Adams Doubles; Graham a Repeat Winner at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, May 25th – After one week off due to rain, the Rice Lake Speedway was back in action on Saturday night and the finest evening of the season greeted racers and fans on hand to help celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. The UMSS Sprint Cars were the featured attraction Saturday and their winners would be Cam Schafer of Minneapolis Minnesota in the Traditional Sprints while Rick Kobs from Deer Park would top the Winged Sprint Car division. The weekly classes that race at the speedway were also in action and topping those events were Kevin Adams who scored at double win, topping both the open wheel Modified and Midwest Modified mains while Randy Graham became a repeat winner in the Pure Stocks. First time winners for 2019 included Willie Johnsen Jr and Kolby Kiehl.

Adams scored two relatively easy wins in his main events. He took the early lead in the Modified feature after starting on the outside pole and getting the jump on Donnie Lofdahl to take the early lead. As Adams started to pull away, the battle for second was a good one as Lofdahl tried to hold off Michael Truscott for that position. After a few laps, Truscott was able to get by into second and he set off after Adams who had built up a sizable lead by this point.

A good battle continued behind them as Lofdahl, Paul Niznik and Jake Hiatt raced for position. Also starting to move was Curt Myers who had moved up from the fourth row, looking to crack the top five. Adams continued to lead but Truscott started to cut into his lead and Michael pushed hard looking for the top spot. He would close to about five car lengths on the leader before Adams seemed able to stabilize the distance between the front runners. It looked like the race would go green to checkered until with just three laps to go, Lofdahl lost some of his sheet metal while suffering a mechanical failure and as he slowed, the yellow waved.

Adams got a good jump at the start and continued to hold the lead but Myers was now the driver on the move. He had worked his way up to third and with the restart, he got the jump on Truscott and moved into second. While Adams continued on for the win, the battle for second was the focal point and while Truscott tried to fight back, Myers was able to hold him off for second spot. Niznik and Hiatt, with a strong run, completed the top five.

In the Midwest Modified feature, Adams would have to work a bit harder as he started fifth on the grid but with a couple of good moves in the first couple of laps, he quickly found himself up to second and trailing early leader Kenny Kinkaid. Kinkaid was setting a good pace but following a yellow for a driveshaft on the track, Adams would get to the high side and power past Kinkaid to take over the top spot. Kinkaid would hold second for several more laps before Shane Halopka would get past and then take off after Adams.

The top two would put distance on the field as Kinkaid was in a good battle for third with Jimmy Latvala that would continue on for several laps.

Adams would maintain his advantage over Halopka with the final nine laps of the feature going nonstop and despite Halopka's attempts to close up, Adams remained in control as he took his second win of the year in the Midwest Modifieds. The race for third remained a good one to the finish as Matt Baker, who started sixth and early on slumped back to ninth, made a concerted effort to work his way back up through the field. Near the end of the race he got past Kinkaid and then challenged Latvala for third. He got that spot on the white flag lap as he completed a good run in his first appearance of the year.

The Pure Stock feature saw Graham drive a smart race, take advantage of the breaks and after the leaders managed to wipe each other out, he was right there to drive by and take the late lead and the win, his second at the speedway this year.

Devin Fries and Mike Grover were battling hard for the lead early, with Grover able to slid into the top spot. However, things were very tight up front with about eight cars racing very hard for the top spot. The first two attempts to keep the race going saw yellows as the field was running very aggressively.

Alternately, Grover, then Cory Jorgensen, Aaron Bernick and Ryan Clausen battled for the top spot with Graham, Josh Amans and Fries all lurking close behind.

Eventually, it was Jorgensen who would claim the front spot but Bernick and Amans were right there also. Josh made a strong push into second and then set out to pass the leader. Things got very physical between the two leaders with hard contact as they raced for the lead in turn four. Amans pulled a bold slide job to edge past into the top spot in turn one but Jorgensen came back to his inside in turn three. Again the leaders banged together and this time they lost control after contact with Amans spinning backwards up the track and Fries, with no where to go, slamming into Amans hard. Josh was checked out and walked to the ambulance unharmed.

Jorgensen was awarded the lead spot but both Bernick and Graham, who had slowly moved his way forward, attacked and the leaders ran three wide for the top spot with Jorgensen fighting off their challenges when suddenly, Jorgensen's car started to lay down a trail of liquid on the track, just at the same time as a spin triggered another yellow.

Jorgensen pitted, giving up the lead to Bernick and setting up a three lap dash. Graham quickly pulled up beside the leader as the race resumed and they battled it out to the wire. Coming for the white flag, Graham was able to get to the inside of Bernick and drive into the top spot which he held for the final tour of the track and took the win. Bernick finished a close second with Clausen in third. Jay Folz made his first appearance of the year a good one as he finished next in line with Grover completing the top five in a diminished finishing field.

Probably the best feature race of the night was the Street Stock main that saw Kiehl and Hunter VanGilder go right down to the wire as they raced for the win. Will Fisher was the initial leader with Travis Loew close behind in second and then a pack of about six cars all racing hard for position.

Loew was racing hard trying to pass the leader when he spun in turn four which could have been a disaster and while a couple cars suffered some sheet metal damage as they looked to avoid heavy contact, no big crash resulted and everyone continued.

Fisher again was the leader but when he got seriously crossed up leaving turn four, Kiehl, who started in the second row, shot past him to take over the lead and everyone took evasive action to avoid the gyrating car of Fisher. VanGilder used this opportunity to move up to second but C.J. Wagner had moved up the track to the second groove and pulled up beside VanGilder and was looking to pass both the top cars and take over the lead.

Four laps later, the yellow flew for another spin and while Kiehl got a good start, Wagner did not and he dropped back some as Jimmy Randall and Jason Havel moved in to challenge. A third yellow, triggered by another spin would set up a five lap race to the finish and it would be a two car battle for the win.

Kiehl continued to lead but he was running a lane off the bottom and on each corner VanGilder would nose inside him and go for the lead. Once Hunter was up beside Kiehl and it looked like a pass would take place but Kiehl would somehow fight off VanGilder's pressure and hold on for the lead. One last time, off the final corner, VanGilder would again try to get inside of Kiehl and as they raced for the line, Kolby would hold on by a half car length for a thrilling Street Stock win. Wagner would finish third, Havel would explode a tire on the last lap, losing many positions as Randall and Andrew Hanson would complete the top five.

The Super Stock feature was marred by the biggest crash of the season to date at the speedway and damaged a number of good race cars and saw the track's wreckers get a work out. Tucker Quinn got the jump and led the opening lap of the feature before he was passed on the high side by Kyle Copp as the rookie drivers were putting on a show.

Following a lap two spin, Copp continued to lead with the twenty car field running very tightly bunched behind him. Coming off turn four, a car got sideways, over corrected and clipped another car that was turned into the wall and the majority of the field stacked up behind them with car after car slamming into the wreck or spinning to try and avoid contact. The red flag was required and while all drivers were unhurt, the racing machines were not so lucky. Nine cars were involved in the crash with seven of them being eliminated from the race. The other two tried to restart but they both eventually pulled off also.

Willie Johnsen Jr, who had started in the second row, had slid to the low side and had taken over the lead just before the crash, resumed the event as the lead car. Nick Oreskovich and Dan Nissalke both took advantage of the cars in front of them that were missing for the restart as they gained a number of positions. Oreskovich would eventually work his way into second and chase after Johnsen Jr but after the big wreck, the last seventeen laps of the race would go off without a slow down.

Oreskovich pushed hard, but Johnsen Jr had a good line and much speed and he would not be severely challenged as he would drive on for his first win of the season. Oreskovich would come from thirteenth to finish second while Nissalke would pass a number of cars too as he came from tenth to finish a strong third. D.J. Keeler and Copp would complete the top five in a full program that saw twenty five races on the schedule.

Next Saturday night, June 1st , racing will continue with a full five division program scheduled with warm ups at 6:30 pm and racing to follow. June 8th the speedway will take the night off and on June 15th

the speedway will celebrate Kid's Night with the gigantic bike giveaway featured as part of that event.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway

Rice Lake WI

May 25, 2019

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Curt Myers(Cameron), Michael Truscott(Chippewa Falls), Paul Niznik(Medford), Jake Hiatt(Mason), Paul Suzik(Ironwood MI), Neil Balduc(Bessemer MI), Al Uotinen(Superior), Kyle Helling(Rice Lake), Jake Miller(Somerset), Tyler Luger, Cole Spacek, Donnie Lofdahl, Cody Carlson

8 lap Heat 1 – Adams, Myers, Truscott, Miller, Uotinen, Suzik, Pat Hoffman, Helling
Heat 2 – Niznik, Hiatt, Lofdahl(Duluth MN), Luger(Oxford), Carlson(Superior), Balduc, Spacek

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Willie Johnsen Jr(Superior), Nick Oreskovich(Mason), Dan Nissalke(Winona MN), D.J. Keeler(Superior), Kyle Copp(Brule), Luke Schultz(Cameron), Andrew Mackey(Roseville MN), Austin Workman(Barron), Rob Holmstrom Jr(Cameron), Mickey Anderson(Dallas), Curt Myers, Steve Martin, Terran Spacek, Adam Soltis, Andy Grymala, Eric Olson, Matt Deragon, Don Muzzy, Josh Bach, Tucker Quinn

8 lap Heat 1 – Myers(Cameron), Copp, Quinn(Ladysmith), Nissalke, Oreskovich, Bach, Workman
Heat 2 – Grymala(Superior), Johnsen Jr, Spacek(Phillips), Muzzy(Ironwood MI), Schultz, Anderson, Dylan Kromschroeder
Heat 3 – Olson(Ladysmith), Keeler, Soltis(Ladysmith), Deragon(Ashland), Miller(Farmington MN), Mackey, Holmstrom

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Matt Baker(St. Joseph MN), Jimmy Latvala(Solon Springs), Kenny Kinkaid(Shell Lake), Jonny Marsh(Rice Lake), Andy Zimmerman(Altoona), Ryan Barningham(Bayfield), John Meeds(Spooner), Fran Hanson(Almena), Jesse Young, Mike McKay, Duane Halverson, Jake Rivord, Gunner Peterson

8 lap Heat 1 – Adams, Rivord(Superior), Halopka, Baker, Hanson, Peterson, Zimmerman, Halverson

Heat 2 – Kinkaid, Latvala, Barningham, Meeds, Marsh, McKay, Young

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Kolby Kiehl(Barron), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), C.J. Wagner(Rice Lake), Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Andrew Hanson(Iron River), Parker Anderson(Phillips), Cody Kummer(Medford), Hunter Anderson(Phillips), Travis Loew(Barron), Will Fisher(Shell Lake), Ty Agen, Jason Havel, Alex Minks, Russ Chester, Dustin Doughty, Bill Grambow, Zach Beaulieu

8 lap Heat 1 – Randall, Wagner, Loew, Kiehl, Havel(Rice Lake), Hanson, P. Anderson, Agen, Bob Wahlstrom
Heat 2 – Doughty(Oakdale MN), Kummer, Fisher, VanGilder, Chester(Chetek), H. Anderson, Beaulieu, Minks, Grambow

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Randy Graham(Trego), Aaron Bernick(Duluth MN), Ryan Clausen(Barron), Jay Folz(Cameron), Mike Grover(Chetek), Mike Huebner Sr(Cumberland), Jim Rahn(Haugen), Cory Jorgensen(Duluth MN), Devin Fries(Phillips), Josh Amans(Rice Lake), Austin Fencl, Mike Huebner, Ken Oftedahl

8 lap Heat 1 – Graham, Bernick, Jorgensen, Clausen, Fencl(Bruce), Huebner Sr, Rahn, Bob Thompson
Heat 2 – Amans, Folz, Grover, Fries, Oftedahl(Cameron), Huebner, Josh Miller