By Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, September 4 – Opening night of the wrap up, two day year end special event at the Rice Lake Speedway saw one hundred and sixteen cars sign in to race and two of the feature events go right down to the wire before Scott Duval and Jason Forehand both scored come from behind victories. Other winners on night one included Shane Halopka, Cory Karshbaum and Joel Hinrichs.

Forehand and Aaron Wilson dueled it out for the win in the Super Stock feature race, with the issue decided at the finish line by about three feet. Wilson and Paul Erikson had battled in the early going before Wilson took over the lead. Scott Zitelman, Forehand and Steve Thomas all were in the lead pack and they fought for position during the opening half of the race.

The lone yellow on the event was when Shane Kisling slowed with seven laps completed. Forehand flexed his muscle on the restart and moved into second position and closed in on Wilson. With about five laps to go, Forehand was able to get under Wilson and they battled side by side. Neither gave an inch but neither laid on each other also as they circled the oval side by side. First Wilson would edge in front , but then Forehand would come right back and take a slight lead. On the final lap, Forehand got a great run off corner four, and his last burst to the line would see him edge out Wilson by the barest of margins. The drivers would celebrate the great finish with a high five for each other in victory lane. Zitelman completed a great run by edging out Erikson for third with Thomas completing the top five.

The Modified finish was shocking, as after dominating the majority of the feature race, a late restart allowed Duval to come from behind and pass Kevin Adams, who has been dominating at this track all season. Dave Baxter was the early leader but Adams was on a mission as he came charging up from the fourth row to quickly challenge for the lead. He blew by Keith Tourville on the high side and then repeated that move to take over the lead. Once in front, he quickly opened up some distance on the field and the battle turned to the second place fight where Baxter was overtaken by first Tourville and then Duval.
The yellow waved with eleven laps complete when Steve Levasseur rolled to a halt, ending a good run near the front.

Adams again pulled away from the field and stretched his lead to nearly a straightaway as Tourville and Duval battled for second with Scott finally taking the position. He was way behind though, until Tourville rolled to a halt with only four laps remaining.

The restart saw things change suddenly though, as Duval was able to stay right with Adams. Scott looked on the inside for two laps when he decided to move up the track. Adams was holding tightly to the low side and he may have scrubbed off some momentum as Duval was able to get up beside him off turn three, and with a thrust down the front chute , he drove by Adams and took over the lead. Kevin tried to fight back on the final circuit, but Duval was actually able to stretch his margin by another car length as he passed in front of the stunned crowd to take the win. Luke Schilling had a strong run also as he took third ahead of Baxter and rookie Scott Miller.

Halopka has been on a tear lately and his patience during the race was a primary factor in taking yet another win as he waited out the yellow flags and made his move when the time was right. Jared Loos and Curt Myers battled in the early going of the Midwest Modified feature with first Curt and then Jared showing the way while Halopka, Steve Stuart and Jesse Glenz fought for position behind them. A three car banger on lap seven triggered a yellow flag, and then the field got stuck as on three consecutive attempts to restart the race, the yellow flew again for a variety of spins and minor collisions.

When the racing was finally able to stay green, Halopka made his move as he stepped up the track and drove around the outside of Loos with a strong run to take over the lead.

Once in front, he was able to stretch his margin to a few car lengths as a tough battle for second saw Loos and Matt Leer, who had moved up from the sixth row, battle back and forth for the spot. Leer actually took over the position at one point, but then Loos kicked it into another gear and retook the spot.
The last fourteen laps ran off nonstop and Halopka continued to extend his lead to the finish while Loos held off Leer for second. Stuart and Glenz maintained their positions despite plenty of pressure to the finish.

Jay Kesan and Sam Fankhauser battled hard right from the green flag in the Street Stock feature and when their duel opened the door, Karshbaum was right there to take over the lead. As those two were joined by Doug Wojcik in a battle for position, Karshbaum quietly moved away from the three car battle and opened up some distance as the leader. By the time the fight for second was sorted out, Karshbaum had built up a nice sized lead and Wojcik wasn’t able to catch him in the waning laps.

For Cory, it was his first win ever at Rice Lake in a long racing career that has seen him drive in a variety of racing divisions here, and the first time he had been behind the wheel of the #22 car normally driven by Gary Jones. Fankhauser took the third position ahead of Kesan and Travis Hazelton.

Hinrichs has been the model of consistency this year but has not been able to visit victory lane during 2009. Tonight, in one of his last chances of the year, he took care of that item as he took his first feature win in two years at Rice Lake. C.J. Wagner and Nick Wojcik battled for the lead in the early going but Hinrichs came roaring up from the second row and was able to pass both the leaders and take over the top spot. As he opened up a few car lengths on the field, the battle for position behind him was intense Darwin Brown and George Richards becoming part of a four car battle for the runner up slot.

Richards moved to the high side and he was able to get past Brown and Wojcik as the laps ran down. Hinrichs still had a few car lengths on the field but they were gradually closing in on him near the end. Richards continued his charge on the final circuit as he passed Wagner for second and raced hard into the final corner in an effort to catch Hinrichs. But Joel had enough cushion that he was able to drive home for the win by a couple of car lengths at the line. Brown settled for fourth with Wojcik completing the top five.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
September 4, 2009

WISSOTA Modifieds

25 lap Feature – Scott Duval, Bloomer; Kevin Adams, Cameron; Luke Schilling, Granton; Dave Baxter, Eau Claire; Scott Miller, Rice Lake; Jerry Weigel, Jim Falls; Ross Lightner, Washburn; Mark Hanson, Chippewa Falls; Mike Kelley Jr, St. Paul MN; Buddy Mayala, Barron; Brandon Kallenbach, Prairie Farm; Cory Williams, Spring Valley; Dave Mayala, Barron; Destin Lorimor, Superior; John Hazelton, New Auburn; Ryan Olson, Strum; Kevin Rogers, Unity; Keith Tourville, Star Prairie; Pat Hoffman, Rice Lake; Joey Ogston, Duluth MN; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire; Jeremy Gross, Cushing; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco MI.
12 lap B Feature – Gross; Hoffman; Lorimor; Rogers; Tim Shackleton; Denny Trimble; Aric Lindberg; Clint Wittlief.
10 lap Heat 1 – Adams; Schilling; Lavasseur; D. Mayala; Hazelton; Lindberg; Lorimor; Shackleton
Heat 2 – Duval; Lightner; Hanson; Kelley Jr; Hartman; Gross; Rogers; Wittlief.
Heat 3 – Weigel; Baxter; Ogston; Williams; Olson; Hoffman.
Heat 4 – Tourville; Miller; Kallenbach; B. Mayala; Hallquist; Trimble.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

25 lap Feature – Jason Forehand, Eau Claire; Aaron Wilson, Menomonie; Scott Zitelman, Taylors Falls MN; Paul Erikson, Abbotsford; Steve Thomas, Menomonie; Mike Anderson, Dallas; Dave Shackleton, Menomonie; Eric Olson, Ladysmith; Nick Oreskovich, Mason; Wayne Harris Jr, Bloomer; Jim Harris, Menomonie; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Cory Davis, Turtle Lake; Butch Madsen, Rice Lake; Tim Borgeson, New Richmond; Brian Mikkonen, Iron River; Ben Hillman, Menomonie; Lance Schilling, Chili; Tommy Richards, Mondovi; Greg Nippoldt, Roberts; Terry Kroening, Colby; Dave Flynn, Superior; Rick Hallquist, Eau Claire; Shane Kisling, Sarona.
12 lap B Feature – Hallquist; Hillman; Kroening; Flynn; Willy Johnson Jr; Ronnie Malecki; Jim Harstad; John Feirn; Cy Hoaglan; Pat Jungerberg; Curt Myers.
10 lap Heat 1 – Richards; Zitelman; Harris; Harris Jr; Nippoldt; Myers; Hallquist; Flynn.
Heat 2 – Wilson; Thomas; Shackleton; Mikkonen; Borgeson; Kroening; Malecki; Jungerberg.
Heat 3 – Erikson; Forehand; Davis; Kisling; Olson; Johnson Jr; Harstad; Feirn.
Heat 4 – Eder; Oreskovich; Madsen; Anderson; Schilling; Hoaglan; Hillman.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Shane Halopka, Eau Claire; Jared Loos, Loyal; Matt Leer, Bruce; Steve Stuart, Ashland; Jesse Glenz, Cadott; Tito Viltz, Cameron; Grant Southworth, Bloomer; Mark Gerth, Menomonie; Ronnie Rihn, Bloomer; Ryan Viltz, Cameron; Travis Anderson, Colfax; Bryan Bisonette, Rice Lake; Randy Smeltzer, Colfax; Clark Swartz, Bloomer; Jesse Ogston, Duluth MN; Pat Cook, Washburn; Tommy Turcotte, Duluth MN; Curt Myers, Cameron; Scot Erickson, Barron; Rick Przybylski, Ashland; Bob Wood, Cadott; Roland Gordon, Bayfield; Taylor Leuthner, Foxboro; Justin Supri, Eau Claire.
12 B Feature 1 – Swartz; Cook; Caley Emerson; Terry Sirek; Jason Swan; Don Craig; George Dalbeck; Cody Carlson; Matt Steffen.
B Feature 2 – Turcotte; Przybylski; Jimmy Latvala; Joe Eckland; Robbie Johnson; Fron Hanson; A.J. Roschen; John Hettinga.
10 lap Heat 1 – Myers; Glenz; Leer; Rihn; Cook; Latvala; Swan; Sirek.
Heat 2 – Loos; Gordon; Wood; R. Viltz; Przybylski; Carlson; Hanson; Johnson.
Heat 3 – Halopka; T. Viltz; Erickson; Gerth; Swartz; Roschen; Dalbeck.
Heat 4 – Stuart; Smeltzer; Supri; Bisonette; Turcotte; Emerson; Hettinga.
Heat 5 – Southworth; Anderson; Ogston; Leuthner; Craig; Eckland; Steffen.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Cory Karshbaum, Chetek; Doug Wojcik, Ladysmith; Sam Fankhauser, Rice Lake; Kay Kesan, Weyerhaeuser; Travis Hazelton, New Auburn; Steve Golat, Ladysmith.
10 lap Heat – Wojcik; Fankhauser; Karshbaum; Hazelton; Kesan; Golat.

Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Joel Hinrichs, Cameron; George Richards, Mondovi; C.J. Wagner, Hayward; Darwin Brown, Cumberland; Nick Wojcik, Ladysmith; Jamey Fisher, Rice Lake; Tyler Wahlstrom, Eau Claire; Ashley Smith, Solon Springs; Bob Thompson, Cameron; Dusty Brown, Rice Lake; Al Butterbaugh, Hayward; Nate Spence, Spring Valley.
8 lap Heat 1 – Wagner; Fisher; Richards; Spence; Smith; Thompson.
Heat 2 – Da. Brown; Du. Brown; Wojcik; Hinrichs; Wahlstrom; Butterbaugh.