Wi Dirt Racin

One may not think that taking a 5th in a Feature would give you a championship in the Eagle River Speedway WISSOTA Midwest Modified Challenge series, but when you won the first two races of the 3 race series, a 5th is all Jerry Grasse needed. The Phelps racer edged Eagle River Speedway’s WISSOTA Midwest Modified Class Champion, Jesse Aho, by a mere 4 points in the Series.

A second place finish in the WISSOTA Street Stock Feature was enough to give Auburndale’s Kyle Gennet the championship in the legendary track’s WISSOTA Street Stock Challenge Series.

While the Wisconsin drivers won the Challenge Series, it was the Upper Peninsula racers that took the top 3 spots in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature. The top 2 spots was the ‘son-father’ combo of Dunbar Racing. Marcus Dunbar narrowly edged his father to get his 1st Feature win at the challenging Tri-Oval. Aho took a 3rd in the Feature.

Marcus Dunbar was running away from the crowd for the first 17 laps of the 20 lap feature. When the caution came out the question in the large crowd’s mind, ‘would Duane block for Marcus or would he push him to the checkered flag?’

Blood may be thicker than water, but winning a feature is very important when you’re in the race for the class championship. Duane stuck to his son’s bumper for the last two laps, but in the end it was Marcus getting the win.

“Duane wanted to win, but in the end he pulled up by his son in the Auto Value Victory lane to congratulate him on his 1st Feature win,” commented Duane Dunbar.

From the start of the night Heat races it was evident that the one to beat in the WISSOTA Street Stock was not the driver that won the 1st Feature in the Challenge Series, Kyle Gennet. The one to beat would be Eagle River’s Jason Jenson.

Jenson ran away from everyone in the Heat Race, and if it was not for a late race caution, he would have run away from everyone in the Feature. The caution toward the end of the race gave ‘new life’ to Gennet. However Jenson gave himself a lead every time a re-start took place.

It was in the Feature race of the ATV’s that Gleason’s Stephen Prince hit the wall on the 2nd turn. Prince was ejected from his machine and landed outside of the wall. Eagle River Speedway 1st Responders and officials immediately went to the scene of the accident. Prince was transported to Eagle River Hospital by the Hospital Ambulance. Report on his condition was not available at the time of this release.

Due to precautions and the injuries sustained by Prince, the ATV Feature was cancelled.

Rice Lake’s Jason Havel made the long trip worthwhile by holding off one of the tracks top racers for the past 3 years, Eagle River’s David Blackberg, to win the Pure Stock Feature.

Blackberg worked his way through the 16 car field and pushed Havel right to the checkered flag. Both drivers won their Heat Races earlier in the night.

Deerbrook’s Jake Reif made his return to the Tri-Oval Dirt track successful by defeating the defending Micro Sprint 600 Class Champion, Eagle River’s Ty Springer. The 13 year old Springer is in a close race with Dylan and Denver Larson to retain the class championship.

Another class that is going to go down to the final race of the year to determine the Class Championship is in the Junior Sprints. Midway through the season, Dustin Kangas had a narrow lead over Conover’s Dayton Rein. However Rein has been unbeatable the last 3 races. Rein won both the Feature and the Heat Race.

It was at the other special race where Eagle River Speedway ran the Speedway Trucks that Pelican Lakes Herb Dettman won the Feature. While Dettman may have had a target on the back of his truck, it was a Truck Class Champion at another track that appeared to be the one to beat early in the night. That is Rhinelander’s Cory Allen. Allen won the Heat but in the Feature a flat tire put his truck in the wall.

That opened the door for Dettman to sweep the Speedway Truck Series this summer. It looked like Dettman was going to cruise to a win as he held a lead over James Koga throughout the Feature. Than on the final lap, Dettman went high on the exit of the ‘hair-pin’ 3rd turn. Koga poured on the gas and took an inside line to make it a drag race to the finish line. Dettman held on for the win.

“I didn’t know James was that close. I went high for a ‘safe line,’ commented Dettman after the race.

“We had a dry line in the middle of the track, and it was real greasy down low. I thought that if I went fast enough through the ‘grease’ on the inside, I might be able to beat Herb (Dettman) to the finish,” commented Koga.

The final point’s race of the season will take place this coming Friday Night. Class Championships in many of the classes will come down to that final night of racing.

Eagle River Speedway August 26th, Results

Eagle River Speedway WISSOTA Midwest Modified Challenge Series (Top 5): 1) Jerry Grasse, Phelps; 2) Jesse Aho,, Toivola (MI); 3) Duane Dunbar, Marenisco (MI); 4) CJ Hedges, Jr. Tripoli; 5) Marcus Dunbar, Wakefield (MI).

Eagle River Speedway WISSOTA Street Stock Challenge Series (Top 5): 1) Kyle Gennet, Auburndale; 2) Jason Jenson, Eagle River; 3) Karl Gennet, Auburndale; 4) Ryan Valeria, Rhinelander; 5) Britt Broman, Eagle River.

WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature: 1) Marcus Dunbar, Wakefield (MI); 2) Duane Dunbar, Marenisco (MI); 3) Jesse Aho, Toivola (MI); 4) CJ Hedges, Jr., Tripoli; 5) Jerry Grasse, Phelps; 6) George Truscott, Greenland (MI); 7) Joshua Fleischman, Iron River (MI); 8) Tadd Schoonover, Eagle River; 9) Guy Carley, Eagle River; 10) Jonathon Miller, Eagle River.

WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat 1: 1) Aho; 2) Duane Dunbar; 3) Truscott; 4) Carley; 5) Miller

WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat 2: 1) Grasse; 2) Marcus Dunbar; 3) Hedges, Jr.; 4) Schoonover; 5) Fleischman;

WISSOTA Street Stock Feature: 1) Jason Jenson, Eagle River; 2) Kyle Gennet, Auburndale; 3) Ryan Valeria, Eagle River; 4) Denny Tushoski, Rhinelander; 5) Brandon Mannikko, Dollar Bay (MI); 6) Britt Broman, Eagle River; 7) Dustin White, Conover; 8) Ryan Glembin, Eagle River; 9) Frank Gasperini, Eagle River; 10) Jordan Kurtti, Bruce Crossing (MI).

WISSOTA Street Stock Heat 1: 1) Jenson; 2) Gasperini; 3) Tushoski; 4) Kurtti; 5) Mannikko

WISSOTA Street Stock Heat 2: 1) White; 2) Gennet; 3) Valeria; 4) Broman; 5) Glembin

Micro Sprint 600 Feature: 1) Jake Reif, Deerbrook; 2) Ty Springer, Eagle River; 3) Dylan Larson, Shiocton; 4) Jake Schilleman, Rhinelander; 5) Tommi Jo Springer, Eagle River; 6) Jerry Reif, Deerbrook; 7) Denver Larson, Shiocton.

Micro Sprint 600 Heat: 1) Ty Springer; 2) Denver Larson; 3) Jerry Reif; 4) Jake Reif; 5) Dylan Larson; 6) Tommi-Jo Springer; 7) Schilleman

Pure Stock Feature: 1) Jason Havel, Rice Lake; 2) David Blackberg, Eagle River; 3) Jason Eisel, Rhinelander; 4) Jason Melton, Rhinelander; 5) Jake Ison, Eagle River; 6) Louis Malluege, Merrill; 7) Don Scharf, Eagle River; 8) Dennis LaCrosse, Jr., Rhinelander; 9)John Johnson, Jr., Lac Du Flambeau; 10) Spencer Bolte, Eagle River; 11) Fred Feger, Pelican Lake; 12) Josh Kallas, Hurley; 13) Nick Paoli, Ironwood; 14) Ben Haring, Tomahawk; 15) Kyle Schneider, Eagle River; 16) Charlie Jackson, Land O’ Lakes.

Pure Stock B- Main: (2 that advanced): 1) Jackson; 2) Schneider

Pure Stock Heat 1: 1) Ison; 2) Eisel; 3) Paoli; 4) Heikkila, Iron River (MI); 5) Jackson

Pure Stock Heat 2: 1) Blackberg; 2) Johnson, Jr.; 3) Jason Melton; 4) Isabelle Valeria, Eagle River; 5) Haring

Pure Stock Heat 3: 1) LaCrosse, Jr.; 2) Malluege; 3) Feger; 4) Schneider; 5) Jim Melton, Rhinelander

Pure Stock Heat 4: 1) Havel; 2) Scharf; 3) Bolte; 4) Kallas; 5) Gunner Orcutt, Tomahawk

Junior Sprint Feature: 1) Dayton Rein, Conover; 2)Dustin Kangas, Phelps; 3) Josie Rae Reif, Deerbrook; 4) Austin Towne, Boulder Junction

Junior Sprint Heat: 1)Rein 2) Kangas; 3) Reif; 4) Josh Nevaroski, Lake Tomahawk

Speedway Trucks Feature: 1) Herb Dettman, Pelican Lake; 2) James Koga, Eagle River; 3) Dustin Koga, Land O’Lakes; 4) Cory Allen, Rhinelander

Speedway Trucks Heat: 1) Allen; 2) Dettman; 3) James Koga; 4) Dustin Koga

ATV Heat 1: 1) Zach Robb, Antigo, Honda; 2) Tom Johns, Iron Mt (MI), Yamaha; 3) Cody Neifeldt, Neilsville, Honda; 4) William Bell, Weston, Yamaha; 5) Kyle Komareck, Rib Lake, Yamaha

ATV Heat 2: 1) Colton Zimmerman, Antigo, Honda; 2) Andrew Nadke, Edgar, Yamaha; 3) Keegan Hackbarth, Antigo, Honda; 4) Jared Raab, Antigo, Honda; 5) Stephen Prince, Gleason, Honda; 6) Carson Patrick, Rib Lake, Yamaha

ATV Heat 3: 1) Dylan Waldunger, Antigo, Honda; 2) Payton Novotny, Antigo, Honda; 3) James Perrine, Wausau, Honda; 4) Sam Rasmussen, Elcho, Honda; 5) Alex Patrick, Rib Lake, Yamaha

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