Przybylski Gets His First Career Win at ABC
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, May 31 -- After several years of trying to reach the winner’s circle in super stocks and big modifieds, Rick Przybylski of Ashland finally landed that elusive first feature win Saturday night in the WISSOTA Midwest modified feature as the ABC Raceway presented its third AmsOil Dirt Track Series event of the season.
In the fast-paced six-division program, sponsored by Fast Lane Motorsports, 93 racers took to another lightning-quick, perfectly-groomed track under sunny skies and comfortable temperatures.
| Przybylski, who started the 15-lap Mid-mod main event inside on the third row, put himself quickly into the mix after two early restarts for spun cars. Mickey Nosser, who won the track’s first-ever feature in this class in August 2006, set a scorching early pace until George Dalbeck stalled and nearly collected first-nighter Jacob Morinville as he tried to exit the track off turn 3. |
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From lap 2 on the race was uninterrupted, and after Steve Stuart slipped past Pat Cook into second, Przybylski followed into third, with points leader Greg Chesley in tow. Przybylski continued to march to the front by passing Stuart near the race’s midpoint, and with six laps left he made the winning pass with an inside move.
From there Przybylski opened up a seven-car advantage, which he carried to the checkered flag, with Nosser a similar distance ahead of Chesley for runner-up honors. Stuart and Cook, two WISSOTA rookies after successful careers in the ABC six-cylinder ranks, were impressive in their strong fourth- and fifth-place runs.
“This has been a long time coming,” said an exasperated Przybylski in Victory Lane, pulling within eight points of leader Chesley in the division’s early title chase.
| Strong runs were the norm throughout the other features as well, especially in the WISSOTA modified event, where Bill Byholm dominated the field for the second straight week, then told the fans from Victory Lane, “the car was a little better than it was last week.” |
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Scott Hudack beat polesitter Jeff Spacek into turn 1 for the initial lead of the 20-lapper, but Byholm, who started fourth, used a bold split-the-difference three-wide move into first place on lap 2 and was not to be caught, running away while using a mid-track line. Spacek hugged the bottom and maintained a steady pace in second throughout the long 13-lap green-flag run before the caution came out.
The stoppage was for a scary incident that began when Steve Lavasseur, while battling with Al Uotinen and Shawn Kreyer for eighth place, suffered a rear-suspension failure coming off turn 4. As the car slowed Lavasseur kept it close to the outer wall along the front straight, but Duane Dale, running a high line, couldn’t dive low to miss Lavasseur, tagged the much slower car and spun. With Dale pointed back toward oncoming traffic, Kent Baxter had nowhere to go and no time to react; Baxter’s car hit Dale’s head-on and hard. Fortunately there were no injuries, but all three cars were badly damaged.
Byholm was untouchable over the final seven laps and recorded his twentieth career win at Ashland, with Spacek holding off a fast-charging Robby Bunkelman for second. The restart was a help to Dean Yrjanainen and Hudack, who were both stuggling over the laps just prior to the incident but picked up valuable ground during the final sprint for fourth and fifth. Byholm also took over the points lead with his heat-and-feature sweep.
| Randy Spacek made up for the one that may have gotten away last week by charging to the WISSOTA super stock feature win Saturday. Spacek, who was in position to possibly take the lead from Scott Lawrence in last week’s feature race before slowing for a spun car, was on a mission tonight. He started from the fourth row but was already in fourth place within the first four laps, as Brian Mikkonen shot to the early lead. |
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Lawrence finally worked past polesitter David Elliott for second after four laps and spent the next five laps chasing down Mikkonen, who had built a substantial lead. Once Spacek got past the persistent Elliott for third, with points leader Curt Myers in tow, it was only a matter of time before the race for the lead became a thrilling four-car affair.
Mikkonen held on as long as he could before Spacek used a strong inside move to gain the lead during laps 15 and 16, but the pass was nullified by a three-car get-together before lap 16 could be scored complete. So Spacek had to work his way past Mikkonen again, within a lap after the field took the next green flag, and this time it stuck, after the caution flag was thrown again for Chuck Hawkinson’s spin on lap 17. Spacek stretched his lead to a couple car-lengths over the last three laps, earned his 30th ABC Raceway feature win and pulled into second, within two points of Myers, in the division’s standings with the effort.
Mikkonen held off Lawrence’s challenges for second-place money, while Myers’ charge ended in fourth, just ahead of Joe Oliver.
| A small eight-car starting field did not deter from some very close-formation action in the WISSOTA street stock A-main. Tim Baum took the initial lead of the 15-lap event over Cory Casari and held the point over the first five laps. But as Baum’s car began to emit trails of smoke, Larry Haderly made an inside move to take over the pace. |
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Two laps later Steve Anderson’s car was turned around for the race’s only slowdown, but Haderly held on from there to record his second feature win of the season and 15th of his career here. Greg Kuklinski overtook Baum just after the restart and gave Haderly all he could handle before settling for second, just ahead of Anderson. Baum came home fourth, just ahead of Casari.
Haderly, who extended his early-season points advantage to nine over Anderson, explained to the crowd from Victory Lane that the car he is racing this season is, indeed, the same car he used for his ABC street stock points titles in 2002, ‘04 and ‘05.
| Another driver who had to make up for a feature that slipped away was Greg Jaeger, who lost the track’s opening-night six-cylinder main event due to an illegal tire. But like Spacek would do later, Jaeger came on strong Saturday to earn his eleventh career feature win here. |
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Jaeger took advantage of an outside front-row start and the rest of the field’s struggles getting past rookie polesitter Neil Adamczak to build a quick early lead of nearly a straightaway. Eventually Shawn McFadden, Jr, worked past Adamczak into second on lap 6, but by then Jaeger and a win looked to be out of reach.
That is, until, lap 8 of the 15 scheduled, when the field came back to Jaeger, thanks to a Scott Ovaska spin. Jaeger was still able to pull away slightly from McFadden, and two laps after the restart Dale Coddington worked past Adamczak into third. Within another circuit Pat Beeksma pulled into fourth via the inside line during a three-wide move.
After Jim Anderson’s mount scraped against the front-straight concrete to bring about another race slowdown with four laps left, Beeksma made significant progress in slipping past both Coddington and McFadden, but he ran out of time to catch Jaeger, who crossed the stripe not much more than a car-length ahead. Ovaska worked his way by Jim Pelto late for a top-five finish, but he lost his points advantage to Beeksma, who now leads by one.
| The pure stocks struggled in their 10-lap main event, as they came out with only seven of their nine entrants. One of the did-not-starters was Roland Gordon, whose night got off on the wrong foot during hot laps; his car’s driveshaft broke off, ripping away the entire rear axle intact and turing the car onto its side in turn 3. Gordon was uninjured.
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The other driver not able to answer the call for the feature was polesitter Nathan Dees, which put Tammie Bretting on the front row for the start of the main. But in the very first corner of the race Bretting turned her car sideways in front of the field, forcing a complete restart.
On the next attempt Tim Carlson, whose car also gave him headaches during warm-ups, looped his ride before a lap was scored and needed a push to the pits. Finally Tim Carbon took command and led the field for all ten green-flag laps - and a couple more yellow-flag ones - for his second feature win this summer and sixth ever at Ashland.
The five cars still running stayed relatively close, which created some entertaining racing, especially when young Dustin Follett made a surprising challenge on Carbon for the lead four laps in, but contact between the two slowed the action again and forced Zene Anderson from the event with front-end damage.
Carbon had to fend off Chad Carlson’s threats over the final three laps to see the checkers first, while Paul Milanowski came home a distant third. Follett recovered from a lap 7 spin to take fourth, while Anderson was scored as the fifth-place finisher.
Next Saturday will be the track’s popular Kids’ Meet the Drivers Night, presented by Little Caesar’s Pizza of Ashland. Hot laps are set for 6:15 pm, and racing will start around 7, after the younger fans have had a chance to visit their favorite drivers out on the track. “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.
To view more photos from this weeks races click here to visit Skip Hunter Photography.
Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
Heat 1: Bill Byholm, Glidden; Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Shawn Kreyer, Hayward; Duane Dale, Aurora, MN; Rick Rivord, Superior; Al Uotinen, Superior.
Heat 2: Robby Bunkelman, Abbotsford; Dean Yrjanainen, Lake Nebagamon; Kelly Checkalski, Poplar; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Kent Baxter, Dorchester; Ross Lightner, Washburn.
Feature: Byholm; Spacek; Bunkelman; Yrjanainen; Hudack; Hartman; Uotinen; Bellefeuille; Kreyer; Stricker; Checkalski; Rivord; Lightner; Dale; Baxter; Lavasseur.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Heat 1: Trevor Wilson, Superior; Curt Myers, Cameron; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Joe Oliver, Superior; Destin Lorimor, Superior.
Heat 2: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Paul Erikson, Abbotsford; Don Koivisto, Saxon; Roy Pumala, Mason; Chuck Hawkinson, Mellen.
Feature: Spacek; Mikkonen; Lawrence; Myers; Oliver; Oreskovich; Hmielewski; Eder; Erikson; Wilson; Lorimor; Truscott; Koivisto; Hawkinson; Pumala; Elliott.
WISSOTA Street Stocks
Heat: Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Larry Haderly, Marengo; Cory Casari, Montreal; Tim Baum, Superior; John Kallas, Hurley; Rob Weber, Washburn; Paul Milanowski, Ashland.
Feature: Haderly; Kuklinski; Anderson; Baum; Casari; Weber; Kallas; Milanowski.
WISSOTA Midwest modifieds
Heat 1: Shane Halopka, Medford; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Willie Thompson, Eveleth, MN; Jacob Morinville, Duluth, MN; Pete Paulus, Phillips.
Heat 2: Pat Cook, Washburn; Greg Chesley, Duluth, MN; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Rob Weber, Washburn; Mike Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Travis Nye, Ashland; Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN.
Heat 3: Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Deven Van House, Silver Bay, MN; Jim Latvala, Solon Springs; Nate Thums, Dorchester; Shawn Rivord, Superior; Joe Olson, Superior; Roland Gordon, Bayfield.
Feature: Przybylski; Nosser; Chesley; Stuart; Cook; Dunbar; Van House; Truscott; Weber; Thums; Thompson; Latvala; Morinville; Paulus; Olson; Dammer; Nye; Rivord; Halopka; Dalbeck.
Six-Cylinders
Heat 1: Ken Tyykila, Iron River; Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Neil Adamzak, Ashland; Jim Anderson, Mason; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Myron Basina, Bayfield; Jacob Melin, Barnes; Jonathon Popp, Iron River.
Heat 2: Dale Coddington, Hayward; Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Zach Pagels, Marengo; Dan Moncher, Hurley; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland.
Heat 3: Pat Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Jim Pelto, Ashland; Don Livingston, Bayfield; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Travis Swanson, Ashland.
Feature: Jaeger; Beeksma; McFadden; Coddington; Ovaska; Pelto; Muzzy; Adamczak; Pagels; Livingston; Luger; Tyykila; Mihalek; Traaholt; Mashlan; Schultz; Popp; Melin; Anderson; Basina; Moncher.
Pure Stocks
Heat: Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Tammie Bretting, Washburn; Zene Anderson, Superior; Chad Carlson, Superior; Nathan Dees, Ironwood, MI; Dustin Follett, Cloquet, MN; Matt Deragon, Ashland.
Feature: Carbon; C Carlson; Bretting; Follett; Anderson; Tim Carlson, Superior; Deragon. | 
