Anderson Tops Rice Lake Mystery Feature; Blaeser Becomes Youngest Winner In Track History
By Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, June 5 – The first of the $1,000 to win mystery feature races was held on Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway and after the Modifieds were drawn as the lucky class, it was Jim Falls racer Mike Anderson who would lead from start to finish and earn the extra money on this hot and sunny Saturday night. Equally exciting to the fans on hand was the fact that they were witness to history in the making as twelve year old Kaden Blaeser would become the youngster feature winner in track history as the twelve year old would lead all laps in winning the Midwest Modified main event. Other winners on Saturday night were Eric Olson, Travis Loew and Travis Hazelton.
It was a fine all around night for Anderson as he picked a good night to redraw the pole position for the Modified main event and after a first lap spin by Devin Fouquette that slowed the action, the Modifieds would race nonstop for twenty laps and it would be Anderson that would lead from start to finish to earn the extra dollars.
Mike quickly got up on the cushion of the third mile track and rode to a solid early lead. Kevin Adams would battle his way past Paul Harelstad to take over second and then try to cut down Anderson’s lead. This would be a difficult task on this nightas Anderson was in a solid groove and despite Adam’s running his hardest, he was not able to cut into the lead that Anderson had built up. Adams, however, was beginning to feel pressure from Zack Drews who had started sixth and was gradually whittling away on Adams margin as Drew worked a lower line on the track.
Near the end of the contest, Drew would be in a position to challenge Adams for second but a lapped car in Drews’ lane made a final run impossible. Meanwhile, Anderson continued to cruise as his dominating run would end in victory lane where he was happy to collect the extra cash provided by promoters Adams-Hansen Inc on this night while being his second win of the year here. Adams would hold off Drews for second with Mark Hanson’s first appearance of the year providing a solid fourth place finish ahead of Sam Fankhauser.
The historic win by Blaeser was set up following another likely track record event in that the front row for the Midwest Modified feature would be twelve year old Blaeser flanked by fourteen year old phenom Kennedy Swan in what was likely the youngest front row for a sanctioned event in track history.
Just like the Modified feature, this race got off to a slow start when Austin Ellis looped on the opening lap but the second try worked and Blaeser shot into the early lead as he rode the cushion on the track to the initial lead. Close behind, it was Swan, Kenny Kincaid and Travis Anderson battling for position as Simon Wahlstrom, Tony Bahr and Ellis were all on the move too.
Two yellows on laps three and eight would later bunch the field once again but on each green flag run, Blaeser would pull away from whomever was running in the second place. He continued to ride the cushion and was able to open up a lead on each green flag run.
As the laps ran down, Swan made a hard charge herself, working her way back up to the second spot after giving up a couple of positions at mid race and she charged back up to pressure Blaeser for the lead.
The final half of the race went off nonstop and the two youngsters drew away from the field in what was a remarkable showing by the two and at the line, it was the twelve year old Blaeser who would take the win over the fourteen year old Swan with Travis Anderson making a nice late race charge of his own to finish third ahead of Bahr and Kincaid.
Leslie Leu would have his finest night ever at the Rice Lake Speedway as the Medford driver would lead the first seven laps of the Super Stock feature as he fought off challenges from Josh Bach and Simon Wahlstrom. As Leu continued to lead, moving up quickly after starting in the seventh position was Eric Olson. He found an opening on the low side of the track and quickly gained three spots, then proceeded to pick off driver after driver as he moved toward the front of the field.
Two laps short of halfway, he made a strong run off turn four and drove past Leu on the high side to take over the lead. After that the race, which went green for the final fifteen laps, allowed Olson to slowly and smoothly pull away from the field.
D.J. Keeler had and adventure filled race as he started eighth, worked his way into contention only to tangle with Wahlstrom as they battled for position and had to go to the back. Starting from the tail, he would make a determined run to the front, retaking Wahlstrom in the late going to take the runner up honors. Leu would hold on for the fourth spot and Mickey Anderson would finish out the top five. For Olson, it was his first feature win here this year as he makes the fifth different winner in the class in six nights of racing.
A wild scramble and a late race charge on the high side of the track would result in the first feature win of the year in the Street Stocks for Travis Loew. Loew would start fifth, fall back slightly and then make a big change during the second half of the race.
Will Fisher would lead the first two laps of the main until overtaken by Adam Soltis who was also looking for his first win of the year. Although Soltis gained the top spot, his lead was anything but assured as he had four cars all around him, swarming on each corner to try and get by.
Fisher continued to challenge along with Jason Havel and Hunter VanGilder who had moved up from the fourth row and would become the most insistent to get past Soltis.
However, in heavy traffic as the top four continued to race in a tight pack, VanGilder would get a piece of Soltis’ car, and Adam would go for a spin in turn one, which slowed the action. Soltis would get his place back and the final half of the race would go off without a yellow.
Soltis now had Havel right on his rear bumper as Adam blocked every effort by Havel to get past him. Loew made perhaps the move of the night at this point as he had gradually worked his way up to third and when the lead duo were dominating the low groove, he drove up the track, found great success and was able to drive past Soltis on lap ten and take over the lead. Once in front, he edged away from the battle for second and drove home for his first win here this year and also became the fifth different winner in six nights.
Havel would see the move Loew made and replicate it a few laps later as the would take over second on a high side pass with Soltis settling for third at the finish. Jeff Nowak, who went to the tail after a first lap spin, would rally for fourth over Ty Agen, another one of the very young racers at the track.
The Pure Stocks would wrap up the evening with a wild race that saw several changes of leadership, a roll over and a classic battle for the win after things settled down.
Max Prusak was looking for his first ever win at Rice Lake and he would lead the first four laps of he main event with heavy pressure early from Bob Thompson and Bob Wahlstrom with Travis Scheuermann and Travis Hazelton moving in also. On lap five, Wahlstrom was able to drive past Prusak to take over the lead with Hazelton also taking second a lap later.
The race would come to a red flag halt on lap nine when Mike Holmstrom would climb the wall on the back chute and then do one quick roll before coming to a half facing the wrong way on the track. He was unhurt but the car was heavily damaged and would be done for the night.
The restart saw a four lap sprint to the finish with Hazelton getting up beside Wahlstrom and the two veterans would race side by side around the track. With all the banging early, these two would manage to race hard for the lead without leaning on each other. With just two laps to go, Hazelton would edge in front and then hold on for his second feature win of the year here. Wahlstrom would finish a close second and Prusak would complete the top three.
Next Saturday night, during the Aquafest celebration, there will be no racing at the Rice Lake Speedway. Instead, the attraction will be a Demolition Derby like last year that was so successful for the track. More information on that event can be found on the speedway face book page.
The next racing action at the track will be on Saturday night, June 19th and Real Estate Solutions will be the presenting sponsor. The next mystery $1000 to win main event will be on Saturday night, June 26th which will also be Kid’s Night at the track. Anyone interested in donating a bike to be given away during Kid’s night should contact Megan Adams and check the face book page for more information.
13 entries
WISSOTA MODIFIEDS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 57-Mike Anderson[1]; 2. 40-Kevin Adams[3]; 3. 0-Zack Drews[8]; 4. 18H-Mark Hanson[7]; 5. 11-Sam Fankhauser[5]; 6. 15F-Devin Fouquette[2]; 7. 308-Pat Hoffman[6]; 8. 10-Kyle Helling[13]; 9. 1H-Paul Harelstad[4]; 10. 18W-Wayne Poteet[12]; 11. 20-Denny Cutsforth[11]; 12. 204-David Mayala[10]; 13. (DNF) 27H-Steve Hallquist[9]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 40-Kevin Adams[2]; 2. 57-Mike Anderson[3]; 3. 11-Sam Fankhauser[7]; 4. 15F-Devin Fouquette[4]; 5. 27H-Steve Hallquist[5]; 6. 20-Denny Cutsforth[1]; 7. 18W-Wayne Poteet[6]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 18H-Mark Hanson[2]; 2. 308-Pat Hoffman[4]; 3. 0-Zack Drews[1]; 4. 1H-Paul Harelstad[3]; 5. 204-David Mayala[5]; 6. (DNF) 10-Kyle Helling[6]
11 entries
WISSOTA SUPER STOCK
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 1E-Eric Olson[7]; 2. 12-Duane (DJ) Keeler[8]; 3. 46-Simon Wahlstrom[6]; 4. 14X-Leslie Leu[2]; 5. 01-Michael Anderson[4]; 6. (DNF) 67-Josh Bach[5]; 7. (DNF) 21-Mike Siewert[1]; 8. (DNF) 22-Robert Holmstrom Jr[10]; 9. (DNF) 77-Josh Saunders[9]; 10. (DNF) 245-Andy Cimfl[11]; 11. (DNF) 28-Josh Cappo[3]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 46-Simon Wahlstrom[5]; 2. 67-Josh Bach[1]; 3. 12-Duane (DJ) Keeler[6]; 4. 21-Mike Siewert[3]; 5. 77-Josh Saunders[4]; 6. 245-Andy Cimfl[2]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 1E-Eric Olson[1]; 2. 14X-Leslie Leu[3]; 3. 01-Michael Anderson[5]; 4. 28-Josh Cappo[2]; 5. 22-Robert Holmstrom Jr[4]
15 entries
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 43-Kaden Blaeser[1]; 2. 18S-Kennedy Swan[2]; 3. 37-Travis Anderson[4]; 4. QQ-Tony Bahr[6]; 5. 4-Kenny Kincaid[3]; 6. 20-Austin Ellis[7]; 7. 93-CJ Wagner[13]; 8. 19-Josh Wahlstrom[8]; 9. 28-Francis Hanson[14]; 10. 46-Zach Slayton[11]; 11. 40-Mike Schnider[9]; 12. 19H-Kevin Herrman[15]; 13. (DNF) 32III-Cody Carlson[10]; 14. (DNF) 38-Simon Wahlstrom[5]; 15. (DNF) 39-Daniel Roatch[12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 37-Travis Anderson[1]; 2. QQ-Tony Bahr[6]; 3. 18S-Kennedy Swan[7]; 4. 20-Austin Ellis[4]; 5. 40-Mike Schnider[2]; 6. 46-Zach Slayton[3]; 7. 93-CJ Wagner[5]; 8. 19H-Kevin Herrman[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[1]; 2. 4-Kenny Kincaid[2]; 3. 19-Josh Wahlstrom[3]; 4. 43-Kaden Blaeser[5]; 5. 32III-Cody Carlson[7]; 6. 39-Daniel Roatch[4]; 7. 28-Francis Hanson[6]
14 entries
WISSOTA STREET STOCK
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 40-Travis Loew[5]; 2. 5H-Jason Havel[6]; 3. 9-Adam Soltis[3]; 4. 79N-Jeff Nowak[4]; 5. 26T-Ty Agen[9]; 6. 27H-Hunter Anderson[14]; 7. 79-Joseph Ott[11]; 8. 17-Zach Beaulieu[1]; 9. 66-Eric Haupt[10]; 10. (DNF) 84-Hunter VanGilder[7]; 11. (DNF) 71X-William Fisher[2]; 12. (DNF) 19H-Jenna Herrman[12]; 13. (DNF) 37-Mike Chaplin[8]; 14. (DNS) T20-Michael Tuma
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40-Travis Loew[1]; 2. 79N-Jeff Nowak[3]; 3. 84-Hunter VanGilder[5]; 4. 71X-William Fisher[4]; 5. 26T-Ty Agen[6]; 6. 79-Joseph Ott[2]; 7. (DNF) T20-Michael Tuma[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Adam Soltis[3]; 2. 5H-Jason Havel[5]; 3. 37-Mike Chaplin[1]; 4. 17-Zach Beaulieu[2]; 5. 66-Eric Haupt[6]; 6. 19H-Jenna Herrman[7]; 7. (DNF) 27H-Hunter Anderson[4]
18 entries
WISSOTA PURE STOCK
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 31-Travis Hazelton[6]; 2. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[4]; 3. 66P-Max Prusak[1]; 4. 2S-Tristan Scheuermann[5]; 5. 57-Randy Graham[8]; 6. 70-Bob Thompson[3]; 7. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[10]; 8. 1-Ryan Olson[9]; 9. 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[15]; 10. 23R-James Rahn[7]; 11. 72-Cully Butterfield[14]; 12. 52-Zachary Folz[11]; 13. (DNF) 101-Michael Grover[2]; 14. (DNF) 18M-Leo Moos[16]; 15. (DNF) 91-Michael Holmstrom[12]; 16. (DNF) 52F-Austin Fencl[18]; 17. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[17]; 18. (DQ) 15H-Dusten Holub[13]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 66P-Max Prusak[3]; 2. 2S-Tristan Scheuermann[1]; 3. 57-Randy Graham[5]; 4. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[6]; 5. 72-Cully Butterfield[4]; 6. (DQ) 15H-Dusten Holub[2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 23R-James Rahn[4]; 2. 70-Bob Thompson[2]; 3. 101-Michael Grover[5]; 4. 52-Zachary Folz[1]; 5. (DNF) 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[3]; 6. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[1]; 2. 31-Travis Hazelton[6]; 3. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[3]; 4. 91-Michael Holmstrom[5]; 5. (DNF) 18M-Leo Moos[2]; 6. (DNF) 52F-Austin Fencl[4]
