On Saturday, August 13, the ABC Raceway will host the Northern Renegades traditional sprint tour, while the “big Mods” will also return to make a seven-division program, to be presented by the Heartland Communication Group of Chequamegon Bay area radio stations. The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm, with hot laps to be run at 6:15 followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Swan, Treviranus are First-Time ABC Raceway Feature Winners

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, August 6 – First-time feature winners, fund-raiser raffles and kids racing their bikes on the historic red-clay oval were the themes of the night at the ABC Raceway on Saturday.

The Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsmen’s Club presented the six-division “Small Car Classic” program in which WISSOTA Street Stocks replaced the track’s usual WISSOTA Modified contingent. The purses paid out on this night included $500 to win for each of the feature winners except in the WISSOTA Hornets, which were offered a season-high $300 to win.

Kennedy Swan, the talented 15-year-old from Chippewa Falls, broke through with her first-ever feature win at ABC by taking the lead just after a mid-race restart and holding on. Swan started outside on row 2 and was in the thick of the lead pack throughout the 20-lap run.

After a first-corner three-car tangle, Jimmy Latvala edged ahead of polestarter Ross Fuhrman for the early advantage before a series of yellow flags were thrown for a Marcus Dunbar spin, a three-car mess on the front straight that collected Dunbar, and a stalled Duane Dunbar. Following the last of those stoppages, Paul Suzik worked a high-side pass of Latvala to take the lead away on lap 4, just before another melee stopped the show on lap 5.

Suzik, Latvala and Swan inched away from the rest of the pack before a Diamond Bressette spin on lap 7 brought about another yellow. It was after that restart that Swan made an inside move stick to grab the lead, and she survived one final stoppage – for a grinding crash involving Bressette and Mitch Kieber on lap 12 – while fending off Suzik’s challenges for her one-second margin of victory.

Latvala was right on Suzik’s rear bumper at the checkers, while Marcus Dunbar recovered to climb all the way to fourth, and William Moelter was awarded fifth.

The other first-time winner on this night was Tim Treviranus, who drove to the WISSOTA Pure Stock feature win. The veteran Hawthorne driver was making his first visit of the season here, trying to get the bugs out of daughter Jessie Limberios’ car.

Division points leader Cory Jorgensen looked to have the upper hand on polestarter Kevin Bartelt through the first turns, but his car slipped high in turn 2, allowing RJ Holly, Tyler Kachinske, Travis Hazelton and Aaron Bernick to get by. Bernick then made a three-wide pass for second hold up on lap 2, with Hazelton staying with him to third.

By lap 5 Hazelton had overtaken Bernick and was threatening Holly for the lead over the next three circuits, before Bernick’s spin on lap 8 brought out the race’s only caution flag – and the first of the night overall, as there had not been a single yellow flag thrown throughout the heats.

Holly held on as long as he could, but eventually Treviranus, who took second from Hazelton on lap 9, worked inside on Holly to take over the lead on lap 11, with Hazelton following to second. The lead pair pulled away over the closing laps, and Treviranus held on for a third-of-a-second advantage for his landmark win. Holly was a distant third, and Brent Mindock took fourth in his first feature race at Ashland since 2001, ahead of Jorgensen.

Rice Lake’s Hunter VanGuilder captured the visiting Street Stocks’ 12-lap A-feature – his second career win in three visits to the northern Wisconsin speedplant. VanGuilder also took advantage of a restart to claim the lead and then fought off a late challenge.

VanGuilder dove low on the opening lap to threaten polestarter Warren Bartelt and Michael Tuma for the early lead, but Tuma outlasted the others to set the pace by lap 2. Then on lap 3, a hard crash collected four cars running in tight formation just behind the lead pair, taking out Caiden Engel and Ty Agen while sending Bartelt to the back.

VanGuilder used the restart to get an inside run on Tuma and took the lead away, with former ABC Raceway Pure Stock champ Andrew Hanson following VanGuilder to second. From there VanGuilder and Hanson drew away from the balance of the field, with the leader extending his edge on every lap, until VanGuilder crossed under the checkered flag a full 1.25 seconds ahead of Hanson.

Tuma trailed in third, ahead of Bartelt and Eric Haupt.

Although the division was a little low on cars, the Arrowhead Auto Glass WISSOTA Super Stock feature battle was a thriller, as Nick Oreskovich held off a determined Steve Stuart for his second win of the year here.

Oreskovich, the divisional points leader from Mason, grabbed the initial lead as fellow front-row starter Patrick Beeksma slowed in front of the field coming out of the first set of turns with a mechanical issue. After that, Oreskovich had to contend with Stuart directly on his back bumper and Shawn McFadden staying nearly dead even with the leader on the low groove. The top three in points pulled away before Randy Graham’s spin brought everyone together for a lap 2 restart.

Don Livingston looped his ride one lap after the race went back to green, and shortly after that restart Graham’s car lost power and pulled off the track. By this time McFadden had lost touch with Oreskovich and Stuart, who were putting on a nose-to-tail battle up front. Occasionally Stuart showed his car’s nose to the inside, but Oreskovich held his line and his high-groove momentum.

Only in the final couple of laps did Oreskovich pull away to any kind of cushion, finishing just .61 seconds ahead of Stuart while adding to his slim lead over Stuart in the points standings. At a distance behind the third-finishing McFadden were Myron Basina and Aaron Mashlan.

It was looking like another driver would get his first-ever feature win in the ABC Six-Cylinder class, but this time a caution stoppage spoiled the opportunity.

It was polestarter Austin Olby’s race to lose, as he set the pace right from the drop of the green, although a lap 3 restart after Dalton Truchon’s stalled ride had stopped the event tested Olby’s nerve. But the sophomore driver endured and, in fact, extended his lead over a long green-flag run during the race’s middle stages.

Behind him Bubba Anderson kept the pressure on, while Dennis Groom and Mathew Rohlfing stayed close in third and fourth. On lap 8 Olby held a half-second edge when Julian Root spun his racer, and on the ensuing restart Anderson took himself out of contention when he spun in front of the pack.

That’s when Groom, the divisional points leader and defending Sixes champ, dove low on lap 11 to work past Olby for the lead, and from there the Ashland veteran pilot pulled away to a 1.7-second final margin for his fourth win of the season which, combined with Truchon’s early-race issues, padded his tenuous points lead. Rohlfing got by Olby with three laps remaining for a season-high second-place effort, while Olby edged Jakob Bond for third, ahead of rookie Jacob Johnson.

Despite a little controversy at the start of the Lightning Storm Graphics WISSOTA Hornets feature, the usual suspect – Ashland’s DeJay Jarecki – settled the issue by scoring another feature win.

The controversy came in the form of visiting Justin Schelitzsche, who hustled over from finishing a night of points racing in Proctor, MN, just in time to pull into ABC’s pits for the Hornets’ A-main. After some discussion, Schelitzsche was allowed to start the feature last on the six-car grid, with track officials scrambling to research the proper course of action for such a situation.

Schelitzsche was fast early on, getting completely through the field and taking the lead going into turn 3 on the very first lap. However, Jarecki, who started alongside Schelitzsche in the back row, grabbed second before the initial circuit was completed and chased down the leader within a couple more laps.

Jarecki went the long way around Schelitzsche on lap 3 to take the lead and, despite being only a couple of car-lengths ahead, held on to win his fourth feature on the season and solidify his points lead. Kristy Marken won a race-long battle with Holly for third, and Noah Rose came home fifth.

Winners of the kids’ bike races included Zander Pagels (ages 3-5), Kennedy Cook (ages 6-8), Tatum Cook (ages 9-11), and Cole Marquardt (ages 12-up).

Nearly 40 bikes and a couple of scooters were donated by various race teams and local businesses for the young fans in the stands on this night. The generous contributors included Robert & Sandy Lowndes, 22RVR Racing, Vendela Racing, Anderson Motorsports, Myron Basina Racing, Mashlan Business Services, McFadden Racing, Mudflaps Motorsports, Rohlfing Racing, Jacob Johnson Racing, Copp Racing, Oreskovich Racing, Mashlan Racing, Jake Nevala Racing, Deragon Racing, DTM Motorsports, Patti’s Family Day Care and Groom Racing, Northern Clearing Inc, the Ashland Walmart store, Kieber Racing, Shane Basina Racing, Randy Graham Racing, Hiatt & Son Trucking, Jake Hiatt Racing, the ABC Raceway, and in memory of the late Bill Muhlig.

Sixes driver Jake Nevala also purchased a racing helmet and collected several local-driver autographs on it; the helmet was also donated as a giveaway on this night.

On Saturday, August 13, the ABC Raceway will host the Northern Renegades traditional sprint tour, while the “big Mods” will also return to make a seven-division program, to be presented by the Heartland Communication Group of Chequamegon Bay area radio stations. The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm, with hot laps to be run at 6:15 followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Results

WISSOTA Super Stocks

Feature: 1-9: Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Myron Basina, Bayfield; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Randy Graham, Trego; Don Livingston, Washburn; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Matt Deragon, Ashland.

Heat: Stuart; Oreskovich; Beeksma; Deragon; McFadden; Livingston; Graham; Mashlan; Basina.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; William Moelter, Elk Mound; Sean O’Brien, Manitowish Waters; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield.

11-16: Mitch Kieber, Ironwood, MI; Diamond Bressette, Spooner; Neil Dees, Hurley; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Bryan Lund, Ashland.

Heat 1: Suzik; D Dunbar; Bressette; Latvala; Jacobson; Kieber; Blom; Lund.

Heat 2: M Dunbar; Fuhrman; Swan; O’Brien; Gehl; Moelter; Barningham; Dees.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

Feature: 1-7: Hunter VanGilder, Rice Lake; Andrew Hanson, Iron River; Michael Tuma, Weyerhaeuser; Warren Bartelt, Medford; Eric Haupt, Trego; Ty Agen, Chippewa Falls; Caiden Engel, Bruce.

Heat: VanGilder; Bartelt; Engel; Tuma; Agen; Hanson; Haupt.

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Tom Treviranus, Hawthorne; Travis Hazelton, Chippewa Falls; RJ Holly, Marengo; Brent Mindock, Prentice; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN; Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN; Kevin Bartelt, Chippewa Falls; Nate Rose, Duluth, MN; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Skylar Findley, Clayton.

11: Steve Pohl, Manitowish Waters.

Heat 1: Hazelton; Treviranus; Bernick; Holly; Mindock; Rose.

Heat 2: Jorgensen; Bartelt; Kachinske; Findley; Pohl

ABC Six-Cylinders

Feature: 1-10: Dennis Groom, Ashland; Mathew Rohlfing, Cable; Austin Olby, Marengo; Jakob Bond, Mason; Jacob Johnson, Cable; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Julian Root, Ashland; Cody Eichmann, Park Falls; Trenton Bond, Mason.

11-16: Bella Bretting, Washburn; Bubba Anderson, Trego; Jake Nevala, Ashland; Dalton Truchon, Ashland; Jimmy Stearns, Superior; Adam Traaholt, Ashland.

Heat 1: Groom; Truchon; Anderson; T Bond; Basina; Stearns; Traaholt.

Heat 2: Nevala; J Bond; Rohlfing; Olby; Schultz; Johnson; Root; Bretting.

WISSOTA Hornets

Feature: 1-6: DeJay Jarecki, Ashland; Justin Schelitzche, Waconia, MN; Kristy Marken, Duluth, MN; RJ Holly, Marengo; Noah Rose, Duluth, MN; Brandon Hummelmeier, Ashland.

Heat: Jarecki; Holly; Marken; Hummelmeier; Rose.

ABC 8/6/22 Streets, kids bike races results

To start the final month of the regular season, the ABC Raceway will next host its first-ever Small Car Classic, to be presented by the Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsmen’s Club, on Saturday, August 6. WISSOTA Street Stocks will join the Super Stocks, Midwest Mods, Pure Stocks, Sixes and Hornets, and the rescheduled kids’ bike races will also be held.

The Hornets will run for $300 to win in their feature on this night, while the other five classes will race for $500 to win in their respective A-mains.

The Raceway has announced that it will add a second appearance by the Street Stocks on August 20, with $1,500 on the line for the feature winner that night. All six of the track’s regular weekly divisions will also be on hand, although the Supers will run for National points only (no track points) on that night.

The Northern Renegades’ traditional sprint cars are still slated for an August 13 appearance, and the regular season will conclude on August 27, with season champions to be crowned on that night.

The grandstand gates and pits will open this coming Saturday at 5 pm, with hot laps to be run at 6:15 followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Two More for Sabraski During FastLane Series Stop at ABC

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, July 30 – Shane Sabraski continued his tear through the FastLane Motorsports Northland Super Stock Series with his fourth straight sweep of heat and feature action on the tour at the ABC Raceway on Saturday night.

Neither a stout field of 32 WISSOTA Super Stocks nor an over-two-hour mid-program delay due to a local power outage could stop the Rice, MN, star as he not only chalked up the feature win in that class but also in the WISSOTA Modifieds on his march towards 800 overall career feature victories.

NAPA Auto Parts of Ashland & Washburn presented the program, which also saw Tanner Gehl collect his first-ever feature win in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. Travis Hazelton, Dalton Truchon and DeJay Jarecki were A-main winners as well, as another great turn-out of fans enjoyed the warm mid-summer conditions and hung around despite the long delay.

The power outage occurred midway through the Super Stock semi-feature, affecting half of the Raceway’s facility as well as some neighboring properties. The race was completed as dusk was just reaching the Chequamegon Bay area, while local power company service crews were summoned to investigate the occurrence. When power was restored at 11 pm, the 26-car Super Stock feature field was quickly called onto the track.

Polestarter Scott Lawrence took early command of the 30-lap, $700-to-win main event, just ahead of Series points leader Dustin Nelson, the fourth-starting Sabraski and Terran Spacek. The close-knit foursome swapped positions over the first two laps before the race’s lone yellow flag waived for a four-car jumble, after which Spacek stole the lead away from Lawrence on the restart.

Sabraski got by Lawrence within the next couple of laps and closely trailed Spacek as the lead pair pulled away and caught tail-runners by lap 10. While Spacek and Sabraski negotiated traffic, Nelson caught up and worked inside against Sabraski to steal second, and on lap 17 Nelson grabbed the lead as Spacek opted to work the high side to try to get by some more slower cars which were hugging the preferred lower line. Sabraski also took advantage to take second away, and on lap 19 he moved outside on Myron Basina, while Nelson dove low, and completed a three-wide pass for the lead.

Over the final 11 laps Sabraski weaved expertly through the field on his way to a 1.28-second advantage, which was trimmed to .724 seconds at the checkers by Nelson as the leader found himself bottled up behind another slower car. The win was Sabraski’s fourth in as many FastLane Series events – he did not compete in the Series opener at Grand Rapids, MN, on July 14 – and moved him well into contention for the Series points title with two events remaining (at Proctor, MN, and Ogilvie, MN).

Spacek followed at a distance, with Lawrence and Nick Oreskovich completing the top five.

The 20-lap Modified feature immediately followed, and Sabraski practically picked up right where he left off, but this time he benefitted greatly from the race’s only caution stop.

Jeff Spacek grabbed the early advantage from polestarter Shane Kisling and sped away to a 1.4-second lead within just four laps. Sabraski, who started eighth on the 13-car grid, had already worked his way around Pat Cook and national big-Mod points leader Jack Rivord into fifth by lap 2, then went low to pass Alex Van Natta and Bill Byholm for third two circuits later.

On lap 7 Sabraski caught and dispatched Kisling for second and began to cut away at Spacek’s 2.3-second cushion, and he had already trimmed a half-second off over the next go-around before the caution flag came out for Brandon Copp’s spin, thus eliminating the leader’s healthy margin.

It took a couple of laps after the restart, but Sabraski finally made an inside pass of Spacek stick at mid-race, and from there the leader was not to be harassed. Cook also took full advantage of the race’s lone restart, quickly moving up to third within a lap and then getting by Spacek for second on lap 12.

Cook and Spacek entertained the crowd with a great battle for runner-up honors, and further back a five-car dogfight ensued for fourth between Van Natta, Kisling, Copp, and cousins Jack and Rick Rivord. But none of that mattered to Sabraski, who pulled away to a dominant 3.25-second victory – his third of the season here and ninth of his career at ABC. Cook outlasted Spacek for second, and Van Natta held on to take fourth ahead of Copp.

Gehl took advantage of his pole-position start and led flag-to-flag in the 20-lap Midwest Mod feature, although a restart tested the youngster’s mettle late in the run. Gehl, a third-generation racer from Solon Springs, had only won once before at Ashland – and that was in a Pure Stock during his 2020 championship season here.

Gehl looked smooth as he grabbed the immediate lead and pulled away from the fierce battles for position behind him, extending his edge to 1.4 seconds by lap 3 as James Vendela and Jesse Polson tussled for second. Within another half-dozen circuits young Canadian David Simpson had moved up to challenge Vendela, while former track champ Paul Suzik worked the outside line to close in on that battle, but Gehl continued to pull away.

With four laps remaining Simpson finally overtook Vendela for second, and before the lap was completed Suzik swept around Vendela for third. Then Polson and Ross Fuhrman got together to bring out the race’s only slowdown – and eliminate Gehl’s massive 4.5-second lead. Fortunately for the leader, Simpson and Suzik were too busy battling with each other side-by-side for second to keep up, as Gehl pulled away to his landmark win by .83 seconds. Suzik grabbed runner-up honors from Simpson in the closing laps, and George Dalbeck and Duane Dunbar completed the close-formation top five.

The WISSOTA Pure Stock feature ran off its ten laps without delay, with polestarter Tyler Kachinske beating Aaron Bernick to the early advantage. Hazelton, who hauls here from Chippewa Falls to become a track regular, followed Kachinske to second and pressured the youngster immediately, diving low to take over pacesetter duties as Kachinske worked the outer groove.

Midway through the 10-lapper Hazelton had built a 1.5-second lead, and he continued to improve on that as Kachinske was challenged by track and WISSOTA national points leader Cory Jorgensen throughout the back half of the race. Hazelton crossed under the checkers for the third time this season a full 2.13 seconds ahead of Jorgensen, who edged Kachinske for second. Bernick and Steve Pohl followed at a distance for fourth and fifth, respectively.

A spin by polestarter Jake Nevala in the first turn spoiled the start of the ABC Six-Cylinders’ 15-lap main, but Nevala maintained the lead position over the first four laps after the restart, ahead of Truchon and a side-by-side battle for third between Mathew Rohlfing and Tyler Hudack. On lap 4, however, Truchon muscled his way by Nevala on the inside and took over the lead for good.

Rohlfing’s spin on lap 5 bunched up the already tightly-packed field for the restart, after which Truchon drew away to as much as a 1.7-second advantage. Hudack, driving his sister Tiffany’s championship-winning car, cleared Nevala for second but needed another caution slowdown in order to catch the leader – and he got it when Nevala was spun again with two laps to go. But Truchon was not to be denied, as the Ashland youngster held a .85-second advantage at the finish for his second win of the season and fifth of his career here.

Nevala, rookie Jacob Johnson, and Jakob Bond rounded out the top five.

Jarecki continued his dominance of the WISSOTA Hornet field on his hometown track, running away to his fourth feature win of the season and the 18^th of his career here. The division’s defending champ and current points leader started outside on the front row and was never challenged, but behind him polestarter RJ Holly had his hands full with visitor Carter Matthews, who got by Holly for second after two laps.

Matthews appeared to be gaining on Jarecki in the closing laps, but the leader had established too much of a cushion to overcome and Matthews settled for second. Holly was a ways’ back in third, and another long-distance visitor, Alyssa Nelson, and first-nighter Jonathan Popp completed the top five.

To start the final month of the regular season, the ABC Raceway will next host its first-ever Small Car Classic, to be presented by the Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsmen’s Club, on Saturday, August 6. WISSOTA Street Stocks will join the Super Stocks, Midwest Mods, Pure Stocks, Sixes and Hornets, and the rescheduled kids’ bike races will also be held.

The Hornets will run for $300 to win in their feature on this night, while the other five classes will race for $500 to win in their respective A-mains.

The Raceway has announced that it will add a second appearance by the Street Stocks on August 20, with $1,500 on the line for the feature winner that night. All six of the track’s regular weekly divisions will also be on hand, although the Supers will run for National points only (no track points) on that night.

The Northern Renegades’ traditional sprint cars are still slated for an August 13 appearance, and the regular season will conclude on August 27, with season champions to be crowned on that night.

The grandstand gates and pits will open this coming Saturday at 5 pm, with hot laps to be run at 6:15 followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Results

WISSOTA Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Pat Cook, Washburn; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Alex Van Natta, Minocqua; Brandon Copp, Brule; Rick Rivord, Superior; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Shane Kisling, Butternut; Jack Rivord, Superior; Jake Hiatt, Mason.

11-13: Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Tyler Luger, Oxford.

Heat 1: Rivord; J Spacek; Copp; Kisling; Hiatt; R Rivord; C Spacek.

Heat 2: Sabraski; Van Natta; Byholm; Cook; Luger; Klippenstein.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Dylan Nelson, Merrifield, MN; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Dustin Nelson, Ogilvie, MN; Randy Graham, Trego; Austin Niemeyer, Brainerd, MN; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN.

11-20: Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Tucker Quinn, Ladysmith; Cory Casari, Montreal; Andrew Johnson, Brainerd, MN; Jake Froemke, International Falls, MN; Don Livingston, Washburn; Chris Johnson, Superior; Stefan Hogue, Altoona.

21-26: DJ Keeler, Superior; Jeremy North, Huron, SD; Josh Schmidt, Becker, MN; Myron Basina, Bayfield; Jeffrey Frey, Ogilvie, MN; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland.

Heat 1: Sabraski; Mackey; Niemeyer; Livingston; Schmidt; Dan Peterson, Foxboro; Mashlan; Rita Anderson, South Range.

Heat 2: Dylan Nelson; Graham; Deragon; Casari; C Johnson; A Johnson; Allan Cleveland, Breckenridge, MN; Thomas Karaba, Superior.

Heat 3: Spacek; Dustin Nelson; Stuart; Keeler; Beeksma; Josh Saunders, Spooner; Basina; William Fisher, Shell Lake.

Heat 4: Oreskovich; Lawrence; McFadden; Quinn; Froemke; Hogue; North; Frey.

Semi-Feature: A Johnson; Hogue; Basina; Frey; R Anderson; Karaba; North; Peterson; Cleveland; Mashlan; Saunders; Fisher.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; James Vendela, South Range; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Dane Olson, Littlefork, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior; Mitch Kieber, Ironwood, MI.

11-17: Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Bryan Lund, Ashland; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Neil Dees, Hurley.

Heat 1: Suzik; Vendela; Gehl; Fuhrman; Latvala; Hudack; Jacobson; Lund; Diamond Bressette, Spooner.

Heat 2: Polson; Olson; Simpson; M Dunbar; D Dunbar; Dalbeck; Kieber; Barningham; Dees.

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

Feature: 1-5: Travis Hazelton, Chippewa Falls; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN; Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Steve Pohl, Manitowish Waters.

Heat: Brent Mindock, Prentice; Hazelton; Jorgensen; Bernick; Kachinske; Pohl; RJ Holly, Marengo.

ABC Six-Cylinders

Feature: 1-10: Dalton Truchon, Ashland; Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Jake Nevala, Ashland; Jacob Johnson, Cable; Jakob Bond, Mason; Forrest Schultz, Ashland; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Mathew Rohlfing, Cable; Austin Olby, Marengo; Dennis Groom, Ashland.

11-13: Trenton Bond, Mason; Bubba Anderson, Trego; Julian Root, Ashland.

Heat 1: Hudack; Groom; Truchon; Schultz; Anderson; T Bond; Jimmy Stearns, Superior.

Heat 2: Rohlfing; Johnson; J Bond; Nevala; Olby; Basina; Root.

WISSOTA Hornets

Feature: 1-6: DeJay Jarecki, Ashland; Carter Matthews, Clearbrook, MN; RJ Holly, Marengo; Alyssa Nelson, Merrifield, MN; Jonathan Popp, Iron River; Brandon Hummelmeier, Ashland.

Heat: Jarecki; Matthews; Nelson; Holly; Popp; Hummelmeier.

The ABC Raceway will host the scheduled sixth event of the seven-race Fast Lane Motorsports Northland Super Stock Series on Saturday, July 30, presented by the NAPA Auto Parts stores of Ashland and Washburn. All six regular weekly divisions will be in action, with the WISSOTA Super Stocks racing for a $600 feature winner’s check as well as a share of the Series’ overall $40,000 purse.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm on July 30, with hot laps to be run at 6:15 followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Nelson, Ames, Bahr Top XR Northern Storm Series Runs at ABC

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, July 21 – A season-high 120 entries from seven states and two Canadian provinces came to the ABC Raceway on Thursday for the second annual “444 Memorial,” presented by Ashland Ford-Chrysler Center and Mid-States Hydraulics. The program doubled as night number four of the five-night XR Northern Storm Series, presented by Dr Troy Powers & Associates.

The huge crowd on hand saw Huron, SD’s Dale Ames win the WISSOTA Modified feature in his first-ever visit to the historic northern Wisconsin speedplant, while Darrell Nelson of Hermantown, MN, won for the tenth time at Ashland but first time in a WISSOTA Late Model, and Haugen’s Tony Bahr won a WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature win here for the second time in his career.

The event was held in honor of the late Tanner Byholm, a young third-generation WISSOTA Modified driver who raced regularly at ABC but tragically lost his life in an aircraft accident in February 2021. The evening’s purses and bonuses were themed by Byholm’s “444” number.

The 44-lap Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series headline event was paced by Nelson from start to finish, but he was under siege both early and late in the run. Nelson grabbed the lead coming out of the first turns by sweeping around polestarter and Late Model rookie Danny Vang, but for the first few laps Vang stayed close to Nelson as the lead pair separated from the battle for third between James Giossi and Travis Budisalovich.

Nelson eventually extended his lead to over a second by lap 7 and caught the tail-end of the field a lap later, pushing his advantage to over a second-and-a-half while negotiating slower traffic. But on lap 15 the yellow flag was thrown for debris on the racing surface, taking Nelson out of the heavy traffic but also bringing Vang, Giassi, Budisalovich and the rest of the field up to the leader’s rear bumper.

A couple of laps after the restart Pat Doar snuck inside on Derek Vesel to take over fifth behind Budisalovich, bringing Jimmy Mars and Jeff Massingill along to sixth and seventh. Five circuits later the field was slowed again as Jake Redetzke’s racer stalled on the front straightaway, and on the ensuing green flag Budisalovich spun, taking him from contention while Mars dropped into the pits.

Nelson sped away again to lead the final 23 laps, stretching his lead to as much as 2.5 seconds as drivers being lapped pulled out of the way and off the track. But Vang quickly reeled the leader in over the final ten laps as Nelson again worked his way by the tail-enders, drawing to Nelson’s back pushbar as the two were trapped behind the slower Max Nelson with four laps left.

Fortunately for Darrell Nelson, Vang could not gain enough momentum to get around the low-line-running leader, who won by just .35 seconds. Giossi claimed third at a distance, with Doar and Massingill directly behind.

“This is all for Tanner,” Nelson said of his special moment in Victory Lane afterwards as he paid tribute to the Byholm family and received winner’s trophies from both the family and the WLMCS, as well as the $2,444 first-place check.

Ames’ win in the Outlaw Wraps & Apparel WISSOTA Modified feature came courtesy of a lap 18 pass of Clayton Wagamon, who had won the first two of the XR Northern Storm Series’ Mod A-mains earlier in the week – in Ogilvie, MN, and Hibbing, MN. Wagamon, like Nelson in the Late Models, swept around polestarter Colin Chaschuk at the start and sped away to a 2.5-second lead over the first five laps.

Ames, who started the 30-lap main event behind Chaschuk, took over second on lap 5 and then chipped away at Wagamon’s buffer, trimming it to 1.2 seconds by lap 13, just before Cole Spacek slowed with a flat tire to bring about the race’s only caution slowdown.

Wagamon continued to pace the field after the restart, running the outermost lane of the three-eighths-mile oval, but Ames stayed within a car-length of the leader for several circuits. Behind them, Shane Sabraski moved by Chaschuk for third with 13 laps left.

On the next go-around, Ames made an inside pass stick coming out of Turn 4, and from there Ames led Wagamon and Sabraski in a three-car dogfight to the finish, eventually pulling away to a 1.1-second lead with five laps to go. Sabraski made things interesting by passing Wagamon and drawing to Ames’ back bumper, with the winning margin shrinking to just four-tenths of a second at the checkers. Wagamon fell back but still maintained third ahead of JT Johnson and Andy Jones.

“We pulled in (to the Raceway grounds) and instantly knew this would be a fun place,” Ames told the crowd as he received his $1,444 first-place check and winner’s trophy.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modified win on this night may have been the most special for Bahr, whose long career includes a strong bond with the Byholm family. Bahr started from the pole and led all 20 laps on his way to the $844 win.

The race only suffered two slowdowns, with the first coming just two laps in when fourth-starting Kennedy Swan was penalized to the back of the field for bumping an infield marker tire onto the racing groove. The other happened just three laps later when Swan spun while trying to fight her way back through the field. In between the yellows, eighth-starting Justin Jones used a strong inside move to get by Austin Blom and defending race winner Tyler Vernon for second.

Bahr used the long green-flag run from there to safely extend his lead to as much as 2.26 seconds just past mid-race. Vernon challenged Jones on a couple of occasions but could not quite get by for second, but the hard-charging Cody Carlson was able to slip by Jones, albeit momentarily, on lap 8.

Jones regained the runner-up spot with eight laps left and used the long run under green to close in on Bahr, who was maneuvering through lapped traffic. But Bahr held on for a 1.1-second winning margin, while Zach Benson came on strong in the final laps to overtake Carlson for third. Later, during the post-race technical inspection, Jones’ car was disqualified due to a rules infraction, passing second place on to Benson, with Carlson, Vernon and 12^th-starting Cole Chernosky completing the top five.

An emotional Bahr stated that this was “the biggest race of my career,” based on his strong ties with the Byholms. Bahr’s only other win at Ashland came during the Mid-Mod feature at the 2018 Red Clay Classic.

The ABC Raceway will host the scheduled sixth event of the seven-race FastLane Motorsports Northland Super Stock Series on Saturday, July 30, presented by the NAPA Auto Parts stores of Ashland and Washburn. All six regular weekly divisions will be in action, with the WISSOTA Super Stocks racing for a $600 feature winner’s check as well as a share of the Series’ overall $40,000 purse.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm on July 30, with hot laps to be run at 6:15 followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Results

WISSOTA Late Models

Feature: 1-10: Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Danny Vang, Deerwood, MN; James Giossi, Hudson; Pat Doar, New Richmond; Jeff Massingill, Keewatin, MN; Derek Vesel, Hibbing, MN; Buddy Hanestad, Boyceville; Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN; Ryan Mikkelson, Alexandria, MN; Shane Edginton, East St Paul, MB.

11-20: Rick Niemi, Eveleth, MN; Cole Searing, Huron, SD; Bryce Sward, Nelson, MN; Jon Tollakson, Montevideo, MN; Jordan Tollakson, Montevideo, MN; Max Nelson, Milaca, MN; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Travis Budisalovich, Minneapolis, MN; Dave Flynn, Superior; AJ Diemel, Elk Mound.

21-25: Jimmy Mars, Menomonie; Sam Mars, Menomonie; John Kaanta, Elk Mound; Jake Redetzke, Menomonie; Dave Mass, East Bethel, MN.

Heat 1: Giossi; Diemel; Vesel; Mikkelson; Niemi; Searing; Rick Hanestad, Boyceville; Gunner Frank, Montrose, IA; M Nelson.

Heat 2: B Hanestad; Redetzke; J Mars; Kaanta; Edginton; Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, MN; Jon Tollakson; Paul Niznik, Medford; Kevin Carlson, Hermantown, MN.

Heat 3: Budisalovich; Hanson; Massingill; S Mars; Mass; Jordan Tollakson; Deven VanHouse, Silver Bay, MN; Hank Berry, Sidney, MT; Larry Fitzsimmons, East Bethel, MN.

Heat 4: Doar; D Nelson; Vang; Flynn; Eder; Jayme Lautigar, Gilbert, MN; TJ Adams, Springbrook; Sward; Todd Frank; Montrose, IA.

Semi-Feature 1: Jordan Tollakson; Eder; Ebert; R Hanestad; G Frank; Berry; Adams; M Nelson; Carlson.

Semi-Feature 2: Searing; Mass; VanHouse; Sward; Lautigar; Jon Tollakson; Niznik; Fitzsimmons; T Frank.

WISSOTA Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Dale Ames, Huron, SD; Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, MN; JT Johnson, Milaca, MN; Andy Jones, Princeton, MN; Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Colin Chaschuk, Neebing, ON; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Shane Kisling, Butternut.

11-20: Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Al Uotinen, Superior; Rick Rivord, Superior; Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, MN; Brandon Copp, Brule; Parker Anderson, Phillips; Pat Cook, Washburn; Jack Rivord, Superior; Ryan Gierke, Villard, MN; Bill Byholm, Glidden.

21-24: Daniel Bargender, Menomonie; Eric Lamm, Milaca, MN; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Jeff Spacek, Phillips.

Heat 1: Wagamon; Gierke; A Anderson; Uotinen; Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; Tyler Kaeter, St Cloud, MN; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Jon Frolik, Ramsey, MN; Rene Poluyko, Tyndall, MB.

Heat 2: Ames; Jones; C Spacek; Nelson; Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Dan Kingsley, Superior; Jake Hartung, Elmwood; Tyler Luger, Oxford; Hunter Anderson, Phillips.

Heat 3: Sabraski; Johnson; Truscott; R Rivord; J Spacek; Alex Van Natta, Minocqua; Matt DePiero, Fort Frances, ON; John Kallas, Hurley.

Heat 4: Kisling; Byholm; P Anderson; J Rivord; Copp; Kyle Helling, Rice Lake; Jake Hiatt, Mason; Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN.

Heat 5: Chaschuk; Lavasseur; Cook; Lamm; Dave Cain, Corcoran, MN; Bargender; Ebert; Michael Procopio, Grand Rapids, MN.

Semi-Feature 1: Ebert; J Spacek; Kingsley; M Anderson; Gehl; Cain; Luger; H Anderson; Helling; DePiero; Procopio.

Semi-Feature 2: Bargender; Copp; Bellefeuille; Kaeter; Van Natta; Hartung; Hiatt; Klippenstein; Frolik; Poluyko; Kallas.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Tony Bahr, Haugen; Zach Benson, Princeton, MN; Cody Carlson, Superior; Tyler Vernon, Mason; Cole Chernosky, Thunder Bay, ON; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Ryan Savoy, Superior; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Shane Howell, Buffalo, MN.

11-20: Chad Switzenberg, Sheridan, WY; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Tad Schoonover, Eagle River; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Jesse Aho, Twin Lakes, MI; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; Mitch Weiss, Scandia; Jesse Polson, Superior; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland.

21-23: David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs.

Heat 1: Vernon; Savoy; M Dunbar; Simpson; Sean O’Brien, Manitowish Waters; Gehl; Shane Kisling, Butternut; Bryan Lund, Ashland; Zach Slayton, Springbrook.

Heat 2: Blom; Carlson; Chernosky; Mains; D Dunbar; Dylan Miller, Hibbing, MN; Aaron Olson, Kelly Lake, MN; William Moelter, Elk Mound.

Heat 3: Swan; Justin Jones, Bemidji, MN; Polson; Aho; Darrin Lawler, Grand Rapids, MN; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Fuhrman; Bob Hammond, Fort Frances, ON.

Heat 4: Benson; Switzenberg; Latvala; Weiss; Garrett Paull, Fort Frances, ON; James Vendela, South Range; Mitch Kieber, Ironwood, MI; Diamond Bressette, Spooner.

Heat 5: Bahr; Schoonover; Uotinen; Suzik; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN; Neil Dees, Hurley.

Semi-Feature 1: Howell; Fuhrman; Vendela; Kisling; Lawler; Slayton; Jacobson; O’Brien; Madrinich; Olson; Bressette.

Semi-Feature 2: D Dunbar; Gehl; Dalbeck; Paull; Lund; Moelter; Dees; Kieber; Barningham; Miller; Hammond.

ABC 7/21/22 XR Northern Storm Series results

The ABC Raceway will next host its second annual “444 Memorial,” presented by Ashland Ford-Chrysler Center and Mid-States Hydraulics, on Thursday, July 21. This special event will be night number four of the five-night XR Northern Storm Series and is part of the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series. Many of WISSOTA’s top Late Model drivers will be on hand to run for a $2,444 feature winner’s check, while WISSOTA Modifieds ($1,444 to win) and WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds ($844 to win) will also fill the pits for what should be one of the biggest nights of racing of the Summer.

Grandstand ticket prices have been announced at $25 for adults and $15 for kids ages 5-12; children under age 5 will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. Spectator pit passes are priced at $35.

The pit gate will open at 4:30 pm on Thursday, while the grandstands will open at 5:30. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:15, and the first green flag of the night should drop at approximately 7 pm.

There will be no races at the track on Saturday, July 23.

The ABC Raceway is located approximately 3.5 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13, then one mile west on Butterworth Road.  More information regarding Thursday’s event and the Raceway itself are available on the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com, and via its FaceBook page.

The ABC Raceway will host its annual kids’ bike races on Saturday, July 16, presented by Chicago Iron & Supplies of Ashland. All six regular weekly divisions will be in action. The busy month then continues on Thursday, July 21, with The 444 Memorial – the fourth race of the five-race, five-night, five-track “XR Northern Storm” tour for the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series, with the Late Models joined by Modifieds and Midwest Mods at each of the tour stops that week.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm this coming Saturday night, with hot laps to be run at 6:15, followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. The bike races will be held during the program’s intermission. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road.

Six More Inducted into ABC Raceway Hall of Fame

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, July 10 – The Ashland-Bayfield County Racing Association added six new members into its ABC Raceway Hall of Fame, during induction ceremonies at the Raceway on Saturday, July 9.

The inductees were selected from a large ballot of nominees presented to the Hall of Fame’s steering committee based on their accomplishments, commitment, contributions and dedication to the overall success of the Association and to the ABC Raceway throughout its 58-year history, as well as to short-track stock car racing throughout the Upper Midwest.

Two local businesses were added under the Contributors category, chosen specifically by the HoF committee for their direct contributions to the Raceway.

Ashland Construction Co made its mark for its willingness to help with a large number of maintenance and improvement projects at the track for over 25 years. Under the guidance of previous owner and avid race fan Bill Kacvinsky, who accepted the inductee’s plaque of recognition on its behalf, the local contractor often donated materials, equipment and services; annually purchased billboards for display in the track’s infield; and sponsored many race drivers over the years, doing so without recognition or fanfare.

Lake Nebagamon Redi-Mix, previously owned and operated by the Yrjanainen family, was also selected for its “behind the scenes” contributions to the facility, especially for some of its larger construction projects, including donating the concrete used for the construction of its restrooms and concession building. They delivered concrete nearly 30 miles from their plant to the track for various projects – often after-hours – but never asked for, nor expected, any recognition in return.  They also contributed to local racing by sponsoring several racers over the years, especially for popular and successful Modified racer Dean Yrjanainen.

Three drivers were chosen for induction into the Class of 2022, based on their on-track accomplishments as well as their loyalty to the ABC Raceway and positive representation of area stock car racing.

Keane Laakson, who traveled from the Stone Lake area, raced at ABC from the mid-1990s until 2010, initially in the WISSOTA Super Stocks, where he won three features and finished top-10 in points three times, in 1999-2001, over a nine-year stretch. He switched to running WISSOTA Late Models in 2003 and competed in a number of special events here before retiring from the sport in 2010. Laakson struggled with health issues after that and passed away in July 2012 at a very young age, but he was known as a friendly, personable guy who always had time to visit. His former wife Sam accepted the induction plaque on Keane’s behalf.

Brady Smith, of Solon Springs, first raced here in a WISSOTA Street Stock in 1996, but he moved into a WISSOTA Super Stock the following year and finished in the top-five in points at ABC for four straight years, scoring track championships in 1998 and ’99 and winning the 1999 Red Clay Classic. In 2001 he became a full-time Late Model racer and tallied many prestigious wins and titles, including the 2003 Red Clay Classic here, a number of other local invitational wins, and victories and championships with several national Late Model touring series, including the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Series. At ABC he earned a total of 21 feature wins, 19 of which were in the Super Stocks.

Ken Truscott, who was known as a fan favorite, a strong competitor, and a classy gentleman, began hauling to race here from Greenwood, MI, in the early ‘90s as an infrequent visitor before making ABC his regular Saturday night track in 2000, finishing in the top-10 in the WISSOTA Super Stock standings 14 times over a 15-year stretch, including career-best fourth-place finishes in 2004, ’05 and ’13. He also scored six feature wins here, all in the Supers, but he may best be remembered for his amazing effort during the 2004 Red Clay Classic when, out of a field of 100 Supers, after a difficult heat race, he came from well back in both a C-feature and a B-feature to win and transfer to the A-main, where he came from the back row to finish fifth.

The lone inductee added under the Volunteers category (those who have provided a minimum of ten years of service to the organization and are recognized for their significant positive contributions and dedication to the organization’s success) is Lori Schmidt, who began her over 30 years of service working at the pit-entry gate at the young age of 22. Eventually she was elected to the Raceway’s Board of Directors, where she served for nearly 30 years, including as secretary for three years and as part of the Board’s financial auditing committee for seven years.

Inductees and their guests, along with past inductees, were treated to a luncheon earlier on Saturday afternoon at Zar’s Banquet Hall in Ashland before heading to the Raceway for the evening’s six-division race program. The formal induction ceremonies took place during intermission of the race program.

With the addition of the Class of 2022, the total number of members of the ABC Raceway Hall of Fame now stands at 73.

Copp, Stuart, Simpson, Jorgensen, Basina, Jarecki Grab Wins on ABC HoF Night

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, July 9 – On a cool early July night in northern Wisconsin, the ABC Raceway inducted six new members into its Hall of Fame on Saturday, and five of the six feature winners were repeat visitors to the track’s Victory Lane in 2022.

The Hall of Fame ceremonies, presented by Zar’s Bar & Banquet Hall of Ashland and held during intermission of the evening’s program, honored track contributors Ashland Construction and Lake Nebagamon Redi-Mix; drivers Keane Laakson (posthumously), Brady Smith and Ken Truscott; and volunteer Lori Schmidt.

The lone first-night winner was David Simpson of Thunder Bay, ON, who captured the WISSOTA Midwest Modified A-main. Simpson started eighth on the 18-car grid but patiently worked his way forward and waited for the right opportunity to snag the lead.

James Vendela swept around polestarter Mitch Kieber at the drop of the green flag and took the initial lead, with Paul Suzik following to second. During lap 2 Jimmy Latvala copied Suzik’s move around Kieber to third, just before fifth-running Ross Fuhrman’s spin brought out the first of the race’s two yellow flags.

Latvala and Suzik swapped second spot behind Vendela for the next couple of green-flag laps before Suzik made a run on Vendela for the lead, with Latvala in his tire tracks. Suzik extended his advantage to nearly a second as the field clicked off 12 uninterrupted laps before another Fuhrman spin stopped the run for the second time, just as Suzik was catching the tail-end of the field.

Simpson, who had picked his way to third and restarted alongside Latvala, made a strong move on Suzik with five laps to go to take the lead away, and Latvala repeated the move for second a lap later. Simpson could not build much of a margin for the remaining laps but held on to a half-second edge over Latvala for his sixth career feature win at ABC and first since August 2019. Suzik, an impressive Jesse Polson, and 11^th-starting Jesse Aho completed the top five.

Brandon Copp of Brule used a last-lap move in slower traffic to get by race-long leader Jack Rivord and win his second Outlaw Wraps & Apparel WISSOTA Modified A-feature of the season here.

After Todd Gehl’s spin in the very first turn of the 20-lap headliner, the rest of the race ran non-stop, with polestarter Rivord darting away from Tyler Luger and setting a blistering early pace on the sticky-fast three-eighths-mile red-clay oval. Rivord had already built a lead of over a second within the first three laps, and he was 1.94 seconds ahead when Copp dove inside on Luger – after a couple of turn 4 slide-jobs – to take over second on lap 5.

Copp trimmed the deficit to just seven-tenths of a second before the race’s mid-point, and as Rivord caught the tail of the field, Copp caught him. Over the next few circuits Rivord struggled to get by Todd Gehl and Bill Byholm, who were racing for position, allowing Copp to pull up to Rivord’s rear pushbar several times. Only a stumble by Copp within the final few laps kept him from getting by Rivord sooner.

Going into turn 2 on the final circuit, Copp slid up the track and edged past Rivord, who was stuck between the two veteran racers, and a strong bite off the turn gave Copp the slightest advantage down the back stretch. Copp held on for a half-second margin of victory over Rivord in traffic, with Luger enjoying his best run of the season by holding on to third ahead of Alex Van Natta and Rick Rivord.

Caution flags first hurt, then helped Ashland’s Steve Stuart, who eventually earned his third Arrowhead Auto Glass WISSOTA Super Stock feature win of the summer here.

Polestarter Cory Casari led a chaotic pack of cars during the first three laps, with rookie Chris Johnson holding his own for second, as the action was often three-wide in the mix. On lap 2 Stuart tried a move to get by Johnson in heavy traffic, but instead he looped his racer amidst the pack to bring out a caution flag, and was sent to the back of the 14-car field.

Caution stoppages were frequent early on, although on lap 3 Andrew Mackey squeezed by Casari for the lead before debris brought about another slowdown. Casari charged back with an inside move after the restart, but Johnson’s car ground to a halt after heavy contact with the front-straight concrete to stop the pace again. On the ensuing restart Casari and Shawn McFadden made significant contact diving into the first turn, spinning Casari and delaying things once more.

Stuart had worked his way back to fifth by this point and, after getting by Randy Graham for fourth, he and Nick Oreskovich put on a show trading third place over the next few laps before one last slowdown – for a spin by visitor Wayne Dean – stopped the show at mid-race. On the final restart Stuart made a strong inside move to take the lead away from Mackey, with Oreskovich in tow to second, and the pair sped away over the remaining laps, with Stuart ahead by .688 seconds at the checkers.

Mackey followed at a distance in third, with McFadden and 14^th-starting Matt Deragon completing the top five.

Duluth, MN’s Cory Jorgensen stayed hot at ABC, winning his third WISSOTA Pure Stock feature of the season to strengthen his grip on the points lead, but he had to overcome a rare error on his part to earn the win.

Tyler Kachinske set the early pace, ahead of a side-by-side battle between Aaron Bernick and Jorgensen, until Jorgensen captured second on lap 2. During the next time around, Jorgensen drove inside on Kachinske to take the lead, and it looked pretty certain that the division’s points leader had this race well in hand.

That is, until lap 6, when Jorgensen pushed a little too strong into turn 2, jumping the cushion and allowing Kachinske to take advantage of the opening and recapture the lead. Jorgensen quickly recovered, however, and within two more laps he was pulling alongside the leader. At the white flag Kachinske was just 13 one-thousandths of a second ahead – maybe two feet, at most – but by the time the lead pair exited turn 2 for the final time Jorgensen was back in control, and he held on for a half-second final margin of victory.

Bernick, visiting Jake Smith and Nate Rose filled out the final top five.

Bayfield’s Shane Basina, who claimed his first career feature win here just a month ago, didn’t wait long for his second checkered flag in tonight’s ABC Six-Cylinder feature.

At the drop of the initial green flag, contact caused fenders and the nose-piece of Jake Nevala’s car to fly off and scatter, forcing a re-do of the start. Polestarter Trenton Bond then led the field for the first seven of the race’s 15 laps, with Basina and a determined Bubba Anderson close behind.

On lap 7, Basina made an outside pass of Bond for the lead, and Anderson dropped low to slip by Bond for second. Basina was able to pull away to about a half-second advantage until lap 11, when Bond’s car slowed and finally came to a stop after its hood fell off.

Anderson threw every move on Basina that he could to shake the sophomore racer’s nerves, but with two laps to go Anderson himself got loose and lost several spots, allowing Dalton Truchon and Dennis Groom to close in. Basina held on for a close .3-second win over Truchon, with Groom not far behind; the lead trio were well ahead of fourth-finishing Mathew Rohlfing, who started last on the 11-car grid, and Bond.

DeJay Jarecki of Ashland continued to show his dominance of the Lightning Storm Graphics WISSOTA Hornets division by capturing his third win of the season here.

RJ Holly worked inside on Derek Dunbar to grab the lead after the first lap, but Jarecki – who started fifth in the six-car field – was already into second by the time lap 2 was scored. On the next go-around Jarecki powered his way by Holly on the back straight, and it was no contest from there.

The Raceway’s all-time Hornets feature win leader was nearly a full straightaway ahead of Holly at the final stripe, with Brandon Hummelmeier overtaking Dunbar late in the run for third. Polestarter Kristy Marken came home fifth.

The ABC Raceway will host its annual kids’ bike races on Saturday, July 16, presented by Chicago Iron & Supplies of Ashland. All six regular weekly divisions will be in action. The busy month then continues on Thursday, July 21, with The 444 Memorial – the fourth race of the five-race, five-night, five-track “XR Northern Storm” tour for the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series, with the Late Models joined by Modifieds and Midwest Mods at each of the tour stops that week.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm this coming Saturday night, with hot laps to be run at 6:15, followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. The bike races will be held during the program’s intermission. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air race and weather updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Results

WISSOTA Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Brandon Copp, Brule; Jack Rivord, Superior; Tyler Luger, Oxford; Alex Van Natta, Minocqua; Rick Rivord, Superior; Jake Hiatt, Mason; Al Uotinen, Superior; Pat Cook, Washburn; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs.

11-12: John Toppozini, Thunder Bay, ON; Cole Spacek, Phillips.

Heat 1: Copp; Van Natta; Toppozini; Uotinen; Hiatt; Byholm; Cook.

Heat 2: R Rivord; Spacek; J Rivord; Luger; Gehl.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Steve Stuart, Ashland; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Randy Graham, Trego; Wayne Dean, Strum; Don Livingston, Washburn; Rita Anderson, South Range; Cory Casari, Montreal.

11-12: Chris Johnson, Superior; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland.

Heat 1: Stuart; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Johnson; Graham; Mashlan; Myron Basina, Bayfield; Dean.

Heat 2: McFadden; Casari; Oreskovich; Mackey; Livingston; Anderson; Deragon.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Jesse Polson, Superior; Jesse Aho, Twin Lakes, MI; James Vendela, South Range; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Sean O’Brien, Manitowish Waters; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI.

11-18: Mitch Kieber, Ironwood, MI; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; Bryan Lund, Ashland; Neil Dees, Hurley; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs.

Heat 1: M Dunbar; Gehl; Vendela; Polson; Blom; Lund; Diamond Bressette, Spooner.

Heat 2: Simpson; Fuhrman; Latvala; Aho; O’Brien; Uotinen.

Heat 3: Suzik; D Dunbar; Kieber; Barningham; Jacobson; Dees.

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN; Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Jake Smith, Cohasset, MN; Nate Rose, Duluth, MN; RJ Holly, Marengo; Steve Pohl, Manitowish Waters.

Heat: Jorgensen; Kachinske; Smith; Bernick; Holly; Pohl; Rose; Travis Hazelton, Chippewa Falls.

ABC Six-Cylinders

Feature: 1-10: Shane Basina, Bayfield; Dalton Truchon, Ashland; Dennis Groom, Ashland; Mathew Rohlfing, Cable; Trenton Bond, Mason; Jakob Bond, Mason; Austin Olby, Marengo; Jacob Johnson, Cable; Julian Root, Ashland; Bubba Anderson, Trego.

11: Jake Nevala, Ashland.

Heat 1: Truchon; Groom; Basina; T Bond; Nevala; Rohlfing.

Heat 2: Olby; Anderson; Johnson; J Bond; Root.

WISSOTA Hornets

Feature: 1-6: DeJay Jarecki, Ashland; RJ Holly, Marengo; Brandon Hummelmeier, Ashland; Derek Dunbar, Iron River; Kristy Marken, Duluth, MN; Noah Rose, Duluth, MN;.

Heat: Jarecki; Hummelmeier; Holly; Dunbar; Marken; Rose.

The ABC Raceway will sit idle on Saturday, July 2, but action will resume on Saturday, July 9, when Zar’s Bar & Banquet Hall of Ashland presents the eighth induction ceremony for the track’s Hall of Fame. WISSOTA Pure Stocks and Hornets will join the Mods, Supers, Mid-Mods and Sixes for a full slate of heat and feature action, and during intermission six more members will be honored as Hall of Fame inductees.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm and hot laps will be run at 6:15, followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday, with simulcasts online via the station’s website, www.wbszfm.com.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Ebert, Dunbar, Sabraski, Truchon Snare ABC Farm Stock Special Wins

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, June 30 – The ABC Raceway hosted its first-ever Farm Stock Special on Thursday, with the WISSOTA Modifieds, Super Stocks and Midwest Modifieds running for greatly enhanced purses on a warm, windy late June night.

White River Ag Products of Mason presented the rescheduled program, with support from local businesses Deer Creek Farms, Windy Acres Farm, GDM Farms, Kully’s Truck Accessories, Lulich Implements and Tractor Central. The show, which had been rained out on its originally-slated Memorial Day Saturday date, drew 102 cars in four classes, and despite a persistent westerly wind, track prep crews misted the red-clay surface often enough to provide multiple-groove racing right to the very end of the four-hour, 20-race program.

Dan Ebert of Lake Shore, MN, an infrequent visitor to the historic northern Wisconsin speedplant, passed Cole Spacek coming off a restart to capture the $2,500-to-win Outlaw Wraps & Apparel WISSOTA Modified headliner. It was only Ebert’s second feature win in Ashland, with the other coming back in early June 2018.

After a four-car tangle as the green flag initially fell on the 35-lapper, Rodney Sanders – possibly the first-ever Texas driver to race on ABC’s red-clay oval – jumped ahead of polestarter Tyler Luger to pace the opening laps. Spacek moved by Luger on the second circuit and was still chasing Sanders when the Texan slowed down on the front straight and pulled off the turn 1 exit with an unknown mechanical issue on lap 7, gifting the lead to Spacek.

One lap after Sanders’ exit, Parker Anderson looped his broken ride to bring out the race’s second caution flag. Spacek restarted with Dan Bargender and Shane Sabraski side-by-side behind him, and the eighth-starting Ebert alongside Luger behind them. At the green Sabraski and Ebert ganged up on Bargender to take second and third, respectively, and just after Ebert swept around Sabraski to take second on lap 10, a spin by Ashley Anderson brought about the race’s final stoppage.

Spacek couldn’t prevent Ebert from gaining the point with an inside move after the restart, and from there Ebert pushed his advantage out to as much as 1.2 seconds before catching the tail end of the field. Ebert’s margin was cut only a bit as he maneuvered through slower traffic, while Spacek had all he could do to fend off Sabraski. Over the final tours Spacek and Sabraski each stumbled a bit to allow the other to sneak by, with Sabraski finally getting the best of that for second, but Ebert was a full second ahead at the checkers.

Bargender was not far back in fourth, and Brandon Copp nursed an injured car home for fifth.

The WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds provided a pleasant surprise by running the first 28 laps of their 30-lap main event non-stop. But those last two laps provided more excitement than the long green-flag run.

Visiting Brandon Jensen pulled ahead of polestarter and former ABC champ Marcus Dunbar for the initial lead, with a couple more visitors – Tony Bahr and Brandon Mehrworth – hot on Dunbar’s heels. Jensen sped away to a 2.25-second lead in just seven laps as the battle for second became very intense; eventually Dunbar secured the position by lap 11, but Jensen’s lead was still increasing.

Once the leader caught the backmarkers, however, that big advantage dwindled quickly. By midrace Dunbar was within a second-and-a-half of Jensen, with Bahr and Mehrworth swapping third seemingly on every lap. With seven laps left Dunbar was nearly tapping Jensen’s rear bumper, and the next time around Dunbar dove low to take the lead.

The four frontrunners were battling both slower traffic and each other as the laps wound down, but with two laps left William Moelter – who had an impressive fifth-place run going – spun in turn 2 to bring about the race’s only caution flag. This set up a green-white-checkered finish that had fans on their feet.

Going into turn 1 at the drop of that green flag, Mehrworth – who restarted third, just off of Dunbar’s left flank – dove low to muscle his way under the leader, while Jensen, who started to Mehrworth’s right, slipped just high enough in the corner to allow Bahr to dip below and try for third. But Dunbar changed lanes down the back stretch and pulled the same low-lane move on Mehrworth going into turn 3, retaking the lead as he charged toward the white flag. Jensen got back by Bahr on the final lap and both displaced Mehrworth to fourth, as Dunbar, of Marenisco, MI, edged Jensen by .168 seconds at the final stripe for his second win here this season and the $1,800 first-place check that went with it.

Only eight-tenths of a second – not much more than two car-lengths – separated the top four finishers, while Scott Splittstoesser, who started 12^th on the grid, stole fifth in that final two-lap flurry.

While maybe not as dramatic as Dunbar’s win, Sabraski’s run to victory in the Arrowhead Auto Glass WISSOTA Super Stock 25-lap A-main was certainly impressive, as the two-time defending national champion from Rice, MN, actually doubled what was already a significant lead while weaving his way through slower traffic over the final ten laps of the $1,200-to-win run.

Polestarter Terran Spacek, fellow front-row starter Jake Froemke, and Nick Oreskovich battled for early pacesetter honors, but Sabraski showed his hand early by taking an inside route to get by both Oreskovich and Froemke into second on lap 2, just one circuit before a spin by the visiting Jordan Henkemeyer. Sabraski continued to harass Spacek, who held firm to the lead despite frequent yellow-flag interruptions – for Cory Casari’s spin on lap 4, Aaron Mashlan’s spin on the ensuing restart, and a three-car get-together on the next try.

Just prior to the latter of those slowdowns, Sabraski made an outside pass of Spacek for the lead, but the caution flag negated the move. So on the next restart he tried again – and this time it counted, as the field had scored lap 5 before a two-car skirmish stopped the action once more.

On the next restart, Froemke’s car – which was running a strong fourth just behind Shawn McFadden – was slow to respond to the green flag and he coasted to a stop, ending an otherwise impressive night. That would be the last delay the field would endure, as the remaining 19 laps clicked off without a hitch. The long run allowed Sabraski to set a healthy pace by running the outer groove of the back-slick racing surface while building a 1.5-second lead in just four laps.

Sabraski’s lap 15 cushion was well over two-and-a-half seconds on Spacek, who himself had an equally safe margin on the five-car tussle for third led by McFadden, when the leader reached the tail end of the running order. From here, Sabraski’s masterful maneuvering through traffic allowed him to build up a significant lead of nearly 6.8 seconds when the checkered flag flew overhead, giving him his seventh career feature win here and fourth here in a Super Stock.

Spacek trailed at a distance, while McFadden held on ahead of Patrick Beeksma and Oreskovich for third.

The ABC Raceway’s own Six-Cylinders joined the festivities on this special night, and Dalton Truchon of Ashland took full advantage of his pole-position starting spot for his first feature win of the season and fourth of his career here.

Truchon shot away as the green flag dropped, with defending track champ Dennis Groom following him to second. Truchon wasn’t going to allow Groom, who had won the last two Sixes features here, a chance for a third straight win, as he drew away to a 1.7-second margin within the first four laps of the 15-lap run, while Austin Olby maintained a solid grip on third place ahead of Tyler Hudack.

Truchon continued his impressive open-field running throughout the go, extending his advantage to three-and-a-half seconds on Groom when the checkers fell on the non-stop event. Olby closed up some on Groom over the final laps but settled for third-place money, ahead of Hudack and Mathew Rohlfing.

The ABC Raceway will sit idle on Saturday, July 2, but action will resume on Saturday, July 9, when Zar’s Bar & Banquet Hall of Ashland presents the eighth induction ceremony for the track’s Hall of Fame. WISSOTA Pure Stocks and Hornets will join the Mods, Supers, Mid-Mods and Sixes for a full slate of heat and feature action, and during intermission six more members will be honored as Hall of Fame inductees.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm and hot laps will be run at 6:15, followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday, with simulcasts online via the station’s website, www.wbszfm.com.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Results

WISSOTA Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, MN; Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Cole Spacek, Phillips; Daniel Bargender, Menomonie; Brandon Copp, Brule; Al Uotinen, Superior; Dave Cain, Corcoran, MN; Jake Hiatt, Mason; Pat Cook, Washburn; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls.

11-20: Michael Truscott, Chippewa Falls; Rick Rivord, Superior; Tyler Luger, Oxford; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Alex Van Natta, Minocqua; Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; Donnie Lofdahl, Duluth, MN; Paul Niznik, Medford; Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Parker Anderson, Phillips.

21-24: Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Curt Myers, Cameron; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Rodney Sanders Happy, TX.

Heat 1: Copp; Cook; Truscott; Hiatt; Cain; Myers; Niznik; Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN.

Heat 2: Ebert; Sanders; A Anderson; Gehl; Lavasseur; R Rivord; Duane Dale, Hibbing, MN.

Heat 3: C Spacek; Sabraski; Uotinen; J Spacek; Byholm; Shane Kisling, Butternut; Jack Rivord; Superior.

Heat 4: Bargender; Luger; Van Natta; M Anderson; P Anderson; Lofdahl; Hunter Anderson, Phillips.

Semi-Feature: Myers; R Rivord; Niznik; Lofdahl; Kisling; Dale; J Rivord; Klippenstein.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Shane Sabraski, Rice, MN; Terran Spacek, Phillips; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Kyle Copp, Brule; Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Jordan Henkemeyer, Sauk Rapids, MN; Steve Stuart, Ashland.

11-20: Randy Graham, Trego; Don Livingston, Washburn; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN; Chris Johnson, Superior; Josh Saunders, Spooner; Rita Anderson, South Range; David Elliott, Minocqua; Larry Both, Thunder Bay, ON; Myron Basina, Bayfield.

21-23: Jake Froemke, International Falls, MN; Cory Casari, Montreal; Aaron Mashlan, Ashland.

Heat 1: Froemke; Copp; Beeksma; Lawrence; Graham; Basina; Johnson; Saunders.

Heat 2: Sabraski; Stuart; McFadden; Henkemeyer; Livingston; Anderson; Both; Mashlan.

Heat 3: Spacek; Mackey; Oreskovich; Casari; Deragon; Mike Sirois, Duluth, MN; Jorgensen; Elliott.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Brandon Jensen, Ellsworth; Tony Bahr, Haugen; Brandon Mehrwerth, Foley, MN; Scott Splittstoesser, Cottage Grove, MN; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Cody Carlson, Superior; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Ryan Savoy, Superior; Dalton Mains, Foxboro.

11-20: Jesse Aho, Twin Lakes, MI; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Kennedy Swan, Chippewa Falls; Sean O’Brien, Manitowish Waters; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Mark Rose, Dorchester; Austin Blom, Saginaw, MN; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; William Moelter, Elk Mound.

21-24: George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Andrew Inman, Canyon, MN; Tyler Vernon, Mason; Zach Benson, Princeton, MN.

Heat 1: M Dunbar; Moelter; O’Brien; Barningham; Dalbeck; Zach Slayton, Springbrook; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN; Jesse Polson, Superior.

Heat 2: Mehrwerth; Fuhrman; Splittstoesser; Suzik, James Vendela, South Range; Mitch Kieber, Ironwood, MI; Evan Checkalski, Duluth, MN; Neil Dees, Hurley.

Heat 3: Latvala; Benson; Carlson; Mains; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Vernon; Eric Gadach, New Richmond.

Heat 4: Bahr; Inman; Uotinen; Swan; Rose; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; Diamond Bressette, Spooner.

Heat 5: Jensen; Aho; D Dunbar; Savoy; Blom; John Carpenter, Hibbing, MN; Cole Elton, Dalbo, MN

Semi-Feature: Dalbeck; Blom; Vernon; Rose; Elton; Jacobson; Gehl; Kieber; Slayton; Polson; Dees; Bressette; Carpenter; Checkalski; Vendela; Gadach.

ABC Six-Cylinders

Feature: 1-10: Dalton Truchon, Ashland; Dennis Groom, Ashland; Austin Olby, Marengo; Tyler Hudack, Ashland; Mathew Rohlfing, Cable; Jakob Bond, Mason; Jake Nevala, Ashland; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Jacob Johnson, Cable; Trenton Bond, Mason.

11: Julian Root, Ashland.

Heat 1: Truchon; Groom; Basina; Hudack; Johnson; Nevala.

Heat 2: Rohlfing; T Bond; Olby; J Bond; Root; Bubba Anderson, Trego.

On Thursday, June 30, the ABC Raceway will host its rescheduled Farm Stock Special, to be presented by White River Ag Products of Mason. The Modifieds ($2,500 to win), Super Stocks ($1,200) and Midwest Mods ($1,800) will run for heavily-enhanced purses as an ideal lead-in to Gondik Law Speedway’s Great Lakes Border Battle weekend on Friday-Saturday, July 1-2, and the ABC Raceway’s Six-Cylinders will also be in action on Thursday.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm and hot laps will be run at 6:15, followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday, with simulcasts online via the station’s website, www.wbszfm.com.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Highside Photography

ABC Fundraiser Night Includes First-Time Winners, Long-Time Returners

by Nick Gima

               Ashland, WI, June 25 – On a night that seemed doomed by a late-arriving downpour, the fans on hand at the ABC Raceway on Saturday were instead treated to visits with their favorite drivers, a fast race track, and seven divisions of action – five of which provided either first-time feature winners or drivers returning to ABC’s victory lane after long absences.

Northern Clearing Inc’s “Racing for a Reason” fundraising night drew a packed house – thanks in no small part to the free grandstand admission price. The fans responded with thousands of dollars in donations to the sponsor’s designated charity causes through prize raffles, American Cancer Society button sales, split-the-pot ticket sales, and a chance to ride in the Raceway’s new two-seater WISSOTA Modified.

The cloudburst occurred around 5 pm – just over an hour before the 79 registered drivers were scheduled to take to the track for their hot-lap sessions. The rains turned the nearly perfectly-prepared red-clay oval into a quagmire, but the track’s prep crews went right back to work, grading and packing until the racing surface was even better than before the rains came.

Meanwhile, the racers brought their machines to the grandstand parking area – rather than onto the front-straight of the track – for the meet-the-drivers session, which was rescheduled from earlier this season. It turned out to be a very popular decision with the huge crowd on hand.

Along with the Raceway’s six regular weekly divisions, the Northern Renegades traditional sprints made the first of their two scheduled appearances this season, and Lucas Logue of Rush City, MN, made history for himself by capturing his first career feature win in Ashland.

After a hard wreck during heat-race action eliminated two of the eight traveling sprinters, Logue started the 12-lap A-main on the outside of the front row and scooted out to the lead right away, never to give it up despite the best efforts of Paul Schultz and Ken Hron. Logue worked the high line around the three-eighths-mile oval to near perfection as he pulled away to a half-second advantage in just five laps, and he extended that lead to 1.5 seconds in the late stages as Schultz fended off the determined Hron.

At the white flag Hron dove low to challenge, but Schultz fought back and retained second spot to the checkers, 1.35 seconds behind Logue. Jesse Grife and Zach Olson completed the top five.

Washburn’s Pat Cook took a different approach than Logue en route to his first Outlaw Wraps & Apparel WISSOTA Modified feature win in over two years, as he started from the pole and hugged the absolute bottom line around the northern Wisconsin speedplant to lead all 20 laps.

Over the first nine non-stop laps, Cook held off first rookie Jack Rivord and then Jack’s older cousin Rick Rivord as he toured the shortest route around the track. Behind the front three, Alex Van Natta had his hands full with a strong Jake Hiatt and a fast Brandon Copp, both of whom eventually overtook Van Natta before he spun on lap 9 to bring out the race’s only caution stop.

Cook never held more than a half-second lead throughout the first half of the race, but after the restart he stretched his advantage to over a second-and-a-half on his way to his 12^th career feature win at ABC. Rick Rivord held on for a solid runner-up effort, and Copp made a slick three-wide move to get by Hiatt and Jack Rivord for third.

Fourth-year driver Andrew Mackey of Duluth, MN – whose family has deep racing roots in the Ashland area – dominated the 20-lap non-stop Arrowhead Auto Glass WISSOTA Super Stock main event for his first career feature win here.

Cory Casari moved by polestarter Myron Basina for the initial lead, but within a lap he found himself in a battle with Mackey and Shawn McFadden, a battle that Mackey won by the time lap 2 had been scored. McFadden followed Mackey to second on lap 2 and spent the remainder of the run trying to hold off persistent challenges from Nick Oreskovich, with Casari and Scott Lawrence close behind. At one point the battle for second was six cars deep, but McFadden maintained his line as long as he could.

At the checkers Mackey held a 2.622-second advantage while putting slower cars a lap down, and behind him Oreskovich used a last-corner move on McFadden to steal second. Steve Stuart won a late-race battle with Lawrence for fourth.

Also appearing in Victory Lane for the first time in a while was former three-time track WISSOTA Midwest Modified champ Paul Suzik of Ironwood, MI, who dominated the first 14 non-stop laps but had to hold on over the final half-dozen circuits as caution slowdowns kept the field tight on his tail.

Ross Fuhrman set the early pace in front of polestarter Diamond Bressette, while Suzik moved quickly to third. Within two laps Suzik grabbed the lead away and wasted no time pushing his advantage to over a second-and-a-half on Fuhrman, with Oreskovich, pulling double-duty on this night, grabbing third.

Suzik was already putting backmarkers a lap in arrears by mid-race while building on a 2.5-second lead, and Fuhrman and friends could not cut into that margin until lap 14, when a two-car get-together brought out the race’s first yellow light. Oreskovich took advantage of the restart to steal second from Fuhrman, just before Sean O’Brien’s spin with four laps to go slowed the pace again.

Marcus Dunbar moved by both Fuhrman and Oreskovich after the green came back out to take second, but Mitch Kieber’s looped ride stopped the race again. Dunbar gave Suzik a serious threat over the final three laps, but Suzik held on for his first win here since May 2018. Brady Uotinen, Fuhrman and Oreskovich completed a close-knit top five.

Travis Hazelton of Chippewa Falls made it two straight in the win column after his hard-earned win in the WISSOTA Pure Stock feature. Hazelton started mid-pack – sixth on the ten-car grid – and completed a three-wide pass for the lead just before the ten-lap event’s halfway point to capture the win.

RJ Holly held off Kevin Bartelt early before Aaron Bernick and Tyler Kachinske moved into second and third, respectively, on lap 2. First-time visitor Jake Smith spun to bring about the first of three caution slowdowns, and a lap after the restart Kachinske slapped the front-straight wall hard while in the heat of a three-wide battle for third. Kachinske was unhurt but his car was badly damaged.

Bernick, who had edged ahead of Holly before Kachinske’s incident, got immediate pressure from Hazelton, who had restarted third. On lap 5 Hazelton used a three-wide move to get around Holly and Bernick and, after a restart for Cully Butterfield’s lap 7 spin, held on for the win.

Cory Jorgensen worked his way through to second, winning a tough late-lap battle with Bernick, with a charging Roger Walker fourth and Smith recovering for fifth.

Ashland’s Dennis Groom became the Raceway’s first three-time winner this season, passing race-long leader Bubba Anderson after a late caution to take the ABC Six-Cylinder feature.

Caution flags helped Groom’s cause greatly, as he started eighth on the 11-car grid. Anderson, meanwhile, started on the pole and paced the race with a badly smoking machine, just ahead of rookie Jacob Johnson. Mathew Rohlfing’s early spin caused the only delay over the race’s first six laps, during which Anderson stayed just in front of a battle for second among some of the division’s younger drivers – Johnson, Trenton Bond, Dalton Truchon, Jakob Bond and Jake Nevala. First Truchon grabbed the spot away, and then Nevala captured it, but before Nevala could complete a lap 6 pass for the lead, an Austin Olby spin allowed Anderson to restart out front.

Groom was in the top five for that restart and methodically picked his way forward over the next four laps before Julian Root’s spin with two to go put him on Anderson’s bumper for the restart. Olby spun again on the restart, but over the course of the green-white-checkered finish Groom used the outside line to pull alongside Anderson, who bobbled just enough coming to the white flag to give Groom the opportunity he needed.

Groom edged Anderson by a third of a second, while Truchon and Johnson crossed under the checkers side-by-side. But Truchon was penalized two positions in the final order for a “jump” of an earlier restart, giving Johnson third and Jakob Bond fourth.

The final winner of the night also may have traveled the furthest to race at ABC, as Justin Schelitzche of Chaska, MN, ran away with the Lightning Storm Graphics WISSOTA Hornets feature win – his first ever at Ashland.

Points leader DeJay Jarecki dove low at the drop of the green to pull alongside polestarter Brandon Hummelmeier, but contact between the two going into the first turn sent Jarecki spinning in front of the rest of the eight-car field. Jarecki ran to the pits for repairs and restarted at the tail of the field, while Hummelmeier was penalized to the back for the incident.

On the restart Schelitzche slipped past Holly and youngster Nathan Rose Jr to take the point, and he sped off from there to a huge lead en route to his landmark win. Within two laps Jarecki had passed Rose for second, but he had no chance to challenge Scheltizche, while Rose cruised home to third and Holly won a late battle with Hummelmeier for fourth.

On Thursday, June 30, the ABC Raceway will host its rescheduled Farm Stock Special, to be presented by White River Ag Products of Mason. The Modifieds ($2,500 to win), Super Stocks ($1,200) and Midwest Mods ($1,800) will run for heavily-enhanced purses as an ideal lead-in to Gondik Law Speedway’s Great Lakes Border Battle weekend on Friday-Saturday, July 1-2, and the ABC Raceway’s Six-Cylinders will also be in action on Thursday.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm and hot laps will be run at 6:15, followed by heat-race action at 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday, with simulcasts online via the station’s website, www.wbszfm.com.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

Results

WISSOTA Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Pat Cook, Washburn; Rick Rivord, Superior; Brandon Copp, Brule; Jake Hiatt, Mason; Jack Rivord, Superior; Mike Anderson, Jim Falls; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Alex Van Natta, Minocqua; Todd Gehl, Solon Springs; Mike Klippenstein, Proctor, MN.

11-12: Cole Spacek, Phillips; Tyler Luger, Oxford.

Heat 1: Anderson; R Rivord; Cook; Hiatt; Byholm; Gehl.

Heat 2: Copp; Spacek; J Rivord; Van Natta; Klippenstein; Luger.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Andrew Mackey, Duluth, MN; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Scott Lawrence, Superior; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Cory Casari, Montreal; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Randy Graham, Trego; Myron Basina, Bayfield.

11-13: Aaron Mashlan, Ashland; Don Livingston, Washburn; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN.

Heat 1: Oreskovich; McFadden; Deragon; Mackey; Lawrence; Livingston; Graham.

Heat 2: Stuart; Beeksma; Casari; Basina; Mashlan; Madrinich.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

Feature: 1-10: Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Brady Uotinen, Superior; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Dalton Mains, Foxboro; Tanner Gehl, Solon Springs; Duane Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; James Vendela, South Range; Taylor Madrinich, Duluth, MN.

11-17: Shane Kisling, Butternut; Matt Jacobson, Bessemer, MI; Diamond Bressette, Spooner; Mitch Kieber, Ironwood, MI; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield; Neil Dees, Hurley; Sean O’Brien, Manitowish Waters.

Heat 1: Gehl; Oreskovich; Mains; Bressette; Vendela; D Dunbar; Dees; Kieber; Kisling.

Heat 2: Uotinen; Suzik; M Dunbar; Fuhrman; Madrinich; O’Brien; Jacobson; Barningham.

WISSOTA Pure Stocks

Feature: 1-10: Travis Hazelton, Chippewa Falls; Cory Jorgensen, Duluth, MN; Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Roger Walker, Phillips; Jake Smith, Cohasset, MN; RJ Holly, Marengo; Nate Rose, Duluth, MN; Kevin Bartelt, Chippewa Falls; Cully Butterfield, Trego; Tyler Kachinske, Duluth, MN.

Heat 1: Jorgensen; Smith; Bartelt; Holly; Butterfield.

Heat 2: Hazelton; Bernick; Kachinske; Rose; Walker.

ABC Six-Cylinders

Feature: 1-10: Dennis Groom, Ashland; Bubba Anderson, Trego; Jacob Johnson, Cable; Jakob Bond, Mason; Dalton Truchon, Ashland; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Trenton Bond, Mason; Jake Nevala, Ashland; Austin Olby, Marengo; Julian Root, Ashland.

11: Mathew Rohlfing, Cable.

Heat 1: Groom; Rohlfing; Truchon; Nevala; Basina; Root.

Heat 2: Anderson; T Bond; J Bond; Johnson; Olby.

WISSOTA Hornets

Feature: 1-8: Justin Schelitzche, Chaska, MN; DeJay Jarecki, Ashland; Nathan Rose Jr, Duluth, MN; RJ Holly, Marengo; Brandon Hummelmeier, Ashland; Derek Dunbar, Iron River; Noah Rose, Duluth, MN; Kristy Marken, Duluth, MN.

Heat: Jarecki; Schelitzche; Holly; Nathan Rose Jr; Hummelmeier; Dunbar; Noah Rose; Marken.

Northern Renegades Traditional Sprints

Feature: 1-6: Lucas Logue, Rush City, MN; Paul Schultz, Grand Rapids, MN; Ken Hron, Grand Rapids, MN; Jesse Grife, Grand Rapids, MN; Zach Olson, Grand Rapids, MN; Travis Case, Swan River, MN.

Heat: Schultz; Hron; Olson; Logue; Grife; Case; Tyler Wass, Big Fork, MN; Eric Becker, Cumberland.

Saturday night, Northern Clearing Inc of Ashland will present its “Racing for a Reason” event, a fundraiser intended to benefit local charities. Fans entering the track through the main grandstand gate will be allowed free admission, there will be a number of fundraising activities taking place, and fans are welcome to donate goodwill offerings which will be designated directly to the charities.

On the track, the Raceway will host its popular annual “Meet the Drivers” session prior to the first green flag, and the Northern Renegades traditional sprint cars will make the first of its two visits of the season, creating a seven-division program. During the race night, fans can sign up for rides in the ABC Raceway’s new two-seater Modified, with the rides taking place following the features.

The grandstand gates and pits will open at 5 pm and hot laps will be run at 6:15, followed by the meet-and-greet session, with heat-race action scheduled for shortly after 7 pm. WSBZ, 93.3 FM, will air updates from 4:30-6 pm on Saturday, with simulcasts online via the station’s website, www.wbszfm.com.

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, or log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.