Anderson passes leader to win sprint special at NCS
Sye Anderson of Brainerd made the perfect move to win the 25-lap Wissota Championship 360 Sprint Car special at North Central Speedway Saturday night.
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It also was his first feature win in three years of racing in the class.
Anderson who pressured race leader Greg Nikitenko for several laps, flew down the front straightaway on a restart in the waning laps. He carried that momentum into the first turn and rocketed past Nikitenko on the inside.
Once he made the pass, he cleared Nikitenko's front bumper by inches as he took the point to collect a clean sweep.
Anderson said he made the move after observing an opening. Once he took the point, he began to pull away.
"He was holding me up a little bit," Anderson said.
It was the second time Anderson attempted a similar pass. He said his first attempt didn't work because he made a few mistakes.
His victory wasn't the only thing that brought the near capacity crowd to its feet. On the first or second lap, Fast Dash winner John Franzen, Baxter, found himself upside down for the third time this season.
Franzen hit the backstretch wall, which catapulted him into the air soaring about fence-high. He was not injured after his winged-rocket landed on its left side.
Franzen said he was trying to pass another racer when the mishap happened.
SYE ANDERSON
"The car instantly turned into the fence," he said. "I hit the wall with my right front and that was it."
Roger Rager, Pequot Lakes, was right behind Franzen and agreed.
"It just absolutely turned into the fence," Rager said.
Jimmy Kouba finished third. Rager, who finished second in a masters over 50 22-lap feature at Knoxville, Iowa, Friday night, finished sixth after starting ninth.
Tim Johnson, Brainerd, knows about starting in the back of the pack. He too started 11th but collected a clean sweep in the Wissota Super Stock feature. It also was Johnson's second consecutive feature victory at the raceway.
He made the winning pass on polesitter Luke Hines and Don Eischens on the second turn with about four laps to go. Hines and Eischens were taking turns leading the 20-lapper.
Johnson said he decided to race the low line after deciding that running on the high side wasn't working. He said once he went down to the low side he passed a few racers.
"So I went back up there and was just like nothing was there," Johnson said. "Everybody else was running up there."
Johnson said he once again started racing the low side and "kept picking them off."
When he ran down Hines and Eischens, he said they "were running all over."
"They were trying everything to get ahead of each other so I ended up just sneaking right by them," he said.
Hines finished second and Eischens third.
In the other main features, the pole winners were victorious. Trevor Shaw collected a clean sweep in NCS Pure Stock, Donny Thomsen won in Wissota Street Stock and Mark Anderson won in Wissota Midwest Modified.
Next Saturday night the raceway will host its first of two Kids Nights. Children under age 14 will be admitted free and drivers will conduct an autograph session.
Pure Stocks
Feature-Trevor Shaw, Phillip Schmitz, Brian Johnson, Dan Abear, Eric Przybilla, Louis Wermter, Mike Smude, Edward Rolfson Jr, Scott Dillenburg, Tony Yezek
B Feature-Craig Paul, David Read, Greg Miller, Danny Wahl, Cory Lodermeier
Heat 1Shaw, Chad Jillson, D. Abear, Pete Ryan, Wermter
Heat 2B. Johnson, Dillenburg, Derek Olson, Dennis Johnson, Marc Miller
Heat 3Smude, Przybilla, Schmitz, Charlie Peterson, Ron Abear
Heat 4Rolfson Jr, Yezek, Paul Marohn, Doug Cyrus, Denzel Eslinger
WISSOTA Street Stocks
Feature-Donny Thomsen, Kevin Baron, Travis Wermter, Mark Johnson, Randy Sprague, Dan Beens, Wayne Wooden, Dan Severson, Shawn Niemeyer, John Kaeding
Heat 1Beens, Wermter, Severson, Wooden, Niemeyer
Heat 2-Donnie Jensen, Wade Blumke, John Kaeding, Bob Lind, Matt Bauman
Heat 3Johnson, Baron, Sprague, Thomsen, Todd Nelson
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature-Mark Anderson, Kevin Yeager, Jason Garner, Dale Mathison, Tim Brown, Dick Peterson, Wally Mass, John Thompson, Conrad Olson, Troy Jordan
ConsolationThompson, Brent Foster, Mark Kangas, Larry Menk, Justin Jones
Heat 1-Scott Lake, Anderson, Brown, Ed Rolfson. Sr, Vern Arnt
Heat 2Yeager, Peterson, Donald Wermter, Olson, Thompson
Heat 3Jordan, Mathison, Garner, Jesse Lodermeier, Foster
Heat 4-Mike Jones, Danny Vang, Chuck Cooper, Mass, Kangas
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature-Tim Johnson, Luke Hines, Don Eischens, Erick Thiesse, John Remington, Brad Jensen, George Mattson, Pete Loftis, Pete Hines, Tom Feierabend
Heat 1-Johnson, Erick Thiesse, Eischens, Tim O'Brien, Feierabend
Heat 2B. Jensen, P. Hines, Remington, Mattson, Jamie Morgan
Heat 3P. Loftis, L. Hines, Dave Mass, Steve Eide, Kurt Loftis
WISSOTA Sprint Cars
Feature-Sye Anderson, Greg Nikitenko, Jimmy Kouba, Jerry Richert Jr, Loren Langerud, Roger Rager, Alan Gilbertson, Tony Grams, Tony Hargrave, Joe Kouba
Heat 1Hargrave, Richert Jr, Dave Glennon, John Nelson, Joseph Kouba
Heat 2Nikitenko, John Franzen, Grams, Joe Kouba, Rob Caho Jr
Heat 3Anderson, Jimmy Kouba, Rager, Langerud, George Grossman