KASSON, Minn. (June 27, 2002) - It was the return of the Thunderbird Open on Thursday, June 27th. 28 WISSOTA Late Models were in attendance and the weather was absolutely perfect. The race was also part of the WISSOTA Challenge Series. A very stout field of WISSOTA Super Stocks were on hand as the support class, and it looked to be another great night of racing at the Dodge County Speedway.

In Challenge Series heat race action, Keith Foss put on a show to pick up the win in the first heat race, followed by Mark Teske, Steve Laursen, Mitch Johnson, and Rick Egersdorf.

In the second heat, it was Wednesday night Challenge Series feature winner, Jon Kurshinsky picking up the win. John Kaanta, Troy Kuyoth, Jeff Provinzino, and Dave Zimmerman rounded out the top five.

Bob Timm would win the third heat, followed by Mark Hessler, Tom Nesbitt, John Chrest and Ryan Aho.

In the fourth and final heat race, it would be Lance Matthees taking the checkers first, with Duane Mahder, Joel Cryderman, Pat Doar, and Steve Isenberg rounding out the top five.

Four cars would qualify through the B-Feature, and it was Mike Sorenson picking up the win there, followed by Randy Schlagl, Brad Waits, and Jon Olsen.

The first feature event of the evening would be the WISSOTA Super Stocks, and with Mark Teske and Bill Clemens starting side by side in the front row, it was sure to be a good one.

Clemens went to the high side to take the early lead, and right from the start, there were numerous side by side battles for position in the top ten.

Kenny Davis and Kelly Anderson were going at it for fourth, and Brandon Jensen made his presence known as well, also putting some pressure on Davis.

But out in front, Teske and Clemens started to check out on the field, pulling away to almost a straightaway advantage. Dale Gangl was on the move from his 12th starting position, and rapidly making his way to the front.

The first caution was for the spinning car of Steve O'Malley in turn two. And on the re-start, it was Clemens sitting in first, followed by Teske, Haberman, Anderson, and Davis.

Teske wasted no time in going to the top, and drove by Clemens to grab the lead, and Davis also picked up a spot on the re-start and came up to challenge Haberman for third.

Dale Gangl also picked up a few spots on the re-start, and continued his march to the front. Out in front though, Teske was starting to put some distance between himself and Clemens who sat in second. Kenny Davis tried to reel in Clemens for second, but ran out of time and at the stripe it was Teske, Clemens, Davis, Gangl (started 12th!) and Dave Haberman making up the top five.

For the Thunderbird Open, the starting positions for the top eight cars were determined by a draw on the frontstretch. A pair of Winona drivers, Bob Timm and Keith Foss would make up the front row.

When the green flag flew, it would be Keith Foss blasting to the top side, and looking very strong out in front. Working the top side to perfection, Foss thrilled the crowd, with the left front wheel off the ground most of the time and running just inches off the wall in turns three and four.

The first caution came with a rare spin by Duane Mahder, collecting the cars of Mark Hessler, Ryan Aho, and Jon Olsen. This would put Mahder to the tail of the field early on, and the defending Challenge Series Champion would have his work cut out for him.

Under green again, it was apparent that Matthees would be a factor in this race, looking very good on the bottom, and coming up to challenge Timm for second. Also on the move was Jon Kurshinsky, making his way in to the top five.

Foss pulled out to a half straightaway advantage over Timm and Matthees, who were side by side for the second position. Kurshinsky went to work on Hessler for fourth, and would take the position.

As Foss started to approach lap traffic, Matthees started to close in, after clearing Bob Timm for the second position. John Kaanta was also starting to pick up the pace, and would follow the lead of Kurshinsky, passing Bob Timm to find himself in fourth.

The next caution came when Duane Mahder and Jon Olsen went around in turn two, and it would be the end of Mahder's night as he was sent pitside, charged with his second caution of the night.

On the re-start, Foss would lead the field to the green, followed by Matthees, Kurshinsky, Timm and Kaanta.

Matthees would start to put some heavy pressure on Foss, and it was shaping up to be quite a dogfight, with Foss running the top and Matthees on the bottom. Kaanta was still on the move, and once again passed Timm for fourth, and was starting to close in on Kurshinsky for third.

With open track in front of him, Foss started to pull away again, and another man on the move was Mark Teske, now challenging Timm for fifth.

It didn't take Foss long to catch the tail of the field again, and once again, Matthees started to close the gap. This time though, Matthees went to the outside of Foss in three and four, in traffic, and took the lead.

One lap later, Foss would again pull even with Matthees at the flagstand, but could not quite regain the lead, and at the same time, John Kaanta was also looking to mix it up for the top spot. Kaanta who seemed to get faster and faster as the race went on, used the bottom groove to get by Foss to take second. With a great three car battle in the front, Kaanta got along side of Matthees momentarily but the action was slowed when Steve Isenberg went around in turn two.

The re-start would not see a completed lap, as Steve Laursen and Mark Hessler got together in turn two. Since neither car was found to be at fault, both cars were given their spots back. While under caution, Tom Nesbitt was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.

With a three lap dash to the finish, Matthees would hold off Kaanta to pick up the win, followed by Foss, Kurshinsky, and Mark Teske.

A spectacular night of racing that saw some awesome battles for the lead, in both classes and more can be expected on Sunday, June 30th. Racing kicks off at 6:00 PM with racing in all five divisions.

RESULTS

WISSOTA LATE MODELS

Feature: Lance Matthees, John Kaanta, Keith Foss, Jon Kurshinsky, Mark Teske, Mitch Johnson, Bob Timm, Steve Laursen, Joel Cryderman, Mark Hessler

Heat 1: Foss, Teske, Laursen, Johnson, Rick Egersdorf

Heat 2: Kurshinsky, Kaanta, Troy Kuyoth, Jeff Provinzino, Dave Zimmerman

Heat 3: Timm, Hessler, Tom Nesbitt, John Chrest, Ryan Aho

Heat 4: Matthees, Duane Mahder, Cryderman, Pat Doar, Steve Isenberg

B-Feature: Mike Sorenson, Randy Schlagl, Brad Waits, Jon Olsen, Brian Hendershot

WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS

Feature: Mark Teske, Bill Clemens, Kenny Davis, Dale Gangl, Dave Haberman, Brandon Jensen, Kelly Anderson, Jon Duffy, Tom Chrest, Bill Stettner

Heat 1: Stacy Edgar, Stettner, Chrest, Duffy, Dan Gasner

Heat 2: Teske, Clemens, Anderson, Gangl

Heat 3: Davis, Jensen, Haberman, Steve O'Malley, Mark Oltjenbruns