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Wreck doesn't overshadow season championships STOCK CAR RACING By JOE LINDHOLM Sports Writer BARROWS - There was a little bit of everything on Saturday night at North Central Speedway with season points champions being crowned.
Fans also witnessed a scary accident with Street Stock driver Louis Wermter. His wreck happened in the Street Stock feature as his car rolled over and started on fire on the back stretch on lap five. Thanks to the quick work of the track's crew, and the safety features of his car, Wermter was able to walk away unharmed.
"I was just going down the back stretch and another car got into me and I was going into the wall," he said. "I knew it was going to hurt when I hit, which it did.
"Then it started rolling and my thought was just 'please don't start on fire' so it started on fire but I have to give the track guys credit. They got over there fast and got it put out."
Tim Johnson was the leader at that point and stayed in the lead for the entire race on his way to his second straight victory and track championship. Dan Severson finished second and Doug Miller finished third.
"The car felt great and the track was awesome," Johnson said. "We have been on a roll and have been winning this week. The car is back to where we had it the middle of the year and it's running good.
"Dan (Severson) and I have always been friends and he has always been a good racer. We used to help him out when he first started. We love to race and laugh and joke about it."
Johnson not only will run his Street Stock and Super Stock car. He will also climb into a Sprint car next weekend at the Mighty Axe Nationals on Saturday and Sunday at NCS. Johnson tried out the ride this season over the Fourth of July.
"The owner of the car is my dad's cousin," he said. "About four or five years ago he had mentioned that he had a sprint car that he could throw together for me to drive. I've raced it half a dozen times.
"He called me before the Fourth of July and said he was bringing two cars so I drove one. It ran good and I was happy with that so hopefully next weekend will be a good weekend."
Two years ago Dan Ebert was the season points champion in the Pure Stock class. Last year he made the jump to the Midwest Modified class and had a successful rookie season.
Ebert did that one better this year, securing the points championship in the No. 60 Wendy's car. He finished second behind race winner Ryan Kriese. Shane Sabraski finished third in the race and finished up 11 points behind Ebert in the points race.
Ebert realizes how tough the class is with drivers like Kriese and Sabraski, last year's national champion, competing every week. While fans realize his talent, Ebert was pleasantly surprised with his effort in the 2009 season.
"It's always surprising and I am happy that I can beat the best of the best," he said. "I'm happy about the year. I feel like I set my goals high and overall I'm very happy about it.
"It was a fun race. I have to get back in my notebook and see where I can pick up a little bit of speed. It seems like I was faster halfway through the year than I am now. I'm happy about the championship and had a good, consistent year. I have to thank my parents, who have put forth a lot of effort and have been behind me 100 percent."
Shane Sabraski is the season points champion in the A-Modified class. He ended the season with another first-place finish Saturday. Dave Cain finished second and Shawn Fletcher was third.
Sabraski won seven feature races during the year, and finished 86 points ahead of second-place Charles Cooper IV.
Dan Gullickson had the season championship all but sewn up heading into Saturday's race. He managed a second-place finish in the feature race with John Yilek placing first. Jeremy Snow was third. Gullickson captured the championship by finishing 45 points in front of Derek Sweet.
Robert Mueller won the Pure Stock feature with a green-to-checker run from the front row. Mueller never gave up the lead and survived two restarts. Gary Ohnstad Jr. finished second and Daaron Johnson finished third.
Mike Smude had a fourth-place finish in the feature race and secured the season points championship. Johnson kept the pressure on as he finished just 16 points behind Smude.
All classes, along with Sprint cars, will compete next Saturday and Sunday in the Mighty Axe Nationals at NCS.
NCS PURE STOCK
Feature-1-Robert Mueller, 2-Gary Ohnstad Jr., 3-Daaron Johnson
B Feature-1-Mike Smude, 2-Cody Przybilla, 3-Gary Sack
Heat 1-1-Robert Mueller, 2-Mark Olson, 3-Max Dondelinger
Heat 2-1-Gary Ohnstad Jr., 2-Daaron Johnson, 3-Craig Paul
Heat 3-1-Bill Nelson, 2-Jacob Jordan, 3-Bradley Nelson
WISSOTA STREET STOCKS
Feature-1-Tim Johnson, 2-Dan Severson, 3-Doug Miller
Heat 1-1-Tim Johnson, 2-Todd Wooden, 3-Mark Johnson
Heat 2-1-Dan Severson, 2-Mark Blood, 3-Doug Miller
Heat 3-
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIEDS
Feature-1-Ryan Kriese, 2-Shane Sabraski, 3-Dan Ebert
Heat 1-1-Ryan Kriese, 2-Dan Ebert, 3-Bill Matzdorf
Heat 2-1-Shane Sabraski, 2-John Thompson, 3-Jeff Nelson
WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS
Feature-1-John Yilek, 2-Dan Gullickson, 3-Jeremy Snow
Heat 1-1-Dan Gullickson, 2-Jake Goetze, 3-Tim O'Brien
Heat 2-1-John Yilek, 2-Mike Frolik, 3-Derek Sweet
WISSOTA A-MODIFIEDS
Feature-1-Shane Sabraski, 2-Dave Cain, 3-Shawn Fletcher
Heat 1-1-Shane Sabraski, 2-Shawn Fletcher, 3-Dave Cain
Heat 2-1-Charles Cooper IV, 2-Troy Jordan, 3-Rick Jacobson
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