Eric Olson Double Winner at Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI, August 2 – It was a glorious Saturday night for Ladysmith’s Eric Olson at the Rice Lake Speedway. Not only did he win the make up feature race for the Super Stocks in an event that was left over from last week’s rain shortened event, he came back to win the regularly scheduled main event also to score a rare double win.
On a Saturday night that was again threatened with a weather issue, with showers during the Modified heat races triggering a seventy five minute rain delay, other winners included Kevin Adams, Shane Halopka, Ryan Viltz, Jimmy Randall and C.J. Wagner.
In the make up feature race, Olson engaged in a blazing duel with one of the hottest Super Stock drivers in all of WISSOTA right now in the presence of Curt Myers and outfought him for the win. Scott Zitelman led the opening lap of the race until Olson came up from the second row and powered into the lead. Myers was quickly on the move from the third row using the high side and he gradually rolled into contention. Continuing the high side, Myers was able to drive up around Olson and take over the lead. Myers was not able to put any distance on Olson however and Eric started to fight back as the race moved into the second half of the event.
Olson closed back up on Myers and they raced side by side for the win. With only a couple of laps left, Olson nosed back in front as Myers started slipping a bit on the top side. Curt pushed hard but he was receiving a challenge of his own as Jason Forehand drove up from the fourth row to catch the leaders. At the line, Olson was the winner by a car length with Myers holding off Forehand for second. Point leader Willie Johnsen Jr. drove up to fourth ahead of Zitelman at the line.
The regularly scheduled Super Stock feature found a real log jam at the front of the pack in the opening laps as three wide racing dominated the early laps. Derek Baskin got his first taste of leading a feature race as he led the opening laps before Darrel Hazelton moved in front and showed the way for several laps also.
Olson was navigating his way through the heavy traffic from the fourth row and he finally was able to drive past Hazelton and take over the lead. Forehand and Myers were again charging through the pack with Forehand coming from the fifth row and Myers all the way back from the seventh row. Olson continued to lead the pack but Forehand closed in on him as the laps ran down. Myers was showing smoke but he continued to charge as he worked his way into third.
A late yellow bunched the field and Olson had his hands full with Forehand at the end but he held him off for his second win of the night with Myers a close third. Zitelman also had a great night with his second top five finish and Jeff Brauer completed the top five. Olson’s wins were his fourth and fifth of the year at Rice Lake.
Steve Hallquist led the first half of the Modified feature race using the high side of the track after coming off the front row. Adams started sixth and slid past Pat Hoffman and Dave Mayala to move into second and then began to pressure Hallquist for the lead.
Adams tried several times to slide under Hallquist but Steve fought him off until Adams was finally able to squeeze past in turn one. Hallquist remained close as the yellow flew on lap thirteen for a spin.
On the restart, Cory Mahder was on the charge as he used the low side to move past Hallquist and close on Adams. Jason Gross also found the low side worked for him as he continued a charge that started from row six. In the closing laps Mahder made several strong challenges to Adams, several times showing his nose inside Adams but never quite able to complete a pass as the leaders thrilled the crowd with their close racing action.
Adams finished up with a two car length advantage as he drove home for his fourth Rice Lake win of the year. Mahder finished a strong second and Gross had his best Rice Lake run in some time in third. Hallquist hung on for fourth and Hoffman completed the top five.
The Midwest Modifieds also made up a feature from last week and in that event Halopka made a late charge that saw him earn his third Rice Lake win of 2014. Dan Kingsley led the opening laps with Travis Anderson charging up to challenge him. Anderson was fast and continued to pressure Kingsley for the lead. Unfortunately, Anderson got into turn one just a little too hot and clipped the leader, triggering a yellow flag that sent him to the tail.
Kingsley continued to lead as Halopka worked his way up from the third row and Shane was able to get under Kingsley to take over the lead. Tito Viltz was also on the move and he drove into third and began to pressure Kingsley for second. Halopka continued to stretch his lead as he drove home for his third Rice Lake win of the year. Kingsley held off Tito for second with Nick Koehler driving up to the fourth spot ahead of Joe Chaplin Jr.
Ryan Viltz made up for some bad luck in the first feature when he came charging up from the fourth row to take the regularly schedule main event. Rookie Austin Ellis lead the first five laps of the main event. After a lap three tangle in turn four that eliminated the cars of Reid Teigs, Tito Viltz and Joe Chaplin Jr., Ellis continued to lead with Anderson and Kingsley challenging him. Ryan Viltz used the high side for the second feature and with a couple more quick yellows to bunch the field, he moved again to the high side and blew past Ellis to take over the lead. Halopka was gradually moving up and when Anderson dropped out, Shane took over the second spot.
However, he couldn’t keep up with Viltz and instead received his own challenge from Koehler who was making his own determined charge from the fifth row. As Ryan Viltz drove home for his third feature win of the year, Koehler ducked under Halopka to take the second spot at the line. Kingsley had another solid finish while Ellis recorded his second top five at the track.
The Street Stock drivers were tuning up for the Little Dream next Tuesday, and they were driving particularly hard. While this didn’t translate into a lot of yellow flags, the one wreck did much damage to the current point leader. Cody Kummer edged ahead of Troy Chaplin to take the early lead in the Street Stock main with a huge bunch of cars racing tight behind them for position. Coming out of turn four, there just wasn’t enough room for everyone to operate and the cars of Scott Clark and Chaplin were turned into the wall with Josh Amans backing into the wreck. All three were eliminated with significant damage.
Kummer continued to lead on the restart but he was receiving heavy pressure from Sam Fankhauser. With Kummer concentrating on Fankhauser, Jimmy Randall came charging up unnoticed and after starting in the fourth row, he blew past the leader on the high side to take over the lead.
The rest of the race ran nonstop and on each corner, Kummer would dive to the bottom and try to get under Randall for the lead but Jimmy would hold his line and edge ahead as they raced down the chutes. Right up to the finish, Cody would continue to press the issue but Randall had his line and he didn’t flinch as he drove home for his second win in 2014 with only limited appearances at the track. Kummer finished up second as he held off Fankhauser with Adam Soltis and Ron Hanestad rounding out the top five.
The Pure Stock feature got off to a rocky start as first pole sitter Jay Folz spun in front of the field in turn one and on the restart, leaders Rob Grabon and Mike Chaplin got together with Chaplin stalling after the contact.
Finally, things settled down with Grabon leading the first half of the race as he went after his first Rice Lake win. A spin at the halfway point saw Wagner get a great restart and take over the lead from Grabon. Joel Hinrichs blew a tire and contact sent John Erickson into the wall, triggering another yellow with three laps to go.
Wagner now found “Mr. August”, Darwin Brown on his tail and Darwin drove to the high side trying to sneak by into the lead. Jason Havel had also worked his way up through the pack into third and the two Ford Thunderbirds chased the leader.
Brown nearly pulled off the move on the high side but Wagner hung is his line and took his third win of the year. Brown, in his first outing of the year, finished a strong second with Havel, Hunter Van Gilder and Bob Thompson, up from eighteenth , completing the top five.
Because of the long rain delay, the bike races scheduled for Saturday were postponed in the interest of time. Upcoming on the speedway schedule next is the highly anticipated Street Stock Little Dream race on Tuesday, August 5th. Sixty or more Street Stocks may be on hand as track officials and the participating public hope to set a new record for the winning purse for the Street event. Also on the card are WISSOTA Modifieds racing for
extra money also.
Saturday, August 9th will see a full program of racing in all five classes along with make up feature races in the Street Stocks and Modifieds from the rain shortened program two weeks ago. It will also be Hall of Fame night and eight new members will be added to the Hall.
Track officials also announced their plans for Labor Day weekend. This year, the final event of the year will be a one night show on Saturday, August 30th. Drivers will be racing for an enhanced purse on that night and it will also be Fan Appreciation night. There will be many fan prizes, a hog roast , music and other fun for both the participants and fans. Expect more announcements on this event soon.
SUMMARY
Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
August 2, 2014
WISSOTA Modifieds
20 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Cory Mahder(Eau Claire), Jason Gross(Cushing), Steve Hallquist(Eau Claire), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Paul Brust(Rice Lake), Mark Hanson(Chippewa Falls), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Matt Leer(Bruce), Scott Miller(Rice Lake), Dave Baxter, Cody Cimfl, Aric Lindberg, Scott Heikkinen, Will Fisher, Wayne Poteet, Dave Mayala, Mike Anderson
10 lap Heat 1 – Anderson(Colfax), Mahder, Brust, Baxter(Eau Claire), Lindberg(Dallas), Leer
Heat 2 – Adams, Mayala(Barron), Hanson, Heikkinen(Eveleth MN), Poteet(Spooner), Fisher
Heat 3 – Hoffman, Hessler, Hallquist, Gross, Miller, Cimfl
WISSOTA Super Stocks
20 lap Feature – Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Curt Myers(Cameron), Scott Zitelman(Taylors Falls MN), Jeff Brauer(Rochester MN), Willie Johnsen Jr.(Superior), Jim Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Jim Harris(Menomonie), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Derek Baskin(Menomonie), Don Cimfl Jr., Chad Gullixson, Terry Kroening, Curt Hazelton, Kyle Helling, Patrick Heikkinen, Sam Fankhauser, Darrel Hazelton
20 lap Makeup Feature from 7/26 – Olson, Myers, Forehand, Johnsen Jr, Zitelman, Harris, Fankhauser(Rice Lake), J. Cimfl, Heikkinen(Eveleth MN), C. Hazelton(Menomonie), Gullixson, Helling
10 lap Heat 1 – Olson, Heikkinen, Gullixson(Hammond), J. Cimfl, Kroening(Colby), Fankhauser, D. Cimfl Jr
Heat 2 – Zitelman, Baskin, Brauer, Johnsen Jr, Myers, C. Hazelton
Heat 3 – Forehand, Harris, D. Hazelton(Chippewa Falls), Steffen, Helling(Rice Lake), A.J. Hoff
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Ryan Viltz(Chetek), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Dan Kingsley(Superior), Austin Ellis(Rice Lake), Nathan Thums(Wausau), Kent Baxter(Colfax), Josh Wahlstrom(Rice Lake), Dan Tautges(Colby), Mike Schnider(Rice Lake), Mickey Nosser, Pete Paulus, Dusty Brown, A.J. Pintaro, Travis Anderson, Joe Chaplin Jr, Tito Viltz, Reid Teigs
15 lap Makeup Feature from 7/26 – Halopka, Kingsley, T. Viltz, Koehler, Chaplin Jr,(Cameron), Thums, Anderson(Colfax), Brown(Cameron), Nosser(Phillips), Tautges, Ellis, Paulus, Wahlstrom, R. Viltz, Cole Spacek
10 lap Heat 1 – R. Viltz, Baxter, Teigs(Dallas), Tautges, Paulus(Phillips), Brown
Heat 2 – Halopka, T. Viltz, Koehler, Thums, Chaplin Jr, Nosser
Heat 3 – Anderson, Kingsley, Ellis, Pintaro(Osseo), Schnider, Wahlstrom
WISSOTA Street Stocks
15 lap Feature – Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Cody Kummer(Medford), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Jay Kesan(Weyerhaeuser), Kolby Kiehl(Cameron), Kirk Bogdanovic(Phillips), Jordan Kurtti(Bruce Crossing MI), Marcus Simonson(Milltown), Derek Eberl, Wayne Engen, Andy Cimfl, Ron Van Dusen, Heidi Karshbaum, Cooper Berlin, Josh Amans, Bob Wahlstrom, Troy Chaplin, Scott Clark
10 lap Heat 1 – Kummer, Soltis, Kesan, Berlin(Rice Lake), Amans(Rice Lake), Kurtti, Engen
Heat 2 – Fankhauser, Hanestad, Bogdanovic, Simonson, Eberl(Tomahawk), Karshbaum, Cimfl
Heat 3 – Randall, Clark(Cameron), Chaplin(Barron), Kiehl, Van Dusen(Eagle River), Wahlstrom
Pure Stocks
12 lap Feature – C.J. Wagner(Rice Lake), Darwin Brown(Cumberland), Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Hunter Van Gilder(Rice Lake), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Jay Folz(Rice Lake), Nick Traynor(Hillsdale), Brent Miller(Cameron), Mike Grover(Chetek), Joel Hinrichs(Chetek), Cody Stead, Andy Ladd, Scott Pittman, Rob Grabon, John Erickson, Jimmy Holden, James Clausen, Austin Workman, Mike Chaplin
8 lap Heat 1 – Wagner, Havel, Grabon(Bruce), Traynor, Grover, Workman, Thompson
Heat 2 – Hinrichs, Chaplin(Cameron), Folz, Pittman(Osceola), Stead(Bloomer), Alex Minks, Clausen
Heat 3 – Van Gilder, Erickson(Rice Lake), Brown, Miller, Holden(Rice Lake), Ladd
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