5/12/2024
Ogilvie Raceway
Mother Nature Finally Allows Wagamon's Ogilvie Raceway to Kick Off the Season with Amazing Weather and GREAT Race Action!
By: Tami Jo Kuehn
Ogilvie, MN (May 11) – After Mother Nature not playing nice for weeks, Wagamon’s Ogilvie Raceway was in action Saturday night for their season opener with 118 signing in to battle. The night of WISSOTA Dirt Track Racing, and featured lots of great race action and some exciting final lap occurrences that altered the winner.
The WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds were the first feature of the night and Landyn Randt snagged the early lead. David Swearingen moved into the second point and applied pressure to Randt as Ryan Putnam challenged Cole Boston for third. With the race half over, Randt remained in first while Putnam battled for second with Swearingen. Swearingen quickly dropped through the pack and entered the infield with a flat tire, which allowed Putnam to cruise to Randt’s door. Putnam used every groove available in an attempt to pass Randt, but Randt held his line. Only a couple laps remained, Putnam never backed down, but Landyn Randt took the checkers and drove his car to victory lane. Ryan Putnam, Cole Boston, Paul Ripley and Jamie Davis rounded out the top five.
Keith Tourville, Kyle Howland and Sam Fankhauser battled three-wide as the green waved for the WISSOTA Street Stock feature. Tourville nosed ahead with the lead while Fankhauser and Levi Randt battled for second. Fankhauser and Randt remained close as laps passed, while Tourville stretched his lead. Tourville had a significant lead over the field as Tommy Pogones began to move forward. Pogones started ninth, moved to fourth, and battled three-wide for second with Fankhauser and Randt. Pogones secured the point and looked ahead at Tourville. Laps went by, and with the white flag waving, Tourville was a comfortable seven seconds ahead of his competitors. As Tourville raced down the back-chute, tragedy struck, and his car began to coast to a slow stop. Tommy Pogones took advantage of this and cruised by Tourville the final curve to claim the win. Remaining top points went to Sam Fankhauser, Levi Randt, Jeff Ekdahl and Rachel Boston.
The WISSOTA Mod Fours had an immediate caution as their feature began, which became a theme throughout the race. Tyler Larson took the lead with Blake Hawker in second. Robert Holtquist and Connor Hass battled for third as the yellow appeared again. The race continued with the top drivers remaining similar through the cautions and other events. When the double checkered waved, Tyler Larson took the win with Dustin Holtquist, Blake Hawker, Robert Holtquist and Connor Hass rounding out the top five points.
Jody Bellefeuille and Ryan Gierke put on a show for the fans the opening laps of the WISSOTA Modified feature with multiple laps of back-and-forth sliders, for the top point. Landon Atkinson patiently waited in third watching the leaders swap for position until Bellefeuille nosed out the point. Gierke came back to Bellefeuille’s door and after another battle, Gierke took the lead. Gierke broke free of Bellefeuille, stretched his lead and prepared to lap slower cars. Cars covered the entire race surface as a caution occurred with two laps to go. Ryan Gierke was unphased by the caution and sped off to take the win. Jody Bellefeuille, Eric Lamm, Landon Atkinson and Brandon Mehrwerth wrapped up top points.
The WISSOTA Hornets took the green next with Joe Wilber grabbing the immediate lead. Payson Patrin quickly caught the OK car of Wilber and made the pass for first. A couple of cautions slowed the Hornets, but each time the green reappeared, they battled for positions. Wilber moved to Patrin’s door, and they raced side by side for the lead with few laps to go. Wilber nosed ahead with the lead, Patrin kept close, and when the checkers waved, it was Wilber with the win. After drivers attended post-race tech, Wilber ended up being disqualified and Payson Patrin was announced as the winner. Sydney Chaschuk, Justin Schelitzche, Jenna Hagemann and Randy Jacoboski grabbed points two through five.
Dustin Nelson claimed the lead as the WISSOTA Super Stocks began the final feature of the night, however Denis Czech quickly took second and then first. Nelson held the second point but felt the heat of Dylan Kromschroeder and Dexton Koch on his rear. A caution then slowed the drivers and reset the field with Czech in command. Nelson and Koch battled for second with Koch securing the point. Koch then caught Czech and moved low on the track to get by the #2. The final laps passed quickly with Czech holding the lead by nose, however as they rounded the final turn everything changed. Czech and Koch were nose to nose as Czech drifted a smidge high in the curve, allowing Koch to get a bit more momentum. The margin of difference was 0.037 seconds as the drivers crossed the line, and Dexton Koch snagged the win. Denis Czech settled for second with Dustin Nelson, Dylan Kromschroeder and DJ Keeler as stop finishers.
Next week, Wagamon’s Ogilvie Raceway had a schedule change and will be running a regular race night on Saturday including the WISSOTA Late Models. Racing will resume at 6:30pm and we look forward to seeing you at the Big O.
Article Credit: Photo By: Andrew Wendt