Myers Picks Up Thirteenth Feature Win at Eagle Valley Speedway

By Gene Harmelink

 

                Curt Myers picked up his thirteenth win of the 2008 racing season on Sunday night after starting fifth in the WISSOTA/Amsoil Super Stock feature.  Jake Hartung ran a very strong race to win in the Modified division while Jay Kesan led all but one lap to take the win in the Street Stock division.  Ronnie Rihn ran what was probably the best race of his young racing life, taking the win in the Midwest Modified division.  Danny Richards won both a make-up feature and the regular night feature in the Pure Stock division and Travis Anderson did the same in the Hornet division.

                Eagle Valley fans were treated to two extra features on Sunday as the previous week’s Pure Stock and Hornet features were rained out and were made up on Sunday night.  Danny Richards came from seventh to take the win in the Pure Stocks and Travis Anderson came from third to take the win in the Hornets after starting third.

                It was also breast cancer awareness night and $1,735.00 was raised by raffle, drivers passing the helmet and outright contributions.  Thanks to all who contributed to such a great cause!

                In regular Sunday night action, Ronnie Rihn dominated the WISSOTA/Amsoil Midwest Modified division by picking up the win after starting third.  Heat winner, Randy Smeltzer, and Dalton Yohnk led the field at the start of the race.  Smeltzer looked very strong taking the lead after the first lap, but Rihn, who had earlier won his heat race, looked even stronger and took the lead by the end of lap two.  From that point on Rihn never looked back, however, Michael Truscott, who had started ninth, and Matt Leer, who had started tenth, both gave Rihn some serious contention for the lead at various times throughout the race.  Truscott ran second for laps four through seven, challenged for the lead and then unfortunately spun causing a caution.  Truscott was then sent to the back.  Leer, then took over second and ran second for the remainder of the race.  Shane Halopka started sixth, but was slow to move forward and ran fourth for a good deal of the race, eventually finishing third.  Bryan Bisonette started fourth and ran fourth for much of the race.  Mark Gerth, who had started thirteenth, and had worked his way up to fifth by lap ten, rounded out the top five.

                Ryan Olson and Jeff Dregney led the WISSOTA/Amsoil Super Stocks to the flag stand to start their feature race.  Olson was off to an early lead, leading the first lap, but Dregney was able to pass Olson and led the next two laps.  Heat winner, Curt Myers, had started fifth, but had worked his way up to second by the end of lap three.  By the end of lap four, Myers had made the pass for the lead and had set his car on cruise control.  Dregney and Olson hadn’t given up hope, though, and ran second and third until lap eleven when Olson’s pace began to fade.  By lap fifteen, Myers had extended his lead to more than a full turn, but Dregney persisted with Mark Stender moving into third from sixth and Eric Olson maintaining his fourth spot.  Lap seventeen saw Myers extend his lead to a full straight and the rest is history.  Rounding out the top five were:  Dregney, Stender, Eric Olson and heat winner, Mike Keller, who had come from seventh.

                Kent Baxter and Jake Hartung were on the front row for the start of the WISSOTA/Amsoil Modifeid feature.  Hartung showed early strength by taking the lead immediately.  Baxter did his best to hang in there, but had to settle for second.  Just prior to the completion of lap two, heat winner, Craig Thatcher, who was running third after starting fifth, had an uncharacteristic miscue when he spun coming out of turn three collecting Mike Anderson who had started eighth and was running seventh at the time.  Thatcher drove his car off and into the pits while Anderson’s car was removed by wrecker.  With two strong contenders gone, the race continued with Hartung once again assuming the lead.  Heat winner, Kevin Adams, started eighth and had worked his way up to second by the end of lap three.  Adams led lap five, but Hartung was just too strong on this race night and resumed the lead by lap six.  In the meantime, Baxter had dropped to third and Mark Hanson had worked his way up from sixth to fourth. 

By lap nine, Hartung was still in the lead with Adams still giving chase.  Rich Loftus had put on a burst of speed from his tenth-place starting spot and was running third, while Hanson was settling in for fourth and Baxter had dropped to fifth.  Lap fifteen saw Hartung still in the lead, Adams was still giving him fits, Loftus was hanging on to third, Hanson was still in fourth, and Cory Crapser was running fifth, after starting third.  By race end, Hartung had won by four or five car lengths over Adams, Loftus was challenging Adams for second, Hanson was a strong fourth and Robby Bunkelmann was in fifth after starting ninth.  Bunkelmann had unfortunately lost his muffler during lap fifteen and was disqualified moving Crapser into the fifth spot.  So, the official top five was Hartung with the win, Adams in second, Loftus in third, Hanson in fourth and Crapser in fifth.

Only five cars answered the call for the WISSOTA/Amsoil Street Stock feature.  Lack of cars doesn’t mean lack of quality racing.  This proved to be a very competitive and exciting race with all the cars being fairly evenly matched.  Cory Hanson and Jay Kesan were on the front row for the start of the feature.  Hanson was off to an early lead with heat winner, Clark Swartz, moving up from third to take second.  Jay Kesan had dropped to third, but by lap three had worked his way back up to take the lead with Swartz hanging on to second and Hanson dropping to third.  By lap five, Kesan had first under control, Swartz was running a close second and Tommy Richards had moved up to third from fifth.  By lap ten, Swartz was tight on Kesan’s bumper while Richards, Ron Hanestad, who had started fourth, and Hanson trailed by four or five car lengths.  From laps eleven through fifteen there was plenty of side-by-side racing for first and the other three cars had closed the gap with Richards joining in the run for first.  Lap fifteen, the last lap, saw Kesan holding on to the lead, Richards was making a surge to take second, Swartz was being edged out for third and Hanestand and Hanson were close behind for fourth and fifth.

The words domination and Richards meant the same thing in Pure Stock racing at Eagle Valley Speedway on Sunday night.  After winning the make-up feature, could Danny Richards repeat in the regular feature on Sunday night?  Of course!  With Chad Tarvis and Nick Wojcik on the front row for the feature, the race was set to begin.  There were two early cautions prior to the completion of lap one.  The first caution occurred when the leaders tangled and spun in turn two collecting Zach Manley.  All the cars were able to continue with Tarvis being sent to the back.  The second caution was a more serious one which resulted in Austin Galloway taking a nasty ride on two wheels on the wall under the flagstand resulting in Galloway’s car going off on the hook. 

Once racing continued, it was pretty much the Danny Richards show as Richards took command at the end of lap one after moving quickly from his eighth-place starting spot.  With Danny Richards in command, Doug Wojcik did all that he could in second after starting sixth.  Wojcik ran second until lap eight when Zach Manley took over that spot and Wojcik dropped to third.  Meanwhile, George Richards had worked his way up to fourth from ninth and Cody Kummer had worked his way to fifth after starting seventh.  After a caution with three laps to go, Danny Richards resumed the lead, with the remainder of the field falling line.  By race end, George Richards had joined Danny Richards for the lead, but Danny Richards proved to be the stronger of the two taking the win.  Rounding out the top five were:  George Richards, Zach Manley, Doug Wojcik and Cody Kummer.

The Eagle Valley Hornets were last up for their feature with Rocky Kempe and Mike Peters on the front row.  Kempe was the stronger of the front row contenders taking the lead and leading the first two laps.  Travis Anderson who had won the rain-out heat, the rain-out feature and the regular night heat had other ideas about who should be in the lead and took the lead by the end of lap three.  Just as lap four started, Bob Anderson car got into the back end of Brittany Olson’s car with both cars spinning.  A caution resulted with Olson complaining to the ambulance crew of wrist pain and her night was done while Anderson continued at the back.  From that point on, it was Travis Anderson’s night and to add to his previous wins, he took the regular night feature win as well.  Rounding out the top five were:  Rocky Kempe, Mike Peters, Bob Anderson and Mackenzie Olson who had started sixth.

Racing resumes on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20 Eagle Valley will host a two-day special sponsored by Baxter Engines and Baxter Speedshops.  Also, keep Sunday, July 27 open on your calendars because on that night the IRA Sprints invade Eagle Valley Speedway.

Hot laps are at 5:30 with racing starting at 6:00 and as always there’s a two bike giveaway every Sunday night, sponsored by Kelly Oium Well Drilling & Pump Service and Chris Oium Blacktopping.

Further information can be found at:  http://www.eaglevalleyspeedway.net with full results, including point standings, etc. at:  http://www.speednetdirect.com

 

SUMMARY

Eagle Valley Speedway

Jim Falls, WI

July 13, 2008

WISSOTA Modifieds

20-Lap Feature:  Jake Hartung, Kevin Adams, Rich Loftus, Mark Hanson, Cory Crapser, Kent Baxter, Keith Tourville, Aric Lindberg, Bryan Nayes, Tim Shackleton, Mike Anderson, Craig Thatcher, Robby Bunkelmann

Heat 1:  Thatcher, Tourville, Baxter, Crapser, Bunkelmann, Lindberg, Shackleton

Heat 2:  Adams, Anderson, Hartung, Hanson, Loftus, Nayes

WISSOTA Super Stocks

15-Lap Feature:  Curt Myers, Jeff Dregney, Mark Stender, Eric Olson, Mike Keller, Jason Forehand, Ryan Olson, Rod Dregney, Paul Erikson, Dan Nissalke, Rich Bishop, Chad Zastrow, David Nastvold, Chad Johnson, Rich Hallquist

Heat 1:  Keller, E. Olson, Stender, Nissalke, Forehand, Nastvold, Hallquist, Erikson

Heat 2:  Myers, Bishop, R. Olson, J. Dregney, Zastrow, R. Dregney, Johnson

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15-Lap Feature:  Ronnie Rihn, Matt Leer, Shane Halopka, Bryan Bisonette, Mark Gerth, Josh Smith, Scott Erickson, Dennis Haines, Michael Truscott, Grant Southworth, Nick Koehler, Scott Naset, Jason Swan, McAdam Kensmoe, Dalton Yohnk, Nate Szymoniak, Randy Smeltzer, Jesse Glenz, Brad Hudson

Heat 1:  Hudson, Halopka, Smith, Kensmoe, Koehler, Naset, Szymoniak

Heat 2:  Smeltzer, Leer, Yohnk, Gerth, Glenz, Haines

Heat 3:  Rihn, Truscott, Bisonette, Southworth, Erickson, Swan

 

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15-Lap Feature:   Jay Kesan, Tommy Richards, Clark Swartz, Ron Hanestad, Cory Hanson

Heat:  Swartz, Kesan, Richards, Hanestad, Hanson

Eagle Valley Pure Stocks

12-Lap Feature:  Danny Richards, George Richards, Zach Manley, Dough Wojcik, Cody Kummer, Brent Szymoniak, Mike Harshman, Nick Wojcik, Jeremy Staves, Pat Smith, Jeremy Robinson, Chad Tarvis, Jordon Johnson, Mitchell Johnson, Lucas Plank, Kyle Bitney, Austin Galloway, Tony Weigand, Will Hargreaves, Jason Lang

Heat 1:  N. Wojcik, M. Johnson, Tarvis, Weigand, Staves, Bitney, Hargreaves

Heat 2:  Plank, Kummer, Harshman, Manley, J. Johnson, Robinson, Lang

Heat 3:  G. Richards, D. Richards, D. Wojcik, Galloway, Szymoniak, Smith

Rain-Out, Make-Up 12-Lap Feature:  Danny Richards, George Richards, Austin Galloway, Cody Kummer, Mike Harshman, Jeremy Robinson, Mitchell Johnson, Jordan Johnson, Nick Wojcik, Doug Wojcik, Zach Manley, Jason Lang, Will Hargreaves, Chad Tarvis

Heat 1:  D. Richards, Manley, J. Johnson, Harshman, Hargreaves, Robinson, Tarvis

Heat 2:  G. Richards, D. Wojcik, Kummer, Lang, Galloway, N. Wojcik, M. Johnson

Eagle Valley Hornets

12-Lap Feature:   Travis Anderson, Rocky Kempe, Mike Peters, Bob Anderson, Mackenzie Olson, Jerry Zebro, Brittany Olson, Mike Schreck, Dustin LaBlonde

Heat:  T. Anderson, B. Anderson, Peters, B. Olson, Kempe, M. Olson, Schreck, Zebro, LaBlonde

Rain-Out, Make-Up 12-Lap Feature:  Travis Anderson, Bob Anderson, Brittany Olson, Rocky Kempe, Mackenzie Olson, Dustin LaBlonde, Jerry Zebro

Heat:  T. Anderson, B. Olson, B. Anderson, Zebro, M. Olson, LaBlonde, Kempe