Wheels Of Thunder All Motorsports Magazine July 2013

Vol. 4 Issue 7JULY 2013

Page 4

Page 38

Page 52

Find us on Facebook “Wheels of Thunder” July 2013

Special FeaturesTerraCross Championship ..............................4

Todd Lesenko..............................................15

Moto-X.......................................................20

One of the Family - Ricekiller .......................28

ReviewsMCS Specialties..........................................48

Rally’s & ShowsBIR ............................................................16

Princeton Speedway ...................................38

Ride for Boobies .........................................42

ERX Motor Park ..........................................46

BRRP ..........................................................52

DepartmentsGarage Built.................................................8

DZL Dose....................................................12

Calendar....................................................34

ABATE of MN.............................................44

Game On!..................................................56

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Photographers/WritersCEAJA PHILP TOM EDWARDS

JESSICA KANKE JENNA OSTERLUNDMATT PETERSON MYLIE LAVOLDKIM NILES JOHN LENTZKOWJOHN KRUEGER STEVE CASPER

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www.WheelsofThunder.net July 2013


The Mystik Lubricants Terracross Championship (terracrossracing.com) pits a diverse cast of action sportsand off-road athletes against each other on stock, identically-prepared Polaris RZR side-x-side and utilityquads. Terracross tracks are part motocross, part obstacle course and all gnarly. Rocks, logs, mud, bumps,

turns and jumps make each Terracross event a mix of speed and technical skill where a wrong move can leaveyou at the back of the pack or upside down. To win a Terracross event you need experience and skill as well asa little daring.


Poised for its second season, the 2013 MystikLubricants Terracross Championship is set toexpand from two events it held last year tothree. At the first two events Terracross will re-visit its venues from last season, ERX MotorPark just North of Minneapolis, Minn., and themassive Sno Barons Haydays event in NorthBranch, Minn., and will hold a third grand fi-nale event this fall with location TBD. The se-ries will be filmed and aired on CBS SportsNetwork with six original programs and six re-airs on the schedule.

Last season, ATV racing legends Doug Gust andDaryl Rath led the pack combining to win sixof eight races, but some not-so--well-knownnames also rose to the top including Rory Beck-man and snocross racer Andrew Carlson who

also claimed Pro class wins. Other racers whoplaced well were snocross racer BrennonPlaisted, off-road racer Jeff Loyd, ATV racer ZakZakowski and X Games gold medalist andESPN commentator Chris Burandt. This season,Gust will be looking to defend his Pro Ter-racross Side X Side points title and Rath will try-ing to repeat as Pro Utility Quad champ.

Terracross Ramps UpFor Second Season


Interestingly, Rath took the points in Pro UtilityQuad despite Gust claiming two of the fourwins and Rath tallying only one.

In addition to Side-X-Side and Utility Quad rac-ing, each of the 2013 Mystik Lubricants Ter-racross Championship events will feature Speed

& Style, an event that’s part ATV race and partfreestyle competition. Competing on racequads, riders start in pairs and race the trackwhile also hitting freestyle ramps and throwingdown their best tricks. Wins come from a com-bination of course time and trick scores. So, in

short, crossing the finish line ahead of your op-ponent doesn’t necessarily equate to a win sincetrick scores can put a rider on top despite nottaking the checkers first. Last year professionalfreestyle quad athlete Jon Guetter swept theevents on his way to claiming the championshipahead of Mike Hurd. This year Jon, his brotherDerek and X Games freestyle star Colten Mooreand his long-time riding partner Marco Picadowill deepen the highly-competitive field.

Terracross events promise fun for all ages. Fanshave the chance to meet drivers and watch someof the most fun, competitive off-road racing onthe planet. If you can’t make it out to see anevent in person every race will be aired on CBSSports Network.

2013 Mystik Lubricants TerracrossChampionship Schedule

August 10-11: ERX Motor Park, Elk River, MN

September 7-8: SnoBarons Haydays, NorthBranch, MN

Championship Finale TBA

All events will air on CBS Sports Network,schedule TBA.

For more info visit www.terracrossracing.com.

Stock OriginalThis is where it all started!Stock Original

This is where it all started!

Sound Familiar?Do you have a story of your custom ride? [email protected] and you could be

featured with your ride in the next issue!

On January 3, 1972 at 2:32 pm, I signed the purchase papers at Fury Motorsin South Saint Paul, MN. I had purchased a 1971 Plymouth Duster with ablack interior, a 225 slant six with a 904A transmission and an AM Radio.

It was my 19th birthday and I had paid $2,200.


1971 Plymouth Duster


The reason I bought the Duster was be-cause it was easy on insurance, easy ongas and easy on the eyes,...besides mymain goal at the time was to find a 1966Barracuda Formula 5 with an automatic.

I had heard and read about the slant sixgrowing up and how bullet proof andeconomical it was and then in the 60’sand early 70’s the slant six was beingraced. That is when I started to map outwhat I wanted the Duster to be.

Life got in the way. A year and a halfafter getting the car, I got married andlater in the Air Force we brought our sonhome in the Duster. It was our family/grocery getter for years and after drivingit for 20 years it was stored waiting forthe time and money to take on the proj-ect I had been thinking about for years.

I also own a 1966 Barracuda and wasgetting it restored at SharaDon Per-formance in Hugo, MN when I wasasked by Denny Byers what my nextproject was? I told them I wanted myDuster to be a street/strip car to do the1/4 mile in the tens with a slant 6 andlook like it was new!

I was met with stares. That was a Fri-day. On Monday after some research,Jerry Williams had a notebook filledwith information and he said, “It can be

done!” So we did!

The 225 bored and stroked to 262 cubicinch displacement. 440 billet main caps.Drilled out oil passages to 5/16. Moparperformance high volume oil pump.T&D adjustable roller rockers with cus-tom push rods. Intake vales 2.02. Ex-hauste valves 1.55. Head ported fully.Head, pistons and block all notched forvalve clearance. Oil pan deepeneded 2inches, baffles and scrapers installed.Crower custom cam - offset groundforged crank - custom Carillo rods. Beehive springs. Ross racing custom pis-tons. Custom aluminum sheet metal in-take. Custom exhaust header 3-1-2-1

The original plan was for a street/stripcar, but SharaDon Performance didsuch a perfect job, I started doing a fewshows and that morphed to biggershows and at World of Wheels in St.Paul my Duster took top honors in itsclass and best engine. At Muscle CarCorvette Nationals it took a gold trophyin its class and at the World of Wheelsin Duluth it took 2 top trophies.

Future plans include the Indianapolis inJune, Carlisle in July and Columbus Na-tionals in August. (If everything goesright in between races, and nothingbreaks!)


Of all the things I’ve done or experienced in this lifethe birth and lives of my children is by far the mostprecious and meaningful endeavor that I have un-dertaken. I know this is a weighty subject but stickwith me here. We are only as good at parenting asthose who raised us and the knowledge we’ve cho-sen to obtain and to either correct or continue thosepatterns with our own lil monsters. That being saidI’d like to hit on the topic of upbringing into themotorsports world.

We all know that whether or not we are trying, weare under constant and critical supervision of ouractions by our kids…they’re observational spongesand we need to be aware that our every move isunder severe scrutiny; like it or not. Having grownup as part of a working family farm I was luckyenough for many and most of our work and pasttime activities taking place in the shop and out-doors. From the time I was old enough to hang outthere without being too much of a hindrance withthe men I would snatch up my dog and race to theshed where all the magic seemed to happen. Thesights and smells of diesel, gas, rubber and oil weredestined to be part of my DNA. Soon enough youbecome a bolt runner, wrench collector, oil monkeyor some other subservient geek that is willing andable to do whatever it takes to join in this supermasculine pursuit.

As the years rolled by and work and hobby begins tomesh activities of changing oil and greasing equip-ment give way to simple then more complex fabri-cation. Welding, torching and shaping metal all firstobserved then crudely attempted become daily ad-ventures. Soon you tackle your first project…thatcould be as simple as oil change on the mower,mom’s car or whatever but you’re doing it on yourown…and finding that working with your hands isa very satisfying way to pass the time. Soon inter-est turns to, “just what can I do with these hands tomake myself go fast and perhaps build my ownpiece of cool.”

The biggest message is those that you’ll never haveto tell them. Taking kids of age to the dirt track,drags, tractor pulls, trail riding or moto or sno crossare all things that can fundamental transform them.One of the favorite events I take my son and daugh-

ter to annually is Monster Jam. It brings them intothe world of real life superheroes and allows them toexperience at a safe distance the sights, sounds andsmells of crazy horsepower and engineering in ac-tion. They have each been going since they weresix months of age and get stoked annually to goagain. Slowly you begin taking them to more anddifferent events as well as allowing them the expe-rience of a “ride with mom or dad.” Nothing hasbeen more heart-warming than hearing them giggleas we hit a hard corner strapped into the side byside, Trans Am or more recently on the back of theHD.

This summer I am buying my kids their first mo-torized scoot of their own. This is the probably thebiggest leap I have taken into having a motorheadbuddy yet. I think it is great to give your kids everyopportunity to do and try as many things as theysafely can but when they adopt and embrace some-thing you find passion in there’s a bond you feel thatis priceless. Something they can tell their kids aboutgrandpa or grandma that made them who theyare…

The bottom line is you can’t make a kid into a bet-ter version of you because being unique individualsthey will do and be who they are but when you canfind something you share as a common past time itmakes the time you spend together that much moremeaningful. Take your kids to a dirt track, dragstrip or pull this summer. Get them on/in a side byside, street rod, four wheeler or motorcycle and givethem that thrill of breathing in the fumes and feel-ing of a hard acceleration, jump or aggressive cornerand enjoying the outdoors with you in your vehicleof enjoyment…the smiles, the talks, the laughter issomething that can’t be bought. If you have a nieceor nephew whose parents aren’t into the lifestylethat we love nab ‘em up for a day trip and give themsomething to remember. These sports offer some-thing that no video game, cartoon or virtual b.s. ex-perience will ever replace…It aint real if it ain’t steeland wheels…Get out and share that with a kid!

Have a good motoring season my friends,

Rev Dzl

Written by Rev Dzl

(June 14, 2013) Todd Lesenko andWorsham Racingreturn to NHRA action in Chicago, bringing in CN,(Canadian National Railway Company), as theirnew primary sponsor for the 2013 NHRA Route 66Nationals on June 28th.

“I’m extremely proud to have a great North Ameri-can railway company supporting our team,” saidLesenko. “CN and our team share the same core val-ues: a commitment to safety and striving for excel-lence.”

CN transports approximately C$250 billion worthof goods annually for a wide range of business sec-tors, ranging from resource products to manufac-tured products to consumer goods, across a railnetwork spanning Canada and mid-America, fromthe Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mex-ico.

“We’ve been working really hard with everyone atForward Sports Marketing to bring in a sponsor forour team,” said Lesenko. “CN is the perfect partnerfor us.”

Todd Lesenko is driving the Worsham Racing NitroFunny Car at a selected number of events in 2013.Lesenko has competed in three NHRA races so farthis season, making it to the quarter finals at theNHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix.

Provided by Nicole Erickson, Forward Sports Marketing



T he race tracks at Brainerd International Raceway got a workout during the first twomonths of the season, and July will be just as busy. The month kicks off with one of BIR’smost popular events, the 27th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Show & Go. It’s a combination

of big horsepower, high speeds and thrilling racing as fans are treated to drag racing, Superbikeracing and much more July 5-7.

The second leg of the three-race Muscle Car Series will be on the drag strip all weekend. Fanswill see speeds over 200 mph and times dipping down below 7 seconds. The cars display thetype of horsepower that yank their front ends right off the ground. If you’re a fan of wheelies,then the drag strip is where you’ll want to be.

Written by Geoff Gorvin


For fans who like the two-wheel racing variety, theCentral Roadracing Association will be on BIR’s 2.5-mile Competition Road Course, where they’ll be fly-ing around the track’s 13 turns on two wheels, aknee and a prayer. It’s club racing by some of themost skilled Superbike racers in the Midwest.

There are plenty of things to do off the track as well,including a classic car show, fireworks, live musicby Junk FM and kids activities.

The Invasion of the Aussies

Powercruise is returning to BIR July 12-14 for thethird year, featuring Aussie-style cruising, racing,car shows and a whole lot more. With similarevents Down Under that attract thousands of fans,Powercruise is quickly gaining in popularity in theUnited States as well. You’ll never see anything likethis.

The best part of Powercruise is that fans can partic-ipate in the different events, including the cruisesessions where they can load up their cars withtheir mates and cruise BIR’s 3.1-mile DonnybrookeRoad Course.

In addition to several cruising sessions, Powercruisefeatures drifting, powerskid and burnout contests,off-street drag racing, a stage show, a car show,music and a lot more.

Get Off the Couch and On the Throttle

Powercruise isn’t the only opportunity for race fansto get behind the wheel on BIR’s world-class racetrack. The BIR Performance Driving School haseight more school dates on the schedule. These areday-long schools where students learn the finerpoints of handling a car at high speeds.

With a staff of highly skilled and knowledgeabledriving instructors, most of who have raced com-petitively, the school combines classroom and on-track instruction. Students spend 25-minutesessions on the track either in their own car or inone of the school’s single-cockpit, 5-speed SpecRacer Fords race cars that top out around 130 mph.Nobody ever walks away from the school unsatis-fied.

If driving straight and fast is more your thing, theWednesday Night Drags – Street Legal Style pro-gram is for you. There are four more Wednesday’sleft, giving drag racing fans four more chances tobring their street-legal car, truck or bike to BIR andrunning the drag strip as much as time allows.Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing runs from 5 p.m.until dusk.

In addition to bringing a street-legal vehicle, driversmust have a helmet and $25. The car goes throughtech inspection and then they hit the track, usingthe burnout box, light tree and scoreboard. There’seven an announcer calling the action.

Most of the events at BIR feature categories for rac-ers who are breaking into that type of racing andare using their own car or bike. Check out BIR’swebsite for more details about how you can get offthe couch and on the throttle!


Acloudy and cool morning greeted racersand spectators as they rolled in to theKato Cycle Club�s race track on Sunday

6/2/13. The clouds quickly parted and thegolden sun shone through to reveal a perfectlyprepared racing surface with a spot-on levelof moisture to provide excellent traction in thesoft loamy little slice of racing heaven.Thanks to Lee Theis and the crew, of racepromoter Motokazie.#85 Jeff Kline, sixth place on a Yamaha in 25+B racing


I had never attended a race at the KatoCycle Club racing grounds, and I must saythat the beauty of the track and surround-ing area, with the bikes hooking up in theturns like they were on rails, had me think-ing that I should put the camera gear up forsale, to reinvest in a motocross bike to putto the test, myself.

The first race of the day saw riders in the250-A Class winding their way through theundulating track that snaked it�s way upand down the Mankato Bluff Country,

through thebeautiful old growth forest andthen back into the clearing of the super-cross section/spectator viewing area where#730 Blake Raskovich took his first victorybefore going 1/1 in 250-A to take the over-all in the class with Honda mounted Con-nor Ahlers # 575 from Duluth taking themiddle step of the podium with his 2/2 fin-ish and Kawasaki mounted #52 rider AdamKoch rounding out the top 3.

In the 250 Jr 14-16 class, Yamaha mounted#57 Sam Kemp from W, St Paul blazed hisway to the top step of the podium with his1/1 finishes to enjoy the spoils of the victor.

Action from 85cc 9-11 racing saw Gavin(Smooth Operator) Janovsky #34 pilot hisexpertly prepared Yamaha YZ85 2-Strokejet to a one/two finish to take the overallvictory. Austin Kristiansen was clawing atthe rear wheel of Gavins bike to secure sec-ond place in class.

Girls Jr 9-12 racing saw Kourtney Trautner#571 wheel her Kawasaki KX machine to asecond place in the first moto, and a firstplace in moto-2 to take the overall in classfor the day, over a hard charging Paige Carl-son from New Prague MN, on her #183Kawasaki.

In what almost looked like a stacked fieldin the 65cc 7-11 class, KTM bikes took thetop seven spots with #711 Dillon (Shred-der) Nelson punishing the terra ferma tocapture top honors in class with Davis

Written and photographedby Keith McKenna

#57 Sam Kemp-Yamaha, #34 Gavin Janovsky-Yamaha#27 Jacqueline Riess-KTM and #777 Bryce Barney-Honda #250

going for the holeshot at the start of the Jr. 14-16 race.

First in class #730 Blake Raskovich on his Yamaha on the wayto victory in the 250-A class.


Sunken #396 pulling down a second placepodium spot and #15 Nolyn Hempel fromAlgona Iowa trekking north to secure athird place trophy.

In 55+ racing action, Dave (Hollywood)Hencir from St Paul piloted his #17 Hondato a 1/1 finish for the overall in class, twist-ing the throttle to within an inch of it�s life,to find himself atop the podium.

In Pre-mix 4-6 racing action, 1st placeEthan Rennie appeared to be sufferingfrom oxygen deprivation from standinghigh atop the podium while #209 BraxtonKragenbring from Atwater enjoyed secondplace honors.

There was just too much racing action tocover in a small space, so you will just haveto come on out to the races to see it all foryour self. The talent pool runs deep inMinnesota.

For anyone riding a road-bike, If yourlooking for a nice day trip from the north,a casual jaunt down the scenic back roadsto the quiet little town of Henderson MNfor a leisurely breakfast stop before contin-uing on through Mankato to the KatoCycle Club grounds for a day of motocrossor hill climbing action, it would be a daywell spent. For event info and dates, checkout the websites of www.motokazie.com orthe Kato Cycle Club at www.katocycle-club.com or District 23/Armca website atwww.armca.org.

#367 3rd place finisher SophieJohnson on her Kawasaki shows

#28 Katie VanDerwerf on her Yamahathe fast line around the track in the

fierce Women�s 12+ battle.

#27 Jacqueline Riess KTM racing to 1st place in Women 12+ racing.

#57 Sam Kemp on his way to victoryin Yamaha 250-B class action.

#21 Tyler Schmiesing Kawasaki 250-C

#209 Jordan Fredricks 6th placeKawasaki in 250-C.

#107 Bill Medek 1st place on a Hondain Vet30+A competition


#007 Walker Kruze KTM second placebattles it out with fourth place finisher #39

Kyle Lawler Yamaha-Schoolboy 12-16.

2nd place finisher #138 Seth Carpen-ter Suzuki 85cc-12-15 class

#278 Kole Lemke racing to a thirdplace finish on his Kawasaki in 85cc

12-15 racing action.

#39 fourth place finisher Kyle LawlerYamaha and first in class overall #74

Tom Flintrop Yamaha-Schoolboy 12-16

#795 Lonni Gardner on a Honda in250-C class action

Motokazie/Kato Cycle Club District 23 Moto−X 6/2/13 RACE REPORT

First in class #730 Blake Raskovich onhis Yamaha on the way to victory in the

250-A class.

Sixth place finisher #209 JordanFredicks on his Kawasaki KX250F in

250-C racing.


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High school is an important part of our lives. It's our bridge from being a kid to becoming an adult.We do a lot of “finding ourselves” during those years, trying to fit in and find our niche of friends. Fora lot of us, that's when we first found love and got our first kisses. I think the big thing though, for us

gear-heads at least, is getting our driver's license. Oh yes. For everyone, that card was a symbol of free-dom, but for those of us who grew up loving cars it meant a little more. It was the essential part of the puz-zle to our dreams of hot-rodding and car customization. A lot of our first cars though were nothing thatspecial to begin with. Usually a family hand-me-down, or something that a meager, 16-year-old could af-ford working part-time in the summer. For me at least, by the time I was graduating high school, I was oncar number 5, constantly trying to upgrade to something bigger and better. For Marlon Juarez, his story is abit different. His heart was set on a Mustang from the get-go, and thanks to his uncle for co-signing a loanfor him back in high school, Marlon was able to get his 1995 Mustang GT right after he got his license.


Despite landing his dream car at such ayoung age, Marlon had to jump back intoreality quickly, working a part-time job at afast food restaurant in between school andstudying to pay for his beloved car. Thatmeans the mods couldn't start till later. Ofcourse a few bolt-ons found their way ontothe car here and there, but the real fun did-n't begin till years later after Marlon hadfinished school and started his career as adiesel technician for a busing company.The big benefit of holding onto a car for solong is you breed a sense a familiarity withthe car, and you get to see it progress overtime. Me, I never really saw many projectsthrough since I was so busy buying, build-ing, and selling to fund a new purchase. Itkept things exciting, but I guess I never re-

ally got to enjoy my cars too much though.Marlon on the other hand has seen hisMustang go from a bolt-on 5.0, to a turbo5.0, to now a 427ci-Windsor motor with an80mm turbo and a th400 transmission!This car is one serious bit of kit, and Mar-lon couldn't be happier. I had rememberedseeing Marlon and his Mustang at the olderRKC MN meets back when they were inAnoka, when it was still a 5spd/70mm car,and was pretty shocked to see the car latelast year rocking this new, insane setup. It'ssafe to say that this feature has beenmonths in the making, and I was happy tofinally be able to meet up and shoot his carand get the full scoop on it. For me, it's re-ally cool to see someone have a project forso long and take the years to fine-tweak itand perfect it. Although when Marlon'swife asks if the car is done he simply re-sponds, “it probably never will be.”

We'll start at the heart of the matter, andthe most impressive part; the motor. As Isaid, about 3-4 years ago, I first met Marlonwhen it still had the 5.0, 5spd, and 70mmturbo setup. It was a stock 5.0 then, butafter running that setup for a bit Marlondecided it was time to get serious, andpulled the motor, transmission, and turbo,and sold everything to start saving for thenew setup. The heart of the new setup iscentered around a Dart 351w block whichhas been bored and stroked to 427 cubicinches. The block has been fitted with anEagle rotating assembly and JE, 9.5:1 com-pression pistons. On top sit a pair of high-port Trick Flow heads, and acustom-ground Comp cam provides the

Written & Photographed byJohn Krueger


extra lift and lope. Other engine goodiesinclude a high-capacity Moroso oil pan, anATI crank dampener, a 90mm throttle-body, and ARP hardware. With such bigmotor, Marlon had something planned interms of the power-adder. Sticking with hislove for boost, Marlon kept the turbotheme going, but tossing the dinky, 70mmaside for a baby-inhaling 80mm, T6-frameturbo. Bolted to a set of custom manifoldsfrom Mean Street Performance, the basket-ball-sized snail is good for producing1200+ horsepower. Keeping the turbo incheck are a pair of Tial 38mm waste-gates,and the pressurized air is fed through a

massive front-mounted intercooler beforeentering the 90mm throttle-body. Supply-ing the necessary fuel to compensate thatmuch air is a set of eight, 120lb/hr fuel in-jectors. To keep up with that demand,Marlon sumped his stock fuel tank andadded both a high-flow internal fuel pump,and a massive external Eliminator fuelpump. Keeping tabs on the whole show isa Fast FXI ECU which keeps everythingrunning smoothly.

To help put all the new-found power down,Marlon decided to ditch the 5spd manualsetup and go with an auto transmission

since the goal for the car is drag-racing. Idon't care how much more “fun” peoplesay driving a manual car is, there is a lotthat can be appreciated from a big-powerauto car. There's a time and a place for amanual transmission car, and a time and aplace for an auto car. Marlon chose the for-midable GM TH400 transmission to han-dle the task. These are near bullet-prooftransmissions, and a great solution thatdoesn't break the bank that badly. Marlon'sTH400 is fitted with a reverse-pattern,manual valve-body, new clutch packs,drums, and a trans-brake for those hardlaunches. For the stall, Marlon went witha converter from PTC that he absolutelyloves. It's great on the street and not tooloose, and locks right up when the boosthits. To plant the power, the rear-end ofthis Mustang also received some attention.While it's still on the stock, 8.8 rear, Mar-lon addressed some of the weak-points by

adding 35-spline Mosser axles, c-clip elim-inators, and a Strange spool. While Mar-lon still hasn't taken the car down the trackyet with this setup, the car has dyno'd on ashake-down pass at a measly 9psi a littleover 600hp. With a target boost of 16-18psi, I'd expect this car to be puttingdown 850hp-900hp through the TH400and running well into the 9s.

The rest of the car is all business. Despitehaving aged with Marlon, the car no longer


has the big stereo and crazy lights of hisHigh School years and instead boasts a pairof bucket seats and enough digital gaugesto rival a fighter jet. Hey, can't fault himfor wanting to keep tabs on his baby.While the stock-body, “drag car” look maybe boring to some, I think that this carlooks right at home on the big-and-littlesetup thanks to a set of Weld Draglites,15x4.5 up front and 15x8 in the rear. Fire-stone front-runners are mounted on thefront while the sticky Nitto drag-radials fill

up the rear arches. While the car meansabsolute business, Marlon couldn't be moreabout fun than anyone else. Even duringthe shoot we were having fun reminiscingabout old, racing days and where things areat now. Marlon's still active in the localscene and enjoys driving his Mustang onthe street to shows and meets. He's hop-ing to bring it out the track this year afterhe gets everything dialed in as teething is-sues with a new build are almost unavoid-able. Marlon would definitely like to thank

Richard Brown from Mean Street Perform-ance for all the fab work, and Todd Fesen-mier for all the motor work. Of course,there's a special thanks to his wife, Angelafor putting up with his second love. WhileI don't know if there are any Marlon Jr'splanned for Marlon and his wife, it's safe tosay that this Mustang is going to be part ofthe Juarez family for many more years tocome.


BEST IN THEBUSINESS!Opportunities are

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The Princeton Speedway’srace season is in full effectwith races happening

every Friday night in Prince-ton, MN! Even with MotherNature throwing rain out daily,the Speedway has been fortu-nate to get a lot of racing in.


Friday’s have been busy for the racetrackwith a sprint cars, a lot of racing action andeven some parades. The Princeton Speed-way partnered with Justin Pogones and AJ’sComplete Automotive and participated inZimmerman’s Wild West Days Parade. Acouple weeks later was the Princeton RumRiver Festival Parade with the Speedwayand Minuteman Press being represented.Both parades featured the #01 Street Stockof Justin Pogones and the #71s MidwestModified of Tim Siercks was in the Prince-ton Parade. Kids love seeing the racecarsroll down the drive, love getting photos ofthe drivers and above all they love thatcandy!

The Upper Midwest Sprint Car Series(UMSS) sprint cars made their first ap-pearance at the track on June 7 with morethan twenty drivers signing in. The sprintshad three heats, two challenge races and afeature that was full of battles, quickpasses, a fire and of course a roll over. LeeGrosz led the first half of the feature butBrooke Tatnell causally chased him down.With about eight laps to go, Tatnell shotthrough the curves and took the lead. Tat-nell led the remaining laps with Groszkeeping close in second. Tatnell took thewin and celebrated by doing multipledonuts in the infields grass.

Besides the sprints putting on a show, therewere many nights of great racing. May 31had three make-up features and a fullnight’s regular show making it a night ofnine feature events.

On that night, 18 year old Mitch Hribartook his first feature win in the Mod Fourclass’s make-up feature. Hribar also tookthe regular feature win giving him self twofeature wins in one night. In the make-upfeature, Hribar ran second most of the race,but took the lead when the leader wascharged with a caution. Hribar then heldoff Dustin Zieske and Kyle Thell taking thewin. In the night’s regular feature, Hribar,Matt Staab and Ross Mead went three widearound the track, but Staab pulled away forfirst. Hribar kept close until Staab spun outand the yellow flew. Hribar took the leadand while other drivers spun on the tracksslick surface, Hribar kept his car straightand took the win.

Written by Tami Jo Kuehn

Photography by JacyNorgaard and Bailey Sens


Bud Martini also had a successful night onMay 31. Martini is no stranger to victorylane, but the opportunity to win two fea-tures was on his mind. During the MidwestModified make-up feature, Martini drovepast Chad Fouquette and took the leaduntil the yellow flew. Jeremy Nelson andDenis Czech were working Martini’sbumper for the lead and on the restart,

Martini took off like a bullet. Martini tookthe win with Czech and Nelson finishingbehind him. Jason VandeKamp and KyleMatuska were chasing Martini in the make-up feature until the yellow waved. Martiniwas alone on the restart which allowed himto drive away from the competition. Mar-tini took his second win of the night.

June 7 was an exciting night for LarryZeller in his #41 WISSOTA Modified.Zeller took the lead as the green droppedand held off his tough competition. Zellerremained in first through the cautions, andwith a few laps to go, he could smell thewin. J.B. Stortz however ran at his door andkept Zeller on his toes. Stortz and Zellerwere side by side as the checkered was

raised. Zeller led by a nose and took thewin marking his 177 overall win of his rac-ing career.

Back on Tuesday May 28, the racing com-munity lost a legend. Don Roseen was along time racer, served on the WISSOTABoard, was President of WISSOTA and con-tinued to work at tracks until his last day.Roseen’s grandson, Donnie Lofdahl, con-tinues to race the #1 car and Friday June14 was the first Don Roseen Memorial RaceNight. The night featured all racing classes,but the WISSOTA Super Stocks were thepremier class. The Super’s were given ahigher payout sponsored by: WagmonBros, Ray’s Auto Body, TRC Race Cars, JNP,Pro Tire of Duluth, Berry Law Offices, Min-uteman Press and Bill Siercks.

Roseen’s grandson Donnie Lofdahl startedon the pole and took the lead. Dave Readgrabbed the low line and moved next toLofdahl, but Lofdahl held him off. DaveMass decided to make his move on Lof-dahl, he was successful at stealing the lead.Sabraski went from fifth to third and tooksecond from Lofdahl. Mass hugged the tiresand Sabraski ran the cushion as they bat-tled for first. The high side was faster andSabraski took the lead. After a few cautions,Sabraski pulled away as the green lightsclicked on and didn’t look back. Sabraskitook the win and the $600 payday.

July will be another great month for thePrinceton Speedway. Besides regular racingaction, July 19 will be our “Meet the driv-ers” kid’s night, which features all the driv-ers and cars on the racetrack for a longintermission. All kids ages 12 and underget free grandstand admission that nightand drivers will give photos, candy andother fun items of their choice to the kids.Meet the drivers night is always a greatnight for the kids, so pack up the car andhead to the Princeton Speedway! Racingstarts at 7pm.


RIDE FOR BOOBIES 2013


Raised over $13000 after expenses are calculated, monies will be donated to Pink Ribbon Riders, a non-profit organization that helps both men and women with breast cancer.


In May, ABATE of Minnesota was invited to meetwith governor Mark Dayton for the annual May isMotorcycle Awareness Month proclamation. Fol-lowing the presentation in the Governor’s receptionroom, we had a long discussion on the issues thatare important to Minnesota motorcyclists. On everytopic he promised his full support and closed by say-ing he is a strong supporter of a motorcyclist’s rightto choose what type of safety gear is best for them.Thank you, Governor!.

ABATE of Minnesota is working for you on manylevels. If you are an ABATE member, thanks. If not,please consider joining and supporting ABATE ofMinnesota.

Yours in freedom,Mack Backlund, State CoordinatorABATE of MN • 763-226-9195www.abatemn.org

ABATE OF MN MEETS WITH GOVERNOR DAYTON


JUNE 6, 2013


In the bowels of a crippled shed, the remnants ofa motorcycle lie covered in rust and cobwebs.Squeezing close enough for only a glimpse

probably isn't even worth consideration, unlessyou're Mark Smith or Clint Wicke of MCS Special-ties in Forest City, Iowa. They’ll take a look andreach a different conclusion.

Smith, owner, and Wicke have now spent four yearsin their bike restoration and service shop, and they’lltackle almost any project. “Don’t be scared to cut itapart,” Wicke said about his mentality with anyproject. “You can always put it back together or fixit. That’s just kind of how I start my day.”


Wicke, who does most of the restorativework, and Smith, who catalogues parts andhandles sales, both enjoy old-time bikes.They’re pickers, looking for rustic, two-wheel projects: bikes that need attentionand plenty of TLC.

“We’re definitely not biased when it comesto bikes around here,” Wicke said. “And Ithink that’s half the reason it keeps it sofun. One day I might be working on some-thing from the early ‘60s, and the next dayI’m working on a new, custom chopper.”

For Wicke, it’s gratifying work. The manhas a degree in cryogenics, and he uses itfor nothing. He continues to work onbikes.

A BARN-FRESH IDEAFour years ago, Smith and Wicke tooktheir auto scrap yard and literally scrappedit. “I actually brought up the idea to Mark,”Clint said. “He was in the mood to switchgears because the auto scrap yard industrywas just getting so flooded, and he wanteda change of pace. We looked at each otherthat day and said, ‘That’s it. We called in acrusher and started crushing a thousandcars right off the bat.”

However, they didn’t scrap everything.Smith already had space for the new en-deavor: an old barn that now has a paintroom and plenty of space for everythingMCS Specialties needs. It’s a somewhat fit-ting setting for Smith, a former farmer whothrew in the towel and made a careerchange.

“I used to farm,” Smith said, and jokedabout his decision. “I got tired of makingno money at farming. Of course, nowthey’re making money.”

Furthermore, Smith had an existing partssystem that allowed MCS to transition intothe new business. Nearly everything is cat-alogued, and MCS has more than severalparts – four floors of them. “There areabout 12,000 parts on the shelf, and wehave about 6,000 on my website already,”Smith said.

In practice, the process is working quitewell. Wicke said the bone yard of parts andbikes contains about 70 percent of what heneeds at any given time. If somebody elseneeds parts, MCS is the place to go. Thebest aspect? It’s all inside – not something

Written by Matt Peterson


that can be said for most scrap yards. Bikesthat sat for years under trees and behindold sheds now have a nice home. “Theycall it heaven,” Wicke said about customercomments. “It’s literally like walking into amotorcycle heaven. For me, as a builder, itdoesn’t get any better.”

For others around the world, it’s workingquite well, too. Smith has sent parts toChina, Japan, Brazil, Chile and other loca-tions he can’t even recall. “You never knowwhere you’re going to send a part,” Smithsaid.

All about customWicke takes pride in his custom projects,which have ranged from some of the oldestHondas to brand-new choppers. He’s evencustomized two motorcycles for this mag-azine. “It’s always something differentaround here,” Wicke said.

Whether Wicke a flips a bike he pulled outof a pile of junk or completes a project fora customer, he goes big. Fear of failure isn’ta concern.

“If they can put it in a car, I’ll find a way tomake it work on a bike,” Wicke said. “Ifthere’s a will, there’s a way.”

In June, he worked on six projects, includ-ing a custom chopper, a jet ski and what heconsidered a “Honda Davidson.” Obviouslysome of the projects can be quite strange.Wicke’s Honda Davidson is bagger with asix speakers and even a TV screen, whichalso works as a reverse camera, like thosein newer cars.

“Pretty much what I’m building is the per-fect woman’s bagger,” Wicke said. “It’ssmaller in caliber, but at the same time, it’s

going to have every amenity ever needed.”

More than one adventureOne of the best aspects of Smith’s andWicke’s job is the search. Some people seejunk when they look at ancient, lifelessmotorcycles. Wicke and Smith see poten-tial – barn-fresh” bikes, as Smith says it.The duo is constantly on the lookout formotorcycles. Other times, the bikes justcome to them. They’ve dug old junkers outof some tight spots.

“We’ve dug bikes out of hay piles before,”Wicke said. “We found two bikes in a barn.A guy called up and said, ‘Hey, we wantthese out of here.’”

One of those two bikes simply joined theothers in the bone yard. The other is fullyrestored, and someone in Europe now en-joys it. Wicke takes pride in the fact hiswork is seen by others around the world.

Another time, when Wicke and Smithbought a few bikes from an auction com-

pany, the two ran into a lot more than theyexpected. “His bikes were stacked like cordwood,” Smith said about the sheer numberof machines.

Even for the bike MCS Specialties won’t re-store, though, there is a home in the boneyard. Wicke has instant access to a grow-ing stock of bikes, currently at about 400.There are Hondas, Kawasakis, Yamahas,Suzukis, BSAs, Nortons, BMWs, Harleys,Hodakas and even Bridgestones and more.Despite having that many bikes, Wickewould like to increase the stockpile to athousand. He knows the jobs will onlygrow more interesting over time, and endup in farther corners of the Earth.

Regardless of what Wicke is working on,he remembers one thing: “If two peoplehave it, then it’s not custom,” he said.

MCS Specialties, 641-581-4000, is locatedat 2664 330th St., Forest City, Iowa, and isonline at www.mcsspecialties.com.


T he Motocross track at BRRP is open! Rain de-layed the planned June opening but riders cannow be seen flying over jumps and tearing up the

dirt track located across from the Speedway on thesouth side of Hwy 10. Mother Nature has been a bitoverzealous with her watering can this spring, causinga couple of race cancellations at Buffalo River RacePark but things are drying up and the team is deter-mined to pull out a great season of racing.

Written by Mylie Lavold


First up, NOSA SPRINT CAR races havebeen rescheduled for July 7. The NorthernOutlaw Sprint Association (NOSA), organ-ized in 1994, promotes Sprint Car Racingin the upper Midwest. NOSA members in-clude the drivers and car owners, crewmembers, fans, sponsors and track pro-moters. Drivers come from many parts ofNorth Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakotaand Canada and include top ranked driv-ers Wade Nygaard, Mitch Mack and AustinPierce.

BRRP hosts another special event on July28 when the All Star Sprint ChampionshipTour hits the oval. Now in their 30th yearof operation, the All Stars are one of thepremier sprint car sanctioning bodies inthe USA. If you have never been to a sprintcar race don’t miss this opportunity to seethese alcohol-burning open wheel race carstear up the track. With engines putting out850 horsepower, these are the fastest ac-

celerating closed course cars runningtoday, reaching speeds of 130 mph.

Special events continue through Augustand September and include, NLRA LateModel Special Legends, Ojibwe ForestRally (Rally America), Night of DestructionTuff Trucks Train Races & Roll Over con-test and Corn Cob Nationals.

If you like to play in the mud you won’twant to miss the last event of the season,the 2013 MUDMAN adventure race. Thisextreme 5K obstacle course will consist of15 obstacles that will test contestant’sstrength, endurance and mental fortitude.Registration for the September 14 event isopen now for individuals or parent/childteams. Age groups range from 19 andunder to 60 and over.

Remember, regular Sunday racing starts at6:00 pm each week featuring regional fa-vorites battling for points and braggingrights. BRRP Series includes: Legends, PureStocks, Hornets, Wissota Midwest Modsand Mod 4’s. Check the schedule for racesthat include A-Mods and Streets.

For speedway racing information contact:Duane Peterson, 701-371-6229

For advertising or VIP packages contact:Brad Rivers, [email protected]

www.BuffaloRiverRacing.com

Facebook: Buffalo River Race Park

H ey “Wheelies” (that is, Wheels fans and outdoortypes who would love to have snow on the ground12 months of the year), great to be back with you!

You get this great publication in many forms, in print, online and via your phone. It’s the greatest and keeps you upto the minute on all things Racing. Dirt, bikes, many fastcars, Brainerd NHRA in August and big rigs…bring ‘em allon! GameON! hopes you are as excited that summer has fi-nally decided to stick around and allow us to play! This�issueof Wheels of Thunder is a textbook full of amazing picturesand unforgettable stories and it loads you up on the spon-sor information you might need.

GameON! TV also reaches so many of you�with our sportsprogramming and you know by now that we broadcast inthe�Dakota's and western Minnesota via MidCo Sports Net-work. GameON! loves �sports, from the variety of profes-sional, college & high school sports to�all the outdoor eventsthat dot our regional landscape. GameON's teamed up �withWheels of Thunder and just like you, we also enjoy themost�comprehensive race magazine and website to be found!Wheels of Thunder�magazine gets it and gets you the latestinformation, amazing pictures and �all those terrific storiesto the most passionate motorsports fans in the �country!��

Looking ahead, there's more special events and momentsahead for GameON!�Each and every week GameON! comesto you in crystal clear full High�Definition and our first APP(it's free to for Apple & Android phones) is�available for youruse! GameON! TV is now offering a weekly PODCAST�avail-able @ our show website www.GameOnTvMN.com. It's fullof bits and pieces of sports from the region�and what's aheadon our weekly TV show. GameON! still serves as the lead-in�to the award winning FOX NFL pre game show on FOX'sMY29 here in the Twin�Cities during the NFL Season. ��

GameON! does what no other TV sports interview show (inthe region) does. We �offer a diverse and entertaining halfhour of TV as we bring you the most �visible and popularMinnesota sports figures. From the Vikings, the NBA�Tim-berwolves, the NHL Wild, the Twins and we visit with theLacrosse Swarm. �There's NASCAR and we're all over yourfavorite drivers, in fact, we just �welcomed X-Games GoldMedalist Levi LaVallee to a downtown Minneapolis�taping. ��

This show is interactive so we'd love to hear from you!

Please visit our�Facebook site (friend us @ GameON on face-book), our website @ � www.gameontvmn.com and 24/7ontwitter�#gameontvmn. And we're always planning bigger andbetter shows at the best�Irish Pubs in the world, Kierans, TheLiffey, The Local and Cooper! You are �always welcome tovisit our live tapings and each week we list guests and�up-dates on the GameON! website as well as our Facebook site.Get upclose and �personal with us!!��

GameON! Host Rod Simons has added baseball to hisschedule, joining �the new radio home for your MinnesotaTwins @ KTWIN 96.3. Rod hosts �The KTWIN Final Callwith longtime Minnesota radio personality Jason�Nagel aftereach and every Twins game. So, please join us for allthat�sports offers us here in our great neck of the woods, viaWheels of Thunder, �GameON! and KTWIN radio! And getyour Vikings fix with our partner in one of �the largestVikings fan websites in the world, www.PurplePride.org.I've said it before and�I'm saying it again! Get off the couchand get your GameON! Be a part of the �exciting effort we'reputting on! Here's to the spring fast approaching! �Hope tosee you at an upcoming GameON! taping!!��

Keep your GameON!


JUNE6/14/13 Jackson Speedway Jackson, MN6/15/13 Mediacom Shootout Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA6/21/13 River Cities Speedway Grand Forks, ND6/22/13 I-94 Speedway Fergus Falls, MN6/29/13 Beaver Dam Raceway Beaver Dam, W6/30/13 Cedar Lake Speedway New Richmond, WI

JULY7/3/13 Huset's Speedway Brandon, SD

AUGUST8/7/13 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA8/8/13 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA8/9/13 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA8/10/13 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA8/16/13 River Cities Speedway Grand Forks, ND8/18/13 Nodak Speedway Minot, ND

SEPTEMBER9/13/13 Clay County Fairgrounds Spencer, IA9/14/13 Deer Creek Speedway Spring Valley, MN

2013 Schedule__________________________________


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Wheels Of Thunder All Motorsports Magazine July 2013

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Transcript of Wheels Of Thunder All Motorsports Magazine July 2013