The Third Annual Viking Fall Classic Kicks Off
By Ray Beste
ALEXANDRIA, MN (October 7 ) - The third annual Viking Fall Classic got underway Friday, October 7 with 237 race teams on hand. The Fall Classic is a highly successful year end special that puts a cap on the WISSOTA national point season. Friday night's program was comprised of heat races from all five WISSOTA divisions.
The Midwest Modifieds were the first to get the call; the top three from each heat earned a berth in Saturday’s feature.
Justin Schill held the early lead until Korey Krafthefer took the point. Krafthefer held the point for two laps before speedway track champion Jason Cook seized the lead for good. Cook later scored the win ahead of Krafthefer and Tim Balbach.
Defending WISSOTA Midwest Modified national champion Travis Saurer took the early lead in heat two. Jim Chyba went to the bottom on lap two and passed Saurer for the lead exiting turn two. Zach Johnson moved by Saurer on the next lap and tried to track down Chyba, who held on for the win followed by Johnson and Saurer.
John Henkemeyer led heat three flag to flag despite heavy pressure from speedway regular Kyle Reents. Nate Heinrich worked his way into a transfer spot after starting ninth on the grid.
Danny Bayer passed Brian Hellerman with three laps to go in heat four and never looked back. Tyler Limoges snuck into third with two laps to go and grabbed the final transfer spot.
National point leader Shane Sabraski charged from the second row at the start and took the win in heat five. Justin Olson grabbed second and 36-year racing veteran Terry Merten finished third.
In the sixth and final heat race, Dallas Gulbrandson used his outside row one starting position to score the victory. Dan Wheeler, in his first trip to the speedway, charged from sixth to second at the finish and rookie Brandon Nelson moved up five spots to finish third.
The WISSOTA Street Stocks were next on the docket. The top five in each heat locked themselves into Saturday’s feature.
Canadian driver Shane Edginton shared row one in the first heat with Charlie Novak. Novak, who ran a limited schedule this season, showed no rust and picked up the win. Cory Tammen pressured Novak for the lead but was unable to make the pass. Shawn Wageman worked his way by track champion Scott Horn for third while Edginton finished fifth.
Jim Gullikson ran away with the win in heat two while Cory Crapser started ninth and worked his way up to second at the line. Devin Neske, Jeff Nelson, and Brad Sheridan - in their first ever appearances at the speedway - rounded out the top five.
Mark Froehlich, Rod deBernardeaux, and Jason Vande Kamp made it an all Princeton Speedway top three in heat three. Froehlich moved by deBernardeaux with four laps to go and took the win. Dave Read and Jason Grimes finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Don Barber benefited from Scott Paulson’s flat tire in heat four and picked up the win. Barber passed Jason Long on lap five and took the point when Paulson retired to the pits. Jim Williams, Long, Jim Derosier and Rusty Kollman rounded out the top five.
Six loaded Super Stock heat races were next on the agenda. The top three finishers in each heat advanced to the feature.
Kent Pekarek and Shawn Wageman led the first heat to the green and, after an early yellow, Jon Stepan worked his way to the front and cruised to the win. Defending champion Scot Danzeisen finished second and Wageman finished third.
Speedway regular Roger Host picked up the win in heat two with Dan Gullikson, who darted past Scott Thompson near the midway point of the race, hot on his tracks. Thompson, who also ran a very limited schedule this season, finished third.
Rick Kobs roared forward from fifth in heat three and scored the win. Kobs got shuffled back a position early on but was undeterred in his charge to the front. Todd Carter finished second and Tim Borgeson stole the final transfer spot from Greg Boje.
Dave Mass took the early lead in heat four with a couple of Henkemeyers hot on his heels. John Henkemeyer passed Mass for the lead on lap four. Mass held off Joe Henkemeyer from there and finished second.
Corky Thomas won heat five after starting sixth. Despite Thomas’ great run, most eyes were on the "Resch Rocket" of Cory Mahder, who started ninth and finished second ahead of Brian Nayes.
Tim Johnson passed Steve Beach and Kevin Robertson on laps five and six and won the sixth and final heat. Eagle Chassis pilots Beach and Robertson finished second and third, respectively.
The Modifieds rolled out for their heat races, from which the top three in each earned starting spots in Saturday’s feature.
Rookie Zach Johnson won heat one in impressive fashion. Speedway rivals and good friends Dave Storck and Terry Engebretson finished second and third.
Trent Follmer, in Joe Bean's #0 Larry Shaw Modified, walked away from the field in heat two. Corky Thomas, in Blake Jegtvig's backup Shaw car, finished second and Ron Mahder, in Kenny Davis’ #87, came home third. Bobby Sagen finished fourth in Mike Bruns’ car.
Jamie Lemke checked out on second place Scott Gilbertson about midway through the third heat and scored the dominating win. Watertown, SD pilot Chad Williamson capped a great run in third.
J.J. Schuelke was bad fast and led heat four from start to finish. Shawn Peterson claimed second and Dann Olson, who was racing for the final time during the weekend, came home third.
Nine-time Viking Speeday champion Scot Danzeisen got the better of his foes in heat five. Craig Christiansen took the lead from Mike Johnson early on but eventually relinquished the point to Danzeisen. Underwood, ND pilot Marlyn Seidler finished a very impressive third behind Christiansen.
Andy Gordon beat Dave Mass to the turn on the first lap and never looked back during the sixth and final heat. Mass finished second and Craig Thatcher used a last-corner pass on Blake Jegtvig to grab the final transfer spot.
The WISSOTA Late Models ran five heat races and the top four in each advanced to Saturday night’s feature.
Multiple-time track champion Jeff Hinkemeyer took the win in heat one despite heavy pressure from the "Red Rocket" of Curt Gelling. Lance Matthees finished third and Dwayne Clarke crossed the line in fourth.
After a very long layoff, Rick “Rocket” Thoennes piloted John Seitz's backup car to victory lane in heat two. Red Clay Classic winner Joey Jensen finished quite a ways back in second followed by Pat Doar and Seitz.
Trent Follmer made it two-for-two when he won Late Model heat three. After being involved in a turn two altercation with Scott Greer, Follmer passed Rick Egersdorf with three laps to go and roared to the win. Rick Sweet finished third and Brad Seng was awarded fourth after Joe Bean was light at the scales.
Joel Cryderman darted by Don Shaw exiting turn four with three laps remaining and won heat four. Shaw finished second while Jeff Wildung and Long Tow award winner Chris Johnson rounded out the feature qualifiers.
Inuagural Viking Fall Classic champion Dave Zimmerman piloted Brad Seng's backup car to victory lane in the fifth and final heat race. Jon Chrest finished an awesome run in second followed by Andy Simonson and Paul Mueller. Chrest's good fortune continued when he redrew the outside front row starting spot for Saturday's main event.
With time getting to be a factor, speedway officials decided not to run dashes. The position each driver drew for the dash was used to align them for Saturday’s feature.
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