Stuart Earns First Career WISSOTA Mid-Mod Feature Win at Ashland

by Nick Gima

Ashland, WI, July 5 -- Ashland’s Steve Stuart slipped by Rick Przybylski on lap 6 and ran off to his first career WISSOTA-sanctioned feature win in the Midwest modified main event during Saturday night’s AmsOil Dirt Track Series action at the ABC Raceway.

On a night sponsored by Ashland’s County Market that included kids’ bike races and the annual visit by the Northern Vintage Stockcar Racing Club, 107 entrants filled the pits on a warm, breezy night.

Stuart’s move came after chasing pole-starter Przybylski during the early stages of the 15-lap main event, as the lead pair separated themselves from Jim Latvala and the rest of the pack. As Przybylski raced down low, Stuart swept around him. Meanwhile George Dalbeck’s car, while battling for a top-five spot, began to spark and smoke, eventually eliminating him from a good finish. Stuart had built up a significant lead by lap 11, just before Pete Paulus spun in turn 3 after contact with first-nighter Morgan Croteau. This put the charging Latvala onto Stuart’s rear bumper for the restart, but the 2006 ABC six-cylinder champ was up to the task and pulled away to an eight car-length win. A resurgent Przybylski came up just short in his challenge for second, while Shane Halopka and Pat Cook filled out the top five. An emotional Stuart dedicated the win to family friend Jim Durand in Victory Lane; Durand passed away this past May.
Scott Lawrence of Superior continued his mid-summer surge with his third WISSOTA super stock feature win here this year. The four-time defending track champ started outside on row 4 but quickly moved up into third spot behind polesitter Alan Hartel and second-row starter Dave Flynn. All three Superior natives toured the track along its very outer line, within inches of the guardrail surrounding the racing surface, until contact between the two left Flynn stopped at the top of turn 4 and Hartel knocked from the event with damage. Flynn was reinstated at the point for the restart on lap 6 and continued to circle the track along the outside groove, with Lawrence right in his tire tracks, while Brian Mikkonen used the bottom path to move into third. Mikkonen was ready to challenge for the lead on lap 12, but one circuit later his left-rear tire went flat, causing him to slow and forcing Eric Olson to check up and turn around, bringing out only the second caution flag of the 20-lapper. Flynn put up a strong effort, but when Lawrence changed his line to the bottom, he grabbed some bite and took the lead away with four laps left, just before a two-car spin blocked the back straightaway and stopped the race. On the final restart divisional points leader Randy Spacek made a move to the bottom groove and slipped past both Flynn and Ken Truscott, and coming out of the final corner he made a last-ditch effort for the lead, but Lawrence held on for his 38th career win here. Flynn was impressive in his third-place run, while Truscott and Nick Oreskovich followed in fourth and fifth.
In another nail-biting finish, it was Larry Haderly of Marengo taking the win by mere feet over Tim Baum in the WISSOTA street stock main event. Haderly, the points leader in the class at ABC to date, took advantage of an outside-front-row starting position and gained the early advantage on Greg Kuklinski. Just behind them, Justin Paulsen and Cory Casari were racing for position when contact sent Paulsen’s car into Casari’s, which then spun amidst the pack on the front straighaway. Haderly led the field to the green and stayed out front the rest of the way, but Baum made an inside move on Kuklinski stick on lap 6, and then he reeled in the leader. With half of the 15 laps remaining Baum used a similar move to get alongside Haderly, and he led at the stripe on lap 8 by a few feet, only to see Haderly charge back a couple tours later. Once Haderly could clear Baum he was able to hold on for his second win this season here and strengthen his points advantage. Kuklinski finished just ahead of John Kallas for third, while Steve Anderson completed the top five. Haderly remarked that it was “a lot nicer out front (in Victory Lane) than over the fence on the other side,” referring to his rollover of a few weeks ago.
In the six-cylinder main event Travis Swanson of Ashland put up another dominant performance. Rookies DeJay Mihalek and CJ Polacek raced hard for the early lead before Scott Ovaska moved in to take second. Shortly thereafter, on lap 3, contact between Polacek and Mihalek caused several cars to tangle, bringing about the race’s only caution flag. Swanson, who started in row 5, restarted fourth and quickly dispatched of Greg Jaeger and Mihalek to take over second, then raced by Ovaska on the outside to claim the lead on lap 5. From there the second-year hotshoe was uncatchable, winning by nearly the full length of the front straightaway. Ovaska moved back into sole possession of the division’s points lead with his second-place finish, holding off Jaeger. Don Muzzy quietly claimed a solid fouth-place chack at the pay window, while Dale Coddington drove up from the fourth row to earn fifth.
Chad Carlson of Superior grabbed the lead in the pure stock feature on lap 3 and never looked back, strengthening his grip on that class’s points lead with his second feature win of the season here. Zene Anderson led early, then lost the top spot after a lap 1 restart to Ron Poppe, who has been very impressive in his last two outings. But Poppe‘s car, after a couple of circuits leading the pack, broke loose in turn 4, handing the lead to Carlson. From there Carlson pulled away to his third career ABC Raceway win, while Dustin Follett slipped around Tim Carlson in the late laps for second-place honors. Anderson came home fifth ahead of Nathan Dees.
In vintage-car action, Dan Herold of Nelson ran side-by-side with Ken Hering before pulling away late to win the “full-bodied” feature, while Dave Lepper of Cohasset, MN, took the lead away from Rick Birkland coming to the checkers to win a thrilling “super-modified” A-main. The kids’ bike races were won by Candace Beeksma (age group 2-3), Dakota Carter (4-6), Shane Cole (7-9), and Mariah Westlund (10-12). In the 13-and-up age bracket, super stock racers Kevin Eder and Nick Oreskovich teamed up on a tandem bike to outrun Stuart, who later got the last laugh with his Mid-mod feature win. Four lucky kids also won bikes donated by the County Market and Steve Stuart Racing. The bike winners were Nathan Miller, Kevin Leask, and Owen and Case Hoffman.

Results

WISSOTA Super Stocks

Heat 1: Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Roy Pumala, Mason; Alan Hartel, Superior; Rick Milinkovich, Superior; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River.

Heat 2: Shane Kisling, Sarona; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Andy Grymala, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Curt Myers, Cameron; Trevor Wilson, Superior.

Heat 3: Joe Oliver, Superior; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Dave Flynn, Superior; Eric Olson, Ladysmith; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Bryan Lund, Rochester, MN; Don Koivisto, Saxon.

Feature: Lawrence; Spacek; Flynn; Truscott; Oreskovich; Hmielewski; Kisling; Myers; Oliver; Olson; Eder; Pumala; Grymala; Wilson; Destin Lorimor, Superior; Koivisto; Elliott; Schoonover; Lund; Mikkonen; Hartell; Todd Bonney, Bayfield; Milinkovich.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

Heat 1: Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI; John Kallas, Hurley; Justin Paulsen, Ironwood, MI; Jay Kesan, Weyerhaeuser; Paul Milanowski, Ashland; Bruce Kalmon, Ashland.

Heat 2: Larry Haderly, Marengo; Cory Casari, Hurley; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Tim Baum, Superior.

Feature: Haderly; Baum; Kuklinski; Kallas; Anderson; Kesan; Milanowski; Casari; Kalmon; Rob Weber, Washburn; Paulsen.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Heat 1: Pat Cook, Washburn; Jim Latvala, Solon Springs; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Lance Solem, Duluth, MN; Mike Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Joe Eckland, Springbrook; Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN; Joe Olson, Superior.

Heat 2: Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Kevin Monteith, Thunder Bay, ON; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Wayne Dean, Fall Creek; Pete Paulus, Phillips; Mike Brennan, Ashland; Morgan Croteau, Rice Lake.

Heat 3: Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Shane Halopka, Medford; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Rob Weber, Washburn; Jesse Ogston, Duluth, MN; Travis Nye, Ashland; Jacob Morinville, Duluth, MN.

Feature: Stuart; Latvala; Przybylski; Halopka; Cook; Truscott; Dunbar; Monteith; Solem; Dean; Ogston; Nosser; Olson; Nye; Dammer; Weber; Morinville; Eckland; Croteau; Brennan; Paulus; Dalbeck.

Six-Cylinders

Heat 1: Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Don Livingston, Bayfield; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Jonathon Popp, Iron River; Jim Pelto, Ashland; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Ron Lillie, Wakefield, MI; Bob Thoreson, Washburn.

Heat 2: Travis Swanson, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; CJ Polacek, Phillips; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Jim Anderson, Mason; Jacob Melin, Barnes; Cory Marincel, Ashland; Pat Beeksma, Ironwood, MI.

Heat 3: Dale Coddington, Hayward; Neil Adamczak, Ashland; Dan Moncher, Hurley; Ken Tyykila, Iron River; Zack Pagels, Marengo; Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Myron Basina, Bayfield; Justin Bretall, Grand View; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland.

Semi-Feature: Beeksma; Luger; Mashlan; Thoreson; Marincel; Basina; Bretall; Melin; Lillie.

Feature: Swanson; Ovaska; Jaeger; Muzzy; Coddington; Adamczak; Beeksma; Mihalek; Tyykila; McFadden; Pagels; Pelto; Traaholt; Popp; Luger; Schultz; Moncher; Polacek; Livingston.

Pure Stocks

Heat 1: Zene Anderson, Superior; Chad Carlson, Superior; Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Nathan Dees, Ironwood, MI; Tammie Bretting, Washburn.

Heat 2: Ron Poppe, Highbridge; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Dustin Follett, Cloquet, MN; Tim Carlson, Superior; Roland Gordon, Bayfield.

Feature: C Carlson; Follett; T Carlson; Anderson; Dees; Poppe; Bretting; Gordon; Blom; Carbon.

Northern Vintage Stock Car Racers

Full-Bodied Heat: Gary Whipple, Crosby, MN; Ken Herring, Eau Claire; Dan Herold, Nelson; Ken Sabby, River Falls; Duane Erickson, Superior.

Full-Bodied Feature: Herold; Hering; Whipple; Sabby; Erickson.

Super-Modified Heat: Dennis Olson, Braham, MN; Dave Lepper, Cohasset, MN; Keith Lepinski, New Richmond; George Shields, Cameron; Mike Bjorklund, Sandstone, MN; Butch Bethke, Oakdale, MN; Rick Birkland, St Cloud, MN; Kevin Lipsky, New Richmond.

Super-Modified Feature: Lepper; Birkland; Bethke; Lepinski; Olson; Shields; Bjorkland