Fireworks on AND off the Track!
Some may believe it was a Full Moon, others may attribute the ‘sparks’ flying on the legendary Eagle River Speedway Tri-Oval as a preview of the big Fireworks show after the races, whatever one believes isn’t as exciting as the racing that took place last Friday Night.
The WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature had over 4 cautions before the 20 lap race concluded. Eagle River’s Austin Zdroik opened up the race by breaking out of the field to grab the lead. While Zdroik was leading for the first 4 laps, Mercer’s Steve Altman and Ashland’s Tyler Vernon were in a tight battle. Then a caution came out, and 5-time defending Track Champion Jesse Aho threading the needle through the pack to take the lead.
Earlier in the race an altercation between the Upper Peninsula’s Aho and Jerry Grasse would end up having a major impact in the tight point’s race between the two. Going into that Feature, Aho had 320 points and Grasse had 319. The altercation did minimal damage to Aho, but it did loosen some sheet metal on Aho’s car.
Aho continued to race as the sheet metal continued to dangle from the back of the car. Aho was building a commanding lead for the next 11 laps. 11 laps where more cautions came out, and re-start after re-start Aho held the lead. That is until the 16th lap, when officials decided that the sheet metal hanging from Aho’s car may come off and create a safety problem. Thus a caution came out, sheet metal pulled off, and Aho moved to the back in the final re-start.
This bumped Zdroik back up to the pole. It was a battle for 4 laps between Zdroik and Wakefield, Michigan’s, Marcus Dunbar. Aho quickly came from the back of the pack in 3 laps to get on the bumper of Dunbar.
In the 43 year history of the track, it has been common for a Zdroik to go to the Auto Value Victory Lane. However this was the first WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature win for Austin, the son of past track Champion, Jim Zdroik,
“I talked to him (Jim) before the Feature and told him I was starting on the pole. He said basically what he tells me every week, ‘just be smooth and consistent and don’t screw up,” commented Austin Zdroik. “Track started out where the best line was on the bottom, but as that line was going away, I had to adjust. If you can keep the car straight coming out of the hairpin, you can keep your speed up.”
One of the latter altercations knocked Grasse out of the race, which helped Aho in his quest for an amazing 6 consecutive track championships. Aho has 352 points, Grasse still is in 2nd in the points with 346 points.
Another familiar name took the checkered flag. Earlier in the night, defending Pure Stock Class Champion, David Blackberg made his debut for the season in a Heat Race. Blackberg went through traffic like he had been racing throughout the year to get a Heat Win.
However the Feature was a repeat of every Feature race throughout the season. Another bumper to bumper battle between Rhinelander’s Jason Eisel and Eagle River’s Jake Ison. Ison may have the point lead in the class, but it was Eisel that narrowed the point gap to only 2 points, 353-351, with a win in both the Feature and the Heat race.
A past multi-year Track Champion in the WISSOTA Street Stock class, Jordan Kurtti of Bruce Crossing, Michigan, dominated in that class by winning both the Feature and the Heat. This is another class where a tight point battle is taking place. This is between the defending class champion, Rhinelander’s Ryan Valeria, and Conover’s Dustin White.
Going into the night, Valeria had a narrow 13 point lead over White. While Kurtti was running away from the field, the packed house of fans were watching the battle between Valeria and White for 2nd place. Valeria held off White for 2nd in both the Feature and the Heat, thus extending his point lead to 15 points.
It was in the Speedway Trucks Heat race that Rhinelander’s Brack Congelton got his first win of the year. In the feature it looked like Cory “Cowboy” Allen was finally going to dethrone Summit Lake’s Herb Dettman. Dettman has worn down a groove going to the Auto Value Victory Lane with all his Feature wins. However Allen jumped out to an early lead as Dettman lost control of his truck a couple times, yet he kept working his way back to the bumper of Allen.
With 5 laps remaining, Allen with the lead and Dettman right on his bumper, lost control exiting the ‘hairpin’ 3rd turn. Allen spun out, ended on the infield grass, when the traffic passed, he jumped back on the track to watch Dettman be on his way to another Speedway Truck Feature win.
Allen wasn’t the only one that forgot to bring their lucky ‘horse-shoe’ to the track. The defending Sprint 600 Champion, Eagle River’s Ty Springer cruised to another win in the Heat Race and was leading in the Feature. That is until engine problems knocked him out of the race. With Springer’s Honda going to the Pits, that made it a race of the Larson brother of Shiocton.
Denver Larson took a 2nd to Springer in the Heat, but in the Feature it was his younger brother Dylan and his Suzuki that held off Denver’s Yamaha for the Feature win. Dylan leads the point battle in the class with 296 points, Ty Springer has 248, 1st year racer Mya Towne is at 236 and Denver has 228 points.
Phelps Dustin Kangas won both the Junior Sprint Feature and Heat race. 1st year racer, Cole Stella of Minocqua continues to hold a commanding point lead in the class.
It will be this Friday Night that Eagle River Speedway will have racing on and off the Tri-Oval, as the trail-riding Side by Side Off Road Vehicles will race on a portion of the dirt track and race on the infield The Speedway Trucks will also be back as will the regular weekly schedule of 5 classes. Hot Laps begin at 7:00 pm Central Time with racing to begin at 7:30 pm CT.
Eagle River Speedway July 7, 2017 Results
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature: 1) Austin Zdroik, Eagle River; 2) Marcus Dunbar, Wakefield, (MI); 3) Jesse Aho, Toivola, (MI); 4) Tadd Schoonover, Eagle River; 5) Steven Altman, Mercer; 6) Larry Gasperini, Gaastra, (MI); 7) Jesse Raffaelli, Toivola, (MI); 8) Jerry Grasse, Phelps; 9) Tyler Vernon, Ashland; 10) Jonathon Miller, Eagle River; 11) Jason Melton, Three Lakes.
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat 1: 1) Dunbar; 2) Zdroik; 3) Altman; 4) Gasperini; 5) Miller; 6) Melton.
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat 2: 1) Schoonover; 2) Grasse; 3) Aho; 4) Vernon; 5) Raffaelli
WISSOTA Street Stock Feature: 1) Jordan Kurtti, Bruce Crossing, (MI); 2) Ryan Valeria, Rhinelander; 3) Dustin White, Conover; 4) Brandon Mannikko, Dollar Bay, (MI); 5) David Scott, Ewen, (MI); 6) Bruce Stanley, Merrill; 7) Frank Gasperini, Eagle River.
WISSOTA Street Stock Heat: 1) Kurtti; 2) Valeria; 3) White; 4) Gasperini; 5) Scott; 6) Mannikko; 7) Stanley.
Sprint 600’s Feature: 1) Dylan Larson, Shiocton; 2) Denver Larson, Shiocton; 3) Tommi Jo Springer, Eagle River; 4) Mya Towne, Boulder Junction; 5) Ty Springer, Eagle River.
Sprint 600’s Heat: 1) Ty Springer; 2) Denver Larson; 3) Dylan Larson; 4) Towne; 5) Tommi Jo Springer.
WISSOTA Pure Stock Feature: 1) Jason Eisel, Rhinelander; 2) Jake Ison, Eagle River; 3) David Blackberg, Eagle River; 4) Steve Melton, Rhinelander; 5) Spencer Bolte, Eagle River; 6) Isabelle Valeria, Eagle River; 7) Don Scharf, Eagle River; 8) Ethan Holm, Crandon; 9) Bryce Wick, Eagle River; 10) Tristan Valeria, Eagle River.
WISSOTA Pure Stock Heat 1: 1) Eisel; 2) Ison; 3) Melton; 4) Scharf; 5) Isabelle Valeria.
WISSOTA Pure Stock Heat 2: 1) Blackberg; 2) Bolte; 3) Holm; 4) Tristan Valeria; 5) Wick.
Speedway Trucks Feature: 1) Herb Dettman, Summit Lake; 2) Josh Drivas, Hazelhurst; 3) Brack Congleton, Rhinelander; 4) Cory Allen, Woodboro; 5) James Koga, Eagle River; 6) Jake Diefenthaler; 7) Ronald Vernick, Harshaw.
Speedway Trucks Heat: 1) Congleton; 2) Koga; 3) Dettman; 4) Drivas; 5) Diefenthaler; 6) Vernick; 7) Vernick; 8) Allen.
Junior Sprint Feature: 1) Dustin Kangas, Phelps; 2) Jacob Zimmerman, Pewaukee; 3) Sarah Zimmerman, Pewaukee; 4) Josh Nevoraski, Minocqua; 5) Cole Stella, Minocqua; 6) Peyton Towne, Boulder Junction; 7) Katherine Towne, Boulder Junction.
Junior Sprint Heat: 1) Kangas; 2) Nevoraski; 3) Jacob Zimmerman; 4) Sarah Zimmerman; 5) Stella; 6) Katherine Towne; 7) Peyton Towne.
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