Knoblock Makes History in Trickle 99 During 2011 Oktoberfest Race Weekend

by Ashley Iwanski & Kevin Ramsell
Neil Knoblock put his name in the history books as the fifth different winner of the Dick Trickle 99 at the 42nd Annual Livewire Energy Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Knoblock joins Steve Holzhausen (2007), Nathan Haseleu (2008), Chris Weinkauf (2009) and Dan Fredrickson (2010) as winners of this popular event.

It was a wild start to the first segment, as it appeared that Fredrickson and fast qualifier Griffin McGrath got together at the green flag. McGrath went for a spin into the outside wall and collected Nathan Haseleu. The field doubled up for the restart with Fredrickson and Schendel on the front row. Fredrickson would take the lead. Four laps later Schendel moved to the inside of Fredrickson and took over the top spot. Schendel held on to the lead for six laps before Fredrickson went back to the top of the scoring pylon and would drive to the first segment win. Neil Knoblock and Erik Darnell would get by Schendel to finish second and third. Boris Jurkovich rounded out the top five.

Colin Reffner was on a Friday night cruise in the second segment. He took over the lead on lap four from Steve Carlson and didn’t look back. A multi-car wreck on lap ten when the field checked when Frank Kreyer and Dennis Prunty got together in turns one and two. Some involved were Fredrickson, Chris Eggleston, and Mark Kraus. On the restart, Reffner pulled away from Brandon Hill and went out to about a straightaway lead. Tim Schendel was able to move through the field and finish second with Hill in third. Erik Darnell was fourth with Andrew Morrissey rounding out the top-five.

After two segments, Schendel was in the lead with six points with Darnell in second with seven. Reffner pulled a three to create and 11-car invert for the final segment.

Fredrickson was on the pole for the final segment with Jurkovich on the outside. The winner of the first segment took off and drove away from the pack. A scary wreck occurred on lap ten when Colin Reffner went around in turn three and collected Eggleston. Fredrickson took off on the restart and pulled away from Jurkovich. Behind him, fans were watching the battle between Knoblock and Darnell after Schendel fell back to eighth, which basically took him out of the overall win. Fredrickson would easily win the final segment with Jurkovich in second. Knoblock’s third place finish gave him the overall win by one point over Fredrickson. Dennis Prunty was fourth and Darnell finished fifth to finish third overall.

Cardell Potter drove away to the win in the Stubby 30-lap event. This event was for the cars that didn’t qualify for the Dick Trickle 99. Potter started on the pole and led all 30 laps. Behind him, Mark Eswein worked his way around Joel Theisen with four laps to go and took over the second spot. Potter had a huge lead and wasn’t challenged for the win.

Corey Jankowski got by Nick Barstad with 13 laps to go and went on to win the Dick Trickle 99 C-Main. Barstad held on to second.

It was a case of déjà vu in the Area Sportsmen feature. Last year in this same race Rick Schermerhorn and Brent Kane battled for the race win that Schermerhorn took by half a car length. Schermerhorn held off Kane again this year to take the Area Sportsmen to finish first in this race for the second year in a row. But, Schermerhorn was dealt a tough blow when he was disqualified after post race inspection. Kane was then given the official race win.

Kane had to work to get to the front though. Kane charged forward from a back-of-the-pack starting position to take the fourth position at the half-way point. Four laps later he was in the second position after going to the outside of Jes Tenner. Kane then got a break.

A caution came out with eight laps to go putting Kane on the bumper of race leader Schermerhorn. Kane made a couple of moves to get to the inside of Schermerhorn, but was getting loose exiting the corners. Schermerhorn was able to run a clean line to finish one car length ahead of Kane, but wasn’t allowed to keep the win due to disqualification. Randy Humfeld finished second officially and Jes Tenner third.

Dan Gilster won the hard-fought Super Sportsmen feature after battling side by side with Rick Grunden. Gilster started toward the back of the pack and was able to make up a lot of ground in the first half of the race, sitting in fourth by lap 16. Gilster then flew past Scott Hamel for the third position.

A yellow flag came out with seven laps to go. It took two shots to restart the race and on the second restart Gilster jumped into the lead. Grunden didn’t let him get away though. The two were side by side with two laps to go until Gilster got a jump on Grunden and soared to a first place finish. Grunden fell back to third and Brian Back took second.

The Big-8 Late Models will race on Saturday, Oct. 7 with the Outlawz, Mid-American Stock Cars and ASA Midwest Tour preliminaries. The ASA Midwest Tour will run a 100-lap feature on Sunday, Oct. 9 following the Big-8 JMcK 63 Invitational, another 3-segment feature race. Also racing Sunday are the ASA Midwest Trucks, Vintage Cars, Hornets, Bandits and a 4-Cylinder Open. For more information please call the Speedway office at (608) 786-1525 or visit www.lacrossespeedway.com.

La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway is a proud NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series – www.hometracks.nascar.com.

LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY
Super Late Models “Dick Trickle 99”
Livewire Energy & Coca-Cola 33 Feature (24 Cars) — 1, Dan Fredrickson, Lutherville, Minn.; 2, Neil Knoblock, Wausau; 3, Erik Darnell, Beach Park, Ill.; 4, Tim Schendel, Sparta; 5, Boris Jurkovich, Manhattan, Ill.; 6, Kyle Calmes, Appleton; 7, Nick Murgic, Rosemount, Minn.; 8, Jeremy Lepak, Edgar; 9, Chris Eggleston, Erie, Col.; 10, Jason Weinkauf, Merrill; 11, Frank Kreyer, Wisconsin Dells; 12, Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor; 13, Dennis Prunty, Knowles; 14, Brandon Hill, Genoa City; 15, Colin Reffner, Wisconsin Rapids; 16, Andrew Morrissey, De Forest; 17, Steve Carlson, West Salem; 18, Mark Kraus, Stratford; 19, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor; 20, Matt Tifft, Hinckley, Ohio; 21, Chris Weinkauf, Merrill; 22, Rebecca Kasten, Germantown; 23, Griffin McGrath, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 24, Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville.
Livewire Energy & Coca-Cola 33 Feature (19 Cars) — 1, Colin Reffner; 2, Tim Schendel; 3, Brandon Hill; 4, Erik Darnell; 5, Andrew Morrissey; 6, Neil Knoblock; 7, Kyle Calmes; 8, Jeremy Lepak; 9, Boris Jurkovich; 10, Dan Fredrickson; 11, Matt Tifft; 12, Chris Eggleston; 13, Skylar Holzhausen; 14, Steve Carlson; 15, Nick Murgic; 16, Jason Weinkauf; 17, Frank Kreyer; 18, Dennis Prunty, 19, Mark Kraus.
Livewire Energy & Coca-Cola 33 Feature (17 Cars) — 1, Dan Fredrickson; 2, Boris Jurkovich; 3, Neil Knoblock; 4, Dennis Prunty; 5, Erik Darnell; 6, Jeremy Lepak; 7, Kyle Calmes; 8, Andrew Morrissey; 9, Skylar Holzhausen; 10, Nick Murgic; 11, Brandon Hill; 12, Tim Schendel; 13, Jason Weinkauf; 14, Chris Eggleston; 15, Colin Reffner; 16, Frank Kreyer; 17, Steve Carlson.
“The Stubby” 30 Feature — 1, Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas; 2, Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapids; 3, Joel Theisen, Maple Grove, Minn.; 4, Frank Nitzke, Berlin; 5, Bobby Kendall, Montello; 6, Dean Cornelius, New Prague, Minn.; 7, Adam Degenhardt, Coon Valley; 8, Tim Rothe, Appleton; 9, Jeff Strom, East Troy; 10, Maxwell Schultz, Reedsville; 11, Bret Widdis, Green Bay; 12, Don Turner, La Crosse; 13, Thor Anderson, Bondurant, Iowa; 14, Josh Wallace, Genoa City; 15, Jacob Goede, Carver, Minn.; 16, Dean La Pointe, Marshfield; 17, Clint Sillars, Weston; 18, Matt Kocourek, Franklin.
C-Feature —1, Corey Jankowski, Tomah; 2, Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.; 3, Mason Mitchell, West Des Moines, Iowa; 4, Billy Mohn, Lakeville, Minn.; 5, Jon Lemke, Shakopee, Minn.; 6, Jimmy Dragich, Germantown; 7, Greg Vangool, Saskatoon, SK; 8, Tim Lampman, Oak Creek; 9, Derek Childs, Poynette; 10, Kirby Kurth, Wisconsin Rapids; 11, Darren Wolke, Belle Plaine, Minn.; 12, Tommy Jones, Park City, Ill.; 13, Brian Allen, Hiawatha, Iowa; 14, Mike Carlson, West Salem; 15, Nick Clements, West Salem; 16, Rob Myers, Hartford; 17, Gary La Monte, West Allis; 18, Jacob Vanoskey, Hartford; 19, Ryan De Stefano, Colgate; 20, Tony Bagstad, Westby; 21, Dan Jung, Iron Ridge; 22, Jesse Bernhagen, Markesan.
Qualifying — 1, Griffin McGrath, 18.859 secs, 104.115 MPH; 2, Dan Fredrickson, 18.940 secs, 103.669 MPH; 3, Tim Schendel, 18.981 secs, 103.446 MPH; 4, Chris Weinkauf, 19.010 secs, 103.288 MPH; 5, Nick Murgic, 19.047 secs, 103.087 MPH; 6, Nathan Haseleu; 7, Neil Knoblock; 8, Jeremy Lepak; 9, Erik Darnell; 10, Boris Jurkovich; 11, Chris Eggleston; 12, Skylar Holzhausen; 13, Kyle Calmes; 14, Jason Weinkauf; 15, Matt Tifft; 16, Andrew Morrissey; 17, Rebecca Kasten; 18, Jacob Goede; 19, Mark Eswein; 20, Clint Sillars; 21, Colin Reffner; 22, Mark Kraus; 23, Frank Kreyer; 24, Dennis Prunty; 25, Brandon Hill; 26, Steve Holzhausen; 27, Steve Carlson; 28, Maxwell Schultz; 29, Frank Nitzke, Berlin; 30, Bobby Kendall; 31, Jonathan Eilen; 32, Dean La Pointe, Marshfield; 33, Adam Degenhardt; 34, Joel Theisen; 35, Dean Cornelius; 36, Cardell Potter; 37, Jeff Strom; 38, Matt Kocourek; 39, Terry Schoppenhorst; 40, Bret Widdis; 41, Josh Wallace; 42, Travis Sauter; 43, Don Turner; 45, Russ Blakely; 46, Tim Rothe; 47, Billy Mohn; 48, Corey Jankowski; 49, Darren Wolke; 50, Jon Lemke51, Greg Vangool; 52, Mason Mitchell; 53, Dan Jung; 54, Nick Barstad; 55, Derek Childs; 56, Gary La Monte; 57, Tim Lampman; 58, Jimmy Dragich; 59, Mike Carlson; 60, Kirby Kurth; 61, Jesse Bernhagen; 62, Tommy Jones63, Jacob Vanoskey; 64, Brian Allen; 65, Ryan De Stefano; 66, Nick Clements; 67, Rob Myers; 68, Ed Szelagowski Jr.
Last Chance 1 — 1, Frank Kreyer; 2, Rebecca Kasten; 3, Frank Nitzke; 4, Steve Holzhausen; 5, Clint Sillars.
Last Chance 2 — 1, Dennis Prunty; 2, Steve Carlson; 3, Bobby Kendall; 4, Cardell Potter; 5, Corey Jankowski.
Last Chance 3 — 1, Brandon Hill; 2, Mark Kraus; 3, Mark Eswein; 4, Jonathan Eilen; 5, Jeff Strom.

Area Sportsmen
Livewire Energy & Coca-Cola 25 Feature (25 Cars) — 1, Brent Kane, Lansdale, Minn.; 2, Randy Humfeld, Chaseburg; 3, Jes Tenner, Melrose; 4, Steve Bachman, West Salem; 5, Greg Scheck, La Crosse; 6, Jimmy Gilster, West Salem; 7, Jerrod Loging, West Salem; 8, Scott Luck, Praire Du Sac; 9, Jamie Dummer, Tomah; 10, Black Horstman, Bangor; 11, Dillon Sellner, Farmington, Minn.; 12, Jason Thoma, Jefferson; 13, Matt Inglett, La Crosse; 14, Bill Martin, Mindoro; 15, Mike Taylor, Staughton; 16, Rob Curran, Rockland; 17, Josh Millis, Black River Falls; 18, Michael Homan, Coon Rapids, Minn.; 19, Brian Hesselberg, West Salem; 20, Troy Maier, La Crosse; 21, Kurt Kleven, Cambridge; 22, Jake Arneson, Taylor; 23, Randy Breunig, Columbus; 24, Rob Mason, Preston, Minn.; 25, Todd Korish, Holmen.
Last Chance — 1, Bill Martin; 2, Mike Taylor; 3, Michael Homan; 4, Josh Millis; 5, Kelsey Schultz, Mauston.
Qualifying — 1, Scott Luck, 21.979 secs, 89.335 MPH; 2, Rick Schermerhorn, 22.003 secs, 89.238 MPH; 3, Randy Humfeld, 22.031 secs, 89.124 MPH; 4, Jake Arneson, 22.031 secs, 89.124 MPH; 5, Jamie Dummer, 22.135 secs, 88.706 MPH; 7, Greg Scheck; 8, Kurt Kleven; 9, Randy Breunig; 10, Steve Bachman; 11, Jerrod Loging; 12, Jes Tenner; 13, Dillon Sellner; 14, Troy Maier; 15, Jimmy Gilster; 1, Matt Inglett; 17, Blake Horstman; 18, Bill Martin; 19, Rob Curran; 20, Brent Kane; 21, Todd Korish; 22, Rob Mason; 23, Michael Homan; 24, Josh Millis; 25, Justin Mullikin, Holmen; 26, Brian Hesselberg; 27, Mike Taylor; 28, Todd Lockington, Mindoro; 29, Kelsey Schultz; 30, Jamie Schlintz, Bangor; 31, Mark Challet, Bangor; 32, Joe Rinartz, La Crosse; 33, Cody Thompson, Wisconsin Rapids; 34, Joey Johnson, North Bend.
Qualifying Heat 1 — 1, Rob Curran; 2, Todd Korish; 3, Blake Horstman; 4, Justin Mullikin; 5, Michael Homan.
Qualifying Heat 2 — 1, Brent Kane; 2, Brian Hesselberg; 3, Rob Mason; 4, Bill Martin; 5, Todd Lockington.
Odd Bud Dash — 1, Jimmy Gilster; 2, Dillon Sellner; 3, Randy Breunig; 4, Jamie Dummer; 5, Jerrod Loging.
Even Bud Dash — 1, Randy Humfeld; 2, Matt Inglett; 3, Rick Schermerhorn; 4, Kurt Kleven; 5, Jes Tenner.

Super Sportsmen
Livewire Energy & Coca-Cola 25 Feature (11 Cars) — 1, Dan Gilster, West Salem; 2, Brian Back, Port Edwards; 3, Rick Grunden, Arpin; 4, Ryan Hinner, Stevens Point; 5, Tom McClintock, Onalaska; 6, Scott Hamel, Wisconsin Rapids; 7, Ken Hutchens, Black River Falls; 8, Natalie Decker, Eagle River; 9, Mitch Lyden, Warrens; 10, John Kasboski, Fall Creek; 11, Daniel Linnehan, Leon.
Qualifying —1, Dan Gilster, 21.156 secs, 92.811 MPH; 2, Brian Back, 21.209 secs, 92.579 MPH; 3, Ryan Hinner, 21.415 secs, 91.688 MPH; 4, Rick Grunden, 21.529 secs, 91.203 MPH; 5, Tom McClintock, 21.672 secs, 90.601 MPH; 6, Natalie Decker; 7, Scott Hamel; 8, Daniel Linnehan; 9, Mitch Lyden; 10, Ken Hutchens; 11, John Kasboski.
Dash — 1, Dan Gilster; 2, Rick Grunden; 3, Brian Back; 4, Daniel Linnehan; 5, Ryan Hinner.