It was Schools Out Night at Elko Speedway on Saturday sponsored by Reliance Bank and Northstar Bus Lines.
Veteran part-time driver Joel Theisen #75 from Maple Grove (MN) won the first of two 25 lap NASCAR sanctioned Late Model feature events during Eve of Destruction. The race had a couple different incidents that caused caution periods and numerous top drivers to exit the race early including point leader #52 Chad Walen and 9-time Champion #41 Donny Reuvers. Joel Theisen raced side by side with #31 Ryan Varner for numerous laps before finally taking control of the race on lap 10. Theisen held on through another yellow with four laps remaining and ended up winning the race by 0.903 seconds, it was his first win in a Pro-style Late Model at ELKO, the last time he won at Elko Speedway it was in a Super Late Model nearly a decade ago. Chris Marek #3 finished second, #94 Hunter Paine was third, #14 Grant Brown fourth and #8 Billy Mohn was fifth of the 16 cars entered in this race.
The second Late Model feature was cautionless, #18 Michael Ostdiek from Lakeville (MN) took the lead off the start, led every lap and won by 1.479 seconds. The entire 25 lap race only took 6minutes and 45 seconds. There have been six Late Model feature races in 2026 and every race so far has had a different winner. Billy Mohn #8 was second place, Hunter Paine was third, Grant Brown fourth and Chris Marek fifth.
Chad Walen was the fast qualifier of the night with a lap time of 14.971. Walen is also the unofficial point leader early in the season with Chris Marek and Michael Ostdiek both just a handful of points behind him.
The Eternity Homes sponsored Thunder Car division raced two 20 lap main events Saturday night at Elko Speedway.
2023 Champion #07 Dillon Sellner from Randolph (MN) won the first race, he took the lead off the start and held it through a caution period with four laps to go, he won by 0.344 seconds over fast qualifier #10 Dusty Mann who started the race in the back of the pack. Brent Kane #99 finished third, #83 Julie Jorgenson was fourth and #89 Allen Royle was fifth of the 13 cars entered. It was the second win of the season at ELKO for Sellner.
The second NASCAR sanctioned Thunder car race was dominated by #8 Grant Brown who led from flag to flag and won by 1.83 seconds during this cautionless race. Brown was filling in for Taylor Goldman who needed a fill-in driver after an injury that occurred pre-race. Brown is the ELKO 2015 Power Stock Champion who is currently a Late Model driver, he had never raced in the Thunder Car division before this night. Dillon Sellner finished second, #41 Ben Gannon was third, Dusty Mann was fourth and Brent Kane finished fifth.
Dusty Mann won qualifying with a time of 15.463 seconds. Dillon Sellner is the current early season point leader and the only driver in this division who has more than one win. Brent Kane is second in points, there have been five different winners in the six feature events so far in 2026.
The full bodied NASCAR sanctioned Power Stocks raced two cautionless 20 lap feature events on Schools Out night at Elko Speedway. Jimmie Jorgenson #3 from Lakeville (MN) won both races and did a masterful job of handling lapped traffic from the lead, he took the top spot from #18 Alexis Montour on lap 5, he won the race by 1.962 seconds, by holding off defending Champion #08 Mike Stoer. Clayton Dorner #14 finished third, #57 Jesse Fischer fourth and #46 Adam Gerlach fifth of the 14 cars competing.
The second Power Stock main event #7 Cole Strietz led the opening lap, #77 Payton Letcher led the second lap and #46 Adam Gerlach took over the top spot on lap three. Gerlach had a big lead until Jimmie Jorgenson ran him down, passed him and eventually won by 1.182 seconds. Gerlach finished a career best second place, Mike Stoer was third, Clayton Dorner fourth and Jesse Fischer fifth. With the sweep of both feature events, Jorgenson now has three wins on the season at ELKO. Mike Stoer was the fast qualifier with a time of 17.04, he has two wins. Stoer holds onto the unofficial early season point lead over Jorgenson by 16 points.
The INEX sanctioned Legend Cars raced a caution-free 20 lap main event at ELKO on Saturday night. Mark Anderson Jr #8 led the first seven laps of the race until #64 Ty Fredrickson from Webster (MN) took the lead. Fredrickson is a Kulwicki Driver Development series Champion, TUNDRA series Champion and a multiple time ASA Midwest Tour Super Late Model winner who had not raced a Legend Car at ELKO in over three years. Fredrickson had the lead and held off a hard-charging #87 Robby Carter by 0.122 seconds in a close finish at the line. Carter finished second, 10 year old #82 Frank Jirik was third, #12 Ayrton Brockhouse was fourth and #2 Tyler Sjoman finished fifth of the 16 cars entered. Robby Carter was the fastest qualifier with a time of 15.757. Fredrickson, Riley Goodwin and Mason Westphal were the three heat race winners. Ty Fredrickson is entered in the NASCAR ARCA Menards series race to be held at Elko Speedway on Saturday June 27th, he will race for Nitro Motorsports. Tickets available at local Menards stores.
The INEX sanctioned Bandolero’s raced an exciting 15 lap feature event during Eve of Destruction at ELKO. Roman Crow #27 from Delano (MN) won a wild and entertaining race. Christopher Flynn #5 took the early lead but by lap five Roman Crow snuck past for the top spot. Flynn retook the lead on lap eight but Crow would not be denied, he weaved through lapped traffic and took the lead on the last lap to win by 0.053 seconds at the stripe. It was the second win of the season for Crow. Flynn finished second, #11 Adriana Hawes was third, #57 Rev Heitkamp fourth and #59 Caleb Hawes fifth of the 15 cars competing. Anna Athman #2 from Olivia (MN) won the B feature. Heat race winners were Christopher Flynn, #52 Andrew Brelji and #42 Ryan Kamish Jr.
Results listed here are not official, get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com or MyRacePass and search Elko Speedway.
Josh Baumgartner driving BigFoot and Travis Schweitzer driving the Ghost entertained the crowd with huge freestyle Monster Truck runs, including BigFoot driving over two buses by length.
The classic comedic Port-a-Potty races were won by Levi the Flagman with a time of 35.35. Ayrton Brockhouse crossed the finish line running and Victor E Lane the ELKO Mascot stole Scotty Westphal's bus as he was doing his business.
Ashley Bell from Lakeville (MN) won the Spectator Drags in her 1994 Honda Civic.
Up Next at Elko Speedway is FUKU fest on Saturday June 13th. Gates open at 2pm. Racing from the High School Racing Association, Midwest Dash Series, Crown Vic, Legend Cars and Bandolero’s. Spectator Drags, Burnout Contest and Entertainment on the Concourse and Music in Champions lounge. Discounted ticket prices. Get more information at ElkoSpeedway.com Sunday Funday is June 14th with Drifter cars and activities on the concourse.
Elko Speedway is a 3/8th mile high banked asphalt race track with stadium seating located just 30 minutes South of the Twin Cities in Elko-New Market Minnesota. Follow Elko Speedway on social media for more details.
