MARS WINS NIGHT ONE OF THE MASTERS
[New Richmond, WI] - - Jimmy Mars won the first night of The Masters on Friday, June 13, 2008 here at Cedar Lake Speedway. Working through heavy lapped traffic at times, Mars was able to drive his newly designed car anywhere he steered it during the WORLD Dirt Racing League event.
"I can't thank my brother enough," Mars was quick to say in Victory Lane. "This new car is awesome. I wasn't really worried, even driving through traffic. I could put it anywhere. "I don't want to get to overconfident (about the win), but we feel good about tomorrow night. The car was great. The Pro Power Engine was great. Wow! I just can't believe how good the car was." Mars battled Eric Pember and Chad Simpson hard for the lead as the race started. The trio pulled away from the field while going two and three wide at times. Pember was leading when his right rear tire hopped over the cushion, and that allowed Mars the chance to clear him and pull away
on lap 22. Brian Harris quietly ran the bottom on the track, moving from 18th to fourth by lap 26. We were way too tight to run the bottom," Harris explained after the races. "We had a long run of green laps, and the tires heated up. That yellow (on lap 36) helped cool the tires, and the car came back to us." Harris was locked in a heated battle for second. Matt Miller, Brady Smith and Eric Pember raced door to door for the final 10 laps of the feature event. Harris finished second. Smith passed Miller on the final turn of the final lap for third. Miller had to settle for fourth, and Pember rounded out the top five.
RACE RESULTS
WORLD DIRT RACING LEAGUE
CEDAR LAKE SPEEDWAY (New Richmond, WI)
JUNE 13, 2008
WDRL LATE MODEL QUALIFIER 1:
1. Brady Smith, 2. Marshall Fegers, 3. Nick Anvelink, 4. Matt Miller, 5. Mike Stadel, 6. Jeff Keeney, 7. Curt Martin, 8. Jill George, 9. Dustin Reeh.
WDRL LATE MODEL QUALIFIR 2:
1. Tim Isenburg, 2. Rick Hanestad, 3. Mark Burgtorf, 4. Toby Patchen, 5. Brian Harris, 6. Denny Eckrich, 7. Darin Duffy, 8. Steve Hucovski, 9. Bryan Wennen.
WDRL LATE MODEL QUALIFIER 3:
1. Chad Simpson, 2. Jimmy Mars, 3. Mike Nutzmann, 4. John Kaanta, 5. Frank Heckenast Jr., 6. Jeremy Grady, 7. Chris Simpson, 8. Dustin Hapka, 9. Jake Hiatt.
WDRL LATE MODEL QUALIFIER 4:
1. Eric Pember, 2. Justin Fegers, 3. Dave Eckrich, 4. Kerry Hansen, 5. Ashley Anderson, 6. Scott Gilberts, 7. Jeff Martire, 8. Gordy Seegert, 9. Larry Stockwell.
WDRL LATE MODEL QUALIFIER 5:
1. Andrew McKay, 2. Adam Hansel, 3. Pete Parker, 4. Rob Moss, 5. Paul Hipsag, 6. J.D. Auringer, 7. Brent Mueller, 8. Rick Friendt.
WDRL CONSI 1: (Top 3 Transfer)
1. Mike Nutzmann, 2. Ashley Anderson, 3. Frank Heckenast Jr.
WDRL CONSI 2: (Top3 Transfer)
1. Brian Harris, 2. Denny Eckrich, 3. Kerry Hansen.
IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH:
1. Brady Smith, 2. Eric Pember, 3. Chad Simpson, 4. Jimmy Mars, 5. Nick Anvelink, 6. Marshall Fegers, 7. Tim Isenberg, 8. Andrew McKay.
WDRL "THE MASTERS" A-MAIN: Night One (50 Laps)
1. Jimmy Mars, 2. Brian Harris, 3. Brady Smith, 4. Matt Miller, 5. Eric Pember, 6. Rick Hanestad, 7. Ashley Anderson, 8. John Kaanta, 9. Justin Fegers, 10. Nick Anvelink, 11. Marshall Fegers, 12. Chad Simpson, 13. Chris Simpson, 14. Denny Eckrich, 15. Frank Heckenast Jr., 16. Andrew McKay, 17. Tim Isenberg, 18. Curt Martin, 19. Mike Nutzmann, 20. Dave Eckrich, 21. Adam Hensel, 22. Pete Parker, 23. Mark Burgtorf, 24. Kerry Hansen.
WDRL CONTIGENCY AWARDS:
IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH: Brady Smith, Eric Pember, Chad Simpson
QA-1 MOTORSPORTS PASSING POINTS: Andrew McKay
CHASE HARD LUCK AWARD: Rob Moss
DESIGN 500: Rob Moss, John Kaanta
BRAKE MAN: Brian Harris
CHAMP PANS: Eric Pember
PERFORMANCE BODIES: Rick Hanestad
BSB MANUFACTORING: Justin Fegers
FAST SHAFTS: Chad Simpson
HOOKER HARNESS: Chris Simpson
WDRL PROVISIONALS: Chris Simpson, Curt Martin
CHASE SIGNS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Frank Heckenast, Mike Stadel, Jeremy Grady
CHASSIS: Mastersbilt, Rocket
Night 2 of the Masters featured another complete show of WDRL top guns. Heats, B-Mains & Pole Dash were completed but as the A-Main cars were taking the track rain moved into the area washing away any hope of completing the 50 lap event. Race officials agreed to run the race during the USA Nationals event July 31st, Aug 1st & 2nd. Visit www.cedarlakespeedway for make-up race details. Cedar Lake Speedway would like to thank all fans and competitors for their support of the 10th Annual Masters at Cedar Lake Speedway.
Winters Scores Win Night #1 of the Masters at the Cedar Lake Speedway
6-13-08 New Richmond, WI
by Greg Parent
Under partly cloudy skies and breezy conditions, the second night of the 10th Annual Masters at the Cedar Lake Speedway featured the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series and the WDRL late models in competition at the popular 3/8 mile high-banked Wisconsin oval. A solid field of 32 IRA 410 sprint cars were on hand. When the final checkers waved, Scott Winters had earned his first 410 sprint car feature victory at CLS in a dominating performance.
Time trials were held for 29 IRA sprint cars, as three teams were delayed in arriving at the track due to road closures in southern Wisconsin. Jerry Richert Jr. turned in quick time with a lap of 11.555 seconds, as Minnesota drivers filled three of the top five time trial positions. Four heat races for the IRA sprints saw John Haeni pass early race leader Donny Goeden on lap 3 enroute to victory in the first 10 lap heat. Brooke Tatnell, driving the Olson #34 sprinter, came from his third starting spot to lead all 10 laps in a nonstop run in heat #2. The only red flag of the evening was displayed on the opening lap of the third heat race when third quick timer Scotty Biertzer hopped the right rear tire of Leigh Thomas' car while entering turn one. Biertzer's sprinter launched skyward in a series of wild endos, exiting the track in turn one and eventually ending in an upright position on the road that goes to the track scales. Biertzer was not injured, but his car was done for the evening. The race restarted and then ran caution-free to the end with Kurt Davis leading all the way. The final heat race saw Steve Meyer bolt into the lead from his outside row one starting spot to lead from start to finish. The top four finishers in each heat transferred to the main event while the remainder of the field would vie for the final starting positions in the B Main.
The final six transfer positions would be determined from the 12 lap B Main. Three time Masters IRA winner Travis Whitney found himself having to run a B Main tonight. Travis wasted no time in driving away from the field for the win. Following Whitney were Dave Uttech, current IRA point leader Bill Balog, Scott Uttech, Jason Johnson and Ryan Irwin to garner the remaining feature race starting spots.
The IRA sprint cars lined up 22 cars strong for their 30 lap main event paced by front row starters Leigh Thomas and Scott Winters. At the drop of the green, Winters blasted into the lead and set a blistering pace up against the cushion on the high side of the track. Brooke Tatnell was quickly on the move forward from his 10th starting spot, passing several cars in just a few short laps. When the only caution of the race waved with ten laps in the books for a John Haeni spin in turn four, Winters had already lapped four cars while Tatnell had raced forward to the third place spot behind sixth starter Jerry Richert Jr. When the race resumed, Winters once again disappeared up front while Tatnell and Richert battled for the runnerup spot. Winters soon encountered lapped traffic and had to move between the top and bottom of the track on several occasions. Once Tatnell got by Richert for second, he set his sights on the leader. Winters had built up a large margin, but Tatnell began carving away at it. With no further cautions to close up the field, Winters was able to ride home with his first CLS IRA sprint car feature victory while Tatnell settled for second with a bent front nose wing on his car. Jerry Richert Jr. continued his strong 2008 IRA finishes with a fine third place run while young Davey Heskin turned in an impressive fourth place finish in front of Bill Balog. Rounding out the top ten finishers was Scotty Neitzel, Steve Meyer, John Sernett, Travis Whitney and Kurt Davis.
IRA Sprint Summary:
Fast Time: Jerry Richert, Jr. #63, 11.555
Heat 1: John Haeni, Donny Goeden, Jerry Richert Jr, Brian Kristan, Ryan Irwin, Jason Johnson, Canin Rieman, Kim Mock.
Heat 2: Brooke Tatnell, Billy Hafemann, Scott Winters, Mike Reinke, Bill Balog, Travis Whitney, Scott Uttech, Mike Sitzmann Jr.
Heat 3: Kurt Davis, John Sernett, Andy Hunt, Leigh Thomas, Dave Uttech, Tony Kaus, Scotty Biertzer.
Heat 4: Steve Meyer, Scotty Neitzel, Gary Dewall, Davey Heskin, Tim Sernett, Joseph Kouba, Russell Borland.
B Main: Whitney, D Uttech, Balog, S Uttech, Johnson, Irwin, Sitzmann, Bill Wirth, Joe Symoens, Kouba, Kaus, T Sernett, Rieman.
A Main: Winters, Tatnell, Richert, Heskin, Balog, Neitzel, Meyer, J Sernett, Whitney, Davis, Kristan, Reinke, Haeni, Goeden, Dewall, Thomas, Irwin, S Uttech, D Uttech, Hafemann, Johnson, Hunt.
BRADY SMITH MASTERS MAKE-UP FEATURE AT CEDAR LAKE!
[New Richmond, WI] - - Brady Smith held off heavy pressure to win the make-up World Dirt Racing League "Masters" feature at Cedar Lake Speedway. Ashley Anderson was all over Smith in the closing laps, but was 0.149 seconds short of stealing the victory.
June 14, 2008 was the original schedule race date of "The Masters." The twenty-six-car field A-Main for night two of "The Masters" was ready to roll out onto the speedway when rain washed out the track.
Brady Smith (Solon Springs, WI) and Justin Fegers (Mound, WI) were the cars to beat as the fifty-lap feature began. The two former WDRL Late Model Series Champions pulled away from the field as the battled for the top spot.
Fegers' night was abruptly ended when contact was made with a slower car. Both cars came to a crashing halt bringing out a caution flag. Neither car was able to continue.
When the green returned to the speedway, Smith continued to lead, but was now battling for the lead with a new challenger in the form of Ashley Anderson (Elk Mound, WI). The two put on a great show for the fans right until the very end. Smith would edge Anderson for the the hard fought victory.
"I can't say enough about what a great job Ashley (Anderson) did," Smith said in victory lane. "I sure hope the fans enjoyed that race, because that was one (heck) of a race.
"He raced his butt off; we raced our butt off: luckily things went our way," Smith went onto say. "I got to commend the people here at Cedar Lake Speedway. They always do a good job. Theres two good grooves always makes good racing."
Jimmy Mars (Elk Mound, WI) worked his way from eleventh place to finish third. Scott Gilberts (Elk Mound, WI) started eighteenth and drove to a fourth place finish, and Nick Anvelink (Navarino, WI) came from sixteenth to round out the top five.
WDRL Late Model Series point leader John Kaanta (Elk Mound, WI) finished sixth. Second in points Chad Simpson (Mount Vernon, IA) was right behind him in seventh.
The WORLD Dirt Racing League wishes to thank these series sponsors: Hoosier Racing Tires, Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation, CrashedToys.com, Chase Signs and Graphics, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Hooker Harness, Fast Shafts, Lincoln Electric, Performance Bodies, QA-1 Motorsports, The Brake Man and Wyman Ford.
RACE RESULTS:
The Masters Night 2 (Make-Up A-Main)
Cedar Lake Speedway
New Richmond, WI
August 1, 2008 (Originally scheduled date June 14, 2008)
WDRL FEATURE EVENT: 50 Laps (contested on August 1, 2008)
1. Brady Smith, 2. Ashley Anderson, 3. Jimmy Mars, 4. Scott Gilberts, 5. Nick Avelink, 6. John Kaanta, 7. Chad Simpson, 8. Curt Martin, 9. Eric Pember, 10. Frank Heckenast Jr, 11. Dave Eckrich, 12. Rick Hanestad, 13. Jeremy Grady, 14. Mike Nutzmann, 15. Chris Simpson, 16. Kerry Hansen, 17. Tim Isenberg, 18. Darin Duffy, 19. Andrew McKay, 20. Adam Hensel, 21. Denny Eckrich, 22. Mat Miller, 23. Pete Parker, 24. Rob Moss, 25. Justin Fegers, 26. Hipsag.
RACE RESULTS:
The Masters Night 2 (Qualifying Results before Rain)
Cedar Lake Speedway
New Richmond, WI
June 14, 2008
CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 1:
1. Dave Eckrich, 2. Denny Eckrich, 3. Nick Avelink, 4. Darin Duffy, 5. Kerry Hansen, 6. Rob Moss, 7. Gordy Seegert 8. Jeff Keeney, 9. Mike Hesslink.
CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 2:
1. Chad Simpson, 2. Eric Pember, 3. Chris Simpson, 4. Brian Harris, 5. Andrew McKay, 6. Jeff Martire, 7. Tim Isenberg, 8. Pete Parker, 9. Dave Tyrchniewicz.
CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 3:
1. Justin Fegers, 2. Ashley Anderson, 3. Jimmy Mars, 4. Mike Nutzmann, 5. Rick Hanestad, 6. Steve Hucovski, 7. Dustin Hapka, 8. Toby Patchen, 9. Jake Hiatt.
CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 4:
1. Brady Smith, 2. Jeremy Grady, 3. John Kaanta, 4. Scott Gilberts, 5. Marshall Fegers, 6. Mark Burgtorf, 7. Jill George, 8. Larry Stockwell.
CRASHEDTOYS.COM QUALIFIER 5:
1. Matt Miller, 2. Frank Heckenast Jr., 3. Curt Martin, 4. Adam Hansel, 5. Paul Hipsag, 6. Mike Stadel, 7. J.D. Auringer, 8. Bryan Wennen.
WDRL CONSI 1: (Top 3 Transfer)
1. Scott Gilberts, 2. Darin Duffy, 3. Rob Moss.
WDRL CONIS 2: (Top 3 Transfer)
1. Adam Hensel, 2. Rick Hanestad, 3. Kerry Hansen.
IOWA-ILLINOIS TAYLOR INSULATION POLE DASH:
1. Brady Smith, 2. Justin Fegers, 3. Chad Simpson, 4. Denny Eckrich, 5. Frank Heckenast Jr., 6. Matt Miller, 7. Eric Pember, 8. Dave Eckrich.
Winters Sweeps IRA Sprints During the 10th Annual Masters at the Cedar Lake Speedway
6-14-08 New Richmond, WI
by Greg Parent
The third and final night of the 10th Annual Masters at the Cedar Lake Speedway began under bright blue skies on Saturday night June 14. It ended with rain falling and weather warnings issued for the area. In between a full program of Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprint Series racing took place. Scott Winters made it a clean sweep by winning the 30 lap IRA feature race just as it began raining. The WDRL late model portion of the show was not able to complete their scheduled 50 lap feature race, forcing track and series officials to postpone the main event until the USA Nationals. Further details on when the feature race will be made up will be released soon.
For tonight's program, the IRA sprint cars did not run time trials. They lined up their heat races by draw and then used the passing points system to determine the top sixteen cars that would advance to the feature race. Once again there were 32 cars on hand to participate in IRA competition. The first heat was a quick one with Mike Reinke leading all the way in the nonstop run. Joe Symoens led the first seven laps in the second heat before suffering a flat tire which then handed the lead over to Brian Kristan. The race ended with a hard flip on the frontstretch by Mike Sitzmann Jr. coming down to the checkers after contact with Bill Wirth. Sitzmann walked away from the crash, but his car was done for the rest of the night. Kristan ended up winning the heat. Brad Barickman led the first two laps of the third heat before Dave Uttech powered by for the lead and eventual win in the caution-free event. The final heat saw pole sitter Tim Sernett take the lead at the drop of the green and 10 laps later cross the finish line in first. Brian Kristan ended up leading the passing points standings follow heat race action.
The IRA B Main started 15 cars trying to earn one of the top six finishing positions in order to transfer into the feature race. Two time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel blasted into the lead on lap one and went on to record the win. The race was slowed twice under caution for spins and once under red when Jason Johnson tipped his sprinter on its side. The stage was now set for the feature race, but storm clouds were gathering to the west.
With threatening weather approaching, track and series officials moved the program along quickly and soon it was time for the 22 car starting grid to push off for 30 racing laps in the IRA sprint car main event. Jerry Richert Jr. immediately grabbed the early lead, but the race was under caution with two laps completed when Scott Biertzer spun in turn 2. Five laps later, Billy Balog spun his sprinter in turn 4. Under this caution, third place runner Brooke Tatnell had a left rear tire go down. Tatnell and Scott Winters had been battling for the runnerup spot behind Richert. A quick change of the tire by the Olson crew, and Tatnell was back on track at the tail of the field. When the race resumed, Travis Whitney continued his march forward for this 11th starting spot. On lap 13, Winters moved past Richert for the lead while exiting turn two in lapped traffic. Two laps later the yellow waved when Tim Sernett did a complete 360 spin in turn two but kept going. Winters continued to lead with Travis Whitney now up to third. Once Whitney got by Richert, he tracked down Winters in traffic and began looking for a way to get past. The battle for the top spot was interrupted when Billy Hafemann spun in turn 4 with 24 laps in the books. This would give Winters a clean track with Whitney right behind him. The race only ran one green flag lap before the red appeared when Kim Mock tipped his car on its side up in turn 3. Dave Uttech and Scott Biertzer were also involved in the incident, as all three cars were unable to continue. This set the stage for a quick five lap dash to the checkers, as the wind picked up and light sprinkles began falling. Just in time to beat the heavier rain, Scott Winters completed the sweep by winning the feature on the second night of the Masters. Travis Whitney finished second ahead of John Haeni, Mike Reinke, early leader Jerry Richert Jr. and Scotty Neitzel. Billy Balog raced from the back of the field following his spin to narrowly edge past Steve Meyer for seventh at the line. Brooke Tatnell recovered from his flat tire and was able to make his way back up to ninth in the end. Rounding out the top ten was 18th starter Donny Goeden.
Scott Winters became the second driver to sweep both feature events at the Masters, as Travis Whitney pulled off the same feat in 2007. Whitney still leads with three Masters IRA feature wins followed by Winters now with two and one each for Scotty Neitzel and Wayne Johnson. Racing at the Cedar Lake Speedway swings back into action next Saturday night June 21 with the second Double Features & Kids Night of the season featuring racing in five NASCAR weekly divisions.
IRA Sprint Summary:
Heat 1:Mike Reinke, Brooke Tatnell, Travis Whitney, Billy Balog, Scotty Neitzel, Jason Johnson, Donny Goeden, Kurt Davis.
Heat 2: Brian Kristan, John Haeni, Jerry Richert Jr, Andy Hunt, Ryan Irwin, Bill Wirth, Mike Sitzmann Jr, Joe Symoens.
Heat 3: Dave Uttech, Billy Hafemann, Scott Winters, Scotty Biertzer, Brad Barickman, Cainen Rieman, Tony Kaus, Joseph Kouba.
Heat 4: Tim Sernett, Steve Meyer, John Sernett, Gary Dewall, Scott Uttech, Kim Mock, Leigh Thomas, Russell Borland.
B Main: Neitzel, Goeden, S Uttech, Davis, Mock, Wirth, Barickman, Kouba, Thomas, Irwin, Kaus, Rieman, Johnson, Symoens.
A Main: Winters, Whitney, Haeni, Reinke, Richert, Neitzel, Balog, Meyer, Tatnell, Goeden, Kristan, J Sernett, Dewall, S Uttech, Davis, Hunt, Hafemann, Wirth, T Sernett, D Uttech, Biertzer, Mock.