Wi Dirt Racin

The rain may have held off for the Stock Car races at Eagle River Speedway on Friday night, but threatening skies didn’t hold the racers back from making some exciting moves to pass cars. It was in both WISSOTA Sanctioned classes that the defending Class Champions had to pull the ‘rabbit’ from out of the hat to win their respective features.

In the WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature, Phelps, Wisconsin’s Jerry Grasse used his 21 years of racing experience to keep the class’s defending champion for the past 3 years, Jesse Aho, in check. That is until Aho made a move that few drivers have ever attempted in the track’s 40 year history. That is to go as low on the track as you can go going into the sharp ‘hair-pin’ third turn. As Aho was ‘hugging’ the dirt/grass inside line, Grasse held as tight of an inside line as he could. However the move worked for Aho, and he went on to hold off Grasse in a bumper to bumper final.

“Sometimes you simply have to go wherever there is an opening, and that’s what I did,” commented Aho. “I really have to thank my dad (David) for setting the car up, and with this car and the set-up I feel I can really go anywhere on the track,” Aho stated.

In the WISSOTA Street Stock Feature, fellow Upper Peninsula driver and defending class champion, Jordan Kurtti had to have patience in working his way through the pack to challenge for the win. Kurtti started out in the 5th spot. He didn’t move up one spot till the 9th lap of the 20 lap feature. With only 5 laps to go, Kurtti ‘thread the needle’ and passed two cars. Then on the next lap, Kurtti took an inside line waiting for the leader, Tomahawk’s Derek Eberl to drift wide. When Eberl went wide on that 16th lap, Kurtti got the lead. A lead he held on to win the feature.

The Micro Sprint 600’s turned out to be a Father-Son duo. Hitting speeds of over 80 MPH on the 1/3rd mile Tri-Oval, Jerry Reif held off his son Jake for the win. The Kawasaki-powered alcohol burning motorcycle engine propelled winged Micro Sprint team from Deerbrook held off the defending champion, Jered Cech of Rhinelander.

So far this year, the driver to beat in the new Truck Class is Rhinelander’s Dylan Spiegelhoff. It was a Rhinelander driver that won the Truck Feature, but it wasn’t Spiegelhoff, it was Cory Allen. Allen ran an excellent race holding off both Spiegelhoff and Eagle River’s James Koga.

Just like the Truck Feature the driver that was expected to win the Pure Stock Feature was Tomahawk’s CJ Hedges, Junior. Problem for Hedges was that he started in 8th position, and had to get around 7 cars in only 15 laps. Hedges got around 2 drivers in the 2nd lap, another two in the 4th lap. Then it turned out to be a 3 way battle for the lead between Rhinelander’s Tyler Lundberg, and Tomahawk’s Michael Brown. This 3 way battle went on right to the final lap. When the checkered flag dropped it was Brown with the win, Lundberg on Brown’s bumper for second, and right behind Lundberg was Hedges.

With the Upper Peninsula’s Wyatt McIntyre returning to the Auto Value Victory Lane in the Junior Sprint feature, there was an exciting race for second between Rhinelander’s Parker Retzlaff and Shiocton’s Dylan Larson. Larson had won the earlier Heat race and took the preceeding week’s feature. On Friday Night, Retzlaff edged Larson for second place.

Racing returns to Eagle River Speedway this coming Friday Night. Gates open at 5:00 pm CT, with hot laps to begin at 7:00 pm CT.

7/11/2014 Results (Top 3 Only)

WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature: 1) Jesse Aho, Toivola (MI); 2) Jerry Grasse, Phelps; 3) Tadd Schoonover, Eagle River;

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds Heat: 1) Jerry Grasse, Phelps; 2) Tadd Schoonover, Phelps; 3) Jesse Aho, Toivola (MI)

WISSOTA Street Stock Feature: 1) Ryan Glembin, Eagle River; 2) Jordan Kuirtti, Bruce Crossing (MI); 3) Heidi Karschbaum, Chetek;

WISSOTA Street Stock Heat : 1) Jordan Kurtti, Bruce Crossing (MI); 2) Derek Eberl, Tomahawk; 3) Nate Langberg, Eagle River;

Micro Sprint 600 Feature: 1) Jerry Reif, Deerbrook; 2) Jake Reif, Deerbrook; 3) Jered Cech, Rhinelander;

Micro Sprint 600 Heat: 1) Jake Reif, Deerbrook; 2) Jerry Reif, Deerbrook; 3) Denver Larson, Shiocton;

Truck Feature: 1) Cory Allen, Rhinelander; 2) Dylan Spiegelhoff, Rhinelander; 3) James Koga, Eagle River;

Truck Heat: 1) Cory Allen, Rhinelander; 2) Dylan Spiegelhoff, Rhinelander; 3) James Koga, Eagle River;

Pure Stock Feature : 1) Michael Brown, Tomahawk; 2) Tyler Lundberg, Rhinelander; 3) CJ Hedges, Jr., Tomahawk;

Pure Stock Heat 1: 1) CJ Hedges, Jr., Tomahawk; 2) Michael Brown, Tomahawk; 3) John Johnson, Jr., Lac Du Flambeau;

Pure Stock Heat 2: 1) Don Scharf, Eagle River; 2) Tyler Lundberg, Rhinelander; 3) Herb Dettman, Pelican Lake;

Junior Sprint Feature: 1) Wyatt McIntyre, Greenland (MI) 2) Parker Retzlaff, Rhinelnder; 3) Dylan Larson, Shiocton;

Junior Sprint Heat: 1) Dylan Larson, Shiocton; 2) Parker Retzlaff, Rhinelander; 3) Josie Rae Reif, Deerbrook

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