Point Championships Decided at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, Aug. 11 – It was Hall of Fame night Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway and was also the final point night leading up to the Season Championships scheduled for next Saturday. Inducted into the Rice Lake Speedway Hall of Fame Saturday were drivers Paul Harelstad, Jim Rude and the late Duane Mahder along with “Friends of the Speedway” Joe Lapcinski, Clayton Hargrave and Terry Folz.

Following racing action Saturday the unofficial point champions, pending a review by WISSOTA, were determined to be Dustin Doughty in the Pure Stocks, Hunter VanGilder in the Street Stocks, Shane Halopka in the Midwest Modifieds, Eric Olson in the Super Stocks and Kevin Adams in the Modifieds. On track activity was intense also with the feature winners on Saturday being Tucker Quinn, Olson, Joe Chaplin Jr, Nick Oreskovich and Adams.

The closest feature race was in the Modified class where a later race pass by Adams allowed him to claim victory after a hard fought battle with Steve Hallquist. Hallquist led the first eighteen laps of the Modified feature race after taking the lead right from the start of the race. He was challenged early by Dave Baxter who fought him side by side before Hallquist was able to edge into the lead. Right behind them, Cory Mahder, Adams and Mike Anderson battled hard for third while Ashley Anderson, Todd Gehl and Mark Hessler battled hard for position.

Hallquist continued to show the way with Baxter riding the high side in second while Adams made continued attempts to slip past Mahder for third. The nature of the race changed on lap eight when the sole yellow of the race flew for a Pat Hoffman spin in turn four.

On the restart, Baxter did not take off well and both Mahder and Adams got past him for position. Adams was then able to slide under Mahder for second and he then took off after the leader.

Adams caught Hallquist with eight laps to go and a great, two car battle then broke out. Adams would pull to the rear bumper of Hallquist and try to slide past him on the high side in both turn four and two but each time Hallquist hung tough and fought off the challenges.

They continued to battle as the laps ran down with Adams continuing to look for an opening while riding the rear bumper of the leader. As they came down the front chute to get the two laps to go signal, Adams got a great run and dove low into turn one and was able to slide up in front of Hallquist and take over the lead. Steve tried to come back down the back chute but Adams was able to fight him off and then extend by a couple of car lengths his lead and drive on for the win.

Sporting a door panel of Harelstad's on his car, the driver that Adams idolized while growing up and who's Modified records Adams would eventually eclipse, Adams would head for victory lane where a wild celebration, including Harelstad, would take place. Hallquist drove a great race but had to settle for second while Mahder fought off challenges by Anderson and Baxter to finish third.

The win was Adams' sixth of the year at Rice Lake and guaranteed him a pole position for a heat race next Saturday.

Oreskovich, the Super Stock point leader at the ABC Raceway in Ashland, dropped in to visit with a night off at the track and reminded the local drivers just why he is leading the points at the northern track as he won his second feature race of the year at Rice Lake.

Adam Soltis started on the pole and he looked strong as he led the opening laps while debuting a brand new race car on Saturday. After a minor spin, an unfortunate follow up spin on the restart stacked up a number of cars and resulted in Nick Traynor, Russ Chester and Aaron Wilson all being eliminated in the damaging wreck.

Soltis continued to lead on the restart but Oreskovich was on the move after starting eighth as he used the high side of the track to march into a challenging position. He continued to charge to the front and was able to sweep past Soltis off turn two to take over the lead. Also marching to the front was Eric Olson who started in the fifth row. He worked his way into third and tried to catch Soltis for the runner up slot.

The last twelve laps of the race ran off nonstop and Oreskovich remained in control. He adjusted his line late in the race as Soltis edged slightly closer but Nick O was never in any real danger as he drove on for the win and celebrated the impressive victory with a “Polish Victory Lap.”

Soltis' debut was an impressive one as he finished a strong second, holding off Olson for the spot. The brothers Cimfl had a good night also with Don Jr. finishing fourth ahead of Jim.

Chaplin Jr. continued his finest year yet behind the wheel of a race car with his sixth feature win of the year in the Midwest Modifieds while guaranteeing the second place in track points. The Midwest Modified feature was stopped only once for a minor spin but it was devastating for early leader Reid Tiegs. Tiegs had taking the lead but following the yellow flag slowdown, as the field realigned for the restart, his car lost a drive shaft and his night was over.

Chaplin Jr inherited the green at this point, and he led the rest of the way for the win. Aric Lindberg charged up to second with Shane Halopka close behind and they tried to track down the leader on an open track but Chaplin Jr was just too strong and he maintained his lead through the rest of the race. Trailing the top three, Austin Ellis made a nice charge to finish fourth with veteran Gary Baxter having his best run to complete the top five.

While Olson couldn't bring home the win in the Super Stocks, he did grab his second win of the year during his abbreviated season behind the wheel of the Mark Ewert #70 Street Stock. Olson started in the third row of the Street Stock finale but worked his way into a challenging position after a pair of lap five yellows shock up the field.

Early leader Travis Loew spun which bunched up the field and on the restart, Loew was again involved in a tangle along with several other cars with point leader VanGilder forced to pit for a flat tire. Soltis, who has been doing double duty driving a Street Stock as well as his own Super Stock for the past couple of weeks, inherited the lead and led for a couple laps before Olson, with a clear track ahead of him on the high side, drove around Soltis to take over the lead.

The last eleven laps of the feature ran off nonstop and Olson was in control with no challenges to his lead. Soltis was pressured by Kirk Bogdanovic for second but he staved off the pressure to bring the new car home and secure his second runner up finish of the night. Kolby Kiehl came from deep in the field to finish fourth while Jay Kesan came from even deeper to complete the top five.

The Pure Stock feature got off to a wild start as the drivers were going three and four wide as everyone felt the need to charge to the front of the pack immediately. C.J. Wagner returned behind the wheel of a race car and he led the opening lap driving the #6H car Saturday. However, a scramble in turn one stacked things up and triggered the yellow as it took several minutes to separate the cars.

Wagner continued to lead back under green but when much of the pack tried to go three wide down the back chute, cars contacted each other and Bob Thompson hit the wall hard and was nearly clipped by other cars trying to avoid a big collision.

Thompson tried to restart but his car was damaged to the point that he had to pull off and when racing resumed, Wagner slid out in turn four and Tucker Quinn, who started eighth, was able to duck under Wagner and take over the lead.

The drivers then settled down and ran off the last nine laps of the race without incident as Quinn continued to show the way and drive on for his second feature race of the season. Rob Grabon slipped into second and held that spot the rest of the way with Mike Pratt finishing a strong third. Zach Beaulieu drove a steady race to wind up fourth ahead of Wagner.

The racing season is quickly starting to wind down at the speedway. Next Saturday night, August 19th, the Season Championships will be contested in all five divisions with a rain date of August 26th. If the championships are completed as scheduled on August 19th, the 26th will be a regular night of racing with track points completed but national points still awarded.

The season will conclude with the annual two day special over the Labor Day weekend with racing on both Saturday, September 2nd and Sunday, September 3rd. All five classes will be a part of the Labor Day doubleheader. Watch for updates regarding the purse for this event plus the possibility of a Pure Stock special during that weekend.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway

Rice Lake WI

August 12, 2017

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Cory Mahder(Eau Claire), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Dave Baxter(Eau Claire), Ashley Anderson(Elk Mound), Scott Duval(Bloomer), Todd Gehl(Solon Springs), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Josh Hessler(Boyceville), Gary Baxter, Pat Hoffman, Dave Mayala, Wayne Poteet

8 lap Heat 1 – M. Anderson, Adams, A. Anderson, Mahder, J. Hessler, Mayala, Poteet

Heat 2 – D. Baxter, M. Hessler, Hallquist, Gehl, G. Baxter(Eau Claire), Duval, Hoffman

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Nick Oreskovich(Mason), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Don Cimfl Jr(Rice Lake), Jim Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Kyle Helling(Rice Lake), Cooper Berlin(Rice Lake), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Wayne Dean(Eau Claire), Cody Cimfl(Rice Lake), Steve Davidson, Mike Siewert, Steve Martin, Pat Jungerberg, Thomas Martin, Simon Wahlstrom, Aaron Wilson, Russ Chester, Nick Traynor, Josh Cappo

8 lap Heat 1 – J. Cimfl, Traynor(Barron), Oreskovich, Fankhauser, Dean, Davidson, T. Martin

Heat 2 – Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Chester(Chetek), D. Cimfl Jr, Wilson(Eau Claire), C. Cimfl, Jungerberg, Cappo

Heat 3 – Soltis, Olson, Helling, Berlin, Siewert(Cameron), S. Martin

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Joe Chaplin Jr(Cameron), Aric Lindberg(Dallas), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Gary Baxter(Eau Claire), Denny Cutsforth(Rice Lake), Craig Elliott(Hillsdale), Karl Kolek(Menomonie), Jamie Bisonette(Dallas), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Scott Anderson, John Remington, Reid Tiegs

8 lap Heat 1 – Ellis, Chaplin Jr, Elliott, Tiegs(Dallas),S. Anderson(Phillips), Baxter, Remington

Heat 2 – Halopka, Cutsforth, T. Anderson, Lindberg, Bisonette, Kolek, Fran Hanson

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith) Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Kolby Kiehl(Barron), Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Kevin Bogdanovic(Wausau), Don Cook(Barron), Andy Cimfl(Rice Lake), Travis Loew(Barron), Parker Anderson(Phillips), Josh Bach, Hunter Anderson, Hunter VanGilder DQ

8 lap Heat 1 – Soltis, Kirk Bogdanovic, Olson, Kesan, Cook, Cimfl, VanGilder DQ

Heat 2 – Kiehl, Loew, Kevin Bogdanovic, H. Anderson(Phillips), P. Anderson, Bach

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Tucker Quinn(Ladysmith), Rob Grabon(Bruce), Mike Pratt(Bloomer), Zach Beaulieu(Chetek), C.J. Wagner(Rice Lake), John Eastman(Cameron), Jimmy Holden(Rice Lake), Wayne Braun Jr(Rice Lake), Mike Grover(Chetek), Kaylee Remington(Scandia MN), Jon Wigchers, Andrew Conklin, Scotty VanGilder, Mike Holmstrom, Josh Miller, Dustin Doughty, Bob Thompson, Ken Larson, Austin Workman

8 lap Heat 1 – Doughty(Oakdale MN), Quinn, Grabon, Wigchers(Rice Lake), Workman(Barron), Miller, Conklin

Heat 2 – Wagner, Beaulieu, Pratt, Holden, VanGilder(Birchwood), Remington

Heat 3 – Thompson(Cameron), Larson(Balsam Lake), Grover, Eastman, Holmstrom(Rice Lake), Braun Jr