Eagle River Speedway crowns Champions

The legendary Tri-Oval at Eagle River Speedway crowned 5 new class Champions on Friday Night. In the WISSOTA Midwest Modified class it was the first time someone other than Michigan’s Jesse Aho can put his name in the record books since 2012.

It was another Western Upper Peninsula racer that claimed the point’s championship. That being Wakefield’s Marcus Dunbar. Dunbar won his Heat race and took a second in the Feature. Aho finished 2nd in the points with his Heat win.
Taking the feature after a month recuperating from a Mid-Season altercation was Phelp’s, Jerry Grasse. The 23 year veteran, ran away from the field after 3 re-starts. 
“It was great seeing Jerry (Grasse) back! Marcus (Dunbar), and (Tad) Schoonover, had opportunities to challenge him after the different cautions came out, but time after time, Jerry (Grasse) just ran away from the field,” commented veteran Track Flagman, Lou Deditz.
The only class that had been clinched 3 weeks prior to the Track Championship, was the WISSOTA Street Stock defending class champion, “Flying” Ryan Valeria. The Rhinelander racer won his Heat Race, but it was Barron’s Travis Loew that held off a former class champion, Bruce Crossing, Michigan’s, Jordan Kurtti.
“That was one great race. Both changed leads, raced side by side for most of the race, but in the end it was (Travis) that kept Jordan (Kurtti) in check,” commented Track Promoter, Kevin Dawson. “Then you had the weekly battle between Ryan (Valeria) and Dustin (White) in the Heat.”
Other than Valeria, all the other classes have a new champion. This included the class championship that went right down to the final point race of the season in the WISSOTA Pure Stock class. 
Going into the night, Eagle River’s Jake Ison had a 5 point lead over Rhinelander’s Jason Eisel. When Ison won the heat, and Eisel took a 2nd, the lead grew to 6 points. Ison was on a mission to squelch the ‘hype’ on the battle for the championship as he ran away from the field early on, while Eisel did everything he could to work his way through the middle of the pack to attempt to challenge Ison for the Feature win.
Even if Eisel would have won the feature, Ison would have had to finish in the back of the pack. Something as unlikely as keeping the fans from packing the stands at the popular Northern Wisconsin track. Eisel finished 8 points behind Ison to take 2nd in the points.
It was the battle for 3rd that created excitement when 17 year old Isabelle Valeria went into the night 1 point ahead of fellow Eagle River racer, Bryce Wick. With Wick winning his Heat and Valeria taking a 3rd, that put Wick in 3rd by 1 point.
However Valeria ran a great race to take a 2nd to Ison in the Feature, and Wick ended in 6th place, giving the young lady the 3rd spot in the Feature.
The Speedway Truck class championship went into the final night with Summit Lake’s Herb Dettman leading Eagle River’s James Koga. All Dettman needed to clinch the title was to finish in the Heat. 
“Just finishing a race is not what Herb (Dettman) was going to do. He always puts on a show for the fans,” exclaimed Dawson. Dettman took a 2nd to Hazelhurst’s Josh Drivas in the Heat. Harshaw’s Ron Vernick held off the brotherly tandem of James and Justin Koga to win the Feature.
Another brother tandem that ‘duked’ it out was Denver and Dylan Larson of Shiocton in the 600 Sprint class. Dylan won the Heat on his Suzuki-powered Sprinter, but it was the Kawasaki of Jake Reif that ‘spanked’ the competition in the Feature.
Even after sweeping the Feature and the Heat in the Junior Sprints, the class defending champion Dustin Kangas of Phelps graciously handed over the class championship to 1st year race, 9 year old Cole Stella of Minocqua. At 12 years old, Kangas, ends his Junior Racing with a huge smile
“Dustin (Kangas) appeared to be more excited seeing his mentor (Jerry) Grasse win the Mid Mod Feature,” explained Deditz. “The friendly community of Phelps had a lot to be proud of from our final point race of the season!”
While the WISSOTA Polydome Dirt Track Series ended Friday Night at Eagle River Speedway, the challenging Tri-Oval will have one more race for the year. That will be Friday Night, January 8th, when the track will have a night of ‘Features.”
“It will also be the night that we will have the soon to be famous ‘gauntlet’ night,” commented Dawson on the radio broadcast of the races. The track had 2 radio stations, WCUP, Eagle Country 105.7, and up until this past week also had the entire night of races broadcast on WUPM, 106.9. The entire night of races were also broadcast world-wide over the Internet.
“The broadcast of the races gave us a chance to not only promote the track, but to promote the racers and their sponsors,” concluded Dawson.
The final night of racing on September 8th will be broadcast on WCUP, Eagle Country 105.7 and on that stations website.
Eagle River Speedway Season Championship
Sept 1, 2017
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Class Champion: Marcus Dunbar, Wakefield, (MI)
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature: 1) Jerry Grasse, Phelps; 2) Marcus Dunbar, Wakefield, (MI); 3) Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; 4) Steven Altman, Mercer; 5) Frank Gasperini, Eagle River; 6) Kyle Raffaelli, Toivola, (MI); 7) Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, (MI); 8) Jesse Raffaelli, Toivola, (MI); 9) Jesse Aho, Toivola, (MI); 10) Jonathon Miller, Eagle River. 
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat 1: 1) Marcus Dunbar; 2) Duane Dunbar; 3) Altman; 4) Miller; 5) Gasperini.
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Heat 2: 1) Aho; 2) Grasse; 3) Schoonover; 4) Kyle Raffaelli; 5) Jesse Raffaelli.
WISSOTA Street Stock Class Champion: Ryan Valeria, Eagle River.
WISSOTA Street Stock Feature: 1) Travis Loew, Barron; 2) Jordan Kurtti, Bruce Crossing, (MI); 3) Dustin White, Conover; 4) Ryan Valeria, Rhinelander; 5) Rob Rodziczak, Rhinelander; 6) David Scott, Ewen, (MI); 7) Bruce Stanley, Merrill.
WISSOTA Street Stock Heat: 1) Valeria; 2) White; 3) Kurtti; 4) Loew; 5) Scott; 6) Stanley; 7) Rodziczak.
WISSOTA Pure Stock Class Champion: Jake Ison, Eagle River.
WISSOTA Pure Stock Feature: 1) Jake Ison, Eagle River; 2) Isabelle Valeria, Eagle River; 3) Jason Eisel, Rhinelander; 4) Don Scharf, Eagle River; 5) David Blackberg, Eagle River; 6) Bryce Wick, Eagle River; 7) Ryan Brown, Eagle River; 8) Ethan Holm, Crandon; 9) Andrew Conklin, Ladysmith; 10) Alyssa White, West Fargo, (ND); 11) Tristan Valeria, Eagle River; 12) Dustin Doughty, Oakdale, (MN).
WISSOTA Pure Stock Heat 1: 1) Wick; 2) Blackberg; 3) Isabelle Valeria; 4) Scharf; 5) Doughty; 6) Tristan Valeria.
WISSOTA Pure Stock Heat 2: 1) Ison; 2) Eisel; 3) Holm; 4) Brown; 5) White; 6) Conklin.
Speedway Truck Class Champion: Herb Dettman, Summit Lake.
Speedway Truck Feature: 1) Ronald Venick, Harshaw; 2) Dustin Koga, Land O Lakes; 3) James Koga, Eagle River; 4) Herb Dettman, Summit Lake; 5) Josh Drivas, Hazelhurst; 6) Dave Hughes, Harshaw; 7) Cory Allen, Woodboro.
Speedway Truck Heat: 1) Drivas; 2) Dettman; 3) Allen; 4) James Koga; 5) Vernick; 6) Hughes; 7) Dustin Koga.
600 Sprint Class Champion: Dylan Larson, Shiocton.
600 Sprint Feature: 1 Jake Reif, Deerbrook; 2) David Collins, Lake Mills; 3) Denver Larson, Shiocton; 4) Dylan Larson, Shiocton; 5) Mya Towne, Boulder Junction
600 Sprint Heat: 1) Dylan Larson; 2) Collins; 3) Towne; 4) Denver Larson; 5) Reif.
Junior Sprint Class Champion: Cole Stella, Minocqua.
Junior Sprint Feature: 1) Dustin Kangas, Phelps; 2) Josie Rae Reif, Deerbrook; 3) Josh Nevoraski, Minocqua; 4) Cole Stella, Minocqua; 5) Peyton Towne, Boulder Junction; 6) Katherine Towne, Boulder Junction.
Junior Sprint Heat: 1) Kangas; 2) Reif; 3) Nevoraski; 4) Stella; 5) Peyton Towne; 6) Katherine Towne.

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