By Jason D Searcy

June 30,2018 – Elko, MN

This year with the Independence Day Holiday coming midweek, Elko Speedway is celebrating with a special Eve of Destruction with NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing on Saturday nights both before and after the Fourth of July.

It rained during the drivers meeting but the skies then cleared up and it became a beautiful night for race fans to enjoy some incredible racing. Veteran driver Steve Anderson #50 led the majority of laps in the first Hiway Federal Credit Union Late Model feature, he held back numerous challenges by #26 Lawrence Berthiaume and #3 Chris Marek but finally four-time defending Champion #72 Jacob Goede from Carver (MN) moved up from his fifth row starting position to challenge for the top spot on lap 27 of 30. Goede made the pass and held on to win his fourth feature of the year at Elko Speedway. Anderson finished second, Berthiaume was third, Marek finished fourth and #6 Owin Giles was fifth of the fifteen cars in attendance.

The second Late Model feature had #14 Devyn Stocker take the early lead until the yellow flag flew on lap six. Championship contender #3 Chris Marek then went to the pits with mechanical problems and both #21 Adam Bendzick and #31 Ryan Varner had to restart at the back of the pack. Off the restart, #52 Chad Walen rocketed to the lead and fast-timer #6 Owin Giles a sixteen-year-old driver from New Market (MN), who started sixth on the grid, was right behind him. Giles then moved underneath Walen on lap ten and they raced like that, side by side for the remaining twenty laps of the race. It was incredibly dramatic as these two competitors drove just inches apart lap after lap and the drivers behind them were stacking up. With just over a lap to go Walen got a bump from behind, Giles gained a slight advantage and took home his first win of the season. Walen finished second, #7 Paul Paine was third, #72 Jacob Goede finished fourth and Adam Bendzick was fifth as they all finished within a second of each other at the line.

Jacob Goede continues to be the leader with an 81 point lead over Chad Walen in the standings with Owin Giles moving up to third, he is 95 points back and the tough luck dropped Chris Marek to fourth in points, he is now 98 points behind.

The Genz-Ryan Thunder Cars had #7 Brandon Petersen lead early in the race until #99 Brent Kane from Lonsdale (MN) grabbed the top spot on lap three and held onto the lead for the rest of the twenty lap event. “The last couple years we struggled with the car, it was fast but it didn’t handle the way I knew it should, so we took some time off, went into the frame shop and it took longer than we thought to make it perfect,” said Kane “we worked on it every day, missed a month of racing, but now we are back and it’s great!” Eric Campbell #21 finished second, fast qualifier #32 Jeremy Wolff was third, #07 Dillon Sellner finished fourth and #37 Bryce Blohm was fifth of the twelve cars in attendance.

The second twenty lap Thunder Car feature had #14 Tony Holm lead early until third row starter #9 Adam Wiebusch grabbed the top spot and never looked back. Dillon Sellner #07 finished second, #37 Bryce Blohm was third, #32 Jeremy Wolff finished fourth and #25 Eric Campbell was fifth.

Jeremy Wolff continues to hold the point lead with Dillon Sellner 29 points back in second and Eric Campbell 40 points behind in third.

The first Pepsi Power Stocks feature had #83 Julie Jorgenson of Lakeville (MN) grab the lead on the first lap and never give it up, Jorgenson has now won on three consecutive race nights at Elko Speedway. There was some really good door to door racing behind her as #41g Ben Gannon and #13 Matt Fry raced for position and #08 Michael Stoer raced all the way up from his fifth row starting position to second place. Fry finished third, Gannon was fourth and #88 Nick Oxborough finished fifth of the fourteen cars entered.

The second Power Stock twenty lap feature had #56 Paul Hamilton from Hastings (MN) win his first race of the year, he had a big lead but then was challenged by fast qualifier #8 Taylor Goldman the last few laps. “I saw her coming and now it’s almost like when you see Dale Earnhardt coming in your mirror because her car has been so fast all year” said Hamilton. Hamilton withstood a few taps on the back bumper but held his ground and won in a car that has seen victory lane numerous times both here at ELKO and at the now closed Raceway Park over the years with Ricky Martin, Dusty Mann and Hamilton behind the wheel. Taylor Goldman finished second, #41m Jason Michaud was third, #08 Michael Stoer was fourth and #88 Nick Oxborough was fifth place on both of the feature events.

Taylor Goldman has now taken over the point lead by 12 over Jason Michaud, Nick Oxborough is third in points 47 behind and Michael Stoer now is fourth at 52 points back in the race for the Championship.

All results and point standings are Unofficial at this time, official results will be posted midweek at ElkoSpeedway.com

The Eve of Destruction crowd was thrilled by the Fireworks display, the Elko Speedway Kids Club winners Jillian and Noah were recognized and had fun with the animals from the Farm in Lakeville. Spectator drags winner was Shawn Grabinger driving a Honda Prelude.

11 time National Champion Jet Car drag racer Doug Rose performed his well known Melt Down of a minivan on the Elko Speedway infield. An event that must be experienced in person as words and photos do not do it justice.

The Drifters put on a great smoke show, the School Bus race looked like a scene from an action movie as buses raced four wide at Elko Speedway and then met in the middle of the X.

The action athletes from the ATV Big Air show had the crowd on their feet with an incredible motorsports Freestyle show.

Up next at Elko Speedway is another Salute to America with an Eve of Destruction on Saturday July 7th with racing in the Thunder Cars, Power Stocks and Great North Legends plus two Monster Trucks, Clay Gallagher Stunts, School Bus Races, for the first time ever at ELKO the Globe of Death, Fireworks, DJ Diesel and much more. Gates open at 5pm and action begins at 6pm. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com, follow Elko Speedway on Social Media or download the free app by searching Elko Racing.

Elko Speedway is a NASCAR sanctioned 3/8th mile banked asphalt oval race track with stadium seating located 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market (MN).