Lucas Punkari
In the world of television, sweeps weeks occur throughout the year as the big networks try to get the highest ratings possible.
While the world of short track stock car racing is completely different from the Nielsen rating system, the Emo Speedway ended up having a sweeps week of their own on Saturday night as three drivers won both of the races in their respective divisions.
In the WISSOTA Modifieds, division standard bearer Gavin Paull continued his dominance of the class as he captured both the heat race and the feature, with his win in the main event being his eighth in a row.
“If you had told me that I would have won the first eight races of the season before the year began, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Paull, whose command of the division is one that hasn’t been seen since Steve Arpin won every feature event back in 2001, stressed.
“Thing are just going great so far. The car has been running good, and we’ve been really lucky as we haven’t broke anything yet.
“I just don’t want to jinx anything,” Paull reasoned.
Having raced on Thursday and Friday night at the World Modified Dirt Track Championships at the Deer Creek Speedway in Rochester, MN, where he was joined by fellow Fort Frances pilot Brad Loveday, Paull drove all the way back home on Saturday and arrived at the race track just prior to start of the heat races, which he won after a tight battle with Denny Trimble.
“The track was kind of unpredictable in that race,” Paull explained.
“There were some tacky spots and some dry spots all over the place, and the car was spinning sometimes and not spinning sometimes through the turns.
“Luckily for me, Denny screwed up a few times and I was able to get by him,” Paull reasoned.
The 20-lap main event ended up being a typical dominant affair for Paull right from the get go, as he was able to move from third to first in the very first lap of the feature.
“Going into that race, I just thought that if I could get by those guys up front early I would be in good shape,” Paull explained.
“The main thing I wanted to do was just run smooth, not screw up and do everything fine, because on these type of tracks with the conditions we saw tonight, once they dry up if you slow down you actually go faster,” Paull added.
Paull did have a little bit of difficulty at the end of the race, as a spin by Derek Brown in turn four led a to a green-white-checkered finish and allowed eventual race runner-up Dwayne Pelepetz to close right up on Paull’s back bumper.
“I didn’t want to see that final caution at all,” Paull, who leads Glen Strachan by 80 points in the drivers’ standings, smiled.
“In turns one and two it was kind of choppy and rough, and if you make one mistake there, two guys could drive right by you and it could be all over for you because you can’t get back up in front.
“Luckily though I was able to hold my own and I ended up getting (feature win) number eight,” Paull reasoned.
Meanwhile in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, defending division champion Brady Caul was involved in a duel with Christopher Leek in both the heat and the feature events, but was able to get the upper hand on both occasions.
“I would say that tonight was probably the best that the car has run all season,” Caul enthused.
“The track was a little bit drier than it usually is, so that helped me out a little bit I guess.
“Plus starting up front is always good too,” Caul smiled.
After leading wire-to-wire over Leek in the ten lap heat race, both drivers ended up trading the lead in the late stages of the main event, before Caul was able to wrestle control of the top spot and capture his second feature win of the season.
“In turns one and two I just pushed up the track a little and Chris was able to get by me,” Caul explained.
“I’m not quite sure if he got a little bit loose or what happened to him in turns three and four, but I was able to get by him and that was it,” Caul said.
“He (Brady) pushed up in turns one and two and I was able to get underneath him, and I ended up going a little bit too gentle into three and four, and as a result he was able to get back by me,” Leek explained.
“When we went back into turns one and two on that next lap, I probably should have crossed over and tried to get underneath him again, but you always have that thought in the back of your head saying ‘If you go into the turn hard, make sure you don’t hit the other guy.’
“You have to think about those things as your running out there, and sometimes they work out for you, and sometimes they don’t,” Leek, who leads Tylar Wilson by 26 markers in the points race, reasoned.
Finally in the Street Stock category, it was the best night of the season by far for International Falls driver Jeff Wickstrom as he captured the checkered flag in both the heat and the feature, with his win in the main event being his first of the season.
“We’ve been waiting all season for the car to start working right for us,” Wickstrom smiled.
“This car here is pretty old and it’s twisted up a little bit, so we’ve had a tough time trying to straighten things out on it and get the car to quit pushing.
“But we think we got it running pretty well now,” Wickstrom said.
The turning point of the fifteen lap main event came on an early race restart, as Wickstrom launched from the third position to pass both division points leader Don Bowman and Carlee Bosma to take over the top spot.
“Carlee had the lead on the restart and she was running that lower lane, plus Don was trying to set her up down there as well prior to the caution coming out, so I knew what I had to deal with on the restart,” Wickstrom explained.
“I just tried to make sure that was I was able to get into the first turn cleanly on the restart, and then it was just a drag race down the back straight at that point,” Wickstrom added.
The weekly action at the track is set to resume this coming Saturday night, which will also see the lightning-quick Winnipeg Super Trucks make their lone visit to the speedway for the 2011 season.
Hot laps will take place at 7 p.m., with racing to follow at 7:30.
