Wi Dirt Racin

If one was to write an exciting finish to the return of racing at TNT Motor Speedway, they would want the final chapter to have it where class champions would not be determined until the final night of racing for the season.
That is what transpired in both the TNT Pro Truck and Pure Stock Classes. Going into the final point’s race o Saturday Night, 3 drivers were all within striking distance of the Points Championship in the Pure Stock Class. 2 drivers had a shot at winning the points championship in the TNT Pro Truck class.
Rhinelander’s Tyler Lundberg was the point leader in Pure Stock, and right behind him was the Eagle River tandem of David Blackberg and Jason Melton. However in the feature it was ‘none of the above’ that set his car in the NAPA Victory Lane. The racer to do that was Eagle River’s Jake Ison.

Blackberg knew he needed the Feature win and he needed help from other drivers to finish ahead of Lundberg. Blackberg and Ison thrilled the crowd with a close race right to the finish. However it was where Lundberg would finish that would determine who would take home the 2015 Pure Stock Points Championship.
Lundberg took a 3rd in the Feature, and that made him the 2015 Pure Stock Class Champion. Lundberg ended with 838 points, Blackberg earned 824 points, and Jason Melton finished in 3rd place with 814 points.
“When you look at 3 drivers all having over 800 points, and only 14 points separating 1st from 2nd, and only a 24 point difference between 1st and 3rd, you can’t help but look back and find a few Heat Races that eventually would matter,” commented Jaime Pooch of TNT Motor Speedway.
It was the Pure Stock Heat races that made the feature so important. Jason Melton won the 1st Heat and Blackberg won the 2nd Heat. What helped Lundberg going into the Feature was his 3rd Place finish in the Heat.
“David (Blackberg) and Jason (Melton) both knew that they needed other racers to finish ahead of Tyler (Lundberg) and then something to happen to the 86 (Lundberg’s) car where it wouldn’t make it out for the finish. In racing, anything can happen,” replied James Koga of TNT Motor Speedway.
It was Koga that was in a tussle with Cory Allen for the TNT Pro Truck Points Championship. Known as the Cowboy, Rhinelander’s Cory Allen had to have been wondering if his friend, Koga had snuck a black cat in his trailer. Koga took a 2nd in the Heat, and Allen took a 5th. Add 3 points for Koga going into the Feature.
As that black cat was sneaking around Allen’s trailer, his 93 truck lost a tire early on in the race. His crew quickly changed the tire and sent him back out on the track, all-be-it, in the back of the pack. While Allen was pulling every trick out of his hat to get back into contention, Koga was holding the 2nd spot. Leading the race was Birnamwood’s Forest Crandall.
Crandall would go on to get the win, Koga would take a second, and Allen moved from 9th place to finish in 4th. That’s all Allen needed to garner the TNT Pro Truck Points Championship.
It was on Friday Night that Allen was honored as one of the 5 finalists for the Bobby-0 SPIRIT Award. An award to honor Arbor Vitae’s Bob Kleinschmidt who recently lost his battle with Cancer. The Bobby-0 Spirit Award finalists were given to those that demonstrated Sportsmanship, Character, willingness to help other drivers, and professional racing etiquette on the track. Winning the 1st Bobby-0 Spirit Award was the late Mark Glembin.
Rhinelander’s Dan Melton won the prestigious WISSOTA Midwest Modified points championship by an amazing 159 points. That didn’t faze Marenisco, Michigan’s Duane Dunbar who swept both the Heat and the Feature. It was in the Feature that Rhinelander’s Dennis Mikkelson passed Melton for 2nd place with only 2 laps to go.
“Dennis (Mikkelson) is a talented driver and we have been battling all year long. He (Mikkelson) will be one to watch next year,” commented Melton.
Bruce Crossing, Michigan’s, Jordan Kurtti made the long trips from Oklahoma to Three Lakes worthwhile. Kurtti won the WISSOTA Street Stock Points Championship and clearly dominated in the Feature. His closest competitors came from his friend, Steve Karschbaum of Chetek and his ‘back-up’ car, driven by another friend, David Blackberg.
Karschbaum took second in a close race with Blackberg. Blackberg raced both in the Pure Stock and Street Stock classes.
Shiocton’s Denver Larson may have won the Micro Sprint 600 Points Championship, but the fans can only wonder what the class point battle would have been like if West Bend’s Andy Rein would have made it to more races on the high banked one-third mile track at TNT. Rein won the feature by a half lap! The Yamaha powered Micro Sprint 600 racer also won the Heat race.
The gals set the track on fire by taking home 2 Feature wins. Jennifer Nitzshe in the Stingers and Tommi-Jo Springer in the Junior Sprints. Merrill’s Louis Malluege had clinched the Stinger Points Championship weeks before the final race.
Phelps Dustin Kangas won the Junior Sprint points championship, with 7 year old Dayton Rein of Conover taking 2nd in the points in his first year of racing.
It was on Sunday that the track had a fun day with kids racing bicycles, powder puff races, mechanics races and ‘grudge racing.’ In one of the ‘grudge races, it was Marci Melton racing Dan Melton’s Midwest Modified against Dan’s brothers, Jason and Steve. Jason and Steve were in their Pure Stock Cars. Marci won the “Melton family affair grudge match.”
“We opened TNT Motor Speedway with the idea that we’re going to make this a ‘racer and fan track.’ Sunday was Jamie (Pooch) and my way of thanking the racers and fans for the great support we had this year,” concluded Koga.
The day ended with Mother Nature opening up the skies and watering the track. The rain may have washed out other Powder Puff and Mechanics races, but it didn’t wash out the fond memories of the return of racing to TNT Motor Speedway in 2015.
TNT Motor Speedway 9/4/15 Results
(Top 3 Only)
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature:
1) Duane Dunbar, Marenisco (MI)
2) Dennis Mikkelson, Rhinelander
3) Dan Melton, Rhinelander
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat:
1) Dunbar
2) Melton
3) Mikkelson
WISSOTA Street Stock Feature:
1) Jordan Kurtti, Bruce Crossing (MI)
2) Steve Karschbaum, Chetek
3) David Blackberg, Eagle River
WISSOTA Street Stock Heat:
1) Kurtti
2) Rod Rodziczak, Rhinelander
3) Karschbaum
TNT Pro Truck Feature:
1) Forest Crandall, Birnamwood
2) James Koga, Eagle River
3) Jon Ripley
TNT Pro Truck Heat:
1) Jeff McDonald, Sugar Camp
2) Koga
3) Crandall
Micro Sprint 600 Feature:
1) Andy Rein, West Bend
2) Dylan Larson, Shiocton
3) Denver Larson, Shiocton
Micro Sprint 600 Heat:
1) Rein
2) Denver Larson
3) Dylan Larson
Pure Stock Feature:
1) Jake Ison, Eagle River
2) David Blackberg, Eagle River
3) Tyler Lundberg, Rhinelander
Pure Stock Heat 1:
1) Jason Melton, Eagle River
2) Mike Rick, Irma
3) Jason Eisel, Rhinelander
Pure Stock Heat 2:
1) Blackberg
2) Ison
3) Lundberg
Stinger Feature:
1) Jennifer Nitzsche, Wausau
2) Bobby Sheldon, Rhinelander
3) Les Lou, Medford
Stinger Heat:
1) Sheldon
2) Gunard Hogland, Catawba
3) Nitzsche
Junior Sprint Feature:
1) Tommi Jo Springer, Eagle River
2) Dayton Rein, Conover
3) Dustin Kangas, Phelps
Junior Sprint Heat:
1) Springer
2) Kangas,
3) Rein
TNT Motor Speedway 2015 Class Point Top 3:
WISSOTA Midwest Modified
1) Dan Melton, Rhinelander, 806
2) Dennis Mikkelson, Rhinelander, 647
3) Jonathon Miller, Eagle River, 638
WISSOTA Street Stock:
1) Jordan Kurtti, Bruce Crossing (MI), 733
2) Nate Langberg, Tomahawk, 644
3) Britt Bromann, Eagle River, 564
TNT Pro Trucks:
1) Cory Allen, Rhinelander, 822
2) James Koga, Eagle River, 808
3) John Johnson, Sr., Lac Du Flambeau, 776
Micro Sprint 600:
1) Denver Larson, Shiocton, 801
2) Dylan Larson, Shiocton, 742
3) Andy Rein, West Bend, 367
Pure Stock:
1) Tyler Lundberg, Rhinelander, 838
2) David Blackberg, Eagle River, 824
3) Jason Melton, Eagle River, 814
Stinger:
1) Louis Malluege, Merrill, 753
2) Paul Winker, Tomahawk, 593
3) Quentin Morrison, Eagle River, 346
Junior Sprint:
1) Dustin Kangas, Phelps, 835
2) Dayton Rein, Conover, 653
3) Elliot Brownrigg-Johnson, Lac Du Flambeau, 438

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