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  .: June 6th, 2017 :.

Cutsforth Takes First Feature Win Ever at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, June 6 – A special Tuesday night edition of dirt track racing was held at the Rice Lake Speedway during the city wide Aquafest celebration and it produced much drama. With four of the five feature races going right down to the wire and late race passes assuring victory, the highlight of the evening was the last race of the night where local driver Denny Cutsforth won his first feature race ever after making a pass for the top spot with only a couple of laps remaining in the event. Other winners on a magnificent Tuesday night were Dustin Doughty, Sam Fankhauser, Tim Johnson and Kevin Adams.

Cutsforth was the early leader of the Midwest Modified main event but that lead didn't last long. He was pressured early by Austin Ellis and Travis Anderson before Shane Halopka moved to the high side of the track and picked up the pace.

Working the outside exclusively, he was able to gain momentum and slip around Cutsforth down the front chute. However, Denny didn't give up and within a couple of laps he had found a line that worked well for him, and instead of just relinquishing the lead, he picked his own pace up and raced back up to the rear bumper of Halopka.

Meanwhile, behind them, there was some fearsome battling for position going on with Michael Truscott and Joe Chaplin Jr both heading toward the front too. Truscott found that same outside line and began to advance on the top two. Cutsforth appeared to be faster at this point than Halopka but he couldn't find an opening on the low side of the track and was being held up. Truscott used this opportunity to close rapidly on the top two and he was just ready to blow by both on the outside when the lone yellow of the race waved with five laps to go for a minor spin.

This slowdown dramatically changed the course of the event. On the green, Halopka opted to move back to the high side of the track where he had success earlier but this time it didn't work so well for him, and Cutsforth quickly jumped up beside him in a battle for the lead. While Halopka tried to fight Denny off, Cutsforth was very quick coming off the corners and with three laps to go, he took over the lead. Meanwhile, Truscott hadn't taken off like he would have hoped and he had Chaplin Jr battling him for position.

Cutsforth continued his charge as he gained a couple of car lengths on Halopka and drove home for the initial feature win of his career. Chaplin Jr made a late surge of his own to edge past Truscott for the third spot with Ellis completing the top two.
The Pure Stock feature was a dandy race, settled on the final lap with the margin of victory being less than a car length. Tucker Quinn took the early lead with a challenge from Rob Grabon until Jason Havel took over the second spot.

Meanwhile, Doughty, George Richards and Ryan Savoy were on the move up through the field and the race quickly became a five car pack battling for the lead.

Doughty continued his charge as he got by Havel for second and then closed on Quinn. As he did this, Richards also continued to march forward and he moved into third.

Suddenly, the race became a three wide duel for the lead with Doughty on the outside, Quinn in the middle and Richards running the low groove. Doughty was able to edge into the lead with Richards just behind him when the yellow flew for a slowing car with just two laps to go.

The last two laps were wild as Doughty took the lead but Richards dove to the low side and got a nose under the leader. They raced around the track side by side, with Richards trying to edge past in the low groove. The white flag lap saw them still side by side and both drivers flew into the final corner on the edge of control. Racing to the line, Doughty was able to grab just enough momentum to edge out Richards by less than a half car length as he continued his hot streak and earned a track leading fourth feature win. Quinn ran a solid third with Savoy edging past Havel for the fourth spot.

Fankhauser made a bold and calculating move early in the Street Stock feature to help ensure his second victory at the track in 2017. Jimmy Randall and Shawn Amundson shared the front row with Randall able to edge into the early lead. Fankhauser started in row two but right at the start he made a daring move to the high side of the track, was able to squeeze between Amundson and the concrete wall and slip into second, where he then began to pressure Randall for the lead. Continuing his charge on the high side, Fankhauser drove past Randall and took over the top spot.

On the move was Kevin Bogdanovic who closed on Randall for second. The race drew a yellow when last Saturday night's winner Jay Kesan spun in turn one. Fankhauser continued to lead with Bogdanovic moving into second and pressuring him, while Hunter VanGilder and Tim Johnson were both also looking for racing room to move up. Randall dropped out with mechanical issues which allowed those two to gain a positon.

Bogdanovic closed on Fankhauser but as the last ten laps ran nonstop, Sam picked up the pace and pulled away by a couple car lengths. VanGilder made his move then as he got beside Bogdanovic and they battled for the second spot.
As Fankhauser drove home for the victory, VanGilder was able to take over second while Johnson settled for fourth ahead of Amundson.

The Super Stock feature saw a great side by side battle for the first twelve laps of the race before a yellow flag changed things up entirely and a new set of players settled the outcome. Jeff Klopstein Jr and Jeff Brauer started on the front row beside each other and for the first twelve laps they ran virtually side by side for the entire time. First one then the other would nose out in front but usually by the time they crossed the finish line to complete another lap, they were still door to door.

Behind them, there was some tough racing going on too as Nick Oreskovich, Tim Johnson, Tommy Richards and Eric Olson were all battling with each other and looking for a way to move up. Johnson was very patiently working his way up through the field while Nick O was racing the cushion and hanging right with the leaders.

The battle for the lead remained hot with the top two still going side by side when, on lap thirteen, a yellow was triggered by a spinning car. Brauer had been judged the leader of the last completed lap and he got the point with the field side by side behind him. This was the break that Johnson needed and he dove past Klopstein Jr on the restart and pulled up beside Brauer in a challenge for the top spot as Klopstein Jr found himself being shuffled back in the pack.

Johnson and Brauer then battled for the lead in the remaining laps with Johnson able to slide up and take over the top spot. Brauer tried to fight back and he came close but once in front, Johnson was not going to relinquish the spot and he drove home with a slight edge to take the win in his initial appearance at Rice Lake this year. Brauer finished a strong second with Oreskovich holding off Richards and Nick Traynor to complete the top five.

The Modified feature was the only race that didn't come right down to the wire. The race got off to a rocky start as outside pole sitter Dave Baxter looped it in front of the field on the first lap, collecting Tim Johnson and Adams. All were able to restart but Johnson's car suffered some heavy damage that caused him to spin on the second attempt and then call it a night.

With those yellows out of the way, the field then raced nonstop to the finish with Steve Hallquist taking the early lead over Ryan Viltz. Adams was on the move early, racing up from his eighth starting position to slide past first Viltz and then Hallquist to take over the lead. Once in front, he quickly built on that advantage as there didn't appear to be anyone capable of staying with him.

Dave Cain then knifed his way through the pack and moved into second but he was unable to cut into Adam's lead as the race stayed under the green. No one came close, as Adams drove home for his fourth win at Rice Lake, keeping pace with Doughty as the top winner at the track. Cain finished a strong second while Mike Anderson made a late charge that saw him move up to third ahead of Hallquist and Kevin Eder.

The speedway will now take off this Saturday night, June 10th with racing scheduled to return on Saturday, June 17th. The 24th brings the Kid's Bike Giveaway night and on July 1st, the Modifieds have the night off with a Super Stock special the highlighted event before the annual Firecracker race on Monday, July 3rd. Check out the speedway website and facebook page for some exciting announcements related to the Street Stock Little Dream race that will be made public soon.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
June 6, 2017

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Dave Cain(Corcoran MN), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Kevin Eder(Ashland), Neil Balduc(Bessemer MI), Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Wayne Poteet(Spooner), Bryan Hessler(Chetek), Dave Mayala(Barron), Dave Baxter, Tim Johnson

8 lap Heat 1 – Baxter(Eau Claire), Viltz, Adams, Anderson, Balduc, Poteet
Heat 2 – Johnson(Brainerd MN), Cain, Eder, Hallquist, Mayala, Hessler

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Tim Johnson(Brainerd MN), Jeff Brauer(Eyota MN), Nick Oreskovich(Mason), Tommy Richards(Mondovi), Nick Traynor(Barron), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Jeff Klopstein Jr(Tomahawk), Marcus Simonson(Luck), John Erickson(Rice Lake), Cooper Berlin(Rice Lake), Brian Carl, Don Cimfl Jr, Jim Cimfl, Matt Koski, Steve Davidson, Mike Siewert, Kyle Helling, Shawn McFadden, Luke Schultz, Adam Soltis, Josh Cappo

8 lap Heat 1 – Klopstein Jr, Traynor, Olson, Berlin, Helling(Rice Lake), Davidson, Siewert
Heat 2 – Brauer, Oreskovich, Johnson, Carl(Duluth MN), Soltis(Ladysmith), D. Cimfl, Erickson
Heat 3 – Richards, McFadden(Ashland), J. Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Simonson, Koski(New Richmond), Schultz, Cappo

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Denny Cutsforth(Rice Lake), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Joe Chaplin Jr(Cameron), Michael Truscott(Chippewa Falls),Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Tyler Vernon(Ashland), Calvin Iverson(Eleva), Kent Baxter(Colfax), Brady Larson(Amery), Craig Elliott, John Ford, Brad Doyen

8 lap Heat 1 – Truscott, Chaplin Jr, Ellis, Cutsforth, Baxter, Grant Southworth, Larson
Heat 2 – Halopka, Anderson, Vernon, Iverson, Elliott(Hillsdale), Ford, Doyen

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Kevin Bogdanovic(Wausau), Tim Johnson(Brainerd MN), Shawn Amundson(Rice Lake), Kolby Kiehl(Barron), Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Jay Kesan(Wyererhaeuser), Don Cook(Barron), Travis Loew(Barron), Braden Brauer, Chad Eastman, Josh Bach, Parker Anderson, Jimmy Randall

8 lap Heat 1 – Johnson, Kevin Bogdanovic, Amundson, Randall(Rice Lake), Cook, Kiehl, Bach, Brauer
Heat 2 – VanGilder, Kesan, Kirk Bogdanovic, Fankhauser, Eastman(Rice Lake), Loew, Anderson

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Dustin Doughty(Oakdale MN), George Richards(Mondovi), Tucker Quinn(Ladysmith), Ryan Savoy(Superior), Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Rob Grabon(Bruce), James Clausen(Barron), Austin Workman(Barron), Mike Pratt(Bloomer), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Ryan Lindenfelser, Trenten Holub, Scotty VanGilder, Wayne Braun Jr, Jon Wigchers, Zach Beaulieu, Andy Ladd

8 lap Heat 1 – Havel, Doughty, Quinn, Savoy, Thompson, Pratt, Clausen, Holub, Ladd
Heat 2 – Richards, Grabon, Beaulieu(Chetek), Wigchers(Rice Lake), Workman, VanGilder, Braun Jr, Lindenfelser