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  .: May 26, 2018 :.

Olson Nips Myers in Rice Lake Speedway Thriller

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, May 26 – For the second straight Saturday night, the Super Stocks provided a thrilling finish to their main event to highlight the racing program at the Rice Lake Speedway. This week it was Eric Olson who came from the thirteenth starting spot to nip Curt Myers by inches and win a thrilling feature race that had the crowd on their feet cheering as the two veterans fought it out right to the wire. Other winners included Hunter VanGilder in the Street Stocks and Bob Thompson in the Pure Stocks.

The special attraction Saturday night was the UMSS Sprint Cars with both the Traditional and Winged cars racing in full programs. The Traditional feature winner was Cam Schafer from Minneapolis Minnesota while the Winged Sprint Car feature went to Chase Viebrock from New Richmond.

Sixteen cars took the green flag for the Super Stock feature race that got off to a rocky start before one lap could be completed. A scramble occurred as the pack raced off turn two, Jeff Brauer got nailed from behind and got driven into the back stretch wall hard, climbing it with the right front of his car. He was eliminated from the contest before one lap could be completed along with Andy Cimfl who incurred a flat tire.

The restart went much smoother with Jim Cimfl jumping into the early lead with Adam Soltis moving in to challenge him. As Curt Myers moved up from the fourth row, Olson was also advancing quickly through the field from his starting spot deep in the pack.

Soltis was able to slip under Jim Cimfl for the lead briefly but then Cimfl came right back to retake the top spot down the back chute. Myers then picked up the pace as he passed Soltis low in turn four and then drove around Cimfl to take over the top spot. Last week's winner Willie Johnsen Jr was also on the move as he followed Myers to the front and took over the second spot. While this was transpiring, Olson continued his charge as his struggles of recent weeks seemed to be a thing of the past as he cut through the field, moving up to third when a yellow waved one lap short of the halfway point.

The final eleven laps went green to checkered with Myers again assuming the lead but Olson continued to shine as he drove under Johnsen for second and set off after the leader. Myers had a confortable lead but Olson soon began to close. Myers was running the cushion while Olson worked off the bottom line and lap after lap he would try and slide up under Myers but each time Myers would fight him off as they raced down the chutes.

With only a few laps left, Olson made a slight adjustment in how he raced the corners and the improvement was immediately evident as he was able to pull up beside the leader. As they took the white flag they were side by side and they raced down the back chute in the same fashion. Both gave it everything they had off the final corner but Olson got a great run off turn four and as they raced to the line, he was able to edge ahead and nip Myers by a fender in the thrilling finish that set off the many Olson fans in the stands as this win was an unexpected one, given his starting spot deep in the field.

Myers finished a disappointing second while Johnsen completed a steady run for third. Bart Steffen was also consistent as he ran next in line with Soltis rounding out the top five.

It has been a tough Spring for VanGilder but he got back on track with a wire to wire win in the Street Stock main event. After pole sitter Mike Chaplin scratched from the event, it was Gavin Rowland who led the field to the green but VanGilder used the outside line to immediately grab the top spot, a position he was to hold throughout the course of the main. The first few laps were not the smoothest with yellows before a lap could be completed and then another after one lap was scored. Kolby Kiehl went for a slide triggering one of the slow downs while hard contact on the front chute between Rowland and Jay Kesan that launched Kesan into the air after a scramble triggered another yellow.

Finally, after everyone settled down, VanGilder would move out to a good sized lead as Braden Brauer tried to stay with the defending track champion. Kyle Howland was also in the lead mix while Parker Anderson also raced among the leaders.

After the early mixups, the last thirteen laps of the main went nonstop with VanGilder pulling away for the win and not really being challenged further. Brauer had his hands full with Howland but he held on for second with Anderson and Ashley Wahlstrom completing the top five.

Bob Thompson, who is a big fan favorite also, won his first Pure Stock feature win since the 2013 season and his third ever as he held off the challenges of Tucker Quinn to take the main event. Aaron Bernick was the early leader of the race with challenges from Adam Pratt and rookie Dan Boissy in the early going. Thompson moved up from the third row while Cory Jorgensen and Quinn came flying up through the field from their starting spots deep in the pack.

Thompson was able to drive past Bernick and take over the lead while Boissy was having a great run, moving up to second and staying close to the leader. A spin triggered a yellow flag with only four laps left, leading to a single file restart to settle the event.

Thompson got a good start and opened up a slight lead with Quinn on the move, driving up to second and closing on the leader while Jorgensen was also advancing. Quinn pushed as hard as he dared but Thompson was smooth in the groove and while he was able to close to within a couple of car lengths, “Biker Bob” had control of the point and he drove home for the win. Quinn finished a tight second while Jorgensen completed yet another solid run in third. Boissy held on for fourth with Tyler Wahlstrom advancing from the back of the pack to complete the top five.

Thompson put an exclamation point on the night by spinning a “donut” into victory lane and then doing a dance on the roof of his winning car as he received a thunderous ovation from the crowd for the highly popular veteran who has overcome a couple of heart attacks in recent years to return to the wheel of his race car.

Next Saturday night, June 2nd, the Midwest Modifieds and Modifieds return to the track to provide a full five division program of racing with the warm ups starting at 6:30 pm. Then, on Wednesday night, June 6th, the Rice Lake Speedway celebrates Aquafest week in Rice Lake with a very special Wednesday night program featuring the Advantage RV Modified Tour as they make the first of five stops that week in Wisconsin and Minnesota with the best drivers from a five state area on hand to challenge the weekly hotshots in a Modified shootout. Also on the card on Wednesday will be the Pure Stocks and the Super Stocks. There will then be no racing at the speedway on Saturday night, June 9th as race fans are invited to celebrate Aquafest activities.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway

Rice Lake WI

May 26th, 2018

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Curt Myers(Cameron), Willie Johnsen Jr(Superior), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Simon Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Jim Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Terran Spacek(Phillips), Dylan Kromschroeder(Princeton MN), Andy Miskowic(Princeton MN), Hunter VanGilder, Mike Siewert, Scott Pittman, Steve Davidson, Jeff Brauer, Andy Cimfl

8 lap Heat 1 – Johnsen Jr, Spacek, Steffen, Soltis, Wahlstrom, Kromschroeder, Olson, Miskowic, Siewert
Heat 2 – Myers, Brauer(Eyota MN), J. Cimfl, VanGilder(Rice Lake), Davidson(Richland Center), Pittman, A. Cimfl, Matt Koski

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Braden Brauer(Eyota MN), Kyle Howland(Zimmerman MN), Parker Anderson(Phillips), Ashley Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Jamey Fisher(Chetek), Rob Grabon(Bruce), Gavin Rowland(Ogilvie MN), Hunter Anderson(Phillips), Kolby Kiehl, Jay Kesan, Bob Wahlstrom, Travis Loew, Duane Halverson

8 lap Heat 1 – Brauer, Mike Chaplin(Rochester MN), Howland, Rowland, H. Anderson, B. Wahlstrom, Loew, Halverson
Heat 2 – VanGilder, A. Wahlstrom, Kiehl(Barron), Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), P. Anderson, Bogdanovic, Fisher, Grabon

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Bob Thompson(Cameron), Tucker Quinn(Ladysmith), Cory Jorgensen(Hermantown MN), Dan Boissy(Trego), Tyler Wahlstrom(Chetek), Aaron Bernick(Duluth MN), Wayne Braun Jr, (Rice Lake), Dustin Fencl(Bruce), Scotty VanGilder(Birchwood), Josh Miller(Spooner), Mike Huebner, Mike Pratt, Brent Miller, Zach Beaulieu

8 lap Heat 1 – Pratt(Bloomer), Jorgensen, Beaulieu(Chetek), Bernick, B. Miller(Cameron), J. Miller, Huebner, Fencl
Heat 2 – Quinn, Thompson, Boissy, VanGilder, Braun Jr, Wahlstrom

UMSS Winged Sprints

20 lap Feature – Chase Viebrock, Ryan Bowers, Jamey Ogston, Mike Mueller, Reed Allix, Ryan McVitty, Kyle Finnegan, Cam Schafer

TSCS Traditional Sprints

25 lap Feature – Cam Schafer, Mike Mueller, Scott Brandt, Brad Peterson, Jon Lewerer, Anna Hippe, Kevin Bradwell, Blake Anderson, Jeremy Kerzman, Neal Matuska, Denny Stordahl, Joseph Kouba, Gary Mueller, Jack Berger, Bryan Roach, Allen Stettner