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Ballenger Rides High for the Win

Dusty Ballenger of Harrisburg, SD used the high line of the racetrack to get by John Lambertz of Sioux Falls on lap 13 to win Friday nights 305 Sprint Car Main Event. It was Lambertz using his pole starting position to take the lead on the start and set the pace with Ballenger behind him. Jody Rosenboom wasted little time making his way from 8th to 3rd and keep the pressure on the leaders. Ballenger and Lambertz would battle side by side with each other for multiple laps with Lambertz rolling the bottom and Ballenger flying around the top. Ballenger would eventually grab the lead for good on lap 13 working his way through traffic and on to the win. Rosenboom would stay close in the battle throughout and make the move on Lambertz coming out of the final turn to take 2nd while Lambertz settled for 3rd. Shane Fick of Brandon came home in fourth ahead of Jacob Hughes. Micah Slendy, Eli Hargreaves, and Rosenboom collected the heat wins.
In the Lems Auto Recyclers Sportsmans it was tough going being upfront. Kaden Klaassen took the early lead with Wyatt Steenhoven right behind him, but as they were battling for the race lead Steenhoven would suffer a flat right rear tire and lost his fuel cap in the process forcing him to retire from the event. Klaassen would continue to lead and was looking like a sure thing until the final lap when a caution came out and his car over heated forcing him to pull in. That would set up a 2 lap dash between Tyler Bradley and Brian Kroon. These two would battle into the corners on the restart and banged doors coming to the white flag, but in the end it was Bradley holding the edge on the final go around getting his 2nd win of the season. Kroon would take 2nd ahead of Todd Steenhoven, Leon Sneller, and Kent Miller.
The Sybesma Graphics Hobby Stock Feature took a little bit to get going with some early cautions, but once it did it was a fast paced affair. Tyler Schlumbohm lead from start to finish and set a furious pace on the field with the top 5 cars staying right to his back bumper. Schlumbohm holding on to the lead couldn’t see the positions swapping behind him, but he could definitely feel the pressure from Brady Klaassen and Dustin Gulbrandson showing their nose a few times. Schlumbohm would get his 2nd win of the season with Klaassen coming home 2nd. Eric Gaul grabbed 3rd away from Gulbrandson and Bryant Klaassen filled out the top 5.
The J&L Sales and Storage Bmods put on a great show for the fans to keep them on their feet. Randy VanVeldhuizen had the lead on the start with Jackson Mulder battling him on the high side for the first few laps. After a caution the lead belonged to Mulder with Trevor Tesch now his competitor. Behind them it was the Johnson brothers on the move with Tyler and Tracy moving through the field and into the top 5. Tracy would have and unfortunate end to his run after contact with Dereck VanVeldhuizen cause a tire to go down and eliminated him from contention. On the restart though Tyler would capitalize and jump to 2nd and then one lap later the lead and set the car on cruise control out front. At the halfway point of the race Johnson switched from the highside to the lowside and that aloud Mulder to start reeling back in the leader on the top. Mulder got a great run off the high line in 2 coming down the backstretch and would reassume the lead with 3 laps to go and pick up his 3rd win of the year.
Colton Arends wasting no time showing his dominance in the Precision Auto Body Stock Car feature. Darrin Korthals used his front row starting spot to own the top spot on the start, but it was Arends charging from 10th to 3rd in two laps and then into 2nd by lap 3. He ran down Korthals in the next few laps and the 11k did all he could to hold him off, but Arends was just too strong and took the lead on lap 6. A few restarts kept Korthals within striking distance and giving him a few chances to make the run on the topside of the race track, but again Arends was too strong on the bottom and was able to drive to his 4th win of the season at Rapid Speedway. Korthals held off Dustin Gulbrandson for 2nd while Rich Gregoire charged from 16th to finish 4th ahead of Scott Overgaard.
Racing resumes again Friday night as Van’s Implement presents the BMod Special.

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