With only one week to go until the Emo Fall Fair, stock car fans, drivers and volunteers gathered together last Saturday for what could be a preview of this coming weekend’s events. 

First up were the WISSOTA Midwest Modified heats in Amsoil Dirt Track Series action.

Heat one put seven drivers in the mix. Christopher Leek started in the fourth position, but as the cars settled in, it was Leek who claimed another heat win. Chuck Lambert and Cody Ossachuk rounded out the top three. 

In the second heat, Ken Perry started on the outside poll and took the lead early on over rookie Brody Strachan, while Dwayne Pihulak and John Hettinga finished second and third. 

In the Street Stocks, Libby Wilson came from the fifth position to win her second heat race in a row, while Darien Trimble and Chris Shine finished second and third. 

The WISSOTA Modifieds were up next as Denny Trimble claimed the first heat win with Glen Strachan and Dwayne Pelepetz gained the top three. In the second heat, Gavin Paull started and finished on the pole, while Dustin Wahl and Tyler Brown rounded out the top three. 

The first feature on the track was the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, rookie Strachan and Pihulak started on the front row. On the green flag, Strachan led a couple laps, but the big movers were heading to the front. Lambert gained the lead early into the first half of the race and it looked as though it would be a fourth feature win for him. 

One caution sent Leek and Caul to the change tire area and restarted towards the back, but by lap 12 the two drivers were in the top five. Coming to the white flag, Lambert had engine troubles allowing Hettinga, Ossachuk, Caul and Leek to make it anyone’s game on the last lap. 

Hettinga took to the point and completed the lap for his first feature win of 2012. Leek edged Ossachuk for second coming to the checkered, while Caul finished fifth.

In the Street Stocks, Chris Shine continues to show some dominance in the class, now having won two of the last three weeks and finishing a close second last weekend. 

Starting second, Shine took the lead early on and never looked back even though it seemed for much of the race that last week’s winner Wilson was the car to mount any challenge. 

However, a good race with Wes Morriseau and her allowed Shine to maintain a strong lead. Shine now moves into second for points but has to gain a lot in the next few remaining races to have a shot at the track championship.

The WISSOTA Modifieds feature had Ron Korpi on the front row with Tyler Brown. As the green flag waved, Strachan, who was fast in the heat race, gained the lead over Korpi and Brown. He built a sizable lead over the rest of the competition, but Paull was on his way. 

As each lap went by, Paull slowly but surely narrowed the gap. After gaining within a couple car length of Strachan, some help from lapped traffic gave Paull an opportunity to pass for the lead. From that point on, Paull checked out and claimed his eighth feature win of the year and moves closer to mounting a challenge for the track championship against Trimble.

This weekend is a doubleheader with two complete shows of racing with hot laps starting an hour earlier at 6 p.m. and racing at 6:30 p.m. for both nights. Pit entry is $25 per driver (plus a $20 membership if not raced this year yet), and $25 for each pit crew member ($20 with valid membership). 

Grandstand entry is Adults $12, Students/Seniors $8, Ages 6-12 are $6, and 5 and under are free. Family passes are $30. 

Drivers from Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, and throughout the United States are expected to arrive and put on a fantastic show. See www.borderlandracing.com for more information.

 

Emo Speedway

Aug. 11 Summary

WISSOTA Modifieds

Feature — Gavin Paull, Glen Strachan, Denny Trimble, Dustin Wahl, Dwayne Pelepetz, Tyler Brown, Ron Korpi, Gary Wilson, Steve Nordin, Lindsay Bourre.

Heat 1 — Trimble, Strachan, Pelepetz, Nordin, Wilson.

Heat 2 — Paull, Wahl, Brown, Korpi, Bourre.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature — John  Hettinga, Christopher Leek, Cody Ossachuk, Brady Caul, Chuck Lambert, Dwayne Pihulak, Matt DePiero, Ken Perry, Brody Strachan, Terry Martin, Jake Rea, Glenn Godin, Chad Bogacki.

Heat 1 — Leek, Lambert, Ossachuk, Caul, DePiero, Bogacki, Godin.

Heat 2 — Perry, Pihulak, Hettinga, Strachan, Rea, Martin.

Street Stocks

Feature — Chris Shine, Wes Morriseau, Libby Wilson, Kyle Godin, Ron Westover.

Heat — Wilson, Trimble, Shine, Godin, Morriseau, Westover.