o

Brian Joski, RJ Lego Score Wins as King of the Elements Kicks Off at Eagle River

Few racing series offer the kind of surface diversity of Monster Energy King of the Elements, the SXS Sports-organized series that challenges UTV racers to take to all types of terrain over the year. The series returned on Saturday with the Arctic Derby Dash in Eagle River, Wisconsin’s World Championship Derby Complex, the same venue that hosted last year’s opening round as well.

Six different classes hit the track for the 2021 opener, including the series’ first-ever SXS Diva Powder Puff race. When all was said and done, Brian Joski scored the Pro Mod victory and took home the $3,000 winner’s check after upsetting Kyle Chaney in the heat race, taking the lead from Brian Waszak early on, and holding off a hard-charging Rodney VanEperen in the 12-lap feature. It was Joski’s best finish in the series since an eighth place at Dirt City Motorplex two years ago. Luke Stubbs completed the podium over Chaney and Scottie Lawrence after third through fifth changed hands multiple times in the closing laps.

VanEperen’s second place in Pro Mod came shortly after a third place finish in the Pro Stock class, as he completed the podium behind his son Owen in second and race winner RJ Lego. Lego, who started ninth, charged through the field in the first half of the race, making the decisive pass on Owen VanEperen with four laps to go.

Chase Kleist took the Sportsman victory after he and Jake Kosmecki got around Riley Marquardt just past halfway in their nine-lap feature. Both Collin Paitl and Ellah Holtger took dual podiums in the youth classes, with Holtger and Paitl finishing second and third to Troy Johnson in the 570 race and Paitl beating Corbyn Wassenberg and Holtger in the SXS Mini feature. Amber Holtger wrapped up the festivities with a win in the Diva race, making the decisive pass on Shantel Homernik on the final lap of the night after wheel-to-wheel contact down the frontstretch.

Pro Mod SXS Results

FIN.ST.NO.DRIVERLAPS/TIMEINTERVALBEST
1295 BRIAN JOSKI12/10:25.66441.355
2345 RODNEY VANEPEREN12/10:26.3900.72641.756
31288 LUKE STUBBS12/10:33.2507.58641.015
44191 KYLE CHANEY12/10:38.53212.86841.19
5526 SCOTTIE LAWRENCE12/10:39.03313.36941.93
6168 BRIAN WASZAK12/10:39.46613.80241.614
7881 JASON WATT12/10:39.81514.15143.444
8923 TYLER KRUSICK12/10:44.68919.02544.628
9717 MICHAEL GILLILAND12/10:52.39926.73541.745
10628 GRAY LEADBETTER12/10:55.46029.79642.382
1111959 THOMAS BLANTON12/11:11.07045.40643.907
121094 LELAND THYES10/9:14.9772 Laps43.207

Pro Stock SXS Results

FIN.ST.NO.DRIVERLAPS/TIMEINTERVALBEST
1991 RJ LEGO12/11:52.34242.656
215 OWEN VANEPEREN12/11:54.5122.1743.361
3545 RODNEY VANEPEREN12/11:57.6365.29442.902
4299 JESSE KLAUS12/12:00.7268.38443.605
5741 SCOTT WASZ12/12:00.9078.56543.672
6613 MATT BOHN12/12:02.83910.49744.078
7822 DYLAN MARQUARDT12/12:04.61912.27744.817
81075 BILL BERGER12/12:08.38016.03845.415
91195 BEN ENLOE12/12:10.76618.42444.985
102037 ZACH JANKE12/12:11.20718.86544.73
111998 BLAKE ENLOE12/12:11.46919.12745.008
12461 KYLE THOME12/12:12.46120.11944.398
131488 TIM CHRISTENSEN12/12:14.18321.84145.689
141384 JORDAN MCKNIGHT12/12:18.12425.78245.422
151597 JACK LETOURNEAU12/12:22.32629.98444.279
161821 JOSH BAYER12/12:36.22143.87944.2
17344 JOHN HOLTGER11/11:54.6631 Lap42.278
181780 JUSTIN TESSMER11/12:19.4221 Lap44.594
191236 JOE DRESEL8/9:06.1114 Laps44.981
201674 RORY NAVIN4/3:13.7468 Laps45.027

A rebroadcast of Saturday’s event can be found here. Monster Energy King of the Elements continues with the Spring National from Dirt City Motorplex on May 21-22, and returns to 141 Speedway on September 17-18 for Chaos at the Creek. Jimmy Henderson and Rodney VanEperen are the defending Pro Mod and Pro Stock winners from Dirt City, respectively, while Scottie Lawrence and Scott Wasz took the checkered flags in the top two classes in last year’s visit to 141.

Chris Leone

A veteran of the motorsports industry (both physical and digital), Chris Leone contributes coverage of race events of all types to Off-Road Racer. Elsewhere, he is the marketing/communications manager at iRacing, media director of Jim Beaver's Down & Dirty Show, and a frequent contributor to UTV Underground.