Raceway Park Race Results - May 12, 2013
by Kevin Busse "The Voice of Raceway Park"

Sunday's opening night of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Raceway Park in Shakopee was textbook NASCAR Home Track racing, with plenty of side-by-side action, hard racing, and tough competition in all divisions.

In the High Performance Hobby Stocks, Raceway Park's Premier Division for the 2013 season, the day began as a record setter as Lonsdale driver Brent "The Freight Train" Kane set a new track record for fast lap qualifying with a time of 15.077, beating his earlier record time set back on August 23rd of 2009. It was a top group of drivers that took to the track for the feature run, with Farmington's Dusty Mann starting along side John Heath of Bloomington at the drop of the green. Mann went to the point on the first lap, and stayed competitive for the entire run.

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Photos taken by Redline Graphics, Inc.

Unusually aggressive for an opening night feature, there was plenty of bumping and exchanging paint throughout the group of drivers with 22 laps to go. Just 2 laps later the caution waved as Mike Gilomen of Nerstrand got tangled in a group of cars entering turn 3, resulting in front end damage and a blown tire. It was Mann joined by another Farmington racer, Dillon Sellner, at lane choice, and with the restart the two drivers stayed side by side, each taking turns at the lead as the laps ticked down. Behind the top two, a big pack of 5 was also running double-wide and closing in fast on the two leaders, until 11 laps to go when Prior Lake's Greg Borchardt spun while attempting to go 3 wide by getting inside Mann to try and take the lead when the group exited turn two. The caution regrouped the field again, this time with Jeremy Wolff of Chaska joining Mann at the line for the restart. At the green flag the two immediately started a hard battle for the lead which lasted until Sellner tried to join the lead chase once again, making contact with Wolff in turn four with 6 laps to go which sent the Chaska driver into the front straight wall with another caution. This time it was Conrad Jorgenson of Lakeville next to Mann for the restart, and the two went back and forth for the top spot until Dusty finally broke through in the final 3 laps. At the checkers it was Dusty Mann with the win, Jim Gustafson of Prior Lake taking second, and Jorgenson settling for a third place finish. The intensity of the feature run continued immediately afterwards in the pit area, when two of the race teams got together to "discuss" professional racing etiquette, which was immediately resolved by the Raceway Officials.

In other racing, the close action continued with the American Short Trackers as their feature run wrapped up with an exciting 2-wide battle for the win when Plymouth's Dave Reed narrowly crossed the stripe just inches ahead of Justin Schelitzche of Lester Prairie, and Keith Paulsrud of Rogers finished right behind in third.

A huge field of competitors took to the track for the Mini-Stock feature. At the green flag the entire front straight was double wide with cars as the group charged into turn one. Several drivers took their turn at the lead during the run, which became more challenging as the leaders started to overtake the back of the pack before the midpoint of the race, when Bloomington's Jack Purcell was able to maneuver through to take the lead. That extra traffic led to a scary moment in the closing laps when Chad Reller of Burnsville collided with Carver driver Michael Wachs Jr. on the front straight with 4 laps to go. The hard hit sent both cars spinning onto the infield, with Wachs slamming into a safety barrier with the drivers side. The red flag immediately stopped the race, as Wachs was quickly checked out, climbed from his car and walked to the pits under his own power. Reller was able to drive away from the incident as both drivers were uninjured in the crash. The field was regrouped for the restart, and as they got back underway everyone stayed close packed in the shootout finish with Purcell able to to hang onto his lead for the win. Brian Adams from Norwood Young America celebrated his return to Raceway Park with a second place finish, and Montgomery driver Tom Sibila a close third.

The excitement continued in the Bomber feature as Shakopee's Mike Stoer worked the group of racers to take the lead early, and extend the gap between first and second to take the win. Eric Prindle of Ramsey came in second and looked like he's set for another great season at Raceway Park, as Jordan's Justin Kotchevar crossed at the checkers for a third place finish.

The Wild'n'Crazy Figure-8s kept the momentum going in their twin features. By the mid-point of race number one, the group of daredevils was already mixing it up in the crossroads of doom, making for close calls that had the race fans and families on the edge of their seats, which is common watching this popular style of racing. Shakopee's Matt Dickey took the win for the hometown, with another Shakopee racer, John Lebens crossing second, and multi-season Figure-8 Champion Ricky Martin of Farmingtom taking third. In feature number two, Lakeville's Rick Martin set up an easy win with a big lead, but the racefans were busy watching the battle for third place as Burnsville's Todd Wilson ran the majority of the feature exchanging paint and position with Mike Dickey of Bloomington. The two went back and forth in their battle, narrowly missing cars crossing in the "X" ahead of them each and every lap, as neither driver wanted to slow down to give up their position. With Martin taking the win, and second going to Minnetonka's Louie Ansolabehere, it came down to Mike Dickey crossing the line just 1-foot ahead of Wilson in a hard fought run for third.

Coming up next at Minnesota's Action Attraction, the family fun continues with Raceway Park's first Double-Header Weekend of the 2013 season, as Justice Brothers presents Friday Night Racing on May 17th starting at 7pm, featuring Mini-Stocks, Thunder V-8s, Flagpole Racing, Figure-8s, and the Long Distance Dukes Jump. The excitement continues on Sunday night with the return of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series starting at 6pm on May 19th. Mini-Stocks, American Short Trackers, Bombers, The High Performance NASCAR Hobby Stocks, and Wild'n'Crazy Figure-8s in twin feature action will highlight the event.

Come see what the Twin Cities is talking about as the top family fun destination for local NASCAR motorsports excitement. For event schedules and ticket information, check the Internet at goracewaypark.com and call the Raceway Park Hotline at 952/445-2257.

We'll see you at the races!

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