Track Thwarts Mother Nature as Rohloff Becomes a Three Division Feature Winner

Shawano,WI,7/15/17—There is an old saying about playing the hand you’re dealt.  Saturday night Mother Nature dealt another unfavorable hand as a rain shower hit the track halfway through the heat races, but thanks to the hard work of track prep guru Bob Reiter and the considerable efforts of the racers on hand, the track was fast and smooth after the rain.  Brad Rohloff won his first IMCA Stock car feature to go with past wins in the IMCA Modified and Late Model divisions.  Late Model racer Nick Anvelink won his second feature of the year.  IMCA Modified pilot Konnor Wilinski bested his dad to win his second consecutive feature.   Andy Kleczka (IMCA Sport Mod) and Branden Goeser (Mighty Four) notched their first wins at Shawano also.

Aaron Wickersheim led the first two laps of the Late Model feature before succumbing to the pressure of Nick Anvelink on lap three.  Ron Berna and Brett Swedberg quickly worked past Wickersheim for second and third.  Swedberg worked past Berna on lap 5 to move to second.  For the remainder of the race Anvelink was closely pursued by Swedberg.  In the end though it was Anvelink first to the checkered flag followed by Swedberg, Berna, Joe Reuter, and Wickersheim.

Trevor Spaulding started outside row one and took the lead on the opening lap of the IMCA Modified feature.  Fifth-place starting Konnor Wilinski quickly began to apply pressure for the top spot.  Wilinski got beneath Spaulding exiting turn four on lap four to take the lead.  Konnor’s dad Jerry quickly raced his way to second on the grid.  As the laps ticked off, Konnor was able sustain a few car lengths over Jerry.  At the end, it was Konnor in first, Jerry in second, Mike Wedelstadt in third, twentieth place starter Marcus Yarie in fourth, and Lance Arneson in fifth.

For decades Brad Rohloff had been a highly successful IMCA Modified and Late Model racer.  After taking a few years off, Rohloff made a return to racing this season in an IMCA Stock Car.  After struggling through the first half of the year, Rohloff began to turn things around in recent weeks.  Saturday night it all came together as Rohloff went wire to wire to pick up his first IMCA Stock Car feature.  Tom Riehl, Vern Stedjee, Josh Mroczkowski, and Dan Michonski rounded out the top five.

Pole sitter Andy Kleczka took the lead on lap one of the IMCA Sport Mod feature.  Kleczka was pressured early by Kelsy Hayes before twelfth-place starting Jordan Barkholtz got to second and began to challenge Kleczka.  Kleczka was up to the task though and went on to win his first career Shawano Speedway feature.  Barkholtz had to settle for second, Kyle Raddant came home third, Lucas Lamberies fourth, and Hayes finished fifth.

In Mighty Four action, Dan Jusczyk led lap one.  On lap two though Jusczyk, Scott Blanke, and Hollie Welch went three wide for the lead.  Welch pulled ahead on the back stretch to grab the lead on lap two.  Branden Goeser then went three wide with Blanke and Jusczyk for second.  Goeser eventually pulled into second by himself.  Welch and Goeser soon began to tussle for the lead.  Welch ran the outside grove, with Goeser in the inside groove.  With two laps to go the lead duo went door to door for the lead.  They stayed side by side over the final two laps.  Exiting turn four on the final lap Goeser pulled ahead by a nose and crossed the line first for the win.  Welch was second followed by Blanke, Mike Brehmer, and Calvin Stueck.

Racing continues next week with the tracks seventh annual Racing For a Reason night.  The event supports childhood cancer charities and has raised over $70,000 since its inception.  There will be over 100 bucket raffles and numerous silent auction items.  Racing starts at 6:30.  More information can be found online at www.shawanocountyfair.net.

Race Summary:

Late Model Feature: 1. 15A-Nick Anvelink, [4]; 2. 3S-Brett Swedberg, [8]; 3. 66-Ron Berna, [6]; 4. 20R-Joe Reuter, [10]; 5. 95W-Aaron Wickersheim, [2]; 6. 81S-Troy Springborn, [7]; 7. 17M-Josh Moesch, [3]; 8. 122S-Cole Spacek, [11]; 9. 33E-Chris Engels, [5]; 10. 1B-Doug Blashe, [12].

Heat 1: 1. Anvelink, [2]; 2. Engels, [4]; 3. Springborn, [6].

Heat 2: 1. Berna, [2]; 2. Swedberg, [5]; 3. Moesch, [1].

IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 6-Konnor Wilinski, [5]; 2. 9-Jerry Wilinski, [10]; 3. 77-Mike Wedelstadt, [3]; 4. 58-Marcus Yarie, [20]; 5. 75A-Lance Arneson, [8]; 6. 94-JJ Andersen, [12]; 7. 18W-Mark Weisnicht, [11]; 8. 41B-Michael Bailey, [1]; 9. 75O-Matt Oreskovich, [6]; 10. 5M-Eddie Muenster, [9].

Heat 1: 1. 5M-Eddie Muenster, [5]; 2. Bailey; 3. 88X-Shawn Frelich, [3].

Heat 2: 1. 31S-Trevor Spaulding, [2]; 2. 6-Konnor Wilinski, [3]; 3. Weisnicht, [6].

Heat 3: 1. Wedelstadt, [2]; 2. 9-Jerry Wilinski, [5]; 3. Oreskovich, [3].

IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 03R-Brad Rohloff, [2]; 2. 10TR-Tom Riehl, [4]; 3. 35S-Vern Stedjee, [5]; 4. 81X-Josh Mroczkowski, [3]; 5. 1M-Dan Michonski, [9]; 6. 25X-Trent Nolan, [8]; 7. 2T-Travis VanStraten, [11]; 8. 07-Mike Schmidt, [6]; 9. 2K-Gary Kasperek, [13]; 10. 1330-Justin Jacobsen, [7].

Heat 1: 1. VanStraten, [6]; 2. Stedjee, [4]; 3. Nolan, [5].

Heat 2: 1. Michonski, [6]; 2. Jacobsen, [8]; 3. Mroczkowski, [4].

Heat 3: 1. 07X-Mitch Stankowski, [6]; 2. Rohloff, [3]; 3. Schmidt, [5].

IMCA Sport Mod Feature: 1. 121-Andy Kleczka, [1]; 2. 91X-Jordan Barkholtz, [12]; 3. 03R-Kyle Raddant, [7]; 4. 0L-Lucas Lamberies, [11]; 5. 09H-Kelsy Hayes, [5]; 6. 72E-Jason Ebert, [8]; 7. 02C-Bryce Clements, [4]; 8. 12B-Jordan Bartz, [15]; 9. X15-Les Yaeger, [18]; 10. 32R-Adam Rodemeier, [2].

Heat 1: 1. Clements, [2]; 2. Ebert, [4]; 3. Barkholtz, [6].

Heat 2: 1. Kleczka, [1]; 2. 7X-Jason Jach, [5]; 3. Hayes, [3].

Heat 3: 1. Lamberies, [6]; 2. Raddant, [4]; 3. Rodemeier, [1].

Mighty Four Feature: 1. 5G-Branden Goeser, [6]; 2. X2-Hollie Welch, [4]; 3. 45-Scott Blanke, [3]; 4. 43B-Michael Brehmer, [8]; 5. 5S-Calvin Stueck, [9]; 6. 75O-Max Oreskovich, [13]; 7. 21-Aaron Milavitz, [12]; 8. 18J-Dan Juszczyk, [1]; 9. 11X-Jason Stueck, [7]; 10. 32-Taylor Becher, [11].

Last Chance Qualifier: 1. 37W-Brad Wedde, [8]; 2. 3B-Cody Booth, [7]; 3. 513W-Joshua Slewinski, [6]; 4. 12H-Tony Hokenstad, [3]; 5. 18K-Grant Kastning, [12].

Heat 1: 1. Welch, [4]; 2. Blanke, [3]; 3. Brehmer, [6].

Heat 2: 1. Goeser, [6]; 2. 17J-Jason Hopinka, [2]; 3. Milavitz, [8].

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