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Heartland 200 race recap

Posted: 1/28/2025

Heartland 200

Park Rapids, Minnesota

Cor PowerSports was back in action last weekend for the much anticipated Heartland 200 in Park Rapids, Minnesota. This event is a favorite for several of our racers and crew members! The community of Park Rapids does a great job getting involved to make this event a hit year after year. The winner of the Heartland 200 Pro Stock Final is also awarded a coveted neon sign trophy which is something all of our racers strive to achieve in their career.

Due to lack of snow in the area, the event was moved to Fish Hook Lake and ran as a 10-mile plowed lake race. Saturday morning brough -3 degree temperatures with 24 MPH winds with gusts up to 40 MPH. These conditions pushed back our start time by 30 minutes so we could let the plow trucks touch up the race course.

The first race of the weekend was the Semi Pro Improved two lap qualifier. This time qualifier set the starting order for the final later in the day. After two laps, Elliott Clark was top qualifier on his Arctic Cat with a time of 20 minutes 45.3 seconds. In second was Kyle Quesenberry (-1.457 seconds), third was Dylon Tollefson (-2.452 seconds), fourth was Mitchell Kauk (-5.214 seconds) and fifth was Marcus Moldaschel (-5.635 seconds). All sleds were very close in time with the top 11 racers all under one minute of each other!

In race two, the racers competed in day one of their two days of racing. A highlight of the heat was in the Masters 50+ classes there was a very close battle between Tommie Quam and Don McKay! After 40 miles on day one, the two were only separated by 0.871 seconds with Quam in the lead.

Race three of the day was the Pro Open and Semi Pro Improved two-lap qualifier. This set the starting order for the finals at the end of the day. After two laps, Zach Herfindahl was the top qualifier (19 minutes 14.5 seconds) on his Arctic Cat. Aaron Christensen timed in second (-1.220 seconds), Taylor Bunke third (-8.350 seconds), Alex Hetteen fourth (-10.987 seconds), and Evan Peppel in fifth (-17.901 second). The top 10 racers were all under one minute of each other! In the Semi Pro Improved class, Cooper Kangas was top qualifier on his Ski-Doo (19 minutes 57 seconds). Vince VanSlyke second (-1.220 seconds), Derek Kloety third (-1.956 seconds), Brandon Wolter fourth (-9.705 seconds), and Luke Van Lyssel fifth (-10.262 seconds). Top 12 sleds were all under 1 minute of each other!

In Race four the Junior 10-13 class had a good battle brewing after day one. Bryden Diesen held the lead with a total two-lap time of 22 minutes 41 seconds. Cole Prusak was in a close second (-10.971 seconds). Kynsie Diesen was third (-36.057 seconds) and Cash Novacek sitting fourth (-38.557 seconds). The last spot on the podium was up for grabs on day two.

In race five the Pro Factory Women duked it out. After day one, Leah Bauer lead the class with a time of 42 minutes 40.8 seconds. Sitting second was Unity Gausen (-13.600 seconds) and sitting third was Reese Novacek (-31.955 seconds). The Trail class was also a close battle between Paul Votava and John Parker. Only 5.795 seconds separated the two after 40 miles with Votava on top after day one.

Race seven on the day was the Sport Improved final. The race was run as a four-lap timed event. The top three sleds were very close all four laps! After forty miles, Marcus Moldaschel was victorious on his Arctic Cat with a total time of 41 minutes and 21.2 seconds. In second was Dylon Tollefson only 2.038 seconds back (Polaris) and rounding out the podium was Mitchell Kauk 7.45 seconds back (Arctic cat). Timing in fourth was Braden Sillerud on Arctic Cat (-27.491 seconds) and Reese Novacek in fifth on Polaris (43.104 seconds).

Next we ran the Semi Pro Improved final and Pro Open final together both competing in six laps. This was another timed race due to weather and track conditions. In the Pro Open class, Alex Hetteen, Taylor Bunke, and Aaron Christensen were all running very close laps times the entire race making it a very tight finish. After five laps Alex Hetteen held the lead with Taylor Bunke close behind. On the final lap, Taylor Bunke was able to make up the time and finish with the fastest time earning first unofficially. However, the #14 and #28 machines failed post-race tech inspection and were disqualified due to failing allowed ski stance width. This officially gave Alex Hetteen the win on his Polaris with a time of 58 minutes 11.8 seconds. Finishing second was Aaron Christensen on Polaris (-28.160 seconds) and rounding out the podium was Evan Peppel on Polaris (-33.632 seconds). In fourth was Marshall Busse on Polaris (-1:07.6) and Dan Revering on Polaris in fifth (-1:46.9).

In the Semi Pro Improved class, there was a tight battle for the win. After six laps, Brandon Wolter was able to clinch the win on his Polaris with a time of 1 hour 0.2 seconds. In a close second was Vince VanSlyke on his Polaris (-4.2 seconds). In third was Cooper Kangas on Ski-Doo (-14.6 seconds). Oliver Olson finished just over a second out of third in fourth place on his Polaris (-15.3 seconds) and in fifth was Derek Kloety on Arctic Cat (-24.6 seconds).

Day two brought sunshine and less wind which was a win to start the day! The temperature at race time was 16 degrees with only a 15 mph wind!

Race one of the day was the Pro Factory Stock and Semi Pro Factory Stock two-lap qualifier. The top 12 sleds in the Pro Open class were all within one minute of each other and ran very close times! After two laps, Aaron Christensen was top qualifier with a time of 19 minutes 3.7 seconds. After starting at the back of the Semi Pro sleds due to being late to staging, Zach Herfindahl was able to make his way past sleds and lay down a few heaters being second quick only 9.071 second behind Christensen. Qualifying third was Dan Revering (-13.822 seconds), Evan Peppel fourth (-17.581 seconds), Marshall Busse fifth (-17.772 seconds) and rounding out the front row was Alex Hetteen (-22.003 seconds). In the Semi Pro Stock class, all racers were within a minute of each other! Brandon Wolter was top qualifier with a time of 19 minutes 54.045 seconds. In seconds was Tyler Brown (-2.686 seconds), Oliver Olson third (-4.908 seconds), Cooper Kangas fourth (-8.758 seconds), Luke Vaadi fifth (-11.352 seconds) and rounding out the front row was Draycen Byfuglien in sixth (-16.351 seconds).

Race two was the Sport Stock two-lap qualifier. With a dominating qualifier Elliott Clark was on top with a time of 19 minutes 50.8 seconds. Clark was 38.077 seconds in front of second place of Sullivan LaVoie. In third was Braden Sillerud (-47.023 seconds), Unity Gausen in fourth (-47.075 seconds), Kyle Quesenberry fifth (-49.099 seconds) and rounding out the front row was Hayden Hofforth (-53.736 seconds).

Race three started the classes that ran the two day merged time format. In the Classics class, Charlie Revering was the overall winner on his Polaris with a time of 1 hour 17 minutes 5.6 seconds. In second was Paul Votava and in third was Jill Hetteen both also on classic Polaris machines. In the Junior 14-17 division, Luke Fredman took a dominant overall win on his Polaris with a time of 1 hour 14 minutes 42.2 seconds. In second was Brady Wimpfheimer (-1:21.071) and in third was Trig Anderson (-1:40.508) both on Arctic Cats. In the Junior 14-17 Girls class, Taylor Cloose earned another win on her Polaris with a time of 1 hour 18 minutes 24 seconds. In second was Rachel Wimpfheimer on her Arctic Cat and in third was Charlie Kangas on her Ski-Doo. In the Masters 50+ class, the close battle continued on day two. After making up some time on day two, Don McKay (Polaris) was able to steal the win away with a total time of 1 hour 15 minutes 44.452 seconds. Taking a close second was Tommie Quam (Polaris) only 3.8 seconds behind first. In the Vet 30+ class, John Parker took the win on his Polaris with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes 44.1 seconds. In second was Jared Christensen and in third was Keith Gainforth all on Polaris.

Race four was the Junior 10-13 class battle. After day two, Bryden Diesen clinched the win on his Arctic Cat with a time of 44 minutes 58.6 seconds. In second was Cole Prusak on his Polaris (-17.7 seconds) and in third in Junior 10-13 and claiming first in Junior 10-13 Girls was Kynsie Diesen on Arctic Cat (-34.9 seconds). In the Junior 8-12 Transition class, Bretley Iverson with a time of 59 minutes 16.3 seconds. In second was Aiden Jurina (Arctic Cat) and in third was Mia Landin (Polaris).

Next was race five with Pro Factory Women, Trail, and Vintage. In the Pro Women class, Leah Bauer took the win on her Polaris with a total time of 1 hour 13.3 minutes. In second was Unity Gausen only 9.3 seconds out of first and rounding out the podium was Reese Novacek -31.160 seconds making it a Polaris sweep. In the Trail class, John Parker took the win on his Polaris (1:16:31) with Paul Votava in second (Polaris) and Paul Sillerud (Arctic Cat). In the Vintage class, Nick Gustafson took this win on his vintage Polaris machine!

Race six was the last combined time race of the weekend. In the Expert 600 Limited class, Rielly Clark took the win on his Arctic Cat with a time of 1 hour 13 minutes 37 seconds. In second was Brady Wimpfheimer and in third was Trig Anderson making it an Arctic Cat podium sweep. In the Pro Vet 30+ class, Jon Arneson (Arctic Cat) took the win in the Pro Vet 35+ class with a total time of 1 hour 12 minutes 28.5 seconds. In second was Jeff McKay and in third was Jared Christensen both on Polaris.

Race seven was the first heads up final of the weekend. The Sport Stock class competed in four laps with six sleds per row. Just as he did in the qualifier Elliott Clark took the early lead and dominated the race on his Arctic Cat. He took the overall win with a total time of 40 minutes 1.7 seconds. In second place was Marcus Moldaschel on his Arctic Cat (-1:33.9) and after getting a one position penalty and scored in third was Sullivan LaVoie on his Polaris. Securing fourth was Reese Novacek on Polaris and in fifth was Braden Sillerud on Arctic Cat.

Next to the take green flag was the five-lap heads-up Semi Pro Improved final. After a close battle, Brandon Wolter was able to clinch the win and sweep the Semi Pro classes on the weekend with a total time of 46 minutes 56.9 seconds on his Polaris. Oliver Olson took second on his Polaris 6.1 seconds out of first. A close battle brewed for the final step on the podium. Cooper Kangas was able to snag the third place with a few laps to go on his Ski-Doo (-20.9 seconds). Luke Vaadi finished fourth (-22.527) and Tyler Brown in fifth (-36.5) both on Polaris.

The last race of the weekend was the Pro Factory Stock final. This race was a 10 lap heads-up race with a mandatory fuel stop before the white flag. Dan Revering and Aaron Christensen took an early race lead and never looked back. After lap two Christensen was out front with only a 0.315 second lead over Dan Revering in second. After lap three, Christensen stretched his lead out to 4.5 seconds over Revering in second and Peppel in third. On lap four, Christensen laid down his fastest lap of the race stretching his lead to 7.8 seconds over Revering then Peppel. Lap five Christensen continued to grow the lead to 9.7 seconds. On lap six, Revering took fuel which put him into third behind Peppel. On lap seven Christensen fueled and got out of fuel lane right behind Revering giving the 101 the lead back. On lap eight, Revering laid down his fastest lap of the race giving himself a 2.8 second lead over Christensen and Peppel in third. After nine, Christensen closed slightly with the lead being 2.4 seconds. After 10 laps and 100 miles, Dan Revering was able to clinch the win with a total time of 1 hour 37 minutes .06 seconds. In a close second only 1.8 seconds back was Aaron Christensen and in third 20.0 seconds back was Evan Peppel making it a Polaris podium sweep! In fourth was Justin Tate (-1:13.3) and in fifth was Marshall Busse (-1:40.3) also both on Polaris.

Good luck to all of our racers competing at the Soo I-500 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan this week!

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