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Cottam, Iilen Win Mid-Am Oktoberfest Features; Hernandez, Farrell Take Championships
By R.J. Herried
(West Salem, WI - October 9, 2004)
Wisconsin Late Models:
The Wisconsin Late Models ran two preliminary Qualifying Features as a prelude
to the season ending Oktoberfest 50 Feature Sunday afternoon.
In the first one, Bobby Wilberg from Ortonville, WI led early on, then held on
to barely edge 2004 La Crosse Fairgrounds Late Model Champion Charlie Menard.
Wilberg started on the pole, built a nice lead which was then erased on a lap
four caution flag as Andy Burgess spun after contact by Tim Schendel.
After the restart, Menard began mounting his charge from deep in the field to
the front. Menard moved from 12th to 5th in the next eight laps, into third by
lap 16, and finally into second on lap 23. Menard was right on the rear
bumper of Wilberg, but ran out of time to make a pass for the lead. Don
Turner was third, Jacob Humphrey fourth and Nathan Haseleu fifth.
The second Qualifying Feature race showcased a lot of close racing, but not
much passing. Terry Schoppenhorst started on the pole and started to put
distance on the field from the drop of the green flag.
Jason Schuler pressured Schoppenhorst for over 20 laps, just inches behind but
never able to make a move for the lead. Steve Carlson finished third,
Dan Fredrickson fourth and Travis Dassow fifth.
NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division-Midwest Series
The AutoZone Elite Division ran a preliminary qualifying heat to the premier
event of the 35th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Winning the 25 Lap
qualifier was Eric Fransen, with josh Vadhais a close second. Russ
Blakeley, Todd Hansen fourth and Josh Bauer rounded out the top five.
Beloit, WI driver Ryan Hanson was fast timer in qualifying, with a lap of
19.293 seconds, 101.773 MPH. Sitting on the pole in the Oktoberfest 250
Feature will be Justin Diercks, winner of six AutoZone Elite Division races
this year. With a finish of 18th or better, Diercks will claim the
season championship.
La Crosse Late Models:
La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway regular competitors Steve Holzhausen and Andy
Burgess came home victorious in the two Qualifying races held.
Holzhausen started deep in the field in his race, but used a caution to his
advantage to gain positions. On lap 12, a three car accident took out
three of his competitors, including Charlie Menard, the fast time in
qualifying. Holzhausen then moved to the inside of race leader Shawn
Pfaff on lap 21 to take the lead. From there on, he maintained a slight
advantage over Pfaff to win the race.
Burgess also used a similar strategy in winning his race, only he had to hold
off a serious challenge from J. Herbst, who pressured him hard for several
laps before settling for second. A caution on lap nine which took out
Tim Nelson and Tom McClintock also provided Burgess with some
help.
These races are a prelude to the Oktoberfest 50 which will be run Sunday
afternoon on the closing day of the 2004 Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
Yellow Book USA Mid-American Trucks:
Charlie Cottam took the lead from John Froelich on lap eight, then stretched
his lead over the course of the race, leading by as many as 15 truck lengths
to win Oktoberfest 30 Feature. Cottam started in fourth, then passed
Larry Fitzsimmons when he brushed the wall coming out of turn four.
Kevin Korsmo was moving up, but simply ran out of time to overtake the race
leader. John Froelich, who led the first eight laps, finished third,
Tony Holm fourth and Jamie Farrell fifth.
Farrell, by virtue of starting the feature, clinched the season
championship. Farrell won both races this season at the Milwaukee Mile
and Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. He is also the two-time track
champion at Elko SPeedway.
In the first Mid-Am Truck heat race, Mark Soronen held off a late race charge
by Gordy Swanson to take the win. Davey Cox led the opening lap, but was
soon shown the black flag for fluids coming from his truck. A caution
slowed the field on lap two as Madison, WI driver Dan Harris spun down the
backstretch. On lap four, Soronen moved to the lead as he passed Swanson
coming down the frontstretch. From there on, Soronen managed to hold the
lead to take the heat win. Swanson was second, Kyle Bauknecht third,
Anthony Brewer fourth and Gary Fredrickson fifth.
In the second Truck heat race, Andy Jirik battled Charlie Cottam to the
thrilling race to the line. Jirk started in fifth, but quickly moved his
truck up in the field, taking the lead just a few laps into the race.
Cottam attempted to take the lead several times, but was rebuffed on all
attempts. However, Cottam did get second, Larry Fitzsimmons was third,
Tony Holm fourth and Jamie Farrell fifth.
Yellow Book USA Mid-American Stock Cars:
Jonathan Iilen pressured leader Jeremy Miller for a dozen laps, but a late
race caution gave him just the opportunity he needed to make a pass with five
laps to go to take the Oktoberfest 30 Feature Race.
Iilen patiently worked his way towards the front, all the way to the back
bumper of Miller. A caution flag came out on 23, which allowed Iilen to
cool his tires and position his cars for the winning pass. Once the
green flag came back out, Iilen moved his car to the inside of Millers,
battling him side by side until he was able to nudge ahead going down the
backstretch.
Once clear, Iilen was able to maintain his advantage all the way to the
checkers. Miller finished second, George schultz third, Greg Bieber
fourth and Bobby Gutknecht fifth.
Peter Hernandez wrapped up the season title, finishing in eighth
position. The Mokena, IL driver celebrated his championship by doing a
Polish victory lap around the track. The championship was Hernandez’s
first. He has run the Mid-Am series for over five years, finishing in
the top ten every year.
Four qualifying heats highlighted the preliminary action for this
series. In the first race, Duane Halvorson survived a couple accidents
and had a little help in winning his heat race. Halvorson was running
third on the last lap when the race leader, Kevin King spun and collected
second place Brian Baker. That allowed Halvorson to make the winning
pass. Second was Mike Skaja, followed by Mike Felixberger, Andrew
Rothenbeck and Monte Strouf.
Dave Auringer came out victorious in the second heat race. In one of the
most exciting finishes, Auringer made a last lap turn four pass to take the
win. Josh Larsen took the lead on the first lap, and held it until
Auringer was able to move up for the win. Ken Smart was also able to
take advantage as well, passing Larsen for second. Larsen did get third,
Tom Schmitzer fourth and Ken Joosten was fifth.
Josh Nelms passed Bobby hacker with five laps to go to secure the win in the
third heat race. Hacker jumped to the lead on the opening lap, but was
chased down and passed in turn four. After being passed, Hacker appeared
to lose the handling a little on his car, falling to a fourth place
finish. Rob Dubnecay was third and Greg Bieber fifth.
In the closest finish of the evening, Doug Brown held off a late surge
from James Swan to win by a half car length. Brown jumped out to a 10
car length lead on the second lap and appeared to be heading towards a
comfotable win. with about five laps to go, Swam made a strong move to
the front, with easily the fastest car in the field. Swan moved to the
inside of Brown on the last lap, and was close to taking the lead, but fell a
half car lenght short at the line. Jeremy Miller was third, Jeremy
Spoonmore fourth and Peter Hernandez fifth.
Kevin Lee and Ken Joosten were the winners of the Last Chance Qualifying
races, advancing them to the Oktoberfest 30 Feature Race.
LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY
HASCAR AutoZone Midwest Series
Qualifying 25 Feature (12 cars) - 1, Eric Fransen, West Bend, WI;
2, Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, MN; 3, Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, WI; 4,
Todd Hansen, Minneapolis, MN; 5, Josh Bauer, Random Lake, WI; 6, Justin Hirt,
Tigerton, WI; 7, David Finney, Sycamore, IL; 8, Greg Fowler, Longmont, CO; 9,
Les Ferris, Northfield, MN; 10, Jeff Way, Burlington, WI; 11, Gib Scharpf, La
Crosse, WI; 12, David Bean, Westby, WI.
Qualifying - 1, Ryan Hanson, Sun Prairie, WI, 19.293 seconds,
101.773 MPH; 2, Tim Schendel, Sparta, WI, 19.354 secs, 101.452 MPH; 3, Steve
Holzhausen, Bangor, WI, 19.354 secs, 101.452 MPH; 4, Erik Darnell, Beach Park,
IL, 19.377 secs, 101.331 MPH; 5, Brian Hoppe, Madison, WI, 19.387 secs,
101.279 MPH; 6, Justin Diercks, Davenport, IA, 19.393 secs, 101.542 MPH; 7,
Tony Bagstad, Cashton, WI 19.410 secs, 101.500 MPH; 8, Steve Carlson, West
Salem, WI 19.438 secs, 101.453 MPH; 9, Brad Powell, La Crosse, WI, 19.482 secs,
101.307 MPH; 10, Brent Kirchner, La Crosse, WI, 19.507 secs, 101.078 MPH; 11,
Bryan Roach, Becker, MN, 19.557 secs, 100.948 MPH; 13, AJ Rhoads, Hastings,
MN, 19.565 secs, 100.690 MPH; 14, Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton, IL, 19.565 secs,
100.649 MPH; 15, Jake Ryan, Farmington, MN, 19.617 secs, 100.480 MPH; 16,
Andrew Morrissey, DeForest, WI, 19.641 secs, 100.382 MPH; 17, Nathan Haseleu,
Arlington, WI, 19.664 secs, 100.260 MPH; 18, Justin Hirt, Tigerton, WI, 19.680
secs, 100.142 MPH; 19, Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, MN, 19.706 secs, 100.061
MPH; 20, Eric Fransen, West Bend, WI, 19.706 secs, 99.929 MPH;21, Todd Hansen,
Minneapolis, MN, 19.709 secs, 99.914 MPH; 22, Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, WI,
19.710 secs, 99.909 MPH; 23, David Finney, Sycamore, IL, 19.798 secs, 99.465
MPH; 24, Les Ferris, Northfield, MN, 19.832 secs, 99.294 MPH; 25, Greg Fowler,
Longmont, CO, 20.025 secs, 98.337 MPH; 26, Molly Rhoads, Hastings, MN, 20.032
secs, 98.303 MPH; 27, David Bean, Westby, WI, 20.354 secs, 96.748 MPH; 28, Gib
Scharpf, La Crosse, WI, 20.828 secs, 94.546 MPH; 29, Jo!
sh Bauer, Random Lake, WI, 20.858 secs, 94.410 MPH.
Wisconsin Late Models
Qualifying Feature 1 - 1, Bobby Wilberg, Orfordville; 2, Charlie
Menard, Eau Claire; 3, Don Turner, La Crosse; 4, Jacob Humphrey, Lake Geneva;
5, Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville.
Qualifying Feature 2- 1, Terry Schoppenhorst, Berlin; 2, Jason
Schuler, Cambridge; 3, Steve Carlson, West Salem; 4, Dan Fredrickson, Elko,
MN; 5, Travis Dassow, West Bend.
Qualifying - 1, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire, 19.124secs, 102.672
MPH; 2, Dan Fredrickson, Elko, Minn, 19.229 secs, 102.111 MPH; 3, Chris
Weinkauf, Merrill, 19.230 secs, 102.106 MPH; 4, Dean Cornelius, Chaska, Minn,
19.299 secs, 101.741 MPH; 5, Jeff Kendall, Montello, 19.414 secs, 101.138 MPH.
La Crosse Late Models
Qualifying Feature 1 - 1, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor; 2, Shawn
Pfaff, Sparta; 3, Kevin Nuttleman, Bangor; 4, Ryan Carlson, Loves Park, IL; 5,
Charlie Menard, Eau Claire.
Qualifying Feature 2- 1, Andy Burgess, Eau Claire; 2, J. Herbst,
West Salem; 3, Mark Lamoreaux, Bloomington, MN; 4, Lorin Kurth, Waukon, IA; 5,
Tony Bagstad, Cashton.
Qualifying - 1, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire, 20.277 seconds,
96.834 MPH; 2, Andy Burgess, Eau Claire, 20.538 secs, 95.603 MPH; 3, Steve
Holzhausen, Bangor, 20.540 secs, 95.594 MPH; 4, J. Herbst, West Salem, 20.573
secs, 95.441 MPH; 5, Kevin Nuttleman, Bangor, 20.626 secs, 95.195 MPH.
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