Rain and Action Dominate Governors Cup Races

Rain wreaked havoc during the 2024 North Dakota Governors Cup Auto Races. The weekend kicked off on Friday, July 26 with heat races for our five weekly car classes, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, INEX Legends, Hobby Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts. For the first time since 2016, WISSOTA Late Models returned to the high banks of Dacotah Speedway for two complete shows and $2000 to win. Unfortunately, rain showers hit the Speedway just before the WISSOTA Late Model feature. Although the track prep crew worked late into the night, the track received too much water to race the 30 lap feature. 

Racing action continued on Saturday, July 27th, starting with the WISSOTA Late Model make-up feature. When the green flag waved, Nathan Sletto grabbed the early lead but had his hands full with a speedy Travis Robertson. They briefly raced side by side for the lead until Robertson slipped by on lap three. Robertson’s lead was short lived as Sletto retook the lead a handful of laps later. While the leaders swapped the lead, the battle for third place was brewing between Trevor Anderson and Mike Greseth. Greseth passed Anderson and wasted no time passing second place Robertson. While Sletto was trying to negotiate lapped traffic, Greseth quickly caught the leader and took the top spot with eight laps to go. Despite being in heavy lapped traffic, Greseth pulled away as he sliced and diced his way through the field. When Jeremiah LaDue’s motor blew with four laps to go, caution regrouped the field. Greseth was pulling away once more before another caution slowed the pace. On the final restart, it was a three wide battle for second between Robertson. Anderson and Denver Nickeson. When the checkered flag waved, Trevor Anderson crossed the finish line in second. Travis Robertson finished third ahead of Nathan Sletto while Denver Nickeson rounded out the top five. Mike Greseth led the final eight laps to grab the victory and go home $2000 richer. 

Rain continued to be an issue as a brief light rain shower interrupted the night. Track prep crews worked hard to work the track back in and it paid off with a thrilling second WISSOTA Late Model feature. Rusty Kollman and Travis Robertson raced door to door for the lead before a lap three caution regrouped the field. Robertson took the lead on the restart as Kollman fell into the clutches of Mike Greseth. Greseth quickly passed Kollman and started to reel in Robertson. The leaders started to catch lapped traffic and the battle for the lead started to heat up. Robertson and Greseth threw slide job after side job while maneuvering through lapped traffic. It was a thrilling battle for the lead until Greseth closed the door with nine laps to go. Greseth started to pull away but heavy lapped traffic allowed Robertson to close back in late in the race. However, Travis Robertson ran out of time and was forced to settle for second. Austin Kuehl finished third ahead of Tyler Leach and Rusty Kollman. Meanwhile, Mike Greseth swept the weekend and was crowned the North Dakota Governors Cup Champion. 

Asher Williams led early in the Hobby Stock feature. Joseph Feist challenged Williams for the lead and grabbed the lead before an early caution on lap four. Cautions came early and often but it didn’t deter the thrilling back up front between Feist, Bill Hultberg, Jeremy Herr and Kelly Hoerner. As cautions continued to slow the race, it allowed John Gartner Jr., who started 12th to slowly work his way to the front. Hultberg slipped by Feist, bringing Herr with him. While racing hard for second place, contact was made leaving Herr, Feist and Gartner Jr spinning out together on the backstretch. The caution was charged to Feist and on the restart, Gartner Jr hugged the guardrail and challenged Hultberg for the lead. They battled hard for the lead but Gartner Jr claimed the top spot with five laps to go. Hultbert hung with Gartner Jr and was all over his rear bumper in the closing laps. However, when the checkered flag waved, John Gartner Jr crossed the finish line first, earning his first career Gov Cup Championship. Bill Hultberg finished second while Derrick Appert made a late race charge to the front to finish third. Kelly Hoerner finished fourth as Ryker Vetter finish fifth. 

Outside pole sitter, Zach Hughbanks grabbed the lead in the IMCA Sport Compact feature. Alex Thompson reeled in Hughbanks and with four laps to go, they raced door to door for the lead. Thompson, still looking for his first victory of the season, slipped by Hughbanks with two laps to go. Hughbanks continued to hang with Thompson and they continued to race side by side. Desperate to retake the lead, Hughbanks threw a slide job to reclaim the lead but Thompson crossed over to hang on. As the white flag waved, contact between the leaders led to an action packed finish. When the checkered flag waved, Zach Hughbanks held on to win his fourth straight victory over Alex Thompson. Harrison Schwartz finished third head of Averie Lageson and Dustin Thompson. 

After a complete restart, it was a car battle for the lead in the INEX Legends feature between Donavin Wiest, Nate Keena and Casey Martin. Contact between Wiest and Keena allowed Gage Madler to challenge Wiest for the lead. Madler, hugging the guardrail, slipped by Wiest to take the lead on lap six, bringing Collin Compson with him. Wiest hung with Compson and was all over the youngster’s rear bumper. However, a caution with five laps remaining cut the race short when a severe thunderstorm rolled in. Officials declared Gage Madler the feature winner. Collin Compson finished second ahead of Donavin Wiest. Casey Martin finished fourth while Noah Madler rounded out the top five. 

The severe thunderstorm thankfully just skirted by the race track and it only dropped a little bit of rain. The track prep crew was able to work the track back in and the first feature on the fresh track was the IMCA Stock Car feature. When the green flag waved, the cars were flying around our ⅜ mile race track. Outside pole sitter Hunter Domagala took the lead before a caution on lap three regrouped the field. On the restart, Shawn Strand passed Domagala for the lead but a few laps later, Domagala retook the lead. Strand got loose which allowed third place Jonny Carter to close in and pass Strand with 10 laps to go. As the laps wound down, Carter reeled in Domagala. As the white flag waved, Domagala made contact with a lapped car which allowed Carter to throw a slider for the lead. Carter washed up the track and Domagala retook the lead down the backstretch. Going into corners three and four for the final time, Carter looked to the outside of Domagala. Using the momentum off the corner they came to the finish line side by side in a photo finish. However, Hunter Domagala hung on to win by mere inches over Jonny Carter. Shawn Strand finished third ahead of Marlyn Seidler and Jason Berg. The victory entered Domagala into the B&B Chassis All-Star Invitational at IMCA Super Nationals. 

In the final feature of the night, Tim Perkins and Mark Dahl led the field to the green flag in the IMCA Modified feature. Cautions plagued the feature as the drivers struggled to get a few laps in. Despite caution after caution, Aaron Turnbull, who started seventh, quietly moved through the field. Cautions helped him grab the lead by lap four but cautions continued to fall. As the Canadian driver led the field back to the restarts, he would quickly pull away from the field. It was now a race for second between Dahl, Quentin Kinzley and Jeremy Keller. Keller used the cautions to slip by Kinzley and Dahl to take second. Dahl and Kinzley continued to race hard for third. When the checkered flag waved, Quentin Kinzley made a last lap pass on Mark Dahl to finish third. Shawn Strand finished fifth while Aaron Turnbull cruised to victory over Jeremy Keller. Turnbull picked up a cool $1500 and is now entered into the Fast Shafts All Star Invitational at IMCA Super Nationals. 

TRI-ENERGY CENEX DRIVER OF THE NIGHT

Congratulations to Nathan Sletto and Trevor Anderson for earning Driver of the Night powered by our friends at Tri-Energy Cenex on Night 1 and 2, respectively! Nathan and Trevor took home a $50 gift card to use on gas, snacks, and more at Cenex.

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