Copp, Vernon, Swanson, Smith are 2-for-2 in ABC Raceway Feature Action
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, June 6 – Another gorgeous early Summer night greeted fans for Saturday’s “Kids’ Meet the Drivers Night” festivities at the ABC Raceway.
The popular annual program, presented by the Heartland Communications Group of radio stations in Ashland and Iron River, brought out fans young and old alike in strong numbers to visit with the drivers on the front straight prior to green-flag action, collecting autographs, souvenir trading cards and treats from the drivers while getting an up-close look at the cars.
As for the on-track action, four of the five feature winners also won on opening night last Saturday.
Brule’s Brandon Copp once again ran away to a convincing win in the Top Groove Racewear WISSOTA Modified headliner, giving him two straight such wins to kick off the 2026 season here in fine fashion. Copp started outside on the front row and won the drag race over polestarter Nick Oreskovich down the back stretch on lap 1 to claim the lead, which he then held through all 20 non-stop laps.
Copp gradually built a stout multi-length advantage over the course of the run – not quite the half-lap margin he had en route to his opening-night win, but it was more than enough to keep Oreskovich well behind him. Further back, Andrew Mackey and Brady Uotinen put on an entertaining show for third spot, joined by Cole Spacek shortly after mid-race.
Copp held a straightaway cushion on Oreskovich when he took the white flag and cruised home from there for his 16th career feature win in Ashland and 14th in a “big Mod.” Oreskovich was solidly in second, while Mackey fended off late-lap challenges by Uotinen and Spacek for third.
Ashland’s Shawn McFadden scored his first Bulldog Auto Repair WISSOTA Super Stocks feature win at ABC since June 6, 2020 – six years to the day – by leading every lap of the 20 scheduled, surviving a mid-race caution, and overcoming slower traffic to take the checkers as Terran Spacek closed in.
McFadden started on the pole and outran Patrick Beeksma through the first pair of turns to establish the early pace, while Dalton Truchon, Jason Melton, and Steve Stuart stayed in hot pursuit. Over the first five laps Stuart, who dominated here last Saturday, charged through to third and looked to be on a mission to get to the front quickly. And an opportunity presented itself on lap 6, when Melton spun his ride.
But it was the ninth-starting Spacek who took advantage of the stoppage. Restarting fifth, Spacek worked low to get by Truchon and Stuart to take third over the next green-flag circuit, then repeated the move to steal second from Beeksma on lap 9. From there he followed McFadden as closely as he could as the lead pair caught tail-end traffic over the final eight laps.
McFadden was on the truck-lid of Melton and Rita Anderson when he took the checkers for his tenth career ABC feature win and fifth in the Supers, while Spacek was less than a car-length back in second. Beeksma was all alone in third, well ahead of Kyle Copp and Matt Deragon, both of which made late-race passes to get into the top five.
Tyler Vernon of Mason took control of the Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-feature practically from the get-go, claiming the point after polestarter James Vendela was penalized one row for an initial-start jump. But Vernon earned the win, as challenges from Vendela, Paul Ripley and others were persistent throughout the 20-lap run.
Ripley moved by Canadian visitor Mike Jacques into second on the restart after Vendela’s jump, but Vernon set a blistering early pace until Mitch Kieber’s lap 7 spin. From there Vernon could not build up the cushion that he had early in the run, with Vendela and Ripley staying close behind him while swapping second spot. On lap 11 Kieber’s get-together with Jonny Nowak kept the field tight again, and although Ripley grabbed second from Vendela on that restart, Vendela fought back with an outside pass on lap 13.
As a tight pack of cars were making their way past rookie Connor Kaseno in the closing laps, sixth-running Tanner Hicks’s car bounced off Kaseno’s left-front tire, nearly spinning Hicks and forcing several racers to scramble on the front chute to avoid the slowing Kaseno. At nearly the same time, Ripley and Marcus Dunbar tangled in turn 2, with both cars spinning, but officials ruled that the caution was thrown for Kaseno’s contact with Hicks, setting up a three-lap shootout.
Vernon stayed just ahead of the chaos for second for his second feature win of the season here in as many nights, and his 24th overall at Ashland. Ripley took one more shot at an inside pass of Vendela, but Vendela held him off for second, with Dunbar not far back in fourth, and Hicks using a last-lap pass for fifth.
Jake Smith, visiting from Cohasset, MN, for the second night this season, scored his second Bill’s Collision Center WISSOTA Pure Stock feature win and third of his career here. Smith got past front-row starter Dylan Helget within the first couple of laps and, after a restart for a spin by rookie Andrew Ravina, slipped past polestarter Aaron Bernick for the lead, which he held firm to from there.
As Smith pulled away, Shane Basina came up to challenge Bernick, using an outside move to slip past Bernick for second just before mid-race. But Basina did not have enough race car nor laps remaining to catch Smith, who cruised to a comfortable margin of victory. Bernik was not far back in third, while Helget stayed close in fourth, followed at a distance by a recovered Ravina.
Travis Swanson, from Ashland, took advantage of the Berglund Customs ABC Six-Cylinder feature’s only restart – after an initial-lap spin by polestarter Cody Eichmann – and ran away to his 13th career ABC Raceway feature win and second in a row to start the 2026 campaign,
Eichmann and fellow front-row starter Alex Bond stayed side-by-side over the initial lap of the 12-lap race, but coming out of turn 4 for the first time Bond bumped Eichmann hard enough to cause the leader to spin in front of the entire field. After the restart Eichmann stayed just ahead of the battles between Swanson and Kyle Weber for second and Roger Walker and Basina for fourth, which continued for several laps.
On lap 3 Swanson made an inside pass of Eichmann work, and from there Swanson would not be caught. Walker also got by Eichmann for second, and by mid-race Eichmann fell back to fifth behind Weber and Basina.
With three tours remaining Basina worked his way by Weber, but by then Swanson was well out front, on his way to an impressive win. Walker finished a distant second, with Basina third, and Weber holding off Eichmann for fourth.
A complete re-grading of the track surface during intermission was appreciated by many of the drivers, including all five feature winners, who passed along kudos to the track prep crews from Victory Lane. The faster, wider, smoother red-clay surface provided significantly better action and plenty of three- and even four-wide racing.
On Saturday, June 13, the ABC Raceway will host one of its most important nights of the season when it introduces the inductees at its 2026 Hall of Fame ceremonies, presented by Boomer’s Bar & Grill of Ashland. The 12th class of inductees will be introduced on the front straight during intermission of that night’s race program, which will also feature all five regular weekly divisions in action.
The pit gates will open at 4:30 pm and the grandstand gate opens at 5. Hot laps will start at 6:30, and green-flag action begins at 7 pm.
The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990, log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com, or check out its FaceBook page.
Results
Top Groove Racewear WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Brandon Copp, Brule; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Andrew Mackey, Ashland; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Cole Spacek, Woodruff; Tyler Vernon, Mason; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Pat Cook, Washburn; Jake Hiatt, Mason; Cody Carlson, Superior.
11: Ross Fuhrman, Ashland.
Heat 1: Oreskovich; Copp; Uotinen; Hiatt; Dunbar; Fuhrman.
Heat 2: Mackey; Vernon; Spacek; Cook; Carlson.
Bulldog Auto Repair WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Kyle Copp, Brule; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Trenton Bond, Iron River; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Don Livingston, Washburn; Dalton Truchon, Washburn; Jakob Bond, Marengo.
11-12: Jason Melton, Rhinelander; Rita Anderson, South Range.
Heat 1: Deragon; Truchon; Livingston; Copp; Spacek; J Bond.
Heat 2: Stuart; Melton; Beeksma; McFadden; T Bond; Anderson.
Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Tyler Vernon, Mason; James Vendela, South Range; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Tanner Hicks, Ashland; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Judd Skubal, Rhinelander; Mike Jacques, Thunder Bay, ON; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI.
11-16: Cade Johnson, Eveleth, MN; Bryan Lund, Ashland; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Jonny Nowak, Proctor, MN; Mitch Kieber, Rhinelander; Connor Kaseno, Marengo.
Heat 1: Latvala; Suzik; Vernon; Ripley; Dalbeck; Hicks; Johnson; Kieber.
Heat 2: Skubal; Dunbar; Jacques; Vendela; Barningham; Nowak; Lund; Kaseno.
Bill’s Collision Center WISSOTA Pure Stocks
Feature: 1-7: Jake Smith, Cohasset, MN; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Dylan Helget, South Range; Anthony Ravina, Duluth, MN; Alex Larson, South Range; Timmy Kin, Greenland, MI.
Heat: Smith; Basina; Bernick; Helget; Ravina; Larson; Kin.
Berglund Customs ABC Six-Cylinders
Feature: 1-9: Travis Swanson, Ashland; Roger Walker, Phillips; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Kyle Weber, Drummond; Cody Eichmann, Park Falls; Justin Pratt, Glidden; Alex Bond, Iron River; Cameron Bond, Mason; Adam Traaholt, Ashland.
Heat 1: Swanson; Basina; A Bond; Pratt; Tyler Gervais, Ashland.
Heat 2: Weber; Walker; C Bond; Eichmann; Traaholt.
