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Despite A Slow Start, Deer Creek Rebounds For A Great Season

--The season got off to a normal beginning with the annual car show held at Clements Chevrolet in Rochester on Saturday, March 26. It was a great preview of the 2011 season with a good turnout of cars and a huge throng of fans showed up to check out the new machines and do some serious bench racing.

--But unlike 2010 when the race season got its earliest start ever, Mother Nature put her foot down with a thud. The first month of the season was lost due to snow, rain and cold. That cancellation streak included four track point shows and the inaugural World Modified Dirt Track Championship that was postponed until July.

--There were13-point nights held in 2011 with an average of 116.92-cars on hand each night. The car count was also over 100 for all of the point shows for the first time since 2005. Overall, there were 460-different drivers that raced at the speedway from 24-different states along with one Canadian province and Australia.

--Fifteen drivers added their names to the all-time Deer Creek Feature win list. They included national stars, Josh Richards, Steve Kinser, Ryan Gustin and Jimmy Mars. Others who joined the prestigious list were, Mike Steensma, Lucas Schott, Randy Timms, Donny Ganz, Kevin Donlan, Mike Keller, Cody Gardner, Rob Arnold, Dalton Yohnk, Jake Timm and Erik Kanz.

 
Altenburg Construction WISSOTA Late Models
--Mike Prochnow scored his second straight track title this season. On June 25, Prochnow also ended his winless drought that dated back to August 8, 2009. Prochnow benefited from Nick Herrick and Nick Beyenhof’s mechanical misfortunes late in the year to close the gap and take the title.

--Lance Matthees tied Mark Teske atop the all-time Late Model feature win lead with 21. Matthees picked up two win in 2011 that vaulted him for third to the tie.

--Deer Creek can boast the highest weekly car count in all of WISSOTA with an average of 21.33-cars per night. The Dart Challenge Series show had 43-cars and was one the top five highest car counts for the year in WISSOTA-land.

 
NAPA Auto Care Centers USRA Modifieds
--Jason Cummins took home his third straight modified point title in 2011. Cummins won twice and finished in the top five seven times. Cummins also tied Kenny Wytaske as the only other driver to win three consecutive track titles. He also won a feature during the WMDTC and the Fall Jamboree. It is Cummins’ fourth track title as he won the Midwest Modified crown in 2005.

--What a rookie season for Brandon Davis. The “Medford Monster� won the season opener with 30-cars on hand. He won another on July 23 and finished in the top five eight times to finish second in points.

--When Mike Sorensen won on June 25, he surpassed Mark Teske with 49-wins and became second on the all-time win list. Sorensen has won a feature in 14 of the 16 years that Deer Creek has been in existence. The only two years he did not were 1997 & 2008.

--Just like the Late Models, the Modified car counts were awesome all season with six nights over the 30-mark and an average of 28.66-cars per night.

 
US ARMY WISSOTA Super Stocks
--Kelly Anderson won probably the wildest point chase in Deer Creek’s history. With three drivers all within reach on the final night, it was a final lap, final turn and hard charging pass of Ed Sanders that clinched the championship by one point over Ryan Siegle.

--Jeff Brauer had a wild ride of an up and down season. Brauer got upside down and wrecked his primary car, but it did not make a difference, as his back-up machine was just as good. Brauer won seven times and if it were not for one mechanical breakdown he could have won his fourth track title.

 
Dirt Doctor Trucking WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
--Jared Boumeester picked up his first track title with only one win. However, we hear so often that consistency wins championships and that paid off for Boumeester because he finished in the top five in all 13-point nights.

--Dustin Scott was the other big story in this division. Scott won twice and then was sidelined for a couple of months with a broken wrist. When he came back it was with a vengeance. Scott won six features in a row including all three nights of the Featherlite Fall Jamboree

--Score one for the ladies..Casey Jane Trom had a pretty decent rookie season and finished fifth in points. She improved steadily and won a couple of heats races during the Fall Jamboree.

 
Hinz Enterprises USRA B-Modifieds
--Brandon Hare won his second consecutive track title with five feature wins. Just like Jared Boumeester, Hare finished in the top five in all 13-nights of racing. There could be a new champ next season as Hare is slated to move up to the modified ranks.

--The old saying goes, the first win is the hardest to get, then they come in bunches. That definitely was the case for Jake Timm and Erik Kanz. Both recorded their first wins at the speedway this season and they liked it so much they did it again and again. Timm tallied four wins and Kanz visited the Bobcat of Rochester victory lane three times.

--There were quite a few young drivers injected into this class that have made huge improvements. It will be fun to follow their progress in the next couple of years.

 

331 Bar & Grill WISSOTA Street Stocks

--It was again the Danny Hanson show this year in the Street Stocks. Hanson won his second straight track title with five wins and eleven top fives. Hanson always seemed to have somebody picked out to hand his winning trophy to when he got to victory lane.

--Hanson also leap-frogged ahead of Travis Krause early in the season to become the winningest Street Stock driver in the speedway’s history. Hanson now has 26-wins in the division. The closest active driver to him is A.J. Zvorak with nine wins.

--This class had some very competitive racing this past season. It was amazing to watch every week and some very talented drivers did not make to victory lane. Kory Adams, Nick Schwebach and Shawn Mann all improved noticeably in 2011.

 
Truck Country Slingshots
--While numbers were down a bit this year, Saturday afternoons were still filled with slingshot action. In the Pee-Wee class, Jim Chisholm won his second straight title. Derek Clement also won his second straight in the Junior division. Jackson Koster topped the Senior class.

 
Special Events
--The first ever bus races took place on May 21 with seven schools on hand. Chip Bernard drove the Chatfield bus to victory in a wild event that saw one bus flip over on its side.

--The first 2011 stop for the USMTS Modifieds had Ryan Gustin scoring his first ever win at “The Creek�. Gustin stood on top of the outstanding 62-car field that attended the show on May 28.

--Also on May 28 the Stock Car division made its return to the speedway for the first time since September 20, 2003. Kevin Donlan won a very entertaining feature topping the 24-car field.

--Billy Balog topped the 30-car field to win the Bumper To Bumper IRA Sprint Car show on June 11. Balog passed Dave Uttech just past halfway to win his second in a row here.

--On July 2, the Dart Late Model Challenge Series for WISSOTA Late Models rolled into town. Jimmy Mars won for the first time at Deer Creek when he topped the stellar 43-car field.

--World Of Outlaws Late Models and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Josh Richards etched his name into Deer Creek history when he nabbed $11,000 for nailing down the win at the 31st Annual NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50.

--After the rainout in April, the much anticipated World Modified Dirt Track

Championship took place on July 27-30. A big field of 126-drivers invaded the facility for the $20,000 to win feature. Jason Cummins, Randy Timms and Ryan Gustin won the qualifying features. But it was Brad Waits who stood on top of the World after Saturday night’s finale.

--The season concluded on September 22-24 with the 13th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree. This show had 104-modifieds and 47-WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds in attendance. Brad Waits and Jason Cummins had the locals screaming after the first two nights. Bob Timm won the non-qualifier, but Missouri legend Terry Phillips hauled $9000 back to the Show-Me state and his first Jamboree title. Dustin Scott won all three nights in the midwest mods and took over $1400 home with him.

 
Thanks To Everyone That Made The Season Possible
 

--This year would not be finished without a big thank you. To the Queensland family, all of the track employees, volunteers, sponsors, racers, pit-crews and of course the great race fans, thanks to all of you who make the Deer Creek Speedway the place to be on Saturday’s.

--We enjoyed some great racing and had a lot of fun with our friends and families. Thanks for making us part of your weekend during the summer months. Have a safe and healthy off-season and we will see you in the spring of 2012.

 

In Memory….

--The season ended on a very sad note, just one day after the season was complete. The Deer Creek Speedway lost a member of its family on Sunday, September 25. Dave Geerdes passed away suddenly at the age of 55. Dave was the director of the Slingshot program for the past couple of years. He also took a few turns in the flag stand and did anything that needed to be done.

--Dave was also an accomplished racer himself racing the Street Stock division in the mid-1970s. He won numerous features and track championships at Kasson and Rochester. He was also one of the founding members of the Stewie Cruisers car club.

--We are going to miss Dave terribly and ask that you keep his wife Patty, daughters Nikki (who works in the tower at the track), Brittany and granddaughter Payten along with the rest of their family members in your thoughts and prayers as these days and months pass.

God Speed Dave…

 
2012 Deer Creek Speedway Tentative Schedule of Events
 

2012 Event Date

Event Day & Start Time

Event Name

March 16-18

TBD

RaceWise Chassis School

March 31, 2012

Saturday 9a-4p

Clements Car Show - Rochester, MN

April 4, 2012

Wed 5p - 9p

Practice

April 7, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race - Season Opener

April 14, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

April 21, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

April 28, 2012

Saturday 5pm

USMTS 4K Race

May 5, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

May 12, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

May 19, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Bus Races **

May 26, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Southern MN Spring Challenge

June 2, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

June 9, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

June 19, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Points Race

June 23, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Midseason Points Race

June 30, 2012

Saturday 6pm

Firecracker

July 7, 2012

Saturday 6pm

NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 (RD July 8th)

July 14, 2012

Saturday 6pm

Points Race

July 21, 2012

Saturday 6pm

Midseason Points Race

July 25, 2012

Wednesday 6:30pm

WORLD (RD July 29)

July 26, 2012

Thursday 6:30pm

WORLD (RD July 29)

July 27, 2012

Friday 6:30pm

WORLD (RD July 29)

July 28, 2012

Saturday 5:30pm

WORLD (RD July 29)

August 11, 2012

Saturday 6pm

Points Race

August 18, 2012

Saturday 6pm

Points Race

August 25, 2012

Saturday 6pm

Track Championship Night - Points Race

September 1, 2012

Saturday 5pm

BP Labor Day Dual Presented by Baudoin Oil Co

September 15, 2012

Saturday 6:30pm

Clash at the Creek (RD Sept 16)

September 19, 2012

Wednesday 6p to 9p

Featherlite Fall Jamboree Practice

September 20, 2012

Thursday 6pm

Featherlite Fall Jamboree (RD Sept 23)

September 21, 2012

Friday 6pm

Featherlite Fall Jamboree (RD Sept 23)

September 22, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Featherlite Fall Jamboree (RD Sept 23)

November 17, 2012

Saturday 5pm

Awards Banquet

 
Schedule Subject to Change

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