Wi Dirt Racin

Ashland, WI, July 19 — Phillips’ Jeff Spacek gained an $800 paycheck after Saturday night’s “Modified Mayhem” feature at the ABC Raceway, highlighting a program during which the track honored its first-ever Hall of Fame inductees.
A windy, overcast afternoon turned clear and muggy after nightfall as 80 racers competed on another fast, racy track during the five-division AmsOil Dirt Track Series program presented by the NAPA Auto Parts Stores of Ashland and Washburn.

Prior to the features, the first 12 inductees of the ABC Raceway Hall of Fame were introduced to an enthusiastic crowd. Three of the enshrined – the late Frank and Verna Brevak, who built the original race track; Northern State Bank; and the Vernon family and their business, Northern Clearing, Inc – were chosen as unanimous Honorary Inductees by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee.
Also included were four in the Retired Driver category – Bob Brevak, Ron Hmielewski, Bob Root, and the late Dwaine “Oulu” Erickson – and five in the Volunteers and Contributors category – Dennis Asbach, Ron and Jeannie Hmielewski, Bob Root and his late wife Sandy, Weaver Wherritt, and Earl and Chris Zar.
Spacek, who started on the front row, beat polesitter Rick Rivord through the first pair of corners and, with no caution flags to slow down the 20-lap WISSOTA Modified headliner, was never challenged, building a 1.5-second lead within the first three laps. Behind him, however, were a series of serious dogfights for position, including one for second place with Kevin Eder and division points leader Steve Stuart right on Rivord’s tail.
On lap 4 Eder worked inside to take second away from Rivord, and then Stuart duplicated the move for third one lap later. For the next ten laps the two Ashland pilots put on a thrilling side-by-side battle, which allowed Spacek to stretch his lead to over two-and-a-half seconds.
Spacek’s only concern came on lap 10, when he closed on backmarker Zach Pagels. Not being able to pass the “big Mod” rookie, Spacek allowed Eder to close to within 1.26 seconds, but once Spacek cleared Pagels he sped away again and rebuilt his ocmmanding lead.
Pagels posed a problem for Eder and Stuart as well when they caught him with three laps left, and when both tried to clear the slower car they bumped each other hard. Stuart righted his ride first and took over the runner-up spot before Eder could regain control of his car, and Stuart held on to the position the rest of the way.
Spacek’s second straight win and third overall on the season here was also his 56th at Ashland, moving him into sole possession of third place on the track’s all-time win list. Eder’s third-place paycheck was bolstered by earning the Northern Clearing Inc-sponsored fast-lap bonus with a time of 16.630 seconds during the run, while visiting Jesse Glenz drew close late to finish fourth ahead of Scott Hudack.
Dave Flynn of Superior followed up an impressive feature-winning run at AmsOil Speedway on Friday night with his second win of the season here Saturday in the WISSOTA Super Stock 20-lap main event. Flynn also started outside on the front row and was scored as the leader on every lap, but unlike Spacek he was seriously challenged for the lead throughout.
The first 18 laps ran off non-stop as Flynn tried to pull away from a fierce battle for second between Cory Casari, Nick Oreskovich and Scott Lawrence, all of whom got by pole starter Ken Truscott within the first few laps. On lap 6 Oreskovich and Lawrence moved into second and third, and within a lap Lawrence overtook Oreskovich and set his sights on Flynn, who had built up a half-second lead.
In just two laps Lawrence eliminated the deficit and worked Flynn over, moving to both the inside and outside lanes in an effort to shake the leader loose. But Flynn kept his cool and fended off every move offered by the ten-time defending champ. Lawrence eventually settled for following in Flynn’s tire tracks for a while as the leaders drew up on slower traffic, and Casari – who took third on lap 11 – and Oreskovich copied the lead pair’s line.
With just two laps remaining Flynn and Lawrence tried to get by the slower Myron Basina, and Lawrence took a shot at the lead. But before the lap was completed Basina bobbled, causing the cars of fifth-place Shane Kisling and sixth-running Wayne Stricker to break loose and tag each other hard enough to knock both from the event. With the green-white-checkered restart based the last completed lap, Flynn resumed from the point held on for a car-length advantage over Lawrence at the checkers and his second feature win here this season.
Casari and Oreskovich came home a close third and fourth, and Randy Spacek finished fifth for the fourth straight week here. DJ Keeler came home ninth and, by virtue of a ramdom draw and displaying the Raceway’s 50th Anniversary decal on his car, earned a $100 bonus.
Divisional points leader Mike Truscott has had the dominant WISSOTA Midwest Modified at Ashland this season, winning five of the first six features here to date. But Truscott got caught up in traffic and flipped his car violently during his heat race, leaving this week’s feature up for grabs.
Through some very hard work, Truscott and his crew were amazingly able to get the car ready for the 15-lap A-main, and he wheeled it from a tenth-row starting spot to a sixth-place finish. But it was first-night visitor Nick Koehler from Bloomer who came away with his second career win here.
After a first-corner six-car pile-up, rookie Brad Seavers began an impressive run from the pole by battling with Tyler Vernon for the first couple of laps before scooting away to a three-quarter-second lead. Mickey Nosser took second away from Vernon on lap 4 and closed on Seavers, and just after Koehler moved past Vernon for third on lap 6, John Kallas and Tanner Byholm got together to bring out the race’s second yellow flag.
That touched off a series of stoppages for a variety of reasons, but in between the slowdowns Nosser passed Seavers for the lead, and Koehler grabbed second. Then, just after Koehler passed Nosser for the lead on lap 8, debris was spotted on the track, but Koehler had the lead for good after that restart.
Cody Carlson’s spin with three laps left gave Nosser a last chance to threaten the leader, but Ryan Adamzak took advantage and swiped second, allowing Koehler to slip away to a half-second edge at the stripe. Seavers held on for a solid fourth-place finish, while Tanner Hicks also impressed by coming home fifth.
Nosser claimed the other Northern Clearing Inc fast-lap bonus after posting a circuit of 17.587 seconds during the run.
Like the Mid-Mod main, the Six-Cylinder 15-lap feature was plagued by caution flags, but Hayward’s Dale Coddington patiently persevered over the back half of the run to score his second win of the summer and 19th overall here. Coddington, who failed to start last Saturday’s feature for mechanical reasons, started outside on row 4 but quickly sliced his way through the field into second place within just four laps behind Pagels, who started just ahead of him on row 3.
On lap 6 Coddington worked down low in an attempt to take the lead, but the first of a succession of caution-flag slowdowns put Pagels back out front. Coddington did take the lead within a lap after the restart, and he stayed there after a stoppage on lap 8 for points leader Tyler Hudack’s spin and three more slowdowns within lap 9 for various spins.
Duane Dunbar secured second when Pagels’ car incurred a flat tire and faded, bringing Tiffany Hudack along into third. Over the final six laps the race stayed green long enough for Coddington to extend his final margin of victory to 1.66 seconds over Dunbar and Tiffany Hudack, while 13th-starting Peter Jokinen worked his way to fourth, and Tyler Hudack recovered to claim fifth
Ashland’s Matt Deragon held off a late charge by Glenn Dammer to claim his fourth Pure Stock feature win of the season. Deragon worked his way up from the third row into second place within just two laps, and after two more circuits he used an outside pass to get around Jeff Christman for the lead, with Dammer following him into second.
Fourth-place Terran Spacek’s spin on lap 5 was the only delay in the 12-lap finale, after which Deragon and Dammer sped away to decide the finish between themselves. Deragon held off Dammer by a car-length to pad his points lead, while Christman, Steve Udeen and a resurgent Spacek completed the top five.
Prior to the race program, Mod driver Bill Byholm of Glidden was severly injured when a door from his hauler fell on him. He was life-flighted to Duluth, MN, and treated for broken ribs and an injured lung. His son Tanner was competing for the last time on this night, as he is scheduled to report for US Marine training this week.
The Interstate Racing Association’s 410 outlaw winged sprint cars will bring triple-digit speeds to the ABC Raceway on Saturday night, in a program presented by Northern State Bank. Also, FastLane Motorsports and Custom Powdercoating will present its annual “Super Stock Challenge,” with the track’s Six-Cylinder and Pure Stock classes adding to the program. Adult admission is $20, fans ages 6-12 get in for $5, and kids under age 6 are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Hot laps are set for 6:15 pm, followed by sprint car time trials. Racing is scheduled 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, www.abcraceway.com.
Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Jesse Glenz, Cadott; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Al Uotinen, Superior; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Paul Niznik, Medford; Rick Rivord, Superior; Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Travis Nye, Ashland; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Pat Cook, Washburn; Dustin Hudack, Ashland; Zack Pagels, Marengo.
Heat 1: Rivord; Glenz; Mikkonen; Eder; Cook; D Hudack; Pagels.
Heat 2: Stuart; S Hudack; Niznik; Spacek; Uotinen; Lavasseur; Nye.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: Dave Flynn, Superior; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Cory Casari, Montreal; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Shawn McFadden Jr, Ashland; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; DJ Keeler, Superior; Myron Basina, Washburn; Shane Kisling, Sarona; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Dave Elliott, Minocqua.
Heat 1: Flynn; Truscott; Spacek; Stricker; Muzzy; Basina; Elliott.
Heat 2: Kisling; Lawrence; Casari; Oreskovich; McFadden; Keeler.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: Nick Koehler, Bloomer; Ryan Adamczak, Ashland; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Brad Seavers, Rib Lake; Tanner Hicks, Ashland; Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Cole Spacek, Phillips; George Truscott, Greenland, MI; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Jeff Klopstein, Tomahawk; John Kallas, Hurley; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; Tad Bretting, Ashland; Kevin Monteith, Rosslyn, ON; Dan Melton, Rhinelander; Tanner Byholm, Glidden; Cody Carlson, Superior; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI; Jeremy Lindquist, Ashland.
Paul Niznik, Medford; Mark Kangas, Eveleth, MN; Willy Thompson, Hibbing, MN; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Jesse Ogston, Duluth, MN; Chris Bretting, Washburn; Carey LePage, Culver, MN; Brad Hanson, Mountain Iron, MN; Bill Muhlig, Bessemer, MI.
Heat 1: Nosser; Spacek; Seavers; Hicks; Anderson; Melton; Barningham; Chris Bretting, Washburn; Schoonover.
Heat 2: Suzik; G Truscott; Vernon; Kallas; Dunbar; Lindquist; M Truscott.
Heat 3: Koehler; Adamzak; Klopstein; Carlson; Bretting; Monteith; Byholm; Paul Niznik, Medford.
Six-Cylinders
Feature: Dale Coddington, Hayward; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Peter Jokinen, Mellen; Tyler Hudack, Ashland; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Ken Tyykila, Iron River; Jeremy Lindquist, Ashland; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Ethan Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Zack Pagels, Marengo; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Colten Vernon, Ashland.
Heat 1: Dunbar; Tyler Hudack; Coddington; Beeksma; Mihalek; Tiffany Hudack; Jokinen; Tyykila.
Heat 2: Pagels; Lindquist; Schultz; Vernon; Mashlan; Traaholt; Jonathan Popp, Iron River.
Pure Stocks
Feature: Matt Deragon, Ashland; Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN; Jeff Christman, South Range; Steve Udeen, Superior; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Randy Graham, Trego; Andy Udeen, Superior; Andrew Hanson, Iron River; Chris Johnson, South Range; Brandle Pupp, Ashland; Tim Carbon, Highbridge.
Heat 1: Spacek; Graham; A Udeen; S Udeen; Pupp; Johnson.
Heat 2: Deragon; Dammer; Christman; Carbon; Hanson.

Comments

comments