Anderson Obliterates GLS Late Model Field to Close Out 36th Northern Nationals
M Anderson, Nelson, Simpson Also Grab Wins
by Nick Gima
Superior, WI, September 7 – The final night of the 36th annual XR Plus Northern Nationals, presented by Bay Lock & Security, concluded the 2024 season at the Gondik Law Speedway and was highlighted by four impressive feature performances on Saturday.
In the 40-lap, $4,000-to-win WISSOTA Late Model spotlight event, Ashley Anderson of Elk Mound not only led every lap and captured the win, but he won by a ridiculous margin and lapped all but four of his 24 fellow starters in the non-stop race.
Anderson’s car was as close to perfect as could be throughout the run, starting from the pole and speeding away on the wide, smooth, multi-groove northwestern Wisconsin oval. During the early going Kevin Burdick got by outside front-row starter Steve Laursen and stayed within a half-second or so of the leader, but by the time lap 5 had been scored Anderson had built his advantage to a full second, and from there it wasn’t a question of “if” he would win, but “by how much.”
On lap 7 Pat Doar, the track’s 2024 Late Model points champ, took over third and began chipping away at the distance between himself and Burdick. As Anderson reached the tail-end of the field on lap 9, Burdick and Doar were a full 2.8 seconds in arrears, and that deficit increased significantly with each tour around the big four-tenths-mile oval.
Doar passed Burdick on lap 16 as the pair overcame backmarkers, with Anderson nearly four-and-a-half seconds ahead. Burdick switched his lane preference to the low groove and retook second as he and Doar negotiated lapped traffic on lap 27, but Anderson extended his lead to nearly 8.4 seconds while weaving his own way through the slower cars.
Anderson continued to put faster and faster cars away, leading Burdick by nearly 9.5 seconds – or roughly a half a lap – with 11 circuits remaining, and he passed Laursen and Mike Prochnow while they were racing for ninth position on lap 31, leaving eight cars on the lead lap. The advantage exceeded ten seconds with still better than six laps remaining, and when he passed Dave Flynn that left only five cars scored on the lead lap with just under three laps left.
Anderson’s cushion reached an unheard-of 11.1 seconds as he took the white flag, and his final margin of victory was 10.8 seconds – better than a half a lap – over Burdick, with Doar, 13th-starting Daniel Bargender, and John Kaanta the only cars finishing on the lead lap. The 40-lap run took barely over 13 minutes to complete.
Last weekend, Mike Anderson of Jim Falls wowed fans with a dominant performance in Rice Lake, running away from the field. On this night Anderson wowed fans by running away from the field again for his first Northern Nationals win since 2016, taking home $3,000 for his efforts.
Mike Anderson started from the pole and led every lap, just as Ashley had done in the Late Models. But Mike had to deal with three restarts in his 35-lap feature, which, as it turned out, was not a concern. After a two-car get-together in turn 2 before the first lap was completed, Anderson drew away from what became a great race-long battle for second between fellow front-row starter Clayton Wagamon and Darrell Nelson. Another stoppage on lap 6 for a Jack Rivord spin brought the field back to Anderson’s rear bumper, but he again pulled away after the restart.
On lap 8 Nelson used the lower line to pull ahead of the high-side-riding Wagamon into second, and one circuit later Jeremy Nelson worked his way by GLS points champ Brandon Copp for fourth, with tenth-starting Jody Bellefeuille following Nelson to fifth. But Jeremy Nelson’s night ended abruptly when he smacked the turn 1 wall on lap 12, erasing Anderson’s 1.77-second advantage with that caution stop.
The balance of the race ran without interruption, allowing Anderson to once again draw away to as much as a 2.4-second margin before catching the slower runners on lap 21. Just before that, Wagamon regained second by working the high side against Darrell Nelson, and when Anderson started to deal with slower traffic, Wagamon cut the deficit down to three-quarters of a second.
Anderson expertly maneuvered through traffic, though, and held Wagamon off by 1.4 seconds at the checkers. Nelson fended off a late challenge by Copp for third, and Bellefeuille maintained fifth.
Dylan Nelson of Merrifield, MN, capped off a profitable Northern Nationals weekend by taking the $2,000-to-win WISSOTA Super Stock feature on Saturday. He also won the “Showdown in Souptown” challenge race on Wednesday night here, which earned him another $2,000.
Nelson started outside on the front row and followed polestarter Kyle Copp to start the 25-lap run, ahead of a fun battle to watch between Cory Casari and Rick Simpson. Nelson bided his time until lap 4, when he used an inside move to take the lead from Copp, this year’s Super Stock points champ here, and from there Nelson quickly established a strong advantage.
On lap 8, while battling in the second five, Don Livingston found himself in the middle of a three-wide race for position with Scott Lawrence and Austin Blom. Livingston lost control of his car going into turn 3, spun, and hit hard and climbed the outside wall nose-first. Livingston was unhurt in the incident.
On the ensuing restart, Matt Deragon, who restarted sixth, tried to go deeper into the first turn than fourth-place Simpson; the result was heavy contact and a massive crash that collected as many as eight cars, several of which – including Simpson – were unable to continue.
A three-car mess delayed the next attempt to restart, followed by a delay for John Toppozini’s motor failure, but from there the remaining laps ran off quickly, with Casari, Shawn McFadden and DJ Keeler all getting by Copp for second through fourth. Nelson gradually built his lead back up to a final cushion of 3.6 seconds ahead of an impressive effort by Casari, Copp clawed his way back to third ahead of McFadden, and Deragon used the long green-flag finish to charge back through the field to fifth.
National WISSOTA Midwest Modified points leader David Simpson of Thunder Bay, ON, had a very wild night, from dropping out of his heat race to winning his semi-feature from the 11th starting spot, to winning the 20-lap A-main, worth $1,000, after starting 18th.
Two long green-flag runs benefitted Simpson, who stuck primarily to the lowest possible groove around the big four-tenths mile to get from the back to the front. Polestarter Joey Jensen – who came into the weekend second in national points – got the jump on Deven VanHouse and David Swearingen for the early lead, but just two laps in VanHouse got around Jensen with a strong high-side run, and Swearingen worked the low lane to take second on lap 5.
VanHouse ran around the perimeter of the track to build a one-and-a-half-second lead over the first half of the race, until a three-car melee brought the race to a halt on lap 10. After the restart VanHouse dealt with Swearingen’s challenges, while young Canadian Garrett Paull held third well ahead of McLean Andrews and a charging Cody Carlson. On lap 15 Carlson worked his way past Andrews, but by this point Simpson was already into the top five and took fourth from Carlson a lap later.
A Mikey Blevins spin on lap 18 set up a green-white-checkered finish, and on that restart Simpson blasted by Swearingen and Paull to take second, with Paull following to third. At the white flag Simpson completed his mission by diving past VanHouse, and he edged VanHouse at the final stripe by less than a quarter-second, much to the approval of the strong and enthusiastic Canadian contingent on hand, for his first Northern Nationals win. Swearingen retook third from Paull in that final lap, and GLS Mid-Mod points champ James Vendela also used a late-race pass to take fifth.
The feature fields for all four classes were set based on a top-16 passing points format from earlier heat races, along with semi-features. But for an added twist, the top eight in the Late Models, Modifieds and Midwest Mods were placed into a ladder-style playoff format of two-lap, two-car dashes (eighth vs seventh, winner vs sixth, etc) to determine their starting spots in their respective features, with the winners of each division’s final dash earning the pole. Also, the Late Model drivers ranked ninth through 16th had their own separate dash for $250 to win, earned by Kelly Lake, MN’s Skeeter Estey.
The weekend’s traditional closing event – the fan-funded Canadian Midwest Mod Challenge – was also won by David Simpson, although fellow front-row starter Jamie Davis made it very tough on the polestarter. With Simpson running the low groove that worked so well for him in the feature, Davis ran the perimeter and stayed almost dead-even with Simpson – often the timed difference between the two at the start-finish line was less than a quarter-second, and on lap 7 Simpson’s edge was a mere .008 seconds!
At the end of the 12-lap run Simpson held on by a half-second over Davis, with Paull a distant third, followed by tenth-starting Kolby Reed and Bill Speak. The 12-car field shared in a total purse of nearly $1,700, with Simpson taking the winner’s share of $250.
Information on the upcoming Gondik Law Speedway awards banquet and the 2025 season schedule will be forthcoming on the track’s website, www.gondiklawspeedway.com and its FaceBook page.
Results
WISSOTA Late Models
Feature: 1-10: Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Kevin Burdick, Proctor, MN; Pat Doar, New Richmond; Daniel Bargender, Chippewa Falls; John Kaanta, Elk Mound; Dave Flynn, Superior; James Giossi, Hudson; Mike Prochnow, Menomonie; Billy Kendall III, Walker, MN; Steve Laursen, Cumberland.
11-20: Travis Budisalovich, St Paul, MN; Trent Follmer, Brainerd, MN; Keith Niemi, Gilbert, MN; Jayme Lautigar, Gilbert, MN; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN; Skeeter Estey, Kelly Lake, MN; Robbie Cooper, South Range; Eric Lillo, Proctor, MN; Ronnie Malecki, Duluth, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN.
20-25: Mike Mullen, Seymour; Kevin Eder, Cameron; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Mike Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Tim McMann, Duluth, MN.
Semi-Feature: Nelson; Gehl; Eder; Mullen; Hanson; Malecki; Lautigar; McMann; Brad Loveday, Fort Frances, ON; Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN; Cooper.
Passing Points Dash: Estey; Bargender; Budisalovich; Bellefeuille; Follmer; Prochnow; Niemi; Lillo.
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; Clayton Wagamon, Ramsey, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Brandon Copp, Brule; Jody Bellefeuille, Carlton, MN; Al Uotinen, Superior; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON.
11-20: Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Jack Rivord, Superior; Riley Matthews, Murillo, ON; Cody Wolkowski, Thunder Bay, ON; Ben Hillman, Menomonie; Duane Dale, Hibbing, MN; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Donnie Lofdahl, Duluth, MN; Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, MN.
21: Rick Rivord, Superior.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Dylan Nelson, Merrifield, MN; Cory Casari, Montreal; Kyle Copp, Brule; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Matt Deragon, Ashland; DJ Keeler, Superior; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Darin Meierotto, Superior; Scott Lawrence, Superior.
11-20: Ryan Satter, Dent, MN; Trenton Bond, Iron River; Dan Peterson, Foxboro; Rita Anderson, South Range; Jason Hobbs, Ham Lake, MN; Paul Gucinski, Superior; John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON; Avery Anderson, Elk Mound; Larry Both, Thunder Bay, ON; Rick Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON.
20-25: Steve Stuart, Ashland; Josh Schmidt, Elk River, MN; John Garrity, Thunder Bay, ON; Nathan Roy, Gorham, ON; Don Livingston, Washburn.
Semi-Feature: Garrity; Satter; Gucinski; Toppozini; Bond; Hobbs; Both; A Anderson; David Allen, Murillo, ON; Joshua Oleksuk, Neebing, ON; Trevor Arens, Hibbing, MN; Simon Hachez, O’Connor, ON; Rita Anderson, South Range.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; David Swearingen, Stacy, MN; Garrett Paull, Fort Frances, ON; James Vendela, South Range; Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, MN; McLean Andrews, Duluth, MN; Ryan Savoy, Superior; Cody Carlson, Superior; Kevin Monteith, Rosslyn, ON.
11-20: Jamie Davis, Fort Frances, ON; Michael Blevins Sr, Hibbing, MN; Scott Splittstoesser, Cottage Grove, MN; Nick Koehler, Bloomer; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; Sam Blevins, Hibbing, MN; Kolby Reed, Kakabeka Falls, ON; Dylan Miller, Hibbing, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior; Glen Brown, Rosslyn, ON.
20-25: Justin Bassa, Cotton, MN; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Hunter Brink, Kakabeka Falls, ON; Brady Caul, Fort Frances, ON; Mikey Blevins, Hibbing, MN.
Heat 1: M Blevins Sr; Jensen; Reed; Davis; Koehler; Brown; Polson; Adam Hansen, Minneapolis, MN.
Heat 2: Splittstoesser; Vendela; Miller; Kevin Monteith; Matthew Cunha, Chisholm, MN; Mark Thomas, Menomonie; Caul; Simpson.
Heat 3: Andrews; Paull; Eric Anderson, Chisholm, MN; Savoy; S Blevins; Kyle Monteith, Thunder Bay, ON; Tanner Henderson, Thunder Bay, ON; Jason VandeKamp, Scandia, MN.
Heat 4: VanHouse, Carlson, Mains, Brink; Bill Speak, hunder Bay, ON; Wayne deBruin, Murillo, ON; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Joshua Kough, Proctor, MN.
Heat 5: Swearingen; Bassa; Jason Hobbs, Ham Lake, MN; Chris Bretting, Washburn; Latvala; M Blevins; Mervin Castle III, Grand Rapids, MN; Keegan Kough, Proctor, MN.
Semi-Feature 1: Miller; S Blevins; Polson; Latvala; Hobbs; J Kough; Kyle Monteith; Speak; Caul.
Semi-Feature 2: Simpson; Koehler; Brown; M Blevins; Cunha; Fuhrman; Henderson; Anderson; Bretting; deBruin; Hansen.
Canadian Challenge: Simpson; Davis; Paull; Reed; Speak; Henderson; Kevin Monteith; Brink; Brown; Kyle Monteith; deBruin.
