Larson, Miller and Gangl are winners on the third night of the Legendary 100 at CLS
09/14/07
By Greg Parent
With clear skies and unseasonably cool weather still the norm, the third night of the Legendary 100 showcased a battle for the DTRA national point championship in the late model division while also providing an interesting twist of fate in the super stock class on Friday September 14 at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Some cars were already qualified for the Saturday night championship feature races from Thursday action, but a strong field of 166 cars was on hand for the second qualifying program including heats, B Main and feature races for the DTRA late model, modified and super stock divisions along with heat races for the pure stocks.
When the 21 event program concluded, a hearty group of fans had witnessed a dramatic battle for the DTRA national point championship in the late model division that came right down to the feature race with Brent Larson needing to win. Dale Gangl returned with a repaired race car from the big wreck the night before in the super stock division to earn a popular and very satisfying victory. Jason Miller wasn’t satisfied with his fourth place finish the previous night in the modified division, so he returned to earn the outside front row starting position for the big championship feature race on Saturday night by winning the modified qualifying feature. Indeed, plenty of interesting racing action and drama played out once again on Friday night at this popular mid September event held each year at the Cedar Lake Speedway.
Five heat races for the field of 55 DTRA super stocks on hand got the racing action underway. Lyle Archambeau was not able to attend the Thursday night qualifying program, but he made up for his absence by leading all the way in the first heat. Dale Gangl amazingly returned to action with a repaired race car from the big wreck in the feature race the night before and moved from seventh to finish second. Greg Nippoldt had suffered a broken nose the previous night when he was hit in the face shield with a large mud clod, but he was back in action and finished third. The second heat was a quick 12 lap affair with Mike Bellefeuille besting newcomer Cory Davis and J. B. Stortz for the win. Steve Hallquist held off Randy Spacek and rookie Zach Wohlers in a caution-free victory in the third heat. Another nonstop run in the fourth heat saw Matt Sinna pull away for the win over Dustin Nelson and Darrin Meirotto. Ben Hillman showed the field the quick way around the 3/8 mile CLS speedway by leading all the way in the fifth heat to defeat Justin Dodge and 11th starter Mike Weber.
A field of 54 DTRA modifieds also ran five heat races. Eric Bjorklund defeated Kevin Viebrock and Scott Splittstoesser for the win in the first heat. Even though Darrell Nelson had won the qualifying feature the night before, he returned to run a heat race on Friday and won by a wide margin over second place finisher Steve Wik. Kelly Estey came from eighth to finish third. Pat Zdroik led the first two laps of the third heat before Joey Jensen blasted by. Jensen led the remaining ten laps for the win over Zdroik and Jody Bellefeuille. Paul Knauf led the opening lap in the fourth heat, but Scott Hudack showed the way for the remainder of the race. Knauf settled for second ahead of 11th starter Jason Miller. The fifth heat saw four different leaders. Luke Schilling took off into the lead for the first three laps, but a spin in turn four relegated him to the rear of the field. Rick Friendt then led the next three laps with sparks spewing from underneath his car. Friendt’s machine finally broke something in the driveline and he was done. Rookie driver Mark Froehlich led the next four laps, but Jeff Spacek drove past on lap 11 for the lead and eventual win. Froehlich held off 9th starter Jamie Lemke for second.
The DTRA late models had 33 cars, so three heat races were in order. Terry Casey kept Steve Laursen behind him for 12 laps to win the first heat with Mike Goodremote moving up three spots to finish third. Darrin Meiretto was smooth up front in the second heat and led all the way. Ron Schreiner and 8th starter Pat Doar trailed. Brent Larson needed to win the third heat in order to have a shot at the DTRA national point title. After Caley Emerson led the opening lap, Larson moved into the lead from his fourth starting spot and never looked back. Darrell Nelson finished second ahead of 7th starter Chuckie DeSmith.
Two heats for the 24 pure stocks on hand would see two of the four Richards team cars earn victories. Kris Berg led the first three laps in the opening heat before Jared Amundson got by. Amundson led two laps until 9th starter Tommy Richards raced by for the win. Amundson finished second with Chris Wert in third. George Richards led all the way in the second heat, but Danny Richards applied the pressure from mid race on. Danny settled for a close second with 9th starter Josh Smith riding home in third. The pure stocks will return for their feature race on Saturday night.
A full 24 car starting field for the 15 lap super stock B Main rolled on to the track. It would be the final attempt for six drivers to earn starting berths in the qualifying feature race. Just two cautions for multi-car accidents slowed the pace in the early laps, but then 13 straight green flag laps saw a very good battle for the top spot take place. Lance Leu led the first six laps, but Mike Bear blasted by on the high side on lap 7. Bear led through lap 12, but Leu retook the lead on lap 13 and was able to hold on for the win. Completing the top six transfer spots were Bear, Zach Wohlers, Cy Hoaglan, Mike Loomis and Dave Emerfoll.
Another full 24 car starting grid for the modified B Main would see six drivers move on while the rest would load up and watch. Jaymie Lautigar grabbed the early lead after an opening lap spin by Mike Wood required a complete restart. With one lap in, a big wreck on the backstretch involving eight cars brought the race under the red flag. Steve Lavasseur’s modified rolled over in the incident. Kevin Rogers’ car went underneath the rear end of Troy Jordan’s machine rupturing the fuel cell and spilling a full load of fuel on the low side of the track. Other cars involved in the wreck included Dave Siercks, Tim Van Meter, Rick Cannata, Mike Wood, and Scoot Splittstoesser. All drivers were okay, and four cars were unable to continue. Due to the long red flag, the race was reduced to 12 laps. Lautigar continued to lead when the green replaced the red, but a yellow with three laps in for a spin by Alan Mondus slowed the pace. Luke Schilling was sent to the rear for causing it. Jim Chyba eventually worked his way past Lautigar for the lead on lap 6 and went on to win. Lautigar held off Al Uotinen for second with Mondus and Joe Bean completing the top five. The final transfer spot came right down to the wire, as Luke Schilling raced his way back up through the field, passed Mike Mueller on the last lap, and just edged out Ryan Muzik by inches at the finish line to earn the final starting spot in the qualifying feature.
The late model B Main saw two cars scratch, so 13 starters would be racing for the six transfer positions into their feature race. This race had some problems, as four cautions waved for various incidents. The race was ultimately reduced to 12 laps, as only eight cars ended up finishing. Rick Egersdorf led all the way for the win. Justin Hirt, Steve Hucovski, Paul Hipsag, Jeff Keeney and Jim Carlson also earned their way into the feature race. Brent Mueller and Bryan Wennen were close behind Carlson for the final transfer spot.
Mike Weber and Dale Gangl brought the 24 car starting field around for the green flag in the 20 lap super stock qualifying feature race. The top eight finishers would earn starting spots on the outside of the first eight rows for their Legendary 100 championship feature race on Saturday night. Gangl edged past Weber for the lead at the drop of the green with Dustin Nelson third and Randy Spacek fourth. The race was under the first of three cautions with five laps in when Lyle Archambeau had something break in the rear end of his car in turn 3. He collected the cars of Ben Hillman, Mike Bellefeuille, Justin Doge and Greg Nippoldt. Archambeau and Nippoldt were done. On the restart, Rod Dregney and Cory Davis got locked together in turn 4 to bring out the second yellow of the race. Davis was relegated to the rear of the field. Under green again, Dustin Nelson moved underneath Mike Weber on lap 8 for second but Weber regained the spot on lap 10. At the midway point, the final caution flew when Lance Leu stalled in turn 2 with a breakdown. The top four running order remained the same with J. B. Stortz now up to fifth. The race then ran 10 laps green to the finish. Weber applied the pressure on Gangl in the late stages of the race, but he was not able to gain the lead. Dale Gangl and his crew had worked all night and day to repair what appeared to be a totally destroyed race car from the night before and came back for a well-earned victory. Mike Weber finished second. Randy Spacek got by Dustin Nelson on the final lap to finish third with J. B. Stortz completing the top five. The all-important final three transfer positions into the Saturday night championship feature saw Matt Sinna, Eric Olson and Rod Dregney finish sixth through eighth.
With Thursday night feature winner Darrell Nelson electing not to start, Jeff Spacek and Jason Miller paced the 23 car qualifying feature field to the green. The original start was called off when Jim Chyba spun in turn 1. On the second start attempt, Jason Miller raced into the lead. One lap later the race was slowed under caution when Mike Goodremote spun in turn 1, but track officials decided to do a complete restart for scoring purposes. The third time was the charm and Miller again took the lead. With one lap in, Rick Rivord and Jeremy Kerzman got together exiting turn 2 with Rivord spinning. Kerzman was tagged with the caution. The race then went 19 laps nonstop to the finish. Joey Jensen passed Jeff Spacek on lap 2 for second while 7th starter Kelly Estey got by Spacek on lap 4 for third. Miller and Jensen then proceeded to have a very good race for the lead. Jensen actually claimed the top spot at the halfway mark on lap 10, but Miller stormed back to regain the #1 position a lap later. As the laps clicked by, the battle for the eighth and final transfer spot into the Saturday night championship feature heated up. Miller continued to hold off Jensen up front. Four cars were battling for the seventh through tenth positions late in the race including Paul Knauf, Jamie Lemke, Mark Froehlich, and Jody Bellefeuille. At the finish, it was Jason Miller with the win over Joey Jensen. Finishing third through eighth were Kelly Estey, Jeff Spacek, Scott Hudack, Ron Schreiner, Paul Knauf and Jody Bellefeuille. Some post-race drama played out when fourth place finisher Jeff Spacek did not go to the tech area and was disqualified. This moved the ninth place finisher Mark Froehlich up into the eighth finishing position which meant he was headed to the main event on Saturday night.
Race fans had already witnessed some entertaining and interesting events, but the drama would continue with the final race of the night. The DTRA national point championship in the late model division had come down to this race. Brent Larson had to finish first in order to win the championship by one point over Pat Doar. Larson would start from the pole while Doar would go from fourth. At the drop of flagman Jeff Stacken’s green flag, Brent Larson and Adam Hensel brought the 24 car field to life. Larson edged past Hensel for the lead with Doar running in third. The leaders encountered lapped traffic eight laps into the race. Contact between the second place car of Hensel and the lapped car of Steve Hucovski on lap 13 brought out the lone caution of the race, as Hensel and Hucovski got hooked together entering turn three. Hucovski’s car slid into the concrete wall. As the wrecker crews were separating the two cars, the yellow turned into a red when one of the crew members was sprayed in the face by a antifreeze from the 88 car while on the hook. Fortunately he only required a brief stay in the back of the ambulance. When the race returned to green, Larson continued to lead Hensel and Doar. Terry Casey moved past Scott Gilberts for fourth on lap 17 and the leaders were in lapped traffic again on lap 18. Larson worked the traffic well and maintained his lead. Coming down to take the white flag, Doar passed Hensel for the second spot with Larson several car lengths in front. At the checkers, Larson defeated Doar and accomplished exactly what he needed to. Brent Larson had not only won the race but also won the DTRA national point championship, capping off a stellar night for the young Lake Elmo, MN driver. Hensel finished third in front of Casey. Chuckie DeSmith was fifth followed by Gilberts, Ron Schreiner, and Mike Goodremote in the top eight spots.
The stage had now been set for the final night of racing action at the Legendary 100. Saturday night September 15 will see a full show of B Main; Last Chance and Championship Feature races take place. Tim Borgeson and Dale Gangl will lead the super stock field in their feature race while Darrell Nelson and Jason Miller will comprise the front row of the modified main event. Pat Doar and Brent Larson will be on the front row of the late model feature. The pure stocks will also run their feature event with the Richards family comprising three of the top four starting positions. The Race of Champions in the DTRA late model, modified and super stock divisions will also take place following feature race action. Fans can watch another great evening of racing and see who will be the 2007 Legendary 100 champions in the four classes in competition. Racing is slated to get underway at 6:30 PM on Saturday.
Race Results:
Cars with * ran Goodyears
Winners Go Goodyear/Sunoco Super Stocks
Heat 1- 99K Lyle Archambeau*, 34 Dale Gangl*, SSR Greg Nipoldt, 14L Lance Leu, K1 Eric Youngman*, 28 Jon Lemke*, 17
Mike Loomis*, 24 Jim Martinson*, 77 Marcel Hoaglan*, 3HF Dave Friendt*
Heat 2- 21X Mike Bellefeuille*, 20 Cory Davis, 22JB JB Stortz*, 77L Scott Lawrence, 1 Eric Olson, 94 Kurt Kromschroeder*, 6m Ted Marrs, 34S Denny Stordahl*, 26D Chad Dawson*, 15X Scott Brown*, 29F David Flynn
Heat 3- 27H Steve Hallquist, 22 Randy Spacek, 71 Zach Wohlers, 88D Rod Dregney*, 37 Dave Emerfoll*, F13 Dan DeSmith*, 99 Tony Gates, 48 Brian Lick*, 52 Gary Wiersgalla, 18 Josh Bartell, 4 Larry Boumeester*
Heat 4- 7* Matt Sinna, 46 Dustin Nelson, 47M Darrin Meierotto*, 46J Cy Hoaglan, 27 Mark Stender*,97 Leo Feeleus, 8ME Dave Chambliss, 11S Kevin Salin, 20A Dan Arneson*, 82 Bruce Schouveller, 21XC Joel Collins
Heat 5- 22Jr Ben Hillman, 1J Justin Dodge*, 26 Mike Weber*, 96 Chris Gorka*, 7K Mike Bear*, 17W Ryan Wiome*, 9G Tom Gebauer*, 04 Kevin Ayotte, B1 Brian Youderin*, 17T Steve Thomas, 05 Jason Gabrielson
B Main- Leu, Bear, Wohlers, Hoaglan, Loomis, Emerfoll, Martinson, Youngman, Wiome, Stordahl, Ayotte, Gebauer, DeSmith, Gorka Obermeuller, Kromschroeder, Feeleus, Marrs, Chambliss, Arneson, Lemke, Gates, Salin, Lick
A Main- Gangl*, Weber*, Spacek, Nelson, Stortz*, Sinna, Olson, Dregney*, Lawrence, Davis, Stender, Meierotto*, Loomis*, Emerfoll*, Dodge*, Hoaglan*, Bear*, Hillman, Leu*, Wohlers, Bellefeuille*, Hallquist, Nippoldt, Archambeau*
Bernick's Pepsi/Amsoil Modifieds
Heat 1- 17 Eric Bjorklund*, 50 Kevin Viebrock*, 97 Ron Schreiner*, 89 Mike Goodremote, 71B Dave Siercks*, 2 Scott Splittstoesser, 21 Marc Johnson*, 57A Mike Anderson, 5X Scott Danzeisen, 4X Dan Hesch*, 40X Charlie Hillukka*
Heat 2- 44 Darrell Nelson*, 11K Steve Wik, 37 Kelly Estey, 54L Jayme Lautigar, 55 Alan Mondus*, 98 Al Uotinen*, 20 Jeff Hart, 22B Bruce Belland, 24R Kevin Rogers, Rob Fenske, 1G Dallas Gulbranson
Heat 3- V2 Joey Jensen, Z1 Pat Zdroik*, 11 Jody Bellefeuille*, 11XC Jim Chyba, 87 Mike Mueller, 99 Steve Lavasseur, 23M Ryan Muzik, R1 Jay Richardson, 1K Shaun Kelley*, 31 Bill Stettner*, 48 Don Brightbill*
Heat 4- 00H Scott Hudack, 40 Paul Knauf, 12M Jason Miller, 0 Joe Bean, 3K Jeremy Kerzman, XX Troy Jordan, 57H Terry Hanson, 38 Rick Cannata, 19 Wayne Troseth, 7C Chris Carlson*, 11N Roger Niederkorn*
Heat 5- 22S Jeff Spacek, 44FX Mark Froehlich*, 17L Jamie Lemke*, 95 Rick Rivord, 43 Luke Schilling*, 72 Tim VanMeter*, 21L Brandon Lampert*, 13 Mike Wood*, F3 Rick Friendt*, 8 Rod Debernardeaux
B Main- Chyba, Lautigar, Uotinen, Mondus, Bean, Schilling, Muzik, Mueller, Splittstoesser, Belland, Hart, Cannata, Rogers, Hanson, VanMeter, Lampert, Richardson, Lavasseur, Jordan, Wood, Siercks
A Main- Miller, Jensen, Estey, Hudack, Schreiner*, Knauf, Bellefeuille*, Frohlich*, Lemke*, Rivord, Bjorklund*, Wik, Viebrock*, Schilling*, Mondus*, Uotinen*, Lautigar, Zdroik, Bean, Kerzman, Goodremote, Chyba
Arnie's Sleds & Trailers/Impact Printing Late Models
Heat 1- 42 Terry Casey, 19 Steve Laursen, 89 Mike Goodremote, 55Jr Cory Mahder, 66X Ron Berna, 10 Mike Balcaen, 1 Tom Nesbitt, 27H Justin Hirt, 54 Brent Mueller, 45X Jeff Martire, 61 Jeff Keeney
Heat 2- 36 Darrin Meiretto, 97 Ron Schreiner, 11 Pat Doar, AC Adam Hensel, 66 Eric Breeschoten, 32 Shawn Peterson, 8 Kelly Anderson, 72 Justin Ritchie, 7C Jim Carlson, 24 Mike Bear, 51 Joel Cryderman
Heat 3- B1 Brent Larson, 44 Darrell Nelson, 05 Charles DeSmith, 21 Scott Gilberts, 21E Caley Emerson, 17 Rick Egersdorf, 88 Steve Hucovski, 44H Paul Hipsag, 10R Mike Raboin, 40 Bryan Wennen, 18H Mike Hesselink
B Main- Egersdorf, Hirt, Hucovski, Hipsag, Keeney, Carlson, Mueller, Wennen, Anderson, Raboin, Bear, Martire, Ritchie
A Main- Larson, Doar, Hensel, Casey, DeSmith, Gilberts, Schreiner, Goodremote, Nelson, Laursen, Berna, Nesbitt, Egersdorf, Mahder, Balcaen, Peterson, Emerson, Keeney, Meiretto, Hirt, Hipsag, Carlson, Breeschoten, Hucovski
Pure Stock:
Heat 1- 7R Tommy Richards, 30 Jared Amundson, 21 Chris Wert, 7RR Chris Endle, 23 Ashley Smith, 14 Jay Foz, 55 Josh Bazey, 3B Austin Blom, 2F Nathan Fisk, 54M Mike Dyrdahl, 44 Kris Berg, 11S Joe Smith
Heat 2- 5R George Richards, 3R Danny Richards, 21J Josh Smith, 42K Mike Knudtson, 33R Al Rapp, 29N Carolyn Nosser, 12 Cody Kummer, 96 Dan Hensel, 19 Ashley Husby, 9 Matt Larson, 11 Cindy Stordahl, 0 Joel Hinrichs