2010 Season Opener Presented by Northern State Bank

Knauf, Lawrence, Marshall Slip Through for ABC Opener Wins

Jaeger, Carlson run off in features

by Nick Gima

Ashland, WI, May 15 -- Paul Knauf made a rare visit to the ABC Raceway payoff by winning a thrilling side-by-side battle with Duane Dale for his second career WISSOTA modified feature victory here, capping off opening-night action presented by Northern State Bank on Saturday.  In other AmsOil Dirt Track Series feature action, Scott Lawrence and Jeff Marshall made late-races passes for wins, while Greg Jaeger’s patience paid off and Chad Carlson’s station wagon ran strong. A field of 102 cars registered at the gate to compete in front of a crowd that exceeded 1,400.
Knauf, who traveled from Marshfield to perform, worked past polesitter Steve Lavasseur three laps in to the 20-lap main event for second spot and set his sights on surprise leader Steve Stuart, who is the track’s two-time defending WISSOTA Midwest modified champion but was in his first feature in the big mods on his home track. Stuart had built up a nearly one-second lead early, but Knauf cut into that lead by about a tenth of a second a lap, with Dale in tow.  Knauf’s big break came on lap 11, when Lavasseur and Wayne Stricker tangled while battling for sixth. Taking advantage of the Delaware double-file restart, Dale snuck inside on Stuart for the lead, and Knauf did likewise to take second. Knauf then ran around the top of the red-clay oval, while Dale hugged the bottom, and the two ran the final four laps door-to-door, swapping the point, until Knauf finally edged ahead for good at the white flag.  Knauf’s car-length win over Dale was a ways ahead of a strong run by Stricker, who edged Stuart at the stripe for third. Bill Byholm started 13th but charged to fifth at the finish.
Lawrence, from Superior, coming off his sixth-straight WISSOTA super stock track title here, also needed some late-race heroics to come away with his 42nd career ABC feature win. Polesitter Ken Truscott pulled away on each of three different attempts to start the 20-lap run, but messes made behind him kept bringing the field back to him.  On the third attempt Lawrence and Eric Olson each used inside moves to slip past Dave Flynn for second and third, and Olson took the runner-up spot away from Lawrence on lap 2. The lead dozen or so began to spread out around the oval as the race ran off non-stop for 15 laps, with the best battle on track waged between Randy Spacek and Flynn for fourth, while Truscott quickly reeled in the backmarkers.  Truscott himself brought about the heartbreaking caution that changed the complexion of the race, when his mount gave up on him with five to go. Olson found himself on the point for the restart, and Lawrence took a look to the inside groove and made his move on lap 17, when Olson bobbled ever so little coming out of Turn 4.  Lawrence held on from there to win by a couple of lengths ahead of Olson. Spacek, who was in position to overtake Olson going into the final corner, suffered a steering failure and slipped up the track; thirteenth-starting Brian Mikkonen barely avoided heavy contact and came home third, just ahead of a strong run by rookie Cory Casari and Flynn.
Like Lawrence, Thunder Bay, ON’s Jeff Marshall took advantage for a minor mistake by Mickey Nosser to take second place, and then, like Knauf, he dueled with fellow Canadian Kevin Monteith for the win in the 15-lap WISSOTA Mid-mod A-main. Nosser set the early pace from his outside-front-row starting spot and continued to do so despite several early restarts, while Taylor Leuthner and Marshall worked their way into second and third, respectively, by lap 4.  Marshall took over runner-up duties on lap 5 but was a distance back of the leader, while Monteith followed through to third two loops later. After George Dalbeck’s car slowed on lap 9 to bring about a caution flag, Nosser lost the handle on his ride ever so slightly a lap after the restart, but it was just enough to move the high-side-running Marshall up the track and open the bottom lane up for Monteith to take the lead.  With four laps left Dan Kingsley’s car began throwing sparks, and when he pulled to the bottom of the track to exit the race he took Travis Nye with him, causing Nye to spin and the yellow lights to come on. Marshall spent the remaining laps looking for an inside move to get by Monteith, and he found it on the final lap for his second career win here and first in three summers. Nosser also had enough for one last push, and he, too, edged past Monteith at the checkers.  Leuthner was not too far back in fourth, and Rick Przybylski, who had to come through the B-feature to make the show and started 20th, claimed fifth.
Jaeger, the former track champ from Mellen, used a veteran level of patience as much of the field of youngsters in the six-cylinder 15-lap feature beat and battered each other out of contention. Neil Adamczak bested the field out of the first turn to take the early lead, and after a quick caution stop for a Jim Anderson spin, Jaeger worked inside to get by Tyler Luger for second.  Jaeger dug hard to catch and eventually overtake the young Adamczak on lap 7, but sophomore driver Tyler Hudack’s spin negated the pass for the lead. Then, just as Jaeger was gearing himself up to try the pass again, Adamczak pulled off the track with a flat tire, putting Jaeger at the point for the restart.  From there a series of stoppages for various spins and crashes slowed the pace at a frustrating crawl, but Jaeger kept his cool, and when the time limit had expired and there were still four laps remaining coming out of yet another restart, officials called for a green-white-checkered finish, which Jaeger paced to the end. Scott Ovaska started 18th on the 21-car grid but took advantage of the carnage ahead of him to claim second, while Anderson, 15th-starting Chuck Hawkinson and 16th-starting Forrest Schultz completed the top five.
Carlson, from Superior, got around Ken Tody Jr during the back half of the 12-lap pure stock run to earn his opening night win. Tody beat visiting Keith Troutman out of the first corner to set the early pace, while Al Rapp moved into second just before Paul Milanowski’s motor blew apart on lap 2.  Tody, Rapp, Carlson and his brother and 2009 co-champ Tim pulled away from the rest of the field to decide the win, and when Rapp’s car got away from him for a moment Chad Carlson was there to take advantage for second. A lap 6 caution for Caitlyn Carlson’s stalled ride set up Chad Carlson’s pass of Tody for the lead a lap after the restart, and from there Carlson held a small but safe lead to the checkers. Tody, Rapp and Tim Carlson followed, with last year’s other champ, Tim Carbon, taking over fifth for good with four to go.

 Next Saturday the ABC Raceway will present a full five-division program presented by the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce, with hot laps set for 6:15 pm and racing starting at 7. “Race Night” will air live on WBSZ, 93.3 FM, from 4:30-6 pm with at-the-track news and weather updates.

 The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990.

All photos by Skip Hunter.

For more photos from this weeks races visit Skip Hunter Photography Click Here.

Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
 Feature: Paul Knauf, Marshfield; Duane Dale, Aurora, MN; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI; Kelly Checkalski, Poplar; Robby Bunkelman, Abbotsford; Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Kent Baxter, Elk Mound; Al Uotinen, Superior; Ross Lightner, Washburn; Rick Rivord, Superior; Ryan Aho, Chisholm, MN; Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Jeff Spacek, Phillips.
 Heat 1: Knauf; Stricker; Lavasseur; Hartman; Lightner; Aho; Byholm; Baxter; Rivord; Dean Yrjanainen, Lake Nebagamon.
 Heat 2: Dale; Uotinen; Stricker; Hudack; Spacek; Checkalski; Truscott; Bellefeuille; Bunkelman.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
 Feature: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Eric Olson, Ladysmith; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Cory Casari, Montreal; Dave Flynn, Superior; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; Kevin Eder, Ashland; CJ Polacek, Phillips; Roy Pumala, Mason; Willie Johnsen, Superior; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Don Koivisto, Saxon; Jeff Tardy, Hibbing, MN; Nick Oreskovich, Mason.
 Heat 1: Spacek; Tardy; Oreskovich; Olson; Eder; Elliott; Mikkonen.
 Heat 2: Truscott; Lawrence; Flynn; Schoonover; Polacek; Pumala; Johnsen; Casari.
WISSOTA Midwest modifieds
 Feature: Jeff Marshall, Thunder Bay, ON; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Kevin Monteith, Thunder Bay, ON; Taylor Leuthner, Foxboro; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Rob Weber, Ashland; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Travis Nye, Ashland; Cody Carlson, Superior; Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI; George Truscott, Greenland, MI; Joe Olson, Superior; Ryan Adamczak, Ashland; Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Jake Gondik, Foxboro; Pat Cook, Washburn; Dan Kingsley, Superior; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Chris Bretting, Ashland.
 Heat 1: Nosser; Truscott; Kingsley; Joe Eckland, Springbrook; Carlson; Balduc; Przybylski; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Zene Anderson, Superior.
 Heat 2: Leuthner; Adamczak; Anderson; Cook; Bretting; Gondik; Dunbar; Adam Archer, Duluth; Weber; Dan Sellung, Mason.
 Heat 3: Marshall; Nye; Monteith; Dalbeck; Olson; McFadden; Roland Gordon, Bayfield; Bill Byholm, Glidden.
 Semi-Feature: Dunbar; Przybylski; Weber; Latvala; Anderson; Byholm.
Six-Cylinders
 Feature: Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Jim Anderson, Mason; Chuck Hawkinson, Mellen; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Tad Bretting, Ashland; Jim Pelto, Ashland; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Ron Lillie, Wakefield, MI; Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Cory Marincel, Ashland; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Zach Pagels, Marengo; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Warren Beede, Iron River; Neil Adamczak, Ashland.
 Heat 1: Anderson; Hudack; Mashlan; Pelto; Lillie; Schultz; Pagels; Dale Coddington, Hayward.
 Heat 2: Jaeger; Luger; Mihalek; Traaholt; Vernon; Marincel; Beede; Ken Tyykila, Iron River.
 Heat 3: Adamczak; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Muzzy; McFadden; Hawkinson; Ovaska; Bretting.
Pure Stocks
 Feature: Chad Carlson, Superior; Ken Tody, Jr, Ashland; Al Rapp, Saginaw, MN; Tim Carlson, Superior; Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Corey Lonetto, Duluth, MN; Matt Madsen, Superior; Dustin Gay, Ashland; Shane Roy, Superior; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Justin Madsen, Foxboro; Caitlyn Carlson, Superior; Keith Troutman, Tomahawk; Paul Milanowski, Ashland.