Season Championships Decided at the Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

RICE LAKE, WI (August 23) - Season Championships were decided Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway as the racing season winds down to a conclusion and track points earned during the season were used to line up the heat races with the results of the heats used to start the main events. The five winners on Saturday, who could proudly hoist their trophies as champions were Cory Mahder, Eric Olson, Tito Viltz, Jay Kesan and Jason Havel. The racing season will conclude next Saturday for 2014.

Mahder jumped into an immediate lead in the Modified main event as he came off the outside of the front row to grab the top spot from Mark Hessler. As Mahder immediately put distance on the field, Hessler was being challenged for second by Kevin Adams. The two veterans roared around the track, slicing and dicing as they tried to gain the edge on each other. Finally Adams was able to slide past Hessler in turn four and take over the runner up slot. However, by this time Mahder had built up a substantial lead and with no yellows to close up the field, catching Mahder would be a daunting task.

Meanwhile, Dave Baxter, Mark Hanson, Mike Anderson and Matt Leer were having a good four car battle for position behind the leaders. Adams was able to cut into Mahder’s advantage somewhat and Cory got hung up once in lapped traffic and Adams closed to about two car lengths in arrears, but once Cory cleared traffic, he was again able to extend his lead as Adams had to deal with the same traffic. At the line, Mahder was comfortably in front as he earned his second Rice Lake win of the year. Adams settled for second with Hessler finishing a solid third with Baxter and Hanson trailing.

The Super Stock feature provided an excellent three car battle for the lead as Olson and Jason Forehand started out the action by racing side by side for the first three laps unitl the yellow waved for a minor spin.

Back on the green, Olson had a narrow edge running the low side while Forehand pulled even with him on each straightaway as he rode the high side. Soon they were joined by another competitor as Curt Myers had come barreling up from the fourth row to make a challenge. Several times Myers dove to the middle ground and the leaders raced three wide in a crowd pleasing duel.

With twelve laps completed, the yellow waved for another spin and things got really wild on the restart as Myers again tried to slip between the leaders, throwing a massive slide job that saw him briefly edge past Forehand. However, Jason ducked back under Curt and retook the top spot and they raced on. The last few laps saw Olson remain rock solid in the low groove and no matter how hard Forehand and Myers pushed, they just couldn’t get past Eric who drove on for his sixth Rice Lake win of the year. Shane Kisling showed a strong effort with his newly rebuilt car and he finished a close fourth with Bart Steffen also close behind.

The Midwest Modified feature was also a three car battle and things in this race got really wild with only two laps to go. Tito Viltz had gotten the jump at the start and took the early lead with Shane Halopka and Ryan Viltz chasing him. They raced in close formation with Halopka trying to nose under Tito on every corner while Ryan worked the higher side of the track. They were close throughout the first half of the race as farther back in the pack, Austin Ellis, Reid Teigs and Jason Schill were also fighting for real estate.

Tito continued to hold the slimmest of leads until the yellow flew with only four laps left for a spin. On the restart, Tito bobbled in turn two and his car shot up toward the wall, opening the door for Halopka to pull up beside him. They tore into turn three side by side, each driving dangerously deep into the corner, but Tito was able to regain the edge down the front chute. Halopka tried the high side on the final tour but he came up a car length short as Tito drove on for his second win of the year. Brother Ryan finished a close third with Schill and Teigs next in line.

The Street Stock feature was called by many on hand to witness it as one of the best races of the entire season with four different leaders in the fifteen lap contest and winner Kesan not taking the lead until about fifty feet from the finish line!

Ron Hanestad and Cody Kummer raced side by side at the start with them battling for the early lead. When Hanestad slid out of the lower groove, Kummer filled it and edged into the lead. However, one lap later Hanestad returned the favor and retook the top spot. As they were battling, Sam Fankhauer and Nick Wojcik were glued to their rear bumpers, also looking for an opening to get to the front. Kesan and Kirk Bogdanovic raced hard from deeper in the pack and made it a six pack battling for the lead.

Wojcik looked particularly strong as he probed the leaders, looking for an opening. He was able to use the higher groove to drive into second and then he tried the same move for the lead. As he made his challenge, Kesan was also picking up the pace and he raced into third. Wojcik became the third leader of the race as he edged past Kummer on the high side of the track and opened up a two car length lead, which looked huge in this race.

Kesan continued his march as he drove into second and closed up on Wojcik who had moved back down the track after taking over the lead. Kesan was closing quickly and he looked to the low side of Wojcik but Nick had the groove covered. As the leaders raced to the white flag, Kesan made the move to drive around Wojcik and he pulled up beside him. They raced down the back chute for the final time side by side and they were still door to door in the final corner and both dove as deep as they could into the final corner but no one even touched. They came flying to the finish line and just at the last second Kesan made a surge and was able to nip Wojcik by a bumper in a thriller for the win. Kesan, a late arrival to the racing season in 2014, finished up the regular season with two straight feature wins. Kummer finished a very close third with Hanestad and Fankhauser also in the lead pack.

Havel continued to be the most dominating driver at the track as he won the Pure Stock feature but it was a struggle as he was tightly followed the entire race by C.J. Wagner. Havel led from the pole but Wagner quickly moved in to follow him into second with Joel Hinrichs and John Erickson battling for third before Hinrichs took the spot.

Two yellow flags at midrace for spins kept the field bunched and on every green, Havel was shadowed by Wagner. Havel was solid in the groove and was just fast enough that while Wagner could stay close, he could never muster a serious passing challenge. At the finish, Havel drove home with a car length lead over Wagner and Hinrichs. Erickson remained in the fourth spot while a post race technical violation saw Brent Miller elevated to fifth at the finish. Havel’s win was his eighth overall at Rice Lake this year which makes him the highest winning driver at the track.

The 2014 racing season at the Rice Lake Speedway wraps up next Saturday, August 30 with a one day invitational. All five classes will race full programs with extra money on the line for the competitors. The top prize in the modifieds will be $1,000, the super stocks will be racing for $800 to win, the Midwest modifieds $600, the streets $500 and the pure stocks $300. The racing will be using the draw/redraw format and while the top four classes will be WISSOTA sanctioned, the pure stocks will be an open show with all 305 engines legal to participate.

As well as the drivers, the fans will have an added reason to be on hand. Fan Appreciation night will also be celebrated with many door prizes. There will also be a hog roast and party open to everyone following the racing program.

The pit gates will open at 4 p.m., the draw cutoff is 6:30 p.m. and racing will follow at 7 p.m. Any questions should be referred to either Mitch Hansen at 715-205-1122 or Dave Adams at 715-205-2861.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:
20 lap Feature – Cory Mahder(Eau Claire), Kevin Adams(Cameron), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Dave Baxter(Eau Claire), Mark Hanson(Chippewa Falls), Matt Leer(Bruce), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Tim McMann(Duluth MN), Buddy Mayala(Barron), Aric Lindberg, Will Fisher, Dave Mayala, Wayne Poteet, Scott Miller, Scott Heikkinen, John Meeds, Pat Hoffman
10 lap Heat 1 – Hessler, Baxter, Leer, Lindberg(Dallas), Heikkinen(Eveleth MN), Miller
Heat 2 – Mahder, Anderson, Hanson, Fisher(Shell Lake), Poteet(Spooner), Hoffman
Heat 3 – Adams, Hallquist, McMann, B. Mayala, D. Mayala(Barron), Meeds

WISSOTA Super Stocks:
20 lap Feature – Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Curt Myers(Cameron), Shane Kisling(Sarona), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Willie Johnsen Jr(Superior), Scott Zitelman(Taylors Falls MN), Jim Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Patrick Heikkinen(Eveleth MN), Don Cimfl Jr(Barron), Mike Siewert, Pat Jungerberg, Kyle Helling, Josh Geiger
10 lap Heat 1 – Olson, Steffen, Johnsen Jr, Kisling, Zitelman, Helling, Jungerberg
Heat 2 – Forehand, D. Cimfl, J. Cimfl, Myers, Heikkinen, Siewert, Geiger

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
15 lap Feature – Tito Viltz(Rice Lake), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Jason Schill(Centuria), Reid Teigs(Dallas), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Nathan Thums(Wausau), Joe Chaplin Jr(Cameron), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Karl Kolek(Menomonie), Kyle Johnson, Josh Wahlstrom, Dan Tautges
10 lap Heat 1 – Halopka, Teigs, Kolek, Anderson, Chaplin Jr, Wahlstrom, Johnson
Heat 2 – T. Viltz, R. Viltz, Ellis, Schill, Thums, Tautges

WISSOTA Street Stocks:
15 lap Feature – Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Nick Wojcik(Ladysmith), Cody Kummer(Medford), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Kolby Kiehl(Cameron), Simon Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Bob Wahlstrom(Chetek), Heidi Karshbaum, Ron Van Dusen
10 lap Heat 1 – Hanestad, Fankhauser, S. Wahlstrom, B. Wahlstrom, Soltis, Van Dusen
Heat 2 – Kummer, Wojcik, Kesan, Kiehl, Karshbaum(Chetek), Bogdanovic

Pure Stocks:
12 lap Feature – Jason Havel(Rice Lake), C.J. Wagner(Rice Lake), Joel Hinrichs(Chetek), John Erickson(Rice Lake), Brent Miller(Cameron), Jay Folz(Rice Lake), Hunter Van Gilder(Rice Lake), Nick Traynor(Hillsdale), Rob Grabon((Bruce), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Austin Workman, Dustin Holub, Cody Stead, Don Cook, Scott Pittman, Herb Dettman, Andy Ladd, Tucker Quinn, Alex Minks
8 lap Heat 1 – Havel, Hinrichs, Mike Chaplin(Cameron), Van Gilder, Traynor, Cook
Heat 2 – Erickson, Folz, Grabon, Workman(Barron), Dettman(Pelican Lake), Ladd, Holub
Heat 3 – Wagner, Miller, Thompson, Minks(Ladysmith), Quinn(Ladysmith), Pittman