Schnider and Halopka Take Top Prizes in Rice Lake Speedway Finale
By Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, Sept 4 – The Rice Lake Speedway wrapped up the 2021 racing season on Saturday night with the annual Labor Day holiday weekend special and despite a few rain drops that threatened the show early on, the skies cleared and racing in all five divisions would be held. With a season high of one hundred and twenty seven drivers from three states signing in to race, it was a full night of racing and the big winners in the two, one thousand dollar to win feature races were Mike Schnider in the Pure Stocks and Shane Halopka in the Modified class. Other winners on the night would be Jesse Redetzke in the Super Stocks, Jay Richardson in the Midwest Modifieds and Shawn Amundson in the Street Stocks.
The Pure Stocks would participate in the fifth and final “No Mystery” feature race and like the other four held this year, the winner would earn one thousand dollars for their efforts. The extra money was enough to pursuade Schnider, who won six feature races and the track title in 2020 driving Pure Stocks and who moved up to the Midwest Modified class this year, to dig out his old car and enter both classes on this night.
The decision proved to be a wise one as he would lead all twelve laps to get the big win. He started on the pole and took the early lead over Randy Graham and Cory Jorgensen, the national point leader in a race that was stopped four times for yellow flags. The field only made one lap before a collision slowed things but when the racing resumed, Schnider would continue to lead with Jorgensen moving up into second spot.
Schnider would open up a small lead over the field but the battle for second was intense as Jorgensen and Graham were joined by Mitch Kesan in a three car duel for that runner up position. By the halfway point of the race, Graham had worked his way back up into second but that race for second was still up in the air.
Schnider continued to hold sway and the last few laps of the race ran off nonstop. Schnider would never be seriously challenged as he maintained the lead and didn’t give Graham any openings to pass him. Schnider would cross the line several car lengths ahead of the field to get his first win of the year and become the eighth different Pure Stock winner at the track this year. Graham would finish a strong second to wrap up his full time return to the track in 2021 and Kesan would edge past Jorgensen to get third. George Richards would race up from twelth to complete the top five.
The Modified feature may have been the best of the night as the lead was exchanged three times, the winning margin was half a car length and the yellow flag flew only once during the twenty laps of the race.
Denny Cutsforth would use the outside pole to storn into the initial lead but it only took Shane Halopka one lap to move to the bottom of the track and fight his way past Cutsforth to take over the top spot. However, Cutsforth would have none of that and one lap leader he was faster on the cushion and retook the top spot.
Meanwhile, Kevin Adams was on the move after starting seventh and before long he had moved into the third place and joined the battle for the lead as the three cars swept away from the field. Adams nearly edged past Cutsforth for second but Denny fought back as the top three were putting on a show. The track was excellent for them with Halopka running the low groove, Cutsforth riding the cushion and Adams ducking both high and low, looking for an opening.
Just as Adams made a move to get past Cutsforth for second again, the lone yellow waved for Mac stalled car in turn four, slowing the action. One lap later the halfway point would see Cutsforth again forge his way back into the lead as he was making the high side work for himself as Halopka continued to test the inside line.
Lap after lap, the two raced side by side, each time with Cutsforth just edging Halopka at the line as Adams wasn’t able to keep up after the yellow, slipping back and being challenged by Sam Fankhauser for third.
Slowly but surely, Halopka began to edge forward and with five laps to go, he took over the lead from Cutsforth. However, Denny didn’t give up and he fought his way back to a near tie as the last couple of laps approached. They were dead even as they took the white flag and nearly so around the track on the final circuit. Cutsforth slipped up slightly in turn four but he made a hard charge down the final straightaway but Halopka would edge him out by a half car length in a great Modified race.
For Halopka it was his second straight win here to wind up the season and for Cutsforth, a lot of promise for next year with his new car that he got just near the end of the season. Adams would hold off Fankhauser for third and Jake Hiatt ran Mac stready race to complete the top five.
Jesse Redetzke would show great speed in winning the Super Stock feature race after starting third on the grid. Sam Fankhauser would edge past Leslie Leu to lead the opening lap of the Super Stock feature but Redtzke would then move to the cushion and blow past Fankhauser to take over the top spot.
Redetzke would immediately put some distance on the field while Mac great battle took place for second as Fankhauser and Simon Wahlstrom battled for that position. They would continue that fight for most of the race with Nick Traynor edging into fourth and trying to track them down.
The Super Stocks were all over the track, racing high and low as the race stayed under the green and Redetzke had his hands full weaving his way through the lapped traffic that started to build up. By the halfway point of the race, Jesse had a fairly comfortable lead but one that was challenged by all the traffic. The battle for second raged on with Traynor joining the other two while Dan Nissalke, who started twelfth, showed in the top five for the first time and was catching the second place battle.
This race, which had gone so smoothly, couldn’t finish quite as nicely as when Cody Kummer stalled with just two laps to go, it took three tries to get the final two laps in.
Big developments occurred when both Traynor and Wahlstrom had trouble on the first restart and suddenly, two of the top five drivers were out of the contest with mechanical issues. This allowed Nissalke to move up and Eric Olson to appear in the top five for the first time.
The third attempt was the charm and Redetzke would again power away from the field and drive on for the win. Nissalke would continue his charge as he slid up in front of Fankhauser to claim the runner up honors while Olson would finish his twentieth to fourth charge and D.J. Keeler would complete the top five.
Redetzke became the seventh different winner in the class here this year and for Jesse, it was his first feature win at Rice Lake since a Late Model victory way back in 2008.
The Midwest Modified field was the largest of the night and the top twenty four of them would take the green for the feature race. Jay Richardson would start on the pole and he would go on to lead all laps and drive home for the win. While his lead was never challenged until late, this race was the most problematic of the night with several yellow flags and acouple of grinding crashes that would require considerable time to clean up and sideline several of the drivers.
Richardson would show great resolve as he didn’t let all the yellows and stops and starts bother him as he continued to make solid laps and hold the pack of cars behind him. Kyle Kirberger would hold the second spot for the first half of the contest with Simon Wahlstrom, James Vendela and Mike Widmann racing hard behind him.
Track point champion Austin Ellis would show in the top five at the halfway point and he would be the driver to watch in the second half of the race. Ellis would move to the extreme high side of the track in the last eight laps and it would pay dividends for him as he drove by Wahlstrom and then Kirberger to take over second and he began to close on Richardson as the laps ran down. Austin would continue to charge and he just about was side by side with Richardson when the last yellow slowed the action with two laps to go.
On green, Ellis would go for broke, pushing very high in turn one. However, he got just a bit CSS high and his car pushed up to the wall, causing him to slow and lose considerable ground as the race would continue. By the time Austin got going again, he would be out of the top five and Richardson would continue to drive Mac smooth and straight line and flash under the checkers as the winner. Wahlstrom would take advantage of the late shuffling to take second and J.D. Ford would come from no where to roar up to third with Kirberger and Widmann completing the top five while Ellis would cross seventh.
For Richardson, never a steady driver at this track but one who has competed here many times over the years, it marked his first ever feature win at Rice Lake in his “cow car” as he became the ninth different winner in the class this year.
Shawn Amundson put together a strong performance as he dominated the Street Stock feature to claim his third win of the year at Rice Lake, leading in that category for 2021. He would start third in the lineup and while Ty Agen would lead the opening round, it took only one lap for Amundson to pounce into the lead and once in front, he would motor away form the crowd.
Just after Shawn took over the top spot. a three car tangle would slow the action but this would be the only yellow of the event and with green flag racing, Amundson would simply motor away from the field.
As Amundson pulled away, the driver on the move was Nick Traynor. He started eighth and was only up to fifth when he moved up the track and he then really picked up the pace as he drove past car after car on the high side, eventually pulling past Jason Havel to take over the second spot.
However, once he got to that position, the only driver he couldn’t overcome was Amundson who continued to cruise up front. Traynor would pull away form Havel for second and the top two would ease away from the field and they would finish up in that order. Havel would complete the year in grand style with this third to go with the track championship two weeks ago. Andrew Hanson would finish a solid fourth ahead of a charging Kolby Kiehl.
The 2021 racing season at the Rice Lake Speedway is now complete. Owners Dave Adams and Mitch Hansen would like to thank all the drivers and fans for their support during the season. The 2022 racing season is expected to start somewhere in April of next year. Watch the speedway website and face book page for announcements relative to the track banquet, 2022 schedule and any other announcements during the off season.
14 entries
WISSOTA MODIFIEDS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 3JR-Shane Halopka[3]; 2. 20-Denny Cutsforth[2]; 3. 40-Kevin Adams[7]; 4. 11-Sam Fankhauser[6]; 5. 3H-Jake Hiatt[5]; 6. 12-Jason Gross[4]; 7. 18H-Mark Hanson[8]; 8. 88-Tyler Luger[12]; 9. 10-Kyle Helling[9]; 10. 308-Pat Hoffman[11]; 11. T40-Danny Thomas[10]; 12. 204-David Mayala[13]; 13. (DNF) 18M-Mason McEvers[1]; 14. (DNF) 34JR-Dan Larson Jr[14]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 11-Sam Fankhauser[2]; 2. 3JR-Shane Halopka[3]; 3. 20-Denny Cutsforth[6]; 4. 18M-Mason McEvers[1]; 5. 10-Kyle Helling[5]; 6. 308-Pat Hoffman[4]; 7. 204-David Mayala[7]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 40-Kevin Adams[6]; 2. 18H-Mark Hanson[4]; 3. 3H-Jake Hiatt[1]; 4. 12-Jason Gross[3]; 5. T40-Danny Thomas[2]; 6. 88-Tyler Luger[7]; 7. (DNF) 34JR-Dan Larson Jr[5]
29 entries
WISSOTA SUPER STOCK
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 207-Jesse Redetzke[3]; 2. 22N-Dan Nissalke[12]; 3. 52-Sam Fankhauser[1]; 4. 1E-Eric Olson[20]; 5. 12K-Duane (DJ) Keeler[9]; 6. 7-Andrew Mackey[4]; 7. 14X-Leslie Leu[2]; 8. 11X-Jason Schill[11]; 9. 26-Kyle Copp[16]; 10. 71-Brandon Clemens[15]; 11. 11-Denny Schouveller[8]; 12. 10B-Rich Bishop[13]; 13. 20*-Andrew Davis[21]; 14. 10-Jeff Eisner Jr[10]; 15. 67-Josh Bach[14]; 16. 15-Jonathan Dachel[18]; 17. 3-Thomas Karaba[19]; 18. 77-Josh Saunders[23]; 19. 01-Michael Anderson[22]; 20. (DNF) 1M-Simon Wahlstrom[6]; 21. (DNF) 40-Nick Traynor[5]; 22. (DNF) 12-Cody Kummer[7]; 23. (DNF) 2-Bart Steffen[17]; 24. (DNF) 22-Robert Holmstrom Jr[24]
B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 20*-Andrew Davis[4]; 2. 01-Michael Anderson[2]; 3. 77-Josh Saunders[8]; 4. 22-Robert Holmstrom Jr[5]; 5. 29M-Michael Miller[9]; 6. 55S-Derrike Suckow[6]; 7. 21-Mike Siewert[1]; 8. 28-Josh Cappo[3]; 9. (DNF) 77L-Andy Ladd[7]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 14X-Leslie Leu[2]; 2. 7-Andrew Mackey[4]; 3. 12K-Duane (DJ) Keeler[7]; 4. 10B-Rich Bishop[3]; 5. 2-Bart Steffen[1]; 6. 21-Mike Siewert[5]; 7. 22-Robert Holmstrom Jr[6]; 8. (DNF) 29M-Michael Miller[8]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 1M-Simon Wahlstrom[4]; 2. 40-Nick Traynor[1]; 3. 10-Jeff Eisner Jr[7]; 4. 67-Josh Bach[3]; 5. 15-Jonathan Dachel[2]; 6. 01-Michael Anderson[6]; 7. (DNF) 77L-Andy Ladd[5]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 207-Jesse Redetzke[6]; 2. 11-Denny Schouveller[1]; 3. 11X-Jason Schill[7]; 4. 71-Brandon Clemens[4]; 5. 3-Thomas Karaba[5]; 6. 28-Josh Cappo[2]; 7. (DNF) 77-Josh Saunders[3]
Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. 52-Sam Fankhauser[2]; 2. 12-Cody Kummer[1]; 3. 22N-Dan Nissalke[6]; 4. 26-Kyle Copp[5]; 5. 1E-Eric Olson[7]; 6. 20*-Andrew Davis[4]; 7. 55S-Derrike Suckow[3]
38 entries
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. R1-Jay Richardson[1]; 2. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[5]; 3. 343-JD Ford[7]; 4. 2-Kyle Kirberger[3]; 5. 119-Mike Widmann[4]; 6. 37-Travis Anderson[9]; 7. 20-Austin Ellis[8]; 8. 7-Dalton Mains[12]; 9. 15-James Vendela[2]; 10. 18S-Kennedy Swan[15]; 11. 68-Shadow Kitchner[18]; 12. 19D-Dane Durbin[11]; 13. 83X-Kadden Kath[20]; 14. 221-Aric Lindberg[22]; 15. 43K-Kaden Blaeser[19]; 16. 28-Francis Hanson[13]; 17. (DNF) 32III-Cody Carlson[10]; 18. (DNF) 63JR-Brady Larson[14]; 19. (DNF) 23KR-Les Duellman[17]; 20. (DNF) 21-Jimmy Latvala[21]; 21. (DNF) 19J-Jack Rivord[6]; 22. (DNF) 48-Cole Kelley[24]; 23. (DNF) 87-Karl Knopps[23]; 24. (DNF) B37-Cody Borgeson[16]
B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 21-Jimmy Latvala[2]; 2. 87-Karl Knopps[3]; 3. 20X-Carson Madsen[4]; 4. 28R-Paul Ripley[5]; 5. 76-Mitch Kieber[1]; 6. 91T-Douglas Toepper[8]; 7. 40L-Larry Scott[9]; 8. (DNF) 33-Cooper Berlin[6]; 9. (DNF) 6-Cory Deilke[7]
B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 221-Aric Lindberg[2]; 2. 48-Cole Kelley[3]; 3. 2G-Tanner Gehl[7]; 4. 64-Evan Checkalski[5]; 5. 93-CJ Wagner[4]; 6. 40-Mike Schnider[1]; 7. 19H-Kevin Herrman[8]; 8. 2B1-Diamond Bressette[9]; 9. 19-David Madsen[6]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15-James Vendela[2]; 2. 19J-Jack Rivord[8]; 3. 19D-Dane Durbin[7]; 4. B37-Cody Borgeson[5]; 5. 76-Mitch Kieber[1]; 6. 48-Cole Kelley[4]; 7. 33-Cooper Berlin[3]; 8. (DNS) 2B1-Diamond Bressette
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Kyle Kirberger[2]; 2. 343-JD Ford[4]; 3. 7-Dalton Mains[1]; 4. 23KR-Les Duellman[5]; 5. 40-Mike Schnider[7]; 6. 20X-Carson Madsen[6]; 7. 19-David Madsen[3]; 8. 19H-Kevin Herrman[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[5]; 2. 20-Austin Ellis[2]; 3. 28-Francis Hanson[1]; 4. 68-Shadow Kitchner[7]; 5. 21-Jimmy Latvala[4]; 6. 93-CJ Wagner[3]; 7. 6-Cory Deilke[6]; 8. 40L-Larry Scott[8]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 119-Mike Widmann[1]; 2. 37-Travis Anderson[3]; 3. 63JR-Brady Larson[4]; 4. 43K-Kaden Blaeser[2]; 5. 221-Aric Lindberg[7]; 6. 28R-Paul Ripley[6]; 7. 2G-Tanner Gehl[5]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. R1-Jay Richardson[1]; 2. 32III-Cody Carlson[4]; 3. 18S-Kennedy Swan[6]; 4. 83X-Kadden Kath[7]; 5. 87-Karl Knopps[2]; 6. 64-Evan Checkalski[3]; 7. 91T-Douglas Toepper[5]
21 entries
WISSOTA STREET STOCK
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 30-Shawn Amundson[3]; 2. 40T-Nick Traynor[8]; 3. 5H-Jason Havel[5]; 4. 20-Andrew Hanson[6]; 5. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[7]; 6. 26T-Ty Agen[1]; 7. 40-Travis Loew[9]; 8. 26-Jordan Kurtti[12]; 9. 7-Caiden Engel[4]; 10. 71X-William Fisher[10]; 11. 79-Joseph Ott[11]; 12. 17-Zach Beaulieu[16]; 13. 37-Mike Chaplin[13]; 14. X-Mike Knudtson[20]; 15. T20-Michael Tuma[15]; 16. 66-Eric Haupt[17]; 17. 4-Matt Bray[14]; 18. (DNF) 19H-Jenna Herrman[19]; 19. (DNF) 12K-Jay Kesan[2]; 20. (DNS) 04-Travis Hazelton; 21. (DNS) 96-Daniel Guntner
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40-Travis Loew[3]; 2. 20-Andrew Hanson[1]; 3. 5H-Jason Havel[7]; 4. 71X-William Fisher[4]; 5. 37-Mike Chaplin[5]; 6. 17-Zach Beaulieu[2]; 7. 04-Travis Hazelton[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 40T-Nick Traynor[1]; 2. 12K-Jay Kesan[5]; 3. 7-Caiden Engel[7]; 4. 79-Joseph Ott[2]; 5. 4-Matt Bray[3]; 6. (DNF) X-Mike Knudtson[6]; 7. (DNF) 96-Daniel Guntner[4]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 30-Shawn Amundson[6]; 2. 26T-Ty Agen[1]; 3. 9K-Kolby Kiehl[5]; 4. 26-Jordan Kurtti[3]; 5. T20-Michael Tuma[4]; 6. 66-Eric Haupt[2]; 7. 19H-Jenna Herrman[7]
25 entries
WISSOTA PURE STOCK
A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 7-Mike Schnider[1]; 2. 57-Randy Graham[2]; 3. AK-Mitchell Kesan[5]; 4. 16-Cory Jorgensen[3]; 5. 5R-George Richards[12]; 6. 31-Travis Hazelton[23]; 7. 31C-Tim Carlson[4]; 8. 29M-Rob Grabon[9]; 9. 2S-Tristan Scheuermann[18]; 10. 70-Bob Thompson[15]; 11. 63-Cody Cimfl[7]; 12. 17-Aaron Bernick[20]; 13. 31T-Tom Treviranus[16]; 14. 101-Michael Grover[11]; 15. 95F-Devin Fries[10]; 16. 29-Armond Love[25]; 17. 72-Cully Butterfield[19]; 18. 91-Michael Holmstrom[17]; 19. 131-Jessie Limberios[21]; 20. 17G-Chris Gross[22]; 21. (DNF) 1-Ryan Olson[8]; 22. (DNF) 23R-James Rahn[6]; 23. (DNF) 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[14]; 24. (DNF) 87-Chris Johnson[13]; 25. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[24]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Cory Jorgensen[1]; 2. 63-Cody Cimfl[2]; 3. 31C-Tim Carlson[7]; 4. 95F-Devin Fries[4]; 5. 87-Chris Johnson[5]; 6. 31T-Tom Treviranus[6]; 7. (DNF) 31-Travis Hazelton[9]; 8. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[3]; 9. (DNF) 29-Armond Love[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[2]; 2. AK-Mitchell Kesan[1]; 3. 29M-Rob Grabon[4]; 4. 101-Michael Grover[6]; 5. 2B-Nicholas Hazelton[3]; 6. 91-Michael Holmstrom[5]; 7. 72-Cully Butterfield[8]; 8. 131-Jessie Limberios[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Mike Schnider[1]; 2. 57-Randy Graham[2]; 3. 23R-James Rahn[4]; 4. 5R-George Richards[7]; 5. 70-Bob Thompson[6]; 6. 2S-Tristan Scheuermann[3]; 7. 17-Aaron Bernick[8]; 8. 17G-Chris Gross[5]
