Schelitzche Runs Away with Hornet Nationals Win at Gondik Law Speedway
by Nick Gima
Superior, WI, July 14 – On a night with plenty of action and close finishes, Justin Schelitzche of Chaska, MN, left no doubt about his intentions of taking his second straight Badger State Hornet Nationals win during WISSOTA Dirt Track Series action at the Gondik Law Speedway on Friday night.
Schelitzche, who started on the pole of the 15-lap headliner, took the immediate lead and, after a few laps of fending off early challenges, pulled away to his third win of the season here.
Schelitzche stayed well in front of a race-long dogfight for second between Derek Dunbar, Reid Johnson and Tyler Schramm. Division points leader AJ House was mired in traffic after starting eighth and was well back of that trio when he finally made his way to fifth, getting by first-night visitor Joe Puidokas on lap 5.
Schelitzche was in cruise mode by mid-race and was lapping the tail of the field on lap 9, but when Eva Lillo lost a tire and spun with five laps remaining it brought the rest of the field to the leader’s trunklid. It didn’t matter, as Schelitzche zoomed off again to a half-straightaway winning margin.
House worked his way by Johnson and Schramm in the closing laps and threatened Dunbar at the white flag, but Dunbar held on for second. Schramm barely edged Johnson for fifth.
Jody Bellefeuille of Carlton, MN, held off Darrell Nelson to win his first WISSOTA Modified feature of the year here in a race that those in attendance will talk about for weeks to come.
Bellefeuille started the non-stop 20-lap A-main outside on the front row and swept around polestarter Todd Gehl for the early lead, with Al Uotinen working the low groove to take third ahead of Bob Broking. On lap 3 Gehl dug in on the inside line to pull alongside the leader, but Bellefeuille’s car worked well on the high side and he maintained the advantage.
Nelson, who started sixth, worked his way past Broking to take third on lap 4, and two circuits later he used a similar move to get by Gehl. Nelson stuck to the innermost route around the big four-tenths-mile oval while Bellefeuille continued to take the long way around, and before long the two friendly rivals were door-to-door, swapping the lead with every half-lap and neither leading the other by more than a quarter-second at the start-finish line.
Nelson got the better of Bellefeuille by mere feet to complete lap 14, but Bellefeuille squeezed ahead on lap 17. Nelson returned the favor on lap 18, but Bellefeuille finally took over for good with the white flag in the air and held on by just .124 seconds – about 15 feet or so – as the checkers flew and the fans rose to their feet.
Uotinen had taken third from Gehl just after mid-race and stayed there to the finish, while Johnny Broking grabbed fifth in the waning laps.
Near-photo finishes were also the order of the night in the WISSOTA Super Stock and Pure Stock features. In the non-stop 20-lap Super Stock main, defending GLS champ Kyle Copp from Brule jumped away to a huge lead but had to outrun a charging Dexton Koch for his first win of the season here.
Copp, who started outside on the front row, took just four laps to build a lead of over two-and-a-half seconds on the fierce battle between Scott Lawrence, polestarter Jack Koranda, Koch, Darin Meierotto and Andrew Mackey for the runner-up position. After plenty of three- and four-wide action and more than a few bumps and dents, Koch finally emerged from the chaos on lap 5, but by then Copp had added another half-second to his cushion.
Without the aid of a yellow-flag slowdown, Koch began an aggressive assault on the distance between himself and the leader, using the inner lane of the fast, smooth track to trim the deficit to less than two seconds by lap 11 and then to just 1.2 seconds by lap 14. Copp caught and passed backmarker Rita Anderson with five to go, but the slower car did not deter Koch in his quest for the win.
Koch closed in over the final laps and even showed the nose of his racer alongside Copp coming to the white flag, but Copp held both his line and his composure, and he finished the run less than a half-second ahead. Mackey took over third-place duties just after the halfway point and finished quite a ways behind the lead pair but well ahead of DJ Keeler and Koranda.
Duluth, MN’s Aaron Bernick raced ahead of the Pure Stock field early in their 12-lap feature, but Tyler Kachinske stayed with the leader nearly from the outset and challenged him every lap before Bernick came away with his first main-event win of 2023 here.
Bernick got a quick start from his second-row origin and had the lead by the time he exited turn 2 for the first time. Kachinske, who started on the third row, worked his way past polestarter Rob Christman into second on lap 2 and drew his way to Bernick’s rear bumper in no time, while Jessie Treviranus took third a lap later, only to lose it back to Christman on lap 5.
Bernick fought off Kachinske’s constant challenges as the pair pulled well away from the rest of the field. Coming to the white flag Kachinske pulled up to the leader’s driver’s-side door, but Bernick stayed true to his line and held on for a winning margin of just .096 seconds – barely half a car-length. Christman held off a last-lap charge by Treviranus for third, and Keegan Kough earned fifth.
The WISSOTA Late Models prepped for their busy upcoming week of action in the Northland with two features here on this night – the regularly-scheduled one and the make-up of the fogged-out race on June 2. By the end of the regular run, Kevin Burdick of Proctor, MN, had worked his way to his third win of the year, while Superior’s Dave Flynn dominated the make-up main earlier in the show for his first career Late Model win.
In the scheduled 25-lapper, carnage was the rather uncharacteristic theme, as several front-running racers were knocked from the run for a variety of reasons. Danny Vang shot by polestarter Harry Hanson to take the early lead, but before he could build much of an advantage Hanson spun and collected Burdick on lap 3. Derek Vesel, who restarted second, slipped up the hill in turn 2 and fell back, and Darrell Nelson threw a quick threat at Vang before the leader replied by running off to a 1.1-second advantage by lap 10.
Two laps later Nelson caught Vang as the leaders reached slower traffic, and Nelson had edged ahead at the stripe on lap 13, but the lap and the pass were negated when Vesel’s car ground to a halt on the back stretch. Burdick, who restarted third, dove low on the lead pair to momentarily steal the lead, but he lost the point to Vang just before Josh Zimpel’s car stalled on lap 16. Burdick regained the lead with another inside pass of Vang a lap later, and then on lap 18 chaos ensued when Nelson’s third-place-running car appeared to slow dramatically in turn 2. Zach Wohlers attempted an inside move to pass Nelson, and heavy contact between them sent Nelson’s car up across the back straight, where it was tagged by Travis Budisalovich’s ride and hit the turn 3 wall hard, ending his race as well as that of Budisalovich.
Burdick ran away on the restart, while Vang had Jeff Massingill, Pat Doar and Wohlers to contend with for second, but that battle ended when contact with Vang resulted in Wohlers’ spin with three laps remaining. Still, Burdick held on over the final shootout for a three-quarter-second win over Massingill, with the 21st-starting Wohlers, an impressive Aaron Lillo and Doar completing a close-knit top-five.
Polestarter Flynn overcame a first-lap caution stop for a three-car get-together to run away and lead every lap of the 25-lap Late Model make-up race.
Flynn drove ahead of Deven VanHouse on the restart and was nearly two full seconds up on second-place Mike Bellefeuille by the time lap 5 was scored, and as he caught the tail end of the running order Flynn had extended his lead to 3.4 seconds.
With ten laps remaining Flynn was cruising through backmarkers while running over four seconds ahead of the battle for second between Bellefeuille and Doar, which Doar eventually won with an outside pass on lap 17. Doar, who had set a track heat-race single-lap record for Late Models on a similarly sticky-fast Superior track back on June 2, proceeded to do the same as he cut away at Flynn’s lead, trimming the margin to 2.2 seconds as Flynn scored his landmark win. Doar set a new GLS single-lap feature mark of 15.762 seconds (91.359 mpg average) during his charge, while Bellefeuille posted an impressive third-place run well ahead of Skeeter Estey and Nelson.
Superior’s Ryan Savoy stormed from the 11th starting spot on the WISSOTA Midwest Modified grid to score his second feature win of the season here.
Polestarter Cory Jorgensen bobbled in the opening corner and lost significant ground to start the run, but he was saved by Anthony Gallian’s spin before the first lap was completed. Jorgensen then gave up the lead to Tanner Gehl on the restart, but again a spin reset the run – this time when fourth-starting Kalan Wagner looped his ride and sent most of the 17-car field scattering to avoid contact.
Gehl claimed the lead on the third attempt and sped to a 1.4-second cushion as Jorgensen fended off a six-car pack racing him for second. On lap 6 the caution flag came out for Paul Ripley’s broken driveshaft on the track, but the rest of the run went uninterrupted, with Gehl looking strong out front. Savoy, who restarted fifth, charged past Evan Checkalski and Jorgensen for third on lap 7, with Cody Carlson in tow, then took over second with an inside pass of Shane Howell on lap 15. Over the next three laps Savoy chewed up Gehl’s .7-second lead, and after an inside pass he pulled away to a strong 1.3-second final margin.
Carlson bested Howell at the stripe for third, with VanHouse a distant fifth.
WISSOTA Modifieds and Midwest Mods will also be on hand for what should be an exciting night of action. Hot laps will 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: Kevin Burdick, Proctor, MN; Jeff Massingill, Keewatin, MN; Zach Wohlers, Cohasset, MN; Aaron Lillo, Proctor, MN; Pat Doar, New Richmond; Mike Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Kevin Carlson, Hermantown, MN; Danny Vang, Deerwood, MN; Ronnie Malecki, Duluth, MN.
11-20: Robbie Cooper, South Range; Eric Lillo, Proctor, MN; Travis Budisalovich, Minneapolis, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Josh Zimpel, Braham, MN; Dave Flynn, Superior; Skeeter Estey, Kelly Lake, MN; Derek Vesel, Hibbing, MN; Carey LePage, Culver, MN; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN.
21: Trevor Wilson, Superior.
Heat 1: Vesel; Burdick; Hanson; Flynn; VanHouse; Carlson; E Lillo; Wohlers.
Heat 2: Vang; Massingill; Zimpel; A Lillo; Cooper; Malecki; Terry Lillo, Duluth, MN; Doug Woodhull Jr, Superior.
Heat 3: Doar; Budisalovich; Nelson; Bellefeuille; Estey; LePage; Wilson.
Make-Up Feature from 6/2: 1-10: Flynn; Doar; Bellefeuille; Estey; Nelson; Burdick; Massingill; Budisalovich; Vesel; LePage.
11-19: Carlson; Hanson; Tim McMann, Duluth, MN; Cooper; VanHouse; Malecki; Vang; T Lillo; Woodhull.
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Jody Bellefeuille, Carlton, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Al Uotinen, Superior; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Jack Rivord, Superior; Bob Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Brandon Copp, Brule; Rick Rivord, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason.
11-16: Brady Uotinen, Superior; Dan Kingsley, Superior; Donnie Lofdahl, Duluth, MN; Leo Schweiss, Hibbing, MN; Colin Chaschuk, Thunder Bay, ON; Kelly Estey, Hibbing, MN.
Heat 1: Estey; Nelson; Bellefeuille; A Uotinen; J Rivord; R Rivord; Chaschuk; Schweiss.
Heat 2: J Broking; B Broking; Copp; Gehl; Kingsley; B Uotinen; Oreskovich; Lofdahl.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Kyle Copp, Brule; Dexton Koch, Becker, MN; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; DJ Keeler, Superior; Jack Koranda, Bluffton, MN; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Jordan Henkemeyer, Sauk Rapids, MN; Jeff Frey, Ogilvie, MN; Chris Johnson, Superior; Darin Meierotto, Superior.
11-13: Rita Anderson, South Range; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Dan Peterson, Foxboro.
Heat 1: Koranda; Mackey; Meierotto; Lawrence; Henkemeyer; Johnson; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN.
Heat 2: Copp; Koch; Stuart; Keeler; Frey; Anderson; Peterson.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Ryan Savoy, Superior; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Cody Carlson, Superior; Shane Howell, Buffalo, MN; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; McLean Andrews, Duluth, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN; Kolby Reed, Kakabeka Falls, ON.
11-17: Evan Checkalski, Duluth, MN; Kalan Wagner, International Falls, MN; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN; Anthony Gallian, Superior; James Vendela, South Range.
Heat 1: Carlson; Jorgensen; Ripley; Gehl; Andrews; Savoy; Mains; Reed; Madrinich.
Heat 2: Checkalski; Wagner; Simpson; Howell; Vendela; Polson; VanHouse; Gallian.
WISSOTA Pure Stocks
Feature: 1-8: Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN; Rob Christman, Superior; Jessie Treviranus, Hawthorne; Keegan Kough, Proctor, MN; Tom Treviranus, Hawthorne; Kristy Rose, Duluth, MN; Ryan Kough, Isabella, MN.
Heat: Bernick; J Treviranus; Kachinske; Christman; K Kough; T Treviranus; Rose; R Kough.
WISSOTA Hornets
Feature: 1-10: Justin Schelitzche, Chaska, MN; Derek Dunbar, Iron River; AJ House, Cloquet, MN; Tyler Schramm, Two Harbors, MN; Reid Johnson, Proctor, MN; McKenna Folstad, Hibbing, MN; Al McDougall, Duluth, MN; Joe Puidokas, Cloquet, MN; Payton Swenson, Esko, MN; Ryan LaBorde, South Range.
11-15: Brandon Anderson, Duluth, MN; Connor Danylko, Slate River, ON; Nikota Larson, Barnum, MN; Sydney Chaschuk, Neebing, ON; Eva Lillo, Duluth, MN.
Heat 1: Dunbar; House; Schelitzche; Larson; Folstad; LaBorde; Chaschuk; Lillo.
Heat 2: Schramm; McDougall; Johnson; Puidokas; Anderson; Swenson; Danylko.
