Stuart, Lawrence, Dalbeck, Beeksma, Carbon are 2011 ABC Champs

by Nick Gima
 Ashland, WI, August 27 -- The ABC Raceway crowned its 2011 track champions during its Pepsi Fan Appreciation Night presented by Northstar Beverages of Hurley and WIMI, 99.7 FM, of Ironwood, MI on a beautiful late-summer evening.

On the final regular-season AmsOil Dirt Track Series night of the year, Ashland’s Steve Stuart captured his first WISSOTA modified track title in only his second season in the division, to go with his two WISSOTA Midwest modified titles here in 2008-’09 and his six-cylinder championship in 2006. Stuart had a slim eight-point lead going into the 20-lap regularly-scheduled feature and, after starting outside on row 4, stayed as close as he could to his nearest challenger in the standings, Bill Byholm, throughout the early stages.  Robby Bunkelman outran Scott Hudack through the first set of turns and set the early pace, while Jeff Spacek made a strong charge to Bunkelman’s trunklid by working outside to get by Rick Rivord for third and then inside to take second away from Hudack in just the first three laps.  As Bunkelman and Spacek ran far away from the rest of the pack, Hudack, Rivord, Kent Baxter and others jostled for positions, with Rivord getting the better of Hudack for third just before the halfway point of the run. Up front, Bunkelman maintained a mid- to upper-groove line and used just enough momentum off the corners to stave off Spacek, who tried every line the track offered to steal the lead away.  Spacek’s searching finally worked on lap 11, when he swooped down off of turn 2 and drove past Bunkelman down the back straightaway for a lead that he would not relinquish, eventually building that lead to 1.2 seconds.  Far behind the leaders the race for third heated up, with Al Uotinen working hard to take the position away while Rivord’s car began to falter. Stuart also took advantage of Rivord’s bad luck by moving into fourth just ahead of Byholm, virtually assuring himself of the title.  Spacek’s lead disappeared when the race’s only caution slowdown came about on lap 18, for the spun car of first-nighter Kelly Checkalski. Uotinen used the restart to edge past Bunkelman into second, but the win belonged to the veteran and former track champ from Phillips - the 51st of his career in Ashland. Byholm got the better of Stuart by one spot during the green-white-checkered finish to take fourth, but Stuart locked the title up by seven points.  The mods also kicked off the program with a make-up feature from the rain-shortened August 20 show. Again Bunkelman and Byholm shared the front row, but in this 20-lapper it was Hudack who scooted to the early lead. This race also ran 18 of its laps in non-stop fashion, but the restart came on lap 2 instead - for Steve Lavasseur’s spin that essentially ended his chances of catching Stuart for the title.  With the green flag flying Hudack worked his preferred outside line to perfection, outrunning the field and building up as much as a three-quarter-second lead on Spacek and Bunkelman. Uotinen, who started 11th and was penalized for a jump on the initial start of the race, drove quickly through the field and into the top five, taking third from Bunkelman on lap 6.  Another determined effort by Spacek fell short at the line, as Hudack, of Ashland, claimed his first feature win of the season by a quarter-second. Over the second half of the event Stuart also sliced through the pack and into the top five, eventually finishing a distant fourth, while Baxter was close behind in fifth.
After winning his heat race, Scott Lawrence of Superior need to just start the WISSOTA super stock A-main to claim his eighth straight championship in that division and 11th overall here - both all-time track records. With a 17-point lead coming into the 20-lap finale Lawrence - who started inside on row 4 - simply bided his time as the battles for position raged around him, including polesitter Charlie Anderson’s efforts to fend off a stout-running Randy Spacek.  Jeff Spacek’s split-the-difference move between Dave Flynn and Shawn Rivord on lap 4 put him into third spot, at a distance behind his younger brother. Randy, meanwhile, kept the pressure on Anderson until an inside move finally worked and he stole the lead away.  On lap 7 Lawrence’s car broke loose while running mid-pack, and several cars checking up just behind him collected to bring about the first yellow-flag stoppage of the race. A four-car mess on the immediate restart delayed things again, but on the next try Jeff Spacek charged outside on brother Randy and threatened to take the lead away. Randy held on until Jeff’s challenge subsided and then proceeded to drive away to an impressive winning margin of better than three seconds as the final 13 laps clicked off uninterrupted.  Brian Mikkonen slipped past Anderson with six laps remaining to take third, and Cory Casari followed into fourth a couple of circuits later. Lawrence worked his way back to seventh for a 14-point championship margin over Casari. This marked the third time in ABC Raceway history that two brothers won features here on the same night, and the second time that the Spacek boys have turned the trick.
George Dalbeck of Wakefield, MI, wrapped up the WISSOTA Midwest mod title heading into that division’s feature for his first-ever championship. Although Dalbeck’s car sustained enough damage in his heat race earlier in the program to require a tow to the pits, his 22-point cushion going into the A-main was enough for the title.  Siblings racing each other was also the theme early in this one, as Chad Adamczak had brother Ryan on his tail to start the 15-lapper while they worked their way past pole starter Bill Muhlig. Dan Kinglsey’s slowing car brought out the yellow flag after the first lap was scored, but this would be the only delay in the run.  Duane Dunbar’s car worked well on the outside as he got around both Adamczak boys for the lead on the restart, but Ryan Adamczak found some bite down low and drove back by Dunbar on lap 3. Mike Truscott followed Adamczak past Dunbar into second a lap later, and Travis Nye repeated the move on Dunbar after another tour around the red-clay oval.  Over the next three laps Truscott reeled in Adamczak, and when Ryan’s car washed up the hill in turn 4 on lap 7 Truscott was there to capitalize. From there the young hotshoe from Chippewa Falls pulled away to a lead of over a second and continued on to his second feature win of the year here and fifth overall at Ashland. Adamczak led Nye, Dunbar and Rick Przybylski to complete the top five, while Dalbeck finished seventh, right behind second-in-points Rob Weber, for a 21-point final edge.
Pat Beeksma of Ironwood, MI, made certain that he would be the Raceway’s 2011 six-cylinder champ by winning the feature race tonight - the only driver to complete that feat on this night. Beeksma, who started the 15-lap main event up by eight points, now has three titles here, all in the sixes, with the others coming in 2001 and ‘08.  Dale Coddington had the field covered early as he sped away to a comfortable lead from the outside of the front row. But after Shawn McFadden, Jr’s lap 1 spin and subsequent restart Coddington had trouble building a lead on Scott Ovaska and Greg Jaeger, who displaced Tyler Luger for second and third.  Ovaska got a run on Coddington and took the lead away on lap 5, but the pass didn’t count as Adam Traaholt’s damaged car stopped on the front chute to bring about the caution flag. Then, while the field was being realigned for the restart Coddington pulled his ride to the pits with some sort of problem, and Ovaska inherited the lead.  The first eight in the running order ran in close formation over the remaining ten uninterrupted green-flag laps, during which time Beeksma worked his way methodically from fourth to second, and with four laps to go he made the winning pass with an inside run on Ovaska. Beeksma’s second feature win of the summer was also the 20th of his career in Ashland and gave him a 14-point championship margin, while Ovaska, Jaeger and Neil Adamczak were close behind. McFadden nipped Luger at the stripe for fifth.
Tim Carbon of Highbridge shared a pure stock points title in 2009, but this year he earned the outright crown, edging Ken Tody Jr by just three points in the final standings. Carbon came into the feature with an eight-point lead over Tody but worked hard to stay within sight of him as Tody charged toward the front.  Visiting Minnesotans Austin Blom and Dustin Follett initially battled for the lead before Blom laid claim to it and began to run off and hide from the field. Behind them Jeff Christman, Steve Udeen and Tody wrestled for third before Tody earned the spot. Blom and Follette had built up a considerable advantage on the rest of the pack, but Joe Wolfe’s spin brought the field back to their bumpers.  For the restart Tody sat third and immediately began to pressure Follett, while Carbon ran sixth. As Tody eventually overtook Follett for the runner-up spot Carbon lost a dogfight with Jim Eliason and fell back to seventh, shrinking his points lead to just three. Tody gave it a good effort but Blom, from Saginaw, MN, was too strong on this night, taking his first feature win here since July 4, 2009. Follett had Eliason and Udeen close behind to complete the top five, and Carbon did not lose any more ground in the running order and maintained his slim advantage in the final standings

The staff of ABC Raceway will take the next few weeks to prepare for the 36th annual Red Clay Classic, to be held September 30-October 1. The traditional season finale for stock car racing in the Northland will feature the only appearance by the high-powered WISSOTA late models at the track in 2011, as well as the championship round of the Como Oil & Propane Modified Series. WISSOTA-sanctioned super stocks and Mid-mods will also be on hand, as upwards of 200 cars are expected to compete for their share of a total purse in excess of $75,000. The 2011 season champions will be honored at the Raceway’s annual awards banquet in January. 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.