Blevins Cashes In at ABC Raceway

Record winner’s check for ‘Pure Excitement 25’

Ashland, WI, August 16 — Hibbing, MN’s Michael Blevins made only his second appearance at the ABC Raceway on Saturday night, but he capitalized by scoring a record paycheck after winning the 11th annual “Pure Excitement 25” special.
In a fast-paced program presented by the Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsman’s Club and Safari Tavern of Ashland, ninety-two entries were registered for the next-to-last AmsOil Dirt Track Series program of the 2014 regular season at the northern Wisconsin oval, with 19 of those competing in the popular annual Pure Stock special. Fan and business contributions bolstered the overall purse for the entry-level division to a shade over $5,500 – about four times what the class races for on a regular night.

Impressively, the eighteen Pure Stocks that started the main event clicked off their 25 laps without incident in approximately 8-1/2 minutes. Blevins started on the pole and raced door-to-door with fellow front-row starter Chad Carlson for the first four laps before establishing himself as the leader for good. Track points leader Matt Deragon closed in on the lead pair and moved inside on Carlson to take second place two laps later.
As Blevins maintained a six- to eight-car-length lead on Deragon, Annika Hammitt fended off Austin Blom and defending event winner Al Rapp for fourth place throughout the first half of the run, but during the second half she fell back through the field and eventually dropped out. Another past race winner, 11th-starting Glenn Dammer, clawed his way into the top five with ten laps remaining.
Blevins began passing slower traffic on lap 13, but Deragon was unable to gain any ground – in fact, Blevins increased his lead over the final half-dozen or so laps to a final advantage of about half the length of the straightaway at the end of the run. Carlson was an even greater distance behind Deragon in third, and Dammer got by Blom for fourth with two laps left.
Blevins’ first-place check of $1,413 – which included laps-led and other bonus monies donated – is the largest the track has ever paid out for a feature winner in its entry-level class, and the fifth time the winner’s share has been $1,000 or greater in this event.
Neil Balduc of Bessemer, MI, started from the pole, overcame an early challenge from Pat Cook, and won his first-ever WISSOTA Modified feature win in Ashland. Cook used some outside-line momentum to edge ahead coming off the first corner, but Balduc came back strong on the bottom groove – something that would benefit him later in the run – to score as the leader at the end of lap 1.
Points leader Steve Stuart quickly moved from the outside of row 4 into the top five, while second-in-points Jeff Spacek was busy weaving his way through traffic after starting dead last on the 14-car grid.
Balduc had escaped to a full-second lead by lap 4, and even after the charging Stuart slipped past Cook for the runner-up spot the margin stayed the same for the next three laps. But it disappeared when rookie Dustin Hudack’s spin brought about the race’s only caution.
Stuart restarted just off Balduc’s right flank and momentarily gained the advantage. At the same time Spacek’s car – which had restarted eighth – slowed considerably and coasted off the track with mechanical woes. Balduc drove strong off the bottom and clawed his way past Stuart on lap 8 to retake the lead for good, and two circuits later Al Uotinen took to the low side to battle with Stuart for second, claiming the position on lap 12.
Stuart regrouped with four to go and worked high-side to get back by Uotinen, and with the white flag waiving the lead trio began dealing with the backmarkers. On the final corner Balduc went low to get by a slower car and Stuart went high, but the slower car slipped up a groove, forcing Stuart to check up and allowing Balduc to get away for the win, with Uotinen taking advantage of the opening to steal second. Rick Rivord and Cook filled the top five.
Stuart met Balduc in Victory Lane after the run to congratulate him and, referencing Balduc’s engine struggles through most of the summer, told the crowd, “Nobody has worked harder for a feature win (than Balduc).”
Two drivers who earned their first career wins last Saturday repeated on this night, including Paul Suzik, who passed Tyler Luger with two laps remaining to take the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main.
Luger, sporting a brand-new car, jumped out ahead of Suzik and Cody Carlson from the pole and set the pace. On lap 5 Tad Bretting drove past Carlson for third, and a lap later Jeff Klopstein edged by division points leader Mike Truscott for fifth.
Luger’s lead was two-thirds of a second by mid-race, while a determined Bretting used a higher line to sweep around Suzik for second on lap 9. Bretting closed the gap on Luger and was pulling up alongside in an attempt to take the lead with three laps remaining when Jeremy Lindquist, running a lap down, spun and collected Truscott and Tanner Hicks.
Suzik made his move after the restart, diving inside and eventually pulling by Luger with two laps left, and Bretting took second as the white flag waived. Suzik crossed under the checkers a third of a second ahead of Bretting, with Carlson grabbing third on the final lap for his best run here this summer, ahead of Luger and Ryan Adamzak.
The other first-time winner from a week ago to repeat was Ethan Beeksma of Ironwood, MI, who edged out Tyler Hudack in a photo-finish at the end of the 15-lap Six-Cylinder feature.
After an opening-lap spin by Colton Vernon, Hudack raced around Zack Pagels for the lead, with third-row starter Dale Coddington quickly moving up to third. Coddington overtook Pagels on lap 2, and from there Hudack and Coddington pulled away.
Points leader Tiffany Hudack moved into third on lap 4, and Beeksma, who started inside on row 4, shuffled Pagels back to fifth later in that lap. On the next circuit Pagels spun to bring about the second of three caution-flag slowdowns in the run and restarted at the tail of the 12-car field.
Tyler Hudack and Coddington again pulled away to a heated debate for the lead, but when the lead pair made contact while battling side-by-side, it slowed both cars enough to allow the third-place pair to close the gap. Then Coddington and Hudack rubbed again, but this time the contact sent Tyler for a spin, bringing out the yellow with four laps left and sending Coddington to the back.
On the restart Beeksma drove past Tyler Hudack on the high side and took the lead, but on the white-flag lap Hudack charged back and pulled nearly even coming off the final corner. Beeksma won the drag race to the checkers by 33 one-thousandths of a second, while Tiffany Hudack watched the drama from third. Pagels and Coddington both recovered for fourth- and fifth-place money.
After Ken Truscott’s spin slowed the start of the 20-lap WISSOTA Super Stock feature, Dave Flynn of Superior drove up from the fourth row to win his fourth of the year at ABC. Charlie Anderson looked strong early in taking the lead from pole starter Dave Elliott on the restart, and Shawn McFadden Jr followed into second, but with the lead pack very tightly-bunched, Flynn was able to sneak down low and slip by Anderson and McFadden for the lead within the first four laps.
Flynn extended his lead as the race stayed green, building up a full two-second-plus margin, while McFadden battled with Nick Oreskovich for second. But on lap 12 points leader Scott Lawrence, battling for a top-five position, was spun and collected Anderson, whose car took a hard hit to the front. After Greg Kuklinski was spun on the restart, Oreskovich got by McFadden for second and threatened Flynn the rest of the way, taking the occasional peek to the inside to try to steal the lead, but Flynn held on for the win.
Lawrence was able to take third away from McFadden late in the run, while Brian Mikkonen, bringing out his Super Stock for a shake-down run, came from a 16th-place start to finish fifth.
Stuart (17.444 seconds) and Suzik (17.852) collected the fast-lap bonuses, while Travis Nye took home an extra $100 for sporting the Raceway’s 50th Anniversary decal on his Modified after his eighth-place effort in that division’s feature matched the pre-race random draw.
Many individual fans contributed generously to the overall “Pure Excitement 25” purse, as well as local businesses including FastLane Motorsports & Custom Powdercoating, Gaber Signs, Przybylski Trucking, Baxter’s Speed Shop, BK Racing, Chicago Iron & Supplies, Ultimate Auto, Manitou Inn, Ehlers & Pierce CPA, Eder Bros Auto Service, NAPA Auto Parts of Ashland and Washburn, Apostle Islands Golf Course, John Taitt Racing, Al Anderson Construction, George Dalbeck Logging, and Mike’s Place Bar.
“Championship Saturday Night” will take place on Saturday, August 16 at the ABC Raceway, to be presented by North Star Beverage, Pepsi and WIMI, 99.7 FM. The 2014 track champions will be crowned in all five divisions following that night’s features.
Hot laps start on Saturday night at 6:15 pm, and the first green flag of the night will fly at around 7. The grandstand and pit gates open at 5 pm, and admission tickets for fans ages 13 & older are just $10, while fans ages 12 and under are welcome in for free when accompanied by a paying adult. “Race Night” will provide up-to-date racing news and weather information live from the track on WBSZ, 93.3 FM, and online at www.wbszfm.com, from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.
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: Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Al Uotinen, Superior; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Rick Rivord, Superior; Pat Cook, Washburn; Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Travis Nye, Ashland; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Paul Niznik, Medford; Dustin Hudack, Ashland; Zack Pagels, Marengo; Jeff Spacek, Phillips.
Heat 1: Uotinen; Stuart; Anderson; Balduc; Mikkonen; S Hudack; D Hudack; Spacek.
Heat 2: Eder; Niznik; Cook; Rivord; Nye; Pagels; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: Dave Flynn, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Shawn McFadden Jr, Ashland; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Cory Casari, Montreal; Randy Spacek, Phillips; Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Jim Campbell, Two Harbors, MN; Dave Elliott, Minocqua; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Travis Schilling, Dorchester; Myron Basina, Washburn; Don Muzzy, Ironwood, MI; Charlie Anderson, Ironwood, MI; DJ Keeler, Superior.
Heat 1: Flynn; Truscott; Anderson; Elliott; Dunbar; Keeler; Schilling; Mikkonen; Casari.
Heat 2: Lawrence; Oreskovich; McFadden; Spacek; Muzzy; Basina; Campbell; Kuklinski.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Tad Bretting, Ashland; Cody Carlson, Superior; Tyler Luger, Iron River; Ryan Adamzak, Ashland; Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Jeff Klopstein, Tomahawk; Wayne Stricker, Highbridge; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Tyler Vernon, Ashland; George Truscott, Greenland, MI; Jesse Ogston, Duluth, MN; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Mickey Nosser, Phillips; Tanner Hicks, Ashland; Rob Weber, Ashland; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; Jesse Aho, Twin Lakes, MI; Jeremy Lindquist, Ashland; Paul Niznik, Medford.
Heat 1: Aho; Luger; T Bretting; Schoonover; Niznik; Lindquist; Dennis Baldwin, Bessemer, MI; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Vernon.
Heat 2: Adamzak; Klopstein; Stricker; Ogston; Spacek; G Truscott; Nosser; Chris Bretting, Washburn; Steve Anderson, Ironwood, MI.
Heat 3: M Truscott; Carlson; Suzik; Hicks; Dunbar; Weber; Pete Paulus, Phillips; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield.
Semi-Feature: Vernon; Nosser; Anderson; Baldwin; Barningham; C Bretting; Paulus; Przybylski.
Six-Cylinders
Feature: Ethan Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Tiffany Hudack, Ashland; Zack Pagels, Marengo; Dale Coddington, Hayward; DeJay Mihalek, Ashland; Ken Tyykila, Iron River; Colten Vernon, Ashland; Adam Traaholt, Ashland; Jonathan Popp, Iron River; Brendon Ottman, Ashland; Forrest Schultz, Ashland.
Heat 1: Beeksma; Tyler Hudack; Tiffany Hudack; Mihalek; Tyykila; Popp; Traaholt.
Heat 2: Coddington; Pagels; Ottman; Vernon; Schultz; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Brady Jokinen, Mellen.
Pure Stocks
Feature: Michael Blevins, Hibbing, MN; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Chad Carlson, Superior; Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Al Rapp, Saginaw, MN; Jon Hammitt, Cloquet, MN; Steve Udeen, Superior; Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Andrew Hanson, Iron River; Mark Korte, Duluth, MN; Matthew Cunha, Hibbing, MN; Chris Johnson, South Range; Annika Hammitt, Cloquet, MN; Jeff Christman, South Range; Brandle Pupp, Ashland; Randy Graham, Trego.
Heat 1: Blevins; Carlson; A Hammitt; Spacek; J Hammitt; Dammer; Carbon; Hanson; Pupp.
Heat 2: Rapp; Blom; Deragon; Udeen; Christman; Korte; Cunha; Graham; Johnson.

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