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By Trackside Mayhem
REDWOOD FALLS -- Sunday night at Redwood Speedway proved once again why they call it the "Big House," serving up a full program of high-octane dirt track action loaded with hard-fought passes, wild scrambles, and late-race fireworks across six competitive divisions.
Danube Auto Works Sport Mods
A stacked 17-car field kicked off the night's feature racing. Youth led the way to the green as teenagers Indy Ragan (17) of Eagle Lake and Slade Fitzgerald (4) of Sherburn brought the pack to speed. Ragan jumped out to the early lead with Fitzgerald tucked in behind, but a rocky 15-lap feature plagued by at least five caution flags kept the field constantly bunched up.
Through every restart, Ragan stayed poised up front, but all eyes quickly turned to Reading's Blake Luinenburg in the 16x. Starting back in 10th position, Luinenburg put on a passing clinic, picking off cars on both grooves to slice his way to second by the final restart. When the green dropped for the sprint to the finish, Luinenburg powered past Ragan to grab the lead and pull away, securing back-to-back feature wins at Redwood Speedway. Ragan held on for a hard-earned second, with Comfrey's Jim Richert crossing third in the 5R.
1. Blake Luinenburg (16x) - Reading, MN
2. Indy Ragan (17) - Eagle Lake, MN
3. Jim Richert (5R) - Comfrey, MN
Zeuli Race Engines WISSOTA Street Stocks
When the WISSOTA Street Stocks hit the track, Janesville's Keith Tourville turned the main event into a masterclass. Sharing the front row with Coltyn Schuler's 16a, Tourville launched his 111 machine into the lead on lap one and never looked back. Making the feature look like a solo test-and-tune session, Tourville opened up a massive half-track lead by the time the checkered flag flew, remaining undefeated at the Big House this season.
Behind him, the battle for the remaining podium spots was fierce. Schuler and Michael Brockman (4) locked into a tight duel for second, trading lines before Schuler fended off Brockman's charges to secure the runner-up spot.
1. Keith Tourville (111) - Janesville, MN
2. Coltyn Schuler (16a)
3. Michael Brockman (4)
Evolution Ag Tech Hobby Stocks
The Hobby Stocks brought edge-of-your-seat excitement right out of the gate, fanning out four-wide into turns one and two on the opening lap. RJ Esqueda (16) grabbed the early lead before pushing tight into turn three, sliding off the track and handing the point to Milroy's Mavrick Snyder in the 42. Snyder led two laps before getting out of shape sliding through turn four, opening the door for crowd favorite Roger Krebs in the 69 out of Clements to pounce and take over the lead.
A mid-race yellow brought the pack back together, setting the stage for Austin Jahnz in the 32J. Jahnz, who had methodically carved from 11th to 4th, applied relentless pressure on Krebs by lap 10, forcing a slight mistake through turn two to complete the winning pass. Jahnz drove off to seal a phenomenal drive from deep in the field, with Krebs holding second and Snyder rounding out the podium.
1. Austin Jahnz (32J) – Lewisville, MN
2. Roger Krebs (69) - Clements, MN
3. Mavrick Snyder (42) - Milroy, MN
Magor Construction Modifieds
Front-row starters Dan Menk (19m) and Joshua Rogotzke (X) led the Magor Construction Modifieds to green. Menk grabbed the early point position, but Brandon Beckendorf in the 5 machine stayed locked in hot pursuit right behind him.
While Menk fended off Beckendorf up front, the crowd was treated to a wild, wheel-to-wheel show as the Rogotzke brothers--Joshua in the X and Jesse in the XXX--swapped slide jobs at opposite ends of the race track. Out front, Menk hit his marks flawlessly to hold off Beckendorf, capturing his second feature win of the year at Redwood Speedway.
1. Dan Menk (19m)
2. Brandon Beckendorf (5)
3. Joshua Rogotzke (X)
Sport Compacts
A 12-car Sport Compact field took to the oval next for what proved to be the wildest feature of the evening. Pole sitter Jason Boltes failed to fire as the green flew, forcing the pack to scramble sideways. Brandon Louwagie capitalized, carving from 7th to the lead out of turn two in the 27x. Louwagie looked well on his way to victory until taking the white flag, when Jack Gatton (23g) hit the backstretch wall hard and flipped upside down, bringing out a red flag.
As the field came to a halt, a fuel leak ignited an engine fire under Louwagie’s hood. Track safety personnel arrived immediately to extinguish the blaze and ensure all drivers were safe. On the resulting green-white-checkered shootout, leader Dale Gatton (24g) faced immediate pressure from Gary Schumacher (51x) and RJ Esqueda (29). Schumacher made his move out of turn four on the final lap, diving low and hooking traction off the bottom to nip Gatton by half a car length at the line for an unforgettable victory.
1. Gary Schumacher (51x)
2. Dale Gatton (24g)
3. RJ Esqueda (29)
J&S Trucking / Vesta Bar IMCA Stock Cars
The “Class Too Tough to Tame” wrapped up the feature action with 13 stock cars taking the green flag. After three attempts to complete lap one, Joseph Domeier (21j) took charge and paced the field through a string of early cautions. On lap eight, Domeier pushed too hard into turn three and slid off the track, handing the lead battle over to Jesse Rogotzke (XX) and Shaun Bruns (71d).
The pair waged a thrilling side-by-side war before contact in turn two sent Rogotzke spinning. Scoring officials ruled Rogotzke came down on Bruns, assigning the caution to the XX. Once green-flag racing resumed, Bruns dominated the final stretch to take the victory, with Dan Mackenthun (92) coming in second and Curt Lund (87) finishing third.
1. Shaun Bruns (71d)
2. Dan Mackenthun (92)
3. Curt Lund (87)