Doar Tops ABC AmsOil Lates; Lawrence Best in Supers

The special program, presented by the Bad River Lodge & Casino, also included the Fast Lane Motorsports WISSOTA Super Stock Challenge, won by Scott Lawrence.             Doar, who made it a clean sweep by also winning his heat race and the eight-lap “pole dash,” enjoyed his best night of racing in Ashland by far.             “I have been coming here a lot since 1991, and this is my first (featuer) win,” said the veteran New Richmond campaigner from Victory Lane. “This has been a long time in coming.”             Doar started on the pole of the 35-lap, $2,000-to-win main event for the WISSOTA late models, but he immediately found himself as a challenger instead of leader, as Don Copp swept by into the lead after just one lap. Copp didn’t have much of a chance to build on his advantage, however, as Jeff Massingill’s ride stalled one lap later to bring about the first of four caution-flag slowdowns.             Doar then stumbled slightly on the restart and slipped back as Jake Redetzke, Rick Hanestad and Steve Laursen hustled by. Doar was able to retake fourth from Laursen within a lap, and he was running there when the yellow lights came on again for debris on the track on lap 6.             After four more laps under green Laursen began an effort to take third from Hanestad, before Darrell Nelson’s slowing mount on the back straight drew another yellow flag on lap 13.             On that restart Doar blasted past Hanestad and Laursen to take third place, while Redetzke used the opportunity to begin pestering Copp for the lead. Working the inside groove while Copp slid up into the middle line, Redetzke’s persistence eventually paid off, as the two raced side-by-side for a pair of laps before Redetzke was scored the leader for the first time on lap 17.             Three laps later Hanestad regained some momentum and pulled into a three-car battle for runner-up honors with Copp and Doar, but it was Doar who won that battle and began an all-out assault to eliminate Redetzke’s lead margin, which had grown to about six car-lengths.             Racing among the backmarkers became Redetzke’s undoing. On lap 27, while attempting to put a tail-ender a lap down, Redetzke got caught in the low groove, and Doar swept by on the back stretch and was gone. The final caution flag, thrown with six laps left for Massingill’s stalled ride on the front-straight grass, was the only thing that brought the field back to Doar’s rear bumper, as once the green came back out Doar was untouchable, eventually winning by ten lengths.             Redetzke had all he could do to hold off Hanestad for second, while Copp maintained fourth to the checkers. Pete Parker’s rare appearance at the track resulted in a fifth-place effort, as he overtook Laursen in the closing laps.             Joel Cryderman, Tommy Waseleski, Jr, Joey Jensen and 22nd-starting Jeff Provinzino rounded out the top ten.             Doar became the eighth different AmsOil Series winner at Ashland in the regional tour’s eight stops here since 2000. Eleventh-finishing Jeff Broking’s Series points advantage remains at five heading into the championship round on Saturday at Hibbing (MN) Speedway, but now Jensen is second, while Copp moved from seventh to third, seven points back, as the standings were shuffled considerably.
Lawrence survived an ongoing battle with Randy Spacek throughout much of the night, and not just in the feature. Lawrence eked out the win in his heat race with Spacek right on his tail, and Spacek returned the favor in the “pole dash,” putting the two of them side-by-side on the front row to start the 25-lap main event.             Spacek took the initial lead and restarted there after Trevor Wilson’s slowing racer caused a bunch-up at the tail-end of the field after one lap. Ken Truscott was just about to make a move on Lawrence for second when a second yellow flag was thrown for a three-car tangle on the back straight.             On this restart it was Brian Mikkonen who made a move, passing Truscott and Eric Olson for third. Spacek was just beginning to stretch out an advantage when visiting Rich Bishop’s car stalled against the front-straight wall on lap 5.             Mikkonen continued moving foward by edging past Lawrence for second on the restart, but after Don Koivisto’s car stopped with a flat tire one lap later, Lawrence returned the favor with an outside pass.             The final 19 laps ran off uninterrupted, and Spacek and Lawrence pulled away to decide the win between them. But Spacek handed the lead away when his car got very loose on lap 11 - so much so that he fell back to fifth by the time he gathered the car under him again.             “I don’t know how I missed Spacek when he got sideways,” said Lawrence of the surprise winning pass afterwards.             Mike Bellefeuille marched toward the front during the second half of the run, getting past Truscott for fifth on lap 12 and working by both Spacek and Olson into third on lap 15. Bellefeuille also gave Mikkonen a run for second but ran out of time to finish the pass.             Olson held on for fourth, while Jeff Tardy took fifth away from Spacek in the late stages. Truscott settled for seventh, ahead of Joe Oliver, Donnie Lofdahl and Dave Flynn.             The win was Lawrence’s fourth of the season and 39th of his career at ABC, and it cut Spacek’s track points lead down by better than half, to six.

            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 Late Models

            Heat 1: Don Copp, Brule; Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, MN; Tim McMann, Duluth, MN; Todd Frank, Mellen; Mike Rich, Duluth, MN; Kevin Carlson, Hermantown, MN; Terry Lillo, Duluth, MN; Chris Olson, Hibbing, MN; AJ Diemel, Navarino.

            Heat 2: Pat Doar, New Richmond; Steve Laursen, Cumberland; Tommy Waseleski, Jr, Hibbing, MN; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Jeff Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Tom Nesbitt, Thunder Bay, ON; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Steve Vesel, Hibbing, MN.

            Heat 3: Pete Parker, Kaukauna; Kyle Peterlin, Hibbing, MN: Travis Budisalovich, Cottage Grove, MN; John Massingill, Keewatin, MN; Jeff Massingill, Keewatin, MN; Mike Waseleski, Pengilly, MN; Gregg Hill, Eveleth, MN; Tom Waseleski, Pengilly, MN.

            Heat 4: Jake Redetzke, Eau Claire; Rick Hanestad, Boyceville; Joel Cryderman, Thunder Bay, ON; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN; Aaron Lillo, Duluth, MN; Caley Emerson, Grand Rapids, MN; Jeff Provinzino, Hibbing, MN; Cory Jorgenson, Hermantown, MN.

            Dash: Doar; Copp; Redetzke; Laursen; Hanestad; Parker; Jensen; Peterlin.

            Semi-Feature: Nesbitt; Provinzino; Carlson; Emerson; Gehl; T Waseleski; Vesel; Hill; Jorgensen; Diemel; M Waseleski; Lillo.

            Feature: Doar; Redetzke; Hanestad; Copp; Parker; Laursen; Cryderman; T Waseleski Jr; Jensen; Provinzino; Broking; Peterlin; Hanson; Nesbitt; Carlson; John Massingill; Vesel; Jeff Massingill; McMann; Rich; Nelson; A Lillo; Frank; Budisalovich; Emerson.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

            Heat 1: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Joe Oliver, Superior; Dave Flynn, Superior; Trevor Wilson, Superior; Roy Pumala, Mason; Todd Bonney, Bayfield.

            Heat 2: Jeremy Fink, Hibbing, MN; Mike Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Jeff Tardy, Hibbing, MN; Ron Hmielewski, Marengo; Rich Bishop, New Richmond; Kevin Eder, Ashland.

            Heat 3: Eric Olson, Ladysmith; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Donnie Lofdahl, Proctor, MN; Andy Grymala, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Don Koivisto, Saxon; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River.

            Dash: Spacek; Lawrence; Olson; Truscott; Fink; Mikkonen; Bellefeuille; Lofdahl; Oliver.

            Feature: Lawrence; Mikkonen; Bellefeuille; Olson; Tardy; Spacek; Truscott; Oliver; Lofdahl; Flynn; Eder; Fink; Grymala; Oreskovich; Bonney; Schoonover; Hmielewski; Koivisto; Bishop; Pumala; Wilson.