12/31/2019
Deer Creek Speedway
Deer Creek Speedway 2019 Year In Review
By: Todd Narveson
The 24th season at the Deer Creek Speedway got off to a slow start. For the seventh year in a row the season opener did not take place on its scheduled date. In fact, the first three scheduled nights were cancelled and the opener took place on May 4.
For the 2019 season a total of 641-different drivers from 20-states and two Canadian provinces raced at the facility. There were 42-differen feature winners of those 13 were first time winners at the speedway. There have been 466-different feature winners in the tracks history.
NAPA Auto Care Centers USRA Modifieds
The season started with six different winners in the first six point nights. Josh Angst won the season opener then Jake Timm, Dustin Sorensen, Brandon Davis, Jason Cummins and Jacob Dahle all won main events.
Dahle’s win on June 29 was probably one of the most emotional wins in track history. Jacob’s father Jeff had passed away about a month before. Dahle wheeled their new Vanderbuilt car to a win the night before and then got his first ever win at Deer Creek. It was a great race when Dahle out ran Brad Waits for the win. The Deer Creek crowd response to Dahle in victory lane was spine tingling when they went crazy for the winner. Dahle was then joined by his Mom LeAnn in victory lane which made it a truly special ending to a great night.
Davis became the first repeat winner on July 13 and then owned the division after that. The 50iii swept to a seven race win streak to end the point season. That not only earned him the point championship but also the “King Of The Creek� title too.
Dustin Sorensen had a great season as well. Sorensen scored a feature win and was consistent with 11-top five finishes in the 12-point shows that were run.
Crenlo WISSOTA Super Stocks
Car counts remained consistent all season for the division. With 12-15 cars most nights, the racing was good on most nights the division competed in 2019.
Neil Eckhart might have won the most races, but Jeff Brauer won his eighth track championship. Eckhart won five times in 2019, but Brauer’s 12-top five’s in 12-shows was enough to claim the title.
The season started with four different winners. Traveling star Cole Searing came from Huron, South Dakota to win the opener. Brauer won week two with Schatney Sanders and then Eckhart grabbing a win.
Like Davis, Eckhart then went on a roll with a four race win streak. Sanders won again on July 27 and then Dylan Kromschroeder won his first at Deer Creek. The final three weeks had Ryan Wiome, Brauer and Eckhart in victory lane.
Dirt Doctor Trucking WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
The Midwest Modified class was the division with the most different winners this past year. Eight different drivers were able to score wins while 21-different racers had a top five finish and 21-won a heat race.
Mitch Weiss set the tone for his championship run when he won the season opener on May 4. Weiss would win three more times on June 1, June 22 and August 17. That along with 10-top five runs earned Weiss his first track title.
Don Schaefer ended bad luck and winless drought on August 24. Schaefer fended off soon to be champion Weiss for the hard earned win that night. It was the first win for Schaefer at the speedway since August 13, 2016.
The drive of the season came on May 25 when the class was a part of the USMTS show. Kylie Kath had issues in his heat race and had to run the B-Feature. Kath started 10th in that race and won it to qualify for the feature. Kylie started 17th in the main and worked his way through traffic. A last lap pass earned him a very dramatic win and the highlight for the night and possibly the season.
National Fleet Graphics USRA B-Mods
Jim Chisholm set the tone for the 2019 season when he won the first two point nights. Chisholm put a stranglehold on the point chase as he reeled off four straight wins from June 22 to July 27. Chisholm would lay claim to his second straight track title.
Parker Hale would be the only other driver to win more than once. Hale’s victories came back-to-back on August 17 and August 24. Jayden Larson won his first feature at Deer Creek on August 3. Other point night winners included Dan Hovden, Brandon Hare and Shaun Walski.
Adams Graphix WISSOTA Street Stocks
Kory Adams won the season opener, but then Dustin Doughty went on a tear. Doughty won the next five races from May 11 to June 29. Doughty would not crack victory lane after that but finished in the top five on five more occasions to seal his first track championship.
Danny Richards won three times this season and Kory Adams won twice. Calvin Iverson won on July 27 and last year’s champion Blake Adams drove a Brauer Racing #34 to a win on August 3.
Just like the Midwest Modifieds the Street Stocks had 21-different drivers take home a top five finish in the 12-point night shows.
Slingshots
The Junior Slingshot division was dominated by Mason Stockhausen. Stockhausen won five times to claim the season title over Curtis Parmenter and Weston Madison. Kolton Brauer won all six Senior division features this season. Brauer earned the title over Toby Kennedy and Koby Wagner.
Special Events
The first big special event scheduled was the NAPA North Start Nationals on May 18. Unfortunately the event for the Lucas Oil Late Models was rained out for the second time in three years.
The very next weekend the USMTS Modifieds rolled into town for their annual Memorial Day weekend stop. Dustin Sorensen would take the win over Hunter Marriott and Ryan Gustin. Elijah Zevenbergen won the Stock Cars, Jim Chisholm won the B-Mods over a huge 50-car field and Kylie Kath won the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds.
On July 6, the 40th Annual Gopher 50 was held with the World of Outlaw Late Models once again on the card. Brandon Sheppard etched his name in Gopher 50 history with the win over Ricky Weiss and Jimmy Mars. Dustin Sorensen claimed another big win in the USRA Modifieds which earned him a cool five grand.
The Harris Clash for IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods was held on Tuesday, August 6. A huge field of 92-Modifieds and 52-Sport Mods were on hand and put on another great show. Austin Arneson won the Modifieds over Tom Berry Jr. and Cayden Carter. Brayten Carter won in a fantastic Sport Mod main over Colby Fett.
The J&S-JCB Labor Day Duel took place on August 31. The USMTS Modifieds were back in action and once again it was a Deer Creek regular in victory lane. Brandon Davis took the win over Derek Ramirez and Dustin Sorensen. Micth Hovden topped the USRA Stock Cars, Kris Jackson won the B-Mods and Kylie Kath guest drove Zach Elward’s Street Stock and won their feature.
The first annual Kid’s Dreams Come True Stock Car Nationals was held on September 14. A whopping 48-USRA Stock Cars and 53-Hobby Stocks put on a superb show for the fans. Dillon Anderson staved off Kyle Falck and Travis Shipman for the Stock car title. The Hobby Stock feature was outstanding as Jamie Songer held off a charge from Eric Stanton and Justin Luinenberg for the win.
The Featherlite Fall Jamboree was the final weekend of the season on September 19-21. Night number one had Derek Ramirez park his 4r in victory lane for the first time at Deer Creek. R.C. Whitwell won the special non-qualifier race that night. Jim Chisholm beat soon-to-be USRA B-Mod national champ Kris Jackson for the win.
Night two is was USMTS Modified national champion Rodney Sanders who topped Dustin Sorensen and Jake O’Neil for the win. Jim Chisholm again topped the USRA B-Mods, this time over Dan Hovden and Jared Boumeester.
The finale for the Modifieds was won by Deer Creek regular Jacob Bleess. Bleess led all 50-laps to earn he biggest win of his career and the $10,000-payday. Brandon Davis would finish second with Sanders in third. R.C. Whitwell would again lay claim to the win in the Non-Qualifier. Jim Chisholm would complete the sweep when he won the B-Mods for the third night in a row.
Thank You
The speedway would like to thank everyone that helps make Saturday night special during the summer months. To all the drivers, crews, fans, sponsors and employees thanks for another great season at Deer Creek, you are makes it truly special. We hope you all have a happy and safe off-season and hope to see you all in the spring.
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