Searing, Copp, VanHouse Top XR Series Features at Gondik Law Speedway
by Nick Gima
Superior, WI, August 9 – Friday’s stop at the Gondik Law Speedway for the raceXR.plus Northern Storm Series saw 113 entries compete in a 21-race program that was highlighted by plenty of drama and excitement, as well as Cole Searing’s first-ever feature win at the northwestern Wisconsin track.
Searing, the 2021 WISSOTA Late Model national champion from Huron, SD, charged up quickly from his fifth-place starting spot to grab the lead just prior to the midway point of the 40-lap, $2,500-to-win Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series feature and weaved his way through heavy slower traffic during the back half of the race for the landmark win.
Polestarter Jeff Provinzino darted to the initial advantage ahead of Pat Doar, Darrell Nelson, Kyle Peterlin, Searing and Shane Sabraski, and the leader pushed to a strong 1.3-second margin over the first ten laps. Meanwhile, Searing picked off positions with nearly every lap around the big, wide, smooth-as-glass oval, taking fourth from Peterlin after just three laps and then working his way by Nelson for third during lap 10.
On lap 12 Provinzino caught the tail-end of the 26-car field, allowing Doar and Searing to close the gap by nearly half as they waged their own battle for position. Searing worked the lower lane to get by Doar on lap 14, and within two more circuits he caught and slipped by Provinzino for the lead, with Doar following to second another lap later.
Doar stayed as close as he could to Searing while the pair negotiated slower traffic as the race reached its mid-point, while behind them two drivers – James Giossi, who started the race directly behind Searing, and Ashley Anderson, who had to qualify for the main event from a semi-feature and started 19th – began to charge forward. Giossi pestered Nelson for several laps before slipping by to fourth on lap 24, and Anderson took that spot from Giossi on lap 27.
Searing had pulled away to a somewhat comfortable second-and-a-half lead despite the traffic, but as the race entered its final ten laps Anderson, who was by now up to third, joined Doar in cutting that deficit down to less than a second. Searing used some open-field running during the final six laps and rebuilt the advantage to over three seconds as Anderson overtook Doar for second. Anderson was able to draw to within a few car-lengths of the leader as slower racers became a factor in the closing stages, but Searing held on to win by .839 seconds.
Doar was well back of Anderson in third at the final stripe, while Giossi came home a close fourth and eighth-starting Johnny Broking claimed fifth. The non-stop run took less than 15 minutes, seventeen of the 26 starters finished on the lead lap, and only three drivers did not finish.
Doar set the fast mark in the earlier timed qualifying session with a lap of 15.434 seconds (93.301 mph average) – within two-tenths of a second of his own track record.
With his win and Challenge Series leader Tyler Peterson’s disappointing 14th-place finish, Searing closed to within five points of Peterson at the top of the Series standings, with six of the Series’ scheduled 21 events remaining. Searing also drew to within seven points of leader Peterson in the Northern Storm Series rankings with one show remaining, on August 10 at ABC Raceway in Ashland.
Brule’s Brandon Copp used a gutsy move at one of the trickiest parts of the speedway as laps wound down to grab the win in the 30-lap WISSOTA Modified spotlight event.
Early control of the race was up for grabs as front-row starters Kaden Blaeser and Dave Cain swapped the lead spot often over the first lap. JT Johnson’s stalled ride after one lap had been scored drew the only yellow-flag stop during all three features combined, and after the restart the veteran Cain and the teenager Blaeser resumed their fierce discussion before Cain finally won the argument and pulled away to a second-and-a-half lead by the end of the first five laps.
In the middle of a great race for third between Kennedy Swan and Justin Froemming was Copp, who had started the race on the outside of row 4. Copp finally broke free from that battle on lap 10, but by now Cain had stretched his lead to nearly 2.5 seconds. On lap 14 Copp passed Blaeser for second and, with Cain now over four seconds ahead, he headed to the uppermost racing groove on the track, which was close to the outer concrete wall and tricky to run at best.
Cain caught the backmarkers with 12 laps to go, giving Copp the opportunity to cut drastically into the deficit. The difference between the pair was less than a second with nine laps left, and Copp was on Cain’s bumper just two laps later, looking outside for room to get by.
With three laps to go, Copp made a daring move to the outside of Cain as they weaved through traffic in turn 2. Copp shot for a sliver of an opening between the leader and the outer wall and squeezed by to drag-race Cain down the backstretch, ending up as the new leader as they came off of turn 4. From there Copp “rode the rim” the rest of the way to a 1.7-second final margin of victory, with Cain nearly the same distance ahead of Blaeser.
Sabraski, who won his semi-feature in order to make the show, came from a 17th-place start to take fourth, just ahead of Swan. Despite the lone early caution flag, the race clicked off in just over 13-and-a-half minutes, with 20 of the 25 starters finishing the run, including 18 on the lead lap.
Friday’s win, combined with a sixth-place run in Ogilvie, MN, on Tuesday and a second-place finish at Proctor, MN, on Thursday, put Copp in the Northern Storm Series points lead for the “big Mods” as they head to the finale at ABC on Saturday.
Deven VanHouse, of Silver Bay, MN, led all 25 non-stop laps of the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main to kick off the night’s feature action in dominant fashion. VanHouse started on the pole and, despite some strong performances behind him, was never really challenged.
Early on, the race for second between Paul Ripley and Joey Jensen was very entertaining, but it allowed VanHouse to scamper away to a lead of over a second within the first four laps. Jensen cleared Ripley on lap 2 and put some distance on a new group debating third, which included Jason VandeKamp, Ripley, Zach Benson and Cole Boston. Jensen, who has been dominant at local tracks this Summer, could not seem to gain ground on the leader, however, even as VanHouse caught the back of the pack at the mid-race crossed flags.
On lap 17 Jensen dropped out of the race with mechanical woes, causing VanHouse’s advantage to grow from a second-and-a-half to well over two seconds over the new runner-up VandeKamp, who himself had a significant cushion on Benson. With the frontrunners well-distanced from one another, VanHouse zigged through slower traffic with relative ease and cruised to a 2.365-second winning margin over VandeKamp, Benson, Boston and Ryan Savoy.
The non-stop run took less than ten minutes to complete, with 15 of the 25 starters finishing on the lead lap and only three not making it to the checkers. VanHouse became the third different driver during the Northern Storm tour’s first three races, but two non-winners to date on the tour – VandeKamp and Benson – are tied for the points lead heading into the Ashland finale.
The WISSOTA Super Stocks and Pure Stocks will also return to action at GLS on this night; the WISSOTA Hornets will have the night off. The pits open at 5 pm, hot laps will start at 6:30, and racing is at 7 pm. For more information on this event, log on to the track’s website, www.gondiklawspeedway.com or check out its FaceBook page,
Results
Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series
Feature: 1-10: Cole Searing, Huron, SD; Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Pat Doar, New Richmond; James Giossi, Hudson; Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Jeff Provinzino, Hibbing, MN; Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Kevin Burdick, Proctor, MN; Sam Mars, Menomonie; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN.
11-20: Kyle Peterlin, Hibbing, MN; Ryan Mikkelson, Alexandria, MN; Travis Budisalovich, St Paul, MN; Tyler Peterson, Hickson, ND; Jake Redetzke, Menomonie; Adam Ayotte, Elk River, MN; Jesse Glenz, Chippewa Falls; Jeff Massingill, Keewatin, MN; Dave Flynn, Superior; Rick Niemi, Eveleth, MN.
21-26: Jayme Lautigar, Gilbert, MN; Kevin Eder, Cameron; Patrick Kelley, Wyoming, MN; Danny Vang, Deerwood, MN; Joel Bennett, Hortonville; Steve Laursen, Cumberland.
Heat 1: Searing; Doar; Glenz; Mikkelson; Massingill; Niemi; Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN; Billy Kendall III, Walker, MN.
Heat 2: Sabraski; Peterlin; Lautigar; Burdick; Flynn; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN; Bennett; Anderson; Hank Berry, Sidney, MT.
Heat 3: Giossi; Broking; Mars; Peterson; Budisalovich; Redetzke; Eder; Kelley; Gunner Frank, Montrose, IA.
Heat 4: Provinzino; Nelson; Vang; Laursen; Ayotte; Todd Frank, Montrose, IA; Eric Lillo, Proctor, MN; Steve Hucovski, Corcoran, MN; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs.
Semi-Feature 1: Budisalovich; Anderson; Massingill; Redetzke; Kendall; Eder; Ayotte; T Frank.
Semi-Feature 2: Flynn; Niemi; Bennett; Lillo; Derek Vesel, Hibbing, MN; Gehl; Hanson; Berry; Kelley.
Qualifying: Doar, 15.434 secs (93.301 mph).
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Brandon Copp, Brule; Dave Cain, Corcoran, MN; Kaden Blaeser, Chippewa Falls; Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Justin Froemming, Alexandria, MN; Clayton Wagamon, Ramsey, MN; Tyler Vernon, Mason; Tyler Kaeter, St Cloud, MN; Mike Anderson, Jim Falls.
11-20: Ryan Gierke, Villard, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, MN; Al Uotinen, Superior; Joseph Thomas, Glyndon, MN; Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Bob Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Jeffrey Wood, Chisholm, MN; Jack Rivord, Superior.
21-25: Don Eischens, Richmond, MN; JT Johnson, Milaca, MN; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Kevin Adams, Cameron; Cole Spacek, Phillips.
Heat 1: Blaeser; Rivord; Spacek; Mackey; J Nelson; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Justin Weinberger, Elk Mound; JT Johnson; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs.
Heat 2: Cain; Copp; Wood; Truscott; Anderson; A Uotinen; Zach Benson, Princeton, MN; JD Ford, Somerset; Shaun Kreyer, Hayward; Curtis Stieh, Kamanistiqua, ON.
Heat 3: Swan; Vernon; Kaeter; Thomas; Adams; Eischens; Adam Bohlman, Princeton, MN; Aaron Johnson, Brainerd, MN; Dale Ames, Huron, SD; Jody Bellefeuille, Carlton, MN.
Heat 4: Froemming; D Nelson; Broking; Wagamon; Sabraski; Gierke; Cody Wolkowski, Thunder Bay, ON; Oreskovich; Donnie Lofdahl, Duluth, MN.
Semi-Feature 1: Sabraski; Anderson; J Nelson; Gierke; Weinberger; Bellefeuille; Oreskovich; Bohlman; Ames; A Johnson; Lofdahl; Stieh.
Semi-Feature 2: A Uotinen; Eischens; Adams; JT Johnson; Benson; Ford; Inman; Gehl; B Uotinen; Wolkowski; Kreyer.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Jason VandeKamp, Scandia, MN; Zach Benson, Princeton, MN; Cole Boston, Lindstrom, MN; Ryan Savoy, Superior; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN; Blake Adams, Cameron; Cody Carlson, Superior; James Vendela, South Range; Tyler Vernon, Mason.
11-20: William Moelter, Elk Mound; Garrett Paull, Fort Frances, ON; Justin Froemming, Alexandria, MN; Adam Bohlman, Princeton, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior; Ashton Schulte, St Cloud, MN; Evan Checkalski, Duluth, MN; Justin Bassa, Cotton, MN; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; Glen Brown, Rosslyn, ON.
21-25: Ariel Mueller, Isanti, MN; Don Craig, Thunder Bay, ON; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, MN; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs.
Heat 1: Benson; Carlson; Schulte; Checkalski; Dunbar; Moelter; Brady Caul, Fort Frances, ON; Darrin Lawler, Grand Rapids, MN; Mueller; Matt Kelley, Columbus, MN.
Heat 2: VanHouse; Paull; Adams; Polson; Vendela; Carey LePage, Culver, MN; Tanner Henderson, Thunder Bay, ON; Daniel Bjonfald, Minneapolis, MN; Keegan Kough, Proctor, MN; Cole Sondergaard, Grand Rapids, MN.
Heat 3: Boston; Savoy; Jensen; Froemming; Vernon; Brown; Bassa; Skylar Findley, Clayton; Ross Siiter, Esko, MN.
Heat 4: VandeKamp; Ripley; Craig; Bohlman; Mains; Latvala; Zach Slayton, Hayward; Charles Bistodeau, Nowthen, MN; Jonny Nowak, Proctor, MN.
Semi-Feature 1: Vendela; Vernon; Brown; Checkalski; Mueller; Kough; Sondergaard; Findley; LePage.
Semi-Feature 2: Moelter; Mains; Latvala; Bassa; Caul; Kelley; Siiter; Nowak; Bjonfald; Slayton; Bistodeau.
