by Bob Peine

KASSON, Minn. (May 26, 2002) - It was a beautiful evening on Sunday, as the sun shining and with the warmer temperatures and with long overdue, it looked to be a perfect night for racing. 57 USMTS Modifieds were on hand, ready to do battle, and they did not disappoint by any means.

The Late Models were the first to take to the track on Sunday, for their $1500 to win 25 lap feature. As soon as the green flag dropped, the man on a mission looked to be Eric Breeschotten, a rookie in the late model class, as he immediately set sail for the front of the pack. Bob Timm took the early lead, after starting from the pole, with Brent Larson closing in. Brad Waits was hooked up on the top, and the fans were in for a treat, as they watched Larson take the lead, and not long after, Breeschotten take over the second position. It looked like Larson was going to have his hands full, with Breeschotten and Waits behind him, with a great battle that went on through most of the race. The yellow flew on lap 12 when a few cars got together in turn 2, and Lance Matthees had worked his way from 13th up to 6th. Pat Doar was sitting in 7th, and with 13 laps to go, it was still anyone's race. Larson led on the restart, but couldn't pull away from Breeschotten and Waits who continued to swap the second position. Matthees and Doar fought their way in to the top-5, and Larson would hold on for the win, his first at the Dodge County Speedway, while Waits would finish second, and Breeschotten in third. Lance Matthees and Pat Doar rounded out the top 5.

Next up were the Midwest Modifieds, and fans would see Carter Gerlach put on a demonstration in riding the cushion. Starting form inside of row 2, he would not be content to stay there. Dan Fagerlind would pass Gerlach in the early going, and Neil Eckhart was also on the move, finding the top to be the fast way around the track. Gerlach also moved to the top, as he and Eckhart tried to reel in the leaders. Alan Bohlman cracked the top 5, and it was shaping up to be a great finish. With 5 to go, and Gerlach sitting in second, nobody could have predicted the finish in this one. Fagerlind hit the wall, and that moved Bohlman to third, as the leader spun on the last lap, Eckhart would pick up the win, with Gerlach second, and Bohlman in third. Kenny Wytaske and Jerry Young also posted top 5 finishes.

The Wissota Super Stock feature would find a father and son team on the front row, with Roger Herrick on the pole and Nick Herrick on the outside of row one. Nick would take the early lead, and the first caution flew when Dave Griffith spun exiting turn 2. When the race went back to green, Mark Chamernick was the man to watch, as he seemed to be able to pass cars at will, with his car working well anywhere he decided to go. Tim Borgeson moved up to third, while Mark Chamernick and the 21W car of Mark Wytaske had a great side by side battle going for fifth. Tom Chrest rode most of the race in fourth, as Chamernick and Wytaske sliced and diced behind him. Chamernick would end up prevailing, but continued to work his way to the front. Borgeson had taken the lead from Nick Herrick, and with seven laps to go, Herrick was in second, Chamernick in third, with Dave Haberman and Chrest also in the top five. Chamernick went up top and blasted by Borgeson on the backstretch, with just a handful of laps remaining, and would hold on for the victory. Borgeson held on for second and Haberman passed Herrick to finish third.

The USMTS Modifieds lined up for their 40 lap feature, with a good showing of some of the local drivers. Bob Timm raced his way in through the B feature, with an exciting pass on Ron Schreiner on the last lap. Todd Scahrkey also had to come in through the B, after having mechanical troubles in his heat race.

The caution flew on the first start, after Jay Poidinger and Tim Donlinger spun in turn one. After things got going again, polesitter Joey Kates jumped out to take the lead, with furious action behind him. Local favorite, Steve Wetzstein, had troubles early on with a flat tire, which he would get changed and restart at the tail of the field. One of the early movers, was Bob Timm who had fought his way to ninth by the completion of 7 laps. Mike Sorenson got around Mark Noble for the fourth spot, and Kelly Shryock, coming off of a USMTS victory, would also pass Noble early on. The next caution came when the F3 of Rick Friendt had a breakdown on the frontstretch. When the race went back to green, Kelly Shryock was about to have his hands full with Bob Timm on his bumper, while Kates continued to lead. Wetzstein lost his left front wheel to bring out the caution again, and that would retire him for the night, much to the disappointment of his many fans in attendance. But another local favorite, Todd Scharkey, was really coming alive, and would once again be worth the price of admission all by himself. Sorenson had settled into second, with Timm in third, Shryock in fourth, and Randy Zimmerman in fifth, after 20 laps. Todd Scharkey was up to sixth, and Mike Sorenson moved in to the lead. Kelly Shryock was picking up the pace, and after an excellent effort by Timm, who made his way in through the B, he would see his hopes dashed with a flat right rear tire. He would return to the race, but was running out of time. Todd Scharkey finally cracked the top five and was in to the fourth spot, and after a very strong showing, Shryock would be the next casualty with mechanical troubles. That would put Scharkey in second, with Tommy Myer in third, another driver to make the big show through the B feature. This would all lead up to one of the most exciting finishes that anyone could ask for. Todd Scharkey and Mike Sorenson were about to put on a show. On the white flag lap, they were side by side passing the flagstand, and Sorenson looked like he had the upper hand. But Scharkey was not about to settle for second, after qualifying through the B, and going down the backstretch, it was Sorenson by a car length. Scharkey dove in to 3 extremely hard on the bottom, and amazingly, he and Sorenson came out of 4 side by side, making slight contact, door to door, and this allowed Tommy Myers to close up on the two leaders. Todd Scharkey, after a stellar performance, prevailed, and at the line, it was Tommy Myer, inching by Sorenson for the second spot. Sorenson crossed the line third, with a flat right front tire. Spectacular racing, and an awesome display by Todd Scharkey, along with all of the drivers who competed Sunday.

When the Wissota Street Stocks took to the track, the USMTS feature was going to be a hard act to follow. Arlen Diercks jumped out front early, followed by Jeff Brauer and Greg Ercikson. Steve Goodenough, always a contender at the Dodge County Speedway, was looking good on the bottom, and Erickson found the top more to his liking. Brauer powered his way past Diercks to take over the lead, and Erickson did the same. Chuck Nerland was also on the move, along with Dan Gullikson. Goodenough continued to advance and fought his way up to second working the bottom of the track, and Gullikson managed to get by Nerland and Diercks to come home in the third position. Chuck Nerland would finish fourth, and the polesitter, Arlen Diercks, would hold on to finish in the top five.

All in all, a great night of racing at the Dodge County Speedway, and racing will resume Sunday, June 2nd. For more information, please call the track office at (507) 775-7091 or check out the track’s website at www.dodgecountyspeedway.com.

RESULTS

WISSOTA STREET STOCKS

Feature: Jeff Brauer, Steve Goodenough, Dan Gullikson, Chuck Nerland, Arlen Diercks, Kevin Hager, John Bushman, Mark Zvorak, Tom Schwenke, Rick Lisowski

Heat 1: D. Gullikson, Zvorak, Goodenough, Diercks, Hager

Heat 2: Brauer, David Stearns, Greg Erickson, Nerland, Jim Gullikson

WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIEDS

Feature: Neil Eckhart, Carter Gerlach, Alan Bohlman, Kenny Wytaske, Jerry Young, Chad Herman, Brian Hernandez, Jade Anderson, Ryan Weber, Greg Pfiefer

Heat 1: Bohlman, Harland Morehart Jr., Nick Kramer, Pfiefer, Hernandez

Heat 2: Eckhart, Dan Fagerlind, Jesse Frericks, Matt Stark, Weber

Heat 3: Young, Wytaske, Gerlach, Justin Hainka, Harland Morehart

WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS

Feature: Mark Chamernick, Tim Borgeson, Dave Haberman, Nick Herrick, Tom Chrest, Mark Wytaske, Kelly Anderson, Bill Stettner, Bill Clemens, Dan Gasner

Heat 1: Borgeson, Wytaske, Jon Duffy, Chrest, Rick Franzen

Heat 2: Chamernick, N. Herrick, Haberman, Gasner, Stettner

Heat 3: Clemens, Justin Pogones, Roger Herrick, Anderson, Brandon Jensen

USMTS MODIFIEDS

Feature: Todd Scharkey, Tommy Myer, Mike Sorensen, Joey Kates, Jason Krohn, Jason Hughes, Randy Zimmerman, Kelly Schryock, Ron Schreiner, Jay Ihrke Heat 1: Kates, Mark Noble, Johnny Bone Jr., Myer, Schreiner

Heat 2: Kevin Peters, Steve Mueller, Doug Hillson, Rick Friendt, Dave Siercks

Heat 3: Steve Wetzstein, Schryock, Bret Frieden, Tim Donlinger, Nathan Kilwine

Heat 4: Sorensen, Hughes, Les Duellman, Zimmerman, Bob Timm

Heat 5: Jason Miller, Darwin Karau, Ihrke, Jay Poidinger, Dennis Hillson

B-feature 1: Myer, Krohn, Scharkey, Mueller, Steve Holzkamper

B-feature 2: Hughes, Poidinger, Friendt, Jim Arnold, Denny Barwald

B-feature 3: Timm, Schreiner, Dean Mahlstedt, Karau, Bone Jr.

WISSOTA LATE MODELS

Feature: Brent Larson, Brad Waits, Eric Breeschotten, Lance Matthees, Pat Doar, Joel Cryderman, Nick Herrick, Mike Bear, Bob Timm, Toby Patchen

Heat 1: Breeschotten, Larson, Herrick, Ben Mattick, Matthees

Heat 2: Jon Van Minsel, Timm, Jeff Matejka, Patchen, Jon Chrest

Heat 3: Doar, Mark Teske, Cryderman, Waits, Bear