Truscott, Latvala and Hazelton Top Rice Lake Speedway Winner’s List
By Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, August 1st – Along with the Mahder 55 Late Model race won by Kevin Adams, three other WISSOTA sanctioned divisions were in action on Saturday night, August 1st and coming home the winners were Michael Truscott, Jimmy Latvala and Travis Hazelton.
After waiting out a nearly two and a half hour rain delay part way through the program, the three feature races were contested in the late evening hours. However, the track was in excellent shape for the the last few races of the evening after the Late Models put on fifty five laps of their own and it produced some fine feature races.
The Modified field was the largest and likely most talented of the year so far at the track and this race was a good five car battle for the win right down to the wire. Darrell Nelson and A.J. Diemel shared the front row with Nelson getting the jump at the start and leading the opening laps. Several early race spins slowed the action as the drivers up front jockeyed for position in between the slow downs for the mostly minor events.
Nelson continued to hold the top spot but Diemel and then Mike Anderson moved in to challenge him for the lead. Anderson worked the cushion as he got up beside Nelson but couldn’t quite complete the pass for the lead but they still raced in a tight group. Matt Leer was also on the move as he caught the front group but the driver showing the most speed was Michael Truscott who started in the third row but also quickly moved in to challenge.
Working both the high and low side of the track, Truscott was able to make moves and wind his way through the leaders, finally making a strong pass of Nelson to take over the top spot. While the race had been slowed frequently in the early going, once the racers got the early spins out of the way, the last fifteen laps of the race went nonstop and the pace was frantic.
Truscott continued to lead but he had Nelson and Diemel pushing him hard with A.J making a move that saw him overtake Nelson for second. Anderson and Leer were also right in the hunt as the top five tore around the track, using up the whole surface in an effort to find an opening and make a pass for position.
Truscott remained very impressive as he held off the still challenges of two of the finest in the area and drove on for the win with Diemel and Nelson close behind while Anderson and Leer also rounded out the top five while being a part of the lead pack. For Truscott, it was his first appearance of the year at the track and resulted in his second career Modified win at Rice Lake.
Jimmy Latvala was able to do Truscott one better as the long time racer won his first ever feature race at Rice Lake while topping a hard fought Midwest Modified main event. Latvala, who raced down the highway to Rice Lake after ABC Raceway in Ashland rained out, started fourth in the Midwest Modified main event but quickly moved into a challenging position.
Kennedy Swan led the opening lap as the young lady racer continued to improve each week but she was quickly challenged by Travis Anderson and Latvala after Mark Thomas jumped the cushion and slipped back a few positions. Anderson tried hard but he couldn’t quite get by Swan while Latvala made an exciting move down the back chute as he spotted an opening, made a quick move switching lanes and found himself up beside the leader.
He powered into the lead, passing Swan but soon found himself being pressured by Anderson, who had picked up the pace. Also starting to make some moves toward the front was Kent Baxter who had started in the third row. As Baxter and Thomas battled for third, Anderson began to pressure Latvala for the lead. Jimmy was running a lane up the track and in each corner Anderson would poke his nose under the leader, only to find Latvala ease away from him down the chutes. This continued for lap after lap, with the lead being highly contested.
As the racers saw the white flag, Anderson made one last ultimate attempt to get the top spot, only to clip a marker tire which sent his car hurdling through the air. By the time he regained control, Baxter had driven by him for second as a very pleased Latvala would drive home for the win. Latvala often races at Rice Lake when the opportunity arises and Saturday night he was rewarded with that first checkered flag and a large trophy for the Mahder event. Thomas would wind up fourth while Jack Rivord, another late arrival, would drive from twelfth to complete the top five.
Travis Hazelton is having a fine season in the Pure Stock class, winning feature races at various tracks in the area and being a threat to crack victory lane every week at Rice Lake. Saturday night to topped the track’s most dominant driver in 2020 to date, Mike Schnider and recorded his first feature win of the season at Rice Lake.
He shared the front row with Schnider, got the jump on him at the start and led all twelve laps to record the big win. While the Pure Stocks had to deal with a slightly greasy race track after they were the first division to compete after the rain delay, they did a fine job with only a single yellow to slow the action.
While Hazelton led all laps, Schnider pushed as hard as he could but simply couldn’t catch the Chippewa Falls driver on this night.
Mike Roth and Ryan Olson battled for third for quite a few laps until Roth slipped high and lost several positions. In the end, rookie driver Olson had his best finish so far at Rice Lake as he finished a solid third.
Defending national champion Cory Jorgensen had a rocky start to his night when he was pushed into the concrete wall on the opening lap of his heat race and brought a cobbled together car home to finish fourth in the main with Bob Thompson, who himself was a DNF his heat race, came from twelfth to round out the top five in the feature.
All eyes now focus on next Tuesday, August 4th for the twenty sixth annual Street Stock Little Dream race to be held at the Rice Lake Speedway. This nationally recognized event is a one of a kind classic with the Street Stock class racing for a huge purse which is enlarged by fan and business contributions not just for the winner, but for a number of other finishing positions as well. Last year, for the twenty fifth edition of this race, winner Jimmy Randall went home with just over twenty five thousand dollars for his win!
FYE Motorsports Promotions will again administer the running of this event and FYE spokespersons Chris Stepan and Scott Tiefs have been busy raising funds for this event. This race will also be available on FYE TV for those people unable to attend. Also, check the Rice Lake Speedway face book page for information on this race and also how you might contribute to the success of this one of a kind race. Race time is 7 pm on Tuesday .
Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
August 1, 2020
WISSOTA Modifieds
20 lap Feature – Michael Truscott(Chippewa Falls), A.J. Diemel(Elk Mound), Darrell Nelson(Hermantown MN), Mike Anderson(Jim Falls), Matt Leer(Bruce), Mark Hanson(Chippewa Falls), Cory Mahder(Elk Mound), Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Dan Bargender(Menomonie), Pat Hoffman(Rice Lake), Nick Koehler, Brent Prochnow, Ron Mahder, Ross Prochnow, Shaun Kreyer, Cooper Berlin, Dakota Smith, Kyle Helling, Dave Mayala
10 lap Heat 1 – Bargender, Hoffman, Truscott, Fankhauser, Koehler(Bloomer), Robby Bunkelman, Mayala, R. Prochnow
Heat 2 – Nelson, Diemel, Matt Gilbertson(Montevideo MN), C. Mahder, Helling(Rice Lake), Kreyer, Berlin, Smith
Heat 3 – Leer, R. Mahder(Elk Mound), Anderson, Hanson, B. Prochnow(Colfax), Zach Gibson
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Jimmy Latvala(Solon Springs), Kent Baxter(Colfax), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Mark Thomas(Menomonie), Jack Rivord(Superior), Kennedy Swan(Chippewa Falls), Dalton Mains(Foxboro), Aric Lindberg(Dallas), Jamie Bisonette(Dallas), Fran Hanson(Almena), Zach Slayton, Craig Elliott
8 lap Heat 1 – Anderson, Thomas, Latvala, Swan, Dan Larson Jr(Eau Claire), Hanson, Mains, Duane Halverson
Heat 2 – Baxter, Bisonette, Lindberg, Elliott(Hillsdale), Jake Stai(New Auburn), Slayton, Rivord
WISSOTA Pure Stocks
12 lap Feature – Travis Hazelton(Chippewa Falls), Mike Schnider(Cameron), Ryan Olson(Ladysmith), Cory Jorgensen(Duluth MN), Bob Thompson(Cameron), Karl Knopps(Chippewa Falls), Mike Roth(Deerwood MN), Tristan Scheuermann(Eau Claire), Robert Holmstrom Jr(Cameron), Terry Kemp(Rice Lake), Nicholas Hazelton, Mike Grover, Jay Folz
8 lap Heat 1 – Jorgensen, Grover(Chetek), Olson, Dan Boissy(Trego), Kemp
Heat 2 – Knopps, N. Hazelton(Chippewa Falls), Holmstrom Jr, Jake Sandmann(Rice Lake), Scheuermann, Chris Gross
Heat 3 – Schnider, Roth, T. Hazelton, Folz(Cameron), Joey Prusak(Port Orange FL).
