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Bouncing And Bumping Through The Final Weeks Of The Season
by Dan Bailey
(ARCADIA, Wisconsin) - - After Ol’ Mother Nature rained and rained and
rained on the area late Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, the track-prep
crew at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY had their work cut out for them just to insure that
the races scheduled for Friday night could even be run.
Even people who’ve never been to a race track before in their entire lives
know what the results will be when lots and lots of rain water are poured upon
dirt and clay. The track-prep crew couldn’t even get onto the speedway until
late Friday morning, they gave it their best effort but all the rain made for
a rough racing surface that rattled the cars and drivers all night long.
HANSON HAPPY, HUND HEAVY-HEARTED
Despite the rough track conditions, Fountain City, WI’s Tom Hund had his #10
WISSOTA Street Stock ‘gliding’ across the surface and leaving all
competitors behind. After winning the evening’s second Street Stock
heat-race, Hund appeared on his way to his first feature win of the 2005
season.
With his Buick Regal effortlessly pulling away from the entire pack, including
the dominant cars of Danny Hanson and Wayne Dean, Hund’s feature run was
nothing short of impressive.
Jumping from the outside of the second row, Hund dispensed with the front row
starters and led the opening lap. From there on it was the “Tom Hund and
Guests” show and his Yellow racers pulled away from the field. By the end of
the twelfth lap of the fifteen lap feature (all twelve of which had been led
by Hund) the separation between the leader and the two car battle for second
was almost an entire straightaway.
But just like that, Hund’s fortunes changes. Through turns one and two,
Hund’s right rear tire went flat; and that, as they say, was that.
Wayne Dean and Danny Hanson, battling for a distant second, suddenly found
themselves battling each other for the lead! Dean led lap 13 before Hanson
worked around him for position and led the final two laps to pick up his sixth
feature win of 2005.
Dean settled for a close second with previous week’s feature winner Michael
Conrad working through the field for a third place finish.
DUFFY DELIGHTED
“I was just throwing that (car) down to the bottom as hard as I could,”
commented WISSOTA Super Stock feature winner Jon Duffy, “and giving it all I
had. I don’t know if I’ve ever driven it as hard as I did tonight!”
Duffy survived what turned out to be a wild, and a bit wacky, Super Stock
feature which involved spins, bumps and bangs, car-body parts littering the
surface, and a flying race car!
Justin Sass led the opening lap before second heat race winner Shawn Huse took
the lead and remained out front for the next four circuits.
After four laps out front by Huse, Winonan Troy Brand rubbed his way past for
the lead only to have the Bloomer, WI racer retake the lead for the next lap.
But Huse’s lead would not last and the following lap would have just about
everyone struggling to comprehend what had just transpired.
It all started in turn three when Huse’s familiar blue and yellow #1H spun
to the infield while leading. This handed the lead over to Brand’s #177.
Brand was then challenged by Duffy when Brand pushed up the banking in turn
two. Duffy took the lead exiting the second turn and headed down the back
straight as the leader.
Dan Nissalke followed Duffy’s bright Orange #47 beneath Brand and to
challenge him for second. At the end of the back straightaway, the right rear
of Nissalke and the left front of Brand touched and the ride was on!
The contact turned Nissalke’s #22 into a sharp right hand slide –
Nissalke’s car slammed nose first into the back straight wall, climbed the
concrete and became airbourne! Luckily for Nissalke, though, his car didn’t
continue into a wild series of barrel rolls as has been seen in the past when
others have made hard contact with the back straight wall.
The #22 slammed back down to the Earth on all four tires, but severely
damaged. Nissalke climbed from the cockpit and wasted no time in locating
Brand to display his displeasure the next time the 177 circled past under
caution.
Speedway officials decided to put an end to the lengthy feature and flew the
yellow and checkered flags simultaneously. Brand was dropped to the rear of
the finishing order as the cause of the caution; since Brand had led the
previously completed lap, the lead – and win – was then handed to the car
that crossed the start/finish line second; that car was the #47 of Duffy.
“It’s been a long time since my last feature win,” offered a smiling
Duffy, “I was headed towards the pits and the official directed me to
Victory Lane – I was like ‘OK’! I’ll take the win and not complain
about anything!”
Nissalke was awarded second with Mike Keller, visiting from Menomonee, WI.,
completing the top-three.
FENSKE FEATURE
Point leader Karl Fenske dogged last week’s USRA Modified feature winner
Brad Waits for the opening five laps before the two swapped laps out front of
the field for the three circuits of ‘The Big 3/8-Mile’.
Fenske then settled into his now familiar rhythm and pulled away from Waits to
collect his seventh FOX RIDGE Feature win of 2005.
“Tonight was a battle of survival,” commented Fenske after the feature
win, “All that rain Thursday made for a rough track.” Waits settled for
second with Winonan Paul Hamernik rounding out the top-three.
MOREHART FINALLY BACK IN VICTORY LANE
Last year Eyota, MN retiree Harlan Morehart won the FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY WISSOTA
Midwest Modified track championship. This year has not been nearly as
successful.
Languishing outside the top-ten in this years point standings, Moreharts #17
had only collected two checkered flags this season – and those were heat
races.
That all finally changed Friday night – and the crowd approved with
thunderous applause!
Morehart took over the lead from pole-sitter Joel VonHaden, who’d led the
opening six laps, and held of challenges from first heat race winner Jeff
Brauer over the closing handful of laps to grab his first feature win of 2005.
Brauer put forth a valiant effort, but came up about ½ a car length short at
the finish. Winona’s Bob Bautch finished third.
DOUBLE THE DWYER
LaCrosse, WI’s Steve Dwyer made it two feature wins in a row with his #42X
4-Cylinder Hornet. Working from the inside of the fifth row of the 24 car
feature, Dwyer finished ahead of both Scott Kronn and point leader Mark
Bornitz – the exact same top-three finishing order as the previous week.
SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Next Friday night, August 19th will be the 2005 FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY Season
Championships for the top four divisions (USRA Modifieds, WISSOTA Super
Stocks, WISSOTA Street Stocks, & WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds). Gold-N-Plump
will present the Season Championship action with tight point battles to be
finalized in all four divisions. The Hornets will also be on hand for their
special brand of racing excitement as well.
Visit the official FOX RIDGE web site at www.foxridgespeedway.com for all
details and further information including results, point standings, driver
profiles and more!
8/12/2005 - Fox Ridge Speedway Results
USRA Modifieds
A-Main 01 -- 1. Karl Fenske, Winona, Minn.; 2. Brad Waits, Zumbrota,
Minn.; 3. Paul Hamernik, Winona, Minn.; 4. Kerry Ledebuhr, Winona, Minn.; 5.
Ron Britain, Winona, Minn.; 6. John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis; 7. Harlan Morehart,
Eyota, Minn.; 8. Gary Doelle, Fountain City, Wis; 9. Les Jonsgaard, Winona,
Minn.; 10. Steve Speltz, Fountain City, Wis; 11. Rick Hauser, Winona, Minn.;
12. Jason Marten, Mondovi, Wis; 13. Steve Arpin, International Falls, Minn.;
14. Mick Glenn, Minnesota City, Minn. (D.N.S.); 15. Troy Girolamo, Strum, Wis.
(D.N.S.)
Heat 01 -- 1. R. Britain; 2. R. Hauser; 3. S. Speltz; 4. J. Marten; 5.
J. Doelle; 6. P. Hamernik; 7. G. Doelle; 8. K. Ledebuhr.
Heat 02 -- 1. K. Fenske; 2. S. Arpin; 3. B. Waits; 4. H. Morehart; 5. L.
Jonsgaard; 6. T. Girolamo; 7. M. Glenn (D.N.S.).
WISSOTA Super Stocks
A-Main 01 -- 1. Jon Duffy, Winona, Minn.; 2. Dan Nissalke, Winona,
Minn.; 3. Mike Keller, Menomonee, Wis; 4. David Nastvold, Galesville, Wis; 5.
Rodney Dregney, Mondovi, Wis; 6. Troy Langowski, Winona, Minn.; 7. Shawn Huse,
Bloomer, Wis; 8. Jeff Dregney, Eleva, Wis; 9. Justin Sass, Alma, Wis; 10.
Jesse Lutz, Winona, Minn.; 11. Troy Brand, Winona, Minn.; 12. Cory Mahder,
Altoona, Wis; 13. Bruce Lutz, Minnesota City, Minn.; 14. Dennis Earney,
Cochrane, Wis; 15. Jeremy Burgess, Eau Claire, Wis. (D.N.S.)
Heat 01 -- 1. T. Langowski; 2. J. Duffy; 3. C. Mahder; 4. D. Nastvold;
5. D. Earney; 6. J. Dregney; 7. J. Lutz.
Heat 02 -- 1. S. Huse; 2. T. Brand; 3. M. Keller; 4. J. Sass; 5. R.
Dregney; 6. D. Nissalke; 7. B. Lutz; 8. J. Burgess.
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
A-Main 01 -- 1. Harlan Morehart, Eyota, Minn.; 2. Jeff Brauer, Eyota,
Minn.; 3. Robert Bautch, Winona, Minn.; 4. Ryan Olson, Strum, Wis; 5. Tom
Brink, Winona, Minn.; 6. Travis Krause, Buffalo City, Wis; 7. Dean Hoffman,
Eyota, Minn.; 8. James Pehler, Fountain City, Wis; 9. Joel VonHaden,
Trempealeau, Wis; 10. Jim Brink, Winona, Minn.; 11. Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.;
12. Dan Hesch, Arcadia, Wis.
Heat 01 -- 1. J. Brauer; 2. R. Bautch; 3. H. Morehart; 4. T. Krause; 5.
J. Pehler; 6. J. Angst.
Heat 02 -- 1. R. Olson; 2. D. Hoffman; 3. T. Brink; 4. J. VonHaden; 5.
D. Hesch; 6. J. Brink.
WISSOTA Street Stocks
A-Main 01 -- 1. Danny Hanson, Alma, Wis; 2. Wayne Dean, Fall Creek, Wis;
3. Michael Conrad, Independence, Wis; 4. Matt Wolfe, Mondovi, Wis; 5. Kylan
Gamez, Arcadia, Wis; 6. Cory Hanson, Black River Falls, Wis; 7. Darryll Foegen,
Cochrane, Wis; 8. Andy Bohnstengel, Winona, Minn.; 9. Gerald Schultz, Arcadia,
Wis; 10. Dennis Davis, Fountain City, Wis; 11. Tom Hund, Fountain City, Wis;
12. Erik Kanz, Winona, Minn.; 13. Dan Bork, Alma, Wis; 14. Adam Wilken, Eau
Claire, Wis; 15. Roger Conrad, Independence, Wis; 16. Shawn Krousey, Minnesota
City, Minn. (D.N.S.); 17. Tagge Pape, Arcadia, Wis. (D.N.S.)
Heat 01 -- 1. A. Bohnstengel; 2. D. Davis; 3. W. Dean; 4. M. Wolfe; 5.
K. Gamez; 6. C. Hanson; 7. G. Schultz; 8. D. Bork; 9. S. Krousey (D.N.S.).
Heat 02 -- 1. T. Hund; 2. D. Hanson; 3. M. Conrad; 4. A. Wilken; 5. D.
Foegen; 6. R. Conrad; 7. E. Kanz; 8. T. Pape (D.N.S.)
Hornets
A-Main 01 -- 1. Steve Dwyer, LaCrosse, Wis; 2. Scott Kronn, Holmen, Wis;
3. Mark Bornitz, Holmen, Wis; 4. Robert Carpenter, Black River Falls, Wis; 5.
Gary Towner, Galesville, Wis; 6. Kyle Franson, Strum, Wis; 7. Michael Peters,
Whitehall, Wis; 8. Mike Skroch, Independence, Wis; 9. Roger Niederkorn,
Ettrick, Wis; 10. Joel Hesch, Arcadia, Wis; 11. Rich Niederkorn, Galesville,
Wis; 12. Chris Gilbertson, Trempealeau, Wis; 13. Steve Bryn, Arcadia, Wis; 14.
Mike Thompson, Melrose, Wis; 15. Steve Bornitz, Holmen, Wis; 16. Tommy
Richards, Mondovi, Wis; 17. Rick Slawson, Ettrick, Wis; 18. Mike Krause,
Buffalo City, Wis; 19. Danny Richards, Mondovi, Wis; 20. David Gorski, Black
River Falls, Wis; 21. Alan Van Vleet, Galesville, Wis; 22. Brandon Gleiter,
Alma, Wis; 23. Coty Slawson, Ettrick, Wis; 24. Kris Oium, Eleva, Wis.
B-Main 01 -- 1. Ro. Niederkorn; 2. M. Thompson; 3. M. Krause; 4. B.
Gleiter; 5. D. Richards; 6. D. Gorski; (TOP SIX FINISHERS TRANSFER ‘UP’ TO
THE A-MAIN) 7. Nathan Kummer, Mondovi, Wis; 8. Blaze Wagner, Wabasha, Minn.;
9. Marcus Ziemer, Winona, Minn.; 10. Corey Klink, Fountain City, Wis; 11.
Derrick Hammer, Galesville, Wis; 12. James Clark, Winona, Minn.; 13. Daniel
Gore, Fairchild, Wis; 14. Garrett Hatch, Cochrane, Wis; 15. Ryan Happel,
Holmen, Wis; 16. Kyle Redsten, Galesville, Wis; 17. Rick Schermerhorn, La
Crosse, Wis; 18. Brad Duellman, Dodge, Wis; 19. Wayne Maug, Eleva, Wis.
Heat 01 -- 1. S. Dwyer; 2. G. Towner; 3. S. Kronn; 4. M. Bornitz; 5. M.
Skroch; 6. A. Van Vleet; 7. Ro. Niederkorn; 8. M. Krause; 9. D. Hammer; 10. D.
Gore; 11. C. Klink; 12. R. Schermerhorn; 13. J. Clark.
Heat 02 -- 1. S. Bryn; 2. C. Gilbertson; 3. C. Slawson; 4. T. Richards;
5. S. Bornitz; 6. R. Slawson; 7. N. Kummer; 8. G. Hatch; 9. W. Maug; 10. B.
Duellman; 11. K. Redsten; 12. R. Happel.
Heat 03 -- 1. M. Peters; 2. R. Carpenter; 3. K. Franson; 4. K. Oium; 5.
J. Hesch; 6. Ri. Niederkorn; 7. M. Thompson; 8. B. Gleiter; 9. D. Richards;
10. B. Wagner; 11. M. Ziemer; 12. D. Gorski.
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