Adamczak Brothers Celebrate Feature Wins Together at Ashland
Checkers for Hudack, Lawrence, Rapp
by Nick Gima
 Ashland, WI, July 3 -- With temperatures reaching into the low 90s, a huge crowd poured onto the ABC Raceway for Saturday night’s Kids’ “Meet the Drivers” Night festivities presented by Little Caesar’s Pizza, just before the AmsOil Dirt Track Series action heated things up even more during the “Six-Cylinder Summer Sizzler” and AmsOil Race of Champions qualifiers presented by the Bad River Lodge, Casino & Convention Center.
 Prior to the race action, fans young and old alike enjoyed some time visiting with their favorite drivers, as well as collecting autographed photos and other treats. Once the green flags began to fly, however, ninety-four racers put on quite a show for the over 1,000 in attendance. When things finally settled, winners included brothers Neil and Ryan Adamczak and Scott Hudack, all of Ashland, as well as Superior’s Scott Lawrence and Al Rapp of Saginaw, MN.
 In the 15-lap “Summer Sizzler,” Greg Jaeger, Pat Beeksma, Chuck Hawkinson and Tyler Luger staged an early four-car battle for the lead, with Neil Adamczak using the outside groove to quickly move up to fifth. Jaeger and Beeksma eventually broke away from the others, but a get-together between Tyler Hudack and Shawn McFadden, Jr, on the front straight brought the field back to the lead pair’s rear bumpers.
 Beeksma pulled up alongside Jaeger after each of two more restarts, only to have to fall back into second each time. On the lap 9 try Beeksma did finally complete the pass for the lead, while Adamczak continued working the outside line to get by Jaeger for second two circuits later. With two to go Adamczak made a drive around Beeksma for the lead, and the trio crossed the final stripe within feet of each other for a thrilling finish.
 Travis Swanson won a race-long battle with Luger to claim fourth.
 Adamczak was then the first to congratulate his older brother in Vicotry Lane after Ryan held off Pat Cook in a nailbiter WISSOTA Midwest modified main event. Cook patiently held the point through five restarts over the first four scored laps, while Adamczak and Canadian visitor Don Craig raced door-to-door for second just behind him. The race then ran under green for the remaining 11 laps, giving Adamczak the opportunity to slip around Craig for second and pull up alongside Cook for the lead.
 The two ran side-by-side for several circuits before Adamczak eventually edged ahead. Cook charged back on the inside and reclaimed the lead on lap 10, while a ways behind them Travis Nye emerged from the logjam that was the battle for third.
 Cook was a fender-length in front as he and Adamczak took the white flag, but coming out of turn 2 for the final time they touched tires, causing Cook to slow just enough for Adamczak to slip ahead and eke out the win by margin of less than a car-length. It was the first feature win at Ashland for the elder Adamczak brother since June 1996.
 Nye was third by over half a straightaway but just barely ahead of George Dalbeck and Mickey Nosser.
 Hudack’s return to the winner’s circle has also been a long time in coming, as he held off a charging Robby Bunkelman for his first feature checkered flag since June 2001. Hudack beat polesitter Jerry Hartman out of the first corner for a lead which he would not relinquish during the WISSOTA modified headliner’s 20 laps.
 As Hudack stuck to his preferred high groove around the three-eighths-mile oval, Bunkelman also found the outer lane to his liking and shadowed Hudack past Hartman into second on lap 3. This left the bottom open for Bill Byholm, who had muscled his way into third with a three-wide pass a couple of laps later, and who posted several threats for second and for the lead, especially after the only caution slowdown of the event, on lap 14 for Mark Baxter’s spin.
 Byholm showed his right-front tire to Hudack coming out of the first corner after the restart, but Hudack maintained both his composure and his line coming off turn 4 and thwarted Byholm’s challenge over the remaining laps. Bunkelman followed directly in Hudack’s tire tracks for a close second, while Byholm held off Jeff Spacek’s late-race charge for third. Hartman came home in fifth.
 In the other 20-lap A-main on this night, Lawrence had to work hard for his fourth WISSOTA super stock feature win in five shows here. Ron Hmielewski returned to action for the first time this season in a big way, making the high groove work in much the same way as Hudack would do later, and sweeping around polestarter Cory Casari for the initial lead. Lawrence dove to the bottom groove right away, and from there the two raced door-to-door nearly every lap of the first 12, which clicked off uninterrupted. Just behind them Eric Olson moved into third spot, while tenth-staring Nick Oreskovich charged along the top rail to advance quickly into a side-by-side race with Olson.
 The action continued until Brian Mikkonen struck the turn 3 guardrail hard. From there on out Lawrence had the advantage, although he could not completely get away from Olson and Hmielewski.
 Lawrence’s win was his 45th overall at Ashland, tying him for sixth all-time with former modified standouts Don Copp and Bob Root. Hmielewski made one last attempt to take second away from Olson but settled for an impressive third-place run, while Oreskovich was right on the tail of that battle in fourth, and Greg Kuklinski edged Randy Spacek for fifth.
 Rapp led every lap of the ten-lap pure stock feature from the pole, although he survived a stiff threat by Ken Tody, Jr, over the final four laps. Rapp paced Dustin Follett in the early going, and the lead duo pulled away during the non-stop first half of the run, but Tim Carlson’s stalled racer brought out the first of two yellow flags in the event.
 One lap after the restart Follett slipped up the banking in turn 4, allowing Tody to sneak by into second, with Tim Carbon following to third. Then Chad Carlson’s car was punted into the infield in turn 4 just as the leaders were about to take the white flag, forcing a green-white-checkered finish.
 From there Tody stayed right on Rapp’s trunklid but could not threaten for the win, and Rapp held a thtree-length advantage at the final stripe. Carbon, Matt Deragon and Follett completed the top five in close formation.
 With their wins tonight, Hudack, Lawrence and Ryan Adamczak each qualify for starting berths in the prestigious AmsOil Race of Champions events in their respective divisions, during the Speedway Motors WISSOTA 100 at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, SD, on September 15-18.
 Over fifty door prizes were given away to lucky young fans at the track, including seven bicycles donated by Little Caesar’s, WalMart and the Chequamegon Archery Club, and two autographed race helmets from Midway Motors and Ovaska Racing. The lucky winners of the helmets were Tyan Geisler and Jason Lunda, while Jack Anderson, Savannah Robinson, Quinn Campbell, Nathan Tutor, Shawn Traaholt, Brayden Petz and Loban Faukenbeal each took a new bike home.
 Next Saturday the ABC Raceway will present another full five-division program presented by Chicago Iron & Supplies and Xtreme Sign & Graphix & X-Wraps, 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.
WISSOTA Modifieds
 Feature: Scott Hudack, Ashland; Robby Bunkelman, Abbotsford; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI; Dean Yrjanainen, Lake Nebagamon; Al Uotinen, Superior; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Kent Baxter, Elk Mound; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Rick Rivord, Superior; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Ross Lightner, Washburn; Mark Baxter, Dorchester; Ken Hron, Nashwauk, MN.
 Heat 1: K Baxter; Byholm; Stricker; Stuart; Uotinen; Yrjanainen; Bellefeuille; Rivord.
 Heat 2: Spacek; Bunkelman; Hudack; Hartman; Lavasseur; M Baxter; Lightner; Hron.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
 Feature: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Eric Olson, Ladysmith; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Wayne Dean, Fall Creek; Willie Johnsen, Superior; Cory Casari, Montreal; Trevor Wilson, Superior; Dave Flynn, Superior; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Roy Pumala, Mason; Nathan Dees, Hurley; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Don Koivisto, Saxon; CJ Polacek, Phillips.
 Heat 1: Eder; Casari; Hmielewski; Schoonover; Johnsen; Flynn; Pumala; Elliott; Koivisto; Polacek.
 Heat 2: Spacek; Lawrence; Olson; Kuklinski; Oreskovich; Truscott; Dean; Wilson; Dees.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
 Feature: Ryan Adamczak, Ashland; Pat Cook, Washburn; Travis Nye, Ashland; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Don Craig, Thunder Bay, ON; Rob Weber, Ashland; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Taylor Leuthner, Foxboro; Chris Bretting, Ashland; Jake Gondik, Foxboro; Cody Carlson, Superior; Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI; Roland Gordon, Bayfield; Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Joe Olson, Superior; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Rick Przybylski, Ashland.
 Heat 1: Leuthner; Gordon; Cook; Olson; Balduc; Byholm; McFadden; Shawn Rivord, Superior.
 Heat 2: Dalbeck; Adamczak; Craig; Nye; Latvala; Bretting; Przybylski.
 Heat 3: Carlson; Nosser; Dunbar; Weber; Anderson; Joe Ecklund, Springbrook; Gondik.
Six-Cylinders
 Feature: Neil Adamczak, Ashland; Pat Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Travis Swanson, Washburn; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Chuck Hawkinson, Mellen; Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Warren Beede, Iron River; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; Jim Anderson, Mason; Cory Marincel, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Tad Bretting, Ashland; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Ron Lillie, Wakefield, MI; Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Dale Coddington, Hayward; Bill Anderson, Wakefield, MI; Ken Tyykila, Iron River.
 Heat 1: Beeksma; Adamczak; Luger; J Anderson; Mihalek; Maincel; Basina; Schultz.
 Heat 2: Hudack; Jaeger; Tyykila; McFadden; Beede; Vernon; Traaholt.
 Heat 3: Hawkinson; Ovaska; Swanson; Bretting; Lillie; Coddington; B Anderson; Muzzy.
Pure Stocks
 Feature: Al Rapp, Saginaw, MN; Ken Tody Jr, Ashland; Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Dustin Follett, Cloquet, MN; Tammie Bretting, Ashland; Chad Carlson, Superior; Keith Troutman, Tomahawk; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Tim Carlson, Superior; Bruce Kalmon, Ashland; Joe Wolfe, Ironwood, MI.
 Heat 1: Carbon; Rapp; Troutman; Kalmon; Hudack.
 Heat 2: Follett; Deragon; Tody; Bretting; C Carlson; T Carlson.