Grimes wins on last lap: Jamestown driver passes Tarno for WISSOTA Mod win; Klein takes MW Mod feature
Jason Grimes couldn’t figure out why Jamestown’s Randy Tarno was shooting out of turn 2 like a rocket Saturday night at Jamestown Speedway.By: Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
- Jamestown Speedway
Jason Grimes couldn’t figure out why Jamestown’s Randy Tarno was shooting out of turn 2 like a rocket Saturday night at Jamestown Speedway.
The Jamestown WISSOTA Modified driver trailed Tarno for most of the race and even attempted to follow Tarno’s high-side line.
“I tried the top right behind him and just couldn’t drive out of it like him,” Grimes said. “It seemed pretty good in the middle.”
Grimes stuck to his guns and the strategy paid off, as he shot past him on the back straightaway of the final lap to win the A-main.
Tarno started second and used his fast line to take the top spot from pole-sitter Delray Dykstra on the first lap. He led until the final lap, though Grimes was on his tail several times, using the middle to challenge.
“The more we went, it seemed a little cleaner in the middle,” Grimes said. “Maybe it got a little dirty up top, a little dusty. It seemed to me he bobbled a few times at the end, too.”
It’s the third win of the year for Grimes including the second in as many weeks. He won in Aberdeen, S.D., last week.
“That’s always good; I’ve been in the top five all year,” said Grimes, who is third in the season-points chase and is within 13 of leader John Corell of Jamestown. “I had a little monkey on my back and I haven’t quite pulled it off. Hopefully, we can steamroll forward.”
The win comes for a driver that has taken more nights off this year. Grimes said he typically races three to five nights a week, but has cut back to two nights.
“It’s a little change of pace for me,” he said.
Tough luck is what it could be called for Tarno, who dominated at times but couldn’t hang on.
“I’ve had it done to me many times,” Grimes said of Tarno’s finish. “I know how it is to be sitting in the second position (after the race). It’s pretty discouraging, but it’s a part of the game.”
Blake Jegtvig of Hawley, Minn., finished third, followed by Corell and Mark Trautner of Mahnomen, Minn., respectively.
Midwest Modifieds
There were five different leaders during the Midwest Modifieds feature, but Randy Klein of Enderlin was the final one.
He took the lead from Jamestown’s Scott Bintz — who was going for his sixth overall win in a row — with three laps to go to secure the feature win.
“Any time you win in Jamestown, it’s huge,” Klein said.
The ultra-competitive race saw a jumbled front of the pack for most of its run, which Klein said tested his patience.
“A couple of years ago, I would have spun out half them guys and went to the back halfway through the race,” Klein said. “I’m getting older. Sick of wreckin’ (stuff).”
Travis Aljets of Carrington started on the pole, but Dave Peterson of Jamestown jumped past him on the first lap and looked like the most consistent car early on. However, several cautions kept the pack close, and Bintz made his move halfway through. Bintz led for three laps, until he was challenged by Ryan Lehr of Jamestown, who led for one lap until Bintz took it back.
Lapped traffic forced drivers to get creative toward the end of the 25-car feature, and Klein took advantage.
“I felt like I was there in contention for most of the race,” said Klein, who started third. “Everybody bottle-necked, and I tried to be patient and wait for someone to mess up. Everyone was switching lanes and racing hard. I’d say it was more patience than anything.”
Bintz finished second, ahead of Lehr. Jeremy Forester of Jamestown and Carrington’s Rusty Kollman rounded out the top five, respectively.
WISSOTA Modifieds
Heat 1: Mark Trautner, Randy Tarno, Jerry Lamb, Ryan Mikkelson, Dwight Wegner (DNF), Randy Klein (DNF). Heat 2: Rusty Kollman, Delray Dykstra, John Corell, John Nord, Ward Imrie, Nick Thoreson. Heat 3: Jason Grimes, Blake Jegtvig, Eric Edwards, Jamie Trautner, Josh Eberhardt, Bob Banish, Jr.
Feature: 1, Grimes. 2, Tarno. 3, Jegtvig. 4, Corell. 5, Trautner. 6, Mikkelson. 7, Imrie. 8, Trautner. 9, Lamb. 10, Kollman. 11, Eberhardt. 12, Edwards. 13, Thoreson. 14, Nord. 15, Banish, Jr. 16, Wegner. 17, Dykstra. 18, Klein (DNF).
Midwest Modifieds
Heat 1: Ryan Lehr, Preston Carr, Travis Aljets, Eric Edwards, Darin Smith, Brandon Gussiaas, Troy Nelson, Steve Ost, John Clemens. Heat 2: Scott Bintz, Dave Peterson, Jeremy Forester, Andy Kapp, Lucas Rodin, Tyler Schrenk, Brennon Weight, Jim Morlock (DNF). Heat 3: Randy Klein, Greg Friestad, Rusty Kollman, Jason Thoms, Darren Pfau, Jay Sahr, Shannon Schlenker, Terry Sahr (DNF).
Feature: 1, Klein. 2, Bintz. 3, Lehr. 4, Forester. 5, Kollman. 6, Peterson. 7, Rodin. 8, Nelson. 9, Aljets. 10, Thoms. 11, Gussiaas. 12, Edwards. 13, Pfau. 14, Smith. 15, Friestad. 16, T. Sahr. 17, Ost. 18, Schrenk. 19, J. Sahr. 20, Weight. 21, Schlenker. 22, Kapp (DNF). 23, Carr (DNF). 24, Clemens (DNF). 25, Morlock (DNF).
Quads
Heat 1: Jesse Habeck, Kenn Bailey, James waldrop, Justin Valenta. Heat 2: Justin Jager, Mark Schafers, Brenton Wiesz.
Feature: 1, Habeck. 2, Bailly. 3, Waldrop. 4, Jager. 5, Valenta. 6, Wiesz. 7, Schaefers.
Hornets
Feature: 1, Dylan Wiesz. 2, Alex Kelstrom. 3, Tim Dabill. 4, Sam Gray. 5, Chase Golliet (DNF). 6, Bill Bachmeier (DNF).
Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
Tags: auto racing, jamestown speedway, sports, racing
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