Olson’s Double Up In Rice Lake Speedway Action
By Ed Reichert
Rice Lake Wi, June 18 – The racing Olson family from Ladysmith produced two feature winners to highlight the ROC(Race of Champions) qualifers Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway. Other winners who punched their ticket to the ROC event held during the WISSOTA 100 at Sure Step I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls Minnesotain September by winning feature races on Saturday included Nick Traynor, Kennedy Swan and Kevin Adams.
On a night when rain threatened but ultimately only produced a few sprinkles, it was not an easy route that either Eric or his son Ryan took to make it to victory lane on Saturday. Eric had to survive a tough battle with Simon Wahlstrom, a suspected engine fire that triggered the red flag and a late race collision that spun him out before he could claim victory while Ryan had to make a late race pass to get past a speedy James Rahn for his win.
Eric Olson would take the initial lead in the Super Stock feature, followed closely in the early going by Mike Siewert and Rich Bishop. Simon Wahlstrom was soon on the move along with Nick Traynor. As Wahlstrom moved up to challenge Olson for the top spot, the battle for third continued with Traynor unfortunately getting into Siewert, sending him spinning and triggering the yellow flag. Traynor would go to the back of the pack and racing would continue.
Wahlstrom was all over Olson for the lead, trying both high and low to make a pass but Olson would continue to hold the top spot until lap nine when Simon would drive by on the high side and take over the lead. At the halfway point, Simon would continue to lead over Olson, Leslie Leu, Siewert and Andrew Davis.
However, Olson wasn’t done as when Wahlstrom opted to run the high side of the track, Olson drove low and pulled up beside the leader, taking the top spot again on lap twelve. Suddenly, just after that, the red flag was suddenly displayed, the cars shut down and officials poured to the Olson car. They yanked off the hood, searched for an engine fire but found nothing. An infield official believed that he saw fire from the Olson car and rather than take a chance, the red was called for and Olson’s car searched. Since there was no fire and the error was by the offical, Olson was allowed to retain the lead for the restart instead of going to the tail of the field if there would indeed have been a fire. This red broke up a great battle between Olson and Wahlstrom but Simon tried to rekindle it once racing resumed.
Unfortunately for Wahlstrom, he got into turn three too hot on the restart and clipped Olson, sending his spinning and also collecting third place racer Leu. Luckily, all cars were able to restart but Wahlstrom went to the back of the pack for triggering the incident.
Olson would then pull away over the last six laps and the defending track champion would drive home for his first win of 2022 at Rice Lake. Leu, despite a beat up looking car, would finish a strong second while Davis and Josh Saunders would take advantage in the late going to drive up to third and fourth respectively.
James Rahn and Ryan Olson would have a great battle for the lead in the Pure Stock feature with the issue settled late in the contest. Bob Wahlstrom would lead the opening lap of the feature with Rahn and Olson chasing him. Unfortunately for Wahlstrom, he would spin out of the lead on lap two but he would continue to race so the yellow flag wasn’t needed. Rahn would inherit the lead with Olson now second as the top two pulled away from the field.
Following a lap six spin that would bunch the field, these two would again pull away from the pack to settle the issue themselves. Lap after lap, Olson would try to get to the outside and attempt a pass but Rahn was just fast enough to hold him off. Olson persisted, but Rahn would continue to lead. However, with just three laps left in the race, Olson would make a great move off turn two, first going high and when Rahn slipped just slightly up the track, Ryan dove to the inside down the back chute and got under the leader. They raced hard into turn three but Olson would have the edge as they crossed the starting line. On the last two laps, Rahn would attempt to repass Olson and he would get to the rear bumper of Ryan’s car but just not be able to get by. He would make one last attempt on the final corner but again would come up short as Ryan Olson would drive on for the win and claim his second victory of the year at Rice Lake. Rob Grabon would have a strong race, moving into third early in the contest and maintaining that spot for the rest of the event.
Crowd favorite Kennedy Swan would continue to enchant the spectators when she made perhaps the move of the night to go from third to first following a restart and then drive on to win the Midwest Modified main event. William Moelter would lead the opening lap as he got the jump on Shadow Kitchner to lead lap one. However, Kitchner would drive past William one lap later and take over the lead with Swan running third.
A spin by Jay Richardson would trigger the yellow and this would lead to the most dramatic moment of the race. As the field roared into turn one with Kitchner the leader, he would push up the track and Swan would cut left and dive between him and Moelter and shoot into the lead as the crowd was on their collective feet. Swan would blast into the lead down the back chute and by the time Kitchner would recover, he was back in second.
One more yellow would bunch the field again just one lap later but Kennedy would not repeat the error that befell Kitchner, as she blasted once again to the cushion and would again secure the top spot with Kitchner still chasing.
The last eleven laps of the event would go nonstop and Swan would continue to ride the cushion with Kitchner doing his best to catch her, but the margin between the two of them would remain largely the same. The driver on the move was Mike Schnider as he came flying forward after starting seventh on the grid and being barely in the top five at the halfway point of the race. Late in the going he would pass both Aric Lindberg and Moelter to take over third while Richardson would recover from his early spin to drive back up to fourth.
However, the battle was for the lead and while Kitchner would put a push on in the last couple of laps, Swan continued to run a smooth line and at the finish, the Chippewa Falls teen would have two cars over Shadow and take the win which triggered a wild victory lane celebration. It was the first win at Rice Lake for Swan in 2022 as she became the fifth different winner in the class already this year.
Traynor is normally seen in victory lane in his Super Stock but for the first time in 2022, he took a ride in the Street Stock that he drove to a previous “Little Dream” victory. Frustrated by a poor effort in the Super Stock feature, he took it out on a strong Street Stock field by storming up from the fourth row to visit victory lane for the first time in the Street since that memorable “Little Dream” race.
Adam Soltis would lead the first three laps of the feature as he continues to press for that first win of 2022. However, Traynor was flying on the high side of the track as he came storming to the front and it took him only five laps to pass seven cars and take over the lead. And once in front, there would be no catching him, despite two more yellows that would bunch the field. By the halfway point of the race, with Traynor comfortably out in front, the battle turned to second where Shawn Amundson and Hunter VanGilder, who seem to have spent a lot of time this year battling each other for position, went at it again for the runner up honors. Amundson would hold of Hunter for the majority of the contest but with just a couple of laps left, VanGilder would make the pass to take second but could only see Traynor in the distance as Nick drove on for an impressive win. James Clausen fought hard but would have to settle for fourth at the finish as Traynor became the fifth different winner in the class so far this year.
Kevin Adams would start on the pole for the Modified feature and would lead the entire twenty laps of the race, never being challenged during the contest. It was a stop and go kind of race with the yellow flying six times, all for spinning or slowing cars on the track.
Steve Hallquist would hold the runner up spot for the first half of the race until he was overtaken by a strong running Pat Hoffman, who came up from the third row to take over second. Cole Anderson was fighting hard and would run third until the halfway point when he would break something on his car upon acceleration following a yellow flag and would done for the remainder of the event.
While Adams was alone up front and Hoffman continued to hold second, the battle for third was a wild one. Jason Richardson had a very interesting race as he found himself backwards on the track at least twice following spins yet was able to drive his way back up through the field and make a late race pass on Denny Cutsforth to take the third finishing position. It was Adams’ third win at the track this year.
Next Saturday night, June 25th, another wild night of racing action is scheduled and for a change, some “pedal power” will also be on display. Bike races will be held at intermission for the youngest fans to the adults with everyone invited to participate. Race time is 7 pm. Check the speedway face book page for the latest details on weather and other announcements.
12 entries
WISSOTA MODIFIEDS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 40-Kevin Adams[1]; 2. 308-Pat Hoffman[6]; 3. R2-Jason Richardson[11]; 4. 20-Denny Cutsforth[5]; 5. 27H-Steve Hallquist[2]; 6. 20E-Austin Ellis[9]; 7. 23-Kerry Halopka[10]; 8. 204-David Mayala[12]; 9. (DNF) 11-Sam Fankhauser[3]; 10. (DNF) 97-Cole Anderson[4]; 11. (DNF) 10-Kyle Helling[8]; 12. (DNF) 57-Mike Anderson[7]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 308-Pat Hoffman[1]; 2. 27H-Steve Hallquist[2]; 3. 20-Denny Cutsforth[4]; 4. 97-Cole Anderson[3]; 5. 20E-Austin Ellis[6]; 6. (DNF) 204-David Mayala[5]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 40-Kevin Adams[1]; 2. 57-Mike Anderson[4]; 3. 11-Sam Fankhauser[6]; 4. 10-Kyle Helling[2]; 5. 23-Kerry Halopka[3]; 6. R2-Jason Richardson[5]
12 entries
WISSOTA SUPER STOCK
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 1E-Eric Olson[2]; 2. 14X-Leslie Leu[6]; 3. 20*-Andrew Davis[7]; 4. 77-Josh Saunders[5]; 5. 14-Kori Richter[11]; 6. 21-Mike Siewert[1]; 7. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[4]; 8. 10B-Rich Bishop[3]; 9. 01-Michael Anderson[12]; 10. 28-Josh Cappo[9]; 11. (DNF) 22AT-Austin Tilton[10]; 12. (DNF) 40-Nick Traynor[8]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 20*-Andrew Davis[1]; 2. 14X-Leslie Leu[5]; 3. 10B-Rich Bishop[4]; 4. 77-Josh Saunders[6]; 5. (DNF) 14-Kori Richter[3]; 6. (DNF) 01-Michael Anderson[2]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[1]; 2. 1E-Eric Olson[3]; 3. 40-Nick Traynor[4]; 4. 21-Mike Siewert[2]; 5. 28-Josh Cappo[6]; 6. 22AT-Austin Tilton[5]
13 entries
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 18S-Kennedy Swan[4]; 2. 68-Shadow Kitchner[2]; 3. 40S-Mike Schnider[7]; 4. R1-Jay Richardson[8]; 5. 221-Aric Lindberg[5]; 6. 87-William Moelter[1]; 7. 37-Travis Anderson[3]; 8. 93-CJ Wagner[9]; 9. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[6]; 10. 19H-Kevin Herrman[13]; 11. (DNF) 88K-Jason Knutson[11]; 12. (DNF) 18-Tacoma Randall[12]; 13. (DNF) 28H-Francis Hanson[10]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40S-Mike Schnider[2]; 2. 68-Shadow Kitchner[1]; 3. 18S-Kennedy Swan[5]; 4. 87-William Moelter[3]; 5. 93-CJ Wagner[4]; 6. 88K-Jason Knutson[7]; 7. 19H-Kevin Herrman[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 221-Aric Lindberg[2]; 2. 37-Travis Anderson[5]; 3. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[1]; 4. R1-Jay Richardson[3]; 5. 28H-Francis Hanson[4]; 6. 18-Tacoma Randall[6]
19 entries
WISSOTA STREET STOCK
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 40T-Nick Traynor[8]; 2. 84-Hunter VanGilder[9]; 3. 30-Shawn Amundson[4]; 4. 24-James Clausen[6]; 5. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[7]; 6. 9-Adam Soltis[2]; 7. 1R-Cole Richards[10]; 8. 40-Travis Loew[3]; 9. 17-Zach Beaulieu[11]; 10. 71X-William Fisher[13]; 11. 55-Thomas Worth[17]; 12. 66-Eric Haupt[16]; 13. T20-Michael Tuma[5]; 14. 22-James Taylor[19]; 15. 4-Matt Bray[12]; 16. 82-Craig Oas[18]; 17. 19H-Jenna Herrman[15]; 18. (DNF) 37-Mike Chaplin[14]; 19. (DNF) 79-Joseph Ott[1]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Adam Soltis[1]; 2. 30-Shawn Amundson[2]; 3. 84-Hunter VanGilder[5]; 4. 1R-Cole Richards[6]; 5. 71X-William Fisher[4]; 6. 66-Eric Haupt[3]; 7. 22-James Taylor[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[1]; 2. 24-James Clausen[2]; 3. 40-Travis Loew[4]; 4. 17-Zach Beaulieu[3]; 5. 37-Mike Chaplin[6]; 6. 55-Thomas Worth[5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 40T-Nick Traynor[5]; 2. 79-Joseph Ott[1]; 3. T20-Michael Tuma[2]; 4. 4-Matt Bray[3]; 5. 19H-Jenna Herrman[6]; 6. 82-Craig Oas[4]
16 entries
WISSOTA PURE STOCK
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[3]; 2. 23R-James Rahn[1]; 3. 29M-Rob Grabon[6]; 4. 52-Zachary Folz[4]; 5. 26-Kevin Bartelt[8]; 6. 63-Ken Larson[5]; 7. 12-Aaron Holmberg[7]; 8. 70-Bob Thompson[9]; 9. 101-Michael Grover[10]; 10. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[2]; 11. 52F-Austin Fencl[11]; 12. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[15]; 13. 17-Chris Gross[16]; 14. 7D-Trevor Phillips[14]; 15. (DNF) 09-Skylar Findley[13]; 16. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 29M-Rob Grabon[1]; 2. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[5]; 3. 23R-James Rahn[7]; 4. 52-Zachary Folz[2]; 5. 70-Bob Thompson[6]; 6. 52F-Austin Fencl[8]; 7. 09-Skylar Findley[3]; 8. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[2]; 2. 26-Kevin Bartelt[7]; 3. 12-Aaron Holmberg[1]; 4. 63-Ken Larson[5]; 5. 101-Michael Grover[3]; 6. 4K-Terry Kemp[6]; 7. 7D-Trevor Phillips[8]; 8. 17-Chris Gross[4]
