5/23/2015
FYE Motorsports Promotions
Brede Bags Biggest-Career Payday in Modified Nationals Finale
(05/23/15) - Seth Brede etched his name in the WISSOTA history books as he claimed the largest payday in WISSOTA Modified history on Friday night at the Viking Speedway. The race, which was the conclusion of the Performance Auto Minnesota Modified Nationals presented by Allstate Peterbuilt saw Brede become the 11th different winner of the event in 11 years. Brede tracked down race long leader, Scot Danzeisen and made a daring last lap pass to claim the win.
Danzeisen led Brady Gerdes and Brede to the green when the racing action picked up with 55 laps left on the board. At the drop of the green, Danzeisen found his groove in the middle of the speedway and raced to the lead while Gerdes and Brede settled into the second and third spots. Behind the lead trio, all other drivers were jockeying for position as the laps began to tick away. With 43 laps remaining, Matt Leer pulled his machine to the infield ending his run at the Mod Nationals crown, while Danzeisen continued to build his advantage. With Danzeisen out front, the battle for the second spot began to heat up, as Brede began to put some pressure on Gerdes.
With 40 laps remaining, Danzeisen continued to hold a large advantage, with Gerdes in the second spot and Brede holding strong in third. Behind them, Jeremy Nelson sat comfortably in the fourth spot, while Dan Ebert, Brian Haben, Tim Johnson, and Jason Thoennes battled behind Nelson. The running order would remain the same, and the yellow would blink on over the speedway with 35 laps remaining. On the restart, Brede went to the lowside of the speedway and passed Gerdes for the second spot. With everyone racing hard, the yellow flew over the speedway for the fuel stop with 30 laps remaining. Danzeisen continued to lead, with Brede, Gerdes, Ebert, and Johnson in the top five. During the fuel stop, several drivers rolled the dice and came into the pits for tire changes, including Brett Hoium and Danny Bayer.
With the cars lined back up, head flagman, Mike Blom, waved the green and once again Danzeisen jumped back to the lead, but Brede was able to put some pressure on him as the exited turn two. Danzeisen was able to clear Brede and began to flex his muscle once more and raced out to eight car length lead. Behind the leader, Thoennes moved his way into the top five after passing Johnson with 26 laps to go. Meanwhile, back in traffic, the driver on the move was Alexandria's Shaun Peterson. Peterson who restarted at the tail of the field had moved into the top ten and looked poised to make a run towards the front. Back towards the front of the field, Gerdes was able to work his way back around Brede and looked to make a move on Danzeisen who had a solid lead on the field. The caution would once again blink on over the half mile speedway for Jeff Wildung, who suffered mechanical issues and stopped in turn one. This reset the field, with only 18 laps remaining and once again Danzeisen held Brede and Gerdes off on the restart. Brede moved into the second spot on the following circuit while Gerdes found himself locked in a great battle with Ebert.
The final yellow of the event would fly over the speedway with only 13 laps remaining. On the yellow flag period, sixth place running Tim Johnson, pulled to the infield with issues, ending his quest for the mod nationals crown. As the cars were being realigned for the restart, fourth running Ebert pulled to the infield. Ebert's crew went to work on his 60 machine and found that they had hurt a motor, but Ebert rolled back onto the speedway, only to pull off the back chute, ending his night. Blom threw the green flag and once more Danzeisen withstood heavy pressure from Brede as he looked for a way around. With ten laps remaining Danzeisen held a six car length lead on Brede, while Peterson cracked the top five for the first time in the race.
As the laps continued to tick down, Danzeisen seemed to change his line, in an effort to save his tires. As Danzeisen searched for a different line, Brede moved to the high side of the speedway and began to find traction and he began to eat into Danzeisen's lead. With Brede closing fast and the fans at the edge of their seats, Brede pulled even with Danzeisen with two laps remaining in turns one and two. As the leaders rocketed down the back chute, Danzeisen powered back to the lead, and Brede once again showed his bumper in turn three. As the white flag flew over the speedway, Danzeisen continued to lead, with Brede in hot pursuit. Brede went back to the top shelf in turn one and once again pulled even with Danzeisen as they raced down the back straightaway. The duo entered turn three in a dead heat, with Danzeisen in middle of the track and Brede on the top. The duo stayed side by side and as they exited turn four, Brede made the pass stick and raced first to the checkered flag, earning him the title of Minnesota Modified National champion. The win also earned Brede a staggering $11,000. Danzeisen was second, Thoennes third, Peterson raced from 24th to fourth, and Nelson rounded out the top five.
Summary:
MN Modified Nationals Feature: Seth Brede, Scot Danzeisen, Jason Thoennes, Shaun Peterson, Jeremy Nelson, Mike Stearns, Brady Gerdes, Jesse Glenz, Brian Haben, Jason Vandekamp, Scott Greer, Zach Johnson, Tyler Peterson, Travis Saurer, Brandon Aggen, Brett Hoium, Dan Ebert, Tim Johnson, Jeff Wildung, Danny Bayer, Matt Leer, Bob Gierke, Darrell Nelson, Shane Sabraski, Johnny Broking, Corky Thomas
11th Annual Performance Auto Minnesota Modified Nationals Recap
By Ryan Schmitz
ALEXANDRIA, MN (July 4) - Scot Danzeisen positioned himself to be the first repeat winner in Minnesota Modified Nationals history with a convincing win in the 25-lap WISSOTA Modified qualifying feature Saturday at Viking Speedway during the 11th annual Performance Auto Minnesota Modified Nationals presented by Allstate Peterbilt Group.
Brady Gerdes, who finished the qualifier second, also earned a front row spot in the $11,000 to win feature slated for Sunday.
The biggest event of the season at Viking kicked off on a warm and muggy Fourth of July night with a large field of over 100 cars in attendance.
Other drivers who found their way into Alexandria Motors victory lane included Tim Johnson in the WISSOTA Super Stocks and Shawn Olson in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds.
Trevor Saurer and Jeff Crouse sat on the front row for the 15-car WISSOTA Super Stock feature. At the drop of the green, Crouse positioned his machine on the cushion and raced to the lead. Only two laps into the race, Crouse was joined by Tim Johnson in a battle for the lead. On the next lap, Johnson powered by Crouse in turn two, then built a lead over Crouse and Trevor Saurer. With eight laps remaining, second-place Crouse had an engine issue and pulled off the back chute in a plume of heavy smoke, which brought out the caution.
That put Shane Sabraski and Saurer on Johnson's back bumper for the restart and Johnson wasted no time moving back to the lead with Sabraski second. Johnson went on to lead the remaining laps and claimed the $500 payday. Sabraski was second, Saurer was third, Jon Stepan was fourth, and Mike Peterson rounded out the top five.
Jason VandeKamp and Shawn Olson led the 24-car WISSOTA Midwest Modified field to the green for their feature. Olson moved into the preferred high groove at the drop of the green and raced to lead ahead of VandeKamp. The first caution of the event flew on lap two for a multicar incident that ended the nights of McKenzie Gerdes, Matt Thoennes, Shane Sabraski and others, in turn three. VandeKamp also pulled pitside during the yellow flag period with apperant issues.
That put the father-son duo of Ron and Travis Saurer on Olson's back bumper for the restart. Olson raced out to the lead as the Saurers battled behind him. Olson continued to lead as the caution flew over the speedway again with eight laps remaining for a marker tire, which ended up on the track in turn one.
On the ensuing restart, Travis Saurer blasted to the low side of the speedway only to see Olson battle back on the high side. Olson went on to lead the remaining laps and claimed his first win of the season.
Sixty Modifieds checked in at the back gate and they were split into six 10-car heat races. Tim Johnson, Jason Thoennes, Bob Gierke, Corky Thomas, Brady Gerdes and Travis Saurer topped the heat races in the headline division.
The top 24 WISSOTA Modifieds in passing points lined up for the division's 25-lap qualifiying feature to set the lineup for Sunday's
$11,000 to win main event. The top 15 drivers were locked into the main on Sunday night. After a four-wide salute to the fans, Corky Thomas and Brady Gerdes paced the field to the green. Gerdes moved to the high line of the speedway and into the lead. Tim Johnson quickly moved into second.
The first caution of the event flew on lap three and put Johnson and Danzeisen on Gerdes' back bumper for the restart. Gerdes again powered into the lead with Danzeisen and Johnson locked in a great battle for second. With 19 laps left, Danzeisen moved into second and quickly pressured Gerdes for the lead. Gerdes continued to work the top of the speedway with Danzeiesen in the middle and Johnson on the bottom.
With 14 laps remaining, Danzeisen powered by Gerdes down the back stretch and swiped the lead. Danzeisen quickly stretched his lead while Gerdes and Johnson battled for second. With 11 laps to go, the duo made contact as they entered turn one, which sent both drivers, along with fourth-running Jeremy Nelson, over the banking. Track officials determined Johnson was at fault and he was sent to the tail end of the field. Gerdes and Nelson moved back into second and third, respectively.
When the green flag came back out, Danzeisen again built a healthy lead while Gerdes looked for a line to catch him. With four laps remaining, Gerdes pulled even with Danzeisen in turn two only to see Danzeisen power back in front down the back chute. From there Danzeisen raced unchallenged to the win. Gerdes was second with Nelson third, Thomas fourth and Travis Saurer fifth.
SUMMARY
WISSOTA Modifieds:
Qualifying Feature - Scott Danzeisen, Brady Gerdes, Jeremy Nelson, Corky Thomas, Travis Saurer, Seth Brede, Dan Ebert, Brian aben, Bob Gierke, Jason Thoennes, Darrell Nelson, Jason VandeKamp, Scott Greer, Tyler Peterson, Brandon Aggen, Mike Stearns, Johnny Broking, Jesse Glenz, Bob Broking, Matt Gilbertson, Jeffery Lein, Jr., Jeff Wildung, Tim Johnson, Phil Braun
Heat 1 - T. Johnson, Wildung, Danzeisen, Glenz, Mike Storck, Josh Thoennes, Landon Atkinson, Hayden Hanson, Jerome Guyot, Austin Arneson
Heat 2 - Ja. Thoennes, T. Peterson, Braun, VandeKamp, Brett Hoium, Brian Krog, Chris Mensen, Jamie Trautner, Cory Tammen, Dave Schroeder
Heat 3 - Gierke, Ebert, Brede, Danny Bayer, Mark Esala, Jason Blasyck, Adam Ayotte, Peter Loecken, Jeff Flaten, Tim Thomas
Heat 4 - C. Thomas, B. Broking, Nelson, Johnny Broking, Lein Jr, Billy Vogel, Mark Trautner, Todd Berg, Jordon Foster, Don Platow
Heat 5 - Gerdes, Aggen, Gilbertson, Stearns, S. Peterson, Zach Johnson, Kelly Estey, Matt Weisman, Blake Jegtvig, Dale Mathison
Heat 6 - Saurer, Haben, D. Nelson, Greer, Andy Gordon, Shane Sabraski, Casey Arneson, Dustin Bitzan, Dave Cain, Matt Leer
WISSOTA Super Stocks:
Feature - Tim Johnson, Shane Sabraski, Trevor Saurer, Jon Stepan, Mike Peterson, Dexton Koch, Adam Ayotte, Christopher Lynch, Matt Miller, Jeremy Tyson, Joe Pellman, Jeff Crouse, Jeff Kluver, Alan Johnson, Derek Quinn
Heat 1 - Crouse, Peterson, Pellman, Koch, Stepan, Miller, Kluver, Tyson
Heat 2 - Sabraski, Saurer, T. Johnson, Quinn, Ayotte, A. Johnson, Lynch
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature - Shawn Olson, Travis Saurer, Skeeter Estey, Justin Froemming, Dan Wheeler, Ron Saurer, Bob Gierke, Jeremy Kerzman, Tim Ims, Corey Storck, Jon Stepan, Haley Lee, Andrew Bangsund, Josh Muzik, Zach Dockter, Mack Estey, Jason Hoffman, Tyler Peterson, Tony Schill, Shane Sabraski, Nick Bruder, Matt Thoennes, McKenzie Gerdes, Jason Vandekamp
B-Main 1 - Wheeler, Bruder, Muzik, Dockter, Brad Parson, John Clemens, Dick Schwardt, Alexius Gallagher, Brandon Dolman
B-Main 2- Schill, Peterson, Bangsund, Sabraski, Cory Bruggeman, Blake Boelens, Ryan McCleary, Blake Swenson
Heat 1 - Hoffman, Vandekamp, Olson, S. Estey, T. Peterson, Dockter, Bruggeman, Parson, Dolman
Heat 2 - T. Saurer, Kerzman, M. Estey, Bruder, Wheeler, Bangsund, Swenson, Sabraski
Heat 3 - Gierke, Ims, Lee, Storck, Gerdes, Clemens, Gallagher, Schwardt
Heat 4 - R. Saurer, Thoennes, Stepan, Froemming, Schill, Muzik, McCleary, Boelens
Viking 7-7 #2
By Ryan Schmitz
ALEXANDRIA, MN (July 5) - Dan Wheeler continued his great season with a dominant feature win in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds during night two of PolyDome Dirt Track Series action Sunday at Viking Speedway. Wheeler pocketed $1,100 for the win, which was part of the 11th annual Performance Auto Minnesota Modified Nationals presented by Allstate Peterbilt Group. The 70-lap, $11,000-to-win WISSOTA Modified main event fell victim to weather only 15 laps in and is rescheduled for Thursday, October 8. The night's events were sponsored by Fat Daddy's Bar and Grill and Elden's Fresh Foods.
Twenty-five of the finest WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds in the region rolled onto the speedway for their 25-lap, $1,100-to-win main event. Nick Bruder and Shawn Olson paced the field to the green and Olson jumped into the lead. Olson continued to pace the field while Bruder was locked in a battle with Wheeler for the second spot.
The first caution of the event flew over the speedway on lap three when Haley Lee spun her machine in turn one while running fourth.
On the ensuing restart, Wheeler moved to the low side of the speedway and raced his way past Olson into the lead. After completing the pass, Wheeler began to stretch his advantage while Olson came under heavy siege from Justin Froemming for the second spot. A caution with 13 laps to go put Olson and Froemming on Wheeler's back bumper and Wheeler once again powered to a comfortable lead over the duo. Froemming was able to clear Olson for second and settled into the spot while Olson locked horns with Travis Saurer and Jason VandeKamp for the third spot. Saurer and VandeKamp were able to get by Olson before the final caution waved with only eight laps remaining.
With the green back out, Wheeler blasted back to the cushion and raced out to a comfortable lead once more while Saurer and Froemming were locked in a tight, side-by-side battle for the second spot.
Wheeler went on to lead the remaining laps and claimed his second Viking Speedway win of the season in only three trips to the track. Saurer was able to claim second, Froemming was third, Ron Saurer was fourth and Olson was fifth after winning on Saturday night.
Bob Broking grabbed the early lead in the first WISSOTA Modified B feature. When Broking succumbed to mechanical trouble, former national champion Mike Stearns took the lead and drove to the victory. Jeff Wildung and Shane Sabraski finished second and third to transfer to the main event.
Tim Johnson stole the lead from Johnny Broking after an early restart and drove to the victory in the second Modified B feature. Broking finished second while Danny Bayer earned the final transfer position.
Cadott, WI driver Jesse Glenz grabbed the lead from Jeffery Lein, Jr. after an early restart and drove to victory in the third Modified B feature. Zach Johnson finished in second while Shaun Peterson slipped by Lein, Jr. with five laps to go to take the final transfer spot.
With only one spot up for grabs in the main event, 16 Modifieds lined up for the last chance qualifying race. Brett Hoium and Mark Esala brought the field to the green. Hoium moved to the outside of the track into the lead with Esala in the second spot. The action was halted by a lengthy red flag period when Esala had contact with Dave Cain which sent Esala's car sailing off the speedway. Esala was transported to the hospital with an apparent leg injury. Back under green, Hoium cruised to the win and punched his ticket to the big dance.
Phil Braun and Dave Schroder sat on the front row for the 25 lap Non Qualifier feature for the Modifieds. Schroder moved into the lead when the cars exited turn two on the first circuit. Schroeder led the first lap but the caution flew over the track before the second lap could be completed after Cory Tammen spun. Schroeder brought the field back to the green and moved out to the lead with Braun in second. A handful of laps in the green flag run, sixth starter Matt Leer moved by Braun into the second spot and set his sights on Schroeder.
Leer was able to catch Schroeder a few laps later and raced by on the low side of the track. Once out front, Leer began to stretch his advantage and cruised to the win. With Leer in Alexandria Motors victory lane, he decided to forgo the $1,000 payday and instead chose to be the 26th starter in the feature event.
With Scot Danzeisen and Brady Gerdes locked in a great battle for the lead, the sky opened up with only 15 of the scheduled 70 laps completed in the Modified feature event. The rain did not let up and after some discussion, the event was postponed.
Viking Speedway and FYE Motorsports would like to thank everyone who supported the Mod Nationals over the Fourth of July weekend. The track will be back in action next Saturday with a Pure Stock Special and will also be running the makeup Florian Sprinzel WISSOTA Street Stock feature. All classes will be in action, except Late Models, who have the night off. For more information on the speedway please visit online at www.vikingspeedway.net.
SUMMARY
WISSOTA Modifeds:
Feature - Postponed to Oct. 8
Non Qualifier Feature - Leer, Schroeder, Braun, Atkinson, Lein, Jr, Estey, Bitzan, Gordon, Mensen, Blasyck, Guyot, M. Trautner, Berg, Storck, J. Trautner, Tammen, Thomas, Gilbertson, B. Broking, Flaten, Hanson, Jo. Thoennes, Vogel, Esala, Krog
B Feature 1 - Stearns, Wildung, Sabraski, Brett Hoium, Dave Cain, Andy Gordon, Austin Arneson, Don Platow, Hayden Hanson, Matt Weisman, Jeff Flaten, Adam Ayotte, Mark Trautner, Bob Broking, Billy Vogel
B Feature 2 - T. Johnson, Bayer, J. Broking, Mark Esala, Josh Thoennes, Jerome Guyot, Jordan Foster, Matt Gilbertson, Jamie Trautner, Matt Leer, Todd Berg, Dave Schroeder, Brian Krog, Landon Atkinson, Kelly Estey
B Feature 3 - Glenz, Z. Johnson, S. Peterson, Jeff Lein, Jr., Phil Braun, Dustin Bitzan, Casey Arneson, Mike Storck, Jason Blasyck, Tim Thomas, Peter Loecken, Chris Mensen, Cory Tammen, Blake Jegtvig, Dale Mathison
Last Chance Qualifier - Hoium, Jo. Thoennes, C. Arneson, A. Arneson, Braun, Lein, Jr, Foster, Bitzan, Platow, Guyot, Cain, Blasyck, Gordon, Storck, Thomas, Esala, Gilbertson, Hanson, J. Trautner
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
Feature - Dan Wheeler, Travis Saurer, Justin Froemming, Ron Saurer, Shawn Olson, Tyler Peterson, Jason VandeKamp, Corey Storck, Jon Stepan, Zach Dockter, Tim Ims, Brandon Dolman, Josh Muzik, Blake Boelens, Nick Bruder, Matt Thoennes, Jeremy Kerzman, John Clemens, Haley Lee, Jason Hoffman, Dick Schwardt, Skeeter Estey, Blake Swenson, Mack Estey, Cory Bruggeman, Andrew Bangsund
Heat 1 - Olson, Froemming, Bruder, Kerzman, Stepan, Peterson, Thoennes, Dockter
Heat 2 - R. Saurer, S. Estey, Lee, Muzik, Storck, Swenson, Ims, Bruggeman, Clemens
Heat 3 - Wheeler, Bangsund, T. Saurer, M. Estey, Vandekamp, Hoffman, Dolman, Schwardt, Boelens
Article Credit: Article by Ryan Schmitz
