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  .: July 29th, 2017 :.

Late Race Passes Decide Rice Lake Speedway Winners

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, July 29 – A.J. Diemel became the fourth and final leader of the Shaw Trucking WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series event Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway when he swept past Marshall Fegers with three laps to go to complete his charge from the fourth row for the win. Diemel earned two thousand dollars for his victory and won his second straight Challenge Series race at Rice Lake, having also taken last year's race when the Late Models returned to the track for the first time in seven years.

Twenty one cars took the green flag for the forty lap main event after Jesse Glenz scratched out of the main with mechanical issues and it was Mike Prochnow who came off the outside pole to take the early lead. Rick Hanestad started on the pole and he soon moved in to challenge for the top spot. After Prochnow led the first thee laps, Hanestad moved inside him and nosed into the top spot. However, Prochnow fought back for the next ten laps the two swapped the lead back and forth as they raced side by side around the oval.

Jimmy Mars moved into the third spot and was running close behind them as Jake Redetzke, John Kaanta, Diemel and Steve Laursen were running in a tight pack close behind them. Fegers then started to become a factor as he moved to the extreme high side of the track and made it work as he then steadily began to work his way to the front after starting eighth.
Prochnow continued to show the way with Hanestad right in his tire tracks along with Mars. The first yellow was triggered when T.J. Adams rolled to a halt in turn four with the race just one lap short of the halfway point. By this time, Fegers had used the outside to work his way all the way up to third and with Hanestad opting for the inside on the double file restart, Fegers continued to use the top side of the track and when the race went green again, Fegers made a scorching move up against the concrete wall and blew past both Hanestad and Prochnow to take over the lead.

The next six laps before the yellow waved again proved to be spectacular as Fegers cleared the other challengers to take over the lead. Diemel began to pick up the pace as he got past Mars and then a fading Prochnow. Meanwhile, Jeff Wildung had moved to the “Fegers line” on the track and he quickly advanced from ninth to fifth when the final yellow waved when Hanestad and Laursen tangled in turn four, with Hanestad stopping to repair some severe body damage.

The final fifteen laps to the checkered ran nonstop and Diemel began to put the pressure on Fegers for the lead. Diemel moved in several times trying both the center and low side of the track and he got to Fegers' rear bumper several times but couldn't complete the pass. Finally, with about eight laps to go, Diemel also opted to try the high side and he quickly found that to be a fast line for him. Using the top lane in turns one and two, he closed on Fegers and with only three laps to go, Diemel got a great run down the back chute and blew past Fegers to take over the lead.

Once in front, he was able to edge away by several car lengths as Fegers now had a charging Mars to contend with. At the finish, Diemel was the winner by four car lengths with Mars right on the bumper of Fegers as they crossed in second and third. Kaanta made a late race charge, gaining four positions in the last fifteen laps and coming home fourth with Redetzke close behind in a race that saw much changing of position among the top ten racers as they worked all over the third mile oval.

For Diemel, who had much success at this track when he first moved to western Wisconsin from his eastern Wisconsin home and Rice Lake still ran Late Models, the win marked his second straight triumph here with many in his family on hand to witness the victory.

There were four yellow flags in the event and seventeen of the twenty one starters completed the race with only two cars not on the lead lap.

The Shaw Trucking Challenge Series points race, which was very tight entering Saturday night's event, remains very close. Kaanta now has a three point lead on Laursen, with Redetzke five points back, Wildung nineteen and Matthees twenty two.
The series now takes a two week break before coming back with a three night weekend series with races at the Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie Wisconsin , the ABC Raceway in Ashland Wisconsin and the Proctor Speedway in Minnesota.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
July 29, 2017

Shaw Trucking WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series

40 lap Feature – A.J. Diemel(Elk Mound), Marshall Fegers(Savage MN), Jimmy Mars(Menomonie), John Kaanta(Elk Mound), Jake Redetzke(Eau Claire), Jeff Wildung(Nassau MN), Darrell Nelson(Hermantown MN), Steve Laursen(Cumberland), Mike Prochnow(Menomonie), Pat Doar(New Richmond), James Giossi, Lance Matthees, Jeff Massingill, Buddy Hanestad, Rick Hanestad, Trevor Wilson, T.J. Adams, Greg Nippoldt, Blake Swenson, Mark Hessler, Randy Gullixson

12 lap Heat – Mars, Redetzke, Doar, Kaanta, Hessler(Menomonie), Adams, Swenson, Gullixson
Heat 2 – Prochnow, Nelson, Laursen, Wildung, Massingill(Keewatin MN), Nippoldt, Wilson
Heat 3 – Diemel, Fegers, R. Hanestad, Matthees(Winona MN), Giossi(New Richmond), B. Hanestad, Jesse Glenz

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