Sabraski Dominant in FastLane Series Win at Gondik Law Speedway
by Nick Gima
Superior, WI, June 16 – If anyone knows a faster way around the big four-tenths mile Gondik Law Speedway oval in a WISSOTA Super Stock than Shane Sabraski, you’d be hard-pressed to name them.
Sabraski, of Rice MN, got to the front of the 26-car field early and stayed there for his second feature win of the year here and third in the eight-race FastLane Motorsports Northland Super Stock Series presented by Halvor Lines on Friday night.
Sabraski, who also won the Series opener at Rice Lake on June 8 as well as at Grand Rapids, MN, on June 15, started the 25-lap headline event from the outside of the second row and sorted his way through a busy first couple of laps, as Terran Spacek snared the initial lead just in front of polestarter Chris Wark and Steve Stuart. Sabraski got to Spacek’s back bumper within the first lap and worked his way inside to take over the pacesetter’s position a circuit later, while Stuart slipped by Wark for third.
By the time Tim Johnson had worked past Stuart for third on lap 4, Sabraski was already over a second ahead of Spacek. That cushion disappeared temporarily when Darin Meierotto’s racer stalled at the top of turn 3 on lap 5 for the event’s only delay, but not long after the restart Sabraski was again well in command, maintaining anywhere from a three-quarters-second to full-second lead on the battle between Spacek and Johnson.
Spacek was able to close the gap as the leader caught the tail-enders, but Sabraski weaved expertly through traffic and kept at least a backmarker or two between himself and Spacek, who did likewise to Johnson, as the laps clicked down. Once in the clear, Sabraski sped to a 1.625-second winning margin over the final couple of laps and pulled to within three tallies of Series points leader and defending champ Dylan Nelson with two tour shows remaining – at Ashland on June 17 and Proctor, MN, on June 18.
Spacek was able to keep Johnson at bay for second, and Matt Deragon ran a strong fourth just ahead of Kyle Copp.
The first 17 laps of the WISSOTA Late Model feature were smooth and steady, with Danny Vang holding the lead while Travis Budisalovich hunted him down. But, as so often happens, a caution flag changed the complexion of the race dramatically and gave Budisalovich the chance for his first win of the year at GLS.
Vang started outside on the front row and swept around polestarter Terry Lillo for the lead. After a couple of laps Budisalovich, who started directly behind Vang on the 16-car grid, got by Lillo for second and began the chase of the leader, who had built a full-second lead in just five laps.
Vang caught backmarkers by lap 12 and worked his way past them by flying around the extreme outer edge of the smooth, fast clay surface, with Budisalovich never more than three-quarters of a second behind him. Things were going well for Vang until lap 17, when Eric Lillo’s ride failed him in turn 3 – and then the chaos ensued.
On the restart Budisalovich completed an oh-so-close “slide-job” on Vang in the first pair of turns to take the lead, and with the bottom lanes open Kevin Burdick, who had started eighth, snuck through to second. Debris brought out another yellow flag on lap 19, and on that re-do a four-car skirmish in turn 4 brought about a long delay to untangle things. Burdick made it interesting with a successful challenge for the lead immediately upon the next restart, but Budisalovich fought back and took the point again with two laps to go to give the Minneapolis, MN, pilot his first GLS checkered flag of the season.
After slipping back a few spots on that lap 17 restart, Vang fought back to claim third, just ahead of 14th-starting Skeeter Estey and Deven VanHouse.
The WISSOTA Modifieds took the madness of the Late Models’ feature and amplified it significantly in their 20-lap A-main before Brandon Copp of Brule scored his second straight win of the season here. Before the race even started, a five-car melee in turn 4 coming to the green provided a hint of things to come.
Todd Gehl took off from the pole to lead just ahead of the son-father combo of Johnny and Bob Broking, but before the lap was completed Gehl lost the handle of his ride and spun in front of the field in turn 4. The Broking boys shared the front row for the third attempt at a start, and Johnny flew around the outer lane to claim the advantage.
Rick Rivord worked his way inside on Bob Broking to take second on lap 5, just before another caution slowdown for debris wiped out Johnny’s 1.7-second advantage. But the younger Broking flew away again after the start while Rivord, Bob Broking and Copp engaged in a fierce dogfight for second. That dogfight ended with Bob’s car breaking loose and stopping at the top of turn 2 on lap 9, which took him out of contention.
The lead pack – Johnny Broking, Rivord, Copp and now Sabraski – went four-wide through the first pair of turns after that restart, with Copp slipping around the low-lane-running Rivord to second. A couple of laps later, Broking slipped up the banking in turn 2 and checked up, allowing Copp to dive inside for the lead. Broking battled back to steal the point away with an inside move of his own on lap 12, only to give it back the next time around, and then Sabraski joined in on the fun with a slide-by of Copp on lap 14, only to be countered by Copp later in the same lap, while Broking fell back after one-too-many close encounters with the turn 2 wall.
Copp and Sabraski eventually drew away, with Copp holding a .9-second margin at the finish. Kelly Estey, who watched most of the lead-pack action from a safe distance, charged by Rivord late in the run to claim fourth, and Johnny Broking held on for fifth.
Superior’s Cody Carlson led from start to finish to claim his second feature win of the season here in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. Carlson started outside on the front row, beat polestarter McLean Andrews through the first turns, and was never headed from there.
The lone stoppage of the 20-lap run was for a Tanner Gehl spin during lap 3, after which Carlson maintained a steady half-second or so lead throughout the run, taking advantage of a very fast upper groove around the big oval. Wyatt Boyum took second away from Andrews just after that lone restart, but after Andrews fended off a couple of early challenges from visiting William Moelter, he battled back to duel with Boyum for much of the race, while Moelter fought with VanHouse for fourth.
At mid-race VanHouse displaced Moelter, and on lap 14 Andrews completed his come-back to take second from Boyum and began to cut into the lead margin. Carlson caught slower traffic with less than three laps to go, with a car in front of him running the high groove and one in front of the determined Andrews down low. But Carlson made a daring thread-the-needle move between Taylor Madrinich and first-nighter Rick Grams and escaped to a three-quarter-second winning edge over Andrews.
VanHouse got around Boyum during the closing stages for third, and Moelter came home fifth.
Travis Hazelton of Chippewa Falls has taken a liking to the Gondik Law Speedway, as he scored his third straight WISSOTA Pure Stock feature win here over the course of the past eight days. Hazelton started eighth in the 11-car lineup and quickly moved through to contend early.
Tom Treviranus set the early pace from outside of the front row, with Aaron Bernick following him into second. It took Hazelton only a lap to move into third, and on lap 3 he, Bernick and Treviranus raced three-wide for the lead before Hazelton edged ahead on lap 4.
Visitor Mike Grover’s spun ride provided the race’s only caution stop, and back under green Bernick threatened Hazelton for the lead. Another visitor, Brent Mindock, outlasted Tyler Kachinske for third and, on lap 5, dove low to pass Bernick for second. Mindock teased Hazelton with a couple of low-groove threats just after mid-race, but Hazelton fought off every challenge and held on for a slim .345-second cushion at the checkers.
Kachinske, Bernick, and visitor Devin Fries completed the top five.
After an early three-car scrum for the lead, Carson Gotelaere of Superior put a good old-fashioned whooping on the WISSOTA Hornets field for his second career feature win.
Brandon Anderson did all he could to hold off AJ House and the fifth-starting Gotelaere through the first couple of laps, but both House and Goetlaere eventually got by Anderson, and Goetlaere then displaced House for the lead with better than half of the 12-lapper to go.
Goetlaere then built as much as a straightaway lead on House over the back half of the run en route to the win. Anderson was a similar distance back in third, while Derek Dunbar and Ryan LaBorde, who tangled a bit in the opening corner and lost significant ground to the leaders, came home fourth and fifth.
On Friday, June 23, the Gondik Law Speedway will host its annual Badger State Hornet Nationals, with a generous purse set for the entry-level division. Also, the make-up feature from the fogged-out June 2 program for WISSOTA Late Models will kick off the six-division program. Hot laps start at 6:30 pm, followed by racing at 7. For more information, log on to the track’s website, www.gondiklawspeedway.com, or its FaceBook page.
Results
WISSOTA Late Models
Feature: 1-10: Travis Budisalovich, Minneapolis, MN; Kevin Burdick, Proctor, MN; Danny Vang, Deerwood, MN; Skeeter Estey, Kelly Lake, MN; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Derek Vesel, Hibbing, MN; Terry Lillo, Duluth, MN; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN; Jayme Lautigar, Gilbert, MN; Kevin Carlson, Hermantown, MN.
11-16: Tim McMann, Duluth, MN; Ronnie Malecki, Duluth, MN; Carey LePage, Culver, MN; Robbie Cooper, South Range; Eric Lillo, Proctor, MN; Doug Woodhull Jr, Superior.
Heat 1: Vang; Vesel; VanHouse; Burdick; Carlson; LePage; Cooper; Woodhull.
Heat 2: Budisalovich; T Lillo; Hanson; Lautigar; McMann; Malecki; Estey; E Lillo.
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Brandon Copp, Brule; Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Kelly Estey, Hibbing, MN; Rick Rivord, Superior; Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON; Al Uotinen, Superior; Brennan Gave, Princeton, MN; Jody Bellefeuille, Carlton, MN.
11-20: Brady Uotinen, Superior; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Parker Anderson, Phillips; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Bob Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Mike Klippenstein, Duluth, MN; Jack Rivord, Superior; Tanner Williamson, Fort Frances, ON; Dan Kingsley, Superior; Colin Chaschuk, Thunder Bay, ON.
Heat 1: M Anderson; P Anderson; B Broking; Chaschuk; A Uotinen; Kingsley; Toppozini.
Heat 2: Copp; J Broking; R Rivord; Bellefeuille; Williamson; B Uotinen; Swan.
Heat 3: Sabraski; Gehl; Estey; J Rivord; Gave; Klippenstein.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Tim Johnson, Brainerd, MN; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Kyle Copp, Brule; Scott Lawrence, Superior; DJ Keeler, Superior; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Dylan Nelson, Merrifield, MN.
11-20: Chris Wark, Zimmerman, MN; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Austin Niemeyer, Brainerd, MN; Andrew Johnson, Brainerd, MN; James Trantina III, St Joseph, MN; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Tucker Quinn, Ladysmith; Jason Havel, Rice Lake; Don Livingston, Washburn.
21-26: Stefan Hogue, Altoona; Mike Sirois, Duluth, MN; Allan Cleveland, Breckenridge, MN; Doug Koski, Chisholm, MN; Darin Meierotto, Superior; Jordan Henkemeyer, Sauk Rapids, MN
Heat 1: Sabraski; Lawrence; Mackey; Hogue; Nelson; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; A Johnson; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland.
Heat 2: Stuart; Deragon; Keeler; Havel; Blom; Paul Gucinski, Superior; Joshua Kough, Duluth, MN; Jeff Frey, Ogilvie, MN.
Heat 3: Wark; Niemeyer; Henkemeyer; Cleveland; Chad Johnson, Colfax; Dan Peterson, Foxboro; Rita Anderson, South Range; Chris Johnson, Superior.
Heat 4: Spacek; Copp; McFadden; Sirois; Quinn; Jordan Grimm, Mahtowa, MN; Colton Budreau, Princeton, MN; Tucker Budreau, Zimmerman, MN.
Heat 5: T Johnson; Meierotto; Trantina; Koski; Livingston; Kenny Davis, Elk Mound; Josh Cappo, Almena; Oreskovich.
Semi-Feature 1: Nelson; Livingston; A Johnson; C Johnson; Grimm; Mashlan; Cappo; Gucinski; Anderson; T Budreau.
Semi-Feature 2: Quinn; Oreskovich; Beeksma; Peterson; Frey; Davis; Kough; C Johnson; C Budreau; Blom.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Cody Carlson, Superior; McLean Andrews, Duluth, MN; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Wyatt Boyum, International Falls, MN; William Moelter, Elk Mound; Jason VandeKamp, Scandia, MN; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs.
11-20: Ryan Savoy, Superior; James Vendela, South Range; Scott Thompson, International Falls, MN; Blake Adams, Cameron; Jesse Polson, Superior; Evan Checkalski, Duluth, MN; Zach Benson, Princeton, MN; Kalan Wagner, International Falls, MN; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN; Rick Grams, North Branch, MN.
21-23: Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Justin Bassa, Cotton, MN; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN.
Heat 1: VandeKamp; Carlson; Savoy; Thompson; Mains; Madrinich; Bassa; Gehl.
Heat 2: Dalbeck; Boyum; Latvala; Inman; Benson; Wagner; Vendela; Grams.
Heat 3: Andrews; VanHouse; Moelter; Adams; Checkalski; Polson; Jorgensen.
WISSOTA Pure Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Travis Hazelton, Chippewa Falls; Brent Mindock, Prentice; Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Devin Fries, Phillips; Tom Treviranus, Hawthorne; Jessie Treviranus, Hawthorne; Keegan Kough, Proctor, MN; Mike Grover, Chetek; Kristy Rose, Duluth, MN.
11: Rob Christman, Superior.
Heat 1: Bernick; Kachinske; T Treviranus; Fries; Grover; J Treviranus.
Heat 2: Hazelton; Mindock; Kough; Christman; Rose.
WISSOTA Hornets
Feature: 1-5: Carson Gotelaere, Superior; AJ House, Cloquet, MN; Brandon Anderson, Duluth, MN; Derek Dunbar, Iron River; Ryan LaBorde, South Range.
Heat: House; Dunbar; Gotelaere; Anderson; LaBorde.
