(Racing Every Friday Night)
By Rob Ristesund
Friday the thirteenth wasn’t unlucky for four drivers as Bill Fredin, Mike Grevengoed, Rick Goth and Robert Norem scored feature wins in racing action Friday night at Rapid Speedway.
In the Pam Oil/Valvoline/AC Delco/Lewis/Pepsi 360 sprint feature, it was Bill Fredin leading all the way to score his first feature win of the year. The race got off to a rough start when a car spun in turn four of the first lap setting off a chain reaction crash that involved a number of cars in the seventeen car field. However, once the race was restarted only Randy Droescher was unable to rejoin the field after his car got on his side and suffered the most damage of those involved. On the restart it was Fredin quickly pulling away with the lead with Mike Ellingson running a solid second. Ellingson was eventually able to close right behind Fredin in the middle stages of the race when the pair encountered heavy lapped traffic, but Fredin was able to pull away once again in the final laps for a convincing win. Ellingson, who’s last two visits to the track have seen him drop out while leading due to mechanical problems, held on to take second while Brent Vande Weerd held off Chuck McGillivray and point leader Butch Hanssen, who came all the way from the last row following the first lap restart, for third.
Mike Grevengoed took the lead with three laps to go and held off a strong challenge by Moose Schuldt to capture his third late model stock car feature win of the year. Gus Clark, who continues to show improvement as he strives for his first career feature win, held the lead from the start until Grevegoed moved up to challenge late in the race. As the pair battled for the lead, contact was made between the two in the fourth turn resulting in Clark’s machine spinning and stopping, triggering the caution and sending him to the rear of the field on the restart. That put Schuldt right behind Grevengoed on the restart and Schuldt actually passed Grevengoed for the point with two laps to go but a caution on the same lap negated Schuldt’s pass, putting him back to second on the restart where he remained to the finish. Mark DeBoer took third ahead of Pat Connell and Leon Mulder.
Rick Goth passed J.J. Zebell at the halfway point and then fought off Jason DeBoer to take his second sportsman feature win of the year. DeBoer pulled alongside Goth with a lap and a half to go to make a strong bid for the lead but Goth held his line and went on to edge him at the finish. Third went to Russ Peterson followed by Jeff Coster and point leader Chad Overgaard, who saw his point lead cut to just one point over DeBoer.
After scoring his first feature win ever at the track last week, Robert Norem backed it up with another victory as he led the entire way to win the hobby stock feature. Norem’s win was anything but easy as he held off a late race charge by Kirk Maasdam to take the win by just one car length. Mark Vanden Top, Heath Warntjes and Doug Brinkhaus rounded out the top five.
The cruiser feature was a battle right down to the finish as the team of Winter and Hoogendorn edged Woelber and Van Beek for the win.
SPRINT CARS
PAM OIL/VALVOLINE HEAT: 1. Bill Fredin, Windom, Minn.; 2. Butch Hanssen, Sioux Falls; 3. Brent Vande Weerd, Rock Rapids; 4. Brian Baker, Rock Rapids.
AC DELCO HEAT: 1. Randy Droescher, Larchwood; 2. Paul Veen, Sibley; 3. Shawn Van Wyhe, Lester; 4. Jerry Kramer, Sibley.
LEWIS/PEPSI HEAT: 1. Mike Ellingson, Dell Rapids, S.D.; 2. Steve Haman, Egan, S.D.; 3. Mark Duffy, Sioux Falls; 4. Chuck McGillivray, Madison, S.D.
FEATURE: 1. Fredin; 2. Ellingson; 3. Vande Weerd; 4. McGillivray; 5. Hanssen; 6. Veen; 7. Kramer; 8. Baker; 9. Haman; 10. Jay Schmidt, Hartford, S.D.; 11. Duffy; 12. Van Wyhe; 13. Paul Lebahn, Dell Rapids, S.D. 14. Brett Vonk, Hudson, S.D.; 15. Clint Krueger; 16. Chad Larson; 17. Droescher.
LATE MODEL STOCK CARS
FIRST HEAT: 1. Howard Baartman, Sioux Falls; 2. Leon Mulder, Doon; 3. Pat Connell, Sioux Falls; 4. Mark DeBoer, Adrian, Minn.; 5. Mike Grevengoed, Hull.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Gus Clark, Sioux Falls; 2. Mike Noteboom, Orange City; 3. Rick Vander Weide, Sioux Falls; 4. Terry Dieren, Brandon, S.D.; 5. Moose Schuldt, Sioux Falls.
FEATURE: 1. Grevengoed; 2. Schuldt; 3. DeBoer; 4. Connell; 5. Mulder; 6. Noteboom; 7. Dieren; 8. Vander Weide; 9. Baartman; 10. Clark; 11. Dale Furby, Sioux Falls.
SPORTSMAN
FIRST HEAT: 1. Russ Peterson, Sioux Falls; 2. Jesse Akkerman, Luverne, Minn.; 3. Bill Sprock, George; 4. Jason DeBoer, Sioux Center; 5. Bryan McKee, Larchwood.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Jeff Wittrock, Sioux Falls; 2. Rick Goth, Madison, S.D.; 3. Chad Overgaard, Luverne, Minn.; 4. Mark Henry, Rock Rapids.
FEATURE: 1. Goth; 2. DeBoer; 3. Peterson; 4. Jeff Coster, Sioux Falls; 5. Overgaard; 6. McKee; 7. J.J. Zebell, Parker; 8. Akkerman; 9. Henry; 10. Sprock; 11. Wittrock.
I.M.C.A. HOBBY STOCKS
FIRST HEAT: 1. Robert Norem, Ocheydan; 2. Heath Warntjes, Boyden; 3. Steve Folkens, Lester; 4. Mark Vanden Top, Rock Rapids.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Denton Potter, Larchwood; 2. Kirk Maasdam, Orange City; 3. Randy Vander Weide, Sioux Center; 4. Doug Brinkhaus, Doon.
THIRD HEAT: 1. Jeff Hoogendorn, Rock Rapids; 2. Marlo DeJager, Doon; 3. Larry Kracht, Magnolia, Minn.; 4. Randy Van Engen, Doon.
FEATURE: 1. Norem; 2. Maasdam; 3. Vanden Top; 4. Warntjes; 5. Brinkhaus; 6. Hoogendorn; 7. Folken; 8. DeJager; 9. Kracht; 10. Shawn Jurrens, Little Rock; 11. Justin Selken, Hartford, S.D.
CRUISERS
FEATURE: 1. Winter/Hoogendorn, Boyden; 2. Woelber/Van Beek, Hull; 3. Roemen/Dresssman, Rock Rapids.