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Variety of Winners In Rice Lake Speedway Opener

Rice Lake Wi, April 25 – The seventy fourth annual opener of the Rice Lake Speedway was held on Saturday night, April 25th on a cool Saturday night under cloudy skies but the rain held off so the full show could be completed.

The opening night program saw a variety of winners in the five division program. Last year's two top winners started things off on the right foot once again in 2026 by winning on opening night while on the other end of the spectrum, there was one winner for the first time ever, one that had not won for a couple years and one visiting victory lane for the first time since 2009.

Last year's two top winners were Blake Adams and Nick Koehler and both were winners on Saturday night, topping the two open wheel divisions.

Saturday night Adams started his year off well as he won the twenty lap Modified feature, leading all but the opening lap. The race, was not won quite as easily as it sounds though, as he had two tough challengers at the end nipping at his heels.

Michael Truscott led the opening lap of the Modified feature but Adams, who started on the outside of row one, used the generous cushion to power past Truscott on the second lap to take the lead. Adams was able to cruise during the first half of the race as the battle was behind him with Mike Anderson moving up to second with Kennedy Swan close on his heels.

By the halfway point of the race, those three were running in that order with Matt Leer moving in behind them. A yellow for debris slowed the action with eleven laps completed and on the restart, while Adams got away once again, Swan did a power move on Anderson to take over the second spot as those two continued to battle hard for runner up honors. They went back and forth while Adams put some distance on them. However, a yellow for more debris slowed the action with just four laps to go and this time, it was a battle up front as Adams was not able to get away from his two challengers this time.

The final few laps saw Anderson nose under Adams in the corners with Swan right beside him and Anderson nearly got by as they raced to the white flag. However, Blake had just enough to hold off the two challengers crossing the line a bare length ahead of Anderson with Swan just behind him on the outside. Leer continued to run fourth while Cole Chernosky raced into the top five.

The other seven time winner last year was Nick Koehler and the Bloomer driver started off hot once again, leading from start to finish to top the Midwest Modified feature. His win was earned the hard way as he had Adams, running two classes, chasing his for the entire twenty laps.

Koehler took the initial lead over Brady Larson but when Larson slowed on the track with just three laps complete, Adams was right there to move into second. For the rest of the race, Adams would try both low and high to get past Koehler and while he got close several times, Koehler was rock solid and did not flinch once.

Nick used the low line around the track and despite Adams' best efforts at trying to race around the top of Koehler or duck underneath him, he just couldn't find the opening he needed. And while Adams experimented with different lines around the track, he also had his hands full with Mike Schnider who had moved up from row three and was giving Adams a severe challenge for the position.

A lap fourteen spin set up a quick chase to the finish, Koehler continued to hold his inside line and Adams finished close but could not provide a challenge. Schnider was a close third and after a race long battle, Cody Cimfl nipped Joe Swearingen for fourth.

Steve Stuart has been an infrequent visitor over the years to the Rice Lake Speedway from his Ashland home, but he opened this year on a high note at the track, winning his first ever main event in the Super Stocks at the track. He started on the pole and led from beginning to end in the race and never was seriously challenged for the top spot. He showed much speed as he pulled away on the initial green and put distance on the rest of the pack. The Super Stock field was the largest of the night and they did have some difficulties, with the yellow waving five times during their twenty lap event, all for single car spins.

This put the pressure on Stuart as he had to fight off multiple challenges every time a restart was initiated, but on every single one he pulled away and did not give any opportunities to other drivers to steal his lead.

While Stuart was in control up front, a great battle raged for second with Terran Spacek and Shawn McFadden fighting it out for the spot. Alex Myers had moved to the second spot by the halfway point of the race but he slipped back slightly, giving up two positions.

The final yellow set up a six lap conclusion and while Stuart once again pulled away, Spacek and McFadden went at it side by side, neither giving an inch. Finally, just as the white flag was waved by starter Tom Clausen, Spacek was able to edge ahead and hold off McFadden for second. Myers finished behind them with Cole Chernosky, doing double duty also, getting his second fifth place finish of the night.

Shawn Amundson has been an infrequent competitor at the speedway for the last couple years, but after securing a ride in one of the Herrman Farms Street Stocks for 2026, he looks to be a regular competitor this year. And he started his season off on a strong note, leading from start to finish as he dominated the feature race on opening night. He used the pole position to drive away from the field in the early going and after two yellows in the first three laps, the last seventeen went nonstop and he was able to maintain some distance over the rest of the pack.

Layla Chaplin had a great run early, holding the second position and fighting off some severe competition through the first half of the race. However, the Richards family cars of Danny and Cole, along with Levi Randt, were all able to eventually get past her.

Those three, actually, put on quite a battle for position but it was Randt who was able to drive up from the third row and eventually secure second from both of them. Caiden Engel eventually completed the top five.

For Amundson, it was his first Street Stock feature win since the 2024 season and ninth of his career at the speedway.

Mr. versatility at the Rice Lake Speedway, Simon Wahlstrom, will race in another different class at the speedway in 2026 but he showed that the change won't slow him down as he topped the Pure Stock feature on opening night. He had a hard battle on his hands with Jake Smith as Smith led the first half of the race after starting on the pole. Wahlstrom started right behind him and hot past Austin Fencl to take over the second spot and the battle was on.

For several laps Wahlstrom chased Smith before they touched a bit in turn four and then as the leaders split a slower car, Wahlstrom found an opening that he used to drive into the lead just at the halfway point of the race. With several of the challenges having difficulties, the top two continued to battle it out for the win through several slow downs for yellow flag incidents.

The last four laps would go green to checkers and Wahlstrom fought off challenges from Smith to take the win. Mark Barta had a strong run up from the fourth row to finish third ahead of Rob Grabon who came from the fifth row but it was “Mr. Saturday Night,” Bob Thompson , who came from sixteenth to complete the top five that led the chargers.

Next Saturday nght, May 2nd, the speedway will be back in action once again. A full five division program of WISSOTA racing will be presented and as a bonus, the USRA Late Models will make their first of five appearances at the speedway in a full program also. The Best Appearing Car awards will also be presented to the five drivers that earned those honors.

Race time is 6 pm with the pit gate opening at 3 pm and the spectator gates one hour later.

WISSOTA Modifieds

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 40D-Blake Adams[2]; 2. 57-Mike Anderson[4]; 3. 18S-Kennedy Swan[6]; 4. 30-Matt Leer[7]; 5. 33C-Cole Chernosky[10]; 6. 22T-Michael Truscott[1]; 7. 22S-Cole Spacek[13]; 8. 55-Taylor Olson[15]; 9. 9MM-Aiden Hoffman[12]; 10. (DNF) 27H-Steve Hallquist[5]; 11. (DNF) 27-Scott McKinnon[3]; 12. (DNF) 204-David Mayala[9]; 13. (DNF) 10-Kyle Helling[11]; 14. (DNF) 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[8]; 15. (DNS) 22-Brandon Copp

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40D-Blake Adams[1]; 2. 30-Matt Leer[5]; 3. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[6]; 4. 22T-Michael Truscott[2]; 5. 204-David Mayala[3]; 6. (DNF) 22S-Cole Spacek[8]; 7. (DNF) 22-Brandon Copp[4]; 8. (DNF) 55-Taylor Olson[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18S-Kennedy Swan[2]; 2. 57-Mike Anderson[4]; 3. 27-Scott McKinnon[1]; 4. 27H-Steve Hallquist[3]; 5. 33C-Cole Chernosky[5]; 6. 10-Kyle Helling[6]; 7. 9MM-Aiden Hoffman[7]

24 entries

WISSOTA Super Stock

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 80-Steve Stuart[1]; 2. 22T-Terran Spacek[2]; 3. 51JR-Shawn McFadden[7]; 4. 2M-Alex Myers[5]; 5. 33C-Cole Chernosky[9]; 6. 14X-Leslie Leu[8]; 7. 1E-Eric Olson[4]; 8. 1-Ryan Olson[6]; 9. 62-Dalton Truchon[14]; 10. 36-Tyler Kostecki[15]; 11. 01-Michael Anderson[20]; 12. 75-Scott Geiger[13]; 13. 7B-Jason Melton[24]; 14. 20-Andrew Davis[11]; 15. 22AT-Austin Tilton[21]; 16. 02-Travis Anderson[17]; 17. 75JR-Sean Geiger[18]; 18. 247-Jackson Larson[12]; 19. 28-Josh Cappo[23]; 20. 17G-Chris Gross[19]; 21. (DNF) 22-Randy Spacek[3]; 22. (DNF) 38-Trevor Koslowski[22]; 23. (DNF) 21-Mike Siewert[16]; 24. (DNS) 9-Jakob Bond

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 33C-Cole Chernosky[1]; 2. 1-Ryan Olson[2]; 3. 22-Randy Spacek[6]; 4. 9-Jakob Bond[3]; 5. 75-Scott Geiger[4]; 6. 21-Mike Siewert[8]; 7. 17G-Chris Gross[5]; 8. (DNF) 7B-Jason Melton[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1E-Eric Olson[1]; 2. 51JR-Shawn McFadden[4]; 3. 14X-Leslie Leu[3]; 4. 20-Andrew Davis[7]; 5. 62-Dalton Truchon[6]; 6. 02-Travis Anderson[5]; 7. 01-Michael Anderson[2]; 8. 38-Trevor Koslowski[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 80-Steve Stuart[2]; 2. 22T-Terran Spacek[3]; 3. 2M-Alex Myers[7]; 4. 247-Jackson Larson[6]; 5. 36-Tyler Kostecki[5]; 6. 75JR-Sean Geiger[8]; 7. 22AT-Austin Tilton[4]; 8. 28-Josh Cappo[1]

12 entries

WISSOTA Midwest Mods

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 13-Nick Koehler[2]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[5]; 3. 7-Mike Schnider[6]; 4. 19C-Cody Cimfl[3]; 5. 00-Joseph Swearingen[7]; 6. 1-Jake Stai[4]; 7. 37-Travis Anderson[9]; 8. 10Z-Cade Johnson[8]; 9. 101-Michael Grover[10]; 10. (DNF) 11K-Chase Brown[11]; 11. (DNF) 88K-Donavan Knutson[12]; 12. (DNF) 63JR-Brady Larson[1]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13-Nick Koehler[2]; 2. 7-Mike Schnider[5]; 3. 1-Jake Stai[1]; 4. 19C-Cody Cimfl[4]; 5. 37-Travis Anderson[6]; 6. 11K-Chase Brown[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 63JR-Brady Larson[1]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[5]; 3. 00-Joseph Swearingen[3]; 4. 10Z-Cade Johnson[4]; 5. 101-Michael Grover[2]; 6. 88K-Donavan Knutson[6]

13 entries

WISSOTA Street Stock

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 19A-Shawn Amundson[1]; 2. 11X-Levi Randt[6]; 3. 1R-Cole Richards[4]; 4. 3R-Danny Richards[5]; 5. 7-Caiden Engel[2]; 6. 86-Layla Chaplin[3]; 7. 17-Zach Beaulieu[11]; 8. 426-Brendan Makkinga[8]; 9. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[10]; 10. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[12]; 11. (DNF) 5-Alaina Chaplin[13]; 12. (DNF) 19C-Cody Cimfl[9]; 13. (DNF) 20F-Connor Franson[7]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19A-Shawn Amundson[3]; 2. 86-Layla Chaplin[2]; 3. 7-Caiden Engel[6]; 4. 426-Brendan Makkinga[1]; 5. 19C-Cody Cimfl[4]; 6. 17-Zach Beaulieu[5]; 7. 5-Alaina Chaplin[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 20F-Connor Franson[1]; 2. 3R-Danny Richards[4]; 3. 1R-Cole Richards[6]; 4. 11X-Levi Randt[5]; 5. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[2]; 6. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[3]

21 entries

WISSOTA Pure Stock

Lakes Gas A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[3]; 2. 86J-Jake Smith[1]; 3. 78-Mark Barta[8]; 4. 16-Rob Grabon[9]; 5. 70-Bob Thompson[16]; 6. 23R-James Rahn[7]; 7. 24-Dylan Helget[15]; 8. 9M-Marlene Lannet[19]; 9. 3D-Sean Duffy[11]; 10. 89A-Alyson Karshbaum[17]; 11. 67-Alex Larson[18]; 12. (DNF) 52W-Austin Fencl[4]; 13. (DNF) 131-Jessie Treviranus[6]; 14. (DNF) 55-Caleb Duffie[13]; 15. (DNF) 83-Tyler Wahlstrom[5]; 16. (DNF) 88-Robert Wahlstrom[10]; 17. (DNF) 67P-Dale Peterson[14]; 18. (DNF) 10-Anthony Ravina[12]; 19. (DNF) 31-Tom Treviranus[2]; 20. (DNS) 93-CJ Wagner; 21. (DNS) 07-Thomas LaPage

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 52W-Austin Fencl[1]; 2. 31-Tom Treviranus[3]; 3. 86J-Jake Smith[6]; 4. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[5]; 5. 55-Caleb Duffie[7]; 6. 70-Bob Thompson[4]; 7. 67-Alex Larson[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[4]; 2. 16-Rob Grabon[6]; 3. 131-Jessie Treviranus[1]; 4. 3D-Sean Duffy[2]; 5. 67P-Dale Peterson[5]; 6. (DNS) 93-CJ Wagner; 7. (DNS) 07-Thomas LaPage

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 78-Mark Barta[4]; 2. 23R-James Rahn[5]; 3. 83-Tyler Wahlstrom[6]; 4. 10-Anthony Ravina[3]; 5. 24-Dylan Helget[2]; 6. 89A-Alyson Karshbaum[7]; 7. 9M-Marlene Lannet[1]

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