Oahe Speedway e-News

For Immediate Release

Monday, November 16, 2009

Oahe Speedway's 2009 Class Champions

to  be honored at

Season Ending Banquet

The Ramkota River Center will host the 2009 Oahe Speedway Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 21.  The evening kicks off with a social hour at 5pm, dinner to follow at 6pm and the awards ceremony taking place at 7pm.

Rick Meier, of Box Elder, will be named the 2009 Dale's A-1 Transmission Super Series Champion.  Meier took an early lead, in the 2009 series, and was never headed, as he ran toward his first championship in the competition which combines the NHRA classes of Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street.  Meier piloted his '84 Corvette, to one win and two runners up in the five race series.  Bobi Legner, of Pierre, took second place with one win, and a runner up finish, in her '67 Chevelle.  David Rae, of Gillette, WY, won the final race of the series, placing third.  Randy Nygaard, of Watertown and Lance Trujillo, of Gillette, WY, tied for fourth place, with 2008 series champion, Doug Legner, of Pierre, rounding out the top five.

The ten race Coca Cola Super Pro series came down to a battle between Curt Humann, of Pierre, and the aforementioned, Rick Meier.

Meier prevailed in this competitive class, and will take home his second 2009 Oahe speedway class championship.  Going into the final points race of the season, Humann still had a mathematical chance of over taking Meier, who lost in the first round. Unfortunately, for Humann, he was unable to make up enough ground on the final day.

  Meier won only one points series race, but with three runners up, he was able to take the championship.  The ten race series saw eight  different winners, with Humann and Sean Billet, of Pierre taking two apiece.  Chad Uhrig, of Pierre finished in third place, with Billet taking the fourth spot.  Bryant Fuchs, of Bowman, ND, in his first dedicated season at Oahe Speedway, settled in to the top five, in the Fuchs family- owned rear engine dragster.  With the exception of Meier's "door" car, the remainder of the top five were all rear engine dragsters. 

Stan "Butch" Monson will take his second consecutive

Coca Cola Pro series title back home to Groton, SD.  With only one first round loss, three wins and two runners up, Monson, and his '69 Mustang fastback, served notice that he was serious about defending his 2008 title.  Tommy Dale Vines, of Eagle Butte, finished in second place, with one win and a runner up showing, to stay within striking

distance.  Darcy Madsen, of Rapid City, trailed Vines by just over one round win, in the final standing, taking third place. While not winning a race, fourth place Steve Boke, of Gettysburg, took a runner up finish in the ninth race of the series, with fellow Gettysburg runner, Bill Wright, taking fifth place, a scant one round win behind.  The class, averaging 30 cars per race, saw  five rounds of racing in eight of ten contested.  Two of the races needed six rounds to determine the days winner. 

Coca Cola Bike/Snowmobile class Champion Wade Johnson, dominated the class from race one.  The 2005 Bike class Champion returned to Oahe Speedway full time, in 2009, set on taking the championship. Johnson won six races and took two runners up, to walk away with the trophy.  Defending champion, Chris Boom, of Pierre, winning two races, was unable to stay up with the red -hot Johnson, settling for the season's  runner up title.  Ed Pope, of Pierre, beat Johnson in race number five, to finish behind Boom. Shawn England, with mechanical woes sidelining his '06 Hyabusa for a few races, still managed to win twice, placing fourth in the season long battle.  Jason Kotz, of Pierre, rode his Suzuki Katana fifth place honors.

Travis Falcon, defending 2008 Coca Cola Sportsman Champion, will repeat in 2009.  he talented Pierre driver battled with Tom Harms, of Valentine, NE, and Tyler Ehlers, of Pierre, for most of the season.  Although Harms did not win a race during the season, and had two runners up, he was able to go deep into elimination rounds consistently.  That consistency put Harms into second place on the final standings.  Tyler Ehlers, the 2008 High School champion, moved up to Sportsman, placed third.  Derek Gray, of Pierre, took fourth place in the series.  Gray, in five seasons of racing, has never finished  out of the top six.   Doug Percy, of Winner, lost only two first round races all year, and based on round wins, was able to drive his  Malibu to fifth place in the class. 

Beck Motor Company sponsored Street Trophy class champion,

Ron Winterberg, of Timber Lake, lost in the first round of competition, on May 3rd, and came back to win the second race of the series.  Winterberg would go on to win two more points races, and took two runners-up, to win his first Oahe Speedway class championship. Karen England, of Pierre, drover her Mustang to two wins, and a runner up finish, to claim second place. Christopher Pigors, of Ferney, made the long tow from northeast South Dakota pay off in a third place showing.  Brennan Gray, 2007 and 2008 defending champion, with one win in mid summer, claimed fourth place.  Randy Magilke, of Pierre, trailed Gray by just under 3 round wins, to take home fifth place honors.

Tyler Ehlers, of Pierre, will repeat as the 2009 Snap On / McGaugh Trailer Repair class champion.  Despite winning five races during the summer long series, Ehlers was never able to shake Stephanie Holm, of Pierre.  Holm finished in second place, barely a round win behind Ehlers.  Holm, moving up from the BankWest Junior Dragster ranks, was competing in her first year of "door" car racing.  Sisters Taryn and Alyssa Colson, of Blunt, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Rookie Taryn won one series race, with Alyssa winning

twice.  Sonnie Boke, of Gettysburg, took a runner up finish in race two, and finished fifth in the points.

Ashley Holm, of Pierre, and Bonnie Fuchs, of Bowman, ND, will become Oahe Speedway's first class co-champions.  The BankWest Junior Dragster series came down to the final round of the season to determine the class champions.  Holm, with three wins and a runner up, was followed closely by Fuchs.  Fuchs consistency kept her within striking distance.  The final tally shows a dead even finish for both drivers.  In this case, the perfect attendance bonus had no effect on the outcome, with both having attended all ten races in the series. Jonathon Huse, of Onida, took sole possession of second place, with one win in mid season. Huse placed in the semi finals in several races.

James Morris, of Pierre, was unable to four-peat in 2009.  Morris,

defending 2006-07-08 champion, won one race and had one runner up finish, to take third place in the standings. Noah Miller, of Fort Pierre, competing in his first full season, took one win and one runner up finish to the fourth position in the competitive class.  Kimberlee Geuther, of Fort Pierre, claims fifth position in the series for 2009.

Oahe Speedway, located 14 mile north of Pierre, just off SD Hwy 1804, is South Dakota's only 1/4 mile National Hot Rod Association sanctioned drag strip.  The track will begin its sixth season of operation in mid April 2010.