Race Reports
and Photos of the Season 2006
September 30, 2006
Raceway Park in Shakopee wrapped up it’s 50’th Anniversary Season of motorsports, Saturday, September 30’th, with the Miller Lite Enduro Race of Champions. The beautiful sunny fall afternoon brought a large crowd from across the region, and top drivers from the upper Midwest to the event.
The 75-lap 8-cylinder Challenge Race brought several drivers from the NASCAR Sunday night action to the top during the non-stop run, with Shakopee’s John Lebens taking the win, followed by Bloomington driver Dan McCarthy in second, and Fred Radiske of Mound finishing third. The top three spots were all claimed by Sunday night Figure-8 division drivers, showing their skill also extends to the quarter mile oval circuit. Bob Koose finished fourth, with Mark Nesheim taking the fifth spot at the checkers.
The 4-cylinder 40-lap event made for high-speed excitement, as the smaller cars made their rounds on the banked oval. Several drivers dropped out at the midpoint with overheating engines, but at the end, Moundsview driver Brad Bockwitz was first at the checkers, followed by fan favorite Steve Motley of Corcoran in second, and third going to Farmington’s Zac Hogan. Mike Kawell finished fourth, with John Vig Jr. crossing the start/finish line in fifth.
In the 100-lap 8-cylinder Shootout, Rockford’s Mark Bronstad grabbed an early lead, and stayed towards the front of the pack through the caution-free event to take the win. A scheduled mid-race pitstop played to the advantage for driver James Schoepke of Brooklyn Park, who finished second. Corcoran’s Steve Motley, who came in second during the earlier 4-cylinder event, made the transition to the 8-cylinder car and took third place honors. Forth place went to Jesse Fischer, with Richard Johnston finishing fifth.
In other action, 37 ladies took to the track for two “Powder Puff” events. In the first race, Elisa Svee of Cedar grabbed the win, followed closely at the checkers by Lakeville driver Steph Johnson. In the second race, Stephanie Motley of Corcoran followed her husband’s top finishes with a win of her own, with Heather Rice of Elko finishing a close second.
Raceway Park’s notorious Figure-8 Trailer Race wrapped up the action with 21 drivers competing with everything from pop-up campers, boat and snowmobile trailers running the full-on action event. The rules are simple: If you lose your trailer, you’re out of the race. Of course the other drivers are trying to separate vehicles from trailers, resulting in non-stop destruction and carnage. By the finish, with a track littered full of debris, only two drivers remained with the winner chosen by the crowd’s applause and cheers. It was close, as both drivers received huge fan support, but at the end, Jamie Paukert came out ahead of Minnetonka driver Louis Ansolabere.
Raceway Park in Shakopee looks forward to the 2007 racing season, which once again will feature NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series action on Sunday nights, Miller Lite Enduro Series excitement, and Friday Night Destruction events. Keep up to date on the local racing scene over the winter months by checking out www.goracewaypark.com. For more information contact the Raceway Park office at 952-445-2257.