Weinberger, Bernick Take First Checkers as ABC Says ‘Thanks’ to Area Teachers
McFadden, Dunbar, Walker repeat
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, June 27 – The ABC Raceway offered free grandstand admission to area teachers and school administrators for Saturday night’s WISSOTA Dirt Track Series race program, which was completed in barely over two hours thanks to three of the five features running non-stop.
WIMI, 99.7 FM, of Ironwood, MI, presented the program, which saw 2025 track champ Justin Weinberger’s successful return to ABC for the first time this season, while Aaron Bernick broke through for his first feature win of the year. Also, Shawn McFadden, Marcus Dunbar, and Roger Walker each scored his second win of the season.
Weinberger, who calls Menomonie home, tallied three A-main wins in 2025 en route to his second track title here, but he had yet to turn a lap at ABC in ’26 until Saturday. He started inside on row 4 in the 20-lap Top Groove Racewear WISSOTA Modified main event and waited until mid-race to make a major move forward.
Polestarter Brandon Copp pulled ahead of outside-front-row starter Evan Checkalski during the initial laps and flew to a 2.5-second lead in just six quick laps. Checkalski had his hands full battling with Cole Spacek for second, while Weinberger moved up to challenge Canadian visitor Cole Chernosky for fourth. But Spacek looped his ride on lap 9, erasing Copp’s big lead, and Weinberger overtook Checkalski for second on the restart, just ahead of a three-wide battle for fourth. Then Weinberger worked on Copp until lap 11, when he made his race-winning pass.
From there Weinberger ran to a two-second final margin and his 12th career ABC feature win. Copp held off a strong-running Tyler Vernon for second, and Chernosky got by Checkalski late in the run for fourth.
The other first-time winner on the season was Bernick, who won the Bill’s Collision Center WISSOTA Pure Stocks A-main. The Duluth, MN, pilot started fourth in the five-car field but worked the outside line to make his way to the front before midrace.
Polestarter Dylan Helget hustled ahead of rookie Anthony Ravina to set the early pace, and Bernick wasted no time sweeping around Ravina to second within that first lap. Helget did all he could to stay ahead of Bernick, but on lap 4 Bernick changed to the inside line and stole the lead away.
Over the remaining laps of the non-stop ten-lap affair Bernick gradually pulled away, leading by just over two seconds as he took the checkers for his sixth ABC Raceway feature win. Helget stayed put in second, while Shane Basina nipped Ravina for third. Alex Larson came home in fifth.
Ashland’s Shawn McFadden, who struggled last week and fell back in the early-season Bulldog Auto Repair WISSOTA Super Stock points standings, used a late-race pass to win his second feature of the season and get back into the championship chase.
After starting inside on row 5, McFadden found himself in a tight four-car battle for second early in the uninterrupted 20-lap show as polestarter Don Livingston escaped with the lead. Eventually McFadden worked his way to second on lap 8, ahead of Patrick Beeksma, Matt Deragon and Chernosky as Livingston built his lead to over two seconds.
McFadden began to cut into Livingston’s lead while gaining some separation from Deragon and Beeksma, but that duo reeled McFadden in by lap 13. With five circuits remaining Livingston’s cushion was down to three-quarters of a second, and a lap later McFadden snuck inside on the leader and took over at the point. McFadden sped away from there to a winning margin of just over a second-and-a-half.
Livingston held off a determined Deragon for second, while Beeksma came home a distant fourth ahead of Chernosky.
The Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature also ran 20 laps non-stop, with the division’s two-time defending champ Dunbar, of Marenisco, MI, taking the 14th win of his career here.
The front four starters – polesitter Kolby Reed, Vernon, Jacob Anderson, and Dunbar – gained separation from the rest of the pack and dueled amongst themselves over the first four laps until Anderson established himself as the leader. Dunbar got by Vernon for second on lap 5 and pressured Anderson as much as possible, with Vernon not far back, until lap 8, when Dunbar got by with an inside pass.
Dunbar extended his lead over the next eight laps, while Anderson, Vernon and Reed continued their debate for second. Once Vernon broke free of that pack on lap 13 he set out for Dunbar, but he could not make up much of the 2.1-second deficit over the waning laps.
Dunbar’s final margin was 1.75 seconds over Vernon, and the win, combined with a better heat result earlier in the program, pulled Dunbar into a tie for first with Vernon in the track’s Mid-Mod standings. Reed was impressive in coming home third, ahead of Anderson and David Simpson.
Walker, of Phillips, worked hard to fend off some tough late-race challenges but held on for his tenth career feature win here and fourth ever in the Berglund Customs ABC Six-Cylinders.
After a Cameron Bond spin during the first lap, Walker battled with the front-row pair of points leader Travis Swanson and Cody Eichmann over a long green-flag run that ate up nine of the race’s 15 laps. Swanson paced most of that run, but Walker was never more than a car-length behind, while eventually Eichmann fell back a bit. On lap 8 Walker pulled to Swanson’s inside, and after another lap Walker took over the lead.
On lap 10 Alex Bond’s spin brought about the yellow flag again, and a lap after the restart Eichmann used the outside line to pull alongside Walker, but a four-car mess stopped the proceedings once more. Walker held off Eichmann’s final charge – which included an official scoring of Eichmann as the leader on lap 12 by just 19 one-thousandths of a second – to eventually pull away to a 1.2-second win.
Basina edged his way past Swanson for third, and Jacob Johnson, in his first night racing since 2022, finished fifth.
The ABC Raceway will pay tribute to area farmers and agricultural workers on Thursday night, July 2, with its fifth annual Farm Stock Special, presented by White River Ag Products. The USRA Late Models will make their second visit of the season here, joining the track’s Top Groove Racewear WISSOTA Modifieds, Bulldog Auto Repair WISSOTA Super Stocks, Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and Berglund Customs ABC Six-Cylinders, with increased purses for all five classes.
Fans are encouraged show their patriotism in honor of America’s 250th birthday celebration by wearing red, white and blue apparel at the grandstand gate; those that do will receive a free bottle of water courtesy of CG Bretting Manufacturing. Also, fans are welcome to stay after the races for a cookout, again complements of Bretting Manufacturing.
The pit gates will open Thursday at 4 pm, and the grandstand gates will open at 5. Hot laps will start at 6:15, and the first heat race is set to start at 7 pm. There will be no racing here on Saturday, July 4, but action will resume on Saturday, July 11, with its annual kids’ bike race night, presented by Bulldog Auto Repair.
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. Advance tickets are always available on the My Race Pass website and app.
Results
Top Groove Racewear WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Justin Weinberger, Menomonie; Brandon Copp, Brule; Tyler Vernon, Mason; Cole Chernosky, Slate River, ON; Evan Checkalski, Alborn, MN; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Andrew Mackey, Ashland; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; Pat Cook, Washburn; Jake Hiatt, Mason.
11-14: Cole Spacek, Woodruff; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Bryan Hessler, Chetek; Ross Fuhrman, Ashland.
Heat 1: Mackey; Weinberger; Checkalski; Lavasseur; Vernon; Cody Wolkowski, Thunder Bay, ON; Hiatt; Hessler.
Heat 2: Simpson; Copp; Spacek; Chernosky; Oreskovich; Cook; Fuhrman; Cody Carlson, Superior.
Bulldog Auto Repair WISSOTA Super Stocks
Feature: 1-10: Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Don Livingston, Washburn; Matt Deragon, Ashland; Patrick Beeksma, Ironwood, MI; Cole Chernosky, Slate River, ON; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Trenton Bond, Iron River; DJ Keeler, Superior; Jakob Bond, Marengo; Dan Peterson, Foxboro.
11-12: Myron Basina, Bayfield; Rita Anderson, South Range.
Heat 1: McFadden; Beeksma; Stuart; Chernosky; Keeler; T Bond.
Heat 2: Livingston; Deragon; Peterson; J Bond; Basina; Anderson.
Dalbeck Sales WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature: 1-10: Marcus Dunbar, Marenisco, MI; Tyler Vernon, Mason; Kolby Reed, Thunder Bay, ON; Jacob Anderson, Superior; David Simpson, Thunder Bay, ON; James Vendela, South Range; Paul Suzik, Ironwood, MI; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs; Judd Skubal, Rhinelander; Ryan Savoy, Superior; Paul Ripley, Duluth, MN; Jimmy Latvala, Solon Springs.
11-15: Tanner Hicks, Ashland; Judd Skubal, Rhinelander; Bryan Lund, Ashland; Cade Johnson, Eveleth, MN; Ryan Barningham, Bayfield.
Heat 1: Latvala; Simpson; Reed; Vernon; Vendela; Ripley; Johnson; Connor Kaseno, Marengo.
Heat 2: Suzik; Savoy; Dunbar; Anderson; Lund; Hicks; Skubal; Barningham.
Bill’s Collision Center WISSOTA Pure Stocks
Feature: 1-5: Aaron Bernick, Duluth, MN; Dylan Helget, South Range; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Anthony ravina, Duluth, MN; Alex Larson, South Range.
Heat: Bernick; Helget; Ravina; Basina; Larson.
Berglund Customs ABC Six-Cylinders
Feature: 1-10: Roger Walker, Phillips; Cody Eichmann, Park Falls; Shane Basina, Bayfield; Travis Swanson, Ashland; Mathew Rohlfing, Grand View; Cameron Bond, Mason; RJ Holly, Marengo; Jacob Johnson, Cable; Kyle Weber, Drummond; Adam Traaholt, Ashland.
Heat 1: Basina; Walker; Eichmann; Holly; Jim Anderson, Cable; Weber.
Heat 2: Swanson; Alex Bond, Iron River; Johnson; Rohlfing; C Bond; Traaholt.
