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Thatcher Holds Court, Lawrence Stays Hot at ABC
by Nick Gima
Ashland, WI, August 5 -- Craig Thatcher continued to prove why he is one of
the best modified drivers in WISSOTA Saturday night, as he dominated two of
the three features he ran at the ABC Raceway.
Thatcher, who recently enjoyed a string of ten consecutive feature wins at
Menomonie, had won the opening round of the Bad River Lodge &
Casino-sponsored Modified Triple Header on June 17 before rains shortened the
show. So he returned to Ashland Saturday in search of a clean sweep of the
rescheduled final two features - and he would have earned that sweep, too, if
not for a supurb run by Jason Miller in the first of the two make-up features.
In that race Miller started outside on the front row with Thatcher directly
behind him, and after cautions for two multi-car wrecks on laps 1 and 4,
Miller pulled by Bill Byholm into the lead and Thatcher followed into second.
Over the remaining uninterrupted 16 laps the two leaders drew away from the
field, with Thatcher throwing several challenges at the leader.
Over the final four laps Thatcher lost ground to Miller and had to fend off
Byholm for second at the checkers, while Jeff Spacek and Dean Yrjanainen
followed closely in fourth and fifth.
With a three-race sweep out of the equation, Thatcher and Miller became the
only two drivers eligible for the two-win bonus from the Triple Header, and
they started side-by-side on the front row for the 25-lap finale. Thatcher
staked a claim on the point at the drop of the green, but Miller charged back
with an impressive inside move to take the lead away on lap 4. Third-place
Luke Schilling’s car broke to knock him from contention, and after a Rick
Rivord spin on lap 6 Miller and Thatcher again sprinted away to decide the
outcome, while behind them was an equally spirited battle between Byholm and
Spacek for third.
On lap 18 of 25 Thatcher made his winning move - an outside sweep by Miller
coming out of turn 2 - and Miller’s only hope to recover came three laps
later when Jason Zdroik and Paul Knauf spun to bring about the caution flag,
and then again on the ensuing restart when Spacek tried too hard to pass
Byholm and spun, collecting several others. But Thatcher was too quick out of
the gate and cruised to the win, with Miller in tow. Byholm was again third,
with Yrjanainen fourth ahead of an impressive Ross Lightner. With the two
Triple Header wins Thatcher’s effort was worth $2,000 out of a possible
$2,900.
In the regularly-scheduled mod A-main, Thatcher again proved his prowess.
Spacek worked his way around polesitter Zdroik on lap 3 and pulled to a
commanding lead, and he looked to have the race well in hand. But Thatcher,
who started outside on row 4, used a similar move to get around Zdroik for
second on lap 5, and Spacek’s huge advantage disappeared one lap later when
Mike Anderson spun.
It took just two laps after the restart for Thatcher to work his way by Spacek
with an inside move coming out of turn 2, and from there the Knapp ace looked
uncatchable. However, Thatcher’s run was nearly ruined when, with two laps
remaining, he tagged a loose Jad Carlson while putting Carlson a lap down,
causing Carlson to spin. Officials deemed that Carlson’s car had been
squirrely for several laps prior and that the contact was incidental, so
Thatcher resumed the race from the point and held on over the final two laps
for the win.
Spacek, whose car had been badly damaged in an racing incident at Superior the
night before, completed a solid night with a runner-up finish, followed by
strong runs by Scott Hudack, Paul Niznik and Lightner. Al Uotinen extended his
track points lead to 16 over Byholm, as former second-in-points Yrjanainen
struggled with car trouble after the final Triple Header main.
Scott Lawrence continued his march to a third straight WISSOTA super stock
points crown by winning his third feature of the season. The caution-filled
race kept the field close, especially early in the 20-lapper. Polesitter Don
Koivisto was involved in an early dogfight for the lead and got caught as the
outside car in a four-wide pack coming out of turn 2 on lap 2. Koivisto got
pinched against the backchute guardrail and rolled the car up onto two wheels;
as the car landed it turned sideways sharply and barrel-rolled one-and-a-half
times before stopping on its roof sideways across the track, with the full
balance of the field dodging and ducking to avoid hitting the disabled car.
Koivisto was uninjured, but it took several tense minutes to extract him from
the wreckage.
On the restart leader Todd Bonney and second-place Paul Erikson got together
to bring about another race stoppage, and with the next green flag Randy
Spacek and Lawrence ganged up on new leader Greg Kuklinski, shuffling him back
to third. Lawrence then slipped past Spacek for the lead, but before the lap
was completed Bonney had spun again, putting Spacek back in front for the
restart.
Spacek held off Lawrence for six more laps and through three more restarts
before his motor dropped a cylinder, and the points leader made his way by
using the outside groove that has served him very well in recent weeks. Ron
Hmielewski, who started in row 6, found something to grab on the bottom groove
of the track and made his way up to second in the final five laps of the event
for his season-best finish, and Charlie Anderson followed in Hmielewski’s
tire tracks to climb to third in the final rundown after starting 17th. Brian
Mikkonen and Spacek completed the top five.
Roger Walker moved into a tie for first place with Steve Anderson in the
WISSOTA street stock points chase with his second feature win of the season.
In a 15-lap race that saw only one yellow-flag slowdown, Walker moved around
rookie Mike Truscott into third three laps in and worked his way into the lead
battle with John Kallas and Dennis Groom before taking the lead for good from
Kallas on lap 5. From there Walker pulled away after a lap 8 two-car spin
slowed the pace.
In a wild scramble for runner-up honors Cory Casari snuck through traffic and
claimed the spot at the stripe, while Kallas held off a charging Anderson for
third. Groom followed closely in fifth.
Warren Beede also earned his second feature win of the season by scooting away
from the six-cylinder field in their 15-lapper. Beede chased down polesitter
and early leader Pat Beeksma and slipped past him on the outside on lap 5.
Beede pulled gradually away as the race continued under green until lap 12,
when Adam Jack spun.
Over the closing laps Beede again drew to a comfortable margin of victory,
while a stout Steve Tesch overtook Beeksma for second on the white-flag lap.
Steve Stuart finished fourth, one spot ahead of Scott Ovaska, and in doing so
drew to within four points of Ovaska in the battle for the sixes’ points
crown.
Rookie Derek Milligan impressed the crowd with a strong run to win his
first-ever pure stock feature. Milligan started outside on the front row and
was shuffled back on the opening lap, but a Chad Carlson spin gave Milligan
another opportunity, and he took advantage, beating Paul Milanowski to the
first corner on the restart and never looking back.
Al Rapp overtook Nathan Dees for second just a few circuits before the caution
flew for a incident involving points leader Tom Morinville, who was
disqualified from the event from aggressive driving. Over the final ten laps
Dees retook second from Rapp and brought Jim Eliason with him to third, as
Milligan went on unchallenged for the win. Ricky Davis took over the points
lead with his fifth-place effort.
A collection was taken up for popular modified racer and former ABC track
champ Jerry Hartman, who was recently injured in a work-related accident.
Drivers “passed the helmet” throughout the pit area and grandstands and
collected over $1,700 in a very generous and heartfelt showing by those in
attendance.
Action at the 3/8th-mile red clay oval continues on Saturday, August 12, with
a full five-division program presented by the Northern State Bank. The program
will include ladies’ “powder puff” races. 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 Saturday on WJJH, 96.7 & 102.3 FM, with
up-to-date track news and weather information.
Results
WISSOTA Modifieds
Triple Header Feature 2: Jason Miller, Duluth, MN; Craig Thatcher,
Knapp; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Dean Yrjanainen, Lake
Nebagamon; Luke Schilling, Granton; Ross Lightner, Washburn; Rick Rivord,
Superior; Mike Anderson, Colfax; Al Uotinen, Superior.
Triple Header Feature 2: Thatcher; Miller; Byholm; Yrjanainen; Lightner;
Jeff Lien, Zimmerman, MN; Uotinen; Scott Hudack, Ashland; Kent Baxter,
Dorchester; Paul Niznik, Medford.
Heat 1: Mark Baxter, Dorchester; Miller; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls.
Heat 2: Spacek; Thatcher; Hudack.
Heat 3: Jason Zdroik, Eagle River; Lightner; Niznik.
Semi-Feature: Jad Carlson, Duluth, MN; Kelly Checkalski, Duluth, MN;
John Frydrych, Butternut.
Feature: Thatcher; Spacek; Hudack; Niznik; Lightner; Byholm; Uotinen;
Lien; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Zdroik.
WISSOTA Super Stocks
Heat 1: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Larry Haderly, Marengo; Destin Lorimor,
Maple.
Heat 2: Paul Erikson, Abbotsford; Greg Kuklinski, Ironwood, MI; Todd
Bonney, Bayfield.
Heat 3: Randy Silverness, Jr., Superior; Don Koivisto, Saxon; Randy
Spacek, Phillips.
Feature: Lawrence; Ron Hmielewski, Washburn; Charlie Anderson, Ironwood,
MI; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Spacek; Silverness; Kuklinski; Trevor Wilson,
Superior; Bonney; Lorimor.
WISSOTA Street Stocks
Heat 1: Roger Walker, Phillips; Dennis Groom, Ashland; Mike Truscott,
Greenland, MI.
Heat 2: Marshall Andrews, Duluth, MN: Kevin Eder, Ashland; Cory Casari,
Hurley.
Feature: Walker; Casari; John Kallas, Hurley; Steve Anderson, Ironwood,
MI; Groom; Wayne Dean, Fall Creek; Andrews; Eder; Rob Weber, Washburn;
Truscott.
Six-Cylinders
Heat 1: Scott Ovaska, Marengo; Mike McKay, Highbridge; Steve Tesch,
Prentice.
Heat 2: Steve Stuart, Ashland; Warren Beede, Iron River; Pat Beeksma,
New Richmond.
Feature: Beede; Tesch; Beeksma; Stuart; Ovaska; Greg Jaeger, Mellen;
Chuck Hawkinson, Mellen; Shawn McFadden, Jr., Ashland; Pat Cook, Washburn; Ron
Swanson, Ashland.
Pure Stocks
Heat 1: Tim Carbon, Highbridge; Derek Milligan, Ashland; Al Rapp,
Duluth, MN.
Heat 2: Tom Morinville, Duluth, MN; Marty Passuello, Ironwood, MI;
Tammie Bretting, Washburn.
Heat 3: Nathan Dees, Ironwood, MI; Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN; Paul
Milanowski, Ashland.
Feature: Milligan; Dees; Jim Eliason, Ashland; Rapp; Ricky Davis, Bruno,
MN; Steve Christman, Superior; Dammer; Milanowski; Jim Laessig, Wakefield, MI;
Zene Anderson, Superior.
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