Myers Crowned Fast Lane Series Champ at ABC Raceway
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, August 9 – Despite a difficult night on the track, Curt Myers of Cameron was named the 2025 Fast Lane Motorsports Northland Super Stock Series champion at the ABC Raceway on Saturday night.
Myers, who was also the Series’ inaugural champ in 2015, struggled through a tough heat-race outing and a mechanical breakdown late in the 30-lap feature but had enough of a lead to earn the Series’ Jerry O’Brien International Points Championship, named in honor of the popular local racing beat writer and former racer who passed away in July.
The program, presented by the NAPA Auto Parts Stores of Ashland & Washburn, saw 88 entries – including 28 WISSOTA Super Stocks – take to the smooth, wide, fast three-eighths-mile northern Wisconsin oval, with divisional points leaders in four of the five classes doing much to solidify their advantages with just one more points-paying show remaining.
Ashland’s Steve Stuart took a huge step – and a somewhat profitable one – toward his fifth straight Lightning Storm Graphics WISSOTA Super Stock championship by leading the Fast Lane Series finale flag-to-flag for his fourth feature win of the season and 52nd of his career here. He started outside on the front row, took the lead coming out of the first turns, and was challenged but never bettered throughout the run.
Polestarter Terran Spacek stayed within close range of Stuart throughout the first half of the race while doing all he could to keep defending Series champ Dexton Koch, Alex Myers, DJ Keeler and former Series champ Dylan Nelson at bay. Stuart and Spacek had just begun to gain some distance away from Koch and the field on lap 8, and Stuart had just caught the tail of the running order, when Jakob Bond’s spin brought about the only caution flag of the race.
On the restart Alex Myers slipped past Nelson to gain fourth place, with Tommy Richards in tow to fifth, and from there the frontrunners stayed in order until lap 15, when Koch moved past Spacek for second. Koch then chipped away at Stuart’s one-second advantage as the lead pair approached slower traffic.
While maneuvering through backmarkers over the final five laps, Koch stayed on Stuart’s rear bumper and even got alongside the leader’s rear fender on occasion, but Stuart took advantage of some open space over the final two laps to lead by just shy of a full second at the checkers and collect the $1,000 feature winner’s check. Spacek, whose car came to life a bit in the closing circuits, was just a few yards behind Koch for third, while Richards and Alex Myers followed at a distance to complete the top five.
It won’t take more than starting his heat and the feature next week for Stuart to nail down the title, which would be the 11th of his career overall at ABC.
Fuhrman Designs WISSOTA Modified standings leader Justin Weinberger of Elk Mound also took a big stride toward his second ABC Raceway track championship with his feature win on Saturday. After an initial caution stoppage for the spun cars of Jake Hiatt and Neil Balduc in the first turn, Weinberger held off several strong challenges to win the 20-lapper.
Weinberger started from the pole and beat visitor Andrew Inman out of the first corner after the restart, but Inman stayed close, as did Brandon Copp, Nick Oreskovich, Mike Anderson and others. After Anderson grabbed fourth from Oreskovich on lap 2, Inman used a strong inside move to take the lead a circuit later, but Weinberger fought back on the outside and reclaimed the lead for good on lap 5.
As the field shuffled behind him over the first ten laps, Weinberger maintained a slim but safe lead, but over the second half of the run Inman and Copp closed in, while Anderson and Andrew Mackey trimmed their deficit to the top three in a hurry. The front five were in close formation as the white flag flew, with Copp swiping second from Inman, but Weinberger held on for a half-second winning margin and his third feature win of the year. Anderson and Mackey completed the top five.
Like Stuart, Weinberger only needs to start his heat and the feature to nail down his first “big Mod” title and second ABC championship, along with his WISSOTA Pure Stock title in 2016.
Mason’s Tyler Vernon continued his march toward a potential WISSOTA National points title with his fourth Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature win of the season. Vernon started outside on the front row and, after a yellow-flag stop for a James Vendela spin on the initial start, dominated for all 20 laps.
Vernon took the lead from polestarter Jimmy Latvala and raced off to a strong early margin, but Antonio Pintaro’s car stopped after the first lap was scored due to a fire. After safety crews quickly tended to the small blaze, Vernon again pulled away, building a three-second lead over Paul Suzik before the halfway point and ahead of a good battle for third between Latvala and David Baxter.
Vernon’s lead was nearly four-and-a-half seconds when he caught and passed backmarker Bryan Lund with five laps remaining, and the lead was over five seconds two laps later when visiting Braedyn Kirtland spun to bring out the yellow flag and bunch the field up behind Vernon. The bumper-to-bumper restart formation was as close as anyone would get to the leader, as Vernon sped off to a two-second cushion over the final three laps. Suzik came home second, and George Dalbeck grabbed three spots after the last restart to finish third, just ahead of Latvala and Baxter.
Suzik closed to within 12 points of leader and defending champ Marcus Dunbar in what should make for a great final night of racing next Saturday for that division’s title.
Jake Smith, visiting from Cohasset, MN, used a last-lap pass of divisional points leader Eric Crosby to claim his first career feature win at ABC in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks.
Crosby, who sits second in a tight battle for WISSOTA’s National points championship at press time, beat Smith to the first turn and protected the low lane of the red-clay oval as much as possible during almost the entire ten-lap run. Smith, who is a close third in the National points, stayed right on Crosby’s rear bumper, while Austin Fencl did likewise to Smith, as the three leaders gained separation from rookie Dylan Helget and first-night visitor Steve Karshbaum.
The race stayed under green throughout, with the top three running nose-to-tail like they were chained together, until they came through turn 4 to take the white flag. That’s when Crosby’s car pushed out a lane, allowing Smith to pull alongside on the preferred bottom groove and take the lead over the final lap for his landmark win. Fencl, who could not quite take advantage of the same opening, followed closely for third, well ahead of Helget and Karshbaum.
Crosby’s strategy will be the same as Weinberger’s and Stuart’s next weekend – take the green flag in both his heat and the feature for his second straight Pure Stock title here.
Bayfield’s Shane Basina scored his track-leading seventh Berglund Customs Six-Cylinders A-feature win and, like the others, needs to only take a green flag or two next Saturday to nail down a third straight divisional crown. Basina took advantage of Cody Eichmann’s misfortune of not starting the 15-lap main event, started in Eichmann’s place on the outside of the front row, and passed polestarter Cody Roberts on lap 2 to lead the rest of the way.
Basina was well over a second up on Roberts by lap 5, while Cameron Bond ran third ahead of a great duel for fourth between rookie Kyle Weber and veteran Roger Walker. Basina continued to extend his lead just enough while putting Mady Anderson a lap down with three laps remaining.
Basina held a 2.4-second advantage at the checkers, while second-finishing Roberts had an impressive run to stay well ahead of Bond, who was fending off a pesky Walker on the final lap. Weber came home a distant fifth.
A wide, smooth track generated some lap times that got to within a half-second of the respective divisional track records during heat-race action, with little drop-off during the features. Basina Racing feature fast-laps were posted by Weinberger in the Modifieds (17.097 seconds; 78.961 mph), Stuart in the Super Stocks (17.389; 77.635), Vernon in the Midwest Mods (16.831; 80.209), Smith in the Pure Stocks (19.514; 69.181), and Basina in the Sixes (18.494; 72.997).
The final regular-season night of racing at the ABC Raceway will be on Saturday, August 16, when the Safari Tavern of Ashland presents Championship Saturday Night. The 2025 points champions in all five regular weekly divisions will be crowned at the conclusion of their respective feature races.
Prior to the racing program, the ABC Raceway Kids’ Club will host an end-of-season party at the pavilion area, with prizes, treats and music for the younger fans.
After Saturday’s program, the Raceway staff will prepare for the 50th Red Clay Classic, powered by Enbridge, on September 26-27.
The pit gates will open at 4:30 pm and the grandstand gate opens at 5, with hot laps starting at 6:30 and green-flag action beginning 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
Fuhrman Designs WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Justin Weinberger, Elk Mound; Brandon Copp, Brule; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; Andrew Mackey, Ashland; Cole Chernosky, Thunder Bay, ON; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Cody Wolkowski, Thunder Bay, ON; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Austin Ellis, Rice Lake.
11-17: Neil Balduc, Bessemer, MI; Pat Cook, Washburn; Cole Spacek, Woodruff; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Jake Hiatt, Mason; Bryan Hessler, Chetek; Jeff Spacek, Phillips.
Heat 1: Uotinen; Weinberger; Chernosky; Ellis; J Spacek; Hiatt.
Heat 2: Mackey; Oreskovich; Anderson; Wolkowski; Balduc; C Spacek.
Heat 3: Copp; Cook; Inman; Hessler; Dunbar; Tyler Vernon, Mason.
Lightning Storm Graphics WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Steve Stuart, Ashland; Dexton Koch, Becker, MN; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Tommy Richards, Mondovi; Alex Myers, Cameron; Dylan Nelson, Merrifield, MN; Jordan Henkemeyer, Sauk Rapids, MN; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Tristan LaBarge, Kelly Lake, MN; Doug Koski, Chisholm, MN.
11-20: Shawn McFadden, Ashland; DJ Keeler, Superior; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Jeff Eisner Jr, Merrill; Trenton Bond, Iron River; Leslie Leu, Medford; Randy Graham, Trego; Don Livingston, Washburn; Austin Niemeyer, Brainerd, MN; Scott Geiger, Dorchester.
21-28: Jason Melton, Rhinelander; Jake Nevala, Ashland; Rita Anderson, South Range; Josh Schmidt, Elk River, MN; Allan Cleveland, Breckenridge, MN; Curt Myers, Cameron; Jakob Bond, Marengo; Dalton Truchon, Washburn.
Heat 1: Koch; Stuart; Beeksma; C Myers; Eisner; Deragon; Melton.
Heat 2: A Myers; Nelson; Graham; Koski; McFadden; Anderson; Cleveland.
Heat 3: Spacek; Keeler; Niemeyer; Nevala; Livingston; Schmidt; J Bond.
Heat 4: LaBarge; Richards; Henkemeyer; T Bond; Leu; Geiger; Truchon.
Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Tyler Vernon, Mason; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; David Baxter, Eau Claire; Joseph Swearingen, Eau Claire; Tanner Hicks, Ashland; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Cade Johnson, Iron, MN; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI.
11-19: Judd Skubal, Rhinelander; James Vendela, South Range; Hunter Brink, Kakabeka Falls, ON; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; Bryan Lund, Ashland; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Braedyn Kirtland, Mass City, MI; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN; Antonio Pintaro, Osseo.
Heat 1: Vernon; Latvala; Swearingen; Baxter; Johnson; Jacobson; Kirtland.
Heat 2: Suzik; Fuhrman; Hicks; Barningham; Brink; Lund.
Heat 3: Ripley; Pintaro; Dalbeck; Dunbar; Vendela; Skubal.
WISSOTA Pure Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Jake Smith, Cohasset, MN; Eric Crosby, Amery; Austin Fencl, Bruce; Dylan Helget, South Range; Steve Karshbaum, New Auburn; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Ryan LaBorde, South Range; Dnae Rose, Gordon; Zene Anderson, Superior.
11: Anthony Schultz, Stillwater, MN.
Heat 1: Fencl; Smith; LaBorde; Rose; Anderson; Schultz.
Heat 2: Crosby; Helget; Karshbaum; Basina; Bernick.
Berglund Customs ABC Six-Cylinders
Feature: 1-9: Shane Basina, Bayfield; Cody Roberts, Drummond; Cameron Bond, Mason; Roger Walker, Phillips; Kyle Weber, Drummond; Alex Bond, Iron River; Bryan Anderson, Mason; Dale Coddington, Hayward; Mady Anderson, Mason.
Heat 1: C Bond; Cody Eichmann, Park Falls; A Bond; Walker; M Anderson; Tyler Gervais, Ashland.
Heat 2: Basina; Coddington; Weber; Roberts; B Anderson; Travis Swanson, Ashland; .
