Truscott, Hudack Stay Hot; Spacek, Kisling, Deragon Score Wins at ABC
Ashland, WI, July 12 — Over a hundred kids took to the red-clay oval for the annual bike races, while eighty-five racers put on a fast-paced stock car program Saturday night at the ABC Raceway.
Chicago Iron & Supply of Ashland presented the sixth AmsOil Dirt Track Series program of the season under cloudy but non-threratening skies on another smooth, wide, lightning-fast track. Jeff Spacek of Phillips moved back into fourth place on the Raceway’s all-time feature win list with a strong performance in the WISSOTA Modified A-main, while visiting Shane Kisling of Sarona held on for the WISSOTA Super Stock win.
Mike Truscott of Chippewa Falls continued to dominate in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, and Tyler Hudack of Ashland strengthened his hold on the top spot in the Six-Cylinders, as did Ashland’s Matt Deragon in the Pure Stocks.
Spacek, who started inside on row 4 in the 20-lap Mod main, waded through heavy traffic to eventually get to the front, as Steve Lavasseur held the early lead after a lap 1 tangle with pole starter Rick Rivord. Brian Mikkonen worked around Bill Byholm on that restart to take second, and he stayed in Lavasseur’s tire tracks as the remainder of the first half of the run stayed green.
Scott Hudack took third from Byholm on lap 4, and Steve Stuart moved into fourth two circuits later, but Spacek used an inside move to steal fourth away on lap 8 – just two laps prior to Paul Niznik’s spin on lap 10. That stoppage induced a series of restarts over the next four laps which resulted in several plot twists.
After debris on the back straight killed the first attempt to go green, Mikkonen worked a high-side move to take the lead from Lavasseur, while Stuart got a run on Hudack to take third. Then Stuart got alongside Lavasseur to challenge for second, but contact between the two dropped more debris on the track and sent Stuart into the pits with a flat tire.
On the lap 12 restart Spacek snuck past Lavasseur for second, and after a caution slowdown for Zack Pagels’ spin, Spacek dove inside on Mikkonen for the lead on lap 14, while another visiting driver, Darrell Nelson, took third. One final stoppage, for Bill Byholm’s stalled ride on the front straight with four to go, put Nelson and Mikkonen in position to challenge for the win, but Spacek sped away to his 55th career feature win in Ashland and second of the season. Nelson trailed by just over two seconds at the checkers, while Mikkonen, Jody Bellefeuille and Lavasseur rounded out the top five.
Kisling, in only his second visit to ABC this season, took the immediate lead in the Super Stock 20-lapper and stayed there despite a determined effort by Scott Lawrence. Kisling – the only one of Saturday night’s feature winners to start on the front row – beat pole-starter Don Muzzy through the first turns and sped out to the early advantage, while Dave Flynn and Cory Casari quickly moved up to second and third, respectively.
On lap 2 a high-flying Curt Myers lost the handle and tagged the turn 2 guardrail, ending his night, but from there the balance of the run clicked off uninterrupted. On lap 3 Flynn bobbled coming off turn 4, allowing Casari and Lawrence to slip past, and over laps 6 through 8 Lawrence and Casari swapped second place until Lawrence’s outside pass stuck to take over the spot for good.
As Kisling and Lawrence ran off to decide the win, Casari posted solid laps to retain third ahead of Flynn, while Wayne Stricker kept Randy Spacek at bay for fifth. Kisling’s lead was just over a second at mid-race, but Lawrence continued to chip away until the deficit was less than a quarter-second as the lead pair came up on slower traffic with five laps remaining. Kisling slipped by backmarker Myron Basina a little easier than Lawrence did, and that was enough to secure his sixth career feature win here.
Lawrence’s effort moves him into the Super Stock points lead at ABC for the first time this season. Casari and Flynn held firm to third and fourth, while Spacek eventually got by Stricker for fifth.
Truscott again proved his prowess in the Mid-Mod main event, pulling up from the third row and taking control just after mid-race for his 16th win of 2014 and his fifth in six nights of racing in Ashland.
Jeff Klopstein fended off a furious effort by polestarter Ryan Adamzak for the lead in the early stages of the 15-lapper, even after Bill Muhlig’s stalled car brought out the caution flag on lap 2. But when Paul Suzik came up to challenge Adamzak for second on lap 4, Truscott worked the low groove to edge ahead of Suzik for third, then stayed low to slip by Adamzak for second on the next circuit.
Klopstein became Truscott’s next victim on lap 7, as the track points leader stuck to the low line around the track. Two tours later Adamzak copied Truscott’s move to get by Klopstein for second, just before Brad Seavers’ spin slowed the pace.
As Adamzak, Klopstein and Suzik tussled for position, Truscott pulled away to a one-second lead with four laps remaining. Then first-nighter Carey LePage’s ride ground to a halt to bring the field back to the leader’s rear push-bar for one last restart, but Truscott handled it well, romping off to a 1.2-second advantage for his 11th ABC Raceway Mid-Mod feature win – the most in track history in that division.
Just after the last restart, Suzik used a strong inside move to take second away from Adamzak at the pay window, and Cody Carlson worked hard to eventually overcome Klopstein for fourth in the closing laps.
Tyler Hudack scored his fourth Six-Cylinder feature win of the season as he, too, clawed his way through traffic from a fourth-row start. Aaron Mashlan set the early pace in the 15-lap run, with Zack Pagels, Hudack and Ethan Beeksma quickly getting by polesitter Colten Vernon into the top five. Pagels followed Mashlan until lap 3, when he worked an inside pass for the lead, but on the next go-around Hudack took control for good with an inside move of his own.
The pace slowed up for a bit on lap 5, when Vernon’s loose racer spun coming out of turn 2 and was clipped by Duane Dunbar’s ride. Vernon’s night didn’t get any better, as on each of the two subsequent restart attempts he was involved in spins. But the final ten laps stayed under green, as Hudack stretched his lead with every lap until his final margin of victory was a commanding 1.87 seconds.
Rookie Beeksma was impressive on this night, as he took second place away from Pagels and Mashlan on the final restart and stayed there for a career-best finish. Behind Pagels in third, Dunbar worked his way to a fourth-place effort just ahead of Tiffany Hudack.
A little mayhem on the first lap of the Pure Stock nightcapper saw Glenn Dammer tag the back-straight wall, causing several cars to scramble and Jeff Christman to spin. Then, after a lap under green, Chris Johnson spun. But from there the 12-lapper was anybody’s race until Deragon pulled away late and outran a charging Terran Spacek for his third win of the season.
Deragon worked the outside line to get around Randy Graham and Tim Carbon and move into third behind brothers Andy and Steve Udeen. Then the 2012 track champ continued to work his way around the lead pair until he had the point – just prior to the race’s final stoppage for Brandle Pupp’s stalled ride collecting Johnson and Christman on lap 3.
The Udeen boys never let Deragon get too far from their sights, as each took a turn at taking the lead away. But just before mid-race Spacek slipped past Steve Udeen for third, and Chad Carlson followed into fourth a lap later. It took three more laps before Spacek finally grabbed second from Andy Udeen, and over the final three laps the youngster gained on the leader but could get no closer than two car-lengths at the checkered flag.
Carlson, Steve Udeen, and Andy Udeen came home third through fifth.
The Northern Clearing Inc fast-lap bonuses went to race winners Truscott in the Mid-Mods (17.089 seconds) and Tyler Hudack in the Sixes (18.322).
Trophies were presented to the bike race winners in each of the four different age groups, and each participant received a medal and ribbon and a Dairy Queen gift certificate from Chicago Iron & Supply.
Next Saturday night will be very special for the ABC Raceway, as it formally presents its first inductees into its newly-formed Hall of Fame. In addition, the NAPA Auto Parts stores of Ashland and Washburn will present its “Modified Madness” program to highlight its top division. Adult tickets are just $10, and fans ages 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Hot laps are set for 6:15 pm, and racing is set to start at 7. “Race Night” will air live on WBSZ, 93.3 FM, and stream online at www.wbszfm.com, from 4:30-6 pm with at-the-track news and weather updates. The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990, or log on to the track’s website, .
Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Travis Nye, Ashland; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Al Uotinen, Superior; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Paul Niznik, Medford; Dustin Hudack, Ashland; Pat Cook, Washburn; Cory Jorgensen, Hermantown, MN; Rick Rivord, Superior; Zack Pagels, Marengo; Talon Laabs, Stetsonville; Bill Byholm, Glidden.
Heat 1: Lavasseur; Nelson; Mikkonen; Rivord; D Hudack; Cook; Nye; Jorgensen; Laabs.
Heat 2: Spacek; Stuart; S Hudack; Byholm; Bellefeuille; Eder; Niznik; Uotinen; Pagels.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: Shane Kisling, Sarona; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Cory Casari, Montreal; Dave Flynn, Superior; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Shawn McFadden Jr, Ashland; DJ Keeler, Superior; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Dan Tocheri, Kakabeka Falls, ON; Myron Basina, Washburn; Curt Myers, Cameron.
Heat 1: Kisling; Flynn; Muzzy; Casari; Truscott; Keeler; Basina.
Heat 2: Myers; Oreskovich; Lawrence; Spacek; Stricker; Tocheri; McFadden.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Ryan Adamczak, Ashland; Cody Carlson, Superior; Jeff Klopstein, Tomahawk; Paul Niznik, Medford; Mark Kangas, Eveleth, MN; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Willy Thompson, Hibbing, MN; John Kallas, Hurley; Tanner Byholm, Glidden; Tad Bretting, Ashland; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; Tanner Hicks, Ashland; Brad Seavers, Rib Lake; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Jesse Ogston, Duluth, MN; Chris Bretting, Washburn; Carey LePage, Culver, MN; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Brad Hanson, Mountain Iron, MN; Bill Muhlig, Bessemer, MI.
Heat 1: Klopstein; Thompson; Kangas; Ogston; Spacek; Byholm; Muhlig; Seavers.
Heat 2: Truscott; Niznik; Carlson; Hanson; Jeremy Lindquist, Ashland; Kallas; C Bretting; Barningham.
Heat 3: Suzik; Adamzak; Simpson; LePage; Vernon; T Bretting; Hicks; Dunbar.
Six-Cylinders
Feature: Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Ethan Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Zack Pagels, Marengo; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Jeremy Lindquist, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Ken Tyykila, Iron River; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Colten Vernon, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland.
Heat 1: Pagels; Vernon; Schultz; Tiffany Hudack; Mihalek; Lindquist; Dale Coddington, Hayward.
Heat 2: Dunbar; Beeksma; Tyler Hudack; Mashlan; Jonathon Popp, Iron River; Traaholt.
Pure Stocks
Feature: Matt Deragon, Ashland; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Chad Carlson, Superior; Steve Udeen, Superior; Andy Udeen, Superior; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Randy Graham, Trego; Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Jeff Christman, South Range; Andrew Hanson, Iron River; Brandle Pupp, Ashland; Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN; Chris Johnson, South Range; Chad Nikstad, Superior; Dave White, Gilbert, MN.
Heat 1: Dammer; Deragon; Spacek; A Udeen; Christman; Johnson; White; Blom.
Heat 2: S Udeen; Carbon; Graham; Nikstad; Pupp; Hanson; Carlson.
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