ABC A-Mains to Bellefeuille, Flynn, Truscott, Hudack, Carbon
by Nick Gima
 Ashland, WI, June 4 -- Eighty racers met with nearly a thousand fans prior to the AmsOil Dirt Track Series racing program presented by Little Caesar’s Pizza at the ABC Raceway on Saturday night.

The popular annual “meet-and-greet” session kicked off the evening under bright blue skies and temperatures in the high 70s. And although the temperatures dropped with the sunset, the action got hotter as five new faces appeared in Victory Lane after feature action.  Jerry Hartman scooted away from the pole in the 20-lap WISSOTA modified headliner and drew to a comfortable lead over the first seven laps. Charging first-nighter Jason Swan hustled by Al Uotinen early, but by lap 7 Uotinen was able to retake the spot as Swan’s car began to show puffs of blue smoke.  By lap 12 Uotinen had reeled in Hartman, and one circuit later he was challenging for the lead. After one more tour around the three-eighths-mile oval Pat Cook looped his ride in turn 1 to bring out the first of two caution flags that slowed the event.  On the restart Duluth, MN’s Jody Bellefeuille took to the outside to sweep around Steve Lavasseur for fourth, Swan for third and Uotinen for second, passing each on successive laps. With three laps left he went around Hartman, and from there he led the balance of the event for the win in his first visit here this summer, surviving one last challenge from Hartman after a lap 18 caution stop for Destin Lorimor’s spin. Hartman held off Uotinen for second, while another first-nighter, Paul Niznik, took fourth away from Lavasseur late in the run.
Superior’s Dave Flynn has struggled through over a year-and-a-half of bad luck as a regular competitor at Ashland, but he enjoyed a measure of reprieve as he held off a pair of determined challengers to take home his first WISSOTA super stock feature win here since 2008.  Willie Johnsen was impressive early as he beat pole starter Roy Pumala to the front at the start and held his own there despite Flynn’s threats. Flynn finally got the better of Johnsen on lap 4 with an inside pass, and Flynn began to build a significant lead as Randy Spacek and Scott Lawrence fought their way through thick traffic. In fact, it took until the halfway point of the 20-lapper before Spacek finally overtook Cory Casari for second, and Casari kept Lawrence at bay for another three laps before giving up third to the seven-time defending track champ.  Once Spacek got free, however, he quickly reeled in Flynn, and on lap 15 he and Lawrence were right on Flynn’s rear bumper, while backmarkers were beginning to fill the leader’s windshield. One of those backmarkers - Dave Elliott - pulled up high out of turn 2 to get out of the way of the lead trio, but when he did his car broke loose and he spun to bring about the only yellow-flag slowdown of the event.  Over the final five laps Flynn did all he could to fend off Spacek’s challenges on the low side and Lawrence’s advances on the high groove, but he did so for the very satisfying win. Spacek trailed within inches at the final stripe, while Lawrence settled back in third ahead of a solid run by first-night visitor Andy Grymala and Casari.
The WISSOTA Midwest modifieds struggled through their main event, which was punctuated by a grinding early crash and a couple of hairy spins, but when the dust finally settled Mike Truscott of Chippewa Falls drove his damaged car into the winner’s circle.  Sophomore driver Neil Balduc used a thread-the-needle pass between veterans Steve Anderson and Rick Przybylski to take the early lead, but a lap later Anderson’s car slowed dramatically and mysteriously veered from the high groove due left into heavy traffic, causing a wild scramble that included Truscott and Travis Nye tangling and sliding to a stop with their cars twisted together. Nye was unable to continue, but Truscott’s badly-wrinkled car refired.  A lap after the restart Joe Eckland’s car blew a coolant hose, and his slowing ride collected rookie Tanner Byholm’s machine. After another try, with Truscott, Przybylski and Duane Dunbar dog-fighting for second, Rob Weber’s car was turned around by Chad Adamczak’s.  Then, on that ensuing restart, Przybylski and Dunbar bumped, spinning Przybylski clockwise in traffic and causing a coil spring to pop off Dunbar’s car, ending his night. Przybylski’s car also looked to have suffered a broken axle, but he continued.  Truscott used the restart to work past Przybylski’s wounded ride for second, and then he claimed the lead from Balduc on lap 4. It looked as though the damage helped, rather than hindered, Truscott’s car, as he zoomed around the red-clay oval on a smooth rail, pulling away from the balance of the field as the last 13 laps clicked off without delay for his first ABC feature win since June 2009. George Dalback, who had taken second from Balduc on lap 5, could do nothing to cut into Truscott’s lead and settled for second-place money, and Ryan Adamczak displaced Balduc another spot in the running order with three laps to go. Rob Weber recovered from the early spin for fifth.
Ashland’s Tyler Hudack dominated the non-stop 15-lap six-cylinder feature that led off the night’s main event action. Hudack, who started outside on row 2, wasted little time getting to the front as he swept around front-row occupants Tyler Luger and Don Muzzy in the first corner for the initial lead. Muzzy, Neil Adamczak and Luger maintained a nose-and-tail draft on each other in an effort to keep up with Hudack, but this was to no avail as the third-year racer built a straightaway lead.  On lap 11 Hudack had caught the slower tail-end runners, giving Muzzy, Luger and Adamczak a chance to draw close. But Hudack weaved through the backmarkers with ease and maintained a ten-length lead at the checkers. Muzzy held on for second, while Luger used the traffic to gain the better of Adamczak for third. Greg Jaeger came home a distant fifth.
Ken Tody, Jr, looked to become the Raceway’s first repeat feature winner of the season when he took the lead two laps into the final race of the night, the 12-lap pure stock feature. But on the restart following a lap 2 Tiffany Hudack spin, Tody’s car did not come up to speed, and in the scurrying to get by the slowing car Highbridge’s Tim Carbon inherited the point.  Carbon had defending track champ Chad Carlson alongside as the pair pulled away to a healthy advantage over the rest of the field, and Carlson nudged ahead on lap 5. But Matt Deragon turned Joe Pajtash around at about the same time, negating the pass for the lead, and before the restart Carlson took his ailing car to the pits.  This left only five cars on the track for the remaining seven laps, and although Carbon cruised away for the win, there was a lot of scrambling for positions behind him, especially when Jonathon Vanusek’s car suddenly lost power on lap 9 while running second in the tight pack. Andy Udeen benefitted by slipping by on the outside, while Jim Eliason, who got caught behind Vanusek, had to hustle to recover for third ahead of Hudack.  Winners of kids’ bikes donated by Little Caesar’s, WalMart and the ABC Raceway included Josh Orr of Glidden, Jake Yonko of Mellen, Cole Lovejoy of Iron River, Nora Dugger of Ashland and Trey Waino of Bessemer, MI. Many other young fans won complimentary passes to Splashland, compliments of Ashland’s AmericInn.

 
 Next Saturday Xtreme Sign & Graphix and X-Wraps of Ashland will present the full five-division race program. Hot laps are set for 6:15 pm, followed by racing 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.

More photos here

Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
 Feature: Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI; Al Uotinen, Superior; Paul Niznik, Medford; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Jason Swan, Chippewa Falls; Destin Lorimor, Superior; Al Hartel, South Range; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Kent Baxter, Elk Mound; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Pat Cook, Washburn; Robby Bunkelman, Abbotsford; Rick Rivord, Superior.
 Heat 1: Bellefeuille; Byholm; Uotinen; Swan; Stricker; Lorimor; Hartel; Cook; Baxter.
 Heat 2: Rivord; Hartman; Lavasseur; Niznik; Bunkelman; Hudack; Eder; Spacek; Stuart.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
 Feature: Dave Flynn, Superior; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Andy Grymala, Superior; Cory Casari, Montreal; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Trevor Wilson, Superior; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Willie Johnsen, Superior; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Cody Carlson, Superior; Keith Kern, Superior; Roy Pumala, Mason; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Kirk Bogdanovic, Phillips; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; CJ Polacek, Phillips.
 Heat 1: R Spacek; Grymala; Casari; Mikkonen; Wilson; J Spacek; Carlson; Hmielewski; Truscott; Kern.
 Heat 2: Lawrence; Flynn; Pumala; Johnsen; Kuklinski; Polacek; Elliott; Oreskovich; Bogdanovic.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
 Feature: Mike Truscott, Chippewa Falls; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Ryan Adamczak, Ashland; Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Rob Weber, Ashland; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Chad Adamczak, Ashland; Bill Muhlig, Calumet, MI; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Tanner Byholm, Glidden; Joe Eckland, Springbrook; Travis Nye, Ashland; Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI.
 Heat 1: Anderson; R Adamczak; Nye; Balduc; Truscott; Eckland; Muhlig.
 Heat 2: Dalbeck; Weber; Przybylski; Dunbar; C Adamczak; Byholm.
Six-Cylinders
 Feature: Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Neil Adamczak, Ashland; Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Pat Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Dale Coddington, Hayward; Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Tad Bretting, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; Bill Anderson, Wakefield, MI; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Jonathan Popp, Iron River; Ron Lillie, Wakefield, MI; Matt Pelto, Ashland; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Adam Traaholt, Ashland.
 Heat 1: Adamczak; Jaeger; Muzzy; Mihalek; Popp; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland.
 Heat 2: Beeksma; Hudack; McFadden; Ovaska; Mashlan; Vernon; Bretting.
 Heat 3: Coddington; Luger; Anderson; Traaholt; Lillie; Basina; Pelto
Pure Stocks
 Feature: Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Andy Udeen, Superior; Jim Eliason, Ashland; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Jonathan Vanusek, Mellen; Chad Carlson, Superior; Joe Pajtash, Bennette; Ken Tody Jr, Ashland.
 Heat: Tody; Pajtash; Carlson; Eliason; Carbon; Hudack; Vanusek; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Udeen.