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- Ben
Wandahsega Has Back-to-Back Wins at WSORR Opener
- 2007
WSORR Rounds I and II
May 30, 2007
The Ben Wandahsega Off-Road Race Team pulled into beautiful Owatonna,
MN, on Thursday night, words alone cannot express what a great job all
the volunteers have done leading up to this opening event for the
newly formed World Series of Off-Road Racing. With dual responsibility
of Super Stock race truck owner/racer and local track promoter for
rounds I & II at the Steele County Fairgrounds, Don Williams and his
girlfriend Sue have taken the reigns and brought South East Minnesota
a truly “ground shaking” experience.
 Friday
Nearly 150 racers were pitted, teched-in and ready for practice. The
track is set up much like Lake Odessa, MI, or even Antigo, WI. Lots of
moguls, jumps, some high speed sections and lots of potential
“hot-spots” for some close-fender, bump and pass action. The first
practice session was well attended and received by many. A nice crowd
of local race fans were there to witness our style of racing that has
been made increasingly popular in Michigan and Wisconsin. We’re very
grateful to the city of Owatonna allow us the opportunity change up
our venue and put a little mud in the eyes of our neighboring
Minnesotans.
Saturday
As the Super Trucks rumbled onto the track, spectators and WSORR
Officials were preparing for the inaugural race at the Owatonna
Speedway with much anticipation. Baseball Legend and ‘double’ World
Series winner Jack Morris, our honorary Grand Marshall made the
official announcement of “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!” That being
said, more than 5,500 HP took to the starting line.
When the green flag dropped, Ben wasted no time taking to the front of
the pack. Half-way through lap 1, Team Wandahsega was clearly making a
statement. By lap 3, Baudoux was coming on strong and Ben knew that
mistakes were not an option as he led his #297 Super Truck
methodically though the very technical short course. “Horsepower isn’t
the key element on this type of track. Finding a good line, keeping
it, and staying consistently on the gas is”, Ben stated. Although Ben
and Dan had some side-by-side action at midpoint of the race, Team
Wandahsega took the Forest County Potawatomi, Toyo Tires Chevy to the
checkered flag with no doubt in who was the strongest finisher of the
afternoon. Round I finishers as follows: 1st Ben Wandahsega, 2nd Dan
Baudoux, 3rd Don Williams.
Sunday
With torrential down-pouring rain throughout the night, the race track
took on a whole new personality. The first few classes of racers had
to make quite a few strategic changes to their racing styles, as they
attempted to navigate through some flooded areas of the track.
The Super trucks took to the starting line and RJ Flanagan, team
spotter, reminded Ben to “Take it slow, let the others bunch up in the
muck in the first corner, than make your move.” That was exactly what
Ben did. Yes, due to the win on Saturday, race order was reversed and
that sent team Wandahsega, along with Baudoux, to the back of the
pack. With Ben’s patience, he was able to navigate to the front of the
crowd of trucks and take the lead. The only contention during the race
was the lap traffic. “My Toyo Open Country M/T’s worked flawlessly,
especially in the corners where all my competitors were having so much
trouble”, stated Ben after the race. I interestingly enough, another
common front runner, Dan Baudoux wasn’t a threat, commenting later to
Ben on how he wasn’t able to get anything going during that race.
The 15 lap, round II event ended with the same podium finishers as in
round I. 1st position to Ben Wandahsega, 2nd position to Dan Baudoux ,
and rounding out the podium with Don Williams in 3rd position.
The Ben Wandahsega Off-Road Racing Team would like to thank the
following sponsors for putting the truck on podium and supplying the
team with all the necessary equipment to keep it there. Forest County
Potawatomi Community, Toyo Tires, Motive Gear, TrailReady, BDS
Suspensions, Neo Synthetics, ATD Transmissions and CLC Pit Crew Gear.
For more on Team Ben Wandahsega, please visit:
www.benwandahsega.com
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