Local Talent Highlights Action During USA Nationals Weekend!
08/05/07
By Greg Parent
A large field of 140 cars converged on the Cedar Lake Speedway for the opening night of the 20th Annual USA Nationals on Thursday August 2. With the WDRL late models headlining the program, 45 cars signed in to race. In the three DTRA divisions, 36 midwest modifieds, 29 super stocks and a season-high 30 street stocks were on hand. The DTRA street stocks were racing in their 1st Annual Street Stock Shootout for a significantly increased purse thanks to numerous sponsors. The late model race report will be handled separately by the WDRL, so this report will focus on the DTRA divisions. Congrats are in order to the WDRL late model feature winner Brian Birkhofer. Keith Tourville took home top honors in the Street Stock Shootout. Unfortunately, the midwest modified and super stock features had to be postponed until Saturday August 11 due to curfew restrictions.
One of the strongest fields of street stocks seen in quite some time for a non-100 event at CLS showed up for their 1st Annual Street Stock Shoout. Many top runners were on hand including eight out of the top ten in current DTRA national points, as three drivers who race at Grand Forks and Devils Lake, ND made the long tow south. Following late model qualifying, the street stocks got the racing program underway with three heat races. The first ten lap heat featured three different leaders and an exciting last lap pass for the win. Jeff Heintz led the opening lap before Troy Voth took over up front. Voth led the next eight laps, but it was opening night winner Shane Kisling who got the large crowd's attention with a pass for the win on the final lap. Trailing Kisling to the checkers were Troy Voth, 8th starter Jason Vandekamp and Jeff Heintz, as those four drivers earned redraw spots for the feature race while the top six finishers garnered transfer positions to the main event. In the second heat, Keith Tourville jumped out into the lead from his outside front row starting spot. It appeared as though the 23-time winner on the season would take the win, but soon Chris Peterson was applying the pressure. On lap 7, Peterson moved underneath Tourville for the lead. Peterson would hold the point for an additional three circuits enroute to the victory. Tourville finished second ahead of Trisha Nyreen and Kylan Gomez. The final heat ran nonstop with Allen Gessel Jr pulling away for the win. Butch Madsen and Chanda Fjorden-Nord came from row four to finish second and third with Jimmy Randall rounding out the top four.
The DTRA midwest modifieds also had a strong field of cars on hand. With a large number of races scheduled for the evening, the midwest mods would only run three heats with twelve cars in each. Nary a yellow flag waved in any of the heats which featured some good racing action. Like the first street stock heat race, the first mid mod heat had three different leaders. Rookie A J Roschen led the first two laps. Mark Trog took over the top spot on lap three and held it until Thunder Bay driver Jeff Marshall moved by on lap 8. Marshall was followed to the finish by Justin Schill, Mark Trog and Roschen. Backing up his street stock heat win, Shane Kisling kept his night perfect by leading all the way in the second midwest mod heat. Bryan Siercks got by Lonnie Louschke late in the race to finish second while Mike Haseltine rode home in fourth. The final heat race was loaded with heavy hitters. Rookie Sam Nelson led the opening four circuits before Ryan Olson, who currently sits in second in the national point standings, powered by on lap five. Olson would lead the remaining laps to post the win over Nelson, Dan Wheeler, Jason Gross, Andy Jones and current DTRA national point leader Greg Chesley. Talk about a loaded heat race!
The DTRA super stocks rolled trackside for the first of their three heat races. Returning from a grinding crash the week before, Brandon Jensen held off Cory Davis in a quick 10 lap run to gain the victory in the first heat. Dan Carlson finished a close third ahead of Lyle Archambeau. Like the other DTRA classes, the top four finishers would earn redraw positions while the top six would transfer to the feature. Current DTRA national point leader Larry Boumeester moved past Greg Nippoldt on the second lap of the second heat and never looked back. Nippoldt held off 8th starter Charlie Weber for second with J B Stortz a close fourth at the line. Another driver returning from a hard crash the previous week, Mike Loomis took command on the opening lap of the third heat and held strong up front for 10 laps to post the win. Aided by a late race caution, Mike Weber was able to move by Tim Borgeson for second. Dale Gangl rounded out the top four finishers.
After the conclusion of five WDRL late model heats, it was time for B main action in all three DTRA divisions. The top six finishers in each B Main would transfer to their respective feature races. The street stocks were up first. Devin Neske led the first eight laps through a couple of cautions. A hard crash in turn 2 with 8 laps completed involved the cars of Jake Miller and Mark Larson. While under caution, leader Neske drove to the pits. Matt Raboin became the new leader and held off Melvin Raska for the win. Jim Geringer, Ryan Kostreba, Joe Potter and Bobby Lepage completed the top six. The midwest modifieds had 17 cars make the call for their B Main. This race would have all kinds of trouble getting underway. A nine car pileup in turn one on the opening lap kind of set the tone. Three more tries to get started resulted in three cautions for spins. Finally on the fifth try the race went green. One more caution waved though for an accident on the backstretch just a few laps into the race, so the race ended up only running six laps. Mike Hernke topped Paul Fontecchio, Bryce Johnson, Chad Patterson, Clayton Wagamon and Shane Patrin for the feature race transfer spots. Yellow fever finally ceased in the super stock B Main, as their 10 lapper only had one caution to slow the pace. Brent Kobs led the first three laps until Dan Nissalke moved past for the lead and eventual win. Kobs held on for second with Jake Hiatt, Cody Campeau, Chris Gorka and Kevin Ayotte also heading to the main event. The WDRL late models then ran two B Mains and a dash before it was feature race time.
The first full 24 car starting grid this season in the DTRA street stock class rolled out on to the track for their 1st Annual Street Stock Shootout 20 lap main event. The field was full of top-notch competitors gunning for the first place prize of $750. Jeff Heintz narrowly led the opening lap until veteran driver and 2006 DTRA National Champion Butch Madsen edged past to lead lap two. Jimmy Randall quickly went from his fourth starting spot to grab the lead just three laps into the race. Randall led the next two circuits before 7th starter Keith Tourville blasted around the high side for the lead on lap five. The race continued under the green flag, as several drivers were moving forward from deep starting spots and battles raged for several spots behind the leader. Heintz had a left front tire go down and dropped from the race well before the halfway mark. Randall continued to run second while Butch Madsen, Chris Peterson, Allen Gessel Jr and 12th starter Jason Vandekamp battled for the third spot. Randall closed right up on Tourville's bumper late in the race but was not able to make the winning pass. Keith Tourville prevailed to win the 1st Annual Street Stock Shootout in a race that ran 20 laps nonstop to the finish. Jimmy Randall finished a close second to earn $500 while Jason Vandekamp advanced nine positions for a $350 third place payday. Butch Madsen and Chris Peterson rounded out the top five. Allen Gessel Jr, Cory Rosen from 15th, Shawn Kammerud from 16th, Chanda Fjorden-Nord and Shane Kisling completed the top ten finishers in a very good street stock feature event. Nineteen of the 24 cars finished the race with only one lapped car.
In the street stock class, Keith Tourville earned an additional $100 bonus from Chubeck Racing for being the highest finisher with a Chubeck nose cone on his car while Jason Vandekamp earned a certificate for a Chubeck nose cone by being the Hard Charger in the feature race coming from 12th to 3rd. The $50 Long Tow Award from Ray's Auto Body went to Stephen Snare from Hallock, MN with a 426 mile drive, and the $50 Hard Luck Award also from Ray's Auto Body for the feature race went to Jeff Heintz after leading the opening lap and having a tire go flat a few laps later. Thanks to the following sponsors for adding a substantial amount of money to the street stock purse: GRP Motorsports, C&S Automotive, Jamie Goff at Com Tek Engineering, FYE Motorsports, PY's, Tires Plus, S&C Bank, Elite Screen Printing, Fjorden Auto Parts, Ross Sewer Service, D&D Race Tech, Coffee Connection, Jeff & Brad Scott, and Sonny from Bemidji. The street stocks ran for close to three times their normal purse in an event that hopefully will become a tradition on this night at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Thanks to all street stock drivers for their support!
Because the curfew was looming and no extention was granted, the WDRL late model feature race was moved up in the running order and the midwest modified and super stock main events were postponed to Saturday night August 11.
Great weather and great racing action on the second night of the Young Oil Corporation 20th Annual USA Nationals at the Cedar Lake Speedway kept the large crowd entertained on Friday August 3. The first of two nights of open late model racing action featured many heavy hitters in the sport of dirt late model racing, as they began their quest for the 2007 USA Nationals title. A full show of local DTRA late models helped round out the evening giving dirt late model fans plenty of activity at one of the nation's premier dirt track racing facilities
Blistering fast DTRA Arnie Ranta Sleds and Trailers Late Models Heat races were clicked off without incident. DTRA B Main action saw three different leaders in the 15 lap race with the top four finishers earning transfer positions into the feature race. Bryan Wennen led the opening lap before Mike Hesselink got by. Hesselink led the next five laps until veteran driver Tom Nesbitt took command. Nesbitt paced the field for the final eight circuits for the win. Kelly Anderson, Rick Egersdorf and Mike Hesselink completed the top four with Mike Bear just missing the feature by one spot after a spirited battle with Hesselink. The field was then set for the 40 lap main event with $2,500 going to the winner.
Mike Goodremote and Joel Cryderman brought the 24 car field to the green in the 40 lap DTRA feature race. Cryderman grabbed the early lead, but it did not take third starter Brent Larson long to apply the pressure. Larson raced past Cryderman on lap five for the top spot and began to slowly put some distance on the field. Some very good racing was taking place behind the leader though. Of particular interest, the progress forward of two cars was soon noted by many fans. Cory Mahder was on the move from his 11th starting spot while Steve Laursen was coming to the front after starting 16th. Scott Gilberts was also having a strong race from his 7th starting position as was Pat Doar from 13th. Larson continued to show the way as the laps clicked by under green flag racing with Cryderman in second. Mahder cracked the top five on lap 17, then went to fourth on lap 18 and third on lap 19. Laursen took fourth on lap 20. With Brent Larson still in command up front, a very good battle developed for the #2 spot between Cryderman, Mahder and Laursen. Mahder briefly grabbed the second place spot on lap 23 but Cryderman stole it right back the next lap. The only caution of the race tightened the field up with 26 laps in the books when Darrell Nelson slowed in turn four and dropped out of the race. On the restart, the battle behind Brent Larson picked up again. Steve Laursen passed Mahder on lap 29 for third and took over the second place spot on lap 31 when Cryderman slowed and pulled off the track with mechanical woes. Cory Mahder and Scott Gilberts waged a good battle for the third spot over the next several laps. With only a few laps left, Steve Laursen closed the gap on Brent Larson and was soon battling for the lead. Laursen pulled alongside the B1 machine on the final lap but could not gain the advantage. Brent Larson went on to claim his 8th CLS feature win of the season. Steve Laursen suddenly slowed while exiting turn four, causing Cory Mahder and Scott Gilberts to take evasive action. Mahder moved by to earn his best finish yet in his young late model career with a second place effort. Gilberts also drove by Laursen to finish third with Laursen fourth and Pat Doar fifth. Rounding out the top ten finishers was Ron Schreiner, 20th starter Lance Matthees, 14th starter Mitch Johnson, 23rd starter Rick Egersdorf and 21st starter Tom Nesbitt. Indeed, this race featured one of the strongest fields of DTRA late models in recent memory.
The DTRA late models returned for another full show on the final night of the 20th Annual USA Nationals on Saturday August 4th. A fine field of 36 cars signed into the pits. The program would consist of four heats, a B Main and the 40 lap feature event on a cool, overcast and breezy evening. The weather would come into play on several occasions, as light mist and rain caused the race program to be delayed a couple of times.
In the first 15 lap heat race, Toby Patchen grabbed the early lead from his outside front row starting spot. Two laps into the race, Mike Bear drove past Patchen for the lead. Bear would hold the top spot until lap 12 when 7th starter Mitch Johnson made the winning move. Johnson would lead the final four tours around the 3/8 mile high-banked oval for the win. Patchen got back around Bear on the last lap to finish second with Bear in third. Mike Hesselink and Jon Chrest completed the top five, as those cars earned transfer positions into the feature race.
The second heat race saw Eric Breeschoten blast into the lead from his pole starting position and never look back. Breeschoten survived one caution and held off Lance Matthees for the win. Trailing the lead duo were John Kaanta, Jim Carlson, and Pete Parker. Dustin Hapka was making his first CLS appearance, but his race ended early on the hook with front suspension damage. Hapka would return for B Main action later in the evening.
Pat Doar drew the pole for the third heat and that pretty much sums it up. Doar led all the way for a dominating win in a nonstop 15 lapper. Rick Egersdorf trailed in second followed by Cory Mahder, Tom Nesbitt, and Tom Naeyaert. Current track and DTRA point leader Brent Larson sufferred some mechanical gremlins in this race and was not able to finish. Larson would return for B Main action and later earn hard charger honors in the feature race.
The final heat race of the night featured another strong performance from a front row starter. Ron Schreiner quickly took command in this race and led all the way for the win. Steve Laursen moved up from fifth to finish second trailed by Scott Gilberts, Joel Cryderman and Kelly Anderson.
Twelve cars made the call for the 15 lap DTRA late model B Main. Although Brent Larson started in the last row due to his heat race DNF, it did not take him long to work his way to the front. Larson defeated Caley Emerson, Chuckie DeSmith and Darrell Nelson. Those four drivers raced their way into the main event.
Prior to the running of the big 100 lap USA Nationals for the open late models, the DTRA late models lined up for their 40 lap feature race paying $2,500 to win. A full 24 car field roared to life under starter Jeff Stacken's green flag. Lance Matthees immediately raced into the lead from the pole position followed by Steve Laursen and Pat Doar. Matthees led the first two laps before Steve Laursen took over the first place spot. The first caution waved for Matthees on lap 8 when his #90 machine stalled in turn 4. As the field was preparing to restart, a light rain shower hit the track. The cars were sent to the pits in hopes that the shower would not last long. It did not, but enough moisture had fallen to require the CLS track crew to work the track back into shape. The track was certainly fast when the race resumed. One lap after the race restarted, John Kaanta slowed in turn 4 to bring out the second caution. Laursen continued to lead with Doar in second. Brent Larson was on the move forward, coming from 21st to run 11th at the nine lap mark. Doar put the pressure on Laursen and was able to race by on lap 12. The running order up front would remain pretty much the same for the rest of the race. A couple of more cautions on laps 23 and 32 slowed the pace, but when the final checkers waved it was Pat Doar up front. Steve Laursen finished second followed by Ron Schreiner, 9th starter Eric Breeschoten, and 16th starter Joel Cryderman. Rounding out the top ten positions were Rick Egersdorf, Mitch Johnson, Brent Larson from 21st, Scott Gilberts and Cory Mahder.
Racing action returns to the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday August 11 with a full program in the five weekly DTRA divisions slated to get underway at 6:30 pm. Two additional makeup feature events will also be on the program for the midwest modified and super stock divisions. Those events were nixed due to curfew on Thursday August 2. Race fans should see plenty of races and plenty of laps on August 11 at CLS.