Awards, Honors Passed Around to ABC Raceway’s 2010 Best
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, January 22 --With a huge crowd of over 400 on hand, the ABC Raceway handed out special awards, accolades and trophies to put a final wrap on the 2010 racing season Saturday night at the Bad River Convention Center in nearby Odanah.
After a fine buffet meal, track president Kurt Beeksma welcomed the gathering of racers, crew member, sponsors, track staff and fans to the festivities. The top ten in the final points standings in each of the five regular weekly racing divisions were then recognized and received trophies and checks from the track’s generous points fund. In addition, points fund monies were handed out to all other qualifying competitors from the recently completed season.
Robby Bunkelman of Abbotsford was rewarded for his dedication to making the long trip north every Saturday night during the summer of 2010 by receiving the WISSOTA modified championship trophy and jacket. Bunkelman scored but one feature victory on the season - his seventh ever at Ashland - but used a consistently strong series of performances to capture his first title here.
Bunkelman clinched the championship after Jeff Spacek’s car broke during the final night of the regular season. Spacek, the five-time track champ from Phillips, earned two feature wins on the season to still finish second in the final standings, while four-time ABC mod champ Al Uotinen of Superior landed a close third.
Ashland’s Scott Hudack and Jerry Hartman of Marenisco, MI, wound up fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 2010 mod standings.
Superior’s Scott Lawrence continued his dominance of the Raceway’s WISSOTA super stock division by claiming his seventh straight divisional crown, and tenth overall in Ashland - both track records. Lawrence started the season by winning four of the first five features in the supers and never trailed in the points, eventually winding up with track-bests for feature wins (five) and heat wins (seven).
Randy Spacek of Phillips was the closest of the many chasing Lawrence by summer’s end, finishing second in the super stock standings on the strength of two feature wins. Kevin Eder of Ashland cashed a career-best third-place points check, while former three-time champ Brian Mikkonen of Iron River and Mason’s up-and-coming Nick Oreskovich completed the top five.
The track’s WISSOTA Midwest modified division completed its third full season at ABC in 2010 and crowned its second-ever track champion. Mickey Nosser of Phillips, who had raced in nearly every division at Ashland at one time or another during his 27-year career, finally took home a champion’s trophy on Saturday night, thanks to a feature win in May and a track-best nine other top-five feature finishes.
Nosser finished solidly ahead of youngster Taylor Leuthner of Foxboro, who collected two feature wins at ABC in 2010. Third-finishing Ryan Adamczak of Ashland commemorated his first season in the division by winning his first feature since 1996 back in July.
George Dalbeck of Wakefield, MI, used two feature wins to boost him to fourth in the final Mid-mod standings, while Washburn’s Pat Cook landed the fifth-place trophy.
Greg Jaeger of Mellen was honored for his second career ABC Raceway six-cylinder points title. The 2007 champ used a strong string of runs in mid-summer for a title run that included eight top-five finishes in a row, as well as an opening-night feature victory.
Jaeger claimed the crown on the final night of the season, as Ashland’s Neil Adamczak fell to second in points after a heartbreaking mechanical failure in the season’s last feature. Adamczak did score two feature wins and led the division with six heat victories.
Don Muzzy of Ironwood, MI, earned a career-best third-place trophy, former two-time sixes champ Chuck Hawkinson of Mellen finished fourth for the second straight season, and Shawn McFadden Jr landed fifth in the final standings.
Chad Carlson of Superior also took advantage of a fellow driver’s bad luck to claim his second pure stock points title in three seasons here. Carlson grabbed a feature win early in the season and, like Nosser and Jaeger, scored nine top-five finishes to lead all drivers at the track, with eight of those being top-three performances.
Al Rapp of Saginaw, MN, whose gut-wrenching mechanical failure in the Pure Excitement 25 in late August opened the door to Carlson’s championship, was still able to hold on for points runner-up honors. Rapp’s four feature wins and five heat victories were tops in the division. Tim Carbon of Highbridge, who shared the 2009 title with Carlson’s brother Tim, finished a close third in pure stock points.
Young hotshoes Matt Deragon and Ken Tody Jr, both of Ashland, completed the top five.
The top rookies in each division were presented trophies for their achievements, including Steve Stuart of Ashland (mods), Cori Casari of Montreal (supers), Ryan Adamczak (Mid-mods), Ashland’s Tad Bretting (sixes), and Tiffany Hudack of Ashland (pure stocks).
Honored for the Most Improved Driver award was Ashland’s Travis Nye (Mid-mods), while receiving the Sportsman of the Year award for his work with both the track and his fellow drivers was Jaeger.
Lake Nebagamon’s Dean Yrjanainen, who announced his intent to retire after this past fall’s Red Clay Classic, was honored by the track. The long-time modified talent and fan favorite was recognized for his six Raceway points championships (three each in the mods and sixes) and three Red Clay Classic victories, and his 70 career feature wins ranks second on the all-time win list at Ashland.
In special presentations made by Beeksma, Dennis Asbach and Chris & Earl Zar each received the ABC Raceway Award of Excellence for their over 40 years of unselfish volunteer service, while the President’s Award was given to long-time track volunteer and current Raceway Board vice-president Robert “Weaver” Wherritt for his devoted efforts towards the track’s success.
During the meal and awards presentations, an on-going slideshow produced by Skip Hunter Photography was on display in the banquet hall. Prior to the awards ceremonies drawings were held for the many great door prizes donated for the event, and afterwards live entertainment was provided by “Down the Hatch.”
The 47th season of stock car racing action at the three-eighth-mile red-clay oval is scheduled to begin in mid-May. 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.
More Banquet photos here. |
