Three Close Finishes Highlight Saturday Rice Lake Speedway Show

By Ed Reichert

RICE LAKE, WI (September 3) – Round two of Rice Lake Speedway's tripleheader was held Saturday night, and despite a little batch of rain that came through near start time, and caused the show to be delayed about an hour, racing went on as scheduled. The car count increased as 135 drivers signed in Saturday, with the highlight of the racing being three feature races that were decided by a car length or less. Winning very tight battles were Jimmy Randall, Ryan Viltz and Cory Tammen while George Richards and Paul Brust also found victory lane.

The Street Stock feature was a smooth contest that saw only one yellow flag slow the action, and a tight pack battled for most of the contest. Adam Soltis outdueled Sam Fankhauser in the early going with Randall, Cody Kummer and Jay Kesan moving into position to challenge. Randall was working the high groove and he swept past Soltis to take over the lead. Jimmy opened up a few car lengths on the field, but Kummer continued his recent hard charges as he drove into second and moved in to challenge Randall for the lead.

Randall continued to run the high side with Kummer diving to the low side lap after lap, trying to get a good run off the bottom and edge into the lead. They continued their battle right to the finish, with Kummer continuing to provide constant pressure. Cody made one last attempt on the final corner, drawing even with Randall off turn four, but Jimmy was not deterred as he powered off the final corner and held off Kummer by half a car length for the win. The official finish was in doubt for hours after the race, as a protest was lodged against Kummer. Tech officials tore down the motor and found it to be legal, and Kummer was awarded the second finishing position. Completing the top five were Soltis, Kesan and Doug Wojcik.

The Midwest Modified feature saw several slowdowns in the early going, but once everything was sorted out, the final two thirds of the race ran nonstop. Ryan Viltz came off the top side of the track to take the early lead, with his brother Tito and Matt Leer challenging him. Leer picked up the pace as he worked past Tito and moved in to challenge for the lead. Matt made a big rush off turn two and tried to power into the lead, but unfortunately Ryan Viltz was already up above him on the track and the two cars couldn’t occupy the same space, with the result that they banged wheels hard and Leer was the loser when he got a flat tire and stalled on the track.

Ryan Viltz continued to lead on the green but the challenger was Shane Halopka. Shane, looking to repeat Friday night’s victory, moved into the second spot and made a challenge for the lead. Much as the Street Stock race had gone, Viltz continued to ride the cushion and Halopka diving under him lap after lap trying to sneak past into the lead.

Running in this fashion right to the finish, Halopka made an all out push on the final corner, drawing beside Viltz but Ryan had just enough momentum to hold off Halopka by less than a car length for the exciting win. Tito Viltz finished a strong third with Mike Truscott and Travis Anderson finishing out the top five.

The Super Stock feature was no less exciting as front row starters Tammen and Cory Karshbaum ended up battling for the win, after some other challengers were a part of the action also. Karshbaum took the early lead, but Tammen moved up the high side and was able to edge into the lead. Todd Carter moved up to challenge Karshbaum with Ben Hillman and Eric Olson also moving into challenging positions. Carter was able to move into second briefly, but Hillman then dropped to the low side and edged past Todd for second.

However, a couple of yellow flags for spins changed the momentum, and Karshbaum found traction on the low side in turn two and was able to shoot back into the second spot as Hillman battled with Olson and Carter with Jason Forehand for position. A late yellow set up a six lap sprint to the finish and Karshbaum gave it his all. Each lap, Cory was power through turn two and move up beside Tammen, but on the opposite end Tammen was better, and was able to fight off the challenge lap after lap. Karshbaum gave it one last blast on the final lap, and while he drew even in turn three, Tammen again used the cushion to edge out Karshbaum by a car length at the finish. Hillman edged Olson for third with Forehand completing the top finishers.

The Modified feature was a two car battle all the way and Brust was able to stop the hottest driver at the track in Kevin Adams. Brust used the top side to edge ahead of Jesse Glenz and take the early lead while Brent Prochnow and Dave Baxter battled behind them. Adams started sixth and within a few laps had navigated his way into second, where he then set out to catch the high flying Brust. Paul had built up a ten car length lead and it took Adams a number of laps to catch the leader, but he was able to close to the rear bumper of the leader.

They then battled hard for the lead, with Adams getting a nose under Brust on several occasions but never quite completing the pass as Brust adjusted his line, fought off the challenges, and then opened up some space on the pack again. Meanwhile, the fastest car on the track may have been Tony Bahr, as after starting in the twenty first starting position, he was carving his way through the field and moved past Scott Miller for third as a late yellow set up a four lap sprint to the finish.

Adams was not able to take advantage of the late break, and Brust powered away on the green to open up some distance. Brust continued to stretch the lead all the way to the checkered with Adams holding off Bahr for second while Miller and Glenz completed the top five as top five runners Prochnow and Aric Lindberg both retired in the late going.

Richards led all the way in the Pure Stock feature, but he had to endure several yellows that continued to draw the field back to him. Mike Schnider made a late run using the very high side of the track that saw him advance a number of positions until he got squeezed too high and lost a few positions.

Richards continued to hold the pace, and he drove home for the win. C.J. Wagner and Jared Amundson both made nice charges from midpack to finish behind Richards, with Nick Traynor and Schnider also in the top five.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds
25 lap Feature – Paul Brust(Rice Lake), Kevin Adams(Cameron), Tony Bahr(Rice Lake), Scott Miller(Rice Lake), Jesse Glenz(Cadott), Jerry Hartman(Marenisco MI), Dave Baxter(Eau Claire), Doug Gustafson(Frederic), Jason Gross(Cushing), Shawn Kelley(Somerset), Curt Myers, Paul Niznik, Scott Hudack, Brian Crapser, Kent Baxter, Cory Willams, Jared Loos, Aric Lindberg, Steve Hallquist, Brent Prochnow, Scott Splittstoesser, Mark Hessler, Buddy Mayala, Mark Hanson
10 lap B Feature – Bahr, Hessler(Menomonie), Gustafson, K. Baxter(Elk Mound), Mike Kelley Jr(St. Paul MN), Destin Lorimor, Denny Trimble, Pat Hoffman, Kevin Rogers, Robbie Johnson, Ron Korpi, Randy Belluk, Mike Gibson, Steve Lavasseur
10 lap Heat 1 – Niznik(Medford), Hudack(Ashland), Hallquist(Eau Claire), S. Kelley, Williams(Spring Valley), Bahr, Lorimor, Belluk, Lavasseur
Heat 2 – Glenz, Lindberg(Dallas), Hartman, Mayala(Barron), Hanson(Chippewa Falls), K. Baxter, Gibson, Rogers, Johnson
Heat 3 – D. Baxter, Brust, Loos(Loyal), Gross, Myers(Cameron), Hessler, Korpi, Hoffman
Heat 4 – Adams, Prochnow(Colfax), Miller, Splittstoesser(Cottege Grove MN), Crapser(Brookfield), Gustafson, M. Kelley, Trimble

WISSOTA Super Stocks
25 lap Feature – Cory Tammen(Fargo N.D.), Cory Karshbaum(Chetek), Ben Hillman(Menomonie), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Todd Carter(Lisbon N.D.), Wayne Dean(Fall Creek), Josh Rodewald(Lake City MN), Luke Plank(Eau Claire), Andy Grymala(Superior), Darrel Hazelton, Allen Amborn, Willie Johnsen Jr, Kirk Bogdanovic, Bart Steffen, Tad Schoonover, Roy Pumala, Brad Edington, Rich Bishop, Cody Carlson, Mike Keller, Shane Kisling, Rick Hallquist, Jim Harris
10 lap B Feature- Edington(Elk Mound), Carlson(Superior), Harris(Menomonie), Bogdanovic(Phillips), Cory Davis(Turtle Lake), Marcus Simonson, Jeff Heintz, Pat Jungerberg, Mike Siewert, Wayne Bignell, Steve Thomas, Ben Hanke
10 lap Heat 1 – Amborn(Rice Lake), Tammen, Schoonover(Eagle River), Steffen(Eau Claire), Bishop(New Richmond), Carlson, Siewert, Thomas
Heat 2 – Forehand, Carter, Keller(Menomonie), Rodewald, Johnsen Jr(Superior), Edington, Davis, Heintz
Heat 3 – Olson, Dean, Plank, Hallquist(Eau Claire), Pumala(Mason), Bogdanovic, Simonson, Hanke
Heat 4 – Karshbaum, Hillman, Gymala, Kisling(Sarona), Hazelton(Chippewa Falls), Tim Shackleton, Harris, Jungerberg

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
20 lap Feature – Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Tito Viltz(Rice Lake), Mike Truscott(Chippewa Falls), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Terry Sirek(Rice Lake), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Grant Southworth(Bloomer), Zach Manley(Cameron), Matt Leer(Bruce), Kerry Halopka, Josh Smith, Duane Dunbar, Neil Balduc, Dusty Brown, Jarrett Carter, Clark Swartz, Miah Christensen, Jerry Graase, Jeffrey Lein Jr, Darren LaBlonde, Cory Crapser, Jake Smith, A.J. Roschen
10 lap B Feature – Swartz(Bloomer), Ja. Smith(Eau Claire), Balduc(Bessemer MI), Carter(Lisbon N.D.), Chuck Lambert(Ft. Frances ON), Mike Mueller, Doug Toepper, Joe Eckland, Josh Olson, Chris Hutner, Nick Lindner, Nate Spence, Elizabeth Toepper
10 lap Heat 1 – S. Halopka, Crapser(Chippewa Falls), K. Halopka(Wheeler), Southworth, Christensen(Sioux Falls S.D.), Olson, Eckland, Lindner, Mueller
Heat 2 – T. Viltz, Anderson, Sirek, Roschen(Hudson), Jo. Smith(Rice Lake), Lambert, Balduc, Hutner
Heat 3 – R. Viltz, Leer, Dunbar(Marenisco MI), Truscott, Brown(Rice Lake), Carter, E. Toepper, Spence
Heat 4 – Koehler, Manley, LaBlonde(Baldwin), Graase(Phelps), Lein Jr(Mora MN), D. Toepper, Swartz, Ja. Smith

WISSOTA Street Stocks
20 lap Feature – Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Cody Kummer(Medford), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Doug Wojcik(Ladysmith), Simon Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Cory Hanson(Black River Falls), Justin Tammen(Clara City MN), Butch Madsen(Rice Lake), Mike Knudtson(Osseo), Mitch Kesan, Ralph Stark, Sam Fankhauser, Nick Wojcik
10 lap Heat 1 – Randall, J. Kesan, Soltis, Kummer, D. Wojcik, N. Wojcik, Stark
Heat 2 – Wahlstrom, Madsen, Fankhauser(Cameron), Hanson, Knudtson, M. Kesan, Tammen

Pure Stocks
15 lap Feature – George Richards(Mondovi), C.J. Wagner(Hayward), Jared Amundson(Barron), Nick Traynor(Barron), Mike Schnider(Rice Lake), John Erickson(Cameron), Dustin Doughty(Ladysmith), Chad Eastman(Rice Lake), Kolby Kiehl(Cameron), Bill Skoug(Osseo), Jay Folz, Bob Thompson, Jason Havel, Brandon Davis, Gunnar Watkins, Darwin Brown, Dan Hensel, Josh Bach, Jon Wigchers, Bob Wahlstrom, Jamey Fisher
8 lap Heat 1 – Havel(Rice Lake), Wagner, Traynor, Kiehl, Doughty, Skoug, Bach
Heat 2 – Watkins(Elk Mound), Thompson(Cameron), Richards, Schnider, Hensel(Rice Lake), Davis, Wigchers
Heat 3 – Eastman, Wahlstrom(Chetek), Amundson, Brown(Cumberland), Erickson, Folz