First Annual Hall Of Fame Induction Highlights Exciting Night of Racing at Chateau Speedway

June 22, 2019

Living Hall of Fame Inductees, Greg Pfeifer (kneeling), Dave Noble (in chair), Standing Left to right, John Van Willigen, Mert Williams, Dave Bjorge, LeRoy Scharkey, (next 2 Nobles attendees), Verlin Eaker, Gerhrad Wollenburg

Chateau Speedway (Lansing, MN) 6/21/19 Matthew Grage

The First Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Highlighted a great night of racing action Friday Night at Chateau Speedway in Lansing. Thirteen Former Drivers and the Original Owners, Builders and Promoters of the Famed Facility were honored at Intermission. The eight living members of the First Annual Class of Inductees were all on hand as well as family representatives of the other seven members. Drivers on hand for the nights Induction were Dave Bjorge, Verlin Eaker, Dave Noble, Greg Pfeifer, LeRoy Scharkey, John (Sonny) VanWIlligen, Mert Williams, and Gerhard Wollenberg. Family Members were on hand to represent Ole Brua, Mike Guttormson, Don Lowe, Don McAllister, Don Wytaske, and Legacy Inductees Howard and Art Smith the original owners. The awards were designed by Adams Graphix and Sponsored by Buck Monson Photo’s.

The Inductees as well as all the fans in attendance were treated to an outstanding night of racing action in seven classes. The night was originally only suppose to feature six classes of cars but the KEVKO Outlaw Mini Mods were rained out where they were suppose to run in North Iowa. So the group, which runs half schedule at Chateau Speedway called and asked if they could join the nights program. Track Owner Mark Wytaske, standing in the rain as well in Lansing, looked at the radar and figured the rain was going to be gone by about two hours before scheduled race time so told the group to come on in. For once the radar screen proved correct and by just after 5:00 the rain stopped and by race time at 7:15 The Track was bathed in sunshine with blue sky’s overhead making it perfect night to enjoy a night of racing.

The nights racing action was sponsored by Y Waste of Austin and Med City Collision of Rochester withthe Features once again featuring plenty of side by side and three and even four wide racing action that fans have come to expect and enjoy. One of the highlights of the nights action came In the Adams Graphix WISSOTA Street Stock Feature. The front half of the field fanned out four wide at the drop of the green before Jason Newkirk of Austin took control of the top spot ahead of Cody Hyatt of Waseca and Kory Adams of Stacyville Iowa. Meanwhile Zach Elward of Hayfield worked his way from midpack into the mix and on lap twelve with Newkirk and Adams going at it side by side. Elward slipped outside of both of them as they came down the front straightaway three wide and went from third to first. Elward went on to scored his fourth feature win of the season in the caution free main event. Adams outdueled Newkirk for third with Jesse Stahl of Austin coming home fourth just ahead of Hyatt, Elward also had a heat win on the night giving him his second clean sweep of the year. Bernie Adams of Stacyville Iowa took home the classes other heat win.

In WISSOTA Midwest Modified action Tianna Mithun of New Richland was looking for her first feature win as she jumped from row two to the front on the drop of the green. She paced the field for about half the race. Tianna was doing a nice job of holding her line around the bottom of the track as Dan Wheeler of Savage was putting pressure on her. However on lap eleven she drifted a little high in turn four and opened the door for Dan and he slid on by for the lead. Dan would go onto pick up his first Feature win of the year. Mithun meanwhile got back on her line and kept Kylie Kath of Claremont behind her the rest of the way to score a runnerup finish. Ryan Wetzstein of West Conocrd and Michael Wytaske of Hartland made up the rest of the top five. Kath and Wytaske scored the classes heat wins.

Power 96 WISSOTA Pure Stocks put on a caution free feature with Andrew Eischen’s of Taopi picking up his first feature win. Michael Wick of Faribault, starting outside front row, grabbed the early lead with Andrew coming out of row two and pulling into second on the first lap. Eischen’s pulled along side Wick and the two drove side by side for much of the first seven laps until Andrew was able to finish off his pass. Wick’s run turned sour on the last lap as he spun out and instead of finishing second fell all the way back to sixth. Jack Maas of Faribault who picked up the heat win on the night for the class came home in second ahead of Josh Sousa of Alden, Troy Maas of Faribault and Michael Gift of Faribault.

The Y Waste WISSOTA Hornets had the closest finish of the night. Joe Frahm of Stewartville held the early lead until Ryan Timm of Austin took control on lao 3. Two laps later Justin Schelitzche of Cologne moved into second where he stayed for just one lap before taking over the lead. With all the lead swapping up front Jerry Coopman, who started last car in the field was picking his way forward. Moving up to second with just a hand full of laps left the top two went side by side the last couple laps and all the way to the line. Justin looked like he was going to hang on as they came out of turn four for the checkers but Coopman got just enough of a push off the corner to win by a nose. Timm held on for third with Nick Sillman from Minnesota Lake finishing just ahead of Frahm. Coopman and Timm had the nights heat wins for the division.

Parker Hale of Grand Meadow, making his first appearance of the season at the track put on a nice show as he came from back in row four to outduel Kadden Kath of Owatonna for his first feature win of the year at the track in the Action Builders USRA B Mod Class. Kath started on the outside front row and jumped to the early lead. Parker made some early moves and was quickly in the top five battling with Alex Schubbe of North Mankato and Matt Brooks of Austin in some thrilling three wide action. Hale moved to fourth on lap five and picked up another spot a lap later. A caution flag put him just behind Kath in the double wide restart. He wasted no time getting along side Kadden and kept the heat on until he eventually nosed ahead and cleared him. Kadden held off Noah Grinstead of Austin for second while Schubbe and Brooks rounded out the top five. Brooks and Kath had heat wins on the night.

The French’s Repair USRA A Mod Feature saw pole sitter Josh Angst of Winona lead flag to flag for his first feature win of the year at Lansing but it was anything but a Friday Night moonlight drive. Brandon Davis of Hayfield who has taken all but one of the features this year at the track coming into the night moved into second early and started looking inside and out for a place to try and make a move. Davis never found the room and the two crossed nose to tail at the end of twenty-five hard fought laps. Darwyn Karau of Kasson, Jason Cummins of New Richland and Ryan Wetzstein of West Conocrd chased the top two home. Angst also had a heat win on the night giving him a sweep while Davis took the other heat win.

The KEVKO Outlaw Mini Mods, for a class that wasn’t even suppose to run, lined up with a solid sixteen car field. Bobby Ruehlow of Mason City Iowa started on the pole and grabbed the early lead out of a three car duel with Nathan Kilwine of Glenville and Logan Brown of Clear Lake Iowa. With the top three going back and forth and side by side Ruehlow ended up sideways in the middle of turn one bringing out one of two cautions in the race on lap six.. Brown inherited the lead for the restart and held the spot for just a couple laps until Ryan Hensel of Forest Wisconsin got the better of him. Ryan, after also wining a heat on the night capped off a perfect night with his second feature win of the year. Kilwine came home second ahead of Brown. Justin Besch of International Falls took fourth just ahead of Tyler Jonson also down from International Falls. Ruehlow had the classes other heat win.

Racing action will continue next Friday Night with “The Dirt Show Night” . The popular Dirt Track Racing Radio Program sponsors a night every year and there is sure to be lots of giveaways for the fans throughout the night. Hot laps at 6:30 with the first green flag of the night scheduled for 7:15.

6/21/2019 at Chateau Speedway

KEVKO Outlaw Mini Mods

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 7-Ryan Hensel-Forest WI, [4]; 2. 15-Nathan Kilwine-Glenville, [2]; 3. 5-Logan Brown-Clear Lake IA, [3]; 4. 10-Justin Besch-International Falls, [6]; 5. 18J-Tyler Jonson-International Falls, [7]; 6. 81-Jerry Larson-Grand Rapids, [5]; 7. 14F-Blake Ferris-Emo Ontario Canada, [11]; 8. 4AL-Dane Olson-International Falls, [10]; 9. 2C-Cole Bennerotte-Byron, [9]; 10. 25B-Bobby Daniels-Des Moines IA, [16]; 11. 29-Scott Johnson-Owatonna, [8]; 12. 14-Micheal Bryant-Mason City IA, [12]; 13. 25C-Chase Daniels-Des Moines IA, [13]; 14. 22-Nick Hauge-Mason City IA, [15]; 15. 25L-Lucas Daniels-Des Moines IA, [14]; 16. (DNF) 1R-Bobby Ruehlow-Mason City IA, [1]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 7-Ryan Hensel, [1]; 2. 5-Logan Brown, [3]; 3. 29-Scott Johnson, [2]; 4. 15-Nathan Kilwine, [4]; 5. 2C-Cole Bennerotte, [6]; 6. (DNF) 25C-Chase Daniels, [7]; 7. (DNF) 25L-Lucas Daniels, [8]; (DQ) 25B-Bobby Daniels, [5]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 1R-Bobby Ruehlow, [1]; 2. 10-Justin Besch, [8]; 3. 81-Jerry Larson, [4]; 4. 18J-Tyler Jonson, [5]; 5. 4AL-Dane Olson, [2]; 6. 14F-Blake Ferris, [3]; 7. 14-Micheal Bryant, [6]; 8. (DNF) 22-Nick Hauge, [7]

WISSOTA Midwest Modified

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. RED1-Dan Wheeler-Savage, [7]; 2. 53-Tianna Mithun-New Richland, [3]; 3. 83-Kylie Kath-Claremont, [8]; 4. 90-Ryan Wetzstein-West Concord, [6]; 5. 37-Michael Wytaske-Hartland, [4]; 6. 98D-Christopher Deno-Kasson, [1]; 7. G12-Ryan Goergen-Stacyville IA, [5]; 8. 79-Jeremy Misgen-New Richland, [12]; 9. 33-Darryl Hainka-Wannamingo, [10]; 10. 23B-Britt Olson Jr-Waseca, [14]; 11. 86-Noel Hoppe-Waseca, [9]; 12. 79H-Luke Hainka-Wannamingo, [2]; 13. 14-Cole Kroneman-Austin, [13]; (DNS) 77T-Casey Trom-Austin

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 83-Kylie Kath, [1]; 2. RED1-Dan Wheeler, [5]; 3. 53-Tianna Mithun, [2]; 4. 79H-Luke Hainka, [7]; 5. 86-Noel Hoppe, [4]; 6. (DNF) 14-Cole Kroneman, [3]; 7. (DNF) 23B-Britt Olson Jr, [6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 37-Michael Wytaske, [1]; 2. G12-Ryan Goergen, [2]; 3. 90-Ryan Wetzstein, [4]; 4. 98D-Christopher Deno, [3]; 5. 33-Darryl Hainka, [6]; 6. 77T-Casey Trom, [5]; 7. 79-Jeremy Misgen, [7]

Power 96 WISSOTA Pure Stock

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 7X-Andrew Eischens-Taopi, [3]; 2. 31-Jack Maas-Faribault, [5]; 3. 3G-Josh Sousa-Alden, [1]; 4. 1-Troy Maas-Faribault, [4]; 5. 17-Michael Wick-Faribault, [2]; 6. 96-Kyndra Neis-Chatfield, [7]; 7. 11-Michael Gift-Faribault, [6]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 31-Jack Maas, [1]; 2. 1-Troy Maas, [2]; 3. 17-Michael Wick, [5]; 4. 3G-Josh Sousa, [6]; 5. 7X-Andrew Eischens, [7]; 6. 11-Michael Gift, [4]; 7. 96-Kyndra Neis, [3]

Y Waste WISSOTA Hornet

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 19-Jerry Coopman-Mankato, [11]; 2. 14-Justin Schelitzche-Cologne, [8]; 3. 17-Ryan Timm-Austin, [1]; 4. 5-Nick Sillman-Minnesota Lake, [6]; 5. 20-Joe Frahm-Stewartville, [4]; 6. 36-Adam Gransee-Waseca, [10]; 7. 79T-TJ Pearson-Burnsville, [7]; 8. 21-Brandon Downs-Austini, [3]; 9. 6-TJ Barnett-Owatonna, [9]; 10. (DNF) 9-Nate Coopman-Mankato, [5]; 11. (DNF) 28-Patrick Andrus-Austin, [2]

Heat 1 (5 Laps): 1. 9-Nate Coopman, [6]; 2. 5-Nick Sillman, [4]; 3. 14-Justin Schelitzche, [5]; 4. 28-Patrick Andrus, [2]; 5. 6-Timothy Barnett, [3]; (DQ) 19-Jerry Coopman, [1]

Heat 2 (5 Laps): 1. 17-Ryan Timm, [2]; 2. 79T-Taylor Pearson, [1]; 3. 21-Brandon Downs, [3]; 4. 20-Joe Frahm, [4]; 5. 36-Adam Gransee, [5]

Adams Graphix WISSOTA Street Stock

A Feature 1 (18 Laps): 1. 15-Zach Elward-Hayfield, [6]; 2. 01-Kory Adams-Stacyville IA, [5]; 3. 32-Jason Newkirk-Austin, [4]; 4. 21-Jesse Stahl-Austin, [8]; 5. 42-Cody Hyatt-Waseca, [3]; 6. 101-Bernie Adams-Stacyville IA, [7]; 7. 47-Brent Holland-Glenville, [2]; 8. 22-Ryan Jacobsen-LeRoy, [9]; 9. 31-Raey Hastings IV-Austin, [10]; 10. 39J-Dan Klingfus-Austin, [1]; 11. 99-Greg Lammers-Owatonna, [11]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 101-Ken Adams, [2]; 2. 32-Jason Newkirk, [4]; 3. 01-Kory Adams, [3]; 4. 42-Cody Hyatt, [1]; 5. 22-Ryan Jacobsen, [6]; 6. 99-Greg Lammers, [5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Zach Elward, 02:29.395[3]; 2. 21-Jesse Stahl, 02:32.944[5]; 3. 47-Brent Holland, 02:34.063[1]; 4. 39J-Dan Klingfus, 02:34.063[2]; 5. 31-Raey Hastings IV, 02:34.063[4]

Action Builders USRA B-Mods

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 28-Parker Hale-Grand Meadow, [8]; 2. 83X-Kadden Kath-Owatonna, [2]; 3. 99-Noah Grinstead-Austin, [1]; 4. 72-Alex Schubbe-North Mankato, [6]; 5. 44-Matthew Brooks-Austin, [3]; 6. 83K-Kobie Kath-Owatonna, [7]; 7. 30-Scott Demmer-Ellendale, [5]; 8. 56H-Brandon Hare-Elma IA, [10]; 9. 54-Jett Sorensen-Rochester, [13]; 10. RED1-Scott Splittstoesser-Cottage Grove, [11]; 11. 81K-Caleb Korpi-Claremont, [12]; 12. (DNF) 55-Brody Shaw-Brownsdale, [4]; 13. (DNF) 5-Jesse Baer-Minnesota Lake, [9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 83X-Kadden Kath, 02:20.036[2]; 2. 28-Parker Hale, 02:20.302[1]; 3. 99-Noah Grinstead, 02:21.410[3]; 4. 72-Alex Schubbe, 02:28.797[5]; 5. 56H-Brandon Hare, 02:24.204[6]; 6. RED1-Scott Splittstoesser, 02:25.977[7]; 7. 81K-Caleb Korpi, 02:28.797[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Matthew Brooks, 02:20.404[1]; 2. 55-Brody Shaw, 02:26.274[2]; 3. 30-Scott Demmer, 02:26.965[5]; 4. 83K-Kobie Kath, 02:28.671[4]; 5. 5-Jesse Baer, 00:56.299[6]; 6. (DNF) 54-Jett Sorensen, 00:56.299[3]

French’s Repair USRA Modifieds

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 99-Josh Angst-Winona, [1]; 2. 50-Brandon Davis-Hayfield, [6]; 3. 23-Darwin Karau-Kasson, [3]; 4. 71-Jason Cummins-New Richland, [7]; 5. 90-Ryan Wetzstein-West Concord, [8]; 6. 02-Jacob Dahle-Morristown, [13]; 7. 3A-Taylor Ausrud-Hayfield, [9]; 8. 15-Chris Loberg-Elma IA, [12]; 9. 96-Greg Jensen-Albert Lea, [15]; 10. 77-Jacob Stark-Austin, [14]; 11. 8C-Chris Clark-Jackson WY, [11]; 12. (DNF) 6-Dustin Kruse-Brandon SD, [4]; 13. (DNF) 51-Blake Arndt-Brownsdale, [10]; 14. (DNF) S43-Shaun Olson-Albert Lea, [5]; (DNS) 21-Troy Gudmonson-Savage,

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Josh Angst, 04:15.132[2]; 2. 71-Jason Cummins, 04:16.783[7]; 3. 23-Darwin Karau, 04:16.984[6]; 4. 90-Ryan Wetzstein, 04:20.921[3]; 5. 3A-Taylor Ausrud, 04:19.669[1]; 6. 8C-Chris Clark, 04:20.686[4]; 7. 15-Chris Loberg, 04:20.686[5]; 8. (DNF) 96-Greg Jensen, 04:20.686[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Brandon Davis, [3]; 2. 51-Blake Arndt, [1]; 3. 6-Dustin Kruse, [6]; 4. S43-Shaun Olson, [5]; 5. 21-Troy Gudmonson, [7]; 6. (DNF) 02-Jacob Dahle, [4]; 7. (DNF) 77-Jacob Stark, [2]