By SHELDON WICKWAR
Special to the Hays Post
Eighty-two race teams checked into the legendary RPM Speedway for championship night racing. Taking home feature winners were Gage Porter in the sport compacts, Blaine Walt in the sport mods, Zach Olmstead in the hobby stocks, Kyle Pfeifer in the stock cars and Daniel Gottschalk in the modifieds. Taking home 2024 season track championships were Rileigh Flohrs in the sport compact, Zach Olmstead in the hobby stock, Blaine Walt in the sport mod, Kyle Pfeifer in the stock car and Daniel Gottschalk in the modifieds.
The sport compacts started the evening off, they ran two six-lap heat races won by Kaishen Brack and Alison Jeske. Their fifteen-lap feature event started with a front row of Kaishen Brack and Alison Jeske, Kaishen Brack led early on but quickly Kyle Mortensen and Gage Porter would fight for second, with Porter grabbing the lead after a few laps. Jake Schwien broke after a few laps, and that would hand the championship over to Rileigh Flohrs, meanwhile nobody could catch Gage Porter as he ran away with the feature win. Gage Porter picked up win number five on the season, second was track champion Rileigh Flohrs, third was Connor Schwien, fourth was Kyle Mortensen and fifth was Kaishen Brack. Hard charger in the event was Rileigh Flohrs who gained seven spots, other nice runs included Connor Schwien up five spots and Gage Porter up three spots.
The hobby stocks were second on the program, they ran three eight-lap heat races won by Cody Williams, Colton Czapanskiy and Trent Matson. Their twenty-lap feature main event started with a front row of Blake Holmes and Danny Schulte. Holmes got the early lead, meanwhile Zach Olmstead, Jonathan Saliba and Cody Williams were charging to the front. Dion Priddy gained the lead on lap two, with Williams right behind him. Lap three saw Tyler Heath spin, he was able to continue. The field restarted and Williams found the lead. Williams led for a while, before Zach Olmstead was able to get by. Once Olmstead found the lead, he cruised to the feature win, along with grabbing the track championship. Second was Cody Williams, third was Colton Czapanskiy, fourth was Dylan Bell and fifth was Trent Matson. Hard charger in the event was Dylan Bell who gained fifteen spots, other nice runs included Zach Olmstead up nine spots, and Colton Czapanskiy up eight spots.
The sport mods were third on the program, they ran three eight-lap heat races won by Brianna Maughlin, Cody Gearhart and Blaine Walt. Their twenty-lap feature event started with a front row of Cody Gearhart and Dalton Bell. Blaine Walt started tenth in the feature event, it took a handful of laps, but he found himself up front, and then got to the lead, and stormed away with the feature event win, securing a track championship after Brianna Maughlin was forced to retire from the race prematurely with an issue. Blaine Walt picked up his fifth RPM track championship, after collecting feature win number six on the season. Second was Tyler Watts, third was Cody Gearhart, fourth was Adam Weber and fifth was Cody Williams. Hard chargers in the event were Cody Williams, Preston Donovan, Ethan Zweygardt, and Justin Meserve who each gained eleven spots. Other nice runs included Blaine Walt up nine spots, Dallas Chambers up seven spots, Dalton Chambers up six spots, and Tyler Watts along with Jeff Hunter gained five spots each.
The stock cars were fourth on the program, they ran two eight-lap heat races won by Garrett Hager and Tathan Burkhart. Their twenty-lap feature event started with a front row of Troy Burkhart and Garrett Hager. Troy Burkhart led the bulk of the first half of the feature event, before Kyle Pfeifer was able to get by Tathan Burkhart held on to second or third throughout the feature event but was unable to find victory lane to have a shot at the championship. Kyle Pfeifer picked up the feature win, along with the track championship. Second was Tathan Burkhart, third was Garrett Hager, fourth was Tim Watts and fifth was Troy Burkhart. Hard charger in the event was Kyle Pfeifer who gained three spots.
The modifieds closed out the show, they ran two eight-lap heat races won by Clay Money and Dylan Sherfick. Their twenty-lap feature event started with a front row of Kaid Calhoon and Dalton Murphy, quickly Jake Nightingale found the race lead, and led the first eight laps before breaking a right rear shock. The broken shock occurred on a restart which formed a parking lot including championship contenders Daniel Gottschalk and Clay Money, both returned to the feature event. Daniel Gottschalk charged from the rear of the field to win the race and collect his fourth track championship at RPM Speedway. Second was Dylan Sherfick, third was Kyle Rohleder, fourth was Clay Money and fifth was Tyler Harr. Hard chargers in the event were Daniel Gottschalk and Ayden Steffens who gained eight spots, other nice runs included Tyler Harr up seven spots, and Dylan Sherfick up five spots.
RPM's next event will be Fall Nationals, which take place Oct. 3, 4 and 5. This big show to end the year will feature all five regular IMCA classes, along with Dirt Car Late Models, and the local cruisers class.