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Fans Treated to Nearly 8 Straight Hours of Racing Friday Night as Mod Wars Night 1 Features as well as Night 2's Entire Event were Completed.

By: Tami Jo Kuehn

Ogilvie, MN (July 14) – The USMTS Modifieds made their way back to Wagamon’s Ogilvie Raceway for the 3rd Annual Mod Wars. 130 drivers signed for Thursday night’s program, but mother nature cut the night short with just two heat races left to run. The decision was made to wrap up Thursday’s events earlier on Friday, and also run Friday’s program in it’s entirety the same day giving fans the ultimate experience to watch eight straight hours of WISSOTA Dirt Race action.

The WISSOTA Street Stocks took the clay for the first feature of the night with Keith Tourville and Jim Gullikson on the front row. Tourville took the early lead, Gullikson held second while Justin Pogones, Jeff Ekdahl and Nick Traynor battled close for third. Ekdahl nosed ahead of the group and slid to Gullikson’s door. After a quick caution, Tourville brought the drivers back to green with Ekdahl on his rear. Ekdahl kept pressure on Tourville, and as they caught a slower car, Ekdahl and Tourville split. With two to go, Ekdahl gave one final push to get the lead, however Keith Tourville took the win. Jeff Ekdahl, Jim Gullikson, Nick Traynor and Justin Pogones rounded out the top five points.

A mixture of USMTS and WISSOTA Modifieds rolled around the Big O for their 35 Lap event. Brandon Dolman and Eric Lamm brought the drivers to the green and as the flag waved Lamm took the lead. After a few laps went by, Jake Timm slid into the top point with Lamm and Rodney Sanders in second and third. A quick caution slowed the drivers, but Timm remained in the lead as the race resumed. Ryan Gierke slid into the second point and Dereck Ramirez grabbed third. Ramirez kept close to Gierke, and after a couple laps, Ramirez made the pass. Ramirez chased after Timm for the lead, and as Timm encountered slower traffic, Ramirez closed the gap. With five laps to go, Ramirez was within a car length of Timm, and with two to go, the yellow waved. Jake Timm brought the drivers back to green and continued on to take the win. Dereck Ramirez, Tanner Mullens, Jim Chisholm and Clayton Wagamon snagged points two through five.

Zach Benson and David Swearingen brought the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds to the green for the next feature race and Benson sped away from the field. Laps clicked by and after some work, David Swearingen passed Nick Ayotte for second. Cars nearly covered the whole race surface as Ayotte retired to the infield and Travis Schulte assumed third. Benson found himself with slower drivers, which allowed Swearingen to close the gap. With a couple laps to go, Swearingen was within a couple car lengths, however Zach Benson held the point and took the win followed by David Swearingen, Travis Schulte, Lucas Rodin and Jason VandeKamp.

Tyler Larson took the immediate lead when the WISSOTA Mod Fours went green, however five drivers spun in the curve and the yellow waved. Larson brought the drivers back to green while Chad Funt, Tommy Bawden and Robert Holtquist raced three wide for second. Bawden dropped out of the battle while Funt and Holtquist remained side by side. As the race resumed following a caution, Larson found Robert and Dustin Holtquist on his rear. The top three drivers ran close, but Tyler Larson kept his composure and took the feature win. Remaining top points went to Dustin Holtquist, Robert Holtquist, Tommy Bawden and Gerald Nohner.

The WISSOTA Hornets were the final feature to wrap up Thursday’s race events and when the green waved, Joseph Wilber took the lead. Marcus Ammerman slid into second with Bobie Arnes in third. The top three built a significant lead over their competition and remained in that order the race entirety. Joseph Wilber took the win with Marcus Ammerman, Bobie Arnes, Blake Hawker and William Masurka as the top finishers.

As the final make-up feature wrapped up, and some track prep was done, the Friday night program kicked off with USMTS qualifying followed by heats, Bmains and features. 149 checked in to race the event and the WISSOTA Street Stocks were the first feature to race.

Keith Tourville and Hunter VanGilder brought the Streets to green and Tourville immediately built up a good lead. VanGilder held second but Jim Gullikson raced to his door to battle. The first of many yellows was then triggered and the Streets wrapped up their race at a stop and go pace. Keith Tourville led every lap of the feature and took his second win of the night. Jeff Ekdahl, Hunter VanGilder, Nick Traynor and Kyle Dykhoff rounded out the top five.

A loaded field of 29 USMTS and WISSOTA Modifieds rolled onto the race surface scheduled to race a 40 lap race event. Jake Timm and Shane Sabraski brought the drivers through the curve, and as the green waved, Timm shot into the lead. Dave Cain claimed second with Sabraski holding third as the top drivers began to space out. Timm established a good lead over his competitors, and after some laps passed, he prepped to put drivers down a lap. Cain and Sabraski began to close the gap with Timm as they weaved their way through traffic, but at the same time, Jim Chisholm moved into top points. Cars covered the entire race surface as Chisholm passed Sabraski and then Cain for the second point. Timm continued to methodically move around slower cars, which gave Chisholm the chance to catch the #49. With four laps to go, Timm and Chisholm were parallel in the curves with Timm holding on to the lead by a thread. Timm ran the high line and rubbed the race wall which allowed Chisholm to charge to his side. They were door to door coming out of turn four, and Chisholm had the slight advantage with the white flag waving. Timm gave it one final shot as they came to the finish, but it was Jim Chisholm who crossed first and took the Win after a thrilling caution free race. Jake Timm settled for second with Shane Sabraski, Dave Cain and Tanner Mullens earning top points.

The WISSOTA Mod Four feature was also plagued with cautions with three yellows occurring before the race got moving. Tommy Bawden emerged as the top driver with Dustin Holtquist and Tyler Larson in second and third. Contact occurred among the drivers and a few more cautions happened before the race was finalized. At the end of it all, Tommy Bawden snagged the win with Tyler Larson, Chad Funt, David Slovick and Luke Erlandson in points two through five.

Following the Mod Fours, the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds filled the race surface and ran a caution free event. Shane Sabraski and Landyn Randt led the drivers out of turn four, and Sabraski immediately sped away. Zach Benson slid into second while Mark Froehlich took third. As laps ticked by, David Swearingen closed in on Froehlich for third, and Benson slowly reeled in Sabraski. Swearingen moved into the third point and looked ahead at Benson while Sabraski caught slower cars. Benson was able to close the gap with Sabraski and was within .864 seconds of the #7a as the checkers flew. Zach Benson, David Swearingen, Mark Froehlich and George Dalbeck rounded out the top five while Shane Sabraski rolled into victory lane.

Once again, the WISSOTA Hornets capped off the night’s race events, and just like earlier in the day, Joe Wilber took the immediate lead when the green waved. Bobie Arnes grabbed second and Marcus Ammerman settled into third as the top three drivers separated from the pack of cars. Ammerman closed in on Arnes as the laps went by, but at the race’s conclusion, Bobie Arnes held second with Marcus Ammerman, Justin Schelitzche and Randy Jacoboski as top finishers. Joe Wilber took the final win of the night and his second win of the evening.

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