What a night for a photographer / racing fanatic! Growing up in Southeast Iowa, my family would take my sister and I to dirt track races in Knoxville, Iowa to watch the World of Outlaws battle on the track. These guys quickly became my heroes. This weekend I was given the green light to photograph the races at Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. What a treat.

Hornets

The first cars on the track were the Hornets. These economy sized cars were no slouch when it came to high speed door banging.

The end of the Feature landed #39 Darin Lenk on top with #41 Ashley Bell in second and #14 Justin Schelitzche taking third.

Hobby Stocks

Next to take the green flag were the Hobby Stocks along side the Hornets.

As the Checkered flag waved, #88A Alex Wolf took the win in his Hobby Stock with #19 Brandon Opsahl and #39 Darin Lenk driving to 2nd and 3rd in their Hornets.

The Pure Stocks hit the dirt next.

These boys raced hard and #19C Charlie Shiek took the gold with #10 Brandon Fah in second and #96 Devin Larson rounding out the top 3.

Here come the Mod Fours! The night started off rough for Matt Halls as landed on his lid.

At the end of the race #21 Chad Funt grabbed the Checkered with #Y4 Tommy Sabraski and #24 Dustin Zieske hot on his heels.

Did I mention it was kids night? I booked it up to the grandstands in between the Heat races and the features to find all the little ones hyped up as they were treated to all the finer things in life. They started with egg racing.

And moved their way to the bike giveaway! If you want to see pure joy, give a kid a bike at the races.

 

And now back to the action!

Let’s talk Street Stocks. These cars would go!

Also on a side note, a little shout out to Jacy Norgaard Photo. It isn’t everyday when one photographer happens to get a shot of another’s logo so there you go Jacy. It was great meeting you at the races last night.

 

Where was I? Oh yes, the Street Stocks gave a great show with #1JR Tim Johnson taking the lead at the end followed by #442 Aaron Johnson and #11K Davey Kruchten rounding out the podium.

 

No let’s bring on the Midwest Modifieds! These guys meant business.

The end of the race had #7A Shane Sabraski on top with #3T Travis Schulte in second and #97C Tim Johnson in third.

 

Now here is were the show really got interesting. The Super Stocks really now how to put on a show! I found myself backing up from the concrete barrier a little bit when these drivers hit the track.

 

 

At the end of this one #22 Matthew Dibb held his head high while #7A Shane Sabraski battled for second and #2 Dave Mass fought hard for third place.

And now for what you have all been waiting for. The Modifieds! This race was just as awesome in the grandstands as it was from my perspective just a few feet from these boys.

 

And the winner of tonights Modified Feature… #18A Landon Atkinson. From the joy I saw in his father, this was a big exciting win for this young man. Coming in 2nd place was #24 Eric Martini and in third #7A Shane Sabraski.

I had a hell of a night and can’t wait to get back at it next weekend. You can find all the race results in this link and if you are in the are make sure to visit Granite City Speedway.

Feel free to comment on your favorite driver or racing memory.

See you Sunday!