Sams Earns First-Ever IRA Win at Northern Nationals; Savoy Holds On for Night 2 Mid-Mod Checkers
by Nick Gima
Superior, WI, September 6 – The second full-program night of the 36th annual XR Plus Northern Nationals, presented by Bay Lock & Security, at Gondik Law Speedway included a wild IRA winged sprint A-main and a thrilling WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature.
The 25-lap spotlight event for the Bumper-to-Bumper Interstate Racing Association’s outlaw 410 winged sprints started with mid-pack contact between Jordan Goldesberry and Ryan Bowers causing Goldesberry to roll his racer in the first corner. From there polestarter Christopher Thram looked to be the class of the 25-car field, shooting to a full two-second lead over Danny Sams III by riding the extreme outermost line around the big four-tenths-mile northwestern Wisconsin oval for the first four quick laps.
Sams erased all but three-quarters of a second of that lead on lap 5, as Thram began dealing with backmarkers. Then, Thram executed a 360-degree spin to avoid contact with Leigh Thomas, who spun and turned over his ride. Officials penalized Thram for this move, sending him to the tail of the field for the restart.
For the next 15 laps Sams held court over the field, racing away to a lead that nearly reached three seconds before the next stoppage. During that time the near-capacity crowd was entertained by a nearly endless series of lane-swaps, slide-jobs and passes for position throughout the field, many of them focused around the charge to the front by fast-qualifier Scotty Thiel, who started ninth. By lap 7 Thiel found himself in third but fought with a determined Blake Nimee to stay there, while further back Thram scratched and clawed his way back into the top-ten over that long green-flag run.
The complexion of the race changed dramatically when, on lap 20, Thiel and Nimee ran tight with one another as they worked through slower traffic. Thiel got too close and scraped the outer wall in turn 2, grinding to a halt. This caution stop then festered into a series of delays to complete another lap, as Thram’s comeback run ended just after the restart when he dove low in a daring pass attempt, tagged another car and slid up the track, slapping the turn 2 wall and turning his racer over.
The ugliest mess of the night – which resulted in the longest delay of the race – came after the next restart, when fifth-running Scott Broty tangled with two other cars; all three spun coming out of turn 2, and Gage Pulkrabek and Kris Spitz got together while trying to avoid being collected, with Spitz ending up on his roof.
After the long clean-up Sams shot away again, well ahead of a great battle between Jake Blackhurst – who had been running in the top-three for nearly the entire run – and Nimee. Joel Myers Jr joined the skirmish for second with three laps remaining, and he took advantage of an opening left when Nimee tried to slide by Blackhurst on lap 23, stealing second for the closing laps.
Sams, who made the long haul from North Point, FL, drew away to a winning margin of 3.8 seconds for his first-ever win on the IRA tour, ahead of Myers, Nimee, Blackhurst and 12th-starting Danny Schlafer.
The 20-lap WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature did not include nearly as many caution flags, but it provided every bit as much drama, especially over the final laps, as Ryan Savoy of Superior scored a huge win.
Outside front-row starter Joey Jensen got the better of polestarter Savoy at the initial drop of the green, but his effort was negated by a Michael Blevins Sr spin. Jensen made the same move work again on the restart, but Savoy fought back with an inside move on lap 2. Jensen returned the favor on lap 4, and as the lead pair pulled away from third-running David Simpson, Jensen seemed to have settled the debate at the time with a half-second advantage on Savoy.
The race continued without delay for the remainder of its course, but while Jensen won the first 13 laps, Savoy came back with a vengeance, pulling alongside the leader a couple of times before edging ahead while maneuvering through heavy slower traffic with four laps remaining. Behind them Jason VandeKamp worked his way around Simpson for third.
As the laps wound down Savoy made a few daring moves to thread his way through backmarkers, and when Jensen slipped a bit while working through the same traffic on the white-flag lap, Savoy pulled away to an eventual 1.13-second margin of victory. VandeKamp held firm to third, while GLS Mid-Mods points champ James Vendela grabbed fourth from Simpson on the final circuit.
Heat winners in the Modifieds included Mike Anderson of Jim Falls; Superior’s Al Uotinen; and Brule’s Brandon Copp, the track’s Mod points champ in ‘24.
In the Super Stocks, Superior’s DJ Keeler; Dylan Nelson of Merrifield, MN; and Ashland drivers Shawn McFadden and Matt Deragon won their respective heats.
For more information regarding the 36th annual Northern Nationals, log on to the track’s website, www.gondiklawspeedway.com or check out its FaceBook page.
Results
IRA 410 Winged Sprints
Feature: 1-10: Danny Sams III, North Port, FL; Joel Myers Jr, Santa Rosa, CA; Blake Nimee, Oswego, IL; Jake Blackhurst, Hanna City, IL; Danny Schlafer, Gibson; Austin Hartmann, Plymouth; Andy Pake, Felton, MN; Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN; Tylar Rankin, Angola, IN; Scott Broty, Lonsdale, MN.
11-20: Tyler Brabant, Waupun; Scott Neitzel, Beaver Dam; Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan; Kelby Watt, Adel, IA; Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN; Kris Spitz, Salem; Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN; Jamey Ogston, Hermantown, MN; Mark Chevalier, Blaine, MN; Leigh Thomas, Duluth, MN.
21-25: Bill Wagner, Reeder, ND; Ryan Bowers, Nowthen, MN; Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL; Logan Julien, Oconomowoc; Brendan Mullen, Grand Forks, ND.
Heat 1: Nimee; Watt; Thiel; Blackhurst; Hartmann; Bowers; Thomas; Wagner.
Heat 2: Pake; Myers; Broty; Sams; Pulkrabek; Rankin; Brabant; Ogston.
Heat 3: Thram; Winters; Schlafer; Neitzel; Chevalier; Spitz; Mullen; Goldesberry.
Dash 1: Thram; Nimee; Myers; Pake; Thiel.
Dash 2: Blackhurst; Sams; Broty; Watt; Neitzel.
Qualifying: Thiel, 14.512 secs (99.228 mph).
WISSOTA Late Models
Heat 1: Billy Kendall III, Walker, MN; Travis Budisalovich, St Paul, MN; Mike Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Daniel Bargender, Chippewa Falls; Jayme Lautigar, Gilbert, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN.
Heat 2: Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Dave Flynn, Superior; Mike Prochnow, Menomonie; Keith Niemi, Gilbert, MN; Brad Loveday, Fort Frances, ON; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN.
Heat 3: Steve Laursen, Cumberland; John Kaanta, Elk Mound; Skeeter Estey, Kelly Lake, MN; Eric Lillo, Proctor, MN; Kevin Eder, Cameron; Ronnie Malecki, Duluth, MN; Robbie Cooper, South Range.
Heat 4: Pat Doar, New Richmond; James Giossi, Hudson; Kevin Burdick, Proctor, MN; Trent Follmer, Brainerd, MN; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Mike Mullen, Seymour; Tim McMann, Duluth, MN.
WISSOTA Modifieds
Heat 1: Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; Clayton Wagamon, Ramsey, MN; Rick Rivord, Superior; John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Cody Wolkowski, Thunder Bay, ON.
Heat 2: Al Uotinen, Superior; Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, MN; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Jack Rivord, Superior; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Donnie Lofdahl, Duluth, MN.
Heat 3: Brandon Copp, Brule; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Riley Matthews, Murillo, ON; Jody Bellefeuille, Carlton, MN; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Ben Hillman, Menomonie; Duane Dale, Hibbing, MN.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Heat 1: DJ Keeler, Superior; Cory Casari, Montreal; Don Livingston, Washburn; Josh Schmidt, Elk River, MN; Ryan Satter, Dent, MN; Trenton Bond, Iron River; Rita Anderson, South Range; Jason Hobbs, Ham Lake, MN.
Heat 2: Dylan Nelson, Merrifield, MN; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Darin Meierotto, Superior; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Paul Gucinski, Superior; John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON; Simon Hachez, O’Connor, ON; Avery Anderson, Elk Mound.
Heat 3: Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Kyle Copp, Brule; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Dan Peterson, Foxboro; Larry Both, Thunder Bay, ON; Joshua Oleksuk, Neebing, ON; David Allen, Murillo, ON.
Heat 4: Matt Deragon, Ashland; Rick Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Nathan Roy, Gorham, ON; John Garrity, Thunder Bay, ON; Trevor Arens, Hibbing, MN; Myron Basina, Bayfield.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Ryan Savoy, Superior; Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, MN; Jason VandeKamp, Scandia, MN; James Vendela, South Range; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; Garrett Paull, Fort Frances, ON; Evan Checkalski, Duluth, MN; Jamie Davis, Fort Frances, ON.
11-20: Justin Bassa, Cotton, MN; Mervin Castle III, Grand Rapids, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior; Michael Blevins Sr, Hibbing, MN; Bill Speak, Thunder Bay, ON; Kevin Monteith, Rosslyn, ON; Kolby Reed, Kakabeka Falls, ON; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Mikey Blevins, Hibbing, MN; Brady Caul, Fort Frances, ON.
21-25: Tanner Henderson, Thunder Bay, ON; Ross Siiter, Esko, MN; Glen Brown, Rosslyn, ON; David Swearingen, Stacy, MN; Cody Carlson, Superior.
Heat 1: Jensen; Vendela; Mains; Checkalski; Henderson; M Blevins Sr; Reed; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Latvala.
Heat 2: Savoy; Brown; Bassa; Polson; Castle; Siiter; Jason Hobbs, Ham Lake, MN; Eric Anderson, Chisholm, MN; John Coppock, Thunder Bay, ON.
Heat 3: Simpson; Paull; Monteith; Speak; Keegan Kough, Proctor, MN; Wayne deBruin, Murillo, ON; Caul; Davis; Adam Hansen, Minneapolis, MN.
Heat 4: VandeKamp; Carlson; VanHouse; Swearingen; M Blevins; Adam Shinn, Duluth, MN; Hunter Brink, Kakabeka Falls, ON; Chris Bretting, Washburn.
Semi-Feature 1: M Blevins Sr; Davis; M Blevins; Caul; Kough; Fuhrman; Hobbs; deBruin; Coppock; Hansen.
Semi-Feature 2: Castle; Reed; Siiter; Henderson; Brink; Latvala; Anderson; Shinn; Bretting.
