On what looked to be a dreary forecast for the opening night of racing at the Greenbush race park ended up being a pleasant evening of great racing action. The sun was out and the track was juiced up and tacky which led to some very fast lap times and great side by side racing throughout the pack.
In the Pure stocks Deryk Wileski brought us to the green flag. Dustin Puffe from LaPort MN quickly took the lead and pulled out to an early lead. The lead grew and shrank as they went around some of the lapped car with Mason Sholin doing his best to keep pace with Puffe. When they crossed the line is was Puffe, Scholin, George, Weleski,Karen Pushinski followed by the hard charger in the group of Brandon Pushinski who moved up to 6th from his 10th starting position.
In the Lightning sprints Sean Enright took the green flag followed by the 87 of Matt Taves. Taves pulled out to the early lead and was making quick work of the laps as the lightning sprints lived up their name with very low lap times. Behind him Kelsi Peterson battled with Evan Yanish, Kate Taves, and Dexter Dvergstein. Dvergstein had made his way from his third starting position to take the lead before clipping the tire in turn 3 leaving his front axle bent and the car pointed straight up. Safety crews were quick on the scene and had to simultaneously put out a small fire on the Isnae car who was unable to return to the track. After the restart it would be Matt Taves taking the checkers followed by Peterson and Kate Taves, Yanish and Langevin.
The pure stock race would begin with Jerome Berger taking the green flag followed by John Halvorson. Getting pushed up into the greasy marbles in turns one and two, Berger slid up the track and the ensuing freight train left him in the middle of the pack. Berger would make a big comeback and work his way back to 5th. Out front it was a strong showing by Brandon Brauer who battle with Halvorson before finishing with a comfortable lead. In third place it was the hard charger for the class of Scotty Messner, Jeremy Gust, and Berger rounding out your top 5.
The Midwest Modifieds had a great field of 18 cars taking the green Flag. Up front it was Justin Olson making the most of his outside starting position battling Aaron Blacklance and taking the lead. While those two pulled out to slight advantage the cars of Chris Edmunds, Joseph Thomas, and Connor Graff put on a great show for 3 through 6th positions. Lance Schill charged from deep in the field advancing 9 positions and stealing the 4th spot Thomas in the closing lap. The top 3 was Olson, Blacklance, Edmonds.
The 4 cylinders were turned loose with Jonah Espe out front and Gordon Hunter in 2nd. The 9 car of Waylon Current would grab the early and pull away slightly from the pack who were battling hard for 2nd through 6th. As the group spread out a little it was Travis Olafson who found his grove and worked his way through traffic from his 4th starting position. Olafson was driving his car very deep into the corner, often with his left rear tire a foot off the racing surface through turns one and two. He would go on take the checkered flag followed by Hayden Engen, the hard charger of Justin Honer, Jonah Espe, and Kaylie Winge in 5th.
To close out the night we had an 18-car field to take the green flag with the 50 car of Aaron Holtan in his Amber Holtan throwback paint scheme as a tribute to the Late Amber Peterson. Unfortunately, a rocker issue would end his evening before he got on the track for the feature. Once the race started there was good racing throughout the entire field. Aaron Blacklance moving up to the pole with the 50 unable to run took advantage and jumped to the early lead in turns one and two. As the race went on several drivers made their way forward. Joseph Thomas, Jordan Duray, Dustin Wahl and Mike Tiani all advanced at least 4 positions with Patrick Sobolik moving up a whopping 9 spots. The checkers would wave with Thomas taking the win, followed by Josh Beulieu, Jordan Duray, and in 5th A big thank you to all those involved in making the Greenbush race park 2024 season a reality. The firefighter, medical staff and volunteers that make it happen every Saturday night. The stands were as full as I can remember them in the last 15 years. Hopefully we can continue the success as the season moves forward!
