Wild Night Sees Neske, Rihn, Bishop and Larson Victorious at Cedar Lake Speedway
8-23-08 New Richmond, WI
by Greg Parent
101 cars were on hand in four NASCAR racing divisions at the Cedar Lake Speedway on August 23. Clear skies made for a very comfortable and somewhat cool evening, as CLS celebrated Fan Appreciation Night with the NASCAR modifieds, super stocks, midwest modifieds and street stocks in competition. The NASCAR late models had the night off. It was a bit of a wild night with two rollovers and a couple of other big crashes hampering the racing action while the midwest modified division had a dramatic final lap in their feature event.
When the final checkers waved, late model racer Brent Larson rode home with top honors in his first night out in a brand new modified owned by John Evenson. The car was touching dirt for the first time ever, and what a great way to debut it with a NASCAR modified feature win. Rich Bishop used his familiar high line to record his second CLS feature win of the season in the NASCAR super stock division. The NASCAR midwest mods had a wild last lap which saw fifth running Ronnie Rihn move to the front to pick up his first-ever CLS feature win. The race for the win in the NASCAR street stocks came down to the final corner on the final lap, as Devin Neske drove to the outside of race-long leader Adam Soltis to grab an exciting win. Soltis had been gunning for his first CLS win, but Neske denied him that chance with his last lap pass. Earlier in the evening, a silent protest was filed and following the races Neske's engine was torn down. The motor was found to be completely legal, so the win stood up with Neske well on his way to winning his first track point championship at CLS.
Fan Appreciation Night kicked off with a corn feed and reduced prices on hot dogs and pop prior to and during heat race action. As is typical, the NASCAR street stocks got the racing program underway with two heats. Ron Hanestad looked to be well in command of the first heat when the caution blinked on with two laps left. This allowed last row starter Devin Neske to restart on his bumper. Neske battled hard and was able to take the lead and win on the final lap from Hanestad in what turned out to be a very good finish. Last week's feature winner Jeff Heintz led all the way to pick up the win in the second heat race.
Heat race action in the NASCAR midwest modified division would see four heats for the large 36 car field on hand. Chad Patterson led the opening couple of laps in the first heat before sixth starter Bob Smith drove by for the lead. Smith led the remainder of the race for the win. The nine car starting grid in the second heat had six midwest mod rookies in the field. Jason Vandekamp bested the other five enroute to leading all the way for the win. After a couple of early race cautions slowed the pace in the third heat, Alex Gerlach led the first seven laps. Rookie Eric Herbison made the winning pass on lap 8 to gain the top spot. The final heat saw three different leaders. Jake Miller led the first four laps before doing a complete 360 spin and continuing. This turned the lead over to Toby Meyer who lead the next four laps. With less than two laps to go, Kyle Steffen moved to the front and drove to the checkers in first.
Three heats for the 24 car NASCAR super stock field saw two-time track champion Mike Weber lead all the way in the first heat, although Tim Borgeson was a close second for a good share of the run. The second heat was a dandy. Mike Bruggeman led the first seven laps until Greg Nippoldt moved by for the eventual win on lap 8. Nippoldt was followed closely by Bruggeman and Rich Bishop in a quick ten lapper. The third heat had two-time and defending track champion Larry Boumeester on the outside of row one. Ten nonstop laps later it was Boumeester besting Jim Gullikson for the win.
A strong 28 car field in the NASCAR modified division would require three heats. The first heat had three yellows slow the pace, but in the end it was Craig "Wildchild" Brightbill taking the lead on lap 4 from Terry Hanson to record the win. The second heat had fifth starter Scott Duvall moving up one row when Lonnie Louschke broke on the opening lap. Duvall wasted no time in grabbing the lead on the restart and never looked back. Current track point leader in the NASCAR late model division, Brent Larson, made his 2008 modified debut in a brand new car owned by John Evenson. Brent led all the way for the win in the third heat ahead of seventh starter and current track point leader Dave Cain.
As usual, the NASCAR midwest modifieds needed a B Main to complete their starting feature race lineup. The 15 car starting grid had 12 laps to sort out the top four cars that would transfer to their feature. Vince Corbin raced ahead of the field for the first nine laps enduring a couple of restarts for spins early on. The final caution of the race proved to be his undoing though, as Stan Thom moved into the lead on lap 10 and defeated 15th starter Bryan Siercks, Clark Perry and Mike Kyllonen. Corbin slipped back to sixth in the final few laps. It was then time for some track prep work including watering and blading prior to the feature races.
With a fresh track to race on, the NASCAR street stocks lined up for their 15 lap main event. Polesitter Adam Soltis immediately blasted into the early lead with a pack of cars battling for the runnerup spot. Five laps into the race, contact between Jared Gross and Chanda Fjorden-Nord while racing for fourth brought out the first caution. Gross was relegated to the rear of the field for the restart. Again Soltis drove ahead of the field while a group of cars raced for the 2-5 spots. Ron Hanestad ran second, but one lap after the race restarted current track point leader Devin Neske moved past Hanestad. Soltis had built up a considerable lead, but Neske began to slowly close the gap. Neske closed in on Soltis and by lap 9 was right on his rear bumper. The two raced that way for the next three laps. The two leaders ran side-by-side on laps 12 & 13, as Neske looked for a way past Soltis. The second and final caution waved for a spin by Dan Berglund while Shawn Kammerud made contact and cut down a tire. This would set up a two lap dash to the checkers between Soltis and Neske. The final two circuits proved to be just as entertaining as the previous five laps. Neske first tried low and then eventually went to the outside of Soltis on the final lap in the final turn. Neske emerged with the lead exiting turn four and won the race to the finish line to complete an exciting final few laps. Soltis, who was looking for his first-ever CLS feature win, had to settle for second ahead of Hanestad, Jay Kesan and Chanda Fjorden-Nord.
The 24 car starting field for the NASCAR midwest modified feature race saw polesitter Toby Meyer and third starter Jason Vandekamp battle for the lead on the opening lap with Vandekamp ahead by inches at the line. Karth Mitchell, current track point leader Shawn Phillips and Bob Smith quickly assumed the battle for second. Just three laps into the race, a five car crash on the frontstretch brought out the first red flag of the night when Bryan Siercks rolled his car over on its roof. Siercks emerged unharmed from his upside down racer. Bryan Siercks, John Clark, Jake Miller and Dave Siercks were unable to continue while the other car involved, Alex Gerlach, changed a flat tire and returned to the race. When the green replaced the red, Vandekamp continued to lead with pressure from runnerup Mitchell. Mitchell took the top spot on lap 8, and less than a lap later the yellow flew for a hard crash near the end of the backstretch. Josh Bazey had slight contact with Kyle Steffen, causing Steffen's car to move into Sam Nelson's machine. The contact sent Nelson's car slamming into the inside concrete wall near the end of the backstretch with heavy front end damage the result. Bazey was tagged with the caution and restarted at the tail. A run of nine green flag laps saw Mitchell ahead of the field with cars battling for the runnerup spot close behind him. A final yellow with 17 laps in set up a green-white-checker dash to the finish, as the time limit was up due to the long red early on. The final two circuits would prove to be very entertaining. As the lead group of five cars took the white flag, contact in turn two on the final lap amongst the leaders saw a wild flurry of action take place. Fifth running Ronnie Rihn dove to the low side and the whole group roared down the back stretch into the final corner with Rihn holding a very narrow lead. The pack emerged from turn four and it looked like it could be anybody's race to win. Rihn held the top spot at the finish line in what looked like an improbable win just one lap earlier. Bob Smith ended up a close second ahead of Vandekamp. The leader at the white flag, Karth Mitchell, crossed the finish line in fourth just in front of Shawn Phillips. It was Rihn's first-ever CLS feature win for the Bloomer, WI driver who has been an occasional visitor this season at the high-banked 3/8 mile oval.
With the crowd still buzzing from the wild midwest modified final feature race lap, the 24 car field for the NASCAR super stock main event lined up with Rich Bishop and Justin Stahl on the front row. A seven car crash on the frontstretch at the drop of the green immediately eliminated the cars of Cory Davis, Tom Chrest and Jason Sorum from the race and caused the second red flag of the night to be displayed. The second start attempt went much better, as Rich Bishop bolted to the high side of the track and blasted into the lead. The yellow light blinked on two laps in for a spin in turn 2 with Greg Nippoldt and Dan Carlson trailing Bishop. On lap five, Larry Boumeester moved by Carlson for third. The running order up front remained the same when the final caution waved on lap 12 for a two car crash in turn four which saw Jeff Pellersels knocked out of the race with a broken radiator hose. Two laps later Boumeester moved by Nippoldt for second and set his sights on the leader. Boumeester closed the gap, but Bishop was running strong in his favorite part of the track, up top against the cushion. Boumeester tried the low side during the final couple of laps but was unable to overtake Bishop. Bishop went on the record his second CLS feature win of the season. Boumeester, Nippoldt, Carlson and 12th starter Tim Borgeson completed the top five, as most cars found the top side to be the fast way around.
Just like the previous week, a whopping 28 cars made the call for the NASCAR modified feature race paced by front row starters Jake Jay and Shaun Kelley. Jay led the opening lap before third starter Jason Schill raced by on the inside. Brent Larson moved by Jay for second on lap four. One lap later, the pace was slowed under caution when the fifth place car of Jeremy Gross came to a stop in turn four and was pushed to the pits. Schill remained the leader on the restart in front of Larson, Jay, Mark Hanson and Scott Duvall. Just past the halfway mark of the race, Larson moved by Schill to lead lap 11. Before the field could complete another full lap, the yellow light blinked on again for a spin in turn one. Under this caution, current track point leader Dave Cain retired to the pits with a flat tire. One lap after the race went green, Hanson and Duvall had moved by Schill to run second and third. Larson, who had started out running the middle groove, had now moved up top on the cushion with Hanson, Duvall, Schill and several others on the bottom. With 15 laps scored, the red flag waved for the third time during the night when Kevin Viebrock's car suddenly darted from the top side of turn 2 across the track. Lonnie Louschke had nowhere to go and slammed into Viebrock's car. The impact sent Louschke's car on its roof. Fortunately nobody was injured in the crash. While lining up to go back to green, fourth place runner Jason Schill's car stalled and could not refire thus ending his night with a push to the pits. Brent Larson led the final five laps for his first modified win at CLS this season in his first night out in the car. Although Mark Hanson was looking for his second straight win in as many nights, having won at another local area track the night before, he had to settle for the runnerup position. Scott Duvall, 11th starter Scott Splittstoesser, and 12th starter Rick Kobs completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten finishers was Jason Gross just narrowly edging past Craig Brightbill at the line for sixth, Shaun Kelley, Jake Jay and Dave Lear. Twenty of the 28 starters finished the race on a track that had widened out with multiple racing lanes.
With the regular season now in the books, the focus shifts to four big special events in the month of September at the Cedar Lake Speedway. After an off-weekend next week, racing action returns for the 8th Annual Jerry Richert Memorial on Saturday September 6 featuring the IRA Outlaw Sprints against several Knoxville and local area cars. Then it's four big nights packed with tons of racing at the Legandary 100 on September 10-13 including the makeup of the rained out Billy Anderson Memorial for 360 sprint cars on September 13. Eight different classes of cars will compete over the course of the four nights in this year's edition of the always popular mid September special event. On Saturday September 20, the 4th Annual $10,000-to-win Enduro race returns with a 5:00 PM scheduled start time. The season will conclude the next week with three big nights of racing at the 1st Annual Badger State Nationals presented by track announcer and big-event promoter Chris Stepan under his FYE Motorsports banner on Thursday September 25 through Saturday September 27. The three night extravaganza is highlighted by the $12,000-to-win late model feature race and $3,000-to-win midwest modified main event on Saturday Spetember 27 while the street stocks run a complete race program on Thursday September 25 for $1,000-to-win. The legend cars are also part of the event. Be sure to make plans to attend these great season-ending special events at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Details and more information is available at www.cedarlakespeedway.com or for the Badger State Nationals visit www.fyemotorsports.com on the internet.
Race Results:
NASCAR Amsoil Modifieds (28 cars)
Heat 1- Craig Brightbill, Jason Gross, Scott Splittstoesser, Jeremy Gross, David Lear, Kevin Viebrock, Bruce Tourville, Chris Magistad, Marc Johnson, Terry Hanson
Heat 2- Scott Duvall, Shaun Kelley, Jason Schill, Jake Jay, Charlie Hillukka, Don Brightbill, Mike Raboin, Lonnie Louschke, Chris Gorka
Heat 3- Brent Larson, Dave Cain, Mark Hanson, Rick Kobs, Bill Stettner, Mike Kelley, Wade Hanson, Tim Siercks, Scott Pomeroy
A Main- Larson, M Hanson, Duvall, Splittstoesser, Kobs, Ja Gross, C Brightbill, S Kelley, Jay, Lear, Stettner, M Kelley, Siercks, Pomeroy, Hillukka, Tourville, Johnson, W Hanson, Magistad, Raboin, Schill, T Hanson, Louschke, Viebrock, Cain, Gross, Brightbill, Gorka
NASCAR Goodyear Super Stocks (24 Cars)
Heat 1- Mike Weber, Tim Borgeson, Cory Davis, Dan Carlson, Ryan Wiome, Dave Emerfoll, Joel Collins, Jason Sorum
Heat 2- Greg Nippoldt, Mike Bruggeman, Rich Bishop, Justin Stahl, Tom Chrest, Kevin Ayotte, Marcel Hoaglan, Tom Gebauer
Heat 3- Larry Boumeester, Jim Gullikson, Brian Lick, Cody Campeau, Danny Olinger, Marcus Berget, Frank Fabio, Jeff Pellersells
A Main- Bishop, Boumeester, Nippoldt, Carlson, Borgeson, Gullikson, Wiome, Stahl, Collins, Campeau, Bruggeman, Lick, Olinger, Ayotte, Hoaglan, Emerfoll, Berget, Fabio, Pellersells, Weber, Gebauer, Chrest, Sorum, Davis
NASCAR 3M Midwest Modifieds (36 Cars)
Heat 1- Bob Smith, Jeremy Houle, Sam Nelson, Ronnie Rihn, Chad Patterson, Vince Corbin, Steve Strandlund Jr, Mike Kyllonen, Tim Siercks
Heat 2- Jason Vandekamp, Josh Bazey, John Clark, Jeremy Kerzman, Steve Strandlund, Robbie Franklin, Ryan Nieters, Kelly Gallipo, Rob Caho Jr
Heat 3- Eric Herbison, Alex Gerlach, Shawn Phillips, Kyle Matuska, Steve Alsaker, Stan Thom, Lucas Milz, Jared Gorka, Mike Gibson
Heat 4- Kyle Steffen, Karth Mitchell, Toby Meyer, Dave Siercks, Jake Miller, Clark Perry, Richard Crear, John Harer, Bryan Siercks
B Main- Thom, Siercks, Perry, Kyllonen, Franklin, Corbin, Gibson, Caho, Nieters, Milz, Gallipo, Crear, Gorka, Strandlund Jr, T Siercks
A Main- Rihn, Smith, Vandekamp, Mitchell, Phillips, Houle, Kerzman, Perry, Alsaker, Matuska, Patterson, Bazey, Steffen, Strandlund, Thom Kyllonen, Herbison, Gerlach, Nelson, Meyer, D Siercks, B Siercks, Miller, Clark
NASCAR Dodge Street Stocks (13 Cars)
Heat 1- Devin Neske, Ron Hanestad, Chanda Fjorden-Nord, Adam Soltis, Dan Berglund, Ed Puariea, Jared Gross
Heat 2- Jeff Heintz, Scott Splittstoesser, Jay Kesan, Shawn Kammerud, Shaun Kelley, Marcus Simsonson
A Main- Neske, Soltis, Hanestad, Kesan, Fjorden-Nord, Splittstoesser, Kelley, Heintz, Gross, Kammerud, Puariea, Berglund, Simsonson
Cedar Lake Speedway Points as of 8-24-08
NASCAR Impact Printing Late Models
1. Brent Larson 668
2. Rick Egersdorf 570
3. Rick Hanestad 531
4. Ashley Anderson 518
5. Mike Nutzmann 440
6. Kelly Anderson 432
7. Jeff Keeney 318
8. Pat Doar 318
9. Chuckie DeSmith 314
10. Mike Hesselink 310
NASCAR Amsoil Modifieds
1. Dave Cain 542
2. Craig Brightbill 426
3. Terry Hanson 415
4. Jason Gross 405
5. Jeremy Gross 366
6. Kevin Viebrock 304
7. Jason Schill 304
8. Jason Miller 289
9. Scott Splittstoesser 284
10. Shaun Kelley 284
NASCAR Goodyear Super Stocks
1. Dan Carlson 420
2. Rich Bishop 372
3. Jim Gullikson 364
4. Mike Weber 316
5. Tim Borgeson 314
6. Greg Nippoldt 313
7. Larry Boumeester 274
8. Mike Loomis 262
9. Ryan Wiome 262
10. Dale Gangl 188
NASCAR 3M Midwest Modifieds
1. Shawn Phillips 433
2. Clark Perry 418
3. Jeremy Houle 393
4. Jason Vandekamp 380
5. Sam Nelson 306
6. Bob Smith 296
7. Bryan Siercks 289
8. Josh Bazey 244
9. Kyle Steffen 242
10. Mark Trog 214
NASCAR Dodge Street Stocks
1. Devin Neske 301
2. Shawn Kammerud 211
3. Jared Gross 196
4. Chanda Fjorden-Nord 189
5. Jeff Heintz 177
6. Scott Splittstoesser 166
7. Chris Peterson 97
8. Adam Soltis 84
9. Ron Hanestad 76
10. Derek Borchardt 74