RAPID CITY - The last time Dan Wheeler toured the half mile of Black Hills Speedway, he was in high school living near Newell. Now nearly three decades later, as a Minnesota-based Midwest Modified standout, he returned to his old stomping grounds to stomp out an impressive feature win on Friday.

Pole-sitter Tim Torres paced the initial laps of the race, as a heated battle brewed behind him for second between Wheeler and first-time visitor Rick Pavlicek, of North Dakota.

Pavlicek took over the lead at the halfway point, while Wheeler raced by Mike Kress and Torres for second.

A short, yet impressive, side-by-side chase developed between Pavlicek and Wheeler, with the Minnesotan pulling into the lead with a handful of circuits remaining. Pavlicek gave the lower groove a work out on the final lap, finishing the race a fender length behind Wheeler.

"I ran an old Fairlane out here," Wheeler said. "Finished second about a dozen times."

The move east has afforded no less than three race nights per week for Wheeler.

"Nothing beats seat time," he said. "We've got three tracks within 30 miles of each other."

A rain postponed race the previous night at the Gillette Thunder Speedway was the primary motive for this weekend's westward excursion.

Kress finished third, ahead of heat race winner Mark Brave and Jason Kettrey.

Troy Leiker's last corner, wide-open romp displaced race-long leader Alan Farley as the Wissota Modified victor. A failed upper ball joint knocked Leiker from his heat race, putting his No. 17 at the tail end of the 19-car starting grid.

An innocent victim of a midway melee forced a trip to the tire change area, and again to the tail end of the restart. He steadily picked off his competitors at a rate of four per lap, climbing to the rear bumper of Farley under the white flag.

Out of turn No. 4, Leiker made his move, the two cars touching briefly and headed for the win.

"Farley's car was starting to push badly," Leiker said. "He ran the cushion hard, so I had to swing low-wide open. I must have passed 60 cars tonight."

Jess Beckett tallied third, ahead of Rozet, Wyo., veteran Brian Brennan's impressive run to fourth.

A bizarre incident on the white-flagged lap of the late model feature assured Brent Nielsen his first trip to the winner's circle of 2008. Nielsen maintained the lead throughout the event, dogged endlessly by Eric Mass's multi-grooved attempts to pass.

"I knew he was there, even if I couldn't see him every lap," Nielsen said. "One lap he was on the outside, the next lap on the inside. I must admit he drove me fair, making me earn this win."

The relatively unblemished event concluded under yellow flag conditions, after Dan Henrikson and Tom Sires collided in turns No. 3 and No. 4. Sires' machine was devastated in the incident, and gestures between the two required track officials to intervene.

Mass finished a solid second, despite a broken tie rod on the No. 44. Mike Stadel ran to third, with Sires and Henrikson credited with the remaining top five openings.

Stadel's fortunes fared better behind the wheel of his sister Tammy's Super Stock machine. Stadel nabbed the point as leader Mike Jager's car suddenly jerked away from his proven lane choice for a brief moment.

Jager's attempt to retake the lead resulted in a near side-by-side finish a short time later.

"That was a fun race," Stadel said. "Most of the time I couldn't see him (Jager), but I could hear him. I knew he was there. This is such a fun car to drive, kind of a treat for me, really. I put a lot of laps on it back in my Super days."

Double-duty racer Jess Beckett expanded on his exciting Modified victory last weekend by putting his Bruce Hildebrant-owned sprint car effort into the same honor status Friday night.

Adam Speckman's wild turn No. 2 flip on the white flag lap brought an abrupt end of the race, which had Beckett a half straightaway ahead of DJ Brink prior to the red.

"This is very addictive," Beckett said following the race. "A guy can never get too tired of collecting trophies."

Troy Murner's dominance of the Stock Car rankings continued, though Chico McNeil had a fighting chance early in the 15-lap affair. A tussle between McNeil's Mopar product and Jerry Quinn forced McNeil to the pits, giving the runner-up baton to Doug Pudwill and Tim Red Leaf.