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Oktoberfest 06 Notes
By: Kevin Ramsell
It was a successful 37th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse
Fairgrounds Speedway. The beautiful weather that averaged in the
mid-seventies during the day and low-sixties at night, allowed 565 cars to
compete in 15 different divisions and a weekend attendance of over 19,000 for
the four-day race weekend.
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Mr. Oktoberfest, Charlie Menard, almost wasn’t able to continue his streak
of Oktoberfest feature wins that he started in 2002. Menard gave himself
four opportunities to continue that streak, but it took the last race to keep
it going.
Menard’s first try came on Friday night’s Central Wisconsin Late Model
feature. The 40-lap event had Neil Knoblock checking out from the rest
of the field after his outside front row starting spot. Menard started
eighth and charged his way through the field, but came up short from catching
Knoblock as the checkered flag flew.
On Saturday night, he looked like the car to beat in the ASA Late Model North
Series race. But, he lost an engine in the early going and finished
26th. Menard’s third attempt came in the Wisconsin Late Model 100-lap
feature event, where he got put into the wall just as the green flag fell and
finished 28th.
“Boy I got mad at the start of that (Wisconsin Late Models) race,” Menard
stated. “Darn it, that guy shouldn’t have done that to me, we had an
awesome car and I know we could have won that race.”
Menard re-grouped and came back out for the La Crosse Late Model feature where
he started 17th. He would work his way through the field and pick up the
win, to keep his streak alive.
Prior to the start of the La Crosse Late Model feature, Menard talked about a
conversation. “I was just talking to my dad in the hauler asking why
we do this, why do we race,” a happy Menard stated. “I guess this is
why.”
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Neil Knoblock had a good weekend while trying to secure a ride for Mike Butz.
Knoblock came out on Friday night and dominated the Central Wisconsin Late
Model race.
He had a bad qualifying effort on Saturday and had to earn a spot for the
100-lap event on Sunday by winning one of four qualifying races on Saturday
night. Knoblock started 20th and came through the field to finish 3rd in
the caution-free event.
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When you look at the list of Oktoberfest champions, you will not see the name
of Steve Holzhausen, until now. Even though he won the ARTGO Reunion 100
in 2005, the race wasn’t the highest paying single event. That
went to Tim Schendel who captured the NASCAR Autozone Elite Division Midwest
Series race.
This year, the Wisconsin Late Model feature paid more to the winner than the
Midwest Series race did. With Holzhausen’s win, he will now be
officially in the record books as the Oktoberfest champion for 2006.
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A pair of 17-year-olds ruled the ASA Late Model North Series on Saturday
night. Landon Cassill’s surprise win over Eddie Hoffman was not the
only story of a youth movement in that series. Jesse Smith, who is also
17-years-old, claimed the ASA Late Model Series North crown.
These are two names to keep an eye on down the road. Those in attendance
can now say they saw these two young drivers compete at Oktoberfest along with
other former youth drivers by the names of Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin.
One footnote, Landon Cassill is believed to be the first driver ever to climb
the fence at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
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Dick Trickle and Jim Weber not only put on a show Saturday night in their
Match Race that Trickle won, but they were also competitive in the Wisconsin
Late Model feature on Sunday. Trickle started 17th and finished 7th
while Weber started 18th and finished 15th.
Trickle lost his voice on Saturday, but was able to recover it on
Sunday. Meanwhile Weber stated, “I had both of my knees replaced and
that is like walking on stilts and I dislocated my right shoulder golfing two
weeks ago. I have been to the doctor 10 times and they can’t fix it,
it takes time.”
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Leave it up to legendary ARTGO Promoter, John McKarns, to give this
stat. The first ARTGO race was won by Tom Reffner on September 7,
1975. The last ARTGO/Midwest Series winner on October 6, 2006 was Brent
Kirchner.
The interesting fact was that both had car # 88.
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Second generation driver, Skylar Holzhausen had a pretty busy weekend.
He was the fast qualifier and finished 9th in the Big 8 Series race on
Thursday night. Not only did he return to the track on Sunday to finish
fifth in the La Crosse Late Model race, but he also sang the National Anthem.
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The 38th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend will take place on October 4-7,
2007. Make your plans now to be a part of “Racing’s Family Reunion.
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