By Becca Pelkey
MANDAN, N.D. (May 3, 2025) — Andrew Jochim was the Saturday night star in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature, outdueling a stacked field on the final night of Dacotah Speedway’s Mandan Meltdown doubleheader.
Pole sitter Shawn Strand and Geoff Hellman swapped the lead in a spirited side-by-side battle until a lap eight caution regrouped the field. Strand cleared Hellman on the restart, but found himself under siege from Kalvin Kesselberg, Matt Dosch, and Andrew Jochim in a thrilling four-car battle for second. Contact shifted the running order, putting Jochim into the runner-up position.
With ten laps to go, Jochim passed Strand and led the rest of the way, despite a determined charge by Strand, who searched for speed in the closing laps. Jochim crossed the line for his second win of the season at Dacotah and in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Kesselberg finished third.
Todd Carter found victory lane on Friday night in the weekend’s opening IMCA Stock Car feature. He and Jason Berg exchanged the top spot early before a series of cautions allowed Carter to reclaim the lead with seven laps remaining. He checked out from the field and collected his first-ever IMCA Stock Car victory. Matt Dosch and Brock Beeter rounded out the top three, with Beeter making a last-lap move on Berg.
Todd Carter raced to his first career IMCA Stock Car victory on Friday night. (Photo by MS Photography)
Keller Sweeps Mandan Meltdown in Modified Masterclass
Jeremy Keller swept the weekend in Friesen Performance IMCA Modified competition, charging from 11th on Saturday to snag a thrilling win over John Corell. Corell led midway through the race after passing Shawn Strand, but Keller’s late-race speed and maneuvering through lapped traffic proved too much. Keller took the lead with four laps to go and never looked back, doubling up on his winning account in the Razor Chassis North Central Region. Corell finished second and Strand, the defending track champion, settled for third.
On Friday, rookie Dayton Olheiser looked poised for an upset before Mark Dahl and Jeremy Keller entered the mix. Olheiser got too high in turn one late, causing a near collision with Jason Wolla, who spun to avoid contact. That allowed Keller to pass Dahl on the restart and cruise to his first win of 2025. Wolla rebounded to finish second, followed by Dahl.
Jeremy Keller celebrated with family and crew after sweeping the Modified features during the Mandan Meltdown weekend. (Photo by MS Photography)
The Mandan Meltdown was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $24.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
