ABC Raceway Offering Big Money to Streets, Mods on Saturday
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, August 4 – The final month of the 2021 regular racing season will kick off in a big way on Saturday, as the ABC Raceway will host two special events on one night.
Anderson Body Shop of Phillips will be the presenting sponsor of the second annual “Battle by the Bay” for WISSOTA Street Stocks. Also, the track will host the third and final round of the Ashland Ford-Chrysler Center Series for WISSOTA Modifieds. Both feature races will offer large purses – the Street Stocks will run for at least $1,000 to win and $150 to start in their only appearance here this season, while the Mods will race for $1,200 to win plus a share of the overall Series purse.
In addition, the Kim Parsons Memorial Trophy Tour will make its annual stop in Ashland, presenting special trophies to Saturday’s feature winners and adding another level of significance to the evening’s festivities.
The Street Stocks last raced regularly in Ashland during the 2009 season but had not returned to the historic northern Wisconsin red-clay oval until 2020. After last year’s event was added to the track’s schedule, fan and sponsor contributions poured in quickly, and eighteen racers made the trip to Ashland from as far away as North Dakota to compete. Parker Anderson of Phillips claimed his first-ever feature win at ABC that night – and a Street Stock track-record winner’s check of $1,200.
This year’s “Battle by the Bay” should draw extra cars to ABC due to the potential for another generous purse – expected to be well over $7,000 – as well as the fact that several other regional tracks that typically run the division will not be in action this weekend.
For the Mods, the story will be to see who can top Cole Spacek. The second-generation racer from Phillips won each of the first two rounds of the Ashland Ford-Chrysler Center Series, which were held within a three-week stretch at the start of the ’21 season here.
Fellow ABC Raceway regular Brandon Copp of Brule and Johnny Broking of Grand Rapids, MN, are tied for second in the Series’ standings, while Ashland’s Tyler Vernon and Tyler Peterson of Hickson, ND, are not far back in the top five heading into the Series’ final round.
With only four weeks of regular weekly racing remaining, one more thing to follow will be the battles going on for the Raceway’s six divisional points championships. Spacek leads Copp in the Mods as both drivers seek their first career track crowns, while Ashland’s Steve Stuart is hoping for his seventh ABC title as he leads Shawn McFadden of Ashland in the WISSOTA Super Stock standings.
Vernon paces the WISSOTA Midwest Modified rankings just ahead of Jack Rivord of Superior, while DeJay Jarecki of Ashland has dominated the WISSOTA Hornets, followed by Iron River’s Derek Dunbar.
The two closest battles are in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks, where RJ Holly of Marengo is just 13 points up on Aaron Bernick of Duluth, MN; and in the ABC Six-Cylinders, where Ashland’s Dennis Groom has Tiffany Hudack of Ashland and four other drivers all within 80 points of his lead.
Adult grandstand admission tickets for this seven-division special will be $15, with special discounted ticket pricing available for younger fans. Advance tickets and pit passes are available via the My Race Pass website and mobile app. The grandstands will open at 5 pm, hot laps start at 6:15, and the first green flag of the night is scheduled for 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday, with simulcasts aired online via the station’s website, www.wbszfm.com.
The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.