Spacek, Lawrence, Stuart, Haderly, Beeksma, Carlson Clinch ABC Crowns

by Nick Gima

            Ashland, WI, August 23 -- The ABC Raceway presented its final AmsOil Dirt Track Series event of the 2008 regular season Saturday night, highlighted by close racing action and plenty of drama, and resulting in champions in all six divisions. The program, presented by Northstar Beverage of Hurley, drew 104 cars on a calm, comfortable night.

Bill Byholm flexed some muscle in his new “hot rod” after he took the lead of the 20-lap WISSOTA modified headliner and ran off to his fourth feature win of the season. But the guy who finished just behind him - Jeff Spacek of Phillips - won the season-long war with Byholm, laying claim to his fifth ABC points championship and third in the mods.             After a lap 2 restart Kent Baxter worked his way around polesitter Kelly Checkalski for the lead, only to lose the top spot to Byholm when he slid up the track one lap after a lap 5 slowdown. From there Byholm was not to be caught, although behind him a great three-car battle ensued between Spacek, Baxter and Dean Yrjanainen.             Spacek finally cleared Baxter in the final five laps, but by that time Byholm was nearly a straightaway out front and putting backmarkers a lap in arrears. Baxter held off Yrjanainen for a season-best third-place run, and Robby Bunkelman finished a distant fifth.             Spacek finished eleven points ahead of Byholm for the title, but Byholm was awarded the Northern Clearing Fast Lap Bonus with a tour of the red-clay oval in 17.039 seconds during the race.
The WISSOTA super stock main event was run last to build up the dramatics, as it featured the closest battle for a championship at the track. Coming into Saturday’s action, Randy Spacek and Scott Lawrence were tied for the points lead, and after heat action Spacek held a one-point advantage.             But Lawrence, from Superior, started one position ahead of Spacek in the 20-lap feature line-up, and he made the best of it. Trevor Wilson was impressive in setting the early pace, while Lawrence and Charlie Anderson applied the pressure. On lap 3 Lawrence worked outside on Anderson for second, and three circuits later he used a similar move on Wilson for the lead.             Spacek was in a dogfight of his own a few lengths back, as visiting Eric Olson raced him side-by-side for third. The field took its only breather on lap 9 when Ron Hmielewski spun, and the torrid pace continued to the end, with Lawrence holding no more than a two-to-three-car lead on Wilson to the finish.             Spacek fought off Olson’s threats, and those of a resurgent Curt Myers during the final seven laps, to take third, but Lawrence’s effort gave him a fifth consecutive super stock title in Ashland, by just two points, and his eighth overall, tying him for most ever here with Don Copp. The win was also Lawrence’s fifth of the season, tops at the track this summer, and the 40th of his career here.
For Larry Haderly of Marengo, winning his fourth WISSOTA street stock championship was just a matter of having two solid finishes. And he did just that, taking third in the heat race and cruising to a steady fifth-place finish in the 15-lap A-main.             The non-stop feature belonged to Cory Casari, who beat Rob Weber to the first corner and never looked back, building as much as a dozen-length advantage by the time the checkers fell. The runaway win was his third of the season and 19th ever here.             Weber slipped back into a dandy three-car tussle for second, but managed to stave off Greg Kuklinski and John Kallas for the spot. Kallas edged Kuklinski for second in the final standings, thanks to his earlier heat win, but he still finished 26 points off Haderly’s lead total.
The Raceway’s first-ever WISSOTA Midwest modified points title was all but decided when Steve Stuart of Ashland took the win in his heat race in earlier action. But Stuart put on a show in the feature as well, solidifying his hold on the trophy.             Once again George Dalbeck started near the front and looked tough to beat at the drop of the green, scooting off to a car-length lead over Pete Paulus. But a five-car mess on lap 3 brought about the first of two yellow-flag slowdowns and sent Duane Dunbar and Pat Cook - second and third in points coming in, respectively - to the pit area to change flat tires.             Dalbeck restarted with Shane Halopka on his rear bumper, and the youngster from Medford immediately drove past the high-flying Dalbeck into the lead.             A Rob Weber spin on lap 7 brought the field back to Halopka, but he disappeared again over the second half of the race for his fourth feature win here this summer. Rick Przybylski snuck past Dalbeck for second on lap 10, but he was overtaken two turns later by Stuart, who had started the race inside on the fifth row. Stuart nearly met with disaster immediately upon gaining the spot, as his car got completely sideways in front of Przybylski, but he made a great save and Przybylski checked up to avoid contact, and the two continued on.             Mickey Nosser overtook Przybylski during the last laps to take third, and Dalbeck stayed close enough to the lead pack to finish fifth.             Stuart, who is a rookie in the Mid-mods this summer, scored his second track title; the other came in the six-cylinders in 2006. Another graduate of the six-cylinder ranks and fellow Mid-mod rookie, Pat Cook of Washburn, finished second in points, 41 back.
The sixes also provided a significant amount of anxiousness for their championship chase. Shawn McFadden, Jr, held a four-point edge on Pat Beeksma, after McFadden won his heat race earlier with Beeksma a close second. But Beeksma started the 15-lap feature eighth, one row ahead of the points leader.             McFadden used a smart strategy by staying within a position of Beeksma as they weaved through traffic and toward the front of the pack, which was lead by sophomore driver Zach Pagels. Rookie Neil Adamczak applied the pressure from second spot, and another rookie, C J Polacek, was close behind in third.             Dale Coddington, who sat not far behind Beeksma in the standings in third before the feature, completed a pass of Polacek on lap 4, but it was negated by a caution for debris. Coddington again overtook Polacek a lap after the restart, but again it was for naught, as two cars tangled back in the pack.             Polacek then made a forward move of his own, passing Adamczak for second and bringing Coddington along to third. On lap 10 Justin Bretall drew the caution flag whe he spun in turn 2, just as the leaders were coming though turn 4, but some commotion at the other end of the track created a five-car pile-up among the leaders that caused heavy damage to McFadden’s car and ended his championship hopes.             Beeksma restarted fourth but found the car would not handle as it had before the melee; on the next lap under green he slid up the hill in turn 4 and dropped back a few spots. Over the final couple of laps Coddington gave Pagels all he could handle, but the youngster held on for his first career feature win. Chuck Hawkinson celebrated his return to the six-cylinder ranks with a third-place run and clocked a lap of 18.806 second to earn the Northern Clearing Fast Lap Bonus, while Polacek held on for fourth ahead of Scott Ovaska.             Beeksma, of Ironwood, thus laid claim to his second championship in the sixes - the other coming in 2001 - by just one point over Coddington.
The pure stock title also needed to be decided during the feature, as Chad Carlson cut Tim Carbon’s lead down to just four points after heat-race action. But, as it turned out, it wasn’t decided until after the race was run.             In the ten-lap, non-stop main event, Dustin Follett picked up where he left off the week before, speeding away to his second straight dominant victory. But while Follett was stretching his lead to nearly a straightaway, Carlson was pushing hard to both catch him and stay ahead of Carbon - pushing so hard, in fact, that his car emitted a huge plum of smoke during the final laps.             Meanwhile, Carbon’s car wasn’t up to its usual speedy standard, as he could climb no higher than sixth by the time the checkered flag was thrown. Carlson’s car finally gave out as it took second at a distance behind Follett, and after briefly catching fire it was pushed first to the infield scale and then to Victory Lane, where Carbon and Carlson both learned that they had tied for the championship.             However, a teardown posted against Carbon’s car revealed a problem with the braking system that caused to be deemed illegal, handing Carlson his first points title at Ashland. Chad’s brother Tim took third in the race, followed by Zene Anderson and Al Rapp in the top five.             Chad Carlson’s final margin in the points was 22 over the team car of Paul Milanowski and Tammie Bretting.

            The next race program at the three-eighths-mile oval will be the 33rd annual Red Clay Classic on Friday and Saturday, September 26-27. In excess of 200 WISSOTA late models, modifieds and super stocks are expected to compete for their share of a $70,000 purse.

            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; Kelly Checkalski, Poplar; Dean Yrjanainen, Lake Nebagamon; Kent Baxter, Dorchester; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Al Uotinen, Superior; Ross Lightner, Washburn; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Paul Niznik, Medford.

            Heat 2: Duane Dale, Aurora, MN; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Robby Bunkelman, Abbotsford; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; John Frydrych, Butternut; Rick Rivord, Superior; Dan Sellung, Mason.

            Feature: Byholm; Spacek; Baxter; Yrjanainen; Bunkelman; Dale; Uotinen; Checkalski; Rivord; Hudack; Lavasseur; Niznik; Hartman; Bellefeuille; Stricker; Lightner; Frydrych.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

            Heat 1: Eric Olson, Ladysmith; Charlie Anderson, Ironwood, MI; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Roy Pumala, Mason; Don Koivisto, Saxon.

            Heat 2: Curt Myers, Cameron; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Joe Oliver, Superior; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; Dave Elliott, Minocqua.

            Heat 3: Trevor Wilson, Superior; Dave Flynn, Superior; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Shane Kisling, Sarona; Art Hyde, Washburn; Rick Milinkovich, Superior.

            Feature: Lawrence; Wilson; Spacek; Olson; Myers; Anderson; Eder; Kisling; Truscott; Mikkonen; Flynn; Oliver; Oreskovich; Hyde; Elliott; Pumala; Hmielewski; Schoonover; Milinkovich; Koivisto.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

            Heat: John Kallas, Hurley; Bruce Kalmon, Ashland; Larry Haderly, Marengo; Rob Weber, Washburn; Cory Casari, Hurley; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Kevin Maulson, Lac du Flambeau.

            Feature: Casari; Weber; Kuklinski; Kallas; Haderly; Kalmon; Maulson.

WISSOTA Midwest modifieds

            Heat 1: Rob Weber, Washburn; Pete Paulus, Phillips; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Lance Solem, Duluth, MN; Chris Bretting, Ashland; Shane Roy, Duluth, MN; Travis Nye, Ashland.

            Heat 2: Shane Halopka, Medford; Shawn Rivord, Superior; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Adam Archer, Duluth, MN; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Jacob Morinville, Duluth, MN; Jesse Ogston, Duluth, MN.

            Heat 3: Steve Stuart, Ashland; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Pat Cook, Washburn; Barry Smith, Solon Springs; Mike Brennan, Ashland; Roland Gordon, Bayfield.

            Feature: Halopka; Stuart; Nosser; Przybylski; Dalbeck; Smith; Archer; Ogston; Cook; Brennan; Weber; Rivord; Gordon; Roy; Morinville; Paulus; Bretting; Dunbar; Latvala; Solem.

Six-Cylinders

            Heat 1: Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Colin Polacek, Phillips; Jim Pelto, Ashland; Jonathon Popp, Iron River; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Ken Tyykila, Iron River; Chuck Hawkinson, Mellen; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Jim Anderson, Mason.

            Heat 2: Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Dale Coddington, Hayward; Zach Pagels, Marengo; Dan Moncher, Hurley; Warren Beede, Iron River; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Adam Jack, Washburn.

            Heat 3: Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Pat Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Neil Adamzak, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Ron Lillie, Wakefield, MI; Justin Bretall, Grandview; Myron Basina, Bayfield; Tyler Luger, Iron River.

            Feature: Pagels; Coddington; Hawkinson; Polacek; Ovaska; Beeksma; Muzzy; Mihalek; Moncher; Tyykila; Pelto; Anderson; Jaeger; Popp; Traaholt; Luger; Basina; Mashlan; Bretall; McFadden; Adamczak; Beede; Jack; Schultz.

Pure Stocks

            Heat 1: Dustin Follett, Cloquet, MN; Zene Anderson, Superior; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Al Rapp, Saginaw, MN; Roland Gordon, Bayfield; Matt Deragon, Ashland.

            Heat 2: Paul Milanowski, Ashland; Nathan Dees, Ironwood, MI; Chad Carlson, Superior; Tim Carlson, Superior; Kevin Truchon, Ashland; Tim Ayers, Foxboro.

            Feature: Follett; C Carlson; T Carlson; Anderson; Rapp; Gordon; Blom; Truchon; Dees; Deragon; Milanowski; Ayers.