|
Berna Gets Big Win In Pursuit Race
By Scott Owen
Shawano,WI,6/18--Finally mother nature proved to be a race fan as eighty four
cars were on hand at the Shawano Speedway to do battle on the super smooth
half mile clay oval. Terry Casey and Mike Kunschke picked up their first
feature wins of the year in Shawano. While Craig "The Tiger"
Bartz and Brian Bruechert each grabbed their second feature wins on the
season. Fans were also delighted by the first ever Tri-Track Pursuit
race in which Ron Berna picked up the win.
Terry Casey used his outside pole starting position to grab the lead on lap
one of the Wissota late model feature. He would never look back as he
won his first feature of the year at the Shawano Speedway. There was
plenty of action behind Casey though. Troy Springborn and Ron Berna
seemed to be in a constant battle all night long. Springborn worked his
way up to the second spot on lap number ten, and Berna moved into third on the
next lap. On lap twelve Berna got underneath Springborn in turn number
two to make the pass for second. Chris Carlson was now also right on
Sprinborn's rear bumper in fourth. As the laps wound down Berna,
Springborn, and Carlson ran nose to tail, but no one was able to make a pass
for position. Casey worked his way through heavy lapped traffic to get
the win in front of Berna, Springborn, and Carlson. A.J. Diemel may have
had the fastest car on the track to finish in fifth after starting the race nineteenth.
The Tri-Track pursuit race made its debut at the track on saturday
night. The top three finishers from the nights heat races made up the
field of nine cars that started the fifteen lap event. The cars lined up
single file on the track. If a car would loose a position to a car
behind him the passed car is done for the race. Troy Springborn started
on the pole in front of Terry Casey. On the first lap M.J. Hintz got
into the back stretch wall and was done for the night. On the restart
Casey made a run at Springborn but he slid up the track and lost his
momentum. Ron Berna made the pass stick, so Casey was done.
Meanwhile at the back of the pack Gordie Seegert Jr. began picking of cars as
he got by Randy Markwardt and Tom Naeyaert to eliminate them from the
race. Berna then took his turn to get by Springborn. Unlike Casey,
Berna was able to make the pass to take over the lead and knock Springborn out
of the race. Seegert continued to move forward, this time getting by M.J.
McBride to move into third on the track. Chris Carlson was inching
closer to Berna as the laps wound down. Carlson was running the inside
of the rack and Berna was running up high. As the checkered flag flew
Carlson made one last run at Berna, but Berna was up to the challenge and held
on for the win. Carlson had to settle for second, with Seegert finishing
in third. The win for Berna netted him an extra one thousand
dollars. The next pursuit race will be July third at the Seymour
Speedway.
Jeremy Hanson led lap number one of the IMCA modified feature with Mike
Wedelstadt breathing down his neck. Wedalstadt took over the lead on lap
two of the race while Craig Bartz twice made it three wide while passing cars
on the backstretch. Brad Rohlof also began making his way to the front
of the field. The first caution of the race flew on lap three as Rohloff
spun on the track. After the restart Bartz and Wedelstadt continued to
battle for lead. Wedelstadt was working the high line, while Bartz found
the low line to his liking. On lap nine coming off of turn two Bartz
made the pass to take over the lead. By lap eleven Eric Scribner and
Lance Arneson got by Wedelstadt as well to jump into the top three.
Bartz would hang for the duration of the race to give his mother a nice
birthday gift. Scribner held off the pesky Arneson for second.
Wedalstadt finished in fourth, with Norm Walbruck rounding out the top five.
As has become the case throughout the past five seasons, the IMCA stock car
feature was exciting from start to finish. Mike Brehmer led lap number
one in front of a pack of about six cars trying to take over the lead.
On lap two Dan Michonski took over the top spot. Michonski held the lead
until lap four when Kevin Lamberies took over the lead. Lamberies and
Brian Bruechert battled side by side for the lead for next two laps until
Bruechert made his presence known as he took over the lead. Behind them
Rod Snellenberger and Michonski were side by side locked in a battle for
third. Lamberies went back to the point at the start of lap twelve, but
while coming through turn four he lost the right front wheel to end his night
and bring out a yellow flag. On the restart, fifth place running Jason
Czarapata lost the handle on his car and spun out in turn two sending him to
the back and bringing out another caution. When the green came back out
Bruechert continued to lead while running on the inside of the track.
Snellenberger was pressuring Bruechert and running up near the
guardrail. As the last few laps were run Kyle Frederick caught up with
Snellenberger. With the checkered flag in the air, Bruechert got the win
in front of Frederick, Snellenberger, Michonski, and Brian Karcz. After
the race, in the claim area, Brain Karcz claimed Snellenberger's engine, Jamie
VanOoyen claimed Bruechert's engine, and Barry VanStraten claimed Michonski's
engine. All claims were accepted.
The limited late feature got off to a rough start. Pole sitter Nate
Yonker got crossed up in front of the rest of the pack causing a pile up in
turn two. Jeff Deutscher was carefully removed from his car and
transported to the hospital with a sore neck. The incident also
eliminated Bob Schmidt, Mark Phillips, and Luke Uttecht from the race.
When the race got back underway Mike Kunschke took the lead and began to run
away from the rest of the field. Jeff Curtin was running a distant
second. The best battle on the track was between Rocky Miller and Jesse
Peebles. On lap seven Peebles got by Miller to take over third.
Miller stayed right on the back bumper of Peebles. On lap thirteen
Miller got by Peebles to take back the third spot. When it was all said
and done Kunschke picked up the impressive win in front of Curtin, Miller, and
Peebles. Rookie Matt Rindt had a strong run and used a last lap pass to
get by Chad Hohn to finish in the fifth spot.
Wissota late model
Feature: 1,Terry Casey, New London; 2,Ron Berna, Green Bay; 3,Troy Springborn,
Shawano; 4,Chris Carlson, Greenfield; 5,A.J. Diemel, Navarino
Heat winners: 1,Sprinborn; 2,Casey; 3,M.J. Hintz, DePere
Tri-Track Pursuit race: 1,Berna; 2,Carlson; 3,Gordie Seegert Jr., Oostburg;
4,M.J. McBride, Shawano; 5,Springborn
IMCA modified
Feature: 1,Craig Bartz, Shawano; 2,Eric Scribner, Kiel; 3,Lance Arneson,
Krakow; 4,Mike Wedelstadt, Fremont; 5,Norm Walbruck, New London
Consolation winners: 1,Jeremy Hodkiewicz, Green Bay; 2,Matthew McDermid,
Oconto Falls
Heat winners: 1,Brad Rohloff, Pulaski; 2,Bartz; 3,Walbruck; 4,Wedelstadt
IMCA stock car
Feature: 1,Brian Bruechert, Kewaunee; 2,Kyle Frederick, Gillett; 3,Rod
Snellenberger, Pulaski; 4,Dan Michonski, Leopolis; 5,Brian Karcz, Pulaski
Heat winners: 1,Mike Brehmer, Oconto Falls; 2,Kevin Lamberies, Shawano
Limited late model
Feature: 1,Mike Kunschke, Shawano; 2,Jeff Curtin, Shawano; 3,Rocky Miller,
Bear Creek; 4,Jesse Peebles, Bald Knob, Ark; 5,Matt Rindt, Shawano
Heat winners: 1,Kunschke; 2,Curtin
|
|
|
