Tourville Picks Up First Career Win at Eagle Valley

By Gene Harmeink

                Once again, Eagle Valley escaped the storms in the area on Sunday night and racers and fans alike enjoyed an excellent night of racing.  The night’s race program, presented by Quality Propane, began with make-up features from the rained out show of July 20.

                The WISSOTA/Amsoil  Modifieds were first up with their make-up feature, with Mike Anderson and David Baxter on the front row.  Mike Anderson was off like a shot out of a cannon once the green flag dropped, with Kent Baxter, who had started third, right on his bumper.  Anderson and Baxter ran nose-to-tail for the first four laps, with Robby Bunkelman and Craig Thatcher vying for third.  It was during lap five that Thatcher moved into second, with Kevin Adams moving into third, after starting sixth.  Anderson put on a dominating show for the remainder of the laps, coming home the victor, with Thatcher settling for second, Adams for third, Kent Baxter for fourth, and Bunkelman for fifth.

                The WISSOTA/Amsoil Street Stocks were up next, with Clark Swartz and Mark Schunenemann on the front row.  Swartz was off to a quick lead, with Schunenemann in second.  During lap two, Jay Kesan moved up quickly through the field from his eighth-place starting spot to take second, with Schuenemann dropping to third.  Kesan threatened to take the lead several times during lap five, and by lap six, successfully passed Swartz, moving Swartz to second, while Tommy Richards ran in third from his fifth-place starting spot.  Kesan continued to lead, but Swartz hung in there, trying to regain the lead on several occasions.  Kesan proved to be too strong for the competition, taking the win, with Swartz in second, Richards in third, Schuenemann in fourth, and Butch Kummer, who had started fourth, in fifth.

                In the Eagle Valley Hornet make-up feature, Travis Anderson and Bob Anderson led the field to the green flag.  Bob Anderson took an early lead, leading the race for the first three laps, with Bob Anderson in second, and Brittany Olson, who had started fourth in third.  During lap four, the Andersons and Olson ran three wide with Travis Anderson coming out in front, Olson in second, and Bob Anderson in third.  The cars remained in that order for the remaining laps of the races except the last lap, when Olson made a great pass in turn two to take the lead and go on for the win.  Travis Anderson, Bob Anderson, Rocky Kempe,  and Mackenzie Olson rounded out the top five.

                In the regular night racing action, Jason Swan and Brad Hudson were on the front row for the WISSOTA/Amsoil Midwest Modified feature.  Brad Hudson catapulted to an early lead, quickly putting distance between his car and the second-place car of Ryan Olson, who had started fourth.  Hudson led the first five laps of the race and then a caution came out for a spinning Dennis Haines.  On the restart, Hudson again took the lead, but Matt Leer challenged Hudson, and then passed Hudson to take the lead by the end of lap seven.  Once Leer had cleared Hudson, he appeared to be off to a win, but Mark Gerth had other ideas, passing Hudson with three laps to go.  Gerth continued to lead, winning his fifth feature of the year, his second for the year at Eagle Valley Speedway, and his second for the weekend, having won at Rice Lake the night before.  Rounding out the top five were:  Leer, Michael Truscot, who had started eleventh, Hudson, and Mark Thomas who had started seventh.

                The WISSOTA/Amsoil Super Stocks were up next with Rick Hallquist and Shane Kisling on the front row.  Hallquist was off to an early lead, with Mark Stender, who had started third, glued to his bumper.  Hallquist led the first eight laps of the feature, with Stender nipping at his heels and with Eric Olson, who had started sixth, and Mike Keller, who had started eighth, fighting for third and a chance at second.  By lap nine, Keller proved to be the stronger of the contenders, as Keller made the move to take the lead.  Keller then put on a clinic, out distancing the competition by quite a margin by race end.  Hallquist hung on for second, Olson came home third, Paul Erikson, who had started fourth, finished fourth, and Stender finished fifth.  The win by Keller completed a sweep for the night and gave him his second win at Eagle Valley for the season and his third win in a Super for the year.

                In WISSOTA/Amsoil Modified action, Keith Tourville and Jake Hartung led the field to the green flag to begin the race.  Tourville made a statement early, taking the lead by the end of lap one, with Hartung following in second.  By lap two, Tourville was still in the lead, with Kent Baxter taking over the second spot, and Hartung dropping to third.  Lap four saw Tourville still in the lead, with Baxter still in second, but Rich Loftus, who had started fourth, replaced Hartung in third, Robby Bunkelman ran in fourth, after starting fifth, and Craig Thatcher moved up to fifth.  Midway through the feature, Tourville was still in the lead, with Baxter in second, Bunkelman in third, Thatcher in fourth, and Kevin Adams in fifth.

                After a caution, prior to the completion of lap eleven, for a spinning Hartung, the field realigned and Tourville again was off to a dominate lead, with Bunkelman moving to second, Thatcher moving to third, Baxter falling to fourth, and Adams continuing in fifth.  From that point on, it was the Keith Tourville show, with Tourville taking the win, his first ever in a Modified.  Rounding out the top five were:  Bunkelman, Thatcher, Baxter, and Adams.

                In the WISSOTA/Amsoil Street Stock feature, Cory Hanson and Quinn Arnoldy were on the front row to start the feature.  Hanson took an early lead with another Hanson, Danny, who had started third, moving in to take second.  The two Hansons remained in that order for the first four laps and then during lap five the Hanson duo was split with Tommy Richards moving in to take the second spot from his seventh-place starting position.  Richards quickly made a move to take the lead and by lap six, Richards had completed the pass for the lead, with Danny Hanson moving up to second, and Cory Hanson dropping to third. 

Meanwhile, back in the pack, Mark Schuenemann and Gary Kasperek, travelers from the east, were doing their best to get in on the top five action.  By lap ten, Richards was still in the lead, Danny Hanson was still in second, Kasperek had moved up from fourth to take third, and Schuenemann had moved up from fifth, to take fourth.  With two laps to go, Richards was still in the lead and there had been little movement in the remaining positions.  On the final lap, Richards had taken the win, Danny Hanson had finished second, Schuenemann had passed Kasperek, Kasperek finished fourth, and Cory Hanson finished fifth.  The win for Richards was his third of the year.

The Eagle Valley Pure Stocks rumbled onto the track next with Jeremy Robinson and Mitchell Johnson on the front row.  Young Mitchell Johnson showed driving skills beyond his years taking his car to the lead at the drop of the green flag.  With Johnson in the lead, Cody Kummer moved up from fourth to take second, while Doug Wojcik settled into third from his sixth-place starting spot.  By lap five Johnson was still in the lead with Kummer still in second and George Richards moving up to third from seventh.  Lap six saw George Richards moving up to second while Johnson hung onto the lead.  By lap ten, Johnson was still in the lead, George Richards was still in second, Danny Richards had moved up to third from eighth, Kummer was in fourth, and Jason Lang was running fifth. 

With two laps to go, Kummer and Lang tangled between turns three and four, bringing out a caution.  On the restart, Johnson again took the lead with the Richards duo moving high and low making Johnson a Richard’s sandwich.  By the end of lap eleven, George Richards had stolen the lead, as Johnson tried in vain to fight back but was stuck in second, and Danny Richards was in third.  That is the way the top three finished.  Rounding out the top five were:  Doug Wojcik and Pat Smith, who had started ninth.

The regular night program ended with the Eagle Valley Hornet feature with Travis Lau and Matt Marvin on the front row.  Marvin was the early leader with Jerry Zebro in second.  Lap two saw Rocky Kempe moving into the lead from sixth, Marvin dropped to second, Zebro dropped to third, Bob Anderson moved to fourth from seventh, and Travis Anderson settled in for fifth, coming from eighth.  Lap five saw Kempe still in the lead, with Bob Anderson in second.  By race end, Anderson had widened his lead, taking the win, with Bob Anderson, Jerry Zebro, Brittany Olson, who had started fifth, and Travis Anderson rounding out the top five.

The night officially ended with a Hornet powder puff race of ten laps.  After a ragged start, Julie Anderson took the lead and held onto that lead until the end of lap four.  By lap five, Missy Hallquist had had enough and put the pedal to the metal, “rocketing” past Anderson, to take the lead and the eventual win.

Fans are in for a special treat next weekend, August 8 and August 9—that’s Saturday and Sunday—when Eagle Valley will have a two-day special consisting of two complete shows.  Be there when the Valley gets hotter than blazes!

Hot laps are at 5:30 with racing starting at 6:00 and as always there’s a two bike giveaways 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.  Full results, including point standings, etc. may be found at:  http://www.speednetdirect.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY

Eagle Valley Speedway

Jim Falls, WI

August 3, 2008

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15-Lap Feature:  Mark Gerth, Matt Leer, Michael Truscott, Brad Hudson, Mark Thomas, Ryan Olson, Jesse Glenz, Scott Erickson, Grant Southworth, Nathan Thums, Jake Smith, Ryan Nieters, Dalton Yohnk, Ronnie Rihn, Dan Svee, Shane Halopka, Dennis Haines, Jason Swan, Bob Wood, Chad Kallenbach

Heat 1:  Rihn, Hudson, Gerth, Thums, Haines, Southworth, Kallenbach

Heat 2:  Svee, Olson, Leer, Truscott, Nieters, Smith, Wood

Heat 3:  Thomas, Halopka, Swan, Glenz, Erickson, Yohnk

WISSOTA Super Stocks

15-Lap Feature:  Mike Keller, Rich Hallquist, Eric Olson, Paul Erikson, Mark Stender, Curt Myers, Steve Hallquist, Wyatt Wolfe, Jr., Rich Bishop, Shane Kisling, Chad Zastrow

Heat 1:  Keller, Myers, Erikson, Kisling, S. Hallquist, Zastrow

Heat 2:  Stender, R. Hallquist, Bishop, Olson, Wolfe, Jr.

WISSOTA Modifieds

20-Lap Feature:  Keith Tourville, Robby Bunkelman, Craig Thatcher, Kent Baxter, Kevin Adams, Rich Loftus, Paul Niznik, Mark Hanson, Aric Lindberg, Darrel Hazelton, Jake Hartung, Brandon Kallenbach, Steve Bangart, Bill Stettner, Mike Anderson, Cory Crapser, Paul Knauf, Bryan Nayes, David Baxter

Heat 1:  Thatcher, Hartung, Anderson, Tourville, Niznik, D. Baxter, Nayes, Hazelton, Bangart, Kallenbach

Heat 2:  K. Baxter, Adams, Bunkelman, Loftus, Hanson, Crapser, Knauf, Stettner, Lindberg

Make-up Feature of 7/20:  Mike Anderson, Craig Thatcher, Kevin Adams, Kent Baxter, Robby Bunkelman, Mark Hanson, David Baxter, Rich Loftus, Keith Tourville, Aric Lindberg, Paul Niznik, Bryan Nayes, Bill Stettner, Steve Bangart, Brandon Kallenbach, Darrel Hazelton, Joey Jensen (DNS), Andy Miskowic (DNS)

 

 

 

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15-Lap Feature:  Tommy Richards, Danny Hanson, Mark Schunenemann, Gary Kasperek, Cory Hanson, Clark Swartz, Quinn Arnoldy, Butch Kummer, Crystal Hanson, Jay Kesan, Chris Poff, Adam Soltis (DNS)

Heat 1:  Richards, Kesan, Cory Hanson, Arnoldy, Crystal Hanson, Kummer

Heat 2:  Schunenemann, Swartz, D. Hanson, Kasperek, Poff, Soltis (DNS)

Make-up Feature of 7/20:  Kesan, Swartz, Richards, Schuenemann, Kummer, Cory Hanson, Crystal Hanson, Soltis (DNS), Keyeski (DNS)

Eagle Valley Pure Stocks

12-Lap Feature:  George Richards, Mitchell Johnson, Danny Richards, Doug Wojcik, Pat Smith, Kyle Bitney, Jeremy Robinson, Jason Lang, Nick Wojcik, Cody Kummer, Kent Schemenauer, Chad Tarvis

Heat 1:  Johnson, D. Wojcik, Kummer, Robinson, Smith, Bitney

Heat 2:  D. Richards, Lang, G. Richards, N. Wojcik, Schemenauer, Tarvis

Eagle Valley Hornets

12-Lap Feature:   Rocky Kempe, Bob Anderson, Jerry Zebro, Brittany Olson, Travis Anderson, Matt Marvin, Chad Schwartz, Mackenzie Olson, Rachel Sprague, Travis Lau

Heat 1:  Kempe, B. Anderson, Marvin, M. Olson, Chad Schwartz

Heat 2:  T. Anderson, B. Olson, Zebro, Lau, Sprague

Make-up Feature of 7/20:  Brittany Olson, Travis Anderson, Bob Anderson, Rocky Kempe, Mackenzie Olson, Travis Lau, Dustin La Blonde (DNS), Duke Leu (DNS), Joey Henneman (DNS)