Randall Tops Streets; Wahlstrom Back in Rice Lake Speedway Victory Lane

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, July 13 – Jimmy Randall, on hand Saturday night to tune up for the upcoming Little Dream Race, won his first Street Stock feature of the season with a thrilling outside pass, to highlight the racing action Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway. Simon Wahlstrom returned to victory lane for the second time this season in a hard fought Super Stock win while other winners Saturday included Mike Anderson, Kevin Adams and Cory Jorgensen. Feature winners Saturday night earned invitations to the AFCO Race of Champions event in September to be held again at the I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls Minnesota in September as a part of the annual WISSOTA 100.

Another solid field of Street Stocks was on hand with several different drivers either making their first appearances of the year or drivers switching seats in anticipation of the upcoming Little Dream on July 30th. Will Fisher and Jay Kesan led the field to the green flag following a first lap spin but when Fisher slipped up the track in turn one and Kesan had to take evasive action which cost him several positions, it was Jason Havel who came shooting up into the lead.

Havel continued to hold the top spot but he was under heavy pressure as Randall, Andrew Hanson, Hunter VanGilder, Shawn Amundson and Adam Soltis were all in a pack of cars right behind him and jockeying for position on every lap. They were racing all over the track and swapping positions during the first half of the race while Havel remained steady as the race leader.

Amundson was involved in a couple of yellow flags just past the halfway point which slowed the action and following the second one, it turned into a five lap sprint to the finish. Randall had established himself firmly in second and he was dogging Havel on every move of the track. Jimmy continued to try the low side with the top five or so racers lining up in formation in the low groove.

Suddenly Randall made the move of the night as he quickly jumped up to the second lane and was able to pull up beside Havel down the back chute. They raced side by side into turn four and exiting on to the front chute, Randall was able to get the best of Havel, squeezing past him on the top side and then ducking low into turn one.

On the last lap he pulled away and Randall would drive on for his first win of the year at Rice Lake and become the seventh different winner in nine nights of racing, thus settling up some wild racing action in the coming weeks. Havel held on for a strong second place finish with VanGilder, Hanson and Kesan completing the top five.

Simon Wahlstrom led all the way for his second Super Stock feature win of the year at Rice Lake. He started on the outside pole and was able to pull away from Josh Bach to take the early lead. Challengers included Ben Hillman, Willie Johnsen Jr and Adam Soltis in the early going.

On the move was Terran Spacek who started seventh but quickly moved toward the front. Along with Soltis, Hillman, Johnsen and Nick Traynor, those drivers battled back and forth for position throughout much of the rest of the race, trading positions and lanes on the track. Three minor spins slowed the action but each time Wahlstrom would take off again to maintain the lead. The last yellow set up a three lap dash to the finish and once again, Wahlstrom was strong as he put a few car lengths on the field and withstood the late challenges of Spacek to take the win. Soltis finished a fine third with Traynor holding off Johnsen Jr for position four.

A mid race yellow for a spin was all the assistance that Anderson would need to win his third Modified feature race of the year at Rice Lake. The current WISSOTA national point leader in the Modified class, who is having an outstanding season, Anderson started fifth and worked his way past Pat Hoffman and Matt Leer and then set off after leader Kevin Adams, who had started on the outside of the front row and had led the race from the beginning.

The top two racers seemed to be fairly even with the gap between first and second remaining rather steady as they raced toward the halfway point of the event. However, with just one lap shy of the halfway point, a spin bunched the field and this was the opportunity that Anderson needed.

He quickly dove to the low side of Adams in turn one and pulled up beside him. They raced hard into turn three but Adams could not maintain his speed to match Anderson and Mike pulled into the lead. With a solid handling car, Anderson was then able to gradually pull away and stretch his advantage with no one able to then keep up with him.

Adams had his hands full with a charging Leer who closed in to put the pressure on for second. Anderson continued to pull away from the field and earn the chance to represent Rice Lake at the 100 with a strong run while Adams was able to pick up the pace and hold off Leer for second. Hoffman and a hard charging Steve Hallquist completed the top five.

Things worked out better for Adams in the Midwest Modified feature as he won a track leading seventh feature race in that class in nine events this year. As usual, it was a two car battle for the win between Adams and Shane Halopka, as these two have been the main combatants in this class all year.

Adams started fifth on the grid for the Midwest Modified main event but with some sharp driving and good opportunities, it took him only two laps to find his way to the front of the pack as he weaved his way past Denny Cutsforth and Jimmy Randall to take over the lead. Halopka soon followed into second and the battle was on for the lead with Halopka giving chase.

Meanwhile, a great race for third saw Cutsforth, Randall, Travis Anderson and Austin Ellis all battling for the spot. Randall, after getting shuffled back some, moved to the high groove with a great charge and drove his way back up to third around the outside.

A minor spin bunched the field and the last half of the race ran off nonstop. Adams continued to lead and Halopka continued to chase, sometimes drawing closer but then Adams would seem to move out again to a larger lead. The bottom line was that the cars were well matched, and with two veteran drivers that rarely make mistakes, for one to pass the other was a difficult task. Adams continued to maintain a several car length lead which he held all the way to the finish. Anderson made a late charge to grab the third spot with Ellis and Randall battling right to the finish for position.

Jorgensen and Bob Thompson renewed their battle in the Pure Stocks with Thompson getting the upper hand in a thrilling heat race win but Jorgensen beating Bob to the line in the check issuing race. Point leader Aaron Bernick sat on the pole but Jorgensen made a great move from the second row to slip under him in the first corner and take the early lead. Thompson was on the move quickly too, as he followed Jorgensen into second and the chase was on. The top two cars put some distance on the pack as they raced hard for the lead.

Thompson made a serious challenge for the top spot and the leaders got side by side in turn four, but Jorgensen held on and then stretched his margin to a couple car lengths. Meanwhile, the battle for third got hot and heavy with Jay Folz making a nice charge forward from the fourth row and Mike Grover following his line.

The leaders continued to battle with Jorgensen maintaining a slight edge, and while Thompson gave it his best effort, Jorgensen was able to hold him off by a couple car lengths as the drove on for his second win of the year here. Folz completed his impressive charge as he got up to third with Ryan Clausen and Grover completing the top five.

There will be no racing this coming Saturday night, July 20th at the speedway. The track will take the weekend off so they can prepare the facility and give fans the opportunity to enjoy the Barron County Fair. However, when racing resumes the following week, it will be a one, two punch with two of the biggest races of the year booked back to back.

On Saturday night, July 27th, the Late Models make their second appearance of the year at the track as the Wollak Construction, WISSOTA Challenge Series will be at the track. Many of the finest drivers in the Late Model division from throughout WISSOTA will be on hand that night to battle it out for Challenge Series points and the top prize of two thousand dollars. As a bonus, a full program in the five other divisions that race on a regular basis at the speedway will also be held, making for a great night of racing.

And then, just three days later, on Tuesday night, July 30th, the highly anticipated twenty fifth edition of the Street Stock Little Dream race will be held at the speedway. This year, it will be Street Stocks only on this program to allow a complete focus on this unique racing event that in great measure, is dependent upon crowd support to make this a memorable night.

Last year, winner Danny Richards went home with over sixteen thousand dollars and with this being the twenty fifth edition of the race, the hopes are that this will be a blockbuster event, perhaps even matching the number of years it has been in existence with the final payoff to the winner. Drivers from all over the WISSOTA region and beyond have this event marked on their calendars and some of the entrants could provide a huge surprise. However, the WISSOTA regulars will provide a stiff challenge and the local racers at the track have just as much chance of winning this race as anyone, which is part of the beauty of the event. Among the festivities this year will be a special dash race for all the former winners of this event that are in attendance on that night. The rain date for this event is July 31st.

Watch the speedway website and face book page for updates on these two races.

SUMMARY 

Rice Lake Speedway

Rice Lake WI

July 13, 2019

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Mike Anderson(Jim Falls), Kevin Adams(Cameron), Matt Leer(Bruce), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Kyle Helling(Rice Lake), Wayne Poteet(Spooner), Dan Kingsley(Superior)

8 lap Heat – Hoffman, Anderson, Leer, Adams, Helling, Poteet, Hallquist, Kingsley

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Simon Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Terran Spacek(Phillips), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Nick Traynor(Barron), Willie Johnsen Jr(Superior), Ben Hillman(Menomonie), Luke Schultz(Cameron), Josh Bach(Barron), Mickey Anderson(Dallas), Wayne Dean(Eau Claire), Josh Cappo, Brad Ingram

8 lap Heat 1 – Johnsen Jr, Soltis, Schultz, Bach, Dean, Ingram

Heat 2 – Wahlstrom, Traynor, Hillman, Spacek, Anderson, Cappo

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Denny Cutsforth(Rice Lake), Craig Elliott(Hillsdale), Fran Hanson(Almena), Jonny Marsh(Rice Lake), Aric Lindberg(Dallas), Jamie Bisonette, Scott Meeds, Duane Halverson, Kenny Kincaid

8 lap Heat 1 – Adams, Anderson, Halopka, Kincaid(Shell Lake), Bisonette(Dallas), Marsh, Lindberg

Heat 2 – Cutsforth, Hanson, Randall, Ellis, Meeds(Shell Lake), Halverson, Elliott

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Andrew Hanson(Iron River), Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Nick Traynor(Barron), Zach Manley(Chetek), Jake Froemke(International Falls MN), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Shawn Amundson, Hunter Anderson, Will Fisher, C.J. Wagner, Simon Wahlstrom, Russ Chester, Ben Hillman, Zach Beaulieu, Michael Tuma

8 lap Heat 1 – Soltis, VanGilder, Hanson, Traynor, Froemke, Wagner, Tuma

Heat 2 – Randall, Amundson(Rice Lake), Manley, Hanestad, Beaulieu(Chetek), Anderson, Alex Minks

Heata 3 – Kesan, Havel, Fisher(Shell Lake), Hillman(Menomonie), Chester(Chetek), Wahlstrom

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Cory Jorgensen(Duluth MN), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Jay Folz(Cameron), Ryan Clausen(Barron), Mike Grover(Chetek), Aaron Bernick(Duluth MN), Ryan Lindenfelser(Trego), Mike Huebner Sr(Cumberland), Devin Fries(Phillips), Brent Miller(Cameron), Austin Fencl, Mike Holmstrom, Ken Oftedahl, Terry Kemp, Mike Huebner

8 lap Heat 1 – Thompson, Jorgensen, Bernick, Folz, Grover, Fries, Miller, Oftedahl

Heat 2 – Clausen, Lindenfelser, Holmstrom(Rice Lake), Huebner Sr, Fencl(Bruce), Kemp, Huebner