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Nelson Returns To ABC Victory Lane With Como Mod Win
Lawrence sweeps in supers, strengthens points lead
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, July 3 -- Darrell Nelson of Hermantown, MN, earned his first
victory at the ABC Raceway in over 12 years during the Como Oil & Propane
WISSOTA Modified Series 30-lap feature Monday night in front of a
near-capacity crowd.
In the companion FastLane Motorsports WISSOTA Super Stock Special,
Superior’s Scott Lawrence boosted his track points lead with a sweep of his
races, including his second feature win of the season.
Nelson completed a sweep of his own in one of his rare appearances here at the
Ashland track - he draws double-duty with his late model at other speedways on
Saturday nights - by also recording wins in his heat and the Taco John’s
Pole Dash, the latter of which put him on the pole for the night’s
headliner.
But Nelson needed a mid-race caution flag to catch and overtake outside
front-row-starter Al Uotinen. The two-time defending track champion blasted
away from the field from the start and ran a smooth high-groove line around
the fast, slick oval. Nelson swapped second with Don Copp during most of the
first portion of the event before the first slowdown occurred on lap 9, for a
three-car tangle.
Nelson moved by Copp on the ensuing restart with an inside pass, then spent
the next six laps trying to track down Uotinen, who rebuilt his significant
lead. But Uotinen’s car tightened up after the lap 15 yellow flag for the
stalled car of Bob Broking, and Nelson worked the inner groove of the track
for the next three laps before completing the winning pass. From there Nelson
cruised to his sixth career feature win here, and his first since June 1994.
During the waning laps Joey Jensen finished off an incredible run by taking
second from Uotinen. Jensen had started the event 23rd in the 25-car field,
but he was up to ninth by the lap 9 restart and was running in the top five
less than four laps later.
Uotinen assumed the track’s points lead with his third-place effort, while
Rick Rivord stayed within the lead five throughout the go and wound up fourth.
Bill Byholm was another driver who climbed a long way to get to the front,
starting 18th but finishing fifth, while Pat Doar, driving a spare car of
Byholm’s, followed him home in sixth. Scott Hudack enjoyed a seventh-place
run after starting 14th, ahead of 19th starting Ricky Roche, 24th-starting
Brent Larson, and Copp.
Nelson also took over the points lead in the Series, as Kelly Estey and
Broking, who entered the night one-two on the tour, each struggled through
less-than-stellar runs. The Series continues at the Proctor (MN) Speedway on
Sunday, July 23, and will also make an August stop at Superior, then at
Proctor, Hibbing and Superior again, before concluding at the ABC Raceway
during the 31st Red Clay Classic on September 29-30.
The 25-lap super stock A-main was a drawn-out affair due to a rash of caution
slowdowns, but the action under green proved to be very intense. Lawrence won
an early four-car battle to wrestle the lead from polesitter Randy Spacek, Tom
Karis and Mike Duhr, then fended off the high-side challenges of Spacek before
Duhr and Charlie Anderson came together on lap 4.
After the second attempt to restart the event Karis became Lawrence’s key
opponent, as he worked the upper groove to pull even with the leader several
times before a lap 7 spin by Trevor Wilson slowed the action again.
The field then ran off eight uninterrupted laps, during which a handful of
mid-pack starters made their presence felt in the top ten, including Hibbing
regulars Jeff Tardy and Bobby Carlson and former ABC champ Brian Mikkonen. But
with ten laps to go Jacob Hiatt spun, and on the ensuing restart Mikkonen
exploded a transmission onto the track, ending his run.
One lap after that restart frontrunners Duhr and Tardy and a charging Joe
Olson were collected in an incident which was pinned on Spacek, who
subsequently left the event. The final nine laps ran non-stop, with Lawrence
and Karis pulling away to decide the finish. At the checkers the two-time
defending track champ had a ten-car advantage on the visitor from Menomonie,
who in turn was comfortably in front of Tardy. Duhr was a ways back in fourth,
holding off a great charge to the front by Rich Bishop, who had started the
event 20th out of 24.
The second five across the final stripe were led by Greg Kuklinski and
Carlson, while Ron Hmielewski and Larry Haderly, who transferred out of the
semi-feature, climbed to eight and ninth in the final rundown, ahead of Paul
Erikson.
Thirty-nine mods and 36 supers registered for the program - the first Monday
night show at Ashland in over 25 years.
Action at the 3/8th-mile red clay oval continues on Saturday, July 8, with the
kids’ bike races presented by the County Market of Ashland. Kids will be
invited onto the track during intermission to race in four separate age groups
for prizes and more.
Hot laps will begin at 6:15 pm and the first green flag will drop at 7. 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, .
“Racenight Live” will air from 4:30-6 pm on WJJH, 96.7 & 102.3 FM,
with up-to-date track news and weather information.
Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
Heat 1: Al Uotinen, Superior; Pat Doar, New Richmond; Jeff Lien,
Zimmerman, MN.
Heat 2: Bob Broking, Grand Rapids, MN; Justin Jones, Onamia, MN; Duane
Dale, Aurora, MN.
Heat 3: Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, MN; Rick Rivord, Superior; Rick
Cannata, Hibbing, MN.
Heat 4: Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, MN; Shawn Kreyer, Hayward; Scott
Hudack, Ashland.
Heat 5: Don Copp, Brule; Jad Carlson, Duluth, MN; Paul Schultz, Grand
Rapids, MN.
Dash: Nelson; Uotinen; Jones.
Semi-Feature 1: Kelly Estey, Kelly Lake, MN; Joey Jensen, Maplewood, MN;
Jeff Spacek, Phillips.
Semi-Feature 2: Ross Lightner, Washburn; Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN;
Kent Baxter, Dorchester.
Feature: Nelson; Jensen; Uotinen; Rivord; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Doar;
Hudack; Ricky Roche, International Falls, MN; Larson; Copp.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Heat 1: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Art Hyde, Washburn; Jacob Hiatt, River
Falls.
Heat 2: Tom Karis, Menomonie; Paul Erikson, Abbotsford; Charlie
Anderson, Ironwood, MI.
Heat 3: Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Jeff Tardy, Hibbing, MN; Bobby
Carlson, Hibbing, MN.
Heat 4: Randy Spacek, Phillips; Dave Flynn, Superior; Mike Duhr,
Hazelhurst.
Semi-Feature: Larry Haderly, Marengo; Ron Hmielewski, Washburn; Doug
Woodhull, Jr., Superior.
Feature: Lawrence; Karis; Tardy; Duhr; Rich Bishop, New Richmond;
Kuklinski; Carlson; Hmielewski; Haderly; Erikson.
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