By Dale Leech

MINNEAPOLIS, KS – Weather extremes bring many challenges to dirt track racing in a 6 month season. Cold and wet weather plague early events while extreme heat and dry conditions present a new set of challenges by July. Hot, dry and windy were the three words to the foremost of everyone’s mind Saturday night as 48 cars took to the track in four classes for the standard feature race format along with the final two King of the Hill competitions for the 2011 season. Brandon Gray took advantage of the opportunities presented to him and finished with wins in the All-American Towing Mod-Lite Series King of the Hill competition and Feature race.

The King of the Hill competition opened with 7 Mod-Lites drivers. First round eliminations were Corbin Pickerill over Ryan Secrest, Brandon Gray over Ryan Ayers, Dustin Forsberg over Justin Kinderknecht, and Pickerill came back to eliminate Brian Davidson. In round 2 Gray won out over Forsberg. In the final round, Gray jumped to a 1 car length lead over Pickerill which expanded to 2 car lengths as Pickerill lost traction in turn four of the first lap. Gray continued the lead throughout the 2nd lap to win his first King of the Hill competition.

In the Casey’s General Store IMCA Modifieds first round eliminations were Brian Knoell over Matt Henke, Corey Lagroon over Rodger Peck in a Midas Muffler shop show down, Tad Davis over AJ Scott, Jeff Welsh over Gary Bradford, Van Gemmill over Kenny Cross, Danny Morrison Jr with a Bye, and Chris Vogan over Tim Watts. In the second round the winners were Knoell over Lagroon, Welsh over Davis, and Morrison Jr over Gemmill. In the third round Knoell dispatched Vogan while Morrison Jr won over Welsh. In the championship duel Morrison Jr fell back behind Knoell down the front stretch and crossed over behind Knoell in turn two to the bottom side. Using momentum from this cross over move, Morrison Jr moved in front of Knoell on the backstretch and led by ½ car length as the passed the flagstand with one lap to go. Morrsion then won going away as Knoell spun out in turn 3 of the final lap. With the win, Morrison had his 2nd King of the Hill competition in a row in the Modified division and became the first driver at Minneapolis Raceway to win 3 career King of the Hill championships.

Lott Implement IMCA Sport Compacts Feature
Kevin Hackett moved past Josh Howard and Dayton Wollenberg in the first lap for the early lead but succumbed to Matt Echevarria coming out of a 4th row starting position by the end of the 3rd lap. Echevarria survived all challengers out of one caution restart and put his car in cruise control to run away with the race and win his 6th Feature of the season and rookie career. The Heat races were won by Hackett and Echevarria.

All-American Towing Mod-Lite Series Feature
Dustin Forsberg quickly moved to an early lead from his start in the pole position and established a 6 car length lead over the field. His prosperity was cut short with the one caution restart of the race with 7 laps to go, gathering the competition back in close. Meanwhile Corbin Pickerill and Brandon Gray both moved past Ryan Ayers to battle for the 2nd position with Gray gaining the advantage. With six laps remaining, Gray passed Forsberg on the backstretch and pulled away to win the Feature by six car lengths. This was Gray’s 2nd Feature win of the year and 8th overall. Forsberg won the Heat race.

The Bank of Tescott IMCA Stock Cars Feature
This week Josh Hudson didn’t get put to the back of the pack via a caution restart. He started the Feature in the back row and battled his way from the back of the field to again find fortune at the end of the race. Jim Stolzenburg gained the early lead in the race after battling past Jesse Carr and Marion Woody in turn 4 of the 2nd lap. Stolzenburg then established a large lead over the field while Hudson was picking his way through the rest of the competition. By the end of 9 laps Hudson had Stolzenburg in his sights and gave chase with a great duel evolving for the next four laps. Hudson gained the upper hand at the flagstand with 3 laps remaining and then cruised to a large lead to win going away, claiming his 2nd Feature of the season and 8th overall. The Heat races were won by Justin Murdock and Trevor Thornton.

Casey’s General Store ICMA Modifieds Feature
Terry Malm gained an early lead from his outside pole position start while Jeff Welsh in his new ride moved past Gary Bradford and Tad Davis into the second position after the first lap. Welsh then passed Malm for the lead out of turn 2 in the 3rd lap. After the 1st of 3 caution restarts, Chris Vogan moved into the second position and challenged Welsh for about 4 laps but couldn’t gain the momentum to pull off a pass. After the 2nd caution restart, Tim Watts moved into second past Vogan but was unable to get close enough to Welsh to mount a significant challenge for the lead. Welsh got the checkered flag with a four car length lead over Watts to also claim his 2nd Feature win of the season and his 5th overall. Winners of the Heat races were Rodger Peck, Vogan and Larry Sutton.

The Minneapolis Raceway will not run on Saturday July 23rd. The facility will open for competition again on July 30 with a race card of 6 classes which will be the schedule for the next 6 weeks. The Pit gates will open at 4pm followed by the Grandstands at 5pm. Hot laps are scheduled for 6pm with the first green flag to drop at 7pm.

Minneapolis Raceway
Race Results for 7/16/2011
Mod Lites – A Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 48B Brandon Gray Bennington, KS
2 03 Dustin Forsberg Wichita, KS
3 51 Justin Kinderkenecht Salina, KS
4 27 Ethan Houlton Abilene, KS
5 19 Ryan Ayers Salina, KS
6 55B Brian Davidson Bennington, KS
7 83 Corbin Pickerill Salina, KS
8 12 Ryan Secrest Newton, KS
Mod Lites – Heat
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 03 Dustin Forsberg Wichita, KS
2 48B Brandon Gray Bennington, KS
3 83 Corbin Pickerill Salina, KS
4 19 Ryan Ayers Salina, KS
5 51 Justin Kinderkenecht Salina, KS
6 55B Brian Davidson Bennington, KS
7 12 Ryan Secrest Newton, KS
8 27 Ethan Houlton Abilene, KS
Modified – A Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 59W Jeff Welsh Abilene, KS
2 11W Tim Watts Beloit, KS
3 01V Chris Vogan Salina, KS
4 12 Rodger Peck Minneapolis, KS
5 24 Corey Lagroon Salina, KS
6 75 Tad Davis Mt. Hope, KS
7 14M Danny Morrison Jr. Minneapolis, KS
8 06B Brian Knoell Falun, KS
9 23 A.J. Scott Roxbury, KS
10 10 Matt Henke Osborne, KS
11 57 Kenny Cross Salina, KS
12 70T Terry Malm Lindsborg, KS
13 21 Van Gemmill Ponca City, OK
14 30 Gary Bradford Salina, KS
15 53T Larry Sutton Beloit, KS
Modified – Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 12 Rodger Peck Minneapolis, KS
2 14M Danny Morrison Jr. Minneapolis, KS
3 59W Jeff Welsh Abilene, KS
4 70T Terry Malm Lindsborg, KS
5 10 Matt Henke Osborne, KS
Modified – Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 01V Chris Vogan Salina, KS
2 24 Corey Lagroon Salina, KS
3 75 Tad Davis Mt. Hope, KS
4 23 A.J. Scott Roxbury, KS
5 57 Kenny Cross Salina, KS
Modified – Heat 3
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 53T Larry Sutton Beloit, KS
2 06B Brian Knoell Falun, KS
3 11W Tim Watts Beloit, KS
4 30 Gary Bradford Salina, KS
5 21 Van Gemmill Ponca City, OK
Sport Compact – A Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 35 Matt Echevarria Junction Citty, KS
2 29 Kevin Hackett Minneapolis, KS
3 17 Mark Colton Oak Hill, KS
4 14M John McNabb Salina, KS
5 44 Dayton Wollenberg Manhattan, KS
6 95 Jeremey Milum Oak Hill, KS
7 11 Josh Howard Salina, KS
8 03CG Allen Rice Minneapolis, KS
9 72 Tracy Montague Salina, KS
Sport Compact – Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 29 Kevin Hackett Minneapolis, KS
2 14M John McNabb Salina, KS
3 03CG Allen Rice Minneapolis, KS
4 11 Josh Howard Salina, KS
5 17 Mark Colton Oak Hill, KS
Sport Compact – Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 35 Matt Echevarria Junction Citty, KS
2 72 Tracy Montague Salina, KS
3 44 Dayton Wollenberg Manhattan, KS
4 95 Jeremey Milum Oak Hill, KS
Stock Car – A Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 97J Josh Hudson Kensington, KS
2 5 Jim Stolzenburg Clifton, KS
3 59 Cory Struckhoff Kensington, KS
4 24M Justin Murdock Concordia, KS
5 55A Bob Arnold Salina, KS
6 07 Dustin Newlin Concordia, KS
7 9 Trevor Thornton Osborne, KS
8 21F Terry Franz Concordia, KS
9 7 Bryan Hickman Minneapolis, KS
10 777 Marion Woody Tescott, KS
11 59S Tony Steenson Salina, KS
12 107 Scott Cossel Tescott, KS
13 11C Jesse Carr Beloit, KS
14 43 Wylie Pumarlo Morganville, KS
Stock Car – Heat 1
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 24M Justin Murdock Concordia, KS
2 11C Jesse Carr Beloit, KS
3 59 Cory Struckhoff Kensington, KS
4 07 Dustin Newlin Concordia, KS
5 5 Jim Stolzenburg Clifton, KS
6 43 Wylie Pumarlo Morganville, KS
7 97J Josh Hudson Kensington, KS
Stock Car – Heat 2
Finish Car No Driver Hometown
1 9 Trevor Thornton Osborne, KS
2 55A Bob Arnold Salina, KS
3 7 Bryan Hickman Minneapolis, KS
4 777 Marion Woody Tescott, KS
5 107 Scott Cossel Tescott, KS
6 21F Terry Franz Concordia, KS
7 59S Tony Steenson Salina, KS

Minneapolis Raceway
2011 Oval Track Points Standings As of 7/16/2011
Top 5 in each Class
Mod Lites
Pos Car No Driver Hometown Points
1 48B Brandon Gray Bennington, KS 336
2 27 Ethan Houlton Abilene, KS 329
3 83 Corbin Pickerill Salina, KS 307
4 55B Brian Davidson Bennington, KS 304
5 03 Dustin Forsberg Wichita, KS 303
Modified
Pos Car No Driver Hometown Points
1 14M Danny Morrison Jr. Minneapolis, KS 393
2 24 Corey Lagroon Salina, KS 380
3 06B Brian Knoell Falun, KS 377
4 12 Rodger Peck Minneapolis, KS 371
5 01V Chris Vogan Salina, KS 354
Sport Compact
Pos Car No Driver Hometown Points
1 35 Matt Echevarria Junction Citty, KS 351
2 03CG Allen Rice Minneapolis, KS 329
3 72 Tracy Montague Salina, KS 326
4 29 Kevin Hackett Minneapolis, KS 309
5 44 Dayton Wollenberg Manhattan, KS 303
Stock Car
Pos Car No Driver Hometown Points
1 21F Terry Franz Concordia, KS 355
2 07 Dustin Newlin Concordia, KS 346
3 59S Tony Steenson Salina, KS 336
4 9 Trevor Thornton Osborne, KS 325
5 24M Justin Murdock Concordia, KS 317