Tag Archives: KRJB

Johnson Steals Rrv Speedway Win on Final Lap

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By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – With threatening skies off to the west, it was an accelerated night at Red River Valley Speedway Friday evening as the track hustled to beat the weather.

Luke Johnson picked up his first win of the season in the IMCA Sport Mods. The Moorhead driver was charged for a debris caution in the opening laps, which put him to the tail of the 17 car field. Within a matter of laps, Johnson had made his way back up to second, but he had defending track champion, Jesse Skalicky, in his way.

Johnson took advantage of a late-race caution as he used the low side of the speedway to reel in Skalicky. It came down to a drag race to the checkers, where Johnson edged out Skalicky by a half car length.

“There was a real small tack strip around the bottom, and if you entered the corner real slow and hit it, you could carry a lot of speed out of the corner,” said Johnson in KRJB victory lane.

Fargo’s Austin Arneson continued his winning ways after picking up his third win at the West Fargo three-eighths mile dirt oval.

After four and even five wide racing early on, Rob VanMil paced the field of 22 cars in the early going.

On lap seven, Arneson, who started in 11th, came up to challenge the Barnesville, Minn. wheelman for the race lead. Arneson successfully maneuvered by the No. 4D of VanMil before cruising out to a five and one-half second lead.

Arneson backed up his win Thursday night at Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn. as he went on to score the victory over Jarrett Carter, who started 13th.

Rick Schulz picked up the IMCA Stock Car feature win. The Horace driver has scored countless victories in the WISSOTA street stock class over the years at the speedway but held off Lisbon’s Duffy Froemke for his first win in the brand new stock car division.

Sean Johnson was victorious in the INEX Legends, while Tim Shiek won the IMCA hobby stock feature.

Racing continues next Friday night at Red River Valley Speedway with ‘Meet N Greet’ night, where all fans can get an up-close look at the cars and visit with their favorite drivers during intermission. On June 17th the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars make their highly anticipated return to West Fargo.

RESULTS

Modifieds:

Feature – 1. Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D.; 2. Jarrett Carter, Lisbon, N.D.; 3. Dave Shipley, Argusville, N.D.; 4. Rich Pavlicek, Casselton, N.D.; 5. Rob VanMil, Barnesville, Minn.

Sport Mods:

Feature – 1. Luke Johnson, Moorhead, Minn.; 2. Jesse Skalicky, Fargo, N.D.; 3. Matt Talley, Sabin, Minn.; 4. Chris VanMil, Barnesville, Minn.; 5. Kelly Jacobson, Fargo, N.D.

Stock Cars:

Feature – 1. Rick Schulz, Horace, N.D.; 2. Duffy Froemke, Lisbon, N.D.; 3. Kelly Jacobson, Fargo, N.D.; 4. Randy Klein, Lisbon, N.D.; 5. Tim Compson, Valley City, N.D.

Hobby Stocks:

Feature – 1. Tim Schiek, Fargo, N.D.; 2. Torey Fischer, West Fargo, N.D.; 3. Nick Nelson, Georgetown, Minn.; 4. Kalvin Kesselberg, Ada, Minn.; 5. Eric Novacek, West Fargo, N.D.

Legends:

Feature – 1. Sean Johnson, Kindred, N.D.; 2. Dean Julsrud, Barnesville, Minn.; 3. Brandon Erickson; 4. Scott Richardson, Pelican Rapids, Minn.; 5. Mariah Henriksen, Glyndon, Minn.

Arneson Finds Victory Lane Friday Night at Red River Valley Speedway

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By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – Many race fans left Red River Valley Speedway after Thursday night’s ‘Dakota Cat 100’ event thinking Austin Arneson won the night’s 42-lap IMCA Modified feature. However, Arneson came up 25 pounds light at the scales, forcing an automatic disqualification. That handed the win over to Austin’s brother, Cale, who followed Austin to the checkered flag.

That only fueled Austin’s drive to win even more on Friday night.

The Fargo native led the final 27 laps in a dominating performance to win the second and final night of the inaugural ‘Dakota Cat 100.’

With 12 laps in the books, it quickly became another battle between the Arneson brothers for the win as Cale led Austin.

On lap 15, Austin got a run on Cale and stole the point before opening a sizable lead.

With 23 laps to go, a caution reset the field, which allowed last Friday’s winner, Michael Greseth, to move into the runner-up spot. Greseth set his sights on the No. 10 of Arneson, but Arneson was too strong as he pulled away by four seconds in the closing laps.

Arneson was unchallenged on the final lap as he took his second RRVS win of the season.

“The track was [in the best condition] we’ve seen in a long time. Hats off to Jake and Sharnel [Bitker] and Nick [Skalicky],” said Arneson in victory lane. “The track was really technical tonight. It was slow and you had to hit your marks. We are still fine tuning on some things to make [the car] better.”

Luke Johnson edged out Dan Dowling in the final laps of the IMCA Sport Mod feature. However, Johnson and Dowling were both disqualified following post-race inspection. That gave Jesse Skalicky his fourth RRVS win of 2017.

Duffy Froemke held off Rick Schulz in a thrilling green-white-checkered finish during the IMCA stock car feature. The win was Froemke’s second of the year at the West Fargo three-eighths mile dirt oval.

Scotty Richardson picked up a popular win in the INEX Legends, while Tim Shiek was victorious in IMCA Hobby Stock action.

Racing continues next Friday night at Red River Valley Speedway, starting at 7pm.

DQ Hands Cale Arneson first RRVS Modified Win

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By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – Many race fans left Red River Valley Speedway Thursday night thinking Austin Arneson won the night’s 42 lap IMCA Modified feature. However, Arnesen came up 25 pounds light at the scales. That handed the win over to Austin’s brother, Cale, who followed Austin to the checkered flag.

Last Friday’s winner, Michael Greseth of Harwood, jumped out to the early lead as the green flag waved on the Modified feature. Greseth looked to have the car to beat in the first handful of laps before he was forced to retire from the event prematurely with mechanical issues.

That gave the lead to Johnny Scott. Once assuming the lead, the New Mexico driver checked out from the field and seemed to have the race in hand.

With six laps remaining and a full straightaway lead over Austin Arneson, Scott also suffered a catastrophic failure as a broken j-bar forced him pitside.

“We didn’t have the fastest car tonight,” said Austin Arneson after the race in victory lane. “We’ve been testing on the setup here as of late and we were just too tight tonight. Johnny [Scott] is a good friend of ours and that’s a heck of a tough way to lose a race.”

The night was dedicated to injured Fargo driver Mike Bruns, Sr., who traveled with Arneson as a crew member for several years.

“This is Mike Bruns’ race and he’s a great family friend,” Arneson said. “He was on the road with us for the last five seasons and every big race I’ve won he has been side by side with me.”

A benefit was held for Bruns during the intermission and Austin Arneson offered to add to that total by donating all of his winnings before knowing he would later be DQ’d.

For Cale, the win was his first in IMCA Modified action at RRVS

Chris VanMil backed up his win at Buffalo River Race Park’s season opener and claimed the IMCA Sport Mod feature race. .

Brandon Schmidt went back-to-back in the IMCA hobby stock as he visited KRJB Victory Lane in his No. 219 machine. Fifteen-year-old Tim Estenson, who flipped his INEX legend last Friday night, rebounded to score his fourth win of the season.

Kelly Jacobson grabbed his first career IMCA stock car win by holding off Minot’s Scott Yale on the final lap.

Racing continues Friday night at Red River Valley Speedway for the final night of the Dakota Cat 100.

Arneson Dominates Modified Feature, VanMil Wins Stock Car Debut

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By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO, N.D. (May 5, 2017) – Racing returned to Red River Valley Speedway last Friday night with 99 cars checked in among five different divisions. Warm temperatures and sunny skies helped bring in a huge crowd, who saw fantastic racing all night long on the semi-banked three-eighths mile dirt oval.

Just as he did during last year’s season opener, Austin Arneson took the early lead of the All Finish Concrete IMCA Modified main event and never looked back. The Fargo driver pulled away from the 29-car field at the drop of the green flag before running off to an advantage of over a straightaway. Behind him, Billy Kendall and Mike Greseth were engaged in a fierce battle for the runner-up spot that intensified when they encountered lapped traffic.

Kendall held off Greseth to take second position at the checkers, but that all took place nearly seven seconds behind the race winner Arneson.

Dave Shipley and Austin brother, Cale Arneson, rounded out the top five.

Veteran auto racing driver Corry VanMil scored Red River Valley Speedway’s (RRVS) first-ever Audio Garage IMCA Stock Car feature win.

“This feels great,” said VanMil, who had to sit out the 2016 season due to health concerns.

The Lake Park, Minn. driver started fourth on the starting grid but charged into the lead on the opening lap. From there VanMil drove away from the field as the pack fought for the runner-up position.

“I didn’t know if I was going to finish the race,” continued VanMil. “The car was overheating and spitting water like crazy. I thought I was going to run out of cover-ups on my helmet.”

VanMil went on to lead every lap in the main event, adding another historic win to his legendary RRVS résumé.

Fargo’s Jesse Skalicky found victory lane in the Eide Bailly IMCA Sport Mods. The defending RRVS track champion drove by Luke

Tim Church edged out Dana Brandt in a wild A Transmission City IMCA Hobby Stock finish. Church, the 2016 IMCA Hobby Stock national rookie of the year, led all 12 circuits and took the checkers 0.352 seconds ahead of Brandt.

A pair of Shakopee, Minn. drivers led the field to the checkers during the Petermann Seeds INEX legends main event as Tim Brockhouse topped Baiden Heskett.

RESULTS

IMCA ModifiedS:
FEATURE – 1. Austin Arneson, 2. Billy Kendall, 3. Mike Greseth, 4. Dave Shipley, 5. Cale Arneson, 6. Dev Malmlov, 7. Darren Pfau, 8. Michael Griffin, 9. Tyler Peterson, 10. Dale Kraling, 11. Rob VanMil, 12. Jarrett Carter, 13. Rich Pavlicek, 14. Cody Peterson, 15. Billy Vogel, 16. Tyler Hall, 17. Michael Johnson, 18. Ryan Restad, 19. Tailin Tommerdahl, 20. Brennan Bord, 21. Adam Fischer, 22. Karmith Christensen, 23. Tim Thomas, 24. Tom Cummings, 25. Terry Sahr, 26. Ed Conlin, 27. Jamie Schulz, 28. Trent Grager, 29. Nick Curtis.

IMCA Stock Cars:
Feature – 1. Corry VanMil, 2. Tim Compson,3. Eric Harpole, 4. Duffy Froemke, 5. Taylor Stenvold, 6. Rick Schulz, 7. Kelly Jacobson, 8. John Sandvig, 9. Rob Stevnold

SportMods:
Feature – 1. Jesse Skalicky, 2. Luke Johnson, 3. Luke Krogh, 4. Kelly Jacobson, 5. Phillip Keller, 6. Kelly Henderson, 7. Erik Laudenschlager, 8. Matt Talley, 9. Kyle Keller, 10. Chris VanMil, 11. Andy Wagner, 12. Vince Jegtvig, 13. Chaz Mosby, 14. Taylor Grove, 15. Austin Veralrud, 16. Charles Jensen, 17. Brandon Tendeland, 18. Paul Colvin, 19. Tom Elliot, 20. Dustin Hartwig, 21. Matt Clark, 22. Dan Dowling, 23. Kenneth Bye, 24. Billy Michaelsohn, 25. Greg Larson

Hobby Stocks:
Feature – 1. Tim Church, 2. Dana Brandt, 3. Andrew Bertsch, 4. Tim Shiek, 5. Brandon Schmidt, 6. Torey Fischer, 7. Kasey Ussatis, 8. Maranda Borg, 9. Troy Bertsch, 10. Alyssa White, 11. Nick Nelson, 12. Eric Novacek

Legends:
Feature – 1. Tim Brockhouse, 2. Baiden Heskett, 3. Andrew Jochim, 4. Casey Hendriksen, 5. Tim Estenson, 6. Dean Julsrud, 7. Tony Brockhouse, 8. Brian Hanson, 9. Josh Julsrud, 10. Kaitlyn Skalicky, 11. Brandon Erickson, 12. Tye Wilke, 13. Cade Sogge, 14. Alex Braseth, 15. Shaun Erickson, 16. Jerret Julsrud, 17. Mariah Henriksen, 18. Ryan Braseth, 19. Brody Carlsrud, 20. Scott Richarson, 21. Sean Johnson, 22. Dylan Johnson

Get To Know: Corey Litton

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In Red River Valley Speedway’s first installment of the “Get To Know The Staff” series, we talk with our 2016 Track Announcer, Corey Litton:

GetToKnow-CoreyLitton

Where do you live?
Right here, in Fargo

Tell us about your family: (Married, children…etc.)
I have been happily in a relationship with my girlfriend Leagha Reynolds for almost 6 years. Without her support I couldn’t go to all of the races I get to go to. I also have three awesome boys, Casey who is 11, Cole who is 8, and Chase who is 1. I love having them at the track and seeing the same joy and excitement I had when I was their age.

What do you do for a living?
Pretty much just track announcing now. I’ve been the Red River Kart Club announcer for a couple of seasons. I host Racing on the Radio from the Norman County Raceway on 106.5 KRJB. I have been lucky to work with the great Ron Krog at the Buffalo River Race Park for the last 4 years, and I also announce online pay per views for X.celerated which takes me all over the country. I had Fargo’s number 1 racing show, Checkers and Wreckers for 4 years. I ran a DJ service for 10 years. And my family owns Duffy’s Tavern where I mainly help out and clean every night.

How and when did you get involved with racing?
My Grandfather sponsored Dave Storck, the first Red River Valley Speedway modified champion when I was a young kid. So my early summers were spent following him around at RRVS, Viking Speedway, and the WeeTown Outlaw Speedway.

What sacrifices had you made for racing?
Spending as much time as I have at race tracks, I’ve missed a lot of weddings and various other get-togethers. But every race is like one big family reunion so it all evens out.

What has changed about racing since you first started?
The involvement of women. I think the presence and the success of female drivers is a breath of fresh air.

Do you have any superstitions about racing? Or good luck rituals?
I always change out my microphone batteries before the race starts.

What was you most memorable racing story?
A moment I will never forget was seeing a 5 year old Ashton Spieker passed out in his car seat while holding his trophy that he won earlier at the Red River Kart Club.

What do you enjoy most about racing?
People. I’ve made a lot of really great friends at the races. People that really make you feel like you are lucky.

What is your favorite movie?
Eddie and the Cruisers

What is your favorite food?
Deep Fried Mac n Cheese bites. Greatest track food ever.

What is your favorite beverage?
Coors Light

What is your favorite TV show?
It’s a tie between Eastbound and Down and WWE Monday Night Raw

What is your favorite music/band?
The Replacements

What website do you visit most often?
I’m on Facebook way too much.

Do you have a favorite Youtube video?
youtu.be/nhWWY8lUQPA – The NDSCS talent show video. We won most talented. I’m the one singing.

Final thoughts:
I am absolutely honored to take the position of RRVS track announcer. To occupy the same spot as Rod Miller and Ron Krog really is a dream come true and I hope to do them proud. I have a really good feeling about the upcoming racing season. The FM area has some of the most talented and toughest competition around. And with the Red River Kart Club numbers blowing up every year, giving loads of seat time to drivers of all ages, I can see a huge comeback for local racing happening. And we get to watch every lap. We’re the lucky ones.