Anthony Leek
Even with a severe thunderstorm watch issued for the region, the track was ready to go at the Emo Speedway for another week of Amsoil Dirt Track Series Action.
While the car count was down a bit in the Streets and WISSOTA Modifieds from last week, there was no doubt there would be plenty of good racing on the track.
In the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, a total of 15 cars were split into two heats.
In the first heat, Christopher Leek came from third to win his third heat in a row, and his fifth of the season.
John Hettinga took second, while Chuck Lambert claimed the third position.
In the second heat, Steve Nordin fought a great battle with Anthony Visser, claiming the top spot for his first heat win of the season.
Tylar Wilson rounded out the top three.
The Street Stocks were reduced to one heat this week with several key drivers missing.
Both Tyler and Jeff Wickstrom were not in attendance, and neither were Daniel Hettinga or Scott Messner.
This resulted in nine cars in appearance.
Carlee Bosma returned to the track after a three-week hiatus due to recovering from knee surgery.
In the heat, Ron Westover came from eighth to take the checkered flag.
Don Bowman, who started behind Westover, finished in second while Richard Visser claimed the third spot.
The WISSOTA Modifieds were also reduced to one heat for the first time in several weeks.
A new driver to the track was John Reini hauling from Hibbing, Minnesota.
Starting on the pole, Reini held the top spot until the end where Brad Loveday was able to squeeze past him.
Glen Strachan topped out in third.
During the feature in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, bumping was not in short supply.
Due to the competiveness of the class, there were several battles of three wide racing with cars were all over the track searching for that one line on the track that would help them to pull away from the field.
That turned out not to be the case as early on, pole sitter Matt Mutz had the lead, but Hettinga, Gamsby, and Caul had plans of their own.
Leek and Visser were also in the mix.
The crew had caught up to Mutz, but had trouble finding a clean way around.
Some bumping occurred and several cautions came out due to spins and other interesting accidents.
Caul was sent to the back after rear-ending Mutz, causing Mutz to go around.
Action was not just limited to the front.
At the back, Nordin, Davis, and M. Wilson were all three wide, juggling for position.
Davis had an excellent night by starting fifteenth and finishing third, making him the hard charger of the night.
After some great racing, Gamsby took the lead and held off the advances of Hettinga.
Davis, Mutz and Caul rounded out the top five.
Not only is this Gamsby’s third feature win of the year, the most of all drivers in the class, but he has reclaimed the lead from Caul in the points.
The Street Stocks played much more conservatively during the feature than last week.
Visser took the early lead and was surely hoping and praying Bowman or Westover wouldn’t make it to the front.
Luckily for the two drivers at the back, the lower car count gave them an opportunity that would otherwise been a lot more difficult.
By lap six, Westover had caught up to Visser.
They raced side-by-side for a while, but a small slip up by Visser on the backstretch allowed Westover to slip to the low side and glide on by.
Even though he now had the lead, Westover couldn’t pull away from Visser, which may be a sign that the rest of the field is starting to catch up.
Meanwhile, Bowman was coming from the back and racing as clean as possible to get by the cars.
Bowman made it all the way to third but ran out of laps for the checkered flag.
Darien Trimble claimed fourth and rookie Nick Leininger filled out the fifth spot.
In the WISSOTA Modifieds, it was another race that had few starting and even fewer finishing.
The fast, yet tricky surface on Saturday led to a couple of mishaps and mechanical issues leaving some drivers on the outside looking in.
There was a great race between Strachan and Loveday, but on lap 15, something happened to the steering on Strachan’s car and he ended up with an early retirement.
John Reini got into a rub with Gary Wilson, ending the night for the Hibbing driver.
It was a great race for Ron Korpi once again as he held second position for the longest time until Wilson stole it away with only a couple of laps remaining.
Strachan continues to lead the point standings.
This weekend will not be a night to miss!
The Winnipeg Super Trucks are coming to the Emo Speedway for the first time in five years.
Thank you to all the sponsors and fans for making this weekend event happen!
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, WISSOTA Modifieds, and Street Stocks will also be racing.
Also, meet the Fair Queen contestants and bike giveaways during intermission will make Saturday night the place to be!
For more information, please visit www.borderlandracing.com
SUMMARY
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature—Brad Loveday, Gary Wilson, Ron Korpi, Rick Bourre, Tyler Brown, Glen Strachan, John Reini
Heat—Loveday, Reini, Strachan, Wilson, Korpi, Bourre, Trimble, Brown
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature—Kendal Gamsby, John Hettinga, Jeff Davis, Matt Mutz, Brady Caul, Anthony Visser, Mike Wilson, Steve Nordin, Ken Perry, Christopher Leek, Cody Ossachuk, Dave Rea, Chuck Lambert, Glen Godin, Tylar Wilson
Heat 1—Leek, Hettinga, Lambert, Mutz, Caul, Godin, Perry, Davis
Heat 2—Nordin, Visser, Wilson, Gamsby, Wilson, Rea, Ossachuk
Street Stocks
Feature—Ron Westover, Richard Visser, Don Bowman, Lindsay Bourre, Carlee Bosma, Nick Leininger, Wes Morriseau, Libby Wilson, Darien Trimble
Heat—Westover, Bowman, Visser, Trimblw, Leininger, Bosma, Bourre, Morriseau, Wilson
