Modified goals - and feature win - for Sabraski
STOCK CAR RACING
BARROWS - Shane Sabraski is hungry for points championships this season. For drivers in the A-Modified, and Midwest Modified Class, that is terrible news.
Sabraski won the Midwest Modified feature event Saturday night at North Central Speedway, and he went into the night with a hefty 67-point lead over Charles Cooper IV in the A-Modified Class.
Sabraski is a 2008 Wissota national champion, but in talking to him in the past, individual track championships have not been a huge goal.
Sabraski explains that feeling has changed this year with the racing that he is doing at various tracks Thursday through Sunday.
Modified racers Dave Cain (2C) and Shawn Fletcher (26) battled in the feature Saturday night at North Central Speedway. Cain went on to win the race.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
"It wasn't really important but now I am excited to do well," he said. "It wouldn't be so important for me to do it at one track but now we are running Willmar on Thursday, Sauk Centre on Friday, and Golden Spike on Sunday along with North Central.
"Everywhere that I am racing with both cars I'm leading all points races except here in the Midwest Modified. If I could somehow pull that off that would be really cool."
Sabraski started the season on a hot streak with six victories in the first four weeks combined in his A and B Modified. He recently missed one night in the Midwest Modified to race in another series and it basically cost him the points lead in that class.
He trailed Ryan Kriese by 27 points and Dan Ebert by 24 going into the Midwest Modified feature event Saturday.
Sabraski started the feature from the fifth row and took over first place on lap five. He led the rest of the way to take the first-place trophy in front of Ebert and Rick Jacobson.
He believes the B-Modified car is coming along, and with three straight feature victories not many people are going to argue.
"The Midwest Modified is working really well," Sabraski said. "When we started out the year the A-Modified was working well and I was wanting my B-Mod to run like that. Now it's vice versa. I can't quite get the A-Mod dialed in but hopefully that will happen soon."
Dan Gullickson has the Super Stock points chase all but sewn up as he looks to be a repeat winner this season. He received a challenge from Don Eischens on the last lap but held on for his fourth win of the season.
"Don took me by surprise," Gullickson said. "I knew he was going to be there somewhere. I didn't know where he was going to try and get around me. I was running all over the track changing my line between the bottom and middle to play mind games there. At the end I floated up and he got in there and I thought I had given the race away.
"I didn't want to make contact because if we did that would slow us down. Coming off turns three and four, I stayed on the gas and I thought I had him by a foot. He's a guy that keeps you on your toes."
Gullickson held the lead by 64 points over Derek Sweet and is sure to see that increase after Saturday's feature win. A second track championship is something that is on Gullickson's list of goals.
"I like racing here so track points are a bonus," he said. "I won it last year and I enjoyed it. It also helps pay the bills in the winter time. And you get a cool trophy and jacket, and it's another party that you get to go to, so it is fun to win the points. I enjoy racing up here every Saturday. My kids are out here playing in the dirt with all the other kids. This is the place to be."
In other feature race action, Gary Ohnstad Jr. earned his first career victory at NCS with a solid victory in which he led for all 15 laps of the feature. Ohnstad Jr. finds himself in the top 10 in points behind leader Mike Smude.
Dan Severson has battled all year in the Street Stock class and earned his first checkered flag finish Saturday. Jack Peterson was on Severson's bumper the majority of the race and finished second. Tim Johnson holds a 12-point lead over Severson in the points race.
Dave Cain won his second straight A-Modified feature with Joey Jensen second and Shawn Fletcher finishing third.
World Dirt Racing League
On Tuesday, World Dirt Racing League Late Model cars will make their second appearance of the season with racing starting at 6:45 p.m. The purse will be $5,000 for the winner of the Late Model event. Midwest Modifieds and Super Stocks will also run with $1,000 going to the winner.
NCS PURE STOCK
Feature-1-Gary Ohnstad Jr., 2-Robert Mueller, 3-Mark Olson
B Feature- 1-Max Dondelinger, 2-Bradley Nelson, 3-Kayla Juaire
Heat 1-1-Mike Smude, 2-Mark Olson, 3-Jacob Jordan
Heat 2-1-Daaron Johnson, 2-Gary Ohnstad Jr., 3-Jim Love-Ringheimer
Heat 3-1-Robert Mueller, 2-Tim Otterness, 3-Bill Nelson
WISSOTA STREET STOCKS
Feature-1-Dan Severson, 2-Jack Peterson, 3-Mike Kuhlman
Heat 1-1-Tim Johnson, 2-Mike Kuhlman, 3-Tom Hovind
Heat 2-1-Dan Severson, 2-Todd Wooden, 3-Jack Peterson
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIEDS
Feature-1-Shane Sabraski, 2-Dan Ebert, 3-Rick Jacobson
B Feature-1-Corey Juaire, 2-Travis Wermter, 3-Mike Kuhlman
Heat 1-1-John Thompson, 2-Dan Ebert, 3-Ryan Kriese
Heat 2-1-Shane Sabraski, 2-Pete Hines, 3-Luke Hines
Heat 3-1-Jeff Nelson, 2-Mike Japp, 3-Will Kendall
WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS
Feature-1-Dan Gullickson, 2-Don Eischens, 3-John Yilek
Heat 1-1-Don Eischens, 2-Derek Sweet, 3-DJ Dondelinger
Heat 2-1-Dan Gullickson, 2-John Yilek, 3-Tim Johnson
WISSOTA A-MODIFIEDS
Feature-1-Dave Cain, 2-Joey Jensen, 3-Shawn Fletcher
Heat 1-1-Dave Cain, 2-Don Eischens, 3-Troy Jordan
Heat 2-1-Eric Martini, 2-Joey Jensen, 3-Shawn Fletcher