Four More New Winners at Rice Lake Speedway; Wahlstrom Repeats
by Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, July 16 – During an unusual racing season that has seen both incredible parity and also near complete domination, another vote for parity was carried out Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway. While Bob Wahlstrom managed to win his second Pure Stock feature of the season, the other four classes were won by drivers visiting victory lane for the first time in 2022. And among that group, two of the four won for the first time ever in the class they were racing in. And to top things off, one of the other winners achieved a significant moment in his racing career at Rice Lake. Those four winners would include Hunter VanGilder in the Street Stocks, Mike Schnider in the Midwest Modifieds, Dexton Koch in the Super Stocks and Mike Anderson in the Modifieds.
The lone repeat winner of the night was veteran Bob Wahlstrom who won his second Pure Stock feature win of 2022. Wahlstrom would take the lead on lap two and then go on to lead the rest of the event in what was a nonstop Pure Stock feature race.
Zach Folz would lead the opening lap before Wahlstrom would move up from the second row to power by Folz on the high side and take over the top spot. Ryan Olson and George Richards would also be on the move, both charging up from the third row to take off after the fleeing Wahlstrom. But Bob was on a roll on this night and with no yellow flags in the event to bunch things up, he would prove to be tough to catch. Some of the best racing of the event would be directly behind those three as James Rahn would have a good battle first with Bryar Zimmerman and then Rob Grabon as they fought for positions.
Wahlstrom would maintain his lead and never be challenged as he would race on for the win by a comfortable margin. Olson and Richards would trail with Zimmerman and Grabon moving up to complete the top five.
VanGilder would finally break through, winning his first Street Stock main event of the year at the track and he would do so in grand style, leading from start to finish in this race.
The Street Stocks had their share of troubles on this night with seven yellows slowing the action for a variety of mostly one car spins. While VanGilder would be scored the leader of all fifteen laps, he was under the gun most of the race with strong challenges coming his way from Cole Richards and Shawn Amundson. Richards had moved up from the second row while Amundson made a nice smooth drive up from row five, using the yellows and a solid line low on the track to move into contention.
Along with them, James Clausen was also a part of the lead pack as he also looked for win number one.
The lead duo would be racing nose to tail, with Richards occasionally attempting to poke his nose under VanGilder in the corners. Late in the race, the leaders got bottled up as they raced off turn two with Amundson getting into the back of Richards and inadvertently sending him spinning as Clausen shot around them all to take second.
However, the yellow would wave, Richards would get his spot back while Amundson would go to the tail of the field and Clausen would suddenly go pit side. The last three laps would see VanGilder fight off challenges from Richards to take the win while Travis Loew used the late race action to move up to third with Adam Soltis and Zach Beaulieu, minus front nose piece, completing the top five.
For VanGilder, it was his first win of the year here as he became the seventh different feature winner in race action so far in 2022.
Mike Schnider would get his first win in the Midwest Modifieds while at the same time keeping Travis Anderson shut out of victory lane at the track in a race that wasn’t decided until the drivers received the white flag which is when Schnider made his winning pass.
Rookie Canadian driver Kolby Reed would lead the opening lap of the Midwest Modified feature until Anderson moved up from the second row and drove past Reed on the high side to take over the top spot. Reed would continue to maintain second through a couple of early yellows for spinning cars but then both C.J. Wagner and Aric Lindberg would get past him to take over second and third. While Anderson put some distance on the field, the battle for second was wild as Wagner and Lindberg exchanged sliders and positions on the track . Unfortunately, things got out of hand when Wagner tried to throw a slider in turn one and didn’t give Lindberg room. Aric launched his car up over the back of Wagner’s ride and then spun. Lindberg’s night would be done while Wagner would have to go to the tail of the field.
This allowed Schnider to take over the second spot and he would then put heavy pressure on Anderson for the lead. As Travis tried both high and low to find the best line, Schnider made repeated attempts to pass him but couldn’t quite complete the effort.
One last yellow set up a four lap sprint to the finish and once again it was Schnider all over Anderson. Schnider moved to the outside line and found success as he edged up beside Anderson and as they exited turn four to receive the white flag, Schnider was able to drive by and take over the lead. He would extend that advantage on the final tour, despite Anderson’s efforts to overtake him.
For Schnider it was his first win of the year and the first win for him since he moved up from the Pure Stocks to the Midwest Modifieds last year. Behind Anderson, it was Kenny Kincaid, Dalton Mains in a strong run up from eleventh and Canadian David Simpson to complete the top five.
For Anderson it was another heartbreak as for the second straight week he was passed for the lead with victory lane in sight as he continues to hunt his first win of the season at Rice Lake. Schnider became the eighth different winner in the class this year as there have been no repeat winners so far this year in the Midwest Modified division.
Dexton Koch made his first appearance at the track on Saturday night and he made it a winning performance as he topped the twenty lap Super Stock feature race. He would come from the third row and fight off Nick Oreskovich to get the win.
Randy Graham would lead the first lap of the race until Koch was able to pass him and take over the lead. It then became a two car battle as Oreskovich moved in behind Koch and the two pulled away from the field as they fought a private war for the win. Oreskovich would try both high and low on the track while Koch switched lines numerous times as he fought to find the fastest and most comfortable line for himself.
He finally settled on a line that saw him ride the cushion through turns one and two and then run low in turns three and four. This seemed to work the best for him and after the last yellow on lap eight, he would gradually edge away from Oreskovich despite Nick giving it his all. Koch would maintain his pace and not be challenged near the end as he drove on for the win. Eric Olson would finish a solid third with Graham having a fine run for fourth and Stefan Hogue’s first appearance of the year netting him a top five finish.
For Koch, the Becker Minnesota driver who is a very infrequent visitor to the track, it was his first ever feature win at Rice Lake in the Super Stocks.
Mike Anderson would become the fourth different winner in the Modified class this year as he would take that division’s twenty lap main event. The Modifieds had the largest field of the night with nineteen of them taking the green flag. And it was Hall of Famer Paul Harelstad that would take the early lead over Cole Varsho and Kyle Helling. Anderson would move up from the thrid row to take over second and he began to pressure leader Harelstad for the top spot. The two open wheel experts, second and third on the all time feature win list in the class at Rice Lake, would put on a show as they dueled for the lead and just at the halfway point of the race, Anderson would drive around Harelstad and take over the lead.
In the second half of the race, which ran off nonstop, Anderson would extend his margin. Back in the pack, Michael Truscott was really on the charge, After starting tenth on the grid, he found the outside line to work for him and in a very exciting move off turn four, he blew past Varsho, Pat Hoffman and Denny Cutsforth in one big move and drove into the third spot. He would solidify the position but was unable to make any headway at catching either Anderson or Harelstad who would finish ahead of him. Cutsforth would hold on for fourth ahead of Varsho.
For Anderson, it was a very significant win as his feature win was the fiftieth of his racing career at the Rice Lake Speedway and further strengths his hold on second place in the all time standings.
There will be no racing at the Rice Lake Speedway next Saturday night, July 23rddue to the Barron County Fair. However, when the speedway returns to action, it will be for a power packed doubleheader of racing. The Late Models return to Rice Lake for their second race of 2022, as the WISSOTA sanctioned Late Models will compete in the Swant Graber 40, a two thousand dollar to win, three hundred dollar to start event that should have all the top Late Model drivers in the area in attendance. Along with the Late Models, this show will also feature Modifieds, Midwest Modifieds and Pure Stocks racing a full program as the Street Stocks and Super Stocks get the night off.
Then, the following Tuesday, August 2nd, it is time for the twenty eighth annual Street Stock Little Dream race. One of the biggest Street Stock races in the entire county, this WISSOTA sanctioned event should bring over sixty of the best Street Stocks from at least five states and Canada to Rice Lake to run for a huge payoff. While it is never determined until just before feature time just how much money the winner will receive, last year the top prize was over $29,000 and the hope is to make it even higher in 2022. The rain date for this event is August 3rd.
Race fans should watch for a possible press release early in the week with the possibility of some adjustments to the racing schedule near the end of the season.
As always, the speedway face book page has the most up to date announcements and information about upcoming events.
Results
19 entries
WISSOTA MODIFIEDS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 57-Mike Anderson[5]; 2. 1H-Paul Harelstad[1]; 3. 22T-Michael Truscott[10]; 4. 20-Denny Cutsforth[8]; 5. 16C-Cole Varsho[2]; 6. 27P-Parker Anderson[7]; 7. 1M-Curt Myers[9]; 8. 22S-Cole Spacek[12]; 9. 20E-Austin Ellis[16]; 10. 308-Pat Hoffman[6]; 11. 10-Kyle Helling[3]; 12. 95-Rick Rivord[13]; 13. 19J-Jack Rivord[15]; 14. 4A-Hunter Anderson[17]; 15. (DNF) 27H-Steve Hallquist[18]; 16. (DNF) 204-David Mayala[19]; 17. (DNF) 12-Jason Gross[11]; 18. (DNF) 6-Shane Kisling[14]; 19. (DNF) 11-Sam Fankhauser[4]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 20-Denny Cutsforth[2]; 2. 16C-Cole Varsho[3]; 3. 11-Sam Fankhauser[1]; 4. 22T-Michael Truscott[5]; 5. 95-Rick Rivord[4]; 6. 20E-Austin Ellis[6]; 7. 27H-Steve Hallquist[7]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 308-Pat Hoffman[2]; 2. 1M-Curt Myers[3]; 3. 27P-Parker Anderson[6]; 4. 12-Jason Gross[5]; 5. 6-Shane Kisling[4]; 6. 4A-Hunter Anderson[1]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Mike Anderson[1]; 2. 1H-Paul Harelstad[2]; 3. 10-Kyle Helling[4]; 4. 22S-Cole Spacek[6]; 5. 19J-Jack Rivord[3]; 6. (DNF) 204-David Mayala[5]
13 entries
WISSOTA SUPER STOCK
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 78K-Dexton Koch[6]; 2. 21F-Nick Oreskovich[5]; 3. 1E-Eric Olson[8]; 4. 57-Randy Graham[1]; 5. 28B-Stefan Hogue[9]; 6. 14X-Leslie Leu[7]; 7. 19X-William Fisher[11]; 8. 77L-Andy Ladd[4]; 9. 01-Michael Anderson[2]; 10. 22AT-Austin Tilton[10]; 11. (DNF) 28-Josh Cappo[12]; 12. (DNF) 22-Clay Albrecht[13]; 13. (DNF) 21-Mike Siewert[3]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 78K-Dexton Koch[5]; 2. 21F-Nick Oreskovich[1]; 3. 14X-Leslie Leu[4]; 4. 1E-Eric Olson[3]; 5. 28B-Stefan Hogue[2]; 6. 19X-William Fisher[7]; 7. 28-Josh Cappo[6]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Randy Graham[1]; 2. 21-Mike Siewert[4]; 3. 77L-Andy Ladd[2]; 4. 01-Michael Anderson[5]; 5. 22AT-Austin Tilton[3]; 6. (DNF) 22-Clay Albrecht[6]
15 entries
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 40S-Mike Schnider[7]; 2. 37-Travis Anderson[4]; 3. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[5]; 4. 7M-Dalton Mains[11]; 5. 70JR-David Simpson[8]; 6. 3B-Austin Blom[9]; 7. 89-Kolby Reed[1]; 8. 93-CJ Wagner[3]; 9. 28H-Francis Hanson[10]; 10. 46-Zach Slayton[2]; 11. 18-Tacoma Randall[12]; 12. 1-Shaughn Darling[13]; 13. 19H-Kevin Herrman[14]; 14. (DNF) 221-Aric Lindberg[6]; 15. (DNF) 88K-Donavan Knutson[15]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 93-CJ Wagner[2]; 2. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[4]; 3. 221-Aric Lindberg[5]; 4. 46-Zach Slayton[1]; 5. 3B-Austin Blom[6]; 6. 7M-Dalton Mains[3]; 7. 1-Shaughn Darling[7]; 8. (DNF) 88K-Donavan Knutson[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 37-Travis Anderson[6]; 2. 40S-Mike Schnider[5]; 3. 70JR-David Simpson[3]; 4. 89-Kolby Reed[2]; 5. 28H-Francis Hanson[4]; 6. 18-Tacoma Randall[7]; 7. 19H-Kevin Herrman[1]
16 entries
WISSOTA STREET STOCK
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 84-Hunter VanGilder[2]; 2. 1R-Cole Richards[4]; 3. 40-Travis Loew[7]; 4. 9-Adam Soltis[6]; 5. 17-Zach Beaulieu[3]; 6. 1M-Alex Myers[10]; 7. 7BR-Lucas Boyce[14]; 8. 79-Joseph Ott[11]; 9. 71C-Shawn Amundson[9]; 10. 66-Eric Haupt[13]; 11. (DNF) 24-James Clausen[1]; 12. (DNF) 45-Dusten Holub[16]; 13. (DNF) 20-Andrew Hanson[5]; 14. (DNF) 37-Mike Chaplin[12]; 15. (DNF) 19H-Jenna Herrman[15]; 16. (DNF) 9K-Kolby Kiehl[8]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24-James Clausen[2]; 2. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[4]; 3. 17-Zach Beaulieu[1]; 4. 40-Travis Loew[8]; 5. 71C-Shawn Amundson[5]; 6. 79-Joseph Ott[7]; 7. 66-Eric Haupt[3]; 8. (DNF) 45-Dusten Holub[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 84-Hunter VanGilder[2]; 2. 9-Adam Soltis[1]; 3. 1R-Cole Richards[4]; 4. 20-Andrew Hanson[6]; 5. 1M-Alex Myers[5]; 6. 37-Mike Chaplin[7]; 7. 7BR-Lucas Boyce[3]; 8. 19H-Jenna Herrman[8]
16 entries
WISSOTA PURE STOCK
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[4]; 2. 1-Ryan Olson[6]; 3. 5R-George Richards[5]; 4. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[9]; 5. 29M-Rob Grabon[8]; 6. 23R-James Rahn[7]; 7. 52-Zachary Folz[1]; 8. 101-Michael Grover[2]; 9. 12-Aaron Holmberg[3]; 10. 26-Kevin Bartelt[10]; 11. 52F-Austin Fencl[11]; 12. 9W-Anthony Woodhull[13]; 13. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[16]; 14. 7D-Trevor Phillips[15]; 15. (DNF) 17-Chris Gross[14]; 16. (DNF) 15H-Trenten Holub[12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[1]; 2. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[3]; 3. 29M-Rob Grabon[5]; 4. 23R-James Rahn[2]; 5. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[8]; 6. 52F-Austin Fencl[7]; 7. 9W-Anthony Woodhull[6]; 8. 7D-Trevor Phillips[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 12-Aaron Holmberg[1]; 2. 5R-George Richards[5]; 3. 52-Zachary Folz[8]; 4. 101-Michael Grover[7]; 5. 26-Kevin Bartelt[3]; 6. 15H-Trenten Holub[4]; 7. 17-Chris Gross[6]; 8. (DNF) 81-Charlie Pitcavage[2]
