Herbison Memorial and NASCAR Dash Series Provide Big Night at CLS
New Richmond, WI (8-29-15)

By: Greg Parent

There was nothing routine about the final regular season night at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday August 29.  Rain outs brought together two big events into one action-packed program at the historic western Wisconsin dirt oval, as race fans were in store for a big night of racing.  The 2nd Annual Eric Herbison Memorial was part of the final night of the NASCAR Dash Series which in turn was part of the Elmer & Lorraine Cook Memorial evening.  A large field of 128 cars filled the pit area.  At stake were a couple of $2,000 to win Herbison Memorial races for the NASCAR Midwest Modifieds and Pro Stocks as well as point races in the lucrative NASCAR Dash Series season championship.  The top ten drivers in the NASCAR Dash Series for the four divisions shared in over $60,000 of point fund money for the top ten drivers in each division.

Darrell Nelson of Hermantown had a very memorable evening, as he won the Modified and Late Model feature races.  His modified victory also earned him the $6,000 championship title in the NASCAR Dash Series.  Pat Doar earned the whopping $10,000 NASCAR Dash Series championship in the late model class.  Shane Sabraski of Rice led all 30 laps for the $2,000 Eric Herbison Memorial win in the Pro Stock division, and like Nelson, Sabraski also won the $3,500 NASCAR Dash Series championship title with his Pro Stock feature victory.  Sabraski was looking like a feature winner in the Miwest Modifieds as well, but a tough break after leading the first 22 laps in the feature saw his car ride the hook to the pits with a broken rear end.  Michael Truscott of Chippewa Falls made it back-to-back Eric Herbison Memorial titles when he led the final five circuits to pick up the $2,000 first place prize.  Jason Vandekamp of Scandia won the $2,500 NASCAR Dash Series point title in the Midwest Modified division.  Jess Seim of Glenwood City won for the sixth time in the hornet division this season, as the hornets were not part of the Dash Series.

A full program in the five weekly divisions saw a total of fifteen heat races, two B Mains and the five feature races take place with a total of 292 laps of racing action.  The NASCAR Pro Stock main event was the first feature for the evening, as Sabraksi led all the way for his first Eric Herbison Memorial win and fourth career CLS Pro Stock victory.  Dave Mass made it close in the end, coming up about a car length short at the checkers in a race that was slowed five times under caution.  Ryan Wiome, Jesse Redetzke and 22nd starter Eric Martini completed the top five.

The hornet division saw the lead change hands three times amongst the top two drivers in their 12 lap feature race.  Jess Seim ended up leading the final two laps for his sixth win of the season over William Voeltz.  Don Martens, Sean Svee and Adam Peterson rounded out the top five finishers.  Uncharacteristic for this class, the feature race had three cautions interupt the battle for the top spot.  Voeltz led the opening lap, Seim led the next four laps, Voeltz got back by for the next five laps before Seim edged past for the final two and the victory.

The 2nd Annaul Eric Herbison Memorial feature for the Midwest Modifeds would see Sabraski look to double-up his titles for this popular Memorial event which was rained out in June and rescheduled for this evening.  Sabraski led the opening 22 laps, but his left side panel came loose past the halfway mark and eventually got dragged under the rear end of his car causing enough damage to put him out of the race.  Jason Miller inherited the lead and held the top spot for the next three laps, but 2014 Herbison Memorial champion Michael Truscott was not to be denied his second title.  Truscott took over the lead on lap 26, survived one final caution, and went on to record the popular victory.  Cory Bruggeman completed an impressive feature with a runner-up finish while Miller held on to third.  Grant Southworth and Kyle Matuska rounded out the top five finishers in a race that saw four cautions.  As expected, the Midwest Modifieds drew a large 48 car field for the Herbison Memorial.

The 20 lap NASCAR Modified feature proved to a dandy, as Joey Jensen led the first 15 laps which was slowed three times under caution.  The race went green for the final 11 laps and the battle for the lead was very entertaining.  Laps 16-18 saw Jensen and Darrell Nelson swap the lead back-and-forth with Nelson officially leading at the line each time.  Nelson got a couple of cars lengths on Jensen for the final few laps to earn the victory and the all-important NASCAR Dash Series point championship.  For Nelson, it was his 24th career modified feature win at the track.  Jason Vandekamp finished third ahead of Shane Sabraski and Mark Hanson.

To cap off a full evening of racing, the 30 lap NASCAR Late Model feature went nonstop!  Jeff Massingill was looking for his first CLS win, and he led the first seven laps before a lapped car slowed his pace.  That was all third starter Darrell Nelson needed, as he shot past Massingill in turn three and never was seriously challenged for the remaining 23 laps.  Chad Mahder had an impressive run forward from his 11th starting spot.  Mahder moved to third on lap 26 and grabbed second on lap 29.  Marshall Fegers, making a rare CLS appearance, slipped past Massingill on the final lap for third.  Massingill finished fourth with AJ Diemel fifth.  Rick Hanestad, Pat Doar, Adam Hensel, Jake Redetzke and Steve Laursen completed the top ten.  Doar's seventh place finish earned him the NASCAR Dash Series point title in the late models.

After taking the Labor Day weekend off, racing returns to the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday September 12 for the 15th Annual Jerry Richert Sr Memorial race featuring the IRA/NSL 410 Outlaw sprint cars, the UMSS 360 winged sprints, and the UMSS Traditional non-winged sprints.  Then it's time for the annual Legendary 100 on Thursday September 17 through Saturday September 19.  The Thursday night Legendary 100 features a full program of racing in the hornets, pure stocks, street stocks and Traditional sprints.  Friday night at the Legendary 100 is a complete qualifying show for Midwest Mods, Pro Stocks, Modifieds and Late Models.  The final night of the Legendary 100 has B Mains, Last Chance Races and the Championship Features for the Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Stocks and Midwest Mods.  The outdoor season concludes with the 10th Annual $10,000-to-win Enduro on September 26.

Eric Herbison Memorial & NASCAR Dash Series Feature Race Results on Elmer & Lorraine Cook Memorial Night:

Eric Herbison Memorial NASCAR Pro Stock Feature (30 laps): Shane Sabraski, Dave Mass, Ryan Wiome, Jesse Redetzke, Eric Martini, Mike Loomis, Rich Bishop, Tim Borgeson, Mike Weber, Marcus Simonson, Dale Gangl, Dexton Koch, Denny Schouveller, Cody Campeau, Patrick Heikkinen, Dustin Sanders, Jason Oftedahl, Tom Gebauer, Adam Ayotte, Ryan Bebeau, Mike Raboin, Kody Koski, Chris Gorka.

Eric Herbison Memorial NASCAR Midwest Modified Feature (30 laps):  Michael Truscott, Cory Bruggeman, Jason Miller, Grant Southworth, Kyle Matuska, Jason Vandekamp, Mitch Weiss, Dan Wheeler, Tony Schill, AJ Roschen, Jared Boumeester, Jake Smith, Ryan Olson, Karl Kolek, Robbie Johnson, Ryan Putnam, Al Stettner, Mitch Anderson, Douglas Toepper, Josh Bazey, Jeremy Misgen, Shane Sabraski, Jason Schill, Jacob Gondik, Jeremy Kerzman.

NASCAR Modified Feature (20 laps):  Darrell Nelson, Joey Jensen, Jason Vandekamp, Shane Sabraski, Mark Hanson, Jesse Glenz, Eric Martini, Jason Gross, Eric Pember, Scott Duvall, Kelly Anderson, Brandon Jensen, Adam Ayotte, Dave Mass, Owen Grube, Scott Splittstoesser, Kyle Steffen, Jake Hiaat, Ted Marrs, Scott Heikken, Cory Williams, Jake Miller, Jason Miller.

NASCAR Late Model Feature (30 laps):  Darrell Nelson, Chad Mahder, Marshall Fegers, Jeff Massingill, AJ Diemel, Rick Hanestad, Pat Doar, Adam Hensel, Jake Redetzke, Steve Laursen, Greg Nippoldt, Mike Nutzmann, Jim Carlson, Buddy Hanestad, TJ Adams, Chuck Metzger, Lyle Archambeau, Jim Raboin, John Kaanta, Paul Parker.

Hornet Feature (12 laps):  Jess Seim, William Voeltz, Don Martens, Sean Svee, Adam Peterson, Andrew Thoennes, Dean Butler, Darrell Johnson, Matt Busson, Brad Tomes, Al Usher, Darren Gamache, Jake LaVenture, Leslie Jackson.