Dale Redeems Himself with ABC Mod Win

by Nick Gima

            Ashland, WI, August 16 -- Duane Dale made up for “the one that got away” a week ago by surviving a late three-car battle to win the WISSOTA modified feature, highlighting the AmsOil Dirt Track Series program at the ABC Raceway Saturday night.

            The action from the track’s next-to-last night of regular-season points racing, presented by Heartland Communications, also resulted in a tie for the super stock points lead and a controversial finish in the Midwest modifieds.

Kelly Checkalski looked strong in taking the early lead of the 20-lap mod A-feature from the pole, and Dale moved into second place with a three-wide pass on lap 3. From there Dale - who was passed on the last lap here by Bill Byholm for the win last Saturday - closed the gap to Checkalski’s rear bumper quickly, and on lap 6 he moved inside and took over the lead.             But the pass didn’t count, as Dan Sellung spun before the lap was scored as complete, so Dale went to work on Checkalski again, bringing Jeff Spacek along into second as the leaders came out of turn 2 on the restart. That pass did not count either, as three backmarkers tangled to bring out another yellow flag.             Finally Dale shot between Spacek digging down low and the outside-riding Checkalski coming off that restart and scooted away. Spacek and a high-flying Robby Bunkelman tracked down Dale just before the final caution flag of the night, for Shawn Kreyer’s stalled car.             Bunkelman worked on Spacek for second, right on Dale’s bumper, and just after the lead trio took the white flag Bunkelman made a strong high-side bid for the win. But Bunkelman’s car grabbed the softer dirt outside the groove in turn 2 and slowed dramatically, allowing Dale to escape with the win - this third in nine days at area tracks - while Spacek strengthened his points lead with the runner-up finish. Bunkelman held on for third, ahead of Rick Rivord and Scott Hudack.
There was as much drama back in the pack of the WISSOTA super stock main event as there was at the front, where Joe Oliver snuck by Brian Mikkonen after a mid-race restart and ran off to his second feature win of the season here.             Charlie Anderson took the initial lead when Art Hyde struggled to keep his new car low in the corners, and when Hyde’s car stalled trying to leave the track the yellow lights came on. Randy Spacek then inherited the lead when Anderson pulled off the track on lap 3, but Mikkonen worked his way by Spacek two laps later.             Oliver’s run started in row 4, and he had third and was challenging Spacek by lap 8. Oliver’s inside move to take second came a lap later, and further back Dave Flynn scraped the back-straight guardrail, dropping him out of a great three-car battle for fourth.             The biggest turn of events brought about that lap 11 restart, after the car of seventh-running Scott Lawrence, who came into the night with the points lead, blew its right-rear tire, leaving debris on the front straight. The damage was too significant for Lawrence to continue after a visit to the pit, and over the second half of the run Oliver worked his way by Mikkonen and pulled away to the win. Ken Truscott slipped past Spacek in the closing laps for third, and this, combined with Lawrence’s bad break, left Spacek and Lawrence in a tie for the division’s points lead going into the final night of racing next Saturday.             Kevin Eder completed the top five after starting 11th.
The WISSOTA Midwest mods ran off their 15-lap feature without a caution, but not without a twist. Rookie Shawn Rivord shot out to the early lead, but ninth-starting Shane Halopka appeared in third place before he reached the starting line, forcing track officials to call him for a jump-start penalty of several positions.             Halopka got by Rob Weber within a lap for second, and then he caught and eventually passed Rivord for the lead on lap 4. From there Halopka put the field to shame, running off to what was initially thought to be a nearly-straightaway win.             Further back, points leader Steve Stuart and Weber, both also Mid-mod rookies, ganged up on the youngster, with Stuart working the outer line while the other two stayed low. It wasn’t until the white flag was displayed that Stuart finally got a run on Rivord to make what turned out to be the pass for Stuart’s third win of the season at Ashland and fourth overall. Rivord was very impressive in hanging on for second ahead of Weber, while Rick Przybylski drove by Lance Solem late for fourth-place money. Halopka was penalized back to seventh at the pay window.
Greg Kuklinski held off WISSOTA street stock points leader Larry Haderly for his second feature win of the season. The all-time winningest racer in track history passed Paul Milanowski for the early lead, but Milanowski’s car was tagged by John Kallas a lap later. This turned Milanowski sideways in front of Bruce Kalmon in turn 4, and Kalmon, with nowhere to go, bumped the spinning car, which then barrel-rolled once over before coming to rest on its driver’s-side door. Milanowski was unhurt in the incident.             Kuklinski spent the remaining ten laps pacing a determined Haderly for the win, while further back Kallas, who charged back after restarting last, was a distant third. Weber outran Cory Casari for fourth.
Pat Beeksma claimed his fourth feature win of the season in the non-stop six-cylinder 15-lap headliner and moved into second place in the points with one night to go. Beeksma followed second-place Don Muzzy behind pole starter Warren Beede in the early stages, then moved past Muzzy on lap 3. Two circuits later Beeksma used an inside move to take over the lead.             On lap 6 Scott Ovaska moved by Muzzy into second, and Shawn McFadden, Jr, did likewise to both Beede and Muzzy for third on the next go-around. Ovaska drew to within a couple car-lengths of Beeksma with five laps to go, but McFadden caught the lead pair and challenged Ovaska, allowing Beeksma to get away. McFadden took over second with three to go, but by then Beeksma was weaving his way through slower traffic with ease and would not be caught.             Muzzy finished a solid fourth, just ahead of Dale Coddington.
The pure stock feature got off to an interesting start, when the race cars of brothers Tim and Chad Carlson got hooked together and ground to a halt to draw the race’s only caution. Chad, who came into the night second in pure stock points, took his car to the pits and did not return, while points leader Tim Carbon made a visit to the pit work area, but he came back out to restart last in line.             Carbon then dropped out on lap 3 with a flat tire and other mechanical woes, leaving things in the points battle exactly where they were to start the night - with Carbon seven points up on Chad Carlson.             The on-track action, meanwhile, belonged to Dustin Follett. In a car he has rolled over on three different occasions this summer, Follett pulled away from Jeff Christman and dominated for his first career ABC feature win. Christman was eventually dropped to third, courtesy of a pass by eventual runner-up Nathan Dees, and Tim Carlson finished fourth ahead of Milanowski.

            Next Saturday’s race program will be the last of the regular season, the Fan Appreciation Night presented by Pepsi. At the completion of the program the track’s 2008 points champions in all six divisions will be named.

            Hot laps are set for 6:15 pm and racing starts 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.

To view more photos from this weeks races click here to visit Skip Hunter Photography.