Tody’s Last-Lap Pass Gives Him ABC ‘Pure Excitement 25’ Win
by Nick Gima
 Ashland, WI, August 13 --Ken Tody Jr of Ashland made a low-groove pass stick on the final lap and stole away the win in the “Pure Excitement 25” pure stock feature at the ABC Raceway on Saturday night.
 Also claiming victories during the AmsOil Dirt Track Series program, which was presented by the Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsman’s Club and Baxter’s Speed Shop of Dorchester, were Ashland’s Kevin Eder in the WISSOTA modifieds, Scott Lawrence of Superior in the WISSOTA super stocks, Taylor Leuthner of Foxboro in the WISSOTA Midwest modifieds, and Ashland’s Tyler Hudack in the six-cylinders. A season-high 91 cars were in action on a cool but comfortable evening.

The 25-lap headliner for the entry-level division was not a clean race, as seven caution stoppages dragged the event along and knocked nearly of half of the 25 starters from the run. Mark Korte seemed to have the car to beat early as he sped away from the pole and put some distance on Tiffany Hudack, who was busy fending off Matt Madsen, Ashley Smith and Jeff Christman. Christman made a strong outside move to sweep around Hudack for second on lap 4, just before DJ Keeler dropped his bumper on the track to bring about the first caution slowdown. However, during the breather Christman slipped into the pit area, giving up his runner-up position to Madsen for the restart. Back under green Jim Eliason worked by Madsen for second, but Tody, who had restarted eighth, got sideways in front of two-thirds of the field, resulting in a huge wreck that ended the night for at least five cars. Coming off the restart, leader Korte’s car suffered a flat tire and slammed the outside guard rail as the entire field flew by. Korte hustled to the pit area, had the flat tire changed, and resumed the race at the tail of the field, but on the ensuing restart he passed three cars before reaching the start cone, resulting in a penalty that would cost him dearly later. Joe Wolfe’s car came to life with the green flag, as he flew past Smith and Keith Troutman for third. Eliason made a couple of attempts to get past Madsen over the short three-lap run before Tim Carbon’s car stopped with a flat tire, delaying the race again. Three laps after that Troutman reclaimed third and became involved in a wild dogfight for the lead, with Eliason driving low against Madsen and Troutman looking for any path to get by both of them over seven green-flag laps. The fun ended for Troutman on lap 15, when contact during the battle knocked his trunklid loose to the point of nearly falling off the car. Officials stopped the race, removed the lid and placed Troutman at the tail for the restart. Then Eliason also fell victim to a flat tire, slipping back through the field as Madsen and Chad Carlson attacked from either side into first and second. As Eliason tried to get to the infield with his wounded car he collected Brody Zembo, stopping the pace again. On the next restart Troutman’s car spun as a result of two flat tires on his left side, nearly tipping him over. Madsen held the point ahead of Carlson, Wolfe, Steve Udeen and Korte to start the final seven laps, but Carlson’s flat tire knocked him from his great run, and in the scramble to get by his loose car Tody - who had fought his way back to seventh - ran outside around everyone into second. Tody drew tight to Madsen’s bumper and did not let off on the pressure over the remaining laps until taking advantage of Madsen’s slip up the track in turn 2 after taking the white. Tody edged ahead and held on for the very popular win just ahead of Madsen, with Korte crossing the line a distant third ahead of Wolfe, 15th-starting Josh Johnson and Udeen. The penalty for jumping earlier cost Korte six spots in the final rundown. The win was worth $690 for Tody, out of a total purse for the pure stocks of nearly $4,100, made up mostly by donations from several area businesses, many drivers from the other divisions, and lots of generous race fans. In a post-race inspection Madsen’s car was found to have an illegal part, disqualifying him from second and moving everyone up, including Eliason to fifth.
Eder, who is completing his rookie season in the “big mods,” jumped away from the pole and never looked back in scoring his first-ever win in the division. Over the course of 20 non-stop laps Eder built leads of as much as a second-and-a-half, while Steve Lavasseur took advantage of Kent Baxter’s loose ride on lap 2 to claim second. Baxter lost third to Bill Byholm on lap 6, and eventually a hard-charging Jeff Spacek passed Baxter for fourth after several laps of side-by-side racing, but out front Eder ran a smooth line and never bobbled. Lavasseur cut Eder’s lead down to less than three-quarters of a second during the second half of the run, and at the final stripe the margin was just six-tenths of a second, but Eder became the eighth different feature winner in as many shows in the mods at ABC this season, while earning his first feature win since running in the super stock ranks in August 2009. Lavasseur moved past ninth-finishing Steve Stuart into the lead in the mod standings with his performance, while Byholm, Spacek and Baxter completed the top five.
Lawrence extended his points lead in the super stocks with his second win of the summer here, but only slightly. The seven-time defending champ started eighth on the 16-car grid, and it took him a few laps to work his way up through the field, as CJ Polacek held off Jeff Spacek and Cody Carlson for the early lead. Cory Casari used a daring move to slip past Spacek into second on lap 2, but shortly thereafter Casari found himself turned around to bring about the first of two quick caution stops. Second-in-points Dave Flynn used a great move to slip past Polcaek for the lead on the restart, but it was negated by Carlson’s spin before the lap was counted. Flynn did not get another chance at the lead, but Lawrence and Brian Mikkonen did - surrounding and passing Polacek coming off turn 2 on that restart and racing each other door-to-door for the next six laps for the lead, swapping the point with each circuit, with Mikkonen running the low groove and Lawrence taking the high road. Casari’s second spin on lap 9 brought a halt to the action and put Lawrence on the point for the restart, and he stayed there for the balance of the 20-lap run. Nick Oreskovich, who started 14th, used the high line to catch and eventually sweep around Mikkonen for second, and Randy Spacek, who was the last starter on the grid, worked his way by Flynn for fourth with three laps left. Lawrence heads into the final two weeks of action with a nine-point edge over Flynn.
Leuthner’s second visit to the track this season - and his first since May - resulted in his first feature win of the summer here and his track-best sixth overall in ABC history in the Mid-mods. When Chad Adamczak’s car broke loose on lap 2, Leuthner and Tanner Byholm dodged a possible crash and Leuthner was placed at the point for the restart. From there no one cound catch the youngster who finished second in points here a year ago. Rob Weber had the best chance to challenge just after the restart, as he took the runner-up position away from the rookie Byholm. Duane Dunbar and Travis Nye also shuffled Byholm back in the running order and were in close proximity to the leader when the yellow flag waived for Mike Truscott’s spin on lap 3. Nye slipped past Dunbar on the restart and three laps later used an inside move to get by Weber for second, but with no more cautions to slow the pace Leuthner remained steady at the point and held off a couple of attempts by Nye for the win. Weber wasn’t far behind in third, while Ryan Adamczak nipped Dunbar at the line for fourth. George Dalbeck saw his points lead trimmed by ten to just 23 ahead of Weber after an uncharacteristicly tough night, including a ninth-place run in the feature.
Like Eder would do later, Tyler Hudack started out front and stayed there throughout the 15-lap six-cylinder A-main. Hudack beat pole starter Forrest Schultz through the first turn and sped away to as much as a 2.27-second lead in just six laps, while Neil Adamczak tried to chase him down. Greg Jaeger worked his way by Schultz into third after the first three laps but he, too, would gain no ground on the leaders. Hudack was already catching slower traffic when the stopped car of DeJay Mihalek brought about the race’s only delay. Back under green Hudack picked up right where he left off, scooting away to another big lead while Adamczak and Jaeger debated second. Hudack collected his second feature win of the summer here two full seconds ahead of Adamczak, who beat Jaeger by a bumper for second. Divisional points leader Pat Beeksma was close behind in fourth, while Don Muzzy was a distant fifth. In Victory Lane afterward, Hudack dedicated his win to his friend Adam Lavasseur, who was tragically killed in an auto accident earlier in the week. Beeksma maintained his three-point edge on Muzzy in the sixes standings, but Jaeger pulled into a tie with Muzzy for second.

 Only two Saturday nights of action remain in the 2011 regular season at the ABC Raceway, with Chicago Iron & Supply and Northern Clearing, both of Ashland, presenting the full five-division race program coming up on August 20. The pit gates will open at 4 pm and the grandstands at 5, with hot laps set for 6:15 and racing starting at 7 pm. “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, or log on to the track’s website.

Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
 Feature: Kevin Eder, Ashland; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Kent Baxter, Elk Mound; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI; Al Uotinen, Superior; Rick Rivord, Superior; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Pat Cook, Washburn; Paul Niznik, Medford; Al Hartel, South Range.
 Heat 1: Lavasseur; Eder; Baxter; Stuart; Niznik; Spacek; Hartel.
 Heat 2: Uotinen; Hartman; Byholm; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Rivord; Stricker; Cook.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
 Feature: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Dave Flynn, Superior; Cory Casari, Montreal; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Shawn Rivord, Superior; Charlie Anderson, Ironwood, MI; Roy Pumala, Mason; CJ Polacek, Phillips; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Kirk Bogdonovic, Phillips; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Cody Carlson, Superior.
 Heat 1: Mikkonen; Lawrence; Flynn; Polacek; Bogdanovic; Rivord; Hmielewski; Elliott.
 Heat 2: J Spacek; Truscott; Casari; Carlson; Pumala; Anderson; Oreskovich.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
 Feature: Taylor Leuthner, Foxboro; Travis Nye, Ashland; Rob Weber, Ashland; Ryan Adamczak, Ashland; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Mike Truscott, Chippewa Falls; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Don Craig, Thunder Bay, ON; Jake Gondik, Foxboro; Chris Bretting, Ashland; Chad Adamczak, Ashland; Bill Muhlig, Calumet, MI; Tanner Byholm, Glidden; Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI.
 Heat 1: Weber; Leuthner; Nye; Dunbar; Przybylski; Balduc; Anderson; Craig.
 Heat 2: C Adamczak; R Adamczak; Truscott; Byholm; Dalbeck; Gondik; Muhlig; Bretting.
Six-Cylinders
 Feature: Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Neil Adamczak, Ashland; Greg Jaeger, Mellen; Pat Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Dale Coddington, Hayward; Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Shawn McFadden, Jr, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Bill Anderson, Wakefield, MI; Matt Pelto, Ashland; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; Tad Bretting, Ashland; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Jonathan Popp, Iron River; Ron Lillie, Wakefield, MI; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland.
 Heat 1: Adamczak; Hudack; Ovaska; Muzzy; Beeksma; Mashlan; Luger; Coddington; Popp.
 Heat 2: McFadden; Jaeger; Anderson; Schultz; Bretting; Pelto; Vernon; Mihalek; Traaholt; Lillie.
Pure Stocks
 Feature: Ken Tody Jr, Ashland; Joe Wolfe, Montreal; Josh Johnson, Superior; Steve Udeen, Superior; Jim Eliason, Ashland; Andy Udeen, Superior; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Mark Korte, Duluth, MN; Rita Anderson, South Range; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Ashley Smith, South Range; Jonathan Vanusek, Mellen; Tim Oswskey, Superior; Chad Carlson, Superior; Brody Zembo, Superior; Tim Carbon, Highbridge; DJ Keeler, Superior; Keith Troutman, Tomahawk; Chad Nikstad, Superior; Jeff Christman, Superior; David Androsky, Superior; Bob Anderson, Iron River; Travis Zembo, Superior; Justin Madsen, Foxboro.
 Heat 1: Korte; Eliason; Hudack; Vanusek; Carbon; T Zembo; Nikstad; Troutman; B Anderson.
 Heat 2: Tody; Christman; S Udeen; Wolfe; Carlson; R Anderson; Deragon; Keeler.
 Heat 3: Smith; Androsky; A Udeen; Johnson; B Zembo; Oswskey; Madsen.