Cole Olson.
Perhaps the most lucky human being on the face of the planet, last night Cole Olson was the lead item in the prayers of many folks that were at or heard about what happened during the races at the Ogilvie Raceway. Olson was the videographer working for Dirt Race Central which was covering the races on Friday night when he was struck by an out of control spinning race car during a heat race.
The contact to him by the car, that he didn't even see coming as he was pointing his camera at turn three, sent him flying into the air, after which he landed motionless on the ground. Many in the crowd saw it happen and their reaction was one I won't forget for a long time as screams, groans and stunned silence were the most prevalent reactions. I couldn't believe what I had just seen, as I saw the whole thing also. That's when I reacted but my reaction was one of anger.
So many of us had just seen the horrible accident at I-94 just weeks before and I found myself mad that these stupid and potentially deadly accidents kept happening.
But the result of this accident was one with a much better outcome, and one that was just as unbelievable as the accident itself. Olson was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital and then flown to a larger facility in the Twin Cities. But almost too hard to imagine, he had not a single broken bone! Nor concussion nor head trauma nor any of the other major injuries one would associate with such a brutal hit.
In fact, he was released from the hospital at 4 am on Sunday morning and he headed home to Chippewa Falls Wisconsin where he lives to recuperate. Whether he choses to remain in this kind of work I do not know but Ben Kruchten, who runs Dirt Race Central has said that other than the drone they use, no workers will ever be allowed to be in the infield again during a race event.
Everyone in the crowd on Saturday breezed a sign of relief when the news was announced as many were expecting the worst, and I have no doubt that except for the hand of God on his shoulder, Cole would not be with us on Saturday.
The Topless Nationals is much more than just a race and perhaps that is the secret why so many race teams and fans come to east central Minnesota the middle of October for a race. Trick or Treating in the pits is huge on Saturday with everyone allowed to wander the pits for candy and pictures before the racing program starts. The kids, many of their parents, the race drivers and their teams all dress up and it is quite the sight. Just about every race team on hand either has candy, pictures or both and kids come with pillow cases that they fill with candy from three hundred different stations.
There are also prizes for the best costumes, best decorated pit areas and oh, did I forget to mention that many of the race cars themselves are also decorated with a wide and wild variety of adornments that make folks laugh and perhaps also blush. There are awards for that category too.
There is a big campfire on Friday night and live music also. Basically there is something for just about everyone with the races themselves being only a part of the entertainment. Where the scales used to be, The Original Burrito King food truck was parked this weekend and things were so good that he ran out of just about everything by Saturday night.
Five more drivers arrived on Saturday to race that weren't on hand on Friday. They either started in the back of a B Feature or a feature for those few classes that didn't need a B Feature.
One of those was Bryson North who pulled all the way from Huron South Dakota just to race what turned out to be a single event. According to his grandfather, Bryson is the quarterback on his high school football team and with only one loss, if they win next Friday night they will be in the state play offs. So he couldn't afford to miss the game. However, his father and grandfather both were racers and they knew that Bryson really wanted to race this event, so they agreed to make the three hundred mile trip on Saturday, knowing that their chances of making the main would not be good.
Bryson started seventeenth in the Super Stock B Feature, knowing that he had to get into the top four to move on. He missed on that by three spots but they were still happy as a team that they had made the drive and given him the opportunity.
One of the other additional drivers on hand to race Saturday was Corky Thomas from Glyndon Minnesota. They had brought two cars to possibly race, with son Joseph driving the car normally raced by sponsor Ronnie Novacek this weekend. Meanwhile, Corky took the car that Joseph usually races and tried some radical changes for practice night on Thursday.
Corky told me that if there were more than thirty Modifieds, he wouldn't race on Friday because the motor was tired and couldn't stand three races if he had to run a B Feature. However, after not racing on Friday, he did start in the back of a Modified B Feature and only missed the main by two spots.
With the additional drivers on hand Saturday, the total number of racers this weekend ended up being three hundred and two, an event record.
Five of the eight classes racing needed one or multiple B Features, most from sixteen cars or so up to ones with over twenty cars in them, all racing for just a few spots. Racing would start just after 5 pm with a few extra minutes needed to work in an overly wet track. Then all the B's were run, the track redone and features races only after that.
The biggest winner of the night was Shane Sabraski who won both the Super Stock and Modified features. Sabraski, who recently won his one thousandth feature race, just kept tacking on more wins after he did that and tonight's wins were 1006 and 7. Sabraski had a battle in both features and did not walk away with either one.
Joey Jensen led the first fourteen laps of the Super Stock feature until Sabraski made the winning pass. He then had to fight off Dexton Koch to hold on for the win.
In the Modified feature, there were four different leaders with Kody Scholpp leading the first lap, only to be passed by J.T. Johnson. Johnson then began using the whole track in an effort to hold off Blake Adams for the lead.
However, on lap eleven, Adams made the pass and then proceeded to pull away from the field. Adams, the sixteen year old from Cameron Wisconsin who will be crowned the WISSOTA National Modified point champion next month, beating Sabraski by four points, then built up a big lead and the race seemed to be his.
But yellow flags, which produce the majority of passing situations these days, struck again as the yellow waved with twenty two laps complete. Adams got a bad restart and Sabraski, racing his home track, was able to slide up and past Adams and take over the lead which he then held to the finish with Adams and track owner's son Clayton Wagamon next in line.
The Late Model feature produced a surprise when eastern Wisconsin driver Joel Bennett led from start to finish to earn the win. In the last going he fought off Josh Zimpel, the driver that he had a run in with while battling for the lead here last month in the Fall Nationals with Zimpel eventually getting the win. A photo finish for third saw Gunner Frank get the spot. These two drivers have chased the entire Structural Buildings Challenge Series this year and they have improved markedly as the season has gone by. Iowa fans will recognize the Franks from their days racing at southeastern Iowa tracks.
The Street Stock feature proved to be a real battle between the true Street Stocks and the Stock Cars also allowed to run this event. The Street Stocks would prevail with Parker Anderson from Phillips Wisconsin win a thriller in a race that saw the lead officially change hands six times!
Lucas Boyce led the first lap with Kaden Woodie than taking the top spot. Woodie and Jim Gullikson, the WISSOTA 100 winner, then exchanged the lead four times as they slid back and forth in front of each other. Meanwhile, Anderson, who started eighth, moved in to make it a three car battle for the top spot with them going three wide on several occasions.
Parker finally would prevail and held on over the last seven laps for the win, with Gullikson, in third, not happy after the race was completed while Woodie settled for second. I guess it doesn't make a difference if they are Streets or Stock Cars, these full bodied cars always put on a show.
The twenty seven car Limited Mod feature was a nail biter too with Canadian driver Garrett Paull coming home for the win. Scott Oeltjen lead the first six laps before Paull made the winning pass but he was pushed right to the finish by David Swearingen, a driver who has won perhaps as many big races in this classes at Ogilvie as anyone. He was close again but Paull held him off by a car length for the win with Cole Boston third.
Bob Holtquist, the veteran driver from South Dakota, won the Mod Four feature race. The Mod Fours look like shrunken Modifieds and use four cylinder motors in them and are very popular in pockets of WISSOTA country although many tracks do not sanction the class.
Bob led from start to finish but nearly got passed by his son Dustin, the defending national champion who will again receive that award next month. Unfortunately for Dustin, he tried too hard to pass dear old dad and spun himself out of contention. Mike Rau finished up second with another veteran, Dean Larson third.
The battle between the WISSOTA Hornets and IMCA Sport Compacts was a good one with four different leaders in this race also. After Arlington MN champion Gary Schumacher led the opening lap, he was passed by Brandon Backstrom for the lead.
Hibbing MN champ Brady Fosso then took the lead on lap six and he was in front until with just two laps to go he got too high and was passed by Matt Dittman who then went on for the win with Jeff Rohner third.
Three laps into the feature race for the Crown Vics, Mike Layne took the lead and then he ran away for the victory.
For a race that was just started on a whim, this race has turned into a huge part of the success story for the season for the Ogilvie Raceway. With over three hundred cars in the pits along with pit passes for three nights including practice, plus a packed grandstand for two straight nights, this has become a very lucrative way for the folks at the Big O to wrap up their season. Thanks go out to promoter Nate Fischer along with the track owners the Wagamon Family and all the workers at the track who put in some long hours this weekend.
This was thought to be the last dirt track race of 2025 in the state of Minnesota. However, Barry Braun, who is now the promoter at the Hibbing Speedway, held "The Hot Dish Nationals," a one night race last week and it went over well.
It was announced today that Barry will now hold one more event in Hibbing this year, as the first ever "Iron Range Rumble" will take place on October 24th and 25th. This race will feature two full shows on Friday and Saturday with early start times and will see six classes in action including everything from Hornets to Late Models at the quarter mile on the Iron Range of Minnesota. It will be an unsanctioned event but using basic WISSOTA rules. So many drivers may hold off one more week to tear their cars apart in preparation for 2026 and instead head for Hibbing.
Jeff, hold off those All Minnesota Points please for one more week as the weekend forecast looks good for Fall racing!
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