by Dean Reller
Sept. 17, 2013 – One year ago the Thunderstruck 93 came down to a last lap battle between local favorites that race on the ARCA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings that had every fan jumping from their seat as the checkered flag waved. Team Spiked Island Touring Star Jacob Goede led a good portion of the race, but Team i-gogs Sunglasses Touring Star Dan Fredrickson mounted a late race charge. The two leaders made contact in turn four, Goede got loose, and Fredrickson slipped by and took the win. That’s the kind of drama and excitement this race can provide. “Here we are a year later and people are still talking about it,” remarked Fredrickson during a recent interview.
“I don’t think a lot of the fans really understand what it’s like to be in those positions. Jacob and I are good friends and we both have respect for each other.” It’s not a heated rivalry as the casual observer may think. There is a lot of respect amongst each other. “Jacob and I are both wanting to run well, we’re both in the points and have raced together all year, we’ll see what happens.”
The Thunderstruck 93 is the only ARCA Midwest Tour race in Minnesota this year and for a handful of drivers, it’s the only chance they can showcase their skills in front of their home fans at Elko Speedway. The 3/8th’s mile track with progressive banking provides multiple grooves for side by side racing. “It’s a great race track, but for me, we don’t get to race long races at our home track. You can run a 40 lap race on a Saturday night, but there are no 100 or 125 lap races,” said Fredrickson. That’s one of reasons that this race is special.
The other reason is the most important, a tribute to Dan Ryan, a racer who many got to know very well until a battle with ALS would ultimately take his life. The race’s name Thunderstruck 93 came from Ryan’s favorite song, Thunderstruck by AC/DC and the 93 representing Ryan’s car number. “I don’t want the Jacob Goede/ Dan Fredrickson battle to lose focus about what this race is all about,” said Fredrickson. “We are here to honor a friend who lost his life to ALS. We are trying to raise as much money as we can for the cause. Hopefully it’s a good exciting race again and it keeps on building.”
Fredrickson has won 3 of the 4 Thunderstruck 93’s that have been held and once again will be a favorite to compete for the win. In addition to the Touring Stars of the ARCA Midwest Tour, one of those also vying for win will be Jake Ryan, Dan Ryan’s son, who has run well in past Thunderstruck 93’s including leading the inaugural race. Even a tough competitor such as Fredrickson who is close friends with Jake Ryan remarked “Of all people, I’d like to see Jake Ryan win it.” That’s something that would get the fans out of their seats again this year.
The weekend’s events will kick off on Friday with qualifying starting at 6:00pm for the ARCAMT, Big 8 Series and Thunder Cars/Hobby Stocks. Racing will begin at 7:30pm. Saturday’s events will begin at 5:30pm with racing at 7:00pm. For a complete schedule go to arcamidwesttour.com.
Be sure to follow the ARCA Midwest Tour on Facebook (midwesttour) and Twitter (@midwesttour).
To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on to arcamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ARCA Midwest Tour office at (262) 729-4111 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or Steve Einhaus (630) 212-6022 at or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@arcamidwesttour.comor Steve Einhaus at steve@arcamidwesttour.com.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
