6/10/2024
Wissota Late Model Challenge Series
Wild Child Holds Off Provinzino For Emotional Casino Speedway Victory
For Immediate Release – June 9th, 2024
The 2024 season for the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series powered by Momentum Truck Group, Freightliner, Western Star wrapped up night #4 of the four-night Western Minnesota-Eastern South Dakota swing on Sunday, June 9th with the series’ only trip to the state of South Dakota, with a visit to the Casino Speedway in Watertown, SD.
Matt Gilbertson started off the night by setting fast time with a lap of 14.214 seconds around the tight banked oval, while Jayson Good, Cole Searing, Kevin Burdick and Scott Ward topped the four qualifying heat races early in the night’s program.
Searing earned the pole for the 40-lap, $3,000-to-win main event, and was able to blast off into the race lead at the drop of the green flag and lead the 25-car field into turn one.
Searing, Ryan Mikkelson and Ward waged a war for second battling side by side for the runner up spot lap after lap early in the race, while Kevin Burdick, Good, Jeff Provinzino and Peterson were in an early tussle for fourth just behind the leaders as well.
Really good battles ensued behind the leaders throughout the first half of the race as Searing was forced to battle through lapped traffic. With Cole working high around the slower cars in front of him near the half way mark of the race, Ward, Peterson, Mikkelson and Provinzino were all beginning to close the gap on the leader.
The event was slowed with just thirteen laps to go for a Morgan Ward-Grosz breakdown, and then again with just seven to go for Cory Crapser and the final caution for a pileup with 6 to go, which bunched up the field and left the fans on the edges of their seats over the final six circuits. On the second to final restart of the race, Ward and Searing made contact coming to the green, cutting Cole’s left rear tire and forcing him into the hot pit area to change it.
When the event went back green, Peterson lead, but Ward slid by into the lead and went on to lead the field over the final six laps, but not without heavy pressure from Provinzino, who looked under Ward’s #37 on several occasions over the final two laps and nearly pulled off a last corner pass to the win. Ward would go on to win ahead of Provinzino, Peterson, Burdick and Chad Becker to complete the top five.
Tommy Pogones won the WISSOTA Street Stock feature, Luke Johnson won the WISSOTA Midwest Modified main event, Dustin Holtquist won the WISSOTA Mod Four Feature and Bradley Rossow won the WISSOTA Hornet feature event to wrap up the night.
Full results: 6/9/2024 - Casino Speedway on MyRacePass
The next 2024 Challenge Series event is scheduled for Friday night, July 19th at the Gondik Law Speedway in Superior, Wisconsin.
For upcoming schedule information and tickets, visit www.WISSOTAChallengeSeries.com.
CRP Photos
Nick Anderson Photos
Submitted By: Nikki Cook
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