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Steve Arpin Victorious at 2008 Minnesota Modified Nationals!!

Alexandria, Mn (July 5th, 2008) - Steve Arpin dominated Saturday night's 50-lap A-main picking up the $7,000 paycheck at Viking Speedway's 4th Annual Minnesota Modified Nationals. Arpin's win broke Specialty Fabricating's streak as the Chassis Builder in victory lane. WISSOTA Midwest Modified driver Josh Thoennes picked up the victory in his division's feature event while Scott Paulson endured an unbelievable battle from Shawn Wageman and Cory Rosen to score the win in the WISSOTA Street Stocks. The weekend proved to be a successful one with drivers, fans and pit crew members alike coming out in droves for the annual event located at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Alexandria, Mn.

The WISSOTA Street Stocks were once again the first to get the call. Two of the best in the business in Scott Paulson and Cory Rosen shared the front row as the field stock up two by two behind. The green flag dropped with Paulson gaining a slight advantage off of turn two. Rosen and fourth starter Shawn Wageman wasted little time moving up to do battle with Paulson as the three danced three wide several times for an eight laps stretch. Rosen worked the bottom with Wageman in the middle and Paulson up top. The first three runners were unable to shake free and the trio continued their unbelievable battle for the lead. Tenth starter Jim Williams moved up six positions during the 15-lap affair while the aforementioned drivers continued to get after out front. Seventeenth starter Cory Tammen proved that his car was working well moving up eleven positions in just fifteen laps. Tammen could've used a late caution to see if he could've joined the fray out front. Rosen shook free from Wageman with two laps to go and tried everything he could to overtake Paulson. Paulson, however, held the groove out front and went on to score yet another Viking Speedway win. A hard fought second went to Rosen ahead of Wageman, Williams and Jason Babcock. Scott Horn and Paulson each scored heat race wins earlier in the evening for the WISSOTA Streets.

Speedway regular Brian Haben and Big Lake, Mn invader Karth Mitchell shared the front row starting duties for the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main. Haben took the early advantage from the get go while the field seen many great battles back in traffic. Josh Thoennes stole the lead from Haben on lap three using the high side in turn two which left Haben to do battle with Matt Suckow and Jeff Marshall. Suckow, who started third battled hard with Haben, with Haben eventually holding the spot. Eighth starter Shane Sabraski hung near the middle of the pack early on before making a huge charge late in the race. Sabraski cracked the top five with six laps remaining before disposing of Marshall, Suckow and Haben on restarts. The final yellow of the event waved with four laps remaining which would give Sabraski a chance at Thoennes. Thoennes continued to wheel his machine around the high side of the speedway and eventually went on to score the win. Sabraski had another great run in the second spot ahead of Haben, Suckow and the always hard charging Jeremy Kerzman. Haben, Suckow, Sabraski and Marshall were all victorious in WISSOTA Midwest Modified qualifying action earlier in the show while Brian Krog reigned victorious in the consi.

With all the events of the weekend in the books, the 25-car WISSOTA Modified field rolled out onto the speedway. 50- laps were put up on the board with a planned fuel stop on lap 20. Driver introductions were performed with each driver strapping into their respective machine. Kelly Estey and Steve Arpin brought the 25-car field off of turn four and it was underway. Arpin immediately grabbed the lead on the opening lap while the field stretched in tow. Zach Johnson held the third spot early on while Scot Danzeisen made some nice moves. Danzeisen cracked the top five just three laps in while Arpin was bolted to the speedway out front. Danzeisen was able to work his way past Scott Gilbertson and Johnson to take over the third spot twelves laps into the event while Arpin was on cruise control out front. Dave Cain moved up six positions early on finding himself in the fourth spot when the red/checkered flags waved on lap 20. When order was restored, Arpin once again cruised off to a comfortable advantage this time leaving Estey and Danzeisen to battle for the runner up spot. Danzeisen took the spot on lap 34, with Estey regaining the spot just two laps later. Blooming Prairie, Mn legend Mark Noble began to make his presence known with eighteen laps remaining as he wheeled by Jason Thoennes for the sixth spot. Thoennes, however, battled back and regained the spot just one lap later. Many hard charging efforts were found during the remaining laps while Arpin maintained a huge lead out front. Ryan Aho, Thatcher and Noble had made considerable ground on the field as they battled in an attempt to enter the top five. With five laps remaining the final yellow flag of the event hung over the field. On the restart, Thoennes was able to work to the outside of Cain moving into the fourth spot in the process. Ninteenth starter Aho was very impressive in his first ever Mod Nationals finishing second after disposing of Thatcher for the seventh spot with just two laps remaining. Out front it was all Arpin picking up his first ever Minnesota Modified Nationals title, as well as his first Viking Speedway victory. Scot Danzeisen had a mighty impressive run in the second spot ahead of Estey, Thoennes and Cain. The final eleven drivers that qualified through the B-mains and last chance qualifiers included: Joey Jensen, Mark Noble, Brock Gronwold, Shane Sabraski, Ryan AHo, Dale Mathison, Craig Thatcher, Jeff Hinkemeyer, JJ Schuelke, Corky Thomas and Blake Jegtvig.

FYE Motorsports and Viking Speedway would like to thank all the drivers, fans and pit crew members that made the 4th Annual Minnesota Modified Nationals a success.

SUMMARY:

WISSOTA Modifieds:
Feature- Steve Arpin, Scot Danzeisen, Kelly Estey, Jason Thoennes, Dave Cain, Mark Noble, Ryan Aho, Craig Thatcher, Scott Gilbertson, Zach Johnson, Shane Sabraski, Corky Thomas, JJ Schuelke, Jason Voigt, Brock Gronwold, Shawn Peterson, Brady Peterson, Scott Tofte, Blake Jegtvig, Jeff Hinkemeyer, Cory Crapser, Trent Follmer, Don Eischens, Joey Jensen, Dale Mathison
B-main 1- Jensen, Noble, Gronwold, Beckett, Dale, Malmlov, Wildman, Gierke, Dave Storck, Tim Alexander
B-main 2- Sabraski, Aho, Mathison, Bayer, Thomas, Jacobson, Engebretson, Gordon, Schill, Delaine
B-main 3- Thatcher, Hinkemeyer, Schuelke, Gilbertson, Jegtvig, Ostrander, Staff, Canon, Gulbrandson, Nayes
Last Chance Qualifier- Thomas, Jegtvig

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature- Josh Thoennes, Shane Sabraski, Brian Haben, Matt Suckow, Jeremy Kerzman, Jason VandeKamp, Jeff Marshall, Travis Saurer, Brendon Blascyk, Matt Smith, Cale Arneson, Dustin Bitzan, Todd Berg, Karth Mitchell, Gary Reents, Terry Merten, Brett Hoium, Korey Krafthefer, Brian Krog, Joe Schmidt, Marshal Tofte, Bob Smith, Skeeter Estey, Jason Hoffman
Heat 1- Haben, Bitzan, Smith, Merten, Hoium, Krog, Anderson, Loecken, Saurer
Heat 2- Suckow, Mitchell, VandeKamp, Arneson, Schmidt, Austin Arneson, Kress, Bluhm, Muzik
Heat 3- Sabraski, Thoennes, Kerzman, Saurer, Krafthefer, Blascyk, Kuhnau, Reents, Koehntop
Heat 4- Marshall, Hoffman, Estey, Berg, Tofte, Smith, Gary Reents, Lund, Anderson
B-main- Krog, Smith, Blascyk, Gary Reents, Kyle Reents

WISSOTA Street Stocks:
Feature- Scott Paulson, Cory Rosen, Shawn Wageman, Jim Williams, Jason Babcock, Cory Tammen, Mark Blom, Ryan Buer, Scott Horn, Adam Burrows, Scott Walker, Justin Vogel, Scott Huston, James Tandeski, Rick Sahli, Thad Jensen, Russ Carlson, Chuck Olson, Randy Laage, Andrew Bangsund
Heat 1- Horn, Burrows, Buer, Olson, Blom, Tandeski, Walker, Huston, Tammen, Vogel
Heat 2- Paulson, Wageman, Rosen, Babcock, Williams, Sahli, Laage, Jensen, Carlson, Bangsund
Wageman, Sabraski and Estey victorious on Night One of the 2008 Minnesota Modified Nationals
By Ray Beste

Alexandria, Mn (July 4th, 2008) - Kelly Estey helf off a mid-race challenge from Steve Arpin to pick up the qualifying feature during opening night action at the 4th Annual Minnesota Modified Nationals. Estey chose to start Saturday night's $7,000 to win A-main from the pole which will put Arpin to his outside. Shane Sabraski continued his unbelievable streak of consistency picking up yet another win in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified division while Shawn Wageman scored the win in the WISSOTA Street Stocks. 63 WISSOTA Modifieds checked into the backgate to do battle during Amsoil Dirt Track Series racing at Viking Speedway.

Ryan Buer and Rick Sahli manned the front row starting duties for the 15-lap WISSOTA Street Stock A-main. When head flagman Mike Commerford dropped the green, Buer coasted off into the lead. Shawn Wageman, Justin Vogel and Jason Babcock quickly made their way to the front. Buer held the lead while he endured heavy pressure from third row starting Wageman. Buer, Wageman and Vogel danced three wide a few times with Buer maintaining the advantage. With five laps to go, however, Buer pulled up laim in turn three with a broken right front. That handed the lead over to Wageman for the restart. Vogel and Babcock once again ignited a dual for the second spot with Vogel eventually gaining the advantage in the end. Scott Paulson and Jim Williams dueled door to door in the remaining laps with Paulson ultimately picking up the position. Out front it was Wageman scoring yet another Viking Speedway win and the $350 payday that goes with it. Wageman was followed to the line by Vogel, Babcock, Paulson and Williams. Williams, Wageman and Babcock were victorious in heat race action earlier in the program for the WISSOTA Street Stocks.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main was next on the docket with national point leader Shane Sabraski taking the early lead. Sabraski rocketed around the extreme high side of the speedway while tenth starter Josh Thoennes began his march toward the front. Through some crafty moves and good restart, Thoennes found himself up in third spot with six laps remaining. Thoennes was able to dispose of Travis Saurer in the latter stages of the event picking up the second spot for his efforts. Sixteenth starter Matt Smith made some nice moves during the duration of the event finishing a nice run in the eight position. Jeff Marshall and Brian Krog battled side by side for the final three laps before Krog ultimately stole the position on the final lap off of turn four. Sabraski wheeled his Specialty Fabricating machine around the high side of the speedway during the entire event scoring yet another feature win for his efforts. Thoennes moved up eight spots during the event coming home in second with Travis Saurer, Brian Krog and Jeff Marshall rounding out the top five. Four WISSOTA Midwest Modified heat races were held earlier in the evening with victories being collected by Jeremy Kerzman, Jeff Marshall, Brian Krog and Shane Sabraski. The division's lone B-main was won by Jason VandeKamp.

The final race of the night belonged to the WISSOTA Modifieds. With fourteen drivers locked into the A-main, they stacked up two by two with 25 laps put up on the board. Kelly Estey and WISSOTA Modified rookie Brady Peterson were aligned on the front row as the green flag dropped. Estey bolted off into the lead while Zach Johnson quickly moved into second. Outside row five starter Steve Arpin quickly cracked the top five just four laps in running the middle of the speedway. Row seven starters Jason Thoennes and Scot Danzeisen proved they would be a factor early on working their way through the field methodically. Aprin moved by Johnson for the second spot with eleven laps remaining and quickly began to pressure Estey for the lead. Estey worked the extreme high side of the speedway with Arpin rolling through the middle. With seven laps remaining, Arpin took a peak to the inside of Estey as the duo entered turn three. Estey, however, carried his top side momentum down the hill and still held the advantage. From that point on, Estey looked strong out front, eventually scoring the win. Danzeisen and Thoennes each moved up to 6th and 7th respectively during the 25-lap affair while Arpin came home second behind Estey. Johnson, Scott Gilbertson and Don Eischens rounded out the top five finishing order for the WISSOTA Modified qualifying feature. All seven heat race winners locked into the qualifier as well as the top seven in passing points. Eleven more drivers would still qualify for the main event on Saturday.

After the race was over, Estey chose the inside pole for the feature which would put Arpin on the outside of row one for Saturday night's $7,000 to win A-main. Day two would also feature another complete program for the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and WISSOTA Street Stocks.

SUMMARY:

WISSOTA Modifieds:
Qualifying Feature- Kelly Estey, Steve Arpin, Zach Johnson, Scott Gilbertson, Don Eischens, Scot Danzeisen, Jason Thoennes, Trent Follmer, Shawn Peterson, Dave Cain, Scott Tofte, Brady Peterson, Cory Crapser, Jason Voigt
Heat 1- Estey, Tofte, Jegtvig, Dev Malmlov, Mike Storck, Jason Schill, Jake Wildman, Shane Eddington, Brad Loveday
Heat 2- Danzeisen, Cain, Dennis Bitzan, Dallas Gulbrandson, Ross Romdalvik, Dano Ostrander, Jim Nystrom, Jim Chyba, Scott Greer
Heat 3- Follmer, S. Peterson, Ron Jones, Thatcher, Danny Bayer, Mark Hanson, Rick Delaine, Mark Froehlich, Paul Knauf
Heat 4- Arpin, Thoennes, Aho, Gronwold, Matt Anderson, Matt Gilbertson, Steve Pfeifer, Alan Olafson, Jess Beckett
Heat 5- B. Peterson, Eischens, Hinkemeyer, Rick Jacobson, Terry Engebretson, Mathison, Bob Gierke, Aaron Holtan, Duane Dale
Heat 6- Johnson, Sabraski, Jensen, Crapser, Noble, Ryan Canon, Jamie Lemke, Jake Hartung, Robert Hellebust
Heat 7- Gilbertson, Voigt, Dave Storck, Thomas, Tim Alexander, Schuelke, Andy Gordon, Bryan Nayes, Danny Staff

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature- Shane Sabraski, Josh Thoennes, Travis Saurer, Brian Krog, Jeff Marshall, Jason Hoffman, Brian Haben, Matt Smith, Marshal Tofte, Cale Arneson, Terry Merten, Korey Krafthefer, Brendon Blascyk, Kyle Reents, William Lund, Dustin Bitzan, Brett Hoium, Mike Kress, Joe Schmidt, Kyle Koehntop, Gary Reents, Skeeter Estey, Jeremy Kerzman, Jason VandeKamp
Heat 1- Kerzman, Arneson, Tofte, Bitzan, Kress, Koehntop, Logan Williams, Muzik
Heat 2- Marshall, Haben, Thoennes, Schmidt, Lund, Ron Saurer, Berg, Kyle Reents
Heat 3- Krog, Hoffman, Blascyk, Merten, Krafthefer, Mensen, Gary Reents, VandeKamp
Heat 4- Sabraski, Travis Saurer, Estey, Smith, Hoium, Tyler Anderson, Russ Anderson, Mitchell

WISSOTA Street Stocks:
Feature- Shawn Wageman, Justin Vogel, Jason Babcock, Scott Paulson, Jim Williams, Mark Blom, Scott Horn, Adam Burrows, Cory Tammen, Scott Huston, James Tandeski, Rick Sahli, Scott Walker, Chris Winter, Thad Jensen, Randy Laage, Andrew Bangsund, Chuck Olson, Andy Miller, Ryan Buer, Matt Kometz
Heat 1- Williams, Paulson, Vogel, Blom, Winter, Miller, Walker
Heat 2- Wageman, Sahli, Horn, Burrows, Tammen, Tandeski, Olson
Heat 3- Babcock, Buer, Huston, Jensen, Kometz, Bangsund, Laage

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2008 Modified Nationals News & Notes

Like I have done in the past, I wanted to throw some of my thoughts surrounding this past weekend’s 4th annual Minnesota Modified Nationals on paper, so here goes…

Weather: Mother Nature sure smiled on us this past weekend, we had a brief (but very scary) rain shower during the fuel stop on Saturday night, it was sure great not to have to worry about anything concerning the weather all weekend. Thanks again mom :-)

Car Counts: For the first time since the 1st event in 2005, the car count went up, as we had a total of 65 Modifieds (63 competed in the event as 2 did not return after practice night) on hand, with the quality of absolutely amazing with drivers from MN, WI, ND, SD and 2 Canadian provinces on hand for the weekend.

Long Tows: Modified racer Jess Beckett threw Mike Kress’s Midwest Modified into his trailer and the duo hauled from Rapid City, South Dakota this year. Jeff Marshall made the long trip from Thunder Bay , Ontario in his Midwest Modified and Adam Burrows towed all the way from Belgrade , Montana in his #18b Street Stock.

Track Prep: The Viking Speedway staff deserves a HUGE thumbs up for the fantastic racing surface we had all weekend. With 90+* temps and wind all weekend, it could have been a dry, dusty, rubbered up track, but the 2 new tiller machines, along with a lot of water and some TLC by the track prep guys provided one of the best tracks I have ever seen at Viking for the second year in a row at the Mod Nationals.

Fans: Although the crowd was considerably smaller on Friday night than it has ever been on the first night ever before, the people surely came out on Saturday to see the big show on Saturday night and saw a fantastic 50-lapper and boy did they see one phenomenal show. If we can figure out a way to get the people to come out in force on the first night of this show in the future, it should be a tremendous success.

Hard Chargers: We had three drivers that passed twelve (12) cars in the feature event. Mark Noble, Ryan Aho and Corky Thomas all advanced a dozen positions from their original starting spot in the 50-lapper. That’s hard to do considering the quality of competition that was on the track in the main event.

Changes: I don’t for-see making any major changes to this event in the future. It seems to work out very well, so why fix something that isn’t broken? I have some small tweaks that I plan to look into over the winter, but for the most part the 5th annual Mod Nationals should be along the same lines as this year’s version.

Surprises: Jason Voigt along with rookie Mod racers Brock Gronwold Brady Peterson and Cory Crapser were among the drivers who qualified for the $7,000 to win event for the first time. Each year, we typically have a rookie in the field, but to have three of them this year was a nice surprise.

Bad Luck: Mark Esala blew up a motor in practice on Thursday night, forcing him to miss the remainder of the weekend. Midwest Modified racers Randy Vezina and Wes Hines also suffered motor issues in practice, which sidelined them for the weekend as well.

Winning Chassis: Larry Shaw Race Cars finally stopped the J-car stranglehold on the championships at the Mod Nationals. J-cars had won the first three years, but Steve Arpin in his Shaw by Arpin picked up the cool $7k this year and broke the streak.

Chassis Types: There were 10 J-cars in the 25-car starting field this year, along with 6 Larry Shaw Modifieds, 2 WRC Chassis, and 1 of each of the following: Perfect Chassis, Kraft Kars, Galloper Chassis, Elite Chassis, RCT Race Cars, Eagle Chassis and Fegers Race Cars. In addition, there were another 22 J-cars in attendance, 2 Elites, 1 Victory, 2 more Larry Shaws, 1 Hurricane, 1 WRC, 1 Eagle, 2 Gallopers, 1 Tracer, 1 Dirtworks, 1 GRT by SSR, 1 Skyrocket, 1 Wieberdink and 1 Jones in competition throughout the weekend.

Consistency: After the 4th running of the Mod Nationals, only a trio of guys can boast that they have made the feature each of the 4 years that the event has been held. Arpin, Jason Thoennes and Craig Thatcher are the only three drivers that have been lucky and good enough to get into the feature all four seasons. Of those three guys, all three of them have an 8th place average over the four seasons, with both Arpin and Thoennes racing to a Mod Nationals victory. Arpin has finished 5th, 26th, 2nd and 1st over the four events, while Thoennes has finishes of 1st, 22nd, 8th an 4th and Thatcher has crossed the line 2nd, 20th, 5th and 8th over the 4 Mod Nationals thus far.

Winning Driver: Of course congratulations are in order for Steve Arpin and the 00 racing team. Steve has certainly won a lot of races over the years, but none bigger than this one. He certainly earned it after having to come from 10th to 2nd in the Qualifying feature on Friday night, setting himself up to be on the front row for the big show on Saturday, which he lead basically from start to finish, but not without some serious pressure from Kelly Estey and Scot Danzeisen throughout the event.

Street Stocks: We had some of the top dogs in the Streeters here over the course of the weekend, putting on a great show. The Street Stock features each night were some of the best racing a person will see anywhere. The finish on Saturday night was amazing! Congrats to Shawn Wageman and Scott Paulson on their wins. Wagemen will earn a free entry into the John Seitz Memorial at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks for being overall tops in points over the weekend.

Midwest Mods: As usual, Viking has a great group of Midwest Mod drivers and this weekend these guys put on a whale of a show. Congrats to Shane Sabraski and Josh Thoennes for heir $500 paydays. Sabraski will earn a free entry into the John Seitz Memorial at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks for being overall tops in points over the weekend.

Upcoming events: Don’t forget the next FYE promoted event at Viking will be the 6th annual Viking Fall Classic, which takes place on October 2nd, 3rd & 4th. Practice will be Thursday night Oct. 2nd from 6-10 and racing action will be run on Friday & Saturday. Check out www.fyemotorspots.com for all of the event info.

Overall it was a GREAT weekend once again. Thanks to the Viking Speedway staff, who as a whole are second to none to work with. Also thanks to the fans, drivers, volunteers, sponsors etx who come on board to make this weekend so great each season. The Mod Nationals will surely be better than ever in 2009, so stay tuned for event information to come soon.

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