Great Racing at Season Opener

Sunny skies and very pleasant seventy degree weather greeted race fans and drivers, as the 52nd season of racing at the legendary Cedar Lake Speedway got underway on Friday evening April 17. Great racing action was the norm in the four NASCAR divisions on the first night of a doubleheader opening weekend. Jeff Marshall was the very first feature winner of the 2009 season at CLS when he passed race leader Jason Vandekamp with two laps to go in the NASCAR midwest modified nonstop 20 lap feature. Tim Borgeson turned in a strong performance in a very entertaining 20 lap NASCAR super stock main event to earn his first win of the season. Darrell Nelson and Jason Miller dominated the NASCAR modified main event with Miller leading the first half and Nelson taking command at the midpoint enroute to victory. A fantastic finish to the evening saw the 30 lap NASCAR late model feature go 27 laps nonstop to the finish with four different leaders and a last lap pass for the win by Rick Hanestad.

Although the NASCAR late model main event was slowed three times for three seperate accidents with three laps completed, the remaining 27 laps were nothing short of spectacular. Front row starters Doug Herrick and Pat Doar paced the 22 car field to the green with Doar immediately dashing into the lead. Chuck DeSmith applied the pressure from his second running position until the first caution waved for an accident in turn two involving the cars of Marshall Fegers, Lance Matthees and Joel Cryderman. Fegers was unable to continue. Mike Nutzmann also drove off the track during the caution. When the race restarted, Lance Matthees broke the right front while heading down the backstretch and collected Steve Laursen in turn three. Both cars required a tow to their trailers, as Matthees' car had also sustained some damage in the first accident and that likely led to the second incident. As the race attempted to resume once again, the red flag was displayed for a very hard crash in turn one when Adam Hensel's car shot straight up the track and blasted the concrete wall. Hensel's machine then rolled over coming to rest right side up. The badly damaged car was loaded on the flatbed wrecker and brought pitside. Hensel was uninjured and immediately began making plans to bring out their backup car for Saturday night.

When the green replaced the red, Pat Doar continued to show the way, but Chuck DeSmith and Rick Hanestad were challenging every lap. DeSmith and Hanestad swapped the second spot back and forth right behind Doar. On lap 8, Hanestad moved underneath Doar exiting turn four and grabbed the lead. Doar charged back and retook the top spot on lap 13 with Rick Egersdorf suddenly in the picture in third. As Doar and Hanestad battled for the lead, Egersdorf closed in. Hanestad regained the top spot in lapped traffic on lap 16 with Doar and Egersdorf also in the battle for the lead. Continuing under green, Egersdorf applied the pressure on Doar for second and took over the runnerup spot on lap 24 with Hanestad leading by only a car length or two. Keith Foss and Brent Larson were closing in on the lead trio, as the clicks clicked off. Once again in lapped traffic, Egersdorf made a bid for the lead late in the race and nosed past Hanestad to lead at the white flag. Hanestad came back strong on the bottom on the final circuit to once again retake the top spot and the eventual victory. Egersdorf, Doar, Foss and Larson finished close behind the leader in a thrilling 27 lap nonstop race to the finish. Justin Fegers, Kelly Anderson, DeSmith, John Henkemeyer and Aaron Lillo completed the top ten. Heat race winners in the NASCAR late model division included Steve Laursen, DeSmith and Hensel.

The NASCAR modifieds roared to life for their scheduled 20 lap main event with polesitter Jake Jay showing the way. The race would not see a fully completed lap until the fifth attempt. An accident in turn two on the opening lap collected the cars of Craig Brightbill, Terry Hanson, Rick Kobs, Jason Gross, Lonnie Louschke, and Mike Wood. Brightbill, Hanson and Louschke were out of action. A spin by Don Brightbill on the second start attempt brought out another caution. The third try certainly was not the charm, as Dave Lear broke something and smacked the turn one wall hard. Another spin on the fourth try by Mike Wood saw the yellow wave again. Finally on the fifth attempt, the race went green with Jason Miller grabbing the early lead. Darrell Nelson moved past Jeremy Gross for second on lap 2. The fifth caution of the race flew with just three laps in for a Keith Lepinski spin. Miller continued to lead Nelson on the restart. The sixth and last caution blinked on with six laps completed when Dave Friendt looped around in turn two. The race was reduced to 15 laps at this point. Miller and Nelson pulled away from the rest of the field and battled each other for the lead. Nelson moved by Miller on lap 8, as Mike Kelley Jr took over the third spot from Jeremy Gross. Nelson continued to hold the lead over Miller the rest of the way for his initial win of the season. Miller, Kelley, Jeremy Gross and Jay rounded out the top five finishers. NASCAR modified heat race wins went to Nelson and Jeremy Gross.

A very entertaining and competitive 20 lap NASCAR super stock feature race saw rookie driver Shawn Kammerud lead the opening three laps from his pole starting spot. With three laps completed, the first caution waved for a spin in turn 2 by fifth place runner Mike Weber. Weber tagged the tail and would make a strong run forward after that. On the restart, Tim Borgeson moved past Kammerud for the lead. Jim Gullikson got past Kammerud on lap 7 for second while Justin Dodge moved to third on lap 8. Dan Gullikson was on the move from his 11th starting spot and rode past Kammerud into the fourth spot a lap later. As Borgeson continued to show the way up front, the battle for second heated up. The second and final caution blinked on with 12 laps in the books for a spin by Kammerud in turn two. Ryan Wiome was relegated to the tail on the restart and Kammerud got his fith spot back. Justin Dodge was penalized two spots on the restart for an earlier jump, so that put the Gullikson brother back-to-back in the running order. Jim and Dan Gullikson proceeded to put on a tremendous show over the final eight circuits for the runnerup position behind Borgeson, trading the second spot on four different occasions at the line and several more times in between laps. Tim Borgeson edged away just a bit to earn the win and a clean sweep for the night with Jim Gullikson narrowly holding off his brother Dan Gullikson for second. Mike Weber charged all the way back up to finish fourth after his mishap on lap 3. Justin Dodge turned in a solid run for fifth. In NASCAR heat race action, former street stock racer Shawn Kammerud won the first heat in his first-ever run in a super stock with a late race pass of Justin Dodge while Borgeson led all the to win heat 2.

Following an opening lap caution, the NASCAR midwest modified 20 lap main event ran nonstop to the finish. Jason Vandekamp jumped into the lead at the start and looked strong up front. Brett Hoium held the second spot for the first 8 circuits with Shawn Phillips in third. The car on the move though was 11th starter Jeff Marshall. On lap 5, the Thunder Bay driver moved by Phillips for third and set his sights on Hoium. Marshall moved into second on lap 9. When the leaders encountered lapped traffic just past the halfway mark, things got very interesting. With Marshall continuing to close on the leader, positions 3-5 also saw some very good racing. Marshall had reeled in Vandekamp by lap 15 and began looking for a way around. Hoium, Phillips, Kyle Steffen and Clark Perry were mixing it up behind the top two. The laps rolled by under green, and Marshall was looking to gain the lead. With two laps to go, Marshall took the top spot from racelong leader Vandekamp and held on for the win in a very good midwest mod main event. Hoium, Perry and 2008 track champion Phillips completed the top five. NASCAR midwest modified heat race victories went to Perry, Hoium, and Dave Siercks who was subbing for the injured Bryan Siercks. Second year midwest mod pilot Josh Bazey led all the way to win the B Main over E J Heitala and rookie Jeremy Penman while perennial frontrunner Dan Wheeler suffered a mechanical breakdown on the final lap and failed to qualify for the feature.

As race fans filed out and headed for the pits, campground or back home, it was great to put the first race into the record books for the 2009 season. Racing action continues on opening weekend on Saturday night April 18 featuring exciting racing action in the weekly NASCAR late model, modified, super stock and midwest modified divisions. Start time is schedule for 6:30 pm. More information is available on the website at

www.cedarlakespeedway.com or by calling 1-866-4CLS-FUN. See you at the races!

Race Results:

Midwest Modifieds
Heat 1 Clark Perry, Kyle Steffen, Clayton Wagamon, Alex Gerlach, Jesse Ogston, AJ Roschen, Ryan Nieters, Richard Creer, Jared Gorka, Don Swearingen
Heat 2 Brett Hoium, Jason Vandekamp, Jeff Marshall, Patrick McCarthy, Jason Miller, Vince Corbin, Josh Bazey, Tony Schill, Robbie Franklin, EJ Heitala
Heat 3 Bryan Siercks, John Clark, Sam Nelson, Shawn Phillips, Eric Herbison, Todd Steffen, Rob Caho Jr, Kyle Matuska, Jeremy Penman, Dan Wheeler
B Main Bazey, Heitala, Penman, Franklin, Matuska, Nieters, Wheeler, Schill, Caho Jr, Gorka
A Main Marshall, Vandekamp, Hoium, Perry, Phillips, Steffen, Siercks, Wagamon, Miller, Corbin, Franklin, McCarthy, Herbison, Gerlach, Bazey, Ogston, Penman, Matuska, Nieters, Heitala, Roschen, Steffen, Clark, Nelson

Super Stocks
Heat 1 Shawn Kammerud, Justin Dodge, Mike Loomis, Ryan Wiome, Brandon Jensen, Dan Gullikson, Donnie Lofdahl, Greg Nippoldt, Donnie Lofdahl, Nippoldt, Steve Weber, Cody Campeau
Heat 2 Tim Borgeson, Mike Weber, Jim Gullikson, Brian Lick, Kevin Ayotte, Justin Stahl, Todd Carlson, Mike Drydahl, Eric Gadach
A Main Borgeson,Jim Gullikson, Dan Gullikson, Mike Weber, Dodge, Loomis, Stahl, Kammerud, Nippoldt, Lick, Ayotte, Wiome, Steve Weber, Campeau, Carlson, Dyrdahl, Jensen, Lofdahl, Gadach

Modifieds
Heat 1 Darrell Nelson, Craig Brightbill, Jeff Lein, Dave Freindt, Jake Jay, Don Brightbill, Keith Lepinski, Mike Wood, Wayne Stricker, Blake Jegtvig
Heat 2 Jeremey Gross, Jason Miller, Jason Gross, Terry Hanson, Rick Kobs, Mike Kelley, Ron Schreiner, Scott Splittstoesser, Dave Lear, Lonnie Louschke
A Main Nelson, Miller, Kelley, Jeremy Gross, Jay, Schreiner, Jegtvig, Splittstoesser, Stricker, Wood, Brightbil, Lein, Lepinski, Freindt, Lear, Hanson, Kobs, Jason Gross, Louschke, Craig Brightbill

Late Model
Heat 1 Steve Laursen, Brent Larson, Rick Hanestad, Lance Mathees, Joel Cryderman, Kelly Anderson, Mike Nutzmann, John Hinkemeyer
Heat 2 Charles DeSmith, Keith Foss, Marshall Fegers, Doug Herrick, Jim Carlson, Jeff Martire, Stewart Hayward
Heat 3 Adam Hensel, Justin Fegers, Pat Doar, Rick Egersdorf, Aaron Lillo, Toby Patchen, Gregg Hill
A Main Hanestad, Egersdorf, Doar, Foss, Larson, Justin Fegers, Anderson, DeSmith, Hinkemeyer, Lillo, Patchen, Carlson, Martire, Hayward, Hill, Cryderman, Herrick, Hensel, Laursen, Mathees, Nutzmann, Marshall Fegers, Bear, Wennen

Night 2:

Borgeson and Nelson Repeat, Vandekamp and Kaanta Conquer on Second Night of Cedar Lake Speedway Opener
New Richmond, WI
by Greg Parent

The second night of the doubleheader opening weekend saw fans and racers flock to the famed Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday April 18. Another pleasant spring evening turned chilly, as a cold front blew in part way through the program. Fortunately some hot racing action from the 103 car field served to heat things up in the four NASCAR divisions at the 3/8 mile high-banked western Wisconsin track. Tim Borgeson and Darrell Nelson were repeat winners in the NASCAR super stock and modified divisions. Jason Vandekamp improved his finishing by position by one from Friday night, as he emerged the victor in the NASCAR midwest modified class following a race-long battle with Clark Perry. John Kaanta passed early leader Rick Hanestad and then had to fend off a late race challenge from Jimmy Mars to earn top honors in the NASCAR late model division on an evening that saw the 17 event program run off in quick fashion.

A strong field laced with talented drivers throughout kept fans entertained in the NASCAR late model division. All 26 cars were able to make the call for their 30 lap feature race paced by front row starters Jesse Redetzke and Rick Hanestad. Hanestad was looking to make it two in a row and hustled into the lead on the opening lap. Redetzke raced side by side with Hanestad in the early laps with John Kaanta just behind the leaders in third. Kaanta moved to the point on lap five and a couple laps later the caution blinked on when Jesse Redetzke went for a slide in turn one. Redetzke dropped out a short time later. Adam Hensel and Jimmy Mars were working their way forward when the second caution brought the field under yellow 14 laps into the race for an accident in turn two. The cars of Justin Fegers and 2008 track champion Brent Larson made contact with Larson spinning around. Lance Matthees had no where to go and slammed into Larson's car. All three cars were out of the race. With Kaanta continuing to show the way, Hanestad began to fade a bit and soon it was Hensel and Mars battling for second while Hanestad and Jake Redetzke raced for fourth. Just before the final yellow waved for Steve Hucovski's contact with the turn three wall, Mars had the upper hand over Hensel for second. Hucovski had advanced twelve positions from his 24th starting spot when his night ended 21 laps into the race. This set the stage for a nine lap dash to the checkers. Hensel challenged Mars for second on the restart, but Jimmy settled into the runnerup spot and began to reel in the leader. Mars was running the middle line in turns 3-4 and just a bit up off the bottom in turns 1-2 while Kaanta was generally up on the cushion in each corner. As Mars closed the gap, fans began to wonder if they would see another last lap pass for a win. With three to go, Mars pulled alongside Kaanta in turn two. Kaanta had the momentum to edge past though. Mars closed in again with two to go and again Kaanta was able to hold him off. As the white flag waved, Kaanta moved down a bit on the track for the final lap and was able to hold off Mars for the win. Hensel finished third. Jake Redetzke won the battle for fourth over Hanestad. Completing the top ten were Rick Egersdorf, Pat Doar, Kelly Anderson, 22nd starter Chuck DeSmith and Cory Mahder. NASCAR late model heat races were won by Justin Fegers, Doug Herrick and Kaanta.

Darrell Nelson drew the pole for the 20 lap NASCAR modified main event, as 25 of the 28 cars on hand lined up for what would be a nonstop run to Jeff Stacken's checkered flag. It was Nelson up front all the way from the drop of the green. Craig Brightbill moved to second in the early laps and was able to hold off 9th starter Jason Miller. Miller had steadily worked his way forward during the race and had a spirited battle with Jason Gross for several laps before turning his attention to Brightbill. A good race for the fourth and fifth spots saw several different drivers occupy those positions at various times. Eventually Don Eischens settled into fourth with 10th starter and five time track champion Dave Cain moving to fifth. In the end, it was Darrell Nelson sweeping the opening weekend action in the NASCAR modified division with a convincing win. Brightbill, Miller, Eischens and Cain completed the first five. Dale Mathison, Rick Kobs, Ron Schreiner, Mike Kelley Jr and Jason Gross rounded out the top ten finishers. Heat race action in the NASCAR modifieds saw Miller, Cain and Jason Gross garner the wins.

Not that he needed the break, but Friday night feature winner Tim Borgeson found himself on the pole for the 20 lap NASCAR super stock main event. Borgeson immediately grabbed the lead over the 21 car field, but fellow front runner starter Justin Stahl applied some serious pressure pulling alongside Borgeson on several occasions in the early going. The lone caution of the race flew when Ryan Wiome turned sideways in turn four three laps in. Although Wiome was able to recover, the yellow light blinked on with the full field bearing down on him. An accident was avoided and Wiome actually exited the track. On the restart, Borgeson was again under pressure by Stahl. Jim Gullikson was running third and he made his presence felt as well. Borgeson slowly edged away a bit from the field as the race remained under green. Soon a tremendous battle for the runnerup spot developed between Stahl and Jim Gullikson. They swapped the postion back and forth on numerous occasions while Shawn Kammerud, Don Eischens and Dan Gullikson waged a super race for fourth. Borgeson continued to show the way, as the race for the remaining top five spots was very good. Jim Gullikson finally took control of second late in the race. Tim Borgeson went on to record another clean sweep and remained perfect for the 2009 season at CLS with another solid performance enroute to victory in the NASCAR super stock division. Earning his second runnerup finish of the weekend was Jim Gullikson. Stahl, Eischens and Dan Gullikson rounded out the top five. Rookie Shawn Kammerud finished sixth while Justin Dodge had another very good run for seventh. Donnie Lofdahl returned from a blown motor the night before to post an eighth place finish with Mike Loomis and Ken Truscott completing the top ten. Heat race winners in the NASCAR super stocks included Eischens, Dan Gullikson and Borgeson.

Dave Siercks and Rob Weber brought the 24 car NASCAR midwest modified field to the green for 20 racing laps of competitive action. It was third starter Clark Perry grabbing the early lead though. Fifth starter Jason Vandekamp wasted little time in moving forward, as he tracked down Perry and began what would be a very good race between those two drivers for the remainder of the feature. The lone caution of the race slowed the pace with seven laps in for a Rob Weber spin in turn two. Perry and Vandekamp continued their battle with Vandekamp at the helm. Shawn Phillips was working his way forward from his 14th starting spot, as the laps rolled by under green. Michael Truscott, Dave Siercks and Patrick McCarthy battled for third on back with Josh Bazey close behind. Phillips cracked the top five around lap 14 and continued to march forward. As he worked past Dave Siercks for fourth, he was running out of laps. The leaders were working lapped traffic, and Perry closed in on Vandekamp several times even pulling alongside a few times. Jason Vandekamp was able to hold on for the win to go along with his second place finish from the night before in the NASCAR midwest modified division. Clark Perry rode home in second ahead of Michael Truscott, Shawn Phillips and Dave Siercks. Completing the top ten were Patrick McCarthy, E J Heitala, Josh Bazey, Kyle Steffen and 1991 street stock track champion Alex Gerlach. Heat races for the 28 car field saw John Clark, Bazey and Vandekamp earn the wins. Eric Herbison topped the B Main over Mike Kyllonen and "Dyno" Don Swearingen.

Racing action continues at the Cedar Lake Speedway next Saturday April 25. In addition to the regular four weekly NASCAR classes of late models, modifieds, super stocks and midwest mods, the 7th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial will see the upstart UMSS 360 sprint cars make their 2009 debut at the track. Twice last year the Billy Anderson Memorial fell victim to the weather. The sprint car feature winner will earn $1,000 which includes sponsorship money from GRP Motorsports. Former Billy Anderson Memorial champions include Tony Norem, Bill Boles, Jerry Richert Jr, Loren Langerud, Jake Peters, and Chuck Swenson. Racing is slated to get underway at 6:30 PM. There will be plenty of variety for race fans, so you will not want to miss all the exciting action at CLS next Saturday. For more information and ticket prices, please visit our website at www.cedarlakespeedway.com or call 1-866-4CLS-FUN.

Midwest Modifieds
Heat 1: John Clark, Dave Siercks, Kyle Steffen, Michael Truscott, Alex Gerlach, Brett Hoium, Eric Herbison, Jason Meyer, Richard Crear, Jeff Marshall
Heat 2: Josh Bazey, Rob Weber, Clark Perry, Patrick McCarthy, Shawn Phillips, Chad Patterson, Mike Gibson, Kyle Matuska, Don Swearingen
Heat 3: Jason Vandekamp, Vince Corbin, Robbie Franklin, EJ Heitala, Jesse Ogston, Willy Thompson, Jeremy Penman, Mike Kyllonen, AJ Roschen
B Main: Herbison, Kyllonen, Swearingen, Matuska, Gibson, Penman, Crear, Meyer
A Main: Vandekamp, Perry, Truscott, Phillips, Siercks, McCarthy, Heitala, Bazey, Steffen, Gerlach, Herbison, Clark, Weber, Matuska, Kyllonen, Penman, Thompson, Franklin, Swearingen, Hoium, Patterson, Corbin, Ogston, Gibson

Super Stocks
Heat 1: Don Eischens, Mike Loomis, Donnie Lofdahl, Ryan Wiome, DJ Dondelinger, Art Hyde, Cody Campeau
Heat 2: Dan Gullikson, Brian Lick, Shawn Kammerud, Ken Truscott, Todd Carlson, Mike Drydahl, Greg Nippoldt
Heat 3: Tim Borgeson, Justin Dodge, Jim Gullikson, Justin Stahl, Steve Weber, Cory Davis, Kevin Ayotte
A Main: Borgeson, Gullikson, Stahl, Eischens, D Gullikson, Kammerud, Dodge, Lofdahl, Loomis, Truscott, Lick, Davis, Hyde, Weber, Dondelinger, Carlson, Nippoldt, Campeau, Ayotte, Drydahl, Wiome

Modifieds:
Heat 1: Jason Miller, Dale Mathison, Craig Brightbill, Blake Jegtvig, Jake Jay, Wayne Stricker, Mike Wood, Chris Gorka, Don Brightbill, KentWillms
Heat 2: Dave Cain, Rick Kobs, Darrell Nelson, Don Eischens, Ron Schreiner, Scott Splittstoesser, Joey Jensen, Scott Hudack, Jeremy Gross
Heat 3: Jason Gross, Mike Kelley, Steve Lavasseur, Terry Hanson, Dave Friendt, Jeff Lein, Dave Lear, Keith Lepinski, Lonnie Louschke
B Main: Jensen, Lear, Gorka, Hudack, Lepinski, Gross, Louschke
A Main: Nelson, Brightbill, Miller, Eischens, Cain, Mathison, Kobs, Schreiner, Kelley, Gross, Jensen, Jegtvig, Lein, Hanson, Hudack, Jay, Lear, Jeremy Gross, Splittstoesser, Friendt, Stricker, Lepinski, Louschke, Gorka,

Late Models
Heat 1: Justin Fegers, Kelly Anderson, Adam Hensel, Pat Doar, Brent Larson, John Hinkemeyer, Jeff Martire, Charles DeSmith, Gregg Hill
Heat 2: Doug Herrick, Rick Egersdorf, Jake Redetzke, Rick Hanestad, Cory Mahder, Joel Cryderman, Bryan Wennen, Mike Bear, Aaron Lillo
Heat 3: John Kaanta, Jimmy Mars, Jesse Redetzke, Mike Nutzmann, Lance Mathees, Jim Carlson, Stewart Hayward, Steve Hucovski
A Main: Kaanta, Mars, Hensel, Redetzke, Hanestad, Egersdorf, Doar, Anderson, DeSmith, Mahder, Bear, Carlson, Hill, Herrick, Martire, Wennen, Hayward, Hucovski, Cryderman, Larson, Mathees, Fegers, Redetzke, Hinkemeyer, Lillo, Nutzmann, Laursen

A Special Thank You to the Following Sponsors

Lifetime Oil - Independent Amsoil Dealer