By Mike Spieker
WEST FARGO, ND (May 21) – Red River Valley Speedway’s race fans were treated to temperatures that were nearly 40 degrees warmer last Friday night compared to the track’s season opener the week prior. As a result a great crowd filled the grandstands and watched 71 race teams take to the racy 3/8th mile dirt oval.
Feature racing began with the IMCA Hobby Stock/Pure Stock division, which was 20 cars strong for their 15 lap event. Shawn Orvedal grabbed the early lead and held the position until veteran driver, Tim Shiek, stole the point on lap three. The man on the move however was the opening night winner, Billy Carou. The Jamestown, ND driver started eighth on the field and moved into second at the halfway point after passing two cars in one lap. From there, Carou reeled in Shiek and drove by him for the lead and ultimately the win. Kasey Ussatis made a great drive to finish second as Shiek, Brennan Urbach, and Austin Veralrud rounded out the top five.
Just as he did the previous night at Norman County Raceway, Steven Kuntz of Bismarck ran away with the INEX Legends feature. Kuntz took the lead after Josh Julsrud’s machine pushed in turn one, but the race was far from over. Andrew Jochim chased down Kuntz and made the pass for the lead with 12 to go. The move prompted Kuntz to try the extreme outside of the race track. Initially Kuntz lost ground to Jochim’s #21, but eventually Kuntz found his groove and began making up ground exponentially. With six to go, Kuntz had erased Jochim’s advantage and flew past him at the exit of turn two to regain the lead. Kuntz then cruised to take the win and to KRJB 106.5FM Victory Lane.
The father-son duo of Scott and Kelly Jacobson held the top two positions in the early going of the IMCA Sport Mod feature. Kelly showed the way for most of the race, until RRVS’ 2012 Pure Stock track champ, Jesse Skalicky, found the moisture upstairs. The pilot of the Drew’s Garage #3S was the only driver in the top 10 racing up on the cushion and subsequently was the only driver moving forward. It only took Skalicky 12 laps to pass 11 cars as he took the lead and the checkered flag.
A staggering field of 31 IMCA Modifieds made the call to take the green flag for the 25-lap main event. Billy Vogel and Rusty Kollman led the field to the green flag. It was Vogel and Rich Pavlicek battling for the lead with Pavlicek taking sole possession of the position on lap three. Pavlicek had little time to enjoy his stint up front as revived Mod driver, Cale Arneson, took the lead on lap eight from his 12th starting position.
About as quick as Cale reached the front of the field, so did his brother, Austin. All the way from 18th, Austin charged through the field and took the runner-up spot with 15 to go. It took just three laps for Austin, the 2014 Sander’s Mod Challenge Champion, to reel in the #99 of Cale and take the lead. Cale held tough, but Austin was just too strong and pulled out to a 10 car length lead after two circuits.
Austin continued on to claim the victory; his second on the 3/8th mile configuration. Rob VanMil came from 11th to finish second followed by Cale Arneson, John Nord who started 15th, and Rich Pavlicek.
If there were any questions regarding how racy Red River Valley would be after sitting inoperative for four years, they were answered loud and clear in the Modified feature alone. A total of 13 drivers passed at least seven cars during the 25 lapper, with seven drivers passing 10 or more cars. The two hard chargers were Austin Arneson and Bryce Borgen, who wheeled his way from 31st to 13th.
Racing, presented by Braseth Construction and Charlie & Sons Electric, continues next Friday night starting at 7pm. Plus it’s the 1st leg of the Fargo Force Cup/Super Stock Series!
Results:
IMCA Mods:
1. Austin Arneson
2. Rob Vanmil
3. Cale Arneson
4. John Nord
5. Rich Pavlicek
6. Billy Vogel
7. Michael Johnson
8. Bob Banish Jr
9. Bryce Bjerken
10. Brennan Borg
11. Rusty Kollman
12. Lance Schilling
13. Bryce Borgen
14. Tailin Tommerdahl
15. Cody Peterson
16. Randy Kollman
17. Nick Curtis
18. Trent Grager
19. Karmith Christensen
20. Thomas Silver
21. Todd Carter
22. Michael Griffin
23. Tyler Hall
24. Rob Plath
25. Brady Petermann
26. Dave Shipley
27. Dev Malmlov
28. Mike Anderson
29. Eric Lundon
30. Tom Cummings
31. Jarrett Carter
32. Michael Greseth
33. Jeff Odden
IMCA Sport Mods
1. Jesse Skalicky
2. Robby Rosselli
3. Chris Vanmil
4. Kelly Jacobson
5. Scott Jacobson
6. Tyler Mcdougall
7. Luke Johnson
8. Stan Tomlinson
9. Gregory Larson
10. Cody Fuller
11. Paul Colvin
12. Matt Talley
13. Cody Meyer
14. Kraig Kasin
15. Dustin Hartwig
Legends
1. Steven Kuntz
2. Josh Julsrud
3. Andrew Jochim
4. Casey Henriksen
5. Tim Estenson
6. Kaitlyn Skalicky
7. Tony Brockhouse
8. Marah Henricksen
9. Adam Meuchel
10. Brandon Erickson
11. Reile Sailer
12. Tye wilke
13. Jarret Julsrud
14. Shaun Erickson
Pure Stocks
1. Billy Carou
2. Kasey Ussatis
3. Tim Shiek
4. Brennan Urbach
5. Austin Veralrud
6. Dan Dowling
7. Shawn Orvedahl
8. Paul Colvin
9. Dylan Heger
10. Wade Moerke
11. Kodee Ussatis
12. Tim Church
13. Brandon Schmidt
14. Kristen Nelson
15. Maranda Borg
16. Taylor Saari
17. Brad Orvedahl
18. Isaac Drewlow
