap twenty-three when he moved into sixth. Tofte, after starting fifteenth, looked as if he might have a top five car when the cross flags waved over the field. Back in the pack a few hard charging efforts were found. After switching a motor during intermission, 25th starter Jason Thoennes cracked the top twelve with fifteen laps remaining. Joining Thoennes on a hard-charging voyage was Richmond, Mn pilot Don Eischens. Eischens moved from 20th to 7th during the duration of the 50-lap event. Thoennes would move up four more spots in the remaining laps ending a great run in the eighth spot. Jon Tesch moved into the fourth spot with seven laps remaining as the final yellow of the event waved over the field. On the restart, Tesch made a couple of beautiful moves stick and found himself in the second spot with five to go. Cain continued to run the cushion with Tesch throwing some wicked slide jobs at him in turns one and two. On the final trip around the speedway, Tesch made a bonzai run for the bottom of the speedway in turn one. Tesch, however, made a clean move and allowed Cain room to motor back past. Tesch duplicated his move in turns three and four before a rear axle tube broke dropping him back one position behind Steve Arpin at the line. Out front it was Cain picking up his first ever Viking Speedway win and a nice $7,000 paycheck to boot. Second went to Arpin with Tesch, Shane Sabraski and Craig Thatcher rounding out the top five. Thoennes was the hard charger of the event starting 25th and finishing 8th.

The Folks at FYE Motorsports would like to thank all the fans and drivers that came out to support the 3rd Annual Minnesota Modified Nationals. Without there support an event of this magnitude could not take place. Congrats to Dave Cain on his $7,000 win as well as many others who made the weekend a great one for the fans.

SUMMARY:

WISSOTA Modifieds:
Feature- Dave Cain, Steve Arpin, Jon Tesch, Shane Sabraski, Craig Thatcher, Mark Noble, Don Eischens, Jason Thoennes, Dennis Bitzan, Zach Johnson, Bryan Nayes, Dallas Gulbrandson, Scott Tofte, Tony Leiker, Dale Mathison, Wayne Brooks, Mike Storck, Jay McDonald, Rick Jacobson, Matt Gilbertson, Jim Chyba, Ryan Muzik, Jamie Lemke, JJ Schuelke, Scott Gilbertson
B-main 1- Tofte, Jacobson, Bitzan, Heinrich, Pfeiefer, D. Storck, Keyser, Matt Anderson
B-main 2- Gulbrandson, Mathison, M. Storck, Gordon, Tarno, Viebrock, Follmer, Holton
B-main 3- Lemke, Eischens, Thoennes, Gilbertson, Brooks, Thomas, Staff, Delaine
Last Chance- Gilbertson, Brooks, Gordon, Thomas, Tarno

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature- Danny Bayer, Jason Hoffman, Randy Klein, Jake Wildman, Ryan Mikkelson, Kyle Krafthefer, Dave Schroeder, Matt Smith, Travis Saurer, Korey Krafthefer, Marshal Tofte, Pete Loecken, Brett Hoium, Chris Mensen, Kyle Reents, Shane Sabraski, Ron Saurer, Terry Merten, Brian Krog, Jeremy Kerzman, Scott Gill, Brock Gronwold, Ross Romdalvik, Kyle Koehntop
Heat 1- Sabraski, Saurer, Smith, Krafthefer, Wildman, Mensen, Schroeder, Russ Anderson
Heat 2- Kerzman, Klein, R. Saurer, Krog, Romdalvik, Gill, Thoennes, Haben
Heat 3- Hoffman, Bayer, Loecken, Ko Krafthefer, Hoium, Vezina, Greeley, Bernstein
Heat 4- Gronwold, Mikkelson, Merten, Reents, Koehntop, Tofte, Don Platow, Bill Lund
B-main- Mensen, Tofte, Gill, Schroeder, Bernstein

WISSOTA Street Stocks:
Feature- Cory Rosen, Shawn Wageman, Jason Long, Scott Horn, Aaron Leininger, Mark Blom, Justin Vogel, James Tandeski, Dave Rohweder, Ryan Buer, Nick Thoreson, Chris Winter, Randy Laage, Jason McCoy, Andy Bangsund, Cory Tammen, Kyle Thompson, Matt Kometz, Cory Crapser
Heat 1- Crapser, Blom, Long, Winter, Kometz, McCoy, Bangsund, Tammen, Laage, Thoreson
Heat 2- Wageman, Rosen, Rohweder, Leininger, Horn, Buer, Vogel, Tandeski, Thompson

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Sabraski & VandeKamp Win Mod Nationals Night One

McDonald & Cain Earn Front Row For Mod Nationals Main Event

By Ray Beste

Alexandria, Mn (July 6th & 7th) - Opening night of the 2007 Minnesota Modified nationals got underway Friday July 6th with a full program for the WISSOTA Street Stocks and WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. Along with the support classes, the WISSOTA Modifieds would be on the card as well running eight heat races and a qualifying feature event that would determine the first seven rows for Saturday night's $7,000 to win A-main. Sunny skies and great car counts greated fans and racers alike for the third annual event brought to the fans by FYE Motorsports.

With 61 WISSOTA Modifieds checking into the back gate, seven Modified heat races were held to determine who would make the big dance on Saturday night. Heat one was loaded with heavy hitters with Kevin "Buzzy" Adams and Jess Beckett sharing the front row. Adams led the first two circuits before "Top Shelf Tony" Leiker blew past on the cushion in turn two. Adams, in his first ever visit to the speedway, had a nice run coming home second. Chippewa Falls, Mn driver Bryan Nayes moved up three spots to finish third which would ultimately lock him into the Friday nights qualifying A-main. Mike Storck and John Correll were each members of the top five as well.

Heat number two was dominated by Corcoran, Mn driver Dave Cain. After starting dead last on the grid, Cain slide and diced his way through the field passing Matt Gilbertson for the lead with six laps remaining. Gilbertson, however, had a great run himself moving from his sixth starting position to finish second behind Cain. Scott Tofte, Don Eischens and Randy Tarno were each in the top five as well in heat race two. Gilbertson's passing points would lock him into the qualifying feature as well.

Heat number three was dominated by 2006 event winner Shane Sabraski. The Rice, Mn product blasted off from the outside of row one and was never seriously challenge on his way to victory. Steve Arpin worked his way past Scott Gilbertson, Dallas Gulbrandson and Steve Pfeifer during the event which would put him into the qualifying feature as well. Gulbrandson, Pfeifer and Scott Gilbertson were each members of the top five as well in heat race three.

Heat number four was quite possibly the most loaded heat ever seen at the Minnesota Modified nationals. In an event that featured Craig Thatcher, Jon Tesch, Jason Thoennes, Scot Danzeisen and Jason Miller; the fans anticipated a great 15-lap event. Thatcher grabbed the point early on, on lap three while fifth starter Jon Tesch methodically worked his way forward. Tesch moved past Rick Jacobson in the ladder stages of the event to steal the qualifying feature spot. Jacobson moved up three spots during the duration of the event finishing ahead of Thoennes and Danzeisen. Jason Miller led early and often before a blow motor would end his qualifying run.

On a strength of another great qualifying effort, Browerville, Mn driver Jim Chyba qualified for his third straight Minnesota Modified Nationals feature event. Chyba took the early lead from outside pole before fifth starter Jay McDonald moved up to do battle with four laps remaining. McDonald railed the high side while Chyba worked middle to bottom during the 15-lap contest. Mark Esala had a steady run coming home third ahead of Jamie Lemke and Bryce Bjerke.

Blooming Prairie, Mn legend Mark Noble scored the win in heat race number six. Noble ducked under early leader Terry Engebretson and lap four and was never seriously challenged in the remaining laps. Lowry, Mn driver Zach Johnson would ensure his place in Saturday nights A-main with a second place finish while Engebretson, Jeremy Kerzman and Nate Heinrich rounded out the top five. Noble's effort would qualify him for his second straight Minnesota Modified Nationals feature event.

Central Minnesota was well represented in the seventh and final heat. Local product Ryan Muzik battled tooth and nail with Dennis Bitzan during the final five laps, but scored the win in the end by a car length. Dawson, Mn throttle-masher JJ Schuelke picked up the passing points award finishing third moving up five spots from his eighth starting position. Andy Gordon and Ryan Canon followed the front trio to the line.

With all the qualifying heat races in the books, it was now time for the WISSOTA Street Stock finale. Speedway regulars Aaron Leininger and Mark Blom shared the front row starting duties as head flagman Mike Commerford dropped the green. Blom would lead the opening lap before VandeKamp would sneak by Mark for the point on lap two. Eight starter Dave Rohweder cracked the top five on lap three and looked as if he was likely the fastest car on the speedway. Rohweder disposed of Jason Long for the fourth spot on lap seven while VandeKamp endured pressure from seventh starter Cory Crapser. Crapser's run, however, would end on lap eight when he expired a motor on the backstretch. The yellow flag hung over the field which would bunch of the competitors behind VandeKamp. On the restart, Rohweder moved into third as the laps began to wind down. Rohweder powered by Blom on the bottom of the track in turn three with four laps remaining while VandeKamp looked strong out front. With two to go, Rohweder closed in on the backside of VandeKamp for the lead. During the remaining two laps, Rohweder would take a peak to the inside but never mounted a serious challenge to VandeKamp's first ever Viking Speedway triumph. Rohweder had a great run coming home second ahead of Blom, Long and Justin Vogel. Heat race wins were collected by Blom and Rohweder.

Rice, Mn driver Shane Sabraski ducked under both Brett Hoium and Pete Loecken on the opening lap to grab the lead in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified finale. Sabraski quickly stretched his advantage out front while Hoium was left to do battle with Brian Krog for the second spot. Krog would eventually wrestle the spot away from Hoium while Sabraski was checked out, out front. The best battle on the speedway was for the third spot which featured a three wide battle between Hoium, Kyle Krafthefer and Jake Wildman. Hoium ran the extreme bottom of the race track with Krafthefer and Wildman up on the cushion. Hoium would off each competitor while twelfth starter Josh Thoennes began to work his way forward. With four laps remaining, Thoennes moved by Danny Bayer for the sixth spot as he closed in on the third place trio. In the end it was Hoium holding off Krafthefer, Wildman and Thoennes for the third spot while Sabraski cruised on to an easy victory and $500 paycheck out front. Krog, Hoium, Krafthefer and Wildman were all members of the top five as well. Dave Schroeder picked up the hard charger award starting 24th and finishing 11th.

With all the two barrel classes in the books, it was time for the 25-lap WISSOTA Modified qualifying feature. Where each competitor would finish, would determine their starting spot for Saturday night's $7,000 to win A-main. Muzik grabbed the opening lap advantage while Dave Cain quickly began to march forward. While most cars worked middle to bottom, Cain pedaled his J-Car up on the cushion with great results. Cain moved into fourth on lap three while Gilbertson briefly took the lead out front. Cain continued his spirited march toward the front finding himself at the top of the mountain on lap eighth. "Mr. Modified" Jay McDonald railed the high side of the speedway with great results entering the top five with seven laps remaining. McDonald would wheel by Craig Thatcher for the third spot while Cain began to stretch his advantage out front. Muzik would fade a little bit in the remaining laps but still manage to turn in a great fifth place run. McDonald was able to work his way past Jim Chyba in the remaining laps to take over second as Cain cruised on to the victory out front. Cain chose the outside pole for Saturday nights A-main which meant Jay McDonald and Dave Cain would set the pace for Saturday night's Minnesota Modified Natinonals A-main.

SUMMARY:

WISSOTA Modifieds:
Qualifying Feature- Dave Cain, Jay McDonald, Jim Chyba, Craig Thatcher, Ryan Muzik, Steve Arpin, Jon Tesch, Mark Noble, JJ Schuelke, Bryan Nayes, Shane Sabraski, Matt Gilbertson, Tony Leiker
Heat 1- Leiker, Adams, Nayes, M. Storck, Correll, Jamie Trautner, Mark Trautner, Beckett, Jegtvig
Heat 2- Cain, M. Gilbertson, Tofte, Eischens, Tarno, Danny Staff, Aaron Holton, Brooks
Heat 3- Sabraski, Arpin, Gulbrandson, Pfeiefer, S. Gilbertson, D. Storck, Tim Alexander, Jason Voigt
Heat 4- Thatcher, Tesch, Jacobson, Thoennes, Danzeisen, Froehlich, Keyser, Miller
Heat 5- Chyba, McDonald, Esala, Lemke, Bjerke, Delaine, Mathison, Borgen
Heat 6- Noble, Johnson, Engebretson, Kerzman, Heinrich, Erik Bjorklund, Bruns, Arne Anderson
Heat 7- Muzik, Bitzan, Schuelke, Gordon, Canon, Grimes, Matt Anderson, Kevin Viebrock

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature- Shane Sabraski, Brian Krog, Brett Hoium, Kyle Krafthefer, Jake Wildman, Josh Thoennes, Danny Bayer, Jason Hoffman, Zach Schultz, Pete Loecken, Dave Schroeder, Scott Gill, Brian Haben, Terry Merten, William Lund, Korey Krafthefer, Dan Greeley, Matt Smith, Randy Vezina, Marshal Tofte, Todd Berg, Kyle Koehntop, Jeremy Kerzman, Kyle Reents, Russ Anderson, Chris Mensen
Heat 1- Bayer, Hoium, Ko Krafthefer, Tofte, Lund, Smith, Koehtnop, Berg, Vezina
Heat 2- Krog, Ky Krafthefer, Loecken, Schultz, Merten, Hoffman, Haben, Greeley, Mensen
Heat 3- Wildman, Kerzman, Sabraski, Thoennes, Gill, Reents, Anderson, Schroeder

WISSOTA Street Stocks:
Feature- Jason VandeKamp, Dave Rohweder, Mark Blom, Jason Long, Justin Vogel, Scott Horn, Kelly Hagel, Kyle Thompson, Andrew Bangsund, Matt Kometz, Aaron Leininger, Jason McCoy, Chris Winter, Cory Crapser, Chris Michaelsohn, Randy Laage, Travis Berends, Shawn Wageman, Ryan Buer, Joe Pellman
Heat 1- Rohweder, Crapser, Wageman, VandeKamp, Long, Horn, Buer, Berends, Hagel, Bangsund
Heat 2- Blom, McCoy, Laage, Leininger, Vogel, Michaelsohn, Thompson, Kometz, Winter, Pellman

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