The fourteenth annual Topless Nationals concluded on Saturday night, October 19th at the Ogilvie Raceway. The program on Saturday would consist of eleven B Features to be followed by main events for the seven classes that were in competition this weekend.
A few more entries showed up on Saturday night, most to run at the back of feature races that didn't have full fields of cars but several also that came, only to find themselves at the back of Jeff Broeg sized B Features where only a couple cars would move on to the mains. They had very tough sledding indeed. In total, two hundred and seventy five race cars competed here this weekend.
Things got off to a surprising start on Saturday when some unexpected rain showers moved into an area where measurable rain hadn't been seen for almost a month. It came as a surprise to just about everyone and while it caused some grief, it wasn't enough to put a kabosh on the racing.
The track was left hard after the Friday night show as that was easily rolled in but an hour of pretty steady rain made the pit area quite a muddy mess which was somewhat unfortunate that all the trick or treaters that hit the pits in the afternoon had to wade through some pretty mucky places. This has gotten to be quite the tradition at this event as anyone that wants to trick or treat is allowed in the pits for a ninety minute period where they go car to car and collect candy, autographs and pictures. Virtually every car has candy and decorations out for the kids with some of the drivers even in costume. The kids come in costume also and it makes for quite the sight and a grand way to wrap up the racing season. It has become a really big deal and even for yours truly, not in mask anymore than normal, still walks out of the pits about ten pounds heavier from all the chocolate that I eat. I didn't hear who won the contest for best decorated race car but there were a number of really strong entries as I can't believe the ends some of the teams go to make their cars unique looking.
While most the teams were participating in the trick or treat, the Late Model team of Josh Zimpel was busy replacing a motor in their car. They had finished a strong second in their heat on Friday night but blew the motor just at the finish line. They refused to give up such a good starting spot however, and changed motors with the other Zimpel entry that had crashed on Friday night. They use 525 crate motors in their cars and report that the motor that blew had one hundred and sixteen shows on it so they felt like they had more than gotten their quota from that motor which was still running very competitively when it blew.
Unfortunately though, while running in fourth spot in the Late Model main on lap twenty five, Josh would hammer the turn one wall and now they have both a car and a motor to fix.
The Last Chance races were just that as they were marked by some very hard racing and several wild crashes that saw a Limited Modified up side down and a Street Stock hit the wall so hard that the entire rear stub was launched free from the car. However, no injuries were reported and reflected by the way that many drove, they reasoned that they had all Winter to fix anything they wrecked!
The Super Stock feature would be first to the grid for feature racing and this would be the Dexton Koch show. Soon to be crowned as the WISSOTA National Champion in this class, Koch completed what has been a career best season. He started on the outside pole and led all twenty five laps to take the win. He immediately opened up a nice sized lead and would maintain that pace through the whole race. His win on Saturday would be his twenty eighth feature win of the year. For a number of years, he has been very successful in this class but always seemed to end up second best to Shane Sabraski who has dominated this class for years. Sabraski opted to focus in his Late Model program this year and with only limited appearances in the Super, Koch used this opening to surge through as the best in the class. Dan Nissalke would finish second with Ryan Kostreba third. There would be only two yellows in this event and only a few cars that didn't finish it.
The Limited Modified feature was a hot mess with more yellows than perhaps the rest of the night combined. Jason VandeKamp would start on the pole and lead all twenty five laps but the race was slowed eight times by yellow flags with many being of the multi car variety. While VandeKamp dominated, there was some good racing for second with Jesse Brekke and Blake Adams trading that position back and forth several times until Adams suddenly pulled off the track.
Late in the race, David Swearingen, who had started thirteenth on the grid, charged up and took over the second spot. Brekke, the crop duster pilot from North Dakota that only gets to race in the Fall and Winter when his business doesn't have him airborne constantly, came home third.
There were three different leaders in the Late Model feature but in the end, it was Pat Doar that won once again at Ogilvie. Doar, who has an amazing streak of success at this track, didn't let the fact that he was starting seventh in the race bother him. He gradually worked his way to the front and was up to second by the halfway point. Sabraski had taken the early lead but Shane Edginton, all the way down from Winnipeg and back using his own number for this race, slipped under Sabraski on lap five to take over the lead.
Doar continued to press and one lap past the halfway point, he moved past Edginton to take over the lead. Near the end of the race, Doar got himself in some heavy traffic and Edginton closed back in on him, but Pat would hang on by a couple car lengths for the win. Blake Boelens, a rookie in this class with less than a half years experience, would drive a hard race up against the outside wall and move up to fifth at the finish behind Ryan Mikkelson with two rookie drivers in the top five finishing positions as WISSOTA currently has an exceptional crop of young drivers moving into the class.
I don't know what management at Ogilvie has against their Street Stock drivers but for the last two years they have allowed the Stock Cars to run with the Streets at this event and for the second straight year, Tim Johnson has shown that this is not a fair situation. If you were a Street Stock driver and your home track put you at a disadvantage for a special event, wouldn't you be upset? But they have done this now for two straight years, all in the name apparently for seven Stock Cars that entered the show.
Andrew Hanson started on the pole and led the first fourteen laps of the main event. In fact, he had built up nearly a full straightaway lead over the pack as Johnson, one of the Stock Car drivers, had a tough time moving forward after he started ninth. Just before the lap fourteen yellow waved, he had finally grabbed second and this yellow was his saving grace.
When the green flew, he simply gassed his car and with the additional horsepower the Stock Cars have, he simply drove right around Hanson to take the lead with nothing Hanson could do about it. On the final lap, Kaden Woodie, in one of the other Stock Cars, also got past Hanson for second.
Johnson, who also has a Street Stock and Super Stock as well as his Stock Car, is a very accomplished driver and it is no surprise when he wins a feature race in one of several classes he races in. However, with the choice of having both cars available, he is no fool and selected the Stock Car as his choice for the weekend, which paid off for him. If management wants to run Stock Cars, fine with me but it is totally unfair to run them with the Street Stocks heads up. They are two distinct beasts.
Clayton Wagamon, of the Wagamon family that owns Ogilvie, led from start to finish to take the Modified feature race. He started on the outside pole and got the early jump on Dave Cain. Cain would not give up though, and after losing some distance, he gradually used the high side to close in on Wagamon who for some reason, had moved down the track. In fact, Cain was just about ready to blow past Clayton on the outside when Wagamon figured out what was what and he moved back to the cushion which shut off Cain's passing lane.
After that, Wagamon gradually pulled away to build up a comfortable lead which he held to the finish. Joseph Thomas and Sabraski would get past Don Eischens on the last corner when Eischens went for broke with a slider hoping for the win but it cost him two spots in the gamble.
Perhaps the best drive of the night was put on by Tommy Bawden who made a thrilling last lap pass for the win in the Mod Four class. Blake Hawker led for a lap until Bob Holtquist passed him for the top spot. Bob then battled with his son Dustin before the kid passed him on lap four.
The two Holtquist's then began to pull away from the field over a long stretch of green flag racing. Bawden moved up right against the outside wall and seemed to be "flat footing" it around the Ogilvie oval and he started to close in on the two leaders. He got past Bob for second and then closed up on Dustin, making up a considerable amount of real estate in the last five laps.
As they came around the corner for the white flag, Bawden went screaming by on the outside in a very daring pass that probably surprised Holtquist. Dustin tried to fight back on the final lap but Bawden had the momentum and blazed home for the win.
Justin Schelitzche will soon be crowned the WISSOTA National Champion in the Hornet class for the second straight year. So when he drew the pole, it was no surprise that he would drive on for the win. However, the difficulty he had was a bit surprising as Jenna Hagemann gave him everything he could handle.
They did start side by side with Justin taking the early lead. However, Jenna was not giving up and caught back up after he had built a small lead. When he slid off the bottom on lap seven, Jenna dove inside of him and took over the lead. They raced in tight formation with Jenna continuing to hold the lead until on lap fourteen, Schelitzche got past here once again and while she remained nailed to his rear bumper, she could not perform the magic once again and would have to settle for second as Justin drove home for the win. Matt Dittman would finish third.
Unlike the great racing weather that the Midwest has enjoyed for the last few weeks, it felt more like mid October on Saturday with damp conditions, wind in the face and cooler temperatures. There was even a fog scare the last couple races but it held off enough that they were able to complete the show. However, despite the less than perfect night, the grandstands were packed as this event has established an identity of its old in recent years.
Thanks to the Wagamon family and promoter Nate Fischer for his help this weekend. It was another successful season for "The Big O" and it will be interesting to see what their schedule looks like for 2025.
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