(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – JACKSON, Minn. (July 26, 2024) – Chase Randall and Brandon Halverson collected the spoils of victory on Friday during the Merle Johnson Memorial Border Battle presented by New Fashion Pork & SW Broadband at Jackson Motorplex.
Randall captured the $7,000 top prize and a unique trophy for winning the Midwest Sprint Touring Series 410 Sprint Cars A Main.
“It’s really special to win a really, really special race,” he said. “I definitely felt a lot of pressure. Once I got to lapped traffic I was committed to the top in (turns) one and two. Once I got close to guys I felt myself slowing down and couldn’t get off the corners. I was searching a little bit. I saw the bottom was still good in (turns) one and two. We were able to hold them off.
“We’ve been making a lot of gains the past couple of weeks on the bigger tracks. It’s good to head into these next couple of weeks with a lot of momentum.”
Randall led the distance of the 25-lap feature, but it wasn’t without any drama. Traffic began to jumble things up in the final 10 laps as the top five began bunching together. Aaron Reutzel passed Garet Williamson for second place on Lap 20 and Scott Bogucki got by Williamson for third place two laps later. Bogucki then passed Reutzel down the backstretch on Lap 24, but when Reutzel slid in front of Bogucki entering turn three the two made contact. Bogucki endured a vicious flip that ended his night early and Reutzel finished toward the back of the pack as well.
Kaleb Johnson inherited second place for a green-white-checkered restart. Randall was smooth out front during the final two laps to win by 1.114 seconds and Williamson made a last-lap pass on Johnson to score a second-place result.
“We were good early on,” Williamson said. “In traffic we really struggled with being balled up. Hats off to Chase and their whole crew. I struggled where to be at on the track. Luckily I got by Kaleb to get back up the podium. To be on the podium is nothing to hang our heads about. Second stings, but we’ll build on it.”
Johnson’s third-place effort marked his third podium outing in as many starts at Jackson Motorplex this season.
“I’m a little upset with myself on that last corner,” he said. “I drove it too hard and let Garet get by me. Congrats to Chase and the No. 2ks team.”
Matt Juhl finished fourth after starting 10th and 11th-starting Christopher Thram was fifth.
Kerry Madsen and Randall were quickest in their qualifying groups before the heat races were won by Johnson, Brooke Tatnell, Bogucki and Dusty Zomer. Tim Estenson was the B Main winner.
Halverson held the lead throughout the 20-lap Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Cars presented by Heser Auto & Detailing main event. It marked his first winged sprint car win at the track.
“Steve Stoermer allowed me to drive this car tonight and it’s the best 305 sprint car I’ve ever sat in,” he said.
Jacob Peterson reeled in Halverson as traffic neared on Lap 8, but a caution slowed the race. Halverson built more than a one-second advantage following the restart before Peterson closed to within two tenths of a second as Halverson was stymied while trying to lap a fellow competitor with only a handful of circuits remaining. However, Halverson was able to make the move in the waning laps and hold on for the victory by 0.462 seconds.
Peterson placed second with Jeremy Kerzman ending third. Brett Allen was fourth and Brandon Bosma advanced from 13th to fifth.
Jake Greenwood, Mathew Jasper, Brandon Buysse, Kerzman and Allen were the heat race winners. Hunter Hanson and Tyler Rabenberg recorded B Main victories.
The next event at Jackson Motorplex is the FENDT Jackson Nationals, which runs Aug. 15-17 and showcases the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
THE MERLE JOHNSON MEMORIAL BORDER BATTLE PRESENTED BY NEW FASHION PORK & SW BROADBAND RESULTS AT JACKSON MOTORPLEX (July 26, 2024) –
Midwest Sprint Touring Series 410 Sprint Cars
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2KS-Chase Randall (1); 2. 23-Garet Williamson (2); 3. 22-Kaleb Johnson (5); 4. 09-Matt Juhl (10); 5. 24T-Christopher Thram (11); 6. 3-Tim Kaeding (9); 7. 16-Brooke Tatnell (4); 8. 13-Mark Dobmeier (17); 9. 18T-Tanner Holmes (12); 10. 55-Kerry Madsen (7); 11. 45X-Jace Park (13); 12. 4-Cameron Martin (24); 13. 11M-Brendan Mullen (15); 14. 95-Tyler Drueke (19); 15. 44-Chris Martin (22); 16. 64-Andy Pake (23); 17. 51A-Koby Werkmeister (20); 18. 14T-Tim Estenson (21); 19. 29-Logan McCandless (18); 20. (DNF) G5-Gage Pulkrabek (16); 21. (DNF) 87-Aaron Reutzel (3); 22. (DNF) 10-Scott Bogucki (6); 23. (DNF) J2-John Carney II (14); 24. (DNF) 3J-Dusty Zomer (8).
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 14T-Tim Estenson (2); 2. 44-Chris Martin (3); 3. 64-Andy Pake (4); 4. 4-Cameron Martin (7); 5. 14H-Scott Winters (6); 6. 3P-Sawyer Phillips (8); 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska (5); 8. 10X-Trevor Serbus (11); 9. 17B-Ryan Bickett (10); 10. 9-Dominic Dobesh (9); 11. 4W-Matt Wasmund (12); 12. 2K-Kevin Ingle (14); 13. 2-Dylan Opdahl (17); 14. 18-Corbin Erickson (15); 15. (DNS) 83X-Sam Henderson; 16. (DNS) 74N-Luke Nellis; 17. (DNS) 8H-Jacob Hughes.
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Kaleb Johnson (1); 2. 55-Kerry Madsen (4); 3. 09-Matt Juhl (2); 4. 3-Tim Kaeding (3); 5. 13-Mark Dobmeier (5); 6. 35-Skylar Prochaska (6); 7. 4-Cameron Martin (8); 8. 9-Dominic Dobesh (9); 9. 74N-Luke Nellis (7); 10. 18-Corbin Erickson (10).
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Brooke Tatnell (2); 2. J2-John Carney II (1); 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel (4); 4. 95-Tyler Drueke (6); 5. 44-Chris Martin (8); 6. G5-Gage Pulkrabek (3); 7. 83X-Sam Henderson (5); 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett (7); 9. (DNF) 8H-Jacob Hughes (9).
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 10-Scott Bogucki (3); 2. 45X-Jace Park (1); 3. 24T-Christopher Thram (2); 4. 2KS-Chase Randall (4); 5. 51A-Koby Werkmeister (6); 6. 29-Logan McCandless (5); 7. 3P-Sawyer Phillips (7); 8. 10X-Trevor Serbus (8); 9. 2K-Kevin Ingle (9); 10. (DNS) 78-Bill Wagner.
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 3J-Dusty Zomer (2); 2. 11M-Brendan Mullen (1); 3. 23-Garet Williamson (4); 4. 18T-Tanner Holmes (3); 5. 64-Andy Pake (6); 6. 14H-Scott Winters (7); 7. 14T-Tim Estenson (5); 8. 4W-Matt Wasmund (8); 9. (DNF) 2-Dylan Opdahl (9).
Qualifying A (2 Laps): 1. 55-Kerry Madsen, 00:12.966 (2); 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 00:13.020 (8); 3. 3-Tim Kaeding, 00:13.178 (1); 4. G5-Gage Pulkrabek, 00:13.186 (14); 5. 09-Matt Juhl, 00:13.186 (5); 6. 16-Brooke Tatnell, 00:13.309 (11); 7. 22-Kaleb Johnson, 00:13.341 (4); 8. J2-John Carney II, 00:13.357 (18); 9. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 00:13.361 (9); 10. 83X-Sam Henderson, 00:13.377 (6); 11. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 00:13.484 (13); 12. 95-Tyler Drueke, 00:13.544 (19); 13. 74N-Luke Nellis, 00:13.545 (12); 14. 17B-Ryan Bickett, 00:13.573 (15); 15. 4-Cameron Martin, 00:13.689 (16); 16. 44-Chris Martin, 00:13.698 (10); 17. 9-Dominic Dobesh, 00:13.766 (17); 18. 8H-Jacob Hughes, 00:13.984 (3); 19. 18-Corbin Erickson, 00:14.425 (7).
Qualifying B (2 Laps): 1. 2KS-Chase Randall, 00:13.083 (2); 2. 23-Garet Williamson, 00:13.131 (3); 3. 10-Scott Bogucki, 00:13.218 (18); 4. 18T-Tanner Holmes, 00:13.256 (4); 5. 24T-Christopher Thram, 00:13.331 (1); 6. 3J-Dusty Zomer, 00:13.340 (17); 7. 45X-Jace Park, 00:13.348 (15); 8. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 00:13.363 (8); 9. 29-Logan McCandless, 00:13.386 (7); 10. 14T-Tim Estenson, 00:13.422 (12); 11. 51A-Koby Werkmeister, 00:13.447 (6); 12. 64-Andy Pake, 00:13.450 (5); 13. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 00:13.523 (13); 14. 14H-Scott Winters, 00:13.678 (16); 15. 10X-Trevor Serbus, 00:13.709 (19); 16. 4W-Matt Wasmund, 00:13.717 (10); 17. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 00:13.889 (11); 18. 2-Dylan Opdahl, 00:14.361 (14); 19. (DNS) 78-Bill Wagner.
Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series presented by Heser Auto & Detailing
A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 4SS-Brandon Halverson (1); 2. 80P-Jacob Peterson (3); 3. 3K-Jeremy Kerzman (4); 4. 1300-Brett Allen (5); 5. 23-Brandon Bosma (13); 6. 17-Lee Goos Jr (19); 7. 30-Matt Johnson (10); 8. 55R-Ryan Serrao (2); 9. 9A-Hunter Hanson (16); 10. 85-Mathew Jasper (6); 11. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk (20); 12. 43-Jake Greenwood (9); 13. X-Dylan Waxdahl (15); 14. 2D-Dusty Ballenger (21); 15. 56-Bill Johnson (7); 16. 9X-Ramsie Shoenrock (18); 17. 24G-Rob Rawson (12); 18. 23C-Ben Crees (14); 19. (DNF) 05-Brandon Allen (11); 20. (DNF) 18-Tyler Rabenberg (17); 21. (DNF) 24B-Brandon Buysse (8).
B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 9A-Hunter Hanson (1); 2. 9X-Ramsie Shoenrock (2); 3. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk (3); 4. 53X-Joe Miller (4); 5. 6B-Bayley Ballenger (5); 6. 19-Nate Eakin (8); 7. 28-Madi Miller (7); 8. 13-Mel Halverson (6); 9. 62J-Jay Masur (10); 10. (DNS) 90-Eric Schulz; 11. (DNS) 81X-Kyla Anderson; 12. (DNS) 41-Jeff Wilke; 13. (DNS) 15-Laela Eisenschenk.
B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 18-Tyler Rabenberg (1); 2. 17-Lee Goos Jr (3); 3. 2D-Dusty Ballenger (2); 4. 12L-John Lambertz (4); 5. 91X-Johnny Sullivan (8); 6. 81-Jared Jansen (9); 7. 9-Laney Moore (5); 8. 6-Logan Moore (7); 9. (DNF) 4-Mike Stien (6); 10. (DNF) 88-Nathan Thelen (10); 11. (DNF) 28G-Gracyn Masur (12); 12. (DNS) 35X-Jeff Lackey.
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 43-Jake Greenwood (4); 2. 55R-Ryan Serrao (1); 3. 05-Brandon Allen (5); 4. 9A-Hunter Hanson (7); 5. 53X-Joe Miller (6); 6. 13-Mel Halverson (2); 7. (DNF) 90-Eric Schulz (3); 8. (DNF) 81X-Kyla Anderson (8).
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 85-Mathew Jasper (1); 2. 80P-Jacob Peterson (3); 3. 24G-Rob Rawson (2); 4. 9X-Ramsie Shoenrock (4); 5. 6B-Bayley Ballenger (7); 6. 28-Madi Miller (6); 7. (DNF) 62J-Jay Masur (5); 8. (DNF) 41-Jeff Wilke (8).
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 24B-Brandon Buysse (3); 2. 56-Bill Johnson (2); 3. 23-Brandon Bosma (5); 4. 1-Amelia Eisenschenk (7); 5. 17-Lee Goos Jr (8); 6. 19-Nate Eakin (4); 7. (DNF) 35X-Jeff Lackey (1); 8. (DNF) 15-Laela Eisenschenk (6).
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 3K-Jeremy Kerzman (2); 2. 4SS-Brandon Halverson (8); 3. 23C-Ben Crees (1); 4. 18-Tyler Rabenberg (5); 5. 12L-John Lambertz (3); 6. 4-Mike Stien (7); 7. 91X-Johnny Sullivan (6); 8. (DNF) 28G-Gracyn Masur (4).
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 1300-Brett Allen (2); 2. 30-Matt Johnson (1); 3. X-Dylan Waxdahl (3); 4. 2D-Dusty Ballenger (8); 5. 9-Laney Moore (5); 6. 6-Logan Moore (7); 7. 81-Jared Jansen (6); 8. 88-Nathan Thelen (4).
UP NEXT –
The FENDT Jackson Nationals: Aug. 15 - the Gunderson Racing Inc. Midwest Sprint Touring Series 360 Sprint Cars and the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Cars presented by Heser Auto & Detailing; Aug. 16 – the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Cars presented by Heser Auto & Detailing; Aug. 17 – the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the Gunderson Racing Inc. Midwest Sprint Touring Series 360 Sprint Cars
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.JacksonMotorplex.com
X: http://www.twitter.com/JacksonMotorplx
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JacksonMotorplex
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacksonmotorplex/
JACKSON MOTORPLEX –
Jackson Motorplex is a 4/10-mile dirt oval located in Jackson, Minn. It hosts special events from May through September, including races with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Midwest Power Series, Midwest Sprint Touring Series and more. For more information, visit http://www.JacksonMotorplex.com.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jul 27, 2024
- Article Date: 7/26/2024 by Inside Line Promotions