From Shawn Miller
BRANDON, S.D. (July 9, 2023) — Christopher Thram, J.J. Zebell and Dillon Bickett scored emotional victories on Sunday evening at Huset’s Speedway, which hosted Bike Night presented by Indian Motorcycle of Sioux Falls.
For Thram and Bickett, it was their first career triumph at the track while Zebell’s win came on a weekend when he lost a loved one.
Thram’s trip into the Sea Foam Victory Lane following the Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars feature also marked his first-ever 410ci winged sprint car win.
“It’s really special for us being a family team and all,” he said. “It means a ton to all of us. I’ve been dreaming of (winning at) this place. Since (I was) a kid I’ve been coming here and it’s pretty cool to win here.”
Skylar Prochaska led the first eight laps of the 25-lap feature before Brooke Tatnell took the lead on a restart on Lap 9. A couple of laps later, Thram moved into second place running the bottom lane and he capitalized on Lap 14 when Tatnell was dramatically slowed while trying to lap a car entering turn one.
Thram held the point for the final dozen laps, which included restarts on Lap 18 and on Lap 23.
“It worked out pretty well,” he said. “I honestly didn’t think we were going to be really good at the beginning. We were pretty tight, but the bottom kept coming and coming and coming to us. It was really good at the end so that’s all that matters.”
Ryan Timms used a last-lap pass to finish second – only 0.828 seconds behind Thram.
“Early on it was a little free and I kind of dropped a few spots,” Timms said. “After a couple of cautions I just kept trying to get it cleaned off up there and kept running it harder and harder. There was a certain sweet spot the way you had to hit it without getting tight or anything. I got it figured out toward the end and we were coming.”
Jack Dover rounded out the podium for his best finish of the season at Huset’s Speedway.
“Normally back in my early days I was always up top against the fence banging it down,” he said. “I just seem to roll really good around the bottom here. I was a little snug at the beginning and it seemed about 10 laps in we lost a little fuel and we got better.”
Chase Randall scored a fourth-place finish and Kaleb Johnson recorded a fifth-place run.
Timms set quick time during qualifying before Johnson, Prochaska and Mark Dobmeier posted heat race wins.
Zebell dominated the Nordstrom’s Automotive Late Model Street Stocks main event, leading every lap and winning by 3.630 seconds to garner his track-leading third triumph of the season.
“I was pretty motivated tonight,” he said. “I lost my dad on Friday. Just driving with a lot of emotion tonight. This one’s for my old man.”
The race went non-stop after a caution on Lap 2. Zebell had a close call near the midpoint of the race, which allowed his competitors to close. However, Zebell rallied in the second half of the feature to regain a sizeable advantage before the checkered flag was waved.
“I about wrecked it down here,” he said. “I jumped the cushion, slid, it got sideways on me and I thought, ‘Oh shit, I’m going to lose this thing.’ I think I had someone riding alongside me.”
John Hoing was the runner up with Mike Chaney placing third. Ron Howe ended fourth and Dan Jensen finished fifth.
The heat races were won by Hoing, Cheney and Tracy Halouska.
Bickett became the seventh different Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series feature winner after pacing the field for all 20 circuits.
“It feels pretty good,” he said. “I just knew that starting up front on this track would be good for me. I was asking where I should go there on the reds and they said keep it down low.”
Cautions on Lap 6 and on Lap 12 were both followed by a red flag on each restart, which kept the leader out of traffic throughout the race. Bickett hit his marks on the bottom groove around the dirt oval to win by 1.146 seconds.
Jacob Peterson finished second with Brandon Bosma third, Nake Eakin fourth and Bayley Ballenger fifth. It marked the season-best outing at Huset’s Speedway for Peterson, Eakin and Ballenger.
Bosma, Ballenger, Peterson and Eakin were the heat race winners. Corbin Erickson captured the B Main.
The next event at Huset’s Speedway is Sunday for Huset’s Hall of Fame Night featuring the Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars, the Nordstrom’s Automotive Late Model Street Stocks and the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series.
Huset’s Speedway
Brandon, South Dakota
Sunday, July 9, 2023
Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars
Nordica Warehouses Qualifying (2 Laps)
1. 5T-Ryan Timms, 10.732 (14)
2. 14T-Jack Dover, 10.798 (19)
3. 14H-Ayrton Gennetten, 10.798 (23)
4. 16-Brooke Tatnell, 10.812 (17)
5. 22-Riley Goodno, 10.836 (18)
6. 9-Chase Randall, 10.900 (16)
7. 24T-Christopher Thram, 10.925 (6)
8. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 10.959 (7)
9. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 10.979 (12)
10. 22K-Kaleb Johnson, 11.050 (9)
11. 83-Justin Henderson, 11.053 (25)
12. 83JR-Sam Henderson, 11.086 (26)
13. 10J-Justin Jacobsma, 11.136 (24)
14. 4-Cody Hansen, 11.172 (4)
15. 23W-Scott Winters, 11.173 (20)
16. 17B-Ryan Bickett, 11.189 (13)
17. 8H-Jade Hastings, 11.195 (3)
18. 47-Brant O’Banion, 11.223 (10)
19. 105-Cody Ihlen, 11.276 (11)
20. 3J-Dusty Zomer, 11.299 (1)
21. 5G-Gage Pulkrabek, 11.501 (15)
22. 22W-Aaron Werner, 11.506 (27)
23. 101-Chuck McGillivray, 11.688 (5)
24. 01-Jim Enga, 11.791 (21)
25. 5-Bill Wiese, 12.999 (8)
DNS: 11M-Brendan Mullen, 12.999
DNS: 111-Chad Frewaldt, 12.999.
Fatheadz Eyewear Heat Race #1 (10 Laps)
1. 22K-Kaleb Johnson (1)
2. 24T-Christopher Thram (2)
3. 16-Brooke Tatnell (3)
4. 5T-Ryan Timms (4)
5. 10J-Justin Jacobsma (5)
6. 105-Cody Ihlen (7)
7. 22W-Aaron Werner (8)
8. 5-Bill Wiese (9)
9. 17B-Ryan Bickett (6).
KND Safety Heat Race #2 (10 Laps)
1. 35-Skylar Prochaska (2)
2. 83-Justin Henderson (1)
3. 14T-Jack Dover (4)
4. 8H-Jade Hastings (6)
5. 22-Riley Goodno (3)
6. 4-Cody Hansen (5)
7. 3J-Dusty Zomer (7)
DNS: 101-Chuck McGillivray
DNS: 11M-Brendan Mullen.
Smith TI Heat Race #3 (10 Laps)
1. 13-Mark Dobmeier (2)
2. 83JR-Sam Henderson (1)
3. 9-Chase Randall (3)
4. 14H-Ayrton Gennetten (4)
5. 23W-Scott Winters (5)
6. 5G-Gage Pulkrabek (7)
7. 47-Brant O’Banion (6)
8. 01-Jim Enga (8)
DNS: 111-Chad Frewaldt.
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 24T-Christopher Thram (3)
2. 5T-Ryan Timms (6)
3. 14T-Jack Dover (7)
4. 9-Chase Randall (9)
5. 22K-Kaleb Johnson (4)
6. 83-Justin Henderson (10)
7. 3J-Dusty Zomer (20)
8. 14H-Ayrton Gennetten (5)
9. 83JR-Sam Henderson (11)
10. 13-Mark Dobmeier (8)
11. 8H-Jade Hastings (14)
12. 10J-Justin Jacobsma (13)
13. 105-Cody Ihlen (17)
14. 4-Cody Hansen (16)
15. 35-Skylar Prochaska (2)
16. 16-Brooke Tatnell (1)
17. 5G-Gage Pulkrabek (19)
18. 47-Brant O’Banion (18)
19. 22W-Aaron Werner (21)
20. 22-Riley Goodno (12)
21. 17B-Ryan Bickett (23)
22. 23W-Scott Winters (15)
23. 5-Bill Wiese (24)
24. 01-Jim Enga (22)
DNS: 101-Chuck McGillivray
DNS: 11M-Brendan Mullen
DNS: 111-Chad Frewaldt.
Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series
Gunderson Racing Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 23-Brandon Bosma (2)
2. 17D-Dillon Bickett (1)
3. 77-Taylor Ryan (4)
4. 17-Lee Goos Jr (5)
5. 18-Corbin Erickson (3)
6. 2D-Dusty Ballenger (6)
7. 7-Shane Fick (7).
Saldana Racing Products Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 6B-Bayley Ballenger (2)
2. F5-Tim Rustad (4)
3. 10-Trevor Serbus (6)
4. 1B-Brayden Wiese (1)
5. 74N-Luke Nellis (5)
6. 28-Nicholas Winter (3)
7. 9ER7V-John Otte (7).
Vahlco Wheels Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 80P-Jacob Peterson (1)
2. 12L-John Lambertz (2)
3. 31-Koby Werkmeister (4)
4. 18D-Dalton Domagala (3)
5. 91-Andrew Sullivan (5)
6. 48-Cole Olson (6)
7. 62J-Jay Masur (7).
Maxim Chassis Heat Race #4 (8 Laps)
1. 19-Nate Eakin (1)
2. 81-Jared Jansen (2)
3. 18T-Tyler Rabenberg (3)
4. 96-Blaine Stegenga (4)
5. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden (5)
6. 99-Mitchell Dvorak (6)
7. 28G-Gracyn Masur (7).
B-Main (10 Laps)
1. 18-Corbin Erickson (1)
2. 74N-Luke Nellis (2)
3. 91-Andrew Sullivan (3)
4. 2D-Dusty Ballenger (5)
5. 15V-Cole Vanderheiden (4)
6. 7-Shane Fick (9)
7. 28-Nicholas Winter (6)
8. 48-Cole Olson (7)
9. 9ER7V-John Otte (10)
10. 99-Mitchell Dvorak (8)
11. 62J-Jay Masur (11)
12. 28G-Gracyn Masur (12).
A-Main (20 Laps)
1. 17D-Dillon Bickett (1)
2. 80P-Jacob Peterson (2)
3. 23-Brandon Bosma (4)
4. 19-Nate Eakin (3)
5. 6B-Bayley Ballenger (5)
6. 74N-Luke Nellis (18)
7. 96-Blaine Stegenga (16)
8. 2D-Dusty Ballenger (20)
9. 91-Andrew Sullivan (19)
10. F5-Tim Rustad (10)
11. 10-Trevor Serbus (12)
12. 17-Lee Goos Jr (13)
13. 18-Corbin Erickson (17)
14. 18D-Dalton Domagala (15)
15. 12L-John Lambertz (6)
16. 18T-Tyler Rabenberg (8)
17. 1B-Brayden Wiese (14)
18. 31-Koby Werkmeister (11)
19. 81-Jared Jansen (7)
20. 77-Taylor Ryan (9).