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Moderators: StanM

The sixth day of the 9th Annual GRP Racing Trivia Contest saw six additional entries arrive for competition at the MDTR Speedway. There was a bid for the lead in the sprint car division. We'll start off our nightly report with late models and then build up to the sprint cars.

After completing his run in his sprinter, Ray Beste unloaded his Malcuit powered DDS Chassis late model for the first laps at MDTR with his new ride. Ray had made a couple of previous contest appearances, but that was with his old asphalt style car. He felt his new dirt entry was sure to help his performance. Ray started off strong but soon found the handle fading away. Ray guessed at several corrections to try and bring his DDS car under control, but he was not able to fully recover. A scrape of the wall on lap 13 started his troubles. Ray managed to bring his ill-handling machine home with a 24 point score. He vowed to be back next week with his potent I-94 entries.

Roger Koth made the long tow in from Pierre, SD today. Roger had the late model, super stock and modified in his stacker trailer. No sprint car entry this year for Roger. Fans at the MDTR Speedway quickly dubbed Roger "The One Armed Bandit" this year, as Roger had been involved in an accident and broke his right arm. Roger brought his Chevy Monte Carlo #36k late model trackside and turned in a decent run with a 20 point score. That's batting 50% which is exactly the amount of use he had with his arms (one good and one out of commission). It wasn't easy for him to get in and out of his ride, but Roger wanted to compete in his fourth contest. He'll be back next week with his mod and super.

The sprint car division was active once again today. The 2002 champion Doug Scurr pulled through the back gate. As soon as contest fans heard of this, they knew Doug would be a serious contender. Doug roared trackside with his DS Racing #22x sprinter. As he neared the halfway mark, he was looking like a solid top five runner. The second half of his effort saw him struggle a bit on several laps. Doug knew he would not garner his second contest title when he rode under Stan's checkers with a 30 point score. The top running duo from Tea had dodged another bullet.

Following an impressive rookie run last year, Tyler Urban from Lennox, SD returned to the MDTR Speedway looking to improve upon his 9th place finish. When the "Lennox Lightning" brought his Urban Assault Vehicle sprinter to the staging area, the photographers crowded around. Tyler has an awesome paint scheme on his racer. Once on the track, Tyler quickly got down to business. The South Dakota runners in the sprint car division are always tough competitors. Tyler is no different. With more laps on what can be a tricky MDTR surface, Tyler will no doubt be up front. For now he settled in with a 28 point score. The Urban Assault Vehicle was a popular spot following the races, as many fans wanted a photo op or to get a sharp looking driver handout from Tyler.

Since his first effort in the sprint car class way back in the 3rd Annual contest in 2002 resulted in an upside down gilhooly in turn 2, Long Prairie's John Lackmann has been coming back each and every year to try his luck in the wild winged wonders. John is a multi-time champion in the modified division, but his sprint car exploits have been less than stellar. John is a good sport about it though, and as I mentioned yesterday when he ran his late model, a real crowd favorite. This year John sported a new look Killer Kerz Chassis for his #2X0 sprinter. Although he jumped the cushion once and appeared headed for the wall, John recovered and kept his entry upright. He finished with a 19 point score. John knows his sprint car effort will likely never place him with the frontrunners, but he still enjoys the challenges presented by this class. Look for John to bring out his Big C0CK Chassis modified next week.

Sometime the number 13 can be unlucky. Sometimes it is not. Our 13th entry in the sprint car division this year comes from Jackson Minnesota's own Nick Lusk. Nick was making his third contest appearance. He turned in a strong effort last year, but this year Nick really stepped up his program with the Lusk Racing #22 sprinter. In fact, many contest fans were wide-eyed at his performance. From the moment Nick blasted on to the MDTR high-banks, everybody knew he was going to be contender. At last the Southern Minnesota fans had a real strong challenger for the lead. Nick blew by contestants left and right, high and low. Soon he was closing in on the lead duo of Todd Boots and Chris Timmerman. The crowd went crazy as he pulled alongside. It was three-wide to the checkers! Could he pull it off? Oh so close at the line with a photo finish. Nick would post an incredible 38 point score for his run and although tied with the leaders, he would run third in the standings due to the earliest entry tie-breaker. As the crowd filed out, they were still talking about the great finish and how the "Tea Tornado" Todd Boots had narrowly escaped with the lead once again after day 6 in the contest.

With just one day left during the first week of competition in the contest, one veteran observer noted that there were no rookie contenders in the late model division so far. Maybe the final day will see a rookie entrant grab the VFC Rookie of the Year Award. It might be worth their while, as GRP always pays out for top rookie honors in each division. The final day of the contest usually sees a flury of activity with many times more than a dozen entries arriving. Can Todd Boots and Mark Schreiner hold on for one more day to claim the champion titles in the 9th Annual contest or will a last minute entry knock one or both from their #1 running positions? Stay tuned.

Current point standings through Jan 25 (Day 6)

Late Model Division:

1. Mark Schreiner, Hutchinson MN = 36

2. Chris Stepan, St. Cloud MN = 36

3. Kevin Mudrak, Superior WI = 35

4. Tony Steuck, Watertown SD = 34

5. John Lackmann, Long Prairie MN = 32

6. Brad Luepke, Bonduel WI = 30

7. Jason Richert, Cadott WI = 24

8. Ray Beste, Sauk Centre MN = 24

9. Brent Creaser, Menomonie WI = 21

10. Roger Koth, Pierre SD = 20

Sprint Car Division:

1. Todd Boots, Tea SD = 38

2. Chris Timmerman, Tea SD = 38

3. Nick Lusk, Jackson MN = 38

4. Shane Trondson, St. Paul MN = 36

5. Ron Haugstad, Brandon SD = 36

6. Mark Schreiner, Hutchinson MN = 34 ROY

7. Kevin Mudrak, Superior WI = 32.5

8. Doug Scurr, Rosemount MN = 30

9. Ben Nelson, Cameron WI = 28 ROY

10. Tyler Urban, Lennox SD = 28

11. Tony Steuck, Watertown SD = 27

12. Ray Beste, Sauk Centre MN = 23

13. John Lackmann, Long Prairie MN = 19

*ROY denotes Victory Funding Connection Rookie of the Year contender.