Cory Mahder Worst to First at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, August 25 – Despite two inches of rain on Friday, the Rice Lake Speedway was able to complete the final program of the regular season on Saturday and the racing action was furious with several memorable events that occurred.

Cory Mahder won the Modified feature after spinning on the first lap, going to the tail of the nineteen car field and then working his way back to the front, finally taking the lead with only two laps to go. Two other drivers won their first feature races of the season and first of their careers at Rice Lake as a number of new drivers tuned up their cars for next weekend's holiday doubleheader that will conclude the 2018 racing season in Rice Lake.

Rookie Modified driver Kyle Helling was just a couple laps short of winning his first ever feature event in the division when Mahder made the late race pass on him. After Mahder spun on the first attempt to start the race and went to the tail, Helling got the jump on Josh Hessler to lead the opening few laps. As Helling continued to hold the top spot, the battle for position was on behind him. Kevin Adams slipped up the track and gave up a couple spots while Grant Southworth found an opening on the high side and drove up into second.

He then began to put heavy pressure on Helling for the lead, diving inside him on a couple of occasions and once sliding into the lead in turn one, only to have Helling cross over him and retake the top spot. The first eight laps of the race then clicked off until Adams triggered the yellow when he spun in turn one and Ashley Anderson slid into him when unable to stop. Adams also went to the back while Anderson was unable to continue.

Helling started to extend his lead at this point as he got into a good groove and was pulling away from the pack as Southworth, Jason Gross and Scott Duval fought behind him. However, each time Helling would start to pull away, the yellow would wave again and the pack would be bunched up behind him.

These yellows allowed both Mahder and Adams to work their way gradually back up through the field and as the race reached its last half dozen laps, they were challenging Southworth for second.

Another spin set up a three lap race to the finish and it was a four car battle for the win. Helling got the jump on the start but Mahder charged in beside him while Adams was able to slip past Southworth and take third.

The final two laps saw the top three battling side by side for the win as all three were all out to the finish. Mahder got to the inside and took over the lead while Adams went to the high side. Helling was trapped between them and despite a fine run, he had to settle for third as Mahder recorded his first win of the year at Rice Lake and became the eighth different winner in the Modifieds. The top two finishers both went to the back for spins and then battled their way back to the front.

The Super Stock feature had a really bizarre turn to it as the apparent winner was disqualified for a violation that occurred during the race on the track.

After the race got off to a very rocky start when a spinning car collected a number of cars on the first lap of the race, those not damaged restarted the event. Among those knocked out before they hardly got warmed up was track champion Curt Myers along with Bart Steffen, Matt Koski and Jim Cimfl. Marcus Simonson then led the first seventeen laps of the main event as he looked for his first ever Super Stock win at Rice Lake. He and Cody Kummer had an excellent early battle for the lead, as Kummer challenged him several times but each time Simonson fought him off and continued to hold the top spot. Cory Davis, Wayne Dean and Eric Olson were next in line and they were fighting hard for position.

After falling back a distance on Simonson, who was setting a blistering pace, Kummer found a new line and started to quickly reel in the leader, just when the yellow flew for debris on the track. This bunched the field and both Kummer and Davis challenged him hard for the top spot but Simonson continued to hold them off until the yellow flew once again, this time for a slowing car.

Back on green, as the leaders flew into turn one, more debris flew off on the track and it was identified as a lead weight that came off the back of the car. However, before track officials could identify which car it came from, the race was restarted.

Kummer and Davis both were able to split Simonson when he drifted high and after leading so many laps, he was shuffled back to third. The last couple of laps saw a hard battle between Kummer and Davis with Cory trying to slip under Kummer but at the line, Kummer held him off by a car length.

However, the weight was identified as coming off the car of Kummer and since losing a weight on the track is an automatic disqualification due to safety rules, Kummer was regretfully informed of his status and Davis was then awarded the win, which was his second of the year at Rice Lake.

The adjusted finish saw Simonson claim second, ahead of Olson, Wayne Dean and Steve Davidson as the attrition rate in this event was high.

The Midwest Modified feature was decidedly smoother, as the race ran nonstop from green to checkered. Travis Anderson got the jump on Joe Chaplin Jr and led the opening four laps. Kevin Adams came charging up from the second row to challenge Anderson for the lead and with a strong move to the low side, Adams took over the lead.

Shane Halopka also moved up and he and Anderson had a great battle for second while Chaplin Jr, Tony Bahr and Calvin Iverson also fought hard for position. Adams maintained a comfortable lead as he drove on to his sixth Midwest Modified win of the year at the track. Anderson fought off Halopka for second with Chaplin Jr doing the same to Bahr.

Mike Knudtson has tried for several years to get his first win at Rice Lake and Saturday it finally worked for him as he led all the way for the Street Stock win. He started on the pole and fought off Bob Wahlstrom, Jay Kesan and Hunter VanGilder in the opening laps for the lead. Knudtson continued to hold the top spot as Kesan moved in while Eric Olson came from the fourth row quickly to race up with the leaders too. Knudtson continued to show the way and fight off all contenders as the yellow flew with nine laps complete for a double spin while Olson and VanGilder got together under yellow and Olson called it a race and VanGilder went to the work area to change a tire.

The last six laps saw Knudtson continue to fight off Kesan while Cody Kummer and Karl Knopps had a great battle for third. Kesan made one last run on the final corner but came up a car length short as Knudtson took the checkered and became the eleventh different winner in the class this year. Knopps first appearance here this year proved successful as he nipped Kummer by inches for third with Parker Anderson completing the top five.

The pattern of the night continued in the Pure Stocks with one driver leading the majority of the race, only to get passed for the win late in the race. In the Pure Stocks it was Cooper Berlin who started on the outside pole and led the first ten laps of the race, at times building up a nice sized lead in a race that also went green to checkered. Behind him, Ryan Clausen, C.J. Wagner and Will Fisher would battle for position with Adam Pratt and George Richards marching to the front also.

Pratt would fight his way into second and then take off after the leader with Richards also trying to catch the top two. Finally, with just two laps to go, Pratt would catch Berlin and drive under him to take over the lead and after that he was able to pull away slightly and win by a comfortable margin. Berlin held off Richards for the second position and after the apparent fourth and fifth place cars were disqualified for illegal floor boards, the finishing order was juggled. Mike Grover was awarded fourth ahead of Jeremy Cash as Pratt becomes the eleventh different winner in the class this year.

With the regular season complete, the speedway now looks to end its season in a big way this coming weekend. The Labor Day weekend double header will be held on Saturday night, September 1st and Sunday night, September 2nd. All five classes that race in weekly competition at the track will be in action both nights. The special event on Saturday will feature the Pure Stocks who will be racing for a $500 top prize while the other four classes will be racing for their regular Saturday night purse.

On Sunday night, extra money is on the line for all five classes with each night a full point show.

The spectator gates will open at 5 pm both nights with the draw cut off for the drivers being at 6:30 pm. Hot laps and racing will follow. For more information, check the speedway website or face book page or call Dave Adams at 715-205-2861.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway

Rice Lake WI

August 25, 2018

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Cory Mahder(Eau Claire), Kevin Adams(Cameron), Kyle Helling(Rice Lake), Grant Southworth(Bloomer), Jason Gross(Osceola), Scott Duval(Bloomer), Josh Hessler(Boyceville), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Kent Baxter(Colfax), Mike Knopps(Chippewa Falls), Bryan Hessler, Cole Varsho, Jason Richardson, Mike Anderson, Sam Fankhauser, Ashley Anderson, Gary Baxter, Mark Hanson, Rick Friendt

8 lap Heat 1 – A. Anderson(Elk Mound), Southworth, Duval, K. Baxter, Richardson(Spring Valley), Wayne Poteet, Friendt
Heat 2 – Adams, J. Hessler, Helling, M. Anderson(Jim Falls), Knopps, Fankhauser, G. Baxter
Heat 3 – Hanson(Chippewa Falls), Gross, Mahder, Hoffman, Varsho(Stratford), Steve Hallquist, B. Hessler

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Cory Davis(Turtle Lake), Marcus Simonson(Luck), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Wayne Dean(Eau Claire), Steve Davidson(Richland Center), Steve Martin(Farmington MN), Andy Cimfl(Rice Lake), Jim Harris(Menomonie), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Mike Siewert(Rice Lake), Hunter VanGilder, Tucker Quinn, Andy Ladd, Jim Cimfl, Curt Myers, Matt Koski, Bart Steffen

8 lap Heat 1 – J. Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Davis, Cody Kummer(Medford), Siewert, VanGilder(Rice Lake), Davidson, J. Harris
Heat 2 – Myers(Rice Lake), Olson, Simonson, Quinn(Ladysmith), Martin, Wayne Harris Jr
Heat 3 – Dean, Steffen(Eau Claire), Soltis, Koski(New Richmond), A. Cimfl, Ladd

WISSOTA Midwest Modified

15 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Joe Chaplin Jr(Cameron), Tony Bahr(Haugen), Calvin Iverson(Eleva), George Dalbeck(Wakefield MI), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Fran Hanson(Almena), Craig Elliott(Hillsdale), Jason Gross

8 lap Heat 1 – Bahr, Adams, Iverson, Dalbeck, Ellis, Elliott
Heat 2 – Anderson, Halopka, Chaplin Jr, Gross(Osceola), Hanson

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Mike Knudtson(Osseo), Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Karl Knopps(Chippewa Falls), Cody Kummer(Medford), Parker Anderson(Phillips), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Bob Wahlstrom(Chetek), Bill Grambow(Boyceville), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Alex Minks(Bruce)

8 lap Heat 1 – Kummer, Olson, VanGilder, Wahlstrom, Grambow
Heat 2 – Knopps, Anderson, Knudtson, Kesan, Minks

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Adam Pratt(Bloomer), Cooper Berlin(Rice Lake), George Richards(Mondovi), Mike Grover(Chetek), Jeremy Cash(Duluth MN), Max Prusak(Hopkins MN), Brent Miller(Cameron), Ryan Lindenfelser(Trego), Wayne Braun Sr(Rice Lake), Dave Holub(Rice Lake), Bob Thompson, C.J. Wagner, Mike Huebner, Mike Holmstrom

8 lap Heat 1 – Wagner(Rice Lake), Berlin, Thompson(Cameron), Ryan Clausen(Barron), Holub, Holmstrom, Miller, Braun SR
Heat 2 – Pratt, Richards, Will Fisher(Shell Lake), Grover, Cash, Prusak, Lindenfelser, Huebner