Red Cedar Speedway Dunn County Fair Night One

Brad Erickson

Menomonie, Wisconsin, on Thursday, July 22, 2021, the Red Cedar Speedway Dunn County Fair Night One races were held Presented by Midwest Food and Tobacco along with GRP Motorsports. The WISSOTA Late Models were joined by the RCS Hornets, Limited Late Models, and a “run what you brung” Street Drags event for the fans. Winners on the evening included AJ Diemel, Joe Provinzino, and Jeremey Johnson.The WISSOTA Late Models saw John Kaanta and AJ Diemel win their respective heats. They were brought to green in the feature Sam Mars and Mark Hessler. The first attempt to start the race was aborted by a spin but the second try saw Mars shoot out to an advantage quickly. Hessler settled into second as Mike Prochnow ran third.John Kaanta overtook Prochnow on lap three, but it was apparent that AJ Diemel was the class of the field. After starting eighth on the grid, he took third from Kaanta on lap four and two laps later, overtook Hessler for the runner up position. Although Mars had built a solid cushion in the lead, it didn’t take a stopwatch to realize Diemel was reeling him in. He cut into Mars lead rapidly as he blasted the high side of the raceway.The young Mars was very good in traffic however, and although Diemel had caught him, getting past him was going to be another chore. The veteran Diemel was able to use a lapped car as a pick and he overtook Mars for the lead. Diemel continued his onslaught on the speedway and developed a small advantage over Mars. Mars hung tough but couldn’t match Diemel’s speed and settled for a runner up position at the checkered flag. Kaanta drove into third past Hessler coming to the white flag, but Hessler was able to regain the position on the final circuit. Prochnow rounded out the top five as Jake Miller, Don Shaw, Jake Redetzke, Greg Nippoldt, and Michael Keller drove to top ten finishes.The Limited Late Models had one heat with Ashley Wahlstrom dominating it from the outside of row one. At feature time, it was Brett Shafer leading early as Jordan Langer chased him in second. Several laps into the event, Langer pushed up in a turn and Joe Provinzino took advantage and overtook the runner up position. Shafer still looked good out front, but Provinzino was on the prowl.Provinzino caught the leader, but Shafer was good coming off the corners. Provinzino continued to look under the leader in every turn lap after lap, but Shafer would regain an advantage down the straightaways. After several circuits of very tight and clean racing, Provinzino was able to get inside of the leader in turns three and four and got a good run down the front stretch to take the lead. Once out front, he checked out on the field and drove to the victory.Shafer drove home in second and Lucas Peterson was able to make a move past Langer with three to go to earn a podium finish. Langer was a close fourth as Patrick Kelly rounded out the top five.In preparation of a $1000 to win feature the following evening, Jeremy Johnson, Armond Love, and Sean Svee put on a show in the RCS Hornets. Love won the heat and took the early feature lead from the outside of the first row. Johnson moved to second and was able to move side by side for the lead. The two raced door to door for two laps with Love being scored the leader with the slightest advantage each time. Love was able to break free from the pair and drove back out front alone with Johnson glued to his tail. In a rare feat in the Hornet division, Johnson dove hard into turn three and pulled a classic slider for the pass into the lead. He was able to move out to a car length advantage, but Love wasn’t done. A few laps later, Love was able to work his nose under Johnson in turn two and as they raced down the backstretch, Johnson tried to move down the racetrack to set himself up for turn three and the two made contact. Johnson was sent on a long sliding spin and the yellow flag flew over the raceway.Love was relegated to the back of the pack as the old adage says, “It’s the leader’s line.” On the restart, Johnson led Svee, who had been racing in the shadows of the top two and making his presence known throughout the event. It was Love though who was not done and on the first lap of the lap ten restart, he overtook six positions and found himself chasing down Svee. Meanwhile, Johnson held a two-car length advantage in the lead. A spinner in turn three reset the field and before they could get solidly back under green, Danny Halterman was spun on the front stretch and made hard head on contact with the wall. The restart saw Love overtake the second position and drive hard to challenge for the win. On the final circuit of the event, he was able to get his nose under Johnson coming off the last turn, but Johnson held strong for the victory. Love finished an impressive second over Svee in third. Roy Cooper and Brandon Gleiter filled out the top five finishers. The Street Drags included ten fans who competed in two lap elimination style racing with their own street vehicles and provided excitement, cheers, and a few laughs.The Red Cedar Speedway returns for Dunn County Fair Night Two on Friday, June 24, 2021. It will be presented by Markquart Menomonie and Dick’s RV. The WISSOTA Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds, Street Stocks, RCS Hornets, Northern Vintage Stock Cars, and a “Powder Puff” race are all on the card.WISSOTA Late Model Feature (25 Laps): 1. 58-AJ Diemel[8]; 2. 28-Sam Mars[1]; 3. 13-Mark Hessler[2]; 4. 85-John Kaanta[6]; 5. 68-Mike Prochnow[3]; 6. 65-Jake Miller[5]; 7. 42S-Don Shaw[9]; 8. 27-Jake Redetzke[7]; 9. 55N-Greg Nippoldt[11]; 10. 31-Michael Keller[10]; 11. 7C-Jim Carlson[4]; 12. 51-Randy Gullixson[14]; 13. 89-Scott Meeds[13]; 14. (DNF) XG-Lucas Kallenbach[12]Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 85-John Kaanta[1]; 2. 65-Jake Miller[3]; 3. 28-Sam Mars[2]; 4. 7C-Jim Carlson[5]; 5. 42S-Don Shaw[7]; 6. 55N-Greg Nippoldt[6]; 7. 89-Scott Meeds[4]Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 58-AJ Diemel[3]; 2. 13-Mark Hessler[2]; 3. 27-Jake Redetzke[6]; 4. 68-Mike Prochnow[5]; 5. 31-Michael Keller[4]; 6. XG-Lucas Kallenbach[1]; 7. 51-Randy Gullixson[7]Limited Late Models Feature (18 Laps): 1. 89-Joe Provinzino[4]; 2. 22-Brett Shafer[1]; 3. LXV-Lucas Peterson[5]; 4. 34-Jordan Langer[3]; 5. 2-Patrick Kelley[7]; 6. 19-Ashley Wahlstrom[2]; 7. 73-Larry Fitzsimmons[6]Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Ashley Wahlstrom[2]; 2. 34-Jordan Langer[3]; 3. 89-Joe Provinzino[4]; 4. 22-Brett Shafer[5]; 5. LXV-Lucas Peterson[1]; 6. 73-Larry Fitzsimmons[7]; 7. 2-Patrick Kelley[6]RCS Hornets Feature (15 Laps): 1. 917-Jeremy Johnson[4]; 2. 29-Armond Love[2]; 3. 383-Sean Svee[3]; 4. 9JR-Roy Cooper[6]; 5. 20-Brandon Gleiter[5]; 6. 9SR-Scott Cooper[1]; 7. 221-Danny Halterman[8]; 8. 42-Vanessa Seipel[9]; 9. (DNF) 17-Randy Stensgaard[7]Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 29-Armond Love[2]; 2. 917-Jeremy Johnson[3]; 3. 383-Sean Svee[8]; 4. 20-Brandon Gleiter[7]; 5. 9SR-Scott Cooper[1]; 6. 9JR-Roy Cooper[9]; 7. 17-Randy Stensgaard[6]; 8. 221-Danny Halterman[4]; 9. 42-Vanessa Seipel[5]