Gondik Law Speedway Names Burdick, Copp, Mackey, VanHouse, Bernick, House as 2023 Champs
Doar takes GLS LMS crown; Burdick wins KME LM Series
by Nick Gima
Superior, WI, August 25 – Friday was a night for crowning champions at the Gondik Law Speedway.
The final regular-season WISSOTA Dirt Track Series event of 2023 ended with the northwestern Wisconsin track’s points titles going to Kevin Burdick of Proctor, MN; Brandon Copp of Brule; Andrew Mackey of Duluth, MN; Deven VanHouse of Silver Bay, MN; Aaron Bernick of Duluth, MN; and AJ House of Cloquet, MN.
In addition, Friday saw the championship round of both the Gondik Law Speedway Late Model Series and the KME Late Model Series, won by Pat Doar of New Richmond and Burdick, respectively.
Doar’s win in the WISSOTA Late Model 25-lap A-main was almost a foregone conclusion from the start, as he started on the pole, led every lap and pulled away in convincing manner.
After an initial tight battle with Darrell Nelson, Doar took a mere five laps to draw to a one-and-a-half-second lead, with Jeff Massingill holding down third. Burdick, who had the track points title sewn up when he pulled into his starting spot in the feature line-up, worked past VanHouse for fourth on lap 3.
A four-car mess in turn 2 on lap 6 brought the field back to Doar, but he resumed his torrid pace with the drop of the next green flag, while Massingill briefly threatened Nelson for position. As Nelson set out to hunt down the leader, VanHouse took advantage of the restart to overtake Massingill, Burdick and Mike Prochnow for third.
Over the final eleven laps Doar weaved and threaded his way through a small handful of backmarkers and extended his advantage to over two seconds on Nelson, who seemed to struggle getting by a couple of the lappers. At race’s end Doar held a 3.34-second cushion on Nelson for his fourth win of the season here, and a $6,000 paycheck for nailing down the GLS LMS title.
Well behind runner-up Nelson was VanHouse, who just nipped Massingill for third. Burdick was a distance back in fifth, but that was enough to collect the $10,000 champion’s check from the KME Series.
The WISSOTA Modifieds’ points chase was still somewhat in doubt going into their 20-lap headliner, especially since leader Copp was starting eleven positions behind second-in-standings Johnny Broking and only holding a 24-point edge. But that scenario changed dramatically early in the run.
Polestarter Kennedy Swan outran the fierce battle for second between Al Uotinen and outside-front-row starter John Toppozini for the first lap or so, before Uotinen moved forward to take control of the race. Broking, running in a tight pack of five cars battling for fourth, spun at the top of turn 4 on lap 3, bringing about the race’s only caution stop and altering the fate of the championship battle.
On the restart Uotinen and Nelson, who had swiped second from Swan just before the yellow, pulled away to debate the lead, with Jody Bellefeuille moving up to third. Once past the race’s midpoint Uotinen began to steadily gain margin on Nelson, who found himself in a three-car battle for runner-up honors with Bellefeuille and Shane Sabraski during the closing laps.
Uotinen, the popular veteran driver from Superior, worked through a couple of slower cars late in the run and claimed his first win in a little over a year, with a closing Sabraski a little more than a half-second back after taking second from Nelson on the white-flag lap. Bellefeuille was a close fourth, and Toppozini held tight to a strong fifth-place run.
The 15th-starting Copp’s seventh-place effort was two better than Broking’s, giving him his second “big Mod” points title here, while Uotinen’s win helped him edge Broking for second in the final standings.
The WISSOTA Super Stock title was even tighter going into that division’s final regular-season 20-lapper, with Mackey clinging to a 20-point advantage over Kyle Copp. But Mackey ran a smart, conservative race to finish sixth and nail down his first career points title.
The feature itself ran flag-to-flag, with the eighth-starting Sabraski, of Rice, MN, doing what he does so well here – patiently sifting through traffic, working his way to the lead, and then cruising away. Polestarter Patrick Beeksma got out in front of a four-wide race for second during the first half-lap, from which DJ Keeler squirted through to claim the position. On lap 3 Sabraski used the outside lane to complete a three-wide pass for third, and two circuits later he followed Keeler by Beeksma as they claimed the two lead spots.
On lap 6 Sabraski slipped by Keeler, and from there it was smooth sailing for WISSOTA’s national points leader. The track points battle intensified, though, as Copp picked his way forward to third by lap 9, while Mackey was content to ride in seventh but with only a seven-point cushion to play with at that stage.
Two factors late in the run worked in Mackey’s favor – a strong late surge by ninth-starting Jordan Henkemeyer, who got by Copp for third with a couple of laps remaining, and Mackey’s pass of Beeksma for sixth on the final circuit to secure a 14-point margin for the title. Sabraski coasted to his third-straight Super Stock win in Superior and seventh of the season here by a remarkable 5.1 seconds over Keeler, who himself was a far cry ahead of Henkemeyer, Copp and Cole Chernosky.
VanHouse didn’t have the WISSOTA Midwest Modified title locked up going into the feature, as Tanner Gehl was mathematically still in contention and VanHouse was slated to start 14th. But Gehl had to come through a B-feature and started the 20-lap A-main from 21st.
David Simpson gained the top spot at the initial get-go of the feature from his outside-front-row starting spot ahead of a tight five-car pack, from which Garrett Paull snuck through to second, and a hard-charging James Vendela found the extreme outside line to his liking and worked his way into third by lap 3.
Simpson charged away to a lead of over 1.5 seconds over Paull and a four-wide battle for third before a three-car tangle in turn 4 collected Gehl and ended his night, thus essentially clinching the title for VanHouse. Simpson led the field over the next six non-stop laps, with plenty of action behind him for position, until Justin Bassa’s car was spun on lap 14, triggering a series of short, choppy green-flag runs.
Andrew Inman and McLean Andrews got together just after the restart, negating a Chernosky move on Simpson for the lead. Then Jason VandeKamp, who restarted second, took over the lead on that restart when Simpson slipped up and out of the racing groove, bringing Chernosky, Vendela and several others by as Simpson fell back. Vendela worked low to take second from Chernosky on lap 16, and two laps later another three-car melee collected the fifth-running Andrews.
Zach Benson, who started the race from tenth, made a move to take third just before Mason Musel and Taylor Madrinich scraped to a stop under the white flag. Vendela’s car was also somehow damaged prior to that incident, and on the one-to-go restart his car didn’t take off, causing Andrews to pile up and spin behind him.
The second one-lap dash saw VandeKamp, of Scandia, MN, lead the way to his first win of the season here by three-quarters of a second over Benson, who snuck past a resurgent Simpson on that final circuit. Eleventh-starting Cody Carlson and 17th-starting Dave Flynn completed the top five, and VanHouse capitalized on the tight-pack racing and carnage ahead of him to come home sixth and earn his first Mid-Mod crown at GLS since 2016.
With only six WISSOTA Pure Stocks entered for the night’s action, Bernick needed to be one spot better than last in that division’s feature to claim the points title outright, but for good measure he charged forward and took second behind Duluth, MN’s Tyler Kachinske to secure the championship.
Kachinske passed his mom, polestarter Kristy Rose, for the lead coming out of the first pair of turns and never trailed on his way to his first win of the season. Bernick followed Kachinske to second, just before Rob Christman’s spin on lap 4 ended his night.
From there Kachinske and Bernick pulled away to decide the 12-lapper, while Jessie Treviranus moved by Rose to take third. By lap 8 Kachinske had built a one-second lead on Bernick, and he eventually improved on that to a final winning margin of two full seconds.
A minor skirmish between Treviranus and her father Tom in the closing laps, which temporarily stalled both cars but did not draw a yellow flag, didn’t keep Jessie from a third-place effort, well ahead of Rose and Tom Treviranus. Bernick’s slim 14-point final championship margin matched Mackey’s for the thinnest edge at the track in 2023.
In what be argued as the most entertaining feature of the night, Iron River’s Derek Dunbar fended off a determined Justin Schelitzche for his second WISSOTA Hornets feature win of the year, and his first since opening night here. Just behind them, House capped off his first division championship here since 2020 with a third-place run.
Dunbar swept by polestarter Joe Puidokas to take a lead he would not relinquish, despite the race-long threats from Schelitzche, who followed him into second. As the lead pair pulled away to put on an entertaining show for the fans, with Schelitzche sneaking peeks to the inside and Dunbar fighting back at every turn, House had slipped by Puidokas into third by lap 3 and watched the dogfight from a short distance.
Schelitzche took one last strong run to the inside coming to the final checkered flag of the night, but Dunbar withstood the challenge to win by half a car-length. House was well ahead of Puikokas, who just nipped visiting Riley Ament for fourth.
The huge race-filled weekend starts with a practice session on Wednesday, September 6, along with the fun “Soup-town Showdown” race, pitting Midwest Mods against Super Stocks. Thursday’s show includes the Renegades as well as the Street Stocks, the IRA sprints are the highlight of Friday’s slate, and the Limited Lates join Saturday’s line-up.
For information on advance tickets and camping info for this and other upcoming events, log on to the track’s website, www.gondiklawspeedway.com, or its FaceBook page.
Results
WISSOTA Late Models
Feature: 1-10: Pat Doar, New Richmond; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Jeff Massingill, Keewatin, MN; Kevin Burdick, Proctor, MN; Mike Prochnow, Menomonie; Kyle Peterlin, Hibbing, MN; Gunner Frank, Montrose, IA; Danny Vang, Deerwood, MN; Dave Flynn, Superior.
11-20: Travis Budisalovich, Minneapolis, MN; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN; Aaron Lillo, Proctor, MN; Terry Lillo, Duluth, MN; Trevor Wilson, Superior; Kevin Carlson, Hermantown, MN; Carey LePage, Culver, MN; Mike Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Todd Frank, Montrose, IA; Jayme Lautigar, Gilbert, MN.
21-24: Daniel Bargender, Menomonie; Derek Vesel, Hibbing, MN; Robbie Cooper, South Range; Steve Laursen, Cumberland.
Heat 1: Massingill; Prochnow; VanHouse; Flynn; Hanson; Bellefeuille; Wilson; LePage.
Heat 2: Nelson; Peterlin; Burdick; Budisalovich; Bargender; Vesel; T Lillo; Carlson.
Heat 3: Doar; Lautigar; G Frank; Vang; Laursen; T Frank; A Lillo; Cooper.
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Al Uotinen, Superior; Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Jody Bellefeuille, Carlton, MN; John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON; Billy Kendall III, Walker, MN; Brandon Copp, Brule; Rick Rivord, Superior; Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Bob Broking, Grand Rapids, MN.
11-18: Justin Weinberger, Elk Mound; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Cody Wolkowski, Thunder Bay, ON; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Mike Klippenstein, Duluth, MN; Mark Prueser, Brainerd, MN; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Donnie Lofdahl, Duluth, MN.
Heat 1: Bellefeuille; Nelson; Swan; A Uotinen; Kendall; Wolkowski; B Broking; Copp; Klippenstein.
Heat 2: J Broking; Weinberger; Sabraski; Toppozini; Rivord; Gehl; B Uotinen; Lofdahl; Prueser.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; DJ Keeler, Superior; Jordan Henkemeyer, Sauk Rapids, MN; Kyle Copp, Brule; Cole Chernosky, Thunder Bay, ON; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Dan Peterson, Foxboro.
11-13: Rita Anderson, South Range; Paul Gucinski, Superior; Jeffrey Lien Jr, Mora, MN.
Heat 1: Mackey; Chernosky; Sabraski; Keeler; Henkemeyer; Lawrence; Anderson.
Heat 2: Beeksma; Copp; Blom; Gucinski; Peterson.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Jason VandeKamp, Scandia, MN; Zach Benson, Princeton, MN; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Cody Carlson, Superior; Dave Flynn, Superior; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; McLean Andrews, Duluth, MN; Evan Checkalski, Duluth, MN; Cole Chernosky, Thunder Bay, ON; Garrett Paull, Fort Frances, ON.
11-20: Justin Bassa, Cotton, MN; Eric Gadach, New Richmond; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Kolby Reed, Kakabeka Falls, ON; James Vendela, South Range; Mason Musel, Duluth, MN; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN; Blake Adams, Cameron; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN.
21-24: Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Wyatt Boyum, International Falls, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior; William Moelter, Elk Mound.
Heat 1: Latvala; Andrews; Musel; Checkalski; Flynn; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN; Kevin Lear, Cambridge, MN; Chris Bretting, Washburn.
Heat 2: Inman; Simpson; Benson; VanHouse; Adams; Gehl; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN.
Heat 3: VandeKamp; Chernosky; Carlson; Madrinich; Gadach; Aiden Hoffman, Rice Lake; Reagan Ruffi, Lake Nebagamon; Anthony Gallian, Superior.
Heat 4: Vendela; Paull; Reed; Moelter; Bassa; Boyum; Polson.
Semi-Feature: Gehl; Ripley; Boyum; Polson; Hoffman; Fuhrman; Jorgensen; Bretting; Ruffi; Lear; Gallian.
WISSOTA Pure Stocks
Feature: 1-6: Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Jessie Treviranus, Hawthorne; Kristy Rose, Duluth, MN; Tom Treviranus, Hawthorne; Rob Christman, Superior.
Heat: Bernick; Kachinske; Christman; Rose; J Treviranus; T Treviranus.
WISSOTA Hornets
Feature: 1-8: Derek Dunbar, Iron River; Justin Schelitzche, Chaska, MN; AJ House, Cloquet, MN; Joseph Puidokas, Cloquet, MN; Riley Ament, Mahtowa, MN; Michael Teggatz, Mahtowa, MN; Brett Leino, Barnum, MN; Ryan LaBorde, South Range.
Heat: Schelitzche; Dunbar; House; Puidokas; Teggatz; Ament; Leino; LaBorde.
