{"id":1858,"date":"2019-01-20T16:59:26","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T22:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abcraceway.com\/?p=1858"},"modified":"2019-01-20T17:23:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-20T23:23:06","slug":"2018-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/2018-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ABC\nRaceway Closes Out 2018 Season with Annual Banquet<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Nick Gima<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nAshland, WI, January 19<\/strong> — A huge crowd of nearly 250 fans, crew persons,\nracers and track personnel gathered at the Bad River Lodge, Casino &\nConvention Center in Odanah on Saturday, January 19, to look back at the 2018\nstock car racing season during the ABC Raceway\u2019s annual Awards Banquet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nFollowing a buffet-style meal, Ashland-Bayfield County Racing Association\npresident Eric Erickson addressed the large gathering by extending\ncongratulations to the Raceway\u2019s five divisional points champions, thanking the\nall-volunteer staff and Board of Directors, and showing appreciation for the\ntrack\u2019s sponsors, fans and racers who supported the award-winning\nthree-eighths-mile northern Wisconsin speedplant during the past summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nErickson recognized the Raceway\u2019s all-volunteer staff and its Board of\nDirectors, praising their \u201cdedication, commitment and professionalism,\u201d and\ncalling them up to the stage in front of the gathering. Then, in a very\nemotional moment, Erickson called up his long-time close friend, former Board\nmember and track president Kurt Beeksma, for the presentation of a special\ncrystal trophy and a toast in honor of his over 30 years of leadership,\ncontributions and support of the Raceway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nErickson included in his comments that the track paid out a total purse of over\n$277,000 to its drivers in 2018, and that in November it had received the\nWISSOTA Promoters Association \u201cAward of Excellence\u201d (formerly the Track of the\nYear award), marking the second time that the ABC Raceway had been so honored\nby its sanctioning body. He also mentioned that the track would add an\nentry-level Hornet class to its regular weekly schedule in 2019, and that the\ntrack was invited to be included on the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late\nModel Series national touring schedule, with a date set for July 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nErickson later honored several members of the track\u2019s staff with \u201cValuable\nVolunteer\u201d plaques, which he presented to Jerry & Joanne O\u2019Brien, Margie\nDufek, Ken & Cheri Deragon, and Ray & Terri Stuart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nDrivers who finished in the top-ten in final points during the 2018 racing\nseason in each of the five regular weekly divisions, along with other racers\nwho were recognized for special accomplishments, were introduced by emcee and\nRaceway announcer Nick Gima and presented with trophies and points-fund checks.\nThe divisional champions were also awarded commemorative jackets and banners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nKevin Eder of Ashland became one of those first-time champions, running away with\nthe track\u2019s 2018 WISSOTA Modified title. His season included collecting\ndivision-leading win totals in heats and features (three each), three other\ntop-five feature finishes, and three more top-ten feature runs to manufacture a\n49-point final advantage. He also finished fifth in the \u201cbig Mod\u201d feature\nduring the season-ending Red Clay Classic invitational in late September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nIn his 15 seasons of racing, which includes laps turned on Ashland\u2019s red-clay\noval in six different divisions, Eder has accumulated 15 top-ten points\nfinishes and 32 feature wins – the latter mark tied for 13th-highest on the\nRaceway\u2019s all-time victory list. It is Eder\u2019s first track championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nA feature win during the season helped Steve Lavasseur of River Falls earn his\nbest-ever points finish at ABC with a second-place effort, while five-time\ntrack champion Steve Stuart of Ashland landed third in the Mod standings thanks\nto two feature victories. Neil Balduc of Bessemer, MI, the track\u2019s 2016 Modified\nchamp, took fourth in the points, followed by Washburn\u2019s Pat Cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nRookie Cody Carlson of Superior led the second five in the final Mod standings,\nahead of a pair of six-time ABC points champs – Jeff Spacek of Phillips, and Al\nUotinen of Superior. Mason\u2019s Jake Hiatt and 2017 track champ Bill Byholm of\nGlidden completed the top ten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nFor the third straight season, Mason\u2019s Nick Oreskovich claimed the WISSOTA\nSuper Stock championship at ABC in 2018. \u201cThe Flyin\u2019 Farmer,\u201d who started his\n16th season with six feature wins at five different tracks – including\nback-to-back wins at Ashland – added a division-leading third win in August to\nbring his career total to 20, then capped the campaign with a third-place\nfinish in the Super Stock feature at the Red Clay Classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nOreskovich, who finished 11th of the over 330 qualifying Super Stock drivers in\nWISSOTA\u2019s national standings, becomes the 11th different driver in ABC Raceway\nhistory to record three or more consecutive track championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nAshland\u2019s Shawn McFadden Jr used his eighth career feature win to secure his\nbest-ever points finish, albeit a full 91 points behind Oreskovich, and third\nin points fell to Cory Casari of Montreal who also picked up a feature win and\ntied for the division lead with four heat victories. Fourth place was presented\nto Matt Deragon of Ashland, the three-time ABC Pure Stock champion who finished\na successful second season in Supers, and fifth went to Superior\u2019s Scott\nLawrence, who holds track records here for total career titles (14) and\nconsecutive championships (11, in Super Stocks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nThe second five in the division\u2019s standings included Terran Spacek of Phillips,\nwho also finished 12th in WISSOTA\u2019s national rankings; Greg Kuklinski of\nIronwood, MI, the Raceway\u2019s all-time feature win leader; Aaron Mashlan of\nAshland; Don Muzzy of Ironwood; and 2015 track champ Jeff Klopstein of\nTomahawk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nPaul Suzik of Ironwood returned to the champion\u2019s stage after a year away,\npicking up his third career trophy in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. Suzik, who\nearned back-to-back titles in 2015-\u201916, rebounded from a second-place finish\nlast year thanks to his sixth career feature win and three more second-place\nfeature finishes. He also earned a heat win at this year\u2019s Red Clay Classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nSuzik announced in his acceptance speech that he will be moving up into the\nModified division in 2019 while hoping to extend his current impressive run of\ntop-five points finishes in each of his seven seasons in racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nSuperior\u2019s Dan Kingsley battled with Suzik to the very end of the season but\nsettled for second, just three points away from the title; Kingsley also\nrecently announced that he will be competing in the \u201cbig Mods\u201d in the upcoming\nseason. Third-finishing Tanner Hicks of Ashland was also in the hunt for the\ncrown going into the final night of the season, with help from his first career\nfeature win in late July. Brandon Copp of Brule scored the first two feature\nwins of his career and finished fourth, just ahead of Ashland\u2019s Tyler Hudack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nFinishing sixth in the Mid-Mod standings was Ross Fuhrman of Ashland, just\nahead of rookie Jack Rivord of Superior. Ryan Barningham of Bayfield finished a\nsolid eighth, followed by David Simpson of Thunder Bay, ON, who scored three\nfeature wins. Clay Passuello of Ironwood grabbed tenth after earning his first\nfeature win at Ashland since his Pure Stock victory in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nTiffany Hudack of Ashland started her 2018 ABC Six-Cylinder campaign strong and\nthen held on for her third track championship in five seasons. Hudack tallied\nfive feature victories while also collecting four second-place performances and\none third-place finish, along with six heat wins, to produce one of the most\ndominant seasons in the division in over 25 years. Her other titles came in\n2014 and in \u201816.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nIt\u2019s the sixth straight season in which Hudack has finished either first,\nsecond or third in Sixes points here. During her acceptance speech she told the\nstory of how she befriended a six-year-old race fan, meeting him at his\nbirthday party and treating him to a trip to the pits during a race night. She\npresented the boy with a gift and invited him to stand with her in her trophy\nphoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nTrego\u2019s Randy Graham was Hudack\u2019s primary nemesis all season, matching the\nchamp for feature wins with five and heat wins with six but finishing second by\n52 points. No other driver won a Six-Cylinder feature here in \u201818. Forrest\nSchultz of Ashland parlayed eight top-five finishes to third place in the\nstandings, ahead of fellow Ashland drivers DeJay Jarecki and rookie Jake\nNevala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nJosh Saunders of Spooner finished a career-best sixth, while seventh place went\nto Mashlan for his second top-ten trophy of the night. Jonathon Popp of Iron\nRiver, Ashland\u2019s Devin Dalbec, and Bubba Anderson of Trego completed the top\nten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nGraham was also successful in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks and, on the strength of\nthree feature wins, including one on each of the final two nights of the\nseasons, garnered his first-ever track championship. The fifth-year driver also\nfinished 16th in WISSOTA\u2019s national standings for the class, and he has taken\ntop-four points trophies home in two different divisions in each of the past\ntwo seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nGraham finished first, second or third in nine of the ten Pure Stock features\nrun at ABC in 2018. Combined with his efforts in the Sixes, he led all drivers\nat ABC with eight total feature victories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nDon Livingston of Washburn scored six top-ten feature finishes, including a\nrunner-up by a whisker to Graham in the season finale, to score a career-best\nsecond-place trophy. Andrew Hanson of Iron River, the 2017 Pure Stock champ\nhere, missed a week due to a non-racing injury and settled for third despite a\ndivision-best five feature wins, plus two runner-up showings, over the first\nseven race nights; he also finished second in WISSOTA\u2019s national standings.\nDarren Dudley of Ashland took home the fourth-place trophy, while Hayward\u2019s\nBrock Beilke repeated his fifth-place success of a season ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nThe second five in Pure Stock points was led by Duluth, MN\u2019s Aaron Bernick, who\nwas also ninth in national points, followed by Kyle Copp of Brule, who won his\nsixth career feature in early June. James Vendela of South Range collected his\nfirst career win in mid-August to finish eighth ahead of veteran Jeff\nChristman, also of South Range, and Superior\u2019s Tyler Keup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nBrandon Copp was awarded the coveted Sportsman of the Year award, while Mashlan\nwas named the Most Improved Driver at the track in 2018. Carlson (Modifieds),\nRivord (Midwest Mods), and Nevala (Sixes) were recognized as the ABC Raceway\u2019s\ntop rookies from the recently completed season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nAll five champions provided praise of the Raceway during their acceptance\nspeeches, noting the hard work of the staff, the excellent track preparation,\nand the generous weekly purses and points fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nAfter the awards presentation, DJ-provided music completed an enjoyable evening\nfor all in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nAn exciting schedule is in store for the 2019 stock car racing season at the\nABC Raceway, to be highlighted by the aforementioned World of Outlaws Morton\nBuildings Late Model Series visit, as well as the return of the Advantage RV\nModified Series, the FastLane Motorsports Super Stock Series, and the\nInterstate Racing Association\u2019s winged sprint cars. The 44th running of the\nprestigious Red Clay Classic in late September is sure to be another\nhighly-anticipated event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               \nThe track is located 3-1\/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one\nmile west on Butterworth Road. For more information, log on to the track\u2019s\nwebsite, www.abcraceway.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABC Raceway Closes Out 2018 Season with Annual Banquet by Nick Gima                 Ashland, WI, January 19 — A huge crowd of nearly 250 fans, crew persons, racers and track…Continue reading2018 Awards<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsandupdates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1858"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1868,"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858\/revisions\/1868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcraceway.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}