Wi Dirt Racin

Menomonie WI, May 16 – Mike Truscott continued his streak as perhaps the hottest driver in the Wisconsin region with a last lap pass to win the Midwest Modified feature and highlight the forty first annual opener at the Red Cedar Speedway. Other winners on a cold and blustery May night included Jake Redetzke, Cory Mahder, Curt Myers, Adam Soltis and Jesse Bryan.

Nick Koehler took the early lead in the Midwest Modified main event and actually led the entire race except for perhaps the last fifty feet just before the finish line as that’s where Truscott overtook Nick to claim the win. Koehler was able to build up a good sized lead in the early going as Kerry and Shane Halopka battled for second while Truscott moved up from the third row to challenge them.
A lone yellow flag with six laps complete for a spin bunched the field but Koehler again pulled away at the start. Truscott was on the move however, as he was able to split the Halopka brothers and move into second and he then set off after Koehler. As the laps ran down, Mike continued to narrow the lead and by the white flag lap, he was able to attempt a pass. He went to the high side of Koehler through the final corner, built up a head of steam and edged past Nick at the line, winning by just a couple of feet. The Halopka brothers continued their battle throughout the race with Kerry holding on for third ahead of Shane while Grant Southworth completed the top five.
Redetzke won the Late Model feature after trading the lead several times with Lance Matthees and then holding off a late charge from Rick Hanestad to win his first main of 2014. The early laps saw some spectacular swapping of position as Redetzke and Matthees traded lanes on the track and dived back and forth, exchanging the lead position twice a lap for a couple of laps in a row. Finally they settled down with Redetzke maintaining the top spot and Lance trailing by several car lengths. Hanestad then picked up the pace and drove past Matthees into second, just before the yellow appeared at mid race for a spin by Justin Ritchie.
Redetzke took off on the green once again and built up some distance on the field while Matthees was the meat in a sandwich with A.J. Diemel and Jimmy Mars blasting past him, one on each side. Near the end of the event, Hanestad started to close in and drew to Redetzke’s rear bumper as the white flag waved, but Jake held his line and took home the win over Hanestad. The identical #28 cars duked it out for third with Diemel holding off Mars and Matthees completing the top five.
Mahder led from start to finish to win the Modified feature and while Jesse Glenz closed in the last laps, Cory was never seriously challenged. Mahder blasted off the outside pole and built up a solid early lead while Matt Leer, Brent Prochnow and Steve Hallquist battled for second. From the fourth row, Kevin Adams and Glenz were both on the move as they knived through the field on their way to the front. Adams was able to drive into the second spot with Glenz following him while both chased after a fading Mahder.
Adams’ night came to an end with a puff of smoke off turn two and he retired to the infield with Glenz left to chase down the leader. While Jesse was able to cut the distance somewhat, Mahder continued to cruise home as he took the win. Prochnow ran a strong third with his new ride and Mike Anderson and Mark Hessler made late rushes to crack the top five.
Another driver who has been hot in the early season, Myers put on a dominating performance as he won the Super Stock main event. Rick Hallquist started on the pole and led the first lap but it was Bart Steffen who was able to drive under him and take over the lead. Myers started in the third row, but with a bold move to the high side of the track, he quickly drove into third and then set about picking off the leaders. He drove past Hallquist and then challenged Steffen for the lead.
Using that same high side, he drove deep into the corners and on the second attempt was able to drive past Bart and take over the top spot. After that, Myers went on cruise control and maintained a comfortable margin over Steffen the rest of the way. The best battle was for third as Willie Johnsen Jr also used the high side to close on Hallquist and Gunnar Watkins. Johnsen was just able to get past both drivers on the last lap when Derek Baskin nosed into the wall under the flag stand on the final tour and the race was yellow and checkered flagged with the finish going back to the white flag lap. This saw Johnsen Jr placed into the fourth spot officially with Hallquist running a strong third and Watkins trailing both.
A nonstop Street Stock feature saw Soltis start in front and finish there as he took a solid lead from Mike Knudtson right at the start and drove home without a real challenge to take the win. The battle was for second as Knudtson fought to hold off Sam Fankhauser and Ron Hanestad for the position. Fankhauser used the high side to move into second but on the final lap slipped just a little high and in a wad as they crossed the line, it was Knudtson taking the second spot over Sam with Hanestad right behind them. Kolby Kiehl completed the top five at the line.
A late charge by Bryan saw him take his first Pure Stock feature win as he passed Hunter VanGilder with just a couple laps left to record the win. VanGilder has started in front and had led the entire distance but as the race neared its conclusion, Bryan and Jeremy Dahl both began to close on the leader.
When VanGilder slid up the track with two laps to go, Bryan drove under him to take over the lead and as he put distance on the pack, Dahl made the same move to take over second and trail Bryan home as they took the checkered flag. VanGilder settled for third ahead of Kent Harmon and Krysta Swearingen.
With the first race of the 2014 racing season finally in the book, officials of the Red Cedar Racing Association are hoping for good weather the rest of the year on Friday nights. Next Friday, in honor of the Memorial Day holiday, all military personnel with be admitted to the races free of charge with proper military ID. The program is sponsored by J & D Manufacturing and race time is 7 p.m. on Friday nights at the Dunn County Rec Park.

SUMMARY

Red Cedar Speedway
Menomonie WI
May 16, 2014

WISSOTA Late Models

18 lap Feature – Jake Redetzke(Eau Claire), Rick Hanestad(Boyceville), A.J. Diemel(Elk Mound), Jimmy Mars(Menomonie), Lance Matthees(Winona MN), Chad Mahder(Eau Claire), Mike Prochnow(Menomonie), John Kaanta(Elk Mound), Scott Gilberts(Menomonie), Justin Ritchie(New London), Todd Green, Greg Nippoldt
8 lap Heat 1 – Kaanta, Mars, Matthees, Prochnow, Mahder, Green
Heat 2 – Diemel, Hanestad, Redetzke, Gilberts, Nippoldt(Roberts), Ritchie

WISSOTA Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Cory Mahder(Eau Claire), Jesse Glenz(Cadott), Brent Prochnow(Colfax), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Matt Leer(Bruce), Jake Hartung(Elmwood), Ross Prochnow(Boyceville), Brent Larson(Lake Elmo MN), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Cory Williams, Neil Balduc, Jordan Hessler, Ashley Anderson, Kevin Adams, Kevin Eder
8 lap Heat 1 – Glenz, Hallquist, Mahder, B. Prochnow, M. Anderson, Hessler, Balduc, Eder
Heat 2 – Adams(Cameron), Leer, Williams(Spring Valley), Hessler, A. Anderson(Elk Mound), Larson, Hartung, R. Prochnow

WISSOTA Super Stocks

15 lap Feature – Curt Myers(Cameron), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Rick Hallquist(Eau Claire), Willie Johnsen Jr(Superior), Gunnar Watkins(Elk Mound), Jesse Redetzke(Eau Claire), Mike Keller(Menomonie), Steve Thomas(Menomonie), Derek Baskin(Menomonie), Tony Falkner(Menomonie)
8 lap Heat 1 – Watkins, Steffen, Keller, Hallquist, Thomas
Heat 2 – Myers, Redetzke, Johnsen Jr, Falkner, Baskin

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Mike Truscott(Chippewa Falls), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Kerry Halopka(Wheeler), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Grant Southworth(Bloomer), Cory Crapser(Chippewa Falls), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Luke Shackleton(Knapp), Dylan Goettl(Chippewa Falls), Jake Smeltzer(Menomonie), Josh Wahlstrom, Tad Bretting, Karl Kolek, Nathan Spence, Darrel Hazelton
8 lap Heat 1 – Koehler, Southworth, Hazelton(Chippewa Falls), Shackleton, Bretting(Ashland), Wahlstrom, Kolek, Crapser
Heat 2 – S. Halopka, Truscott, K. Halopka, Anderson, Goettl, Smeltzer, Spence

WISSOTA Street Stocks

10 lap Feature – Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Mike Knudtson(Osseo), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Kolby Kiehl(Cameron), Jake Hanson(Downing), Chris Johnson(Eau Claire), Andrea Keeney(Ridgeland)
6 lap Heat – Fankhauser, Knudtson, Hanestad, Soltis, Kiehl, Derek Borchardt, Johnson, Hanson, Keeney

Pure Stocks

10 lap Feature – Jesse Bryan(Menomonie), Jeremy Dahl(Knapp), Hunter Van Gilder(Rice Lake), Kent Harmon(Arkansas), Krysta Swearingen(Little Canada MN), Jay Folz(Rice Lake), Mike Grover(Chetek), Jay Barnier(Chippewa Falls), Brett Myers(Eau Claire)
6 lap Heat 1 – Van Gilder, Folz, Swearingen, Grover, Myers
Heat 2 – Dahl, Bryan, Harmon, Barnier, Cody Tisdale(Eau Claire)

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