Press Track Info Events Points Kids Club Media Partners Rules Contact Hall of Fame
  .: 2012 Season Results :.

Cain Tops Rice Lake Speedway Firecracker

By Ed Reichert

RICE LAKE, WI (July 3) – Dave Cain has a habit of dropping in at various speedways from time to time and making things miserable for the local favorites. Such was the case again Tuesday at Rice Lake Speedway as the annual Firecracker special was served up to the fans and Cain, making his second appearance of the year at Rice Lake, heading back home over the border to Minnesota with his second feature race victory. Other winners on a steamy pre holiday night included Aaron Wilson, Ryan Viltz, Jimmy Randall and C.J. Wagner.

Twenty cars took the green flag for the Modified feature and Cain, benefiting from a redraw that saw him on the outside pole, battling for the first couple of laps side by side with Adam Hensel before Cain edged into the lead. Matt Leer quickly moved in to challenge for the second spot along with Steve Hallquist. Hensel only made it for five laps before he rolled to a halt with suspension problems and went off on the hook.

Cain continued to maintain the lead with Curt Myers moving in to fight Leer for second as Scott Duval also was on the move. Farther back in the pack, Kevin Adams was also trying to fight his way forward after starting in the tenth position.

Cain continued to lead through two more minor yellows with the last twelve laps running under the green. Cain gradually built up his lead until it was a comfortable one as he found a groove running up against the wall in turn one and low in the other corner. The action behind him heated up as Adams had a good battle with Duval for position and then set off after Leer as Myers had worked his way into second.

Cain continued to roll on unabated as he drove home for a relatively easy win with Myers unable to cut into his advantage. Adams was able to charge past Leer for third in the late going with Duval rounding out the top five.

Wilson may have had the most dominating performance of the night in the nonstop Super Stock feature. In the early going, Brad Edington jumped into the initial lead but he was quickly challenged by Scott Lawrence. Lawrence made several runs on the low side of Edington but Brad staved him off with some contact between the two on several occasions. With the top two were locked in their own warfare, Wilson moved to high side of the track and with a great run off turn four, blew past both the front runners to take over the lead. Wilson’s car was handling great right in the middle of the track and he quickly put distance on the field. Shane Kisling started seventh on the grid and after battling past Darrel Hazelton and Tommy Richards, he closed in on the cars battling for second. He also went to the top side and drove past them to take over the runner up slot but by then Wilson had nearly a straightaway on the field.

With the yellow flag not coming out, Wilson’s comfortable lead was not challenged as he drove home for his second win of the year at Rice Lake. Having by far his best run of the season was Bart Steffen. He used the low side to gradually work his way past Edington for third, making the pass in the late going to secure third while Jason Forehand got the hard charger award, coming from fourteenth to round out the top five.

Josh Basey got the jump on Cole Spacek to be the early leader of the Midwest Modified main event but before a couple laps could be completed, Ryan Viltz made a strong move on the outside to power around Basey and take over the lead. Tito Viltz and Shane Halopka soon followed suit and they became the pack battling for the lead.

A hard crash on lap six eliminated the cars of Basey, Jake Stai, Dusty Brown and Bryce Johnson but after that the drivers settled down and hard racing took place.

Ryan Viltz continued to lead but he had to fight off first Halopka and then his brother Tito who moved into the second place. Meanwhile , Cory Crapser, who started ninth was on the move as he worked past Travis Anderson and into the top five. Ryan continued to show the way but Tito and Halopka were battling hard right behind him while Crapser also looked for a way past the front runners.

As the laps ran down, Ryan continued to hold the groove and he continued to fight off the challenges right to the checkered flag as he recorded his third Rice Lake win of 2012. He was chased by his brother Tito, Halopka, Crapser and Anderson to the flag.

Randall may have executed the drive of the night as he came from eleventh to beat a tough field of Street Stock racers. Mike Knudtson and Jim Miller battled on the opening laps of the main, with Miller and Knudtson swapping the top spot until Knudtson forged back in front. They were both challenged by Eric Olson and Danny Richards who were putting plenty of heat on them.

A huge swarm of cars were close behind the lead duo with positions being swapped on every corner. The fighting was intense with little give and lots of take going on, but everyone managed to keep their cars pointed in the right direction. While this was going on, Randall steadily worked his way forward showing a lot of speed as he rode the high side of the track but also showed the ability to pass on the low side if necessary. Before too long he was in contention for the lead and with a strong move, raced past Knudtson to take over the top spot.

A collision between Miller and Cody Kummer stopped the race and set up a four lap sprint to the finish. Randall pulled away as Richards and Knudtson battled for second. Randall flashed across the line for his second straight victory at Rice Lake as Richards held off Knudton for third. Kummer’s mud encrusted car, after an off track excursion through the infield held on for fourth ahead of Doug Wojcik.

Wagner’s first win of the year was accomplished by making a great move for the lead as two other competitors battled it out. John Erickson and Bob Thompson battled for the early lead in the Pure Stock main before Thompson secured the front spot. Soon though, Thompson was being challenged hard by Jason Havel for the lead, with them beating and banging in the corners for the top spot and slowing both down. Wagner made a hard run at them and as they were engaged in their own personal war, C.J. made a strong move to the outside and drove past both the surprised competitors to take over the lead. Havel eventually moved into second and set off after Wagner and a late yellow for a stalled car gave him his chance.

However, Wagner was not going to give up the lead easily, and he held his line running smooth and fast and raced home the last few laps to conclude his strong winning run. Thompson came back to challenge Havel for second but Jason held him off and in another good battle for position, Chad Eastman edged Dustin Doughty for fourth.

Racing action continues on Saturday, July 7 with a full five class program starting at 6:30 p.m. On July 14, the IRA outlaw sprints will be on the card, featuring former area resident Billy Balog, the current IRA point leader in action along with the five regular divisions also in action. Qualifying that night will begin around 6:30 p.m.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds
20 lap Feature – Dave Cain(Corcoran MN), Curt Myers(Cameron), Kevin Adams(Cameron), Matt Leer(Bruce), Scott Duval(Bloomer), Jeff Spacek(Phillips), Tim McMann(Duluth MN), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Scott Miller(Rice Lake), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Paul Niznik, Keith Tourville, Buddy Mayala, Scott Hudack, Wayne Poteet, Mark Hanson, Dave Baxter, Doug Gustafson, Adam Hensel, Jerry Weigel
10 lap Heat 1 – Baxter(Eau Claire), Hallquist, Duval, Adams, Spacek,, Weigel, Mayala
Heat 2 – Hensel(Baldwin), Leer, Gustafson(Frederic), Tourville(Dairyland), Miller, Hudack, Poteet
Heat 3 – Cain, Hoffman, Myers, McMann, Niznik(Medford), Hanson

WISSOTA Super Stocks
Aaron Wilson(Eau Claire), Shane Kisling(Sarona), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Brad Edington(Elk Mound), Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Scott Lawrence(Superior), Tommy Richards(Mondovi), Wayne Harris Jr(Bloomer), Cory Karshbaum(Chetek), Andy Grymala(Superior), Luke Plank, Kirk Bogdanovic, Darrel Hazelton, Larry Fitzsimmons, Eric Olson
10 lap Heat 1 – Kisling, Wilson, Lawrence, Richards, Bogdanovic(Phillips), Olson, Harris Jr, Fitzsimmons
Heat 2 – Edington, Karshbaum, Steffen, Hazelton(Lake City MN), Grymala, Forehand, Plank
 
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Tito Viltz(Rice Lake), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Cory Crapser(Chippewa Falls), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Joe Chaplin Jr(Cameron), Kerry Halopka(Wheeler), Paul Sizik(Ironwood MI), Cole Spacek(Phillips), Cody Cimfl(Mikana), Eric Gadach, Neil Balduc, Jake Stai, Dusty Brown, Josh Bazey, Bryce Johnson, Terry Sirek, Tyler Luger
10 lap Heat 1 – Crapser, R. Viltz, T. Viltz, Anderson, Suzik, Sirek, Cimfl
Heat 2 – Brown(Rice Lake), Spacek, Johnson(Barron), Stai(New Auburn), K. Halopka, Balduc
Heat 3 – K. Halopka, Chaplin Jr, Bazey(Luck), Gadach(Deer Park), Luger(Iron River), C.J. Hedges Jr
 
WISSOTA Street Stocks
15 lap Feature – Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Danny Richards(Mondovi), Mike Knudtson(Osseo), Cody Kummer(Medford), Doug Wojcik(Ladysmith), Sam Fankhauser(Chetek), Butch Madsen(Rice Lake), Marcus Simonson(Milltown), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Jamey Fisher(Rice Lake), James Vought, Tyler Wahlstrom, Ralph Stark, Heidi Karshbaum, Eric Olson, Jared Lindner, Jay Kesan, Jim Miller, Keith Tourville, Josh Wahlstrom
10 lap Heat 1 – Randall, Kummer, Wojcik, Madsen, Stark(Withee), Lindner, Simon Wahlstrom
Heat 2 – Knudtson, Tourville(Dairyland), Miller(Hayward), Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Karshbaum(Chetek), T. Wahlstrom, Fankhauser
Heat 3 – Olson(Ladysmith), Richards, Soltis, Vought(Hudson), J. Wahlstrom(Menomonie), Fisher, Simonson
 
Pure Stocks
12 lap Feature – C.J. Wagner(Hayward), Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Chad Eastman(Rice Lake), Dustin Doughty(Ladysmith), John Erickson(Cameron), Darwin Brown(Cumberland), Jay Folz(Rice Lake), Brandon Davis(Chetek), Mike Schnider(Rice Lake), Randy Graham, Mike Grover, Talon Laabs, Kendall Grover, Mike Miller, Kolby Kiehl, Andrew Conklin
8 lap Heat 1 – Doughty, Eastman, Erickson, Kielh(Cameron), Brown, Davis, Laabs, K. Grover, Graham
Heat 2 – Havel, Thompson, Schnider, Wagner, Folz, M. Grover, Conklin, Miller