By MICHAEL WEBER

Bismarck Tribune

Skill and a fast car aren't all it takes to win races.

"Sometimes it takes a little luck," said Bismarck driver Ron Joern.

Joern gave Lady Luck some of the credit for his Hobby Stocks feature win Friday night at Mandan's Dacotah Speedway.

Joern was running in third place behind Bismarck drivers Bryan Bohrer and Dewey Aaseth when a caution was called on the 13th go-round of the 15-lap final. After the restart, Bohrer - who was going for his first-ever feature win - not only fell behind Aaseth and Joern, but broke an axle coming around the fourth turn, ending his night.

That put Aaseth and Joern in the 1-2 spots at the next restart. One lap later, Joern passed Aaseth and held on for his second straight feature win.

"I got a little lucky tonight," Joern said. "I feel bad for (Bohrer). He was running so good out there. If it hadn't been for the caution, he might have won. But that's the way it goes in racing. I've lost a few that way, too."

Friday night's win was similar to the one Joern picked up a week earlier. In that one, he was in third place midway through the feature when the two frontrunners got tangled, causing a caution. The lead car was blackflagged. The other was sent to the back.

"You take whatever you can get in this business," Joern said. "There are so many good drivers in this class. Wins are pretty hard to come by."

The Hobby Stocks feature was the night's only final. A slick track, caused by a steady rain that started before the Hobby Stocks took the track, forced the cancellation of the Thunder 4's, Legends, WISSOTA Street Stocks and IMCA Modifieds features.

The night was billed as the WISSOTA Street Stocks Special, but just the two heat races were run in that class.

Joern, who also won his heat, added to the 10-point lead he carried into the night's action. The veteran driver is seeking his first points title at the Mandan track.

Joern has been close before, but has had to settle for second place five times.

"Things are going pretty well. … Maybe this is the year," Joern said. "But I have to keep it going and keep adding the points. I lost a 13-point lead on the last day once. I need every point I can get."

Hobby Stocks

Heat 1: 1. Craig Ohlhauser, Mandan. 2. Matt Brendel, Bismarck. 3. Dewey Aaseth, Bismarck. 4. Nick Howe, Bismarck. 5. James Hellman, Mandan.

Heat 2: 1. Ron Joern, Bismarck. 2. Scott Gartner, Mandan. 3. Bryan Bohrer, Baldwin. 4. Brent Vetter, Wishek. 5. Brad Kadrmas, Bismarck.

Feature: 1. Joern. 2. Aaseth. 3. Ohlhauser. 4. Hellman. 5. Howe.

Thunder 4's

Heat 1: 1. Matt Dosch, Bismarck. 2. Nick Keena, Baldwin. 3. Brandon Heimann, Bismarck. 4. Ron Arth, Bismarck. 5. Cody Arth, Bismarck.

Heat 2: 1. Shawn Volk, Bismarck. 2. Chase Schlafman, Bismarck. 3. Nathan Mundahl, Bismarck. 4. Tanner Dosch, Bismarck. 5. Cole Emmel, Bismarck.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

Heat 1: 1. Rusty Kollman, Carrington. 2. David Rohweder, Wishek. 3. John Feist, Lincoln. 4. Luke Nelson, Valley City. 5. Randy Meyer, Bismarck.

Heat 2: 1. John Weber, Linton. 2. Spencer Johnson, Jamestown. 3. Barrett Berg, Lincoln. 4. Travis Ulmer, Dickinson. 5. Carrie Mundahl, Bismarck.

Legends

Heat 1: 1. Brian Backes, Menoken. 2. Spencer Wilson, Minot. 3. Nathan Speten, Wilton. 4. Donovan Wiest, Wishek. 5. Wes Doepke, Wilton.

Heat 2: 1. Kyle Vandenberg, Bismarck. 2. Troy Speten, Wilton. 3. Paul Morman, Wishek. 4. Lance Jangula, Linton. 5. Ivan Sailer, Bismarck.

IMCA Modifieds

Heat 1: 1. Ben Seidler, Underwood. 2. Jeff Decker, Dickinson. 3. Herb Bargmann, Bismarck. 4. John Gartner, Jr., Columbia, S.D. 5. Tracy Domagala, Bismarck.

Heat 2: 1. Darrell Bauer, Mandan. 2. Brent Schlafmann, Bismarck. 3. Daryn Schuler, Bismarck. 4. Paul Schulz, Washburn. 5. Drew Christianson, Minot.

Heat 3: 1. Marlyn Seidler, Underwood. 2. Jeremy Schmidt, Bismarck. 3. Brad Hanson, Lincoln. 4. Leo Burkhardsmeier, Bismarck. 5. Dwight Burwick, Dickinson.