SAUK CENTRE, MN (June 19, 2004) - Just a couple of weeks following his big MARS Late Model win, Blake Bjorklund kept his home track winning streak intact as he won the 40 lap Minnesota Late Model Challenge Series Feature at the I-94 Raceway in Sauk Centre. This was the third race of six scheduled for the Minnesota Late Model Challenge Series, which races at three different tracks throughout the state. Scott Atkinson took the lead on the opening lap as the 22 car field came to life. Stacy Rossell stepped into the second position as ninth starting Bjorklund reeled-in the leaders. On lap seven, Bjorklund moved by Atkinson to take over the lead. Meanwhile, tenth starting Dan Fredrickson was slowly making his way towards the front as well. Fredrickson grabbed second on lap 15 and he quickly caught up with Bjorklund. The two leaders stayed nose-to-tail as they tore through lapped traffic. On lap 27, the caution waved as Tim Olson was sent spinning by another car in turn three. When the green came out again, Bjorklund and Fredrickson continued their battle. Fredrickson looked to make a pass several times, but couldn’t muster enough momentum to pull it off. Bjorklund ran hard the final few laps to secure the win.
John Notch returned to Victory Lane as he won the Modified Feature. Former Mod-Four Champion Kevin Woeste took his new ride to the front as soon as the green flag waved from the hands of Chief Starter Eric Peterson. Recent winner Jerry Voigt moved to second, while Notch shot into the third slot. Voigt and Notch raced wheel-to-wheel as Woeste tried to get away from everyone out front. Just before the half-way point of the race, Notch was able to shake off Voigt and he quickly was all over Woeste. After a few laps, Notch powered his way past to become the new leader. Voigt rallied late in the race and managed to get the second spot, but by that time, Notch was already on his way to the win.
Rob Dubnecay not only lit things up on the track, but he smoked-out most of the fans with his post-race burnout after winning his second straight Limited Late Model Feature. Gordy Mason led the charge into the first turn, but by the completion of the first lap, Dubnecay was in the lead. On lap three, Mason and Dave Schafer got together on the front stretch and both cars crashed hard into the infield retaining wall. After the cleanup, Dubnecay held off Pat Henry’s challenges as he held on to take home the win.
Tommy Jordan from Hartsville, South Carolina joined the Great North Legends field for the night and the visiting driver quickly adapted to I-94 Raceway as he won the Feature event. Polesitter Rick Dubay led the 24 car field to the green and he capitalized on the great starting spot by pulling out into the lead. On lap five, Tim Brockhouse got out of shape and tagged Jon Lewerer on the backstretch, sending both cars sliding towards the infield grass. Both drivers were able to continue as the race remained under green. Shortly after that, ninth starting Jordan stepped things up as he got by Dubay in turn four. Dirk Henry tore his way into second, just before the caution waved for wreck in turn three, which took out Jason Brockhouse, Stan Davis and Zack Davids. Not long after that incident another one happened near the same spot, which left Rollie Davidson and Ray Walker also out of the race. In the sprint to the finish, Jordan showed the way as Henry worked his tires hard as he tried to find a way around. The veteran’s experience paid off as Jordan held off the rookie, Henry, on his way towards taking the checkered flag.
Jerry Messer was back in business as he outran the competition in the Thunder Car Feature. Jonathan Olmscheid showed the way from the start as Messer quickly moved to his rear bumper. Messer didn’t spend much time there however as he pulled alongside. Olmscheid wasn’t about to go down without a fight as he stayed right alongside. On lap five, the two leaders bumped and hooked each other momentarily as they went down the front stretch. Both cars got out of shape, but they remarkably held onto their respective positions. Lance Stueve moved by Olmscheid and he gave Messer a challenge for a few laps before he dropped off the pace with just a couple of laps left. By that time, Messer had moved into a safe lead, putting a lock on the win.
Adam Fronning worked his groove just right as he won the UCAR Feature. Corey Flynn led the flurry into turn one, but by the end of the first lap, Tony "The Tiger" Hallerman was the leader. Fronning scooted his way to the extreme high side of the track and he took the top spot on lap three. Not far behind, Jeremy Fleck had his car glued the extreme bottom of the track and he powered his way into second. Several cautions plagued the event, but after each restart both Fronning and Fleck went to the part of the race track they liked the best. Fronning held the lead by less than a car’s length with one lap to go. Coming into the final turn, Fronning stayed up near the wall, while Fleck hugged the infield grass. Both cars were dead even as they neared the apex of the turn. The momentum carried off the high side prove to be the stronger place to be as Fronning edged his way to the win.
I-94 Raceway Results
June 19, 2004
Minnesota Late Model Challenge Series
First Heat
1.) Andy Hanson (Ramsey) 2.) Stacy Rossell (Atwater) 3.) Molly Rhoads (Hastings) 4.) Scott Hansen (Minneapolis) 5.) Jeff Lofquist (Fergus Falls) 6.) Scott Atkinson (Little Falls) 7.) Eugene Dick (Watkins) 8.) Jake Jay (Harris) 9.) John Paul Odegaard (Brooklyn Center)
Second Heat
1.) Joe Berthiaume (Hamel) 2.) Paul Milford (Apple Valley) 3.) Brittany Fischer (Villard) 4.) JR Studniski (St. Joseph) 5.) Ritch Johnson (Monticello) 6.) Will Kendall (Baxter) 7.) Darren Wolke (Belle Plaine) 8.) Gary Petrash (Lakeville)-DNS
Fast Dash
1.) Gary Mueller (Chisago City) 2.) Tim Olson (Hamel) 3.) Blake Bjorklund (Isanti) 4.) Bill Rhode (Hudson, WI) 5.) Todd Hansen (Minneapolis) 6.) Dan Fredrickson (Elko)
Fast Qualifiers
1.) Dan Fredrickson (16.71 sec.) 2.) Blake Bjorklund (16.96 sec.) 3.) Todd Hansen (17.18 sec.) 4.) Gary Mueller (17.25 sec.) 5.) Tim Olson (17.26 sec.) 6.) Bill Rhode (17.34 sec.)
Feature
1.) Blake Bjorklund 2.) Dan Fredrickson 3.) Eugene Dick 4.) Stacy Rossell 5.) Scott Atkinson 6.) Gary Mueller 7.) Todd Hansen 8.) Joe Berthiaume 9.) John Paul Odegaard 10.) JR Studniski 11.) Tim Olson 12.) Bill Rhode 13.) Scott Hansen 14.) Molly Rhoads 15.) Jeff Lofquist 16.) Will Kendall 17.) Paul Milford 18.) Jake Jay 19.) Darren Wolke-DNF 20.) Andy Hanson-DNF 21.) Ritch Johnson-DNF 22.) Gary Petrash-DNF 23.) Brittany Fischer-DNS
Modifieds
First Heat
1.) Joey Johnson (Alexandria) 2.) Jeff Rohner (Willmar) 3.) John Notch (St. Cloud) 4.) Jerry Voigt (Cold Spring) 5.) John Gottwald (Paynesville) 6.) Dave Deters (Sauk Centre) 7.) Jon Lewerer (Coon Rapids)
Second Heat
1.) Dave Ostendorf (St. Cloud) 2.) Dick Graves 3.) Tim Brockhouse (Shorewood) 4.) Kevin Woeste (Waite Park) 5.) Brady Barker (Grove City) 6.) Terry Merten (Sauk Centre)-DNF
Feature
1.) John Notch 2.) Jerry Voigt 3.) Kevin Woeste 4.) John Gottwald 5.) Jon Lewerer 6.) Jeff Rohner 7.) Dick Graves 8.) Tim Brockhouse 9.) Dave Ostendorf 10.) Joey Johnson 11.) Brady Barker 12.) Dave Deters 13.) Terry Merten-DNS
Limited Late Models
Fast Qualifiers
1.) Pat Henry (18.28 sec.) 2.) Gordy Mason (18.43 sec.) 3.) Rob Dubnecay (18.55 sec.) 4.) Dave Schafer (18.68 sec.) 5.) Jason Martagon (19.72 sec.)
Feature
1.) Rob Dubnecay (Maple Grove) 2.) Pat Henry (Sauk Centre) 3.) Gordy Mason (Excelsior) 4.) Jason Martagon (St. Cloud) 6.) Dave Schafer(Glenwood)-DNF
Great North Legends
First Heat
1.) Dirk Henry (Sauk Centre) 2.) Ross Zumbach (Racine) 3.) Zack Davids (Apple Valley) 4.) Rick Dubay (Coon Rapids) 5.) Stan Davis (Maple Grove) 6.) Scott Brandt (Olivia) 7.) Doug Petty (Oak Grove) 8.) Beaner Wiese (Sauk Centre) 9.) Shimon Casper (Cottage Grove) 10.) Mike Turbes (North Mankato)-DNF
Second Heat
1.) Jason Brockhouse (Prior Lake) 2.) Tim Brockhouse (Shorewood) 3.) Jon Lewerer (Coon Rapids) 4.) Rollie Davidson (Burnsville) 5.) Todd Tracy (Belle Plaine) 6.) Joe Kostreba (Sauk Centre) 7.) Rod Flynn (Alexandria) 8.) Paul Hartman (Willmar) 9.) Jamie Walker (Kimball) 10.) Cam Schafer (Glenwood)-DNF
Third Heat
1.) Tommy Jordan (Hartsville, SC) 2.) Cal Lease (Little Falls) 3.) Ray Walker (Kimball) 4.) Rob Thurston (Olivia) 5.) Tim Bumgardner (Coon Rapids) 6.) Matt Hendrickson (Albany) 7.) Chad Flynn (Alexandria) 8.) John Burgess (Chippewa Falls, WI) 9.) Charlie Balderston (Freeport) 10.) Greg Erhardt
Last Chance Qualifier
1.) Chad Flynn 2.) Beaner Wiese 3.) Rod Flynn 4.) Doug Petty 5.) Paul Hartman 6.) Jamie Walker 7.) John Burgess-DNF 8.) Charlie Balderston-DNF 9.) Shimon Casper-DNF 10.) Greg Erhardt-DNF 11.) Mike Turbes-DNS 12.) Cam Schafer-DNS
Feature
1.) Tommy Jordan 2.) Dirk Henry 3.) Tim Brockhouse 4.) Rob Thurston 5.) Scott Brandt 6.) Todd Tracy 7.) Jon Lewerer 8.) Tim Bumgardner 9.) Chad Flynn 10.) Doug Petty 11.) Beaner Wiese 12.) Ross Zumbach 13.) Matt Hendrickson 14.) Joe Kostreba 15.) Paul Hartman 16.) Jamie Walker 17.) Cal Lease-DNF 18.) Rick Dubay-DNF 19.) Rollie Davidson-DNF 20.) Ray Walker-DNF 21.) Zack Davids-DNF 22.) Stan Davis-DNF 23.) Jason Brockhouse-DNF 24.) Rod Flynn-DNF
Thunder Cars
First Heat
1.) Patrick Amelung (St. Joseph) 2.) Jarmin Henry (Sauk Centre) 3.) Matt Miller (Glenwood) 4.) Todd Maciey (St. Michael) 5.) Tim Wojtowicz (Minneapolis) 6.) Joe Karl (Osakis)
Second Heat
1.) Ace Valencour (Sauk Centre) 2.) Lance Stueve (Greenwold) 3.) Jerry Messer (Sauk Centre) 4.) Jonathan Olmscheid (Elrosa) 5.) Doug Olmscheid (Elrosa) 6.) Pat Henry (Sauk Centre)-DNF
Feature
1.) Jerry Messer 2.) Jarmin Henry 3.) Ace Valencour 4.) Matt Miller 5.) Jonathan Olmscheid 6.) Patrick Amelung 7.) Todd Maciey 8.) Doug Olmscheid 9.) Tim Wojtowicz 10.) Joe Karl 11.) Lance Stueve-DNF 12.) Pat Henry-DNF
UCARs
First Heat
1.) Jeremy Fleck (Sauk Rapids) 2.) Adam Fronning (Dalton) 3.) Andy Mayavski (St. Cloud) 4.) Corey Flynn (Alexandria) 5.) Kevin Messer (Sauk Centre) 6.) Dan Bolstad (Fergus Falls) 7.) Matt Peterson (Burtrum) 8.) Scott Petty (Elk River) 9.) Steve Meagher (Grey Eagle)-DNF
Second Heat
1.) David Bolstad (Fergus Falls) 2.) Rod Lanners (Burtrum) 3.) Carrie McDougall (Monticello) 4.) Tony Hallerman (Sauk Centre) 5.) Billy Weyer (Sartell) 6.) Josh Christi (Sauk Rapids) 7.) Bobbi Maras (Grey Eagle) 8.) Troy Nelson 9.) Joey Deters (Sauk Centre)-DNF
Feature
1.) Adam Fronning 2.) Jeremy Fleck 3.) Steve Meagher 4.) David
Bolstad 5.) Tony Hallerman 6.) Matt Peterson 7.) Billy Weyer 8.) Andy Mayavski
9.) Carrie McDougall 10.) Josh Christi 11.) Troy Nelson 12.) Dan Bolstad-DNF
13.) Kevin Messer-DNF 14.) Joey Deters-DNF 15.) Scott Petty-DNF 16.) Rob Lanners-DNF
17.) Bobbi Maras-DNF 18.) Corey Flynn-DNF