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Fox Ridge Speedway Congratulates Champions And Top Finishers At 2005 Awards Banquet
by Dan Bailey
January 21, 2006
A ‘Three-peat’ Champion mixed in amongst four ‘first-timers’ as FOX
RIDGE SPEEDWAY hands out congratulations at the 2005 Awards Banquet
(ARCADIA, Wisconsin) - - As the Saturday evening temperatures dropped outside
the food, fun and festivities warmed up inside the Hilltop Ballroom as FOX
RIDGE SPEEDWAY held it’s 2005 Awards Banquet.
FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY owners David and Judy Hesch welcomed drivers, pit crew and
family members, speedway and competitor sponsors, as well as speedway
employees to the event with a buffet styled dinner before the awards
presentation.
Awarding trophies to drivers finishing within the top-10 positions in the
season ending point standings in the evening was highlighted with an
additional ‘Hard Charger’ award in each division as well as the
presentation of the 2005 Point Champions.
Winonan Karl Fenske enjoyed his third consecutive point champion by holding
off season long challenges from Arcadia’s John Doelle and Zumbrota, MN’s
Brad Waits. Posting seven Feature and nine heat-race wins through the 2005
season, Fenske enjoyed a season-ending 24 point spread over Doelle, in second,
and a 76 point cushion over Waits’ third place finish to collect the 2005
USRA Modified Division Point Championship at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY.
Looking back on this third consecutive Championship at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY
Fenske remember well the turning point in the year, “We didn’t even start
thinking ‘Championship’ until Brad Waits (point leader at the time) missed
a week,” explained Fenske of the mid-season miss by Waits, “And then it
was Doelle and me – and it got awfully close there for a while!”
Will Fenske be back for a full season in 2006 to defend his three-pete
championship and put forth an effort for four-in-a-row? “I’m not saying
that I won’t ever drive again,” stated Fenske, after the final race of the
regular 2005 season, when asked about ‘next year’, “But, you probably
won’t see any more ‘Championship Runs’ from the Fenske camp!”
We’ll wait, however, to cast that in stone until we actually fail to see
Fenske’s familiar #99 on the track week in and week out early in ’06.
In addition to his third place trophy, Waits also collected the ‘Hard
Charger’ award in the USRA Division with Kerry Ledebuhr and Paul Hamernik
completing the top-5.
DENNIS EARNEY – WISSOTA SUPER STOCK CHAMP
Cochrane, WI’s Dennis Earney battled through an emotionally draining year,
consisting of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ both on the track and off, en route to
the 2005 WISSOTA Super Stock Points Championship at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY. This
veteran racer put together a dominating mid-season run collecting a total of
six feature wins while ringing up 10 top-5 and 12 top-10 feature finishes.
Two straight D.N.F.’s on what turned out to be the final two nights of the
season sure tightened up the point battles in this division – but Earney
held on to the point lead and finished the season atop the standing by the
smallest of margins - a scant three point advantage over Winona, MN’s Troy
Langowski, a mere seven points ahead of Mondovi, WI’s Rodney Dregney and
only 20 points in front of Winonan Jon Duffy.
Earney was also presented with the ‘Hard Charger Award’ in the WISSOTA
Super Stock Division while two-time defending point champion Troy Brand
settled for a fifth place trophy.
RYAN OLSON – WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIED CHAMP
20 year-old college student Ryan Olson had a ‘break-out’ year in only his
second full-time season behind the wheel. Three WISSOTA Midwest Modified
feature wins, coupled with an incredibly consistent 12 top-5 and 15 top-10
finishes in 17 starts allowed the Strum, WI ‘School-Boy’ to teach his
competitors a thing or two on his way to wrapping up the 2005 Division
Championship.
Despite an impressive 11 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes in 16 feature starts
(including a feature win) Eyota, MN’s Jeff Brauer had to settle for second,
21 points behind Olson. Four-time Street Stock Track Champion Travis Krause
finished the year third just three points ahead of Bob Bautch and 15 in front
of Dan Hesch.
The ‘Hard Charger Award’ in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified Division was
presented to Brauer.
DANNY HANSON – WISSOTA STREET STOCK CHAMP
Danny Hanson’s 2005 season will probably always be remembered as a
story-book year of dominance. Six WISSOTA Street Stock feature wins with 13
top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes in 17 starts built up a solid point lead in the
standings, which was never truly challenged as the on-track action graduated
into the second half of the season.
Despite strong runs from the likes of Arcadia’s Kylan Gamez, Fountain City,
WI’s Tom Hund, Independence, WI’s Michael Conrad, and Winonan Andy
Bohnstengel (all four of whom finished second through fifth, respectively,
separated by only 39 points) Hanson was consistently at, or near, the front of
the field at the drop of almost every checkered flag. The results of which,
are a first-time Points Championship for Hanson in the WISSOTA Street Stock
Division at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY.
Conrad was awarded the ‘Hard Charger’ plague in the Street Stock Division.
MARK BORNITZ – 4-CYLINDER HORNETS CHAMP
With the “Bornitz Hornets” fan club cheering their support on a weekly
basis from the FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY V.I.P. Suites, Holmen, WI’s Mark Bornitz
raced his way to the 2005 4-CYLINDER HORNETS Point Championship.
And with a total of 81 cars collecting points throughout the 2005
reason-season schedule in the 4-Cylinder HORNETS division –Bornitz has
plenty to be proud of. In 17 feature starts, Bornitz’s impressive
consistency brought fourth 16 top-10 and 15 top-5 finishes with three of those
finishes ending in Victory Lane!
Black River Falls, WI driver Robert Carpenter enjoyed three feature wins on
his way to finishing second in the point standings – followed closely by
Coty Slawson and Roger Niederkorn (both of Ettrick, WI) and Arcadia’s Joel
Hesch completing the top-5.
THE REST OF THE STORY
After the awards had been handed out, discussions turned to preparations for
the 2006 season at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY (which, incidentally, is scheduled to
fire up with the season opener on Friday April 7th) including the announcement
that the WISSOTA LATE MODEL racing is scheduled to return to ‘The Ridge’
for the 2006 season. Scheduling is being formulated which is designed to not
conflict with other major LATE MODEL events and yet still provide a solid
display of on-track action upon the high-banks of FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY
throughout the 2006 season.
After a very successful running of the ‘2005 THUNDER AT THE RIDGE’, racers
were assured that the popular event would return again for another appearance
at the end of the 2006 season. Track Owners Judy Hesch also announced that FOX
RIDGE SPEEDWAY would be continuing its involvements in the American Cancer
Society’s ‘Relay for Life’ fund raising event.
After hinting at other possible surprises and exciting possibilities for 2006,
Dave and Judy Hesch ended the evening with a thank you and congratulations to
all of the competitors in addition to the Point Champions, “Congratulations
to our Track Champions, Karl, Dennis, Danny, Ryan & Mark and all of the
2005 drivers. We had a successful 2005 and are looking forward to another
great year in 2006!”
Visit the FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY web site www.foxridgespeedway.com
for more information or call the Speedway Office at (608) 323-3396 for more
details!
Congratulations, once again, to Karl Fenske, Dennis Earney, Ryan Olson, Danny
Hanson, & Mark Bornitz – the 2005 FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY POINT CHAMPIONS!!
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