Kiehl Wins Rice Lake Speedway Firecracker; Two New Visitors to Victory Lane

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, July 3 – Kolby Kiehl won his first ever Rice Lake Speedway Street Stock feature win to highlight the holiday program Monday night at the Rice Lake Speedway. Jeff Brauer and Dave Cain became first time winners here this season also and were joined in victory lane by George Richards and Joe Chaplin Jr.

A season high one hundred and fifteen competitors signed in to race in front of a large holiday crowd on a night when all five feature races were contested right down to the finish with three on them featuring last lap passes for the wins.

Kiehl and Kirk Bogdanovic started in the front row of what turned out to be a non stop Street Stock main event. Bogdanovic took the early lead as he sought out his first ever Rice Lake win too with Kiehl running the low side and staying right with the leader. Soon they were joined by Hunter VanGilder, Bogdanovic's brother Kevin and Jay Kesan in what turned out to be a five car shoot out.

Kirk Bogdanovic continued to show the way to the midpoint of the race when Kiehl picked up the pace and drove under Kirk into the lead. However, the lead swarm didn't diminish and Kiehl saw Kirk Bogdanovic reach back for more as he again pulled up beside Kiehl in the race for the lead.

With the laps winding down, VanGilder was right behind Kiehl also and a three car fight to the finish was in the cards. The leaders took the white flag with Kiehl ahead by inches and as the top three drove down the back chute, they quickly came up on a lapped that would unfortunately get sideways in front of them exiting turn four.

A wild scramble ensued with Kiehl diving to the low side of the track and Bogdanovic seeing an opening near the wall but as he tried to get up there, VanGilder, who had taken a tap from the slower car, clipped Bogdanovic and sent him careening into the concrete wall. Kiehl crossed the line a car length ahead of VanGilder while Kirk Bogdanovic rode the wall home to third with his brother and Kesan completing the top five.

With only a 2012 Pure Stock feature win to his credit at Rice Lake, the young veteran Kiehl did several front straightaway “donuts” on his way to a well deserved victory lane celebration.

Brauer won his first feature at Rice Lake in 2017 in a hard earned Super Stock victory as he topped former Rice Lake champ Shane Kisling and red hot Nick Oreskovich in a race that went right down to the wire.

Brauer started on the outside pole and rode the high side to the early lead with Dylan Kromschroeder and Oreskovich close behind to challenge. Oreskovich was able to move in on Brauer and he made several serious challenges for the top spot, but Brauer held his line well and Oreskovich continued to hunt for an opening.

Meanwhile, Kisling and Tommy Richards were on the move with Kisling looking especially strong as he drove into third and started to track down the leaders as the race continued under the green. The first yellow flew at the midpoint of the race as Aaron Wilson slowed with troubles and on the restart, luckless Wayne Dean got turned around, triggering the yellow once again.

After that, the last half of this race also went nonstop with Brauer continuing to show the way. Now, however, Oreskovich couldn't challenge for the lead as he was trying to fight off Kisling for second. But Shane was on the move and he drove into second and then closed on the leader.

With five laps to go he caught Brauer and the battle was on as Kisling was making the inside work and he drew up under Brauer for the lead. Coming off turn four with two laps to go, Kisling made his move but the leaders banged fenders and Kisling got turned sideways but he made a great save and continued on.

The momentum was lost however, and despite a last lap charge that saw Kisling reach the rear bumper of Brauer, it was Jeff who drove on to the win, his first of the year and second ever at Rice Lake while becoming the seventh different driver to visit victory lane in the class so far this year. Richards drove a steady race to finish fourth just ahead of Eric Olson.
The other first time winner for the season was in the Modifieds where Dave Cain was on a tear as he drove up from the fourth row to win the Modified main event.

The race took three tries to get the first lap in but once that was accomplished, they then raced twenty laps nonstop from green to checkered. Steve Hallquist and Mark Hessler had a great battle in the early going as they fought back and forth for the lead. Both were shown to be lap leaders in the early going before Hallquist finally established himself as the leader. Chasing them hard was Matt Leer but the two drivers on the move were Mike Anderson and Cain.

Anderson started in the third row and after a few laps he was definitely on the move with Cain close behind. Anderson dove to the low side of the track and moved into second and then, after a brief fight, took over the lead.

Meanwhile, Cain was slicing his way through the field, switching lanes as necessary as the drove past one after another of the competitors and soon found himself on Anderson's rear bumper. At this point, Anderson couldn't hold off the charge of Cain and Dave dove low and took over the lead. Anderson then tried the low side out and was able to stay with Cain, but not able to close on him.

In what was probably the biggest margin of victory all night, Cain was able to maintain his lead the last few laps and come home the winner by three car lengths. Hallquist had a strong run as he maintained third with Leer next in line and Adam Hensel making his first appearance complete with a top five finish.

The Midwest Modified feature was the only race all night that had more than a couple of yellow flags, but it was never the less just as dramatic at the finish with Chaplin Jr making a last lap pass of Austin Ellis to take the win. The race also saw three different leaders in its last five laps.

It took a couple tries to get the race going but once the drivers settled down, it was Paul Suzik that jumped into the lead. Running the cushion, The Ironwood Michigan driver looked good as he fought off tough challenges and led the first half of the race. Travis Anderson, Ellis, Calvin Iverson, Shane Halopka and Chaplin Jr were all in the lead pack as they raced hard while swapping positions on the track.

A spin at the midpoint of the race had a dramatic effect on its outcome. On the restart, Suzik slipped high in turn one, running himself out of the lead and opening the flood gates as Halopka, Ellis and Chaplin Jr, from eighth on the grid, all diving under Suzik as they fought for the lead.

After some jockeying, it was Halopka who took over the top spot but then, with only three laps to go, Shane slid out of the groove in turn three and Ellis drove into the lead. Chaplin Jr was flying also and he moved up beside Ellis as they raced wheel to wheel around the track. They took the white flag side by side but a possible shoot out was halted by a collision in turn three that slowed the race and set up a two lap race to the finish.

Ellis held the lead but Chaplin Jr was flying and he pulled up beside Austin and made a great move off turn four to take the lead as the white flag waved. Ellis dove deep into turn four on the final lap, closing up on Chaplin Jr but Joe had enough momentum to fight off the high school student for his third win of the year. Halopka settled for third with Suzik and Anderson trailing.

The Pure Stock feature was a great two car shootout between Richards and Dustin Doughty, one that wasn't settled until the final lap of the feature race. A big field of Pure Stocks required four heat races and the top twenty started the main event with Richards jumping into the early lead. Doughty was soon up to second and challenging for the lead. Randy Graham, Justin Weinberger and Andrew Hanson were running in the next pack until Weinberger lost a driveshaft, triggering the yellow flag.

Doughty got a great start as the race returned to green flag conditions and he was able to drive around Richards and take over the lead. However, George wasn't giving up and he stayed close behind the leader while some wild scrambling was going on back in the pack with several drivers making huge charges toward the front. Mike Pratt, Tucker Quinn and Jason Havel were all gaining ground at a substantial pace.

Just when it looked like Doughty might have things under control, Richards moved up the track and found immediate success. He pulled up beside Doughty and the top front runners throughout WISSOTA went wheel to wheel. Both were pushing as hard as they could and were on the end of control but both managed to keep their cars going straight while flying around the track at high speed.

The exciting, door to door battle saw Richards edge back in front and despite Doughty's last lap dive in turn four, George held on by less than a car length for his second win here this year in a very exciting battle. Quinn completed his big charge by finishing third with Pratt and Graham both completing fine runs also.

The evening's action was completed with a spectacular fireworks display, a Rice Lake Speedway tradition.

Action continues at the track on Saturday night, July 8th. It will again be an evening of bargains as along with a full show in all five classes, two rain delayed feature races from June 17th with be completed as a part of the program. The Super Stocks and Modifieds will be doing double duty on Saturday. Kid's Night has been rescheduled for July 15th with over eighty bikes to be given away to kids as a part of that program plus the fans will be able to go down on the track and meet with their favorite drivers. Warmups start for all shows at 6:30 pm.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
July 3, 2017

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Dave Cain(Corcoran MN), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Matt Leer(Bruce), Adam Hensel(Hammond), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Zack Drews(Superior), Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Jeff Spacek(Phillips), Gary Baxter(Eau Claire), Jake Hanson, Andy Jones, Donnie Lofdahl, Dave Mayala, Mike Knopps, Bryan Hessler, Dave Baxter, Pat Hoffman, Kevin Adams

8 lap Heat 1 – Hensel, Cain, Hallquist, Adams(Cameron), Knopps(Chippewa Falls), Jones, B. Hessler
Heat 2 – Anderson, Viltz, Leer, Spacek, G. Baxter, Hoffman
Heat 3 – M. Hessler, D. Baxter(Eau Claire), Drews, Hanson(Downing), Mayala(Barron), Lofdahl

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Jeff Brauer(Eyota MN), Shane Kisling(Park Falls), Nick Oreskovich(Mason), Tommy Richards(Mondovi), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Dan Gullikson(Roberts), Kurt Kromschroeder(Princeton MN), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Terran Spacek(Phillips), Kurt Becken(Big Lake MN), Jim Cimfl, Don Cimfl Jr, Rich Bishop, Sam Fankhauser, Lukas Koski, Jamey Fisher, Wayne Dean, Cooper Berlin, Aaron Wilson, Kyle Oman

10 lap B Feature – J. Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Koski(New Richmond), Steve Davidson(Richland Center), Kyle Helling(Rice Lake), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Luke Schultz, Mike Siewert, Josh Cappo

8 lap Heat 1 – Gullikson, Oreskovich, Richards, Fisher(Rice Lake), Bishop(New Richmond), Oman, Koski, Davidson, Siewert
Heat 2 – Spacek, Kromschroeder, Kisling, D. Cimfl(Rice Lake), Dean(Fall Creek), Berlin, Soltis, Helling, Cappo
Heat 3 – Olson, Becken, Brauer, Steffen, Wilson(Eau Claire), Fankhauser, J. Cimfl, Schultz

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Joe Chaplin Jr(Cameron), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Paul Suzik(Ironwood MI), Travis Anderson(Colfax), David Simpson(Thunder Bay ONT), Mark Thomas(Menomonie), Calvin Iverson(Eleva), Justin Weinberger(Park Falls), Kent Baxter(Colfax), Alex Smith, Scott Meeds, Zach McKinnon, Kenny Kinkaid, Cy Hoaglan, Tim Ekdahl, Fran Hanson, Denny Cutsforth, Jamie Davis

10 lap B Feature – Kinkaid(Shell Lake), McKinnon(Antigo), Reid Tiegs(Dallas), Brady Larson(Amery), Brad Doyen(Rice Lake), Craig Elliott, Zach Benson

8 lap Heat 1 – Anderson, Suzik, Iverson, Weinberger, Thomas, Meeds, Kinkaid, Elliott, Doyen
Heat 2 – Chaplin Jr, Halopka, Davis(Ft. Frances ONT), Cutsforth(Rice Lake), Smith(Solon Springs), Hoaglan, McKinnon, Benson
Heat 3 – Ellis, Simpson, Baxter, Ekdahl(Cameron), Hanson(Almena), Dan Roatch, Tiegs, Larson

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Kolby Kiehl(Barron), Hunter VanGilder(Rice Lake), Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Kevin Bogdanovic(Wausau), Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Shawn Amundson(Rice Lake), Russ Kostreba(Zimmerman MN), Andy Cimfl(Rice Lake), Braden Brauer(Eyota MN), Don Cook, Josh Bach, Hunter Anderson, Parker Anderson, Jess Seim, Mitch Kesan, Travis Loew, Bob Wahlstrom

8 lap Heat 1 – VanGilder, J. Kesan, Kirk Bogdanovic, Hanestad, Brauer, Cook, P. Anderson, Seim, Wahlstrom
Heat 2 – Kiehl, Kevin Bogdanovic, Amundson, Cimfl, M. Kesan(Medford), Loew, Bach, H. Anderson, Kostreba

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – George Richards(Mondovi), Dustin Doughty(Oakdale MN), Tucker Quinn(Ladysmith), Mike Pratt(Bloomer), Randy Graham(Trego), Jason Havel(Rice Lake), James Clausen(Barron), Andrew Hanson(Iron River), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Stefan Hogue(Altoona), Jim Holden, Wayne Braun Jr, Dylan Shelton, Mike Grover, Andy Ladd, Austin Workman, Jon Wigchers, Andrew Conklin, Rob Grabon, Justin Weinberger

10 lap B Feature – Braun Jr(Rice Lake), Wigchers(Rice Lake), Hogue, Ladd(Cumberland), Trenten Holub(Sarona), Josh Miller, John Eastman, Scotty VanGilder, Austin Gibson, Michael Holmstrom, Rob Holmstrom Jr

8 lap Heat 1 – Doughty, Holden(Rice Lake), Grabon(Bruce), Quinn, R. Holmstrom(Weyerhaeuser), Holub, Hogue
Heat 2 – Pratt, Weinberger(Park Falls), Workman(Barron), Grover(Chetek), Wigchers, VanGilder, Gibson
Heat 3 – Hanson, Graham, Clausen, Thompson, Braun Jr, M. Holmstrom, Eastman
Heat 4 – Richards, Conklin(Ladysmith), Havel, Shelton(Wrenshall MN), Ladd, Miller