Kesan Tops List of New Rice Lake Speedway Winners

By Ed Reichert

RICE LAKE, WI (May 16) – Jay Kesan won the Street Stock feature race by a razor thin margin to highlight the first time winners Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway. Also taking their first feature wins of the year at Rice Lake Saturday were Jason Forehand and C.J. Wagner while both Michael Truscott and Kevin Adams became multiple winners.

The Street Stock feature was one of the most intense feature races seen during the early part of the 2015 season with the drivers coming to the finish line three wide after much two and three wide racing throughout the field during the race.

Kevin Bogdanovic took the early lead in the race with Adam Soltis and Sam Fankhauser quickly moving in to challenge him. Kesan moved up from the third row to be a part of the lead battle and by moving to the outside groove, Kesan worked his way into second and repeatedly tried to drive around Bogdanovic, who himself was fighting for his first win also.

In heavy traffic in turn four, Kesan was turned around with three laps complete and the yellow flew. Kesan was restored to his position on the restart and then things got crazy. A mad scramble in turn two on the restart found at least a half dozen cars getting together and Cooper Berlin going for a quick rollover as a result of the mess. Berlin, Scott Clark and Kolby Kiehl were all eliminated from further action.
Bogdanovic continued to lead on the restart but he remained under the gun until Fankhauser finally was able to pass him for the lead.

Kesan and Cody Kummer also moved past and these three then engaged in a spirited battle that saw them racing two and three wide for the rest of the event. Fankhauser would continue to hold a sliver thin lead with Kesan pulling up beside him down the chutes on every lap and Kummer trying to nose inside of him. Coming for the white flag, Kummer tapped Fankhauser whick broke his momentum for a second and allowed Kesan to once again get up beside him. The leaders then raced three wide going into the final corner with Kesan using the high side of the track to gain just enough edge that he flashed under the finish line by a nose over Fankhauser with Kummer an extremely close third. Bogdanovic held on for fourth with Hunter VanGilder working his way back up to fifth on the final lap also.

Forehand has been win less for over a year at the speedway but he took care of that dubious streak with a strong run for the Super Stock feature honors. Bart Steffen and Cole Spacek battled early for the lead with Steffen grabbing the top spot. However, Forehand quickly moved in from the second row and swept around Steffen on the high side to take over the lead. Once in front, Jason quickly put some distance on the field as all eyes turned toward Curt Myers who was making a determined run toward the front.

Coming from the fourth row, Myers made some bold moves as twice he stuck his car in the middle of the three wide sandwich, but both times he was able to drive deep into the corners and gain the edge he needed. He moved into second and then set off after Forehand, who had built up a nice sized lead by this point. The race remained under the green and while Myers was able to cut into Forehand's lead slightly, Jason maintained a fast pace that was tough to overcome.

Forehand continued to run at a fast pace and with no yellows to aide Myers, Forehand drove home with a comfortable margin for the win. Steffen fell back slightly but then made a nice advance as he ended up third with Eric Olson charging up to fourth at the end over Spacek.

Wagner topped the Pure Stock field for his first win of the year as he fought off challenges from Shawn Amundson to grab the top spot. Justin Weinberger led his first laps of the season at the speedway as he moved from the outside to hold the top spot early. Soon however, he was challenged by both Amundson and Wagner . Jason Havel was also on the move after starting in the sixth row and he was on a mission as he moved to the front. Havel fought his way into third and then challenged Amundson for position. There was contact between the two and Amundson went around in turn two.

Shawn was returned to his position and Havel headed for the pits.

The race turned out to be a two lap sprint to the finish and Wagner maintained his line as he fought off Amundson to take the win. Nick Traynor came back from a flat tire on the opening lap to get back up to third while Dusten Holub got his best finish at fourth ahead of Bob Thompson.

Truscott took his second Midwest Modified feature win of the year after a hard battle to get past Karl Kolek for the win. Kolek led his first laps of the season and in fact, held the top spot throughout the first half of the race, despite constant pressure by Truscott. As Michael tried to work by on the low side, Ryan Viltz went to the cushion and began to close the gap on the top two. Just as Viltz was ready to make a pass, Truscott jumped up to the high side himself and with a power move, blew past Kolek to take over the top spot.

With Truscott in charge, Nick Koehler and Shane Halopka were both charging to the front. Koehler moved into second and tried to track down the leader with Halopka also working toward the front of the pack.

Two collisions near the midpoint of the race slowed the action and eliminated several cars. This gave Koehler his chance and he nearly not under Truscott in turn one, but Michael fought him off and in the last few laps guarded the lead as he drove on for the win, with Koehler and Halopka close behind. Viltz hung on for fourth and Kolek earned his first top five finish.

Adams earned his third Modified win of the year after a hard fought battle to get to the front of the pack. Matt Leer started on the pole and led nearly the first half of the race. Pat Hoffman was having a great run as he held second and with Adams tearing up from the fourth row, they battled hard for the second spot until Adams was able to get passed him.

A yellow bunched the field and took away Leer's lead and on the green, it was a hard fought battle for the top spot. Adams tried high and low and finally was able to dive under Leer in turn three to take over the top spot.

Mike Anderson was making a charge of his own and he raced up into third and then began to pressure Leer for second. It was a very tough race for position and the two drivers got together in turn three as they fought for the spot. Leer went around and the yellow flew again. This time Leer got his spot back and Anderson opted to call it a night.

The last half of the race saw Adams continue to lead with Cory Mahder then making a determined march into second as he raced the low side past Leer. Adams was in the groove on the high side and despite Mahder's charge, Adams maintained his lead for the win. Leer finished third ahead of Tim McMann and Kerry Halopka.

Next Saturday night, May 23rd brings one of the most popular race events of the year to the speedway. Along with a complete, five class program featuring the divisions that race weekly at the track, the Upper Midwest Sprint Series (UMSS), will bring two classes of Sprint Cars to the track. Fans of both the winged Sprints and the Traditional non winged Sprints will get their wish as both divisions will run complete programs. This holiday weekend event will see warmups at 6:30 p.m. With racing to follow. Check the speedway website at www.ricelakespeedway.net or the speedway facebook page for more information.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds
20 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Cory Mahder(Eau Claire), Matt Leer(Bruce), Tim McMann(Duluth MN), Kerry Halopka(Wheeler), Neil Balduc(Bessemer MI), Cody Cimfl(Barron), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Scott Heikkinen((Eveleth MN), Dave Mayala(Barron), Buddy Mayala, Wayne Poteet, Mike Anderson, Steve Hallquist
10 lap Heat 1 – Leer, Hoffman, McMann, Anderson(Colfax), D. Mayala, B. Mayala, Heikkinen
Heat 2 – Adams, Mahder, Hallquist(Eau Claire), Halopka, Balduc, Cimfl, Poteet

WISSOTA Super Stocks
20 lap Feature – Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Curt Myers(Cameron), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Cole Spacek(Phillips), Randy Spacek(Phillips), Shane Kisling(Sarona), Aaron Wilson(Eau Claire), Peter Jokinen(Mellen), John Erickson(Rice Lake), Patrick Heikkinen, Kyle Helling, Mike Anderson, Brad Kisling, Eric Zitelman, Terran Spacek
10 lap Heat 1 – Olson, Steffen, S. Kisling, Anderson(Colfax), Jokinen, B. Kisling, Mark Smith, T. Spacek, Jim Harris
Heat 2 – Myers, Forehand, R. Spacek, C. Spacek, Wilson, Erickson, Zitelman, Helling

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Michael Truscott(Chippewa Falls), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Karl Kolek(Menomonie), Kent Baxter(Colfax), Tito Viltz(Rice Lake), Paul Suzik(Ironwood MI), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Mickey Nosser(Phillips), Tyler Luger, David Mastell, Nathan Thums, Wayne Stricker, Austin Ellis, Kyle Johnson, Tim Ekdahl, Kevin Marlett, Craig Elliott, Joe Prusak, Wayne Braun Jr.
10 lap Heat 1 – R. Viltz, Johnson(Hixton), Baxter, T. Viltz, Ellis(Rice Lake), Suzik, Marlett, Shawn Rivord
Heat 2 – Halopka, Truscott, Luger(Iron River), Nosser, Stricker(Highbridge), Braun Jr, Nate Doyen, Ekdahl
Heat 3 – Koehler, Kolek, Anderson, Thums(Wausau), Mastell(Hugo MN), Prusak, Elliott

WISSOTA Street Stocks
15 lap Feature – Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Cody Kummer(Medford), Kevin Bogdanovic(Phillips), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Simon Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Josh Amans(Rice Lake), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Rob Grabon(Bruce), Heidi Karshbaum, Kolby Kiehl, Scott Clark, Cooper Berlin
10 lap Heat 1 – Bogdanovic, Clark(Cameron), VanGilder, Fankhauser, Amans, Berlin, Karshbaum
Heat 2 – Soltis, Kesan, Kummer, Kiehl(Cameron), Hanestad, Wahlstrom, Grabon

Pure Stocks
12 lap Feature – C.J. Wagner(Rice Lake), Shawn Amundson(Rice Lake), Nick Traynor(Barron), Dusten Holub(Chetek), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Mike Grover(Chetek), Randy Graham(Trego), Brent Miller(Cameron), Justin Weinberger(Park Falls), Zach Beaulieu(Chetek), Kent Harmon, Mike Miller, Dwayne Braun
8 lap Heat 1 – Amundson, Traynor, Beaulieu, B. Miller, Grover, Graham, M. Miller
Heat 2 – Wagner, Harmon(Arkansas), Thompson, Weinberger, Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Holub