Hazelton wins the Don Hazelton Memorial

Brad Erickson

Eagle Valley Speedway, July 31, 2020; The Eagle Valley Speedway presented the EDI Nordson, Don Hazelton Memorial on a gorgeous Friday night.  There was a very large crowd and the children were treated by the drivers on the speedway at intermission.  Winners on the evening included Mike Knopps, Curt Myers, Derek Haas, Andrew Hanson, Travis Hazelton, and Derek Krumrie.

Nick Koehler and Mike Knopps won the two WISSOTA Modified heats and for the second time in 2020, Knopps went on to sweep the night at feature time.  He took the lead at the drop of the green from the pole position and led the entire race cover to cover.  Behind him, literally lurking in the leader’s shadow Pat Hoffman and Mark Hanson waged a fine battle for second.  The two ran door to door for several laps and swapped the position multiple times at the line.  On the final circuit, Hanson made a charge on the outside as Hoffman ran the lower line.  Hoffman got pinned behind a lapped car but was able to take the runner up position by the slimmest of margins. Matt Leer and Michael Truscott rounded out the top five.

The WISSOTA Super Stocks saw Nick Traynor and Jesse Redetzke win their heats and Wayne Dean start on the pole of the feature.  Unfortunately, he spun on the opening lap and moved to the rear for the restart.  Under green, Eric Olson, last weeks winner in a thriller, took the point.  However, it was Curt Myers sweeping past on the high-side and into the lead of lap two.  Myers survived two cautions and restarts to go on to win yet another feature.

Eighth starting Terran Spacek moved through the crowd and overtook third on lap eight and Nick Traynor passed Jesse Redetzke for fourth on lap 12.  Spacek was not done though as he caught and worked on Eric Olson for second on lap 16 and took the position two circuits later.  At the checkered flag it was Myers, Spacek, Olson, Traynor, and Redetzke finishing in the top five.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modified heats were topped by Dylan Goettl and Craig Haas and the feature saw Derek Haas and Dan Larson Jr side by side after the first circuit.  Larson Jr. had a terrific heat race and was looking strong early as he has returned with his car last week which was seemingly destroyed in a roll over earlier in the year.  It was Haas however, who proved to be too strong this evening.  Hass attacked the high side of the raceway and moved out to an over a straightway advantage on second place finishing Craig Haas.  Derek Haas was flawless in a race which ran caution free and beyond the opening lap, he was never challenged.

Behind him, there was a two-wide battle for second which was eventually taken by Craig Haas.  Eighth starting George Dalbeck, who dominated the event a week earlier, used a late race pass to finish in third. Dylan Goettl and Shadow Kitchner rounded out the top five.

Cody Kummer, Kolby Kiehl, and Adam Soltis won the WISSOTA Street Stock heats and the feature was an exciting event which was eventually won by Andrew Hanson.  It was Parker Anderson to the point early as Travis Loew worked his way into second.  By lap five, Anderson had moved out to a solid advantage and appeared to have the field covered.  Hanson, looking very stout, overtook second ten laps in.  A caution flag flew as the leader was working lap 13 for a car into the backstretch infield who could not move to a safe spot.

On the restart, it began to unravel for Anderson as he had lost his large cushion and Hanson hounded him for the lead.  Hanson moved door to door on the inside after the first lap back under green.  They remained side by side for another circuit before Hanson overtook the position going down the backstretch on lap 15.  Soltis joined the fray and the top three ran in very tight formation.  Coming out of turn two, they were all tight to the infield as dust from the same filled the air.  As they neared turn three, all three cars spun nearly simultaneously.  From this writer’s view, I could not point out the foul and who would be charged with the caution.  The race was eventually restarted, and all three drivers were lined up in their running position for the green flag and no one was called at fault.

The green, white, checkered finish saw Anderson leave the raceway with one lap remaining as Hanson led the way to the checkered flag.  Soltis finished runner up as Doug Wojcik nipped Loew for third at the line.  Danny Richards raced from ninth on the grid to finish fifth.

George Richards and Karles Knopps won the WISSOTA Pure Stock heats but it was Travis Hazelton winning the Don Hazelton Memorial race from the eighth spot.  The excitement of the crowd and his jubilation in victory lane was all it took to realize the importance on this race to the Hazelton family.

Early in the event, Knopps took the lead and looked strong as they raced three-deep behind him for second.  The following circuit saw them three-wide for the lead, and a lap later, it settled into Hazelton at the point being chased by Knopps and James Rahn.  Rob Grabon raced his way into the top three and then overtook second on lap seven.  A yellow flag slowed the pace and Knopps retired from the event.  They restarted and Hazelton continued to lead the remainder to the checkered flag.  Grabon, showing heavy smoke the entire race, was overtaken for second by Richards on the final circuit, as Joey Prusak and James Rahn finished in the top five.

The EVS Hornets saw Jake Halterman win the heat and the feature proved to be exciting.  There was no time to look away as the top four cars ran in formation for several laps with Jason Helgeson leading the group.  Brandon Gleiter peeked down low on the leader on lap five and was able to snag the position one lap later at the halfway point.  Jason Bauer raced into second and Derek Krumrie moved into the top three as they chased the leader in his shadow.  Bauer made his move and drove in the upper groove to move side by side with Gleiter for the point.  Gleiter held strong and at the white flag, Krumrie passed Bauer on the inside for second.  Krumrie got a good run down the backstretch and moved to the outside of the leader through turns three and four.  They raced door to door to the finish with Krumrie stealing the victory by inches for his third straight and fourth feature win on the season at the Eagle Valley Speedway.  Gleiter was a strong second over Bauer, Helgeson, and William Voeltz in fifth.

The Eagle Valley Speedway returns on Friday, August 07, 2020, for the River Country Coop American Hero’s Night.  All six regular classes will be on the card with the EVS Hornets, WISSOTA Pure Stock, WISSOTA Street Stock, WISSOTA Midwest Mods, WISSOTA Super Stock, and WISSOTA Modifieds.

WISSOTA Modified Feature (20 Laps): 1. 93-Mike Knopps[1]; 2. 308-Pat Hoffman[2]; 3. 18-Mark Hanson[3]; 4. 30-Matt Leer[6]; 5. 22T-Michael Truscott[8]; 6. 13-Nick Koehler[5]; 7. 14W-Clayton Wagamon[7]; 8. 57-Mike Anderson[10]; 9. 55-Cory Mahder[9]; 10. 38-Zach Gibson[13]; 11. 43-Luke Schilling[12]; 12. (DNF) 18M-Mason McEvers[11]; 13. (DNF) 27H-Steve Hallquist[4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13-Nick Koehler[5]; 2. 27H-Steve Hallquist[4]; 3. 18-Mark Hanson[6]; 4. 308-Pat Hoffman[3]; 5. 55-Cory Mahder[7]; 6. 18M-Mason McEvers[1]; 7. 38-Zach Gibson[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 93-Mike Knopps[1]; 2. 30-Matt Leer[2]; 3. 14W-Clayton Wagamon[3]; 4. 22T-Michael Truscott[6]; 5. 57-Mike Anderson[4]; 6. 43-Luke Schilling[5]

WISSOTA Super Stock Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1M-Curt Myers[4]; 2. 22T-Terran Spacek[8]; 3. 1E-Eric Olson[2]; 4. 40-Nick Traynor[7]; 5. 207-Jesse Redetzke[5]; 6. 2-Bart Steffen[9]; 7. 27-Tony Falkner[14]; 8. 17-Wayne Dean[1]; 9. 1-Lukas Koski[3]; 10. XJR-Austin Workman[12]; 11. 20*-Andrew Davis[11]; 12. 93-CJ Wagner[16]; 13. 27M-Brett Myers[13]; 14. 01-Michael Anderson[15]; 15. (DNF) T40-Danny Thomas[6]; 16. (DNF) 19-Darrel Hazelton[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40-Nick Traynor[3]; 2. 17-Wayne Dean[2]; 3. T40-Danny Thomas[5]; 4. 1E-Eric Olson[1]; 5. 2-Bart Steffen[7]; 6. 20*-Andrew Davis[4]; 7. 27M-Brett Myers[6]; 8. 01-Michael Anderson[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 207-Jesse Redetzke[2]; 2. 1M-Curt Myers[7]; 3. 1-Lukas Koski[3]; 4. 22T-Terran Spacek[5]; 5. 19-Darrel Hazelton[1]; 6. XJR-Austin Workman[4]; 7. 27-Tony Falkner[6]; 8. (DNF) 93-CJ Wagner[8]

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds Feature (20 Laps): 1. 80-Derek Haas[2]; 2. 12-Craig Haas[4]; 3. 23DD-George Dalbeck[8]; 4. 24-Dylan Goettl[6]; 5. 68-Shadow Kitchner[5]; 6. 34JR-Dan Larson Jr[1]; 7. 20-Austin Ellis[7]; 8. 1-Jake Stai[12]; 9. 95X-Kent Baxter[10]; 10. 89-Tyler Lamm[16]; 11. 6S-Steve Haas[3]; 12. 13M-Cole Mueller[11]; 13. 8-Bryan Pretzman[15]; 14. 13-Derrick Reed[13]; 15. 24P-Lou Puzio[18]; 16. 6-Cory Deilke[14]; 17. JLO-Jason Olson[17]; 18. (DNF) 89K-Matt Klukas[9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Dylan Goettl[2]; 2. 6S-Steve Haas[1]; 3. 34JR-Dan Larson Jr[4]; 4. 80-Derek Haas[7]; 5. 89K-Matt Klukas[5]; 6. 13M-Cole Mueller[9]; 7. 13-Derrick Reed[6]; 8. 8-Bryan Pretzman[8]; 9. JLO-Jason Olson[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 12-Craig Haas[2]; 2. 20-Austin Ellis[6]; 3. 68-Shadow Kitchner[1]; 4. 23DD-George Dalbeck[8]; 5. 95X-Kent Baxter[3]; 6. 1-Jake Stai[7]; 7. 6-Cory Deilke[9]; 8. 89-Tyler Lamm[4]; 9. (DNF) 24P-Lou Puzio[5]

WISSOTA Street Stock Feature (15 Laps): 1. 20-Andrew Hanson[7]; 2. 9-Adam Soltis[4]; 3. 27X-Doug Wojcik[5]; 4. 40-Travis Loew[3]; 5. 3R-Danny Richards[9]; 6. 16X-Kyle Genett[10]; 7. 2D-Dalton Hazelton[13]; 8. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[8]; 9. 7-Jay Kesan[12]; 10. 05-Kyle Howland[11]; 11. T20-Michael Tuma[18]; 12. 24-James Clausen[1]; 13. 3J-Jared Linder[15]; 14. 26-Ty Agen[16]; 15. 22-Alex Minks[20]; 16. 96-John Kasbosic[17]; 17. (DNF) 27P-Parker Anderson[2]; 18. (DNF) 12K-Cody Kummer[6]; 19. (DNF) 12-Warren Hanson[19]; 20. (DNF) 1R-Cole Richards[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 12K-Cody Kummer[1]; 2. 20-Andrew Hanson[2]; 3. 3R-Danny Richards[4]; 4. 16X-Kyle Genett[6]; 5. 2D-Dalton Hazelton[3]; 6. 26-Ty Agen[5]; 7. 12-Warren Hanson[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[1]; 2. 27P-Parker Anderson[4]; 3. 27X-Doug Wojcik[6]; 4. 05-Kyle Howland[5]; 5. 1R-Cole Richards[7]; 6. 96-John Kasbosic[3]; 7. (DNF) 22-Alex Minks[2]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Adam Soltis[1]; 2. 40-Travis Loew[3]; 3. 24-James Clausen[2]; 4. 7-Jay Kesan[4]; 5. 3J-Jared Linder[5]; 6. T20-Michael Tuma[6]

WISSOTA Pure Stock Feature (12 Laps): 1. 31-Travis Hazelton[8]; 2. 5R-George Richards[3]; 3. 16-Rob Grabon[5]; 4. 66P-Joey Prusak[9]; 5. 23R-James Rahn[6]; 6. 1-Ryan Olson[13]; 7. 101-Michael Grover[2]; 8. 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[11]; 9. 15-Jeff Tisdale[10]; 10. (DNF) 95F-Devin Fries[12]; 11. (DNF) 92-Karles Knopps[1]; 12. (DNF) 57-Brent Mindock[4]; 13. (DNF) 21-Ryan Clausen[7]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 5R-George Richards[2]; 2. 31-Travis Hazelton[6]; 3. 16-Rob Grabon[4]; 4. 23R-James Rahn[3]; 5. 66P-Joey Prusak[1]; 6. 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[5]; 7. 95F-Devin Fries[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 92-Karles Knopps[2]; 2. 101-Michael Grover[1]; 3. 21-Ryan Clausen[6]; 4. 57-Brent Mindock[5]; 5. 15-Jeff Tisdale[3]; 6. (DNF) 1-Ryan Olson[4]

Hornets Feature (12 Laps): 1. 33-Derek Krumrie[5]; 2. 20-Brandon Gleiter[4]; 3. 14J-Jason Bauer[6]; 4. 59H-Jason Helgeson[1]; 5. 41V-William Voeltz[7]; 6. 221-Danny Halterman[2]; 7. 4-Joslin Carothers[8]; 8. 7W-Randy Wiederholt[9]; 9. 76-Jake Halterman[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 76-Jake Halterman[2]; 2. 59H-Jason Helgeson[1]; 3. 20-Brandon Gleiter[5]; 4. 221-Danny Halterman[3]; 5. 33-Derek Krumrie[9]; 6. 14J-Jason Bauer[8]; 7. 41V-William Voeltz[7]; 8. 4-Joslin Carothers[6]; 9. 7W-Randy Wiederholt[4]