HURON — Positioning for the opportunity to claim “Orv’s $5,000 Pot of Gold” will shift into high gear during a Fourth of July Special set for Monday at Dakota State Fair Speedway.
Drivers in four classes — late model, modified, Midwest modified and street stocks — will aim to secure a spot in the top 15 of the local point standings during the third of four events to be held this season at the Huron track.
“I’d expect more cars, it will be the last chance to really qualify for the Pot of Gold,” DSFS track promoter Orville Chenoweth said.
Monday’s program, which begins at 7 p.m., will provide some of those drivers sitting outside of the top 15 to leap frog into a qualifying position and most movement could come in the late model division.
With the first two events during Wheel Jam being part of the Tri-State Late Model Series, there are a number of drivers in the top 15 from Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska who would need to be in attendance on Monday in order to maintain their positioning for the chance at the Orv’s Pot of Gold.
“We’ve got 37 guys in the late model standings right now and if any of those top guys miss a night, they might not make it,” Chenoweth said. “You’d think they would be here, because there is nowhere else racing.”
One of the drivers hoping to make a move into the top 15 of the late model standings on Monday will be David Carlson of Huron.
After racing in the first event on June 2, Carlson had motor issues during a trip to Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen on June 3 and wasn’t able to participate in the June 4 event at DSFS. He is looking forward to getting back on his home track on Monday.
“We switched our motor program and we’ve actually been OK in keeping the motor in the car,” Carlson said. “ We’ve been OK, but I don’t think we’re where we need to be yet.
“Obviously, the competition is so good that you have to be on top of your game,” he said. “We’re missing a little bit of something and I’m not exactly sure what that is, but we’ve been OK.”
David Carlson of Huron powers his WISSOTA late model through turn four during a Test-N-Tune event held May 11 at Dakota State Fair Speedway.
Cole Searing of Huron is the current leader in the late model standings, after earning the win during the June 4 event. He is coming off is first-ever win on the WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series on Saturday at Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minn., on Saturday.
Josh Skorczewski of Aberdeen is second in the local standings, followed by Trevor Andeson of Watertown, Dustin Arthur of St. Lawrence and Chad Becker of Aberdeen.
Some of the local favorites sitting outside of the top 15 in the standings are Scott Ward of Watertown, who is 16th; Justin Boomsma of Huron, who is 21st; Kent Arment of Aberdeen, who is 23rd, after having the victory on June 4 stripped from him due to a disqualification on weight; and Carlson, who is 29th.
“That’s a really good thing that Orville is doing with the top 15 for the Pot of Gold,” Carlson said.
Carlson is still looking for first win this season. He has four top-5 finishes in the 13 events this season, including a runner-up finish on Saturday at Miller Central Speedway, where he led 19 of the 20 laps in the feature race.
“Last Saturday we were pretty decent, but Sunday we weren’t decent at all,” Carlson said of struggling to find the consistency needed to be a front runner each night out. He is definitely looking forward to a return to DSFS.
“Huron has a beautiful facility and Orville always puts on a professional show,” Carlson said. “The lighting is awesome and the facility is second to none to all the other tracks. The kind of show that Orville puts on is very professional and well run for sure.”
Scott Hansen of Garden City is the current leader in the Midwest modified standings for the Pot of Gold at DSFS. He has a one-point edge over Lorin Johnson of Miller for the top spot.
Johnson, who challenged for the victory during the previous two events this season at the Huron track, continues to seek his 100th career victory at DSFS. He continues to sit at 99 wins entering Monday’s event.
Rounding out the top 10 in the Midwest modified standings are Tracy Johnson of Lake Preston, Jake Wranek of Winner; Matt Heinzerling of Spearfish, Blake Meyer of Huron; Cory Berquist of Huron; Jayme Peterson of Highmore, Adam Brotherton of Huron and Britt Williams of Ft. Pierre.
Some of the local drivers sitting outside of the top 15 and will be looking to clilmb in the standings on Monday are Lane Johnson of Miller, who is No. 18 and Jordan Kienow of Miller, who is 22nd.
With one event in the books this season, the street stock division could also see some movement in the standings on Monday.
“In the street stocks you have Broc Stout, who is always a good runner, he could come and knock someone out.” Chenoweth said.
Stout of Winner suffered mechanical issues during the season-opening event at the Huron track and sits 20th in the standings heading into Monday’s race.
Leonard Ferguson of Kyle holds the top spot in the street stock standings, with Maria Broksieck of Goodwin holding the second spot.
Chris Serr of Aberdeen is third, followed by Matt Goth of Huron; Andy Rossow of Florence, Michael Bogh of Huron; Luke Johnson of Miller; Troy Murner of Rapid City, Jayden Bogh of Huron and Travis Oxandaburu of Huron.
The modifieds will be making their first appearance of the season at DSFS, thus a top 15 in the standings will be established on Monday.
“If we only get 15 modifieds, then we’ll have our top 15,” said Chenoweth.
Certainly aiming to claim one of the top spots in the standings will be Dale Ames of Huron, who has been on a roll at area tracks thus far this season. He has 12 top-five finishes in 14 events this season, including five wins.
After winning on Friday at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, Ames repeated the feat on Saturday at Miller Central Speedway.
In addition to action on the track Monday, fans will be greeted with a special guest for the Christmas in July celebration.
Additionally, Chenoweth wanted to advise fans of construction on the outside of the grandstands. A walkway will be provided for fans to enter the facility due to road construction along the front of the grandstands. He also noted the new roofing being installed in the entrance.
