Chaplin and Leu Are First Time Rice Lake Speedway Winners
by Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, August 13 – Along with the McCain Foods-DCS Netlink 40 Late Model special won by Jimmy Mars, the five classes that routinely race at the speedway were also in action on Saturday night. It was the final night to gather track points for the 2022 racing season and among the five winners, there were two first time visitors to victory lane as Joe Chaplin Jr in the Modifieds and Leslie Leu in the Super Stocks got their first wins at the track. Other wins included a popular win by Kennedy Swan in the Midwest Modifieds, Hunter VanGilder in the Street Stocks and Ryan Olson who topped the Pure Stock feature.
Over an inch of rain at the track on Friday made for a fast racing surface that the drivers enjoyed and this led to some interesting and highly competitive feature races. Sixteen cars started the Modified feature and it was Sam Fankhauser who took the early lead and would hold the top spot for the first three laps with pressure from Steve Hallquist, Kyle Helling and Paul Harelstad. Chaplin Jr would start fifth but be up to third when the first yellow flew for a spinning Pat Hoffman.
When racing resumed, it took Chaplin Jr only two laps to continue his charge and move into the lead. Michael Truscott was flying on the high side of the track and was ready to challenge for the lead when he spun all by himself, triggering the yellow once again.
Chaplin Jr would continue to hold the lead with Paul Harelstad and Mike Anderson, up from seventh, his main challengers as the race moved past the halfway point. Jake Hartung was also advancing and by the halfway point he had moved up to third as he got past Harelstad.
Anderson would put the pressure on Chaplin Jr for the lead, several times challenging hard and almost making the pass but Chaplin Jr held him off after taking his best shots. A late race yellow when Denny Cutsforth lost a driveshaft with only three laps to go set up a sprint to the finish.
Once again, Chaplin Jr was up to the task as he continued to drive smooth laps while Hartung got past Anderson for second and while he got within a few car lengths, he was never able to mount a serious charge at the end. For Chaplin Jr, a veteran of the Midwest Modified class, his rookie year in the Modifieds now includes his first ever feature win here. Austin Ellis would also have a good run, coming from sixteenth to crack the top five at the end.
The closest point battle of the night saw Cutsforth leading Pat Hoffman by only five points going into the evening and there would be much drama involved between the two as the night progressed. Hoffman was leading a heat race when he blew his engine. He and his crew raced back to their shop where they executed a motor swap and he made it back to the track just in time to start at the back of the feature. However, despite this gallant effort, he would have trouble during the feature and eventually pull off which gave Cutsforth his first ever Modified point title. Just after that, Denny lost the driveshaft on his car and was done, but he would still be the point champion by nine points.
The Super Stock feature saw some great racing with Leu coming through at the end to make a last corner pass to edge out Eric Olson and win his first ever Super Stock feature race at Rice Lake. Reid Tiegs would take the early lead and would hold the top spot for the first three laps, despite heavy pressure from Leu, up from fifth starting spot and Terran Spacek. Olson was also on the move after starting seventh as he battled with Jeff Frey for position.
Leu continued to hold the top spot as the race reached its half way point with Spacek second and Olson up to third. Spacek was putting heavy pressure on Leu for the lead when he suddenly spun in turn two, all by himself which triggered the second and final yellow of the race. Spacek went to the back and that moved Olson right up behind Leu. It didn’t take Eric long to take advantage as following the yellow, he got a good jump and took over the lead from Leu with Leslie still hanging close behind in second.
Olson continue to ride high up on the track while Leu worked the low side and as the laps ran down, Leu was slowly gaining ground.
Leslie took a shot at the leader with a couple laps left, but Olson would fight him off and as they entered the final lap, Olson was still the leader by a few car lengths. Leu dove to the bottom of the track again and as they raced through corner three, Olson got too high and had to slow down to keep from hitting the wall. Leu powered through the corner on the low side and as Olson slid high, Leslie was able to race under him and in a finish that stunned the crowd, Leu was able to pass Olson in that final corner and drove home for a surprising win. Leu was thrilled in victory lane with the stunning surprise finish that gave him his first ever win at Rice Lake. Spacek would race his way back up through the field and would finish third, ahead of Frey and Josh Saunders. Despite his last lap loss to Leu, Olson would win the point title by a comfortable margin.
Swan, a huge fan favorite here, would thrill the crowd when she would lead from start to finish to win her second Midwest Modified feature race of the season. She got the jump on her team mate Will Moelter right at the start and would lead all laps of this race. She pulled to a comfortable lead and with no yellows to slow the action or bunch the field, she drove a flawless race to record the win.
As always, there was a wild victory lane celebration for the driver that is clearly the biggest fan favorite at this track. The battle for second was a good one with Moelter having to fight off Travis Anderson to hold on to second. Anderson made several serious attempts to take over second but Moelter would fight off all challenges to record his best finsh here this season. C.J. Wagner and Andrew Inman would round out the top five.
Kenny Kincaid would come into the action on Saturday with a seven point lead over Mike Schnider in the second closest point battle at the track. And while neither would have their best nights of the season, Kincaid’s seventh place finish in the feature would be enough to earn him his first ever point championship by eleven points over Schnider.
A strong run in the later half of the race would net Hunter VanGilder his second feature win of the year in the Street Stocks. Early going in the race saw Jason Havel lead for the first seven laps but with plenty of company as Mike Chaplin, Warren Bartelt and James Clausen all battled in tight formation for the lead. VanGilder would start fifth and move up to third by lap seven when the first yellow was triggered by Shawn Amundson stalling on the track with a flat tire.
The restart would see VanGilder use a power move to drive past Havel for the lead and despite back to back yellows on the following laps for spins, Hunter would lead the rest of the race. And while Hunter was able to pull away slightly from the field and have some distance on the pack, the battle for second was still an intense one. Clausen would complete a strong run as he would come home second while Bartelt had by far his best run of the year as he would finish third. Havel and Amundson, from the back of the pack, would complete the top five. Amundson would also be the point champion, the first ever for that third generation driver.
It took a late race pass to do it, but Ryan Olson would win his fourth feature race of the season in the Pure Stocks and net back to back point titles for the young Ladysmith driver. James Rahn would take the early lead and would fight off challenges from George Richards and Kevin Bartelt in the early going. Olson, who started fifth, would work into the top three as he continued his drive to the front. Following a lap seven yellow, Olson would get a good run on the leader and power past Rahn as they raced into turn one.
Rahn tried to fight back and was very close as he tried to nose back under Olson for the lead, but Ryan was able to fight off all his challenges and hold of for a tight win. Richards would finish third with Rob Grabon making a late charge to nip Bartelt for fourth.
Due to a recent schedule change, the speedway will not be racing next Saturday night, August 20th. However, the track will return to action on Saturday night, August 27th when Season Championship races will be held in all five divisions that race at the speedway. The 2022 racing season will then conclude on Saturday night, September 3rd with the Labor Day weekend special event, a one night show featuring an increased purse for all five classes.
For further information on the Labor Day weekend race or for any other questions regarding the track, check the speedway website at www.ricelakespeedway.net or the track’s face book page. Call track co-owners Dave Adams at 715-205-2861 or Mitch Hansen at 715-205-1122 with any questions.
Results
17 entries
WISSOTA LATE MODEL
Structural Buildings A Feature 1 (40 Laps): 1. 28M-Jimmy Mars[3]; 2. 71H-Rick Hanestad[10]; 3. 11-Pat Doar[11]; 4. 28-Sam Mars[9]; 5. 68-Mike Prochnow[8]; 6. 55C-Chad Mahder[16]; 7. 6M-Jeff Massingill[14]; 8. 42-Paul Niznik[1]; 9. 71JR-Buddy Hanestad[7]; 10. 85-John Kaanta[13]; 11. 92-Aaron Wilson[4]; 12. T18-TJ Adams[2]; 13. 89-Scott Meeds[5]; 14. 29-Denny Cutsforth[17]; 15. 17J-Marcus Simonson[12]; 16. (DNF) 50-Gavin Tarras[15]; 17. (DNS) 90-Lance Matthees
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 92-Aaron Wilson[1]; 2. 28-Sam Mars[2]; 3. 68-Mike Prochnow[4]; 4. 71H-Rick Hanestad[6]; 5. 85-John Kaanta[3]; 6. (DNF) 55C-Chad Mahder[5]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 28M-Jimmy Mars[3]; 2. 90-Lance Matthees[1]; 3. 71JR-Buddy Hanestad[2]; 4. 11-Pat Doar[4]; 5. 6M-Jeff Massingill[5]; 6. (DNF) 29-Denny Cutsforth[6]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 42-Paul Niznik[2]; 2. 89-Scott Meeds[1]; 3. T18-TJ Adams[3]; 4. 17J-Marcus Simonson[4]; 5. 50-Gavin Tarras[5]
16 entries
WISSOTA MODIFIEDS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[5]; 2. 05-Jake Hartung[6]; 3. 57-Mike Anderson[7]; 4. 1H-Paul Harelstad[4]; 5. 20E-Austin Ellis[16]; 6. 10-Kyle Helling[3]; 7. 22T-Michael Truscott[8]; 8. 27P-Parker Anderson[11]; 9. 11-Sam Fankhauser[2]; 10. 18W-Wayne Poteet[12]; 11. 204-David Mayala[13]; 12. (DNF) 20-Denny Cutsforth[10]; 13. (DNF) 18H-Mark Hanson[9]; 14. (DNF) 308-Pat Hoffman[15]; 15. (DNF) 3-Tyler Stargardt[14]; 16. (DNF) 27H-Steve Hallquist[1]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Mike Anderson[2]; 2. 1H-Paul Harelstad[4]; 3. 10-Kyle Helling[5]; 4. 27H-Steve Hallquist[6]; 5. 18H-Mark Hanson[7]; 6. 27P-Parker Anderson[8]; 7. 204-David Mayala[3]; 8. (DNF) 308-Pat Hoffman[1]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 05-Jake Hartung[3]; 2. 22T-Michael Truscott[1]; 3. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[5]; 4. 11-Sam Fankhauser[7]; 5. 20-Denny Cutsforth[4]; 6. 18W-Wayne Poteet[2]; 7. 3-Tyler Stargardt[8]; 8. (DNF) 20E-Austin Ellis[6]
16 entries
WISSOTA SUPER STOCK
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 14X-Leslie Leu[5]; 2. 1E-Eric Olson[7]; 3. 22T-Terran Spacek[8]; 4. 2F-Jeffrey Frey[2]; 5. 77-Josh Saunders[4]; 6. 21-Mike Siewert[16]; 7. F3-Rick Friendt[10]; 8. 19X-William Fisher[3]; 9. 01-Michael Anderson[9]; 10. 28-Josh Cappo[13]; 11. 22-Clay Albrecht[11]; 12. 22AT-Austin Tilton[15]; 13. 14JR-Lonnie Leu Jr[14]; 14. (DNF) 01A-Reid Tiegs[1]; 15. (DNF) 38-Simon Wahlstrom[6]; 16. (DNS) 15-Jonathan Dachel
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[2]; 2. 1E-Eric Olson[3]; 3. 14X-Leslie Leu[5]; 4. 77-Josh Saunders[4]; 5. 01-Michael Anderson[6]; 6. 22-Clay Albrecht[8]; 7. 28-Josh Cappo[7]; 8. 22AT-Austin Tilton[1]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 22T-Terran Spacek[6]; 2. 2F-Jeffrey Frey[3]; 3. 19X-William Fisher[1]; 4. 01A-Reid Tiegs[5]; 5. F3-Rick Friendt[8]; 6. 15-Jonathan Dachel[2]; 7. 14JR-Lonnie Leu Jr[7]; 8. (DNF) 21-Mike Siewert[4]
12 entries
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 18S-Kennedy Swan[2]; 2. 87-William Moelter[1]; 3. 37-Travis Anderson[4]; 4. 93-CJ Wagner[3]; 5. 11JR-Andrew Inman[7]; 6. R1-Jay Richardson[8]; 7. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[6]; 8. 1M-Simon Wahlstrom[5]; 9. 40S-Mike Schnider[10]; 10. 18-Tacoma Randall[9]; 11. 19H-Kevin Herrman[11]; 12. (DNS) 28H-Francis Hanson
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 37-Travis Anderson[5]; 2. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[1]; 3. 1M-Simon Wahlstrom[4]; 4. 93-CJ Wagner[2]; 5. 18-Tacoma Randall[6]; 6. 19H-Kevin Herrman[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 87-William Moelter[1]; 2. R1-Jay Richardson[6]; 3. 11JR-Andrew Inman[2]; 4. 18S-Kennedy Swan[4]; 5. 40S-Mike Schnider[3]; 6. (DNF) 28H-Francis Hanson[5]
15 entries
WISSOTA STREET STOCK
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 84-Hunter VanGilder[5]; 2. 24-James Clausen[4]; 3. 16-Warren Bartelt[3]; 4. 5H-Jason Havel[1]; 5. 30-Shawn Amundson[7]; 6. 37-Mike Chaplin[2]; 7. 1R-Cole Richards[6]; 8. 9-Adam Soltis[11]; 9. 79-Joseph Ott[9]; 10. 66-Eric Haupt[12]; 11. 10B-Dylan Baskin[13]; 12. 21D-Shaughn Darling[15]; 13. 19H-Jenna Herrman[14]; 14. (DNF) 40-Travis Loew[8]; 15. (DNF) 17-Zach Beaulieu[10]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 84-Hunter VanGilder[2]; 2. 30-Shawn Amundson[7]; 3. 5H-Jason Havel[3]; 4. 1R-Cole Richards[5]; 5. 79-Joseph Ott[4]; 6. 9-Adam Soltis[6]; 7. 10B-Dylan Baskin[1]; 8. 21D-Shaughn Darling[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 40-Travis Loew[3]; 2. 16-Warren Bartelt[5]; 3. 24-James Clausen[4]; 4. 37-Mike Chaplin[1]; 5. 17-Zach Beaulieu[2]; 6. 66-Eric Haupt[6]; 7. 19H-Jenna Herrman[7]
15 entries
WISSOTA PURE STOCK
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[5]; 2. 23R-James Rahn[4]; 3. 5R-George Richards[6]; 4. 29M-Rob Grabon[7]; 5. 26-Kevin Bartelt[3]; 6. 12-Aaron Holmberg[9]; 7. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[10]; 8. 101-Michael Grover[12]; 9. 52-Zachary Folz[11]; 10. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[8]; 11. 09-Skylar Findley[13]; 12. (DNF) 81-Charlie Pitcavage[1]; 13. (DNF) 17-Chris Gross[15]; 14. (DNF) 52F-Austin Fencl[2]; 15. (DNF) 7D-Trevor Phillips[14]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[4]; 2. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[2]; 3. 26-Kevin Bartelt[7]; 4. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[1]; 5. 12-Aaron Holmberg[5]; 6. 52-Zachary Folz[3]; 7. (DNF) 7D-Trevor Phillips[6]; 8. (DNF) 17-Chris Gross[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 23R-James Rahn[3]; 2. 29M-Rob Grabon[1]; 3. 5R-George Richards[7]; 4. 52F-Austin Fencl[2]; 5. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[5]; 6. 101-Michael Grover[4]; 7. 09-Skylar Findley[6]
