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  .: 2014 Season Results :.

Myers and Adams Continue to Roll at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

RICE LAKE, WI (August 16) - Curt Myers and Kevin Adams, both in the hunt for WISSOTA national point championships, helped their cause Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway as both won feature events in their respective divisions as the final track points race of the year was held. Other feature winners included Ryan Viltz, Jay Kesan and Nick Traynor.

With the track points wrapping up on Saturday, five point champions were also declared at the end of the evening’s racing and they included: Mark Hessler-Modified, Willie Johnsen Jr-Super Stock, Shane Halopka-Midwest Modified, Ron Hanestad-Street Stock and Jason Havel-Pure Stock.

The speedway received a half inch of rain in just a few minutes in a late afternoon Saturday cloud burst which made for some muddy conditions in the pits and required considerable effort by the track crew to make the track race ready, but after a one hour delay the racing proceeded as planned as the drivers did a nice job of adjusting to the track conditions.

It took Myers only three laps to proceed from his third row starting spot to take over the lead and then cruise the rest of the way in the Super Stock feature. Don Cimfl Jr. and Scott Heikkinen battled for the lead on the opening lap but Myers quickly found his way to the front using the high side of the track and with a power move off turn four, blasted into the lead.

He quickly put distance on the field while the focus of the action switched back in the pack where Jason Forehand and Willlie Johnsen Jr. were making a determined charge of their own. Forehand ducked under Cimfl Jr. and then raced past Eric Olson into the second spot with Johnsen Jr. following his tire tracks. Forehand was quickly advancing and it looked like he could provide a legitimate threat to Myers’ lead.

However, with eight laps completed, Forehand got a little too low in turn four and he hit the infield marker tires which on this night were reinforced with several tons of mud and it smashed down the front end of his car including the bumper and the nose cone and Jason rolled to a stop, his evening done. After that, Myers just had to hang on in the lead through three more yellows caused by minor spins as he cruised home for his third Rice Lake win of the year. Johnsen Jr. fought his way past Olson for second with Bart Steffen coming from deep in the field to finish fourth ahead of Cimfl Jr. with his best run of the year.

Adams had to make a determined charge to come from the fourth row to win the Modified feature on what was a blindingly fast track. Scott Miller fought off Cody Cimfl to take the early lead and Miller put together one of his best runs of the season as he led the first eight laps. Matt Leer was on a charge as he came up from the third row to race past Cimfl and Paul Brust and take over the second spot with Adams trailing him.

The race took a big turn after a lap seven spin when Leer opted for the low side on the double file restart. Adams blasted past him on the cushion to take over second and one lap later squeezed past Miller in turn four to take over the lead.

One more yellow set up a four lap dash to the finish and while Leer was able to run within a few car lengths of the leader, Adams was never in serious jeopardy for the lead. Kevin drove home for a track leading sixth feature win of the year and his twenty first overall at area tracks. His next Rice Lake win will tie him with Dave Morgan as the all time feature win leader at the Rice Lake Speedway.

Leer finished a strong second with Mike Anderson making a late race charge that saw him move up to third and Tim McMann came from deep in the pack for fourth ahead of Hessler.

Viltz came from the third row to win the nonstop Midwest Modified feature race and secure his fifth Rice Lake win of the year. Dan Tautges had his best run of the year as he took the early lead and led the first half of the race with Travis Anderson, Viltz and Jason Schill chasing him. Viltz was able to drive into the second spot and then, two laps later get to the inside of Tautges in turn one and take over the lead. Schill was flying too, and he took the second spot and the top two then battled for the win.

Viltz continued to maintain a two car length lead and while Schill pushed as hard as possible, he wasn’t able to cut into the lead of Viltz and Ryan drove home for the win. Tautges had his best ever run at Rice Lake as he finished a solid third with Anderson and Nick Koehler pressuring him.

Kesan has only recently gotten his Street Stock on the track and it didn’t take him many weeks to grab his first win of the year in a hard fought battle with Ron Van Dusen and Kirk Bogdanovic. Van Dusen, making a rare appearance at the track, led the opening laps and was running a solid race with Bogdanovic pressuring him for the lead. Several times Kirk got a nose under Van Dusen but each time Ron would fight him off. Meanwhile, Kesan had moved into the third spot and he watched the battle for the lead shape up in front of him.

When Bogdanovic got a little high one time in turn two, Kesan was right there to jump under him and take over second, after which he quickly began to pressure Van Dusen for the lead. Using the same move later, Kesan would get under Van Dusen and take over the lead down the back chute. Bogdanovic would finally get past into second too but Kesan stayed in the groove and drove on for the win. Van Dusen had a career best at Rice Lake with his third place finish with Adam Soltis and Hanestad next in line.

The Pure Stock feature saw Traynor win his second feature race of the year and first since very early in the season, a season that for him has seen lots of mechanical issues and many missed nights at the track.

However, Saturday things fell into place for him as he came from the third row early to find an opening and slip past Tucker Quinn and John Erickson, who were fiercely fighting for the lead, to gain the top spot. He then had to endure lots of pressure from Bob Thompson who was stalking him for the front spot while C. J. Wagner, Havel and Darwin Brown all moved to the front.

Thompson got turned around with only two laps to go which triggered the yellow and before the race could finish another lap, Jay Folz lost control in turn one after making a brilliant charge into contention after starting twelfth.

Wagner had inherited second and he now pinned his car to the rear bumper of Traynor and it was up to Nick to hold off the field. He smoothly rode the fast lane around the track and while Wagner challenged him fiercely, Traynor held on for the win. Thompson finished a strong third with Havel and Brown trailing.

The race season is rapidly winding to a close at the speedway. Next Saturday, August 23, the Season Championships will be held in all five divisions with warm ups slated for 6:30 p.m. Then, on August 30, the season finale will be held. This year, the Labor Day weekend show will be limited to one night on Saturday, with extra money in the purse for all classes along with Fan Appreciation night which will include door prizes, a hog roast after the races for fans and competitors alike and drink specials. Check the speedway website for more details on this event.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:
20 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Matt Leer(Bruce), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Tim McMann(Duluth MN), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Dave Baxter(Eau Claire), Paul Brust(Rice Lake), Scott Miller(Rice Lake), Cody Cimfl(Barron), Scott Heikkinen(Eveleth MN), Pat Hoffman, Dave Mayala, Aric Lindberg, Will Fisher
10 lap Heat 1 – Brust, Anderson, Miller, Baxter, McMann, Heikkinen, Lindberg
Heat 2 – Hessler, Adams, Leer, Cimfl, Hoffman(Rice Lake), Mayala, Fisher

WISSOTA Super Stocks:
20 lap Feature – Curt Myers(Cameron), Willie Johnsen Jr(Superior), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Don Cimfl Jr.(Barron), Patrick Heikkinen(Eveleth MN), Derek Baskin(Menomonie), Mike Siewert(Rice Lake), Kyle Helling (Rice Lake), Jim Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Jason Forehand, Scott Zitelman
10 lap Heat 1 – Forehand(Eau Claire), Johnsen Jr, Zitelman(Taylors Falls MN), Cimfl Jr, Helling, Siewert
Heat 2 – Myers, Olson, Heikkinen, J. Cimfl, Steffen, Baskin

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:
15 lap Feature – Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Jason Schill(Centuria), Dan Tautges(Colby), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Josh Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Tito Viltz(Rice Lake), Reid Teigs(Dallas), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Mike Schnider
10 lap Heat 1 – Halopka, Tautges, Schill, R. Viltz, T. Viltz, Teigs
Heat 2 – Anderson, Koehler, Wahlstrom, Ellis

WISSOTA Street Stocks:
15 lap Feature – Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Ron Van Dusen(Eagle River), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Heidi Karshbaum(Chetek), Kolby Kiehl(Cameron), Cody Kummer(Medford), Bob Wahlstrom(Chetek), Josh Amans, Wayne Engen, Kelly Knutson
10 lap Heat 1 – Soltis, Fankhauser, Kesan, Kummer, Amans(Rice Lake), Knutson, Kiehl
Heat 2 – Hanestad, Van Dusen, Karshbaum, Bogdanovic, Wahlstrom, Engen

Pure Stocks:
12 lap Feature – Nick Traynor(Hillsdale), C.J. Wagner(Rice Lake), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Darwin Brown(Cumberland), Brent Miller(Cameron), Tucker Quinn(Ladysmith), John Erickson(Rice Lake), Scott Pittman(Osceola), Jay Folz(Rice Lake), Hunter Van Gilder, Rob Lowe, Dustin Holub, Cody Tisdale, Andy Ladd, Joel Hinrichs
8 lap Heat 1 – Havel, Traynor, Quinn, Wagner, Brown, Miller, Lowe, Tisdale
Heat 2 – Hinrichs(Chetek), Erickson, Thompson, Holub(Rice Lake), Van Gilder(Rice Lake), Folz, Ladd, Pittman