Hazelton and Schilling Break Through at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert
Rice Lake WI, July 11 – Darrel Hazelton and Luke Schilling, two drivers that while never regulars at the Rice Lake Speedway have raced many times here over the years, both recorded their first ever feature wins here Saturday night to highlight the racing action. Other winners tonight included Shane Halopka, Scott Clark and Doug Wojcik.

Both Hazelton and Schilling earned their feature wins in a similar manner as both took the lead early in their respective main events and led all laps before visiting victory lane.

Hazelton started in the second row of the Super Stock finale but he found an opening on the low side of the track and drove beside pole sitter Butch Madsen who then went three wide with Marcel Hoaglan. Hazelton was able to ease into the lead but multiple early restarts kept the pack bunched and Hazelton’s job a hard one.

Shane Kisling motored up from the third row to set his sites on Hazelton and Kisling moved to the top side which worked so well for him here last week. However, Hazelton was able to keep his momentum up, and Kisling was not able to cut into the lead that Darrel had built up. Jason Forehand then picked up the pace and was able to take the second spot away from Kisling, but he too was unable to cut into Hazelton’s advantage. The last fourteen laps of the race went nonstop and Hazelton never missed a beat as he kept his margin the entire distance for the win. Forehand and Kisling remained in their positions while Paul Erikson tore back up through the field after an early spin to take fourth over Aaron Wilson.

Schilling started outside row one and was able to get the jump on Steve Hallquist and take the early lead. However, Luke was receiving a hard challenge from both Hallquist and Brent Prochnow in the early going. Three yellow flags for minor spins kept the field bunched in the early going with Prochnow challenging Schilling on the high side in each corner. Luke was able to fight off the pressure though, and build up a small lead. Soon Prochnow had his own problems as Mike Anderson moved in to challenge him for the second place while Scott Duval and Kevin Adams were also working their way to the front.
Anderson was able to secure second, and he set off to track down Schilling. However, Luke was having none of it as he was strong off the corners and continued to maintain an eight car length lead. Ironically, with the last fourteen laps going nonstop, just as in the Super Stock feature, Schilling maintained his distance up front and raced home for his first feature win in thirteen years of trying here. Anderson maintained a solid second while Duval and Prochnow ended up in a heated battle for third. On the last lap they got together on the back chute with neither crossing the finish line. Prochnow was judged to get his position back and was scored third ahead of Adams and Larry Prochnow.

The closest main event found Halopka passing Tito Viltz and they raced to the white flag in the Midwest Modified feature event. The race , which went nonstop for the second straight week for the Midwest Mods, got off to a wild start as Clark Swartz, Brad Hudson and Viltz went three wide for the lead with Viltz coming out the clear leader. The lead pack also contained Halopka, Jared Loos, Matt Leer, Ronnie Rihn and Mark Gerth and they broke away from the pack.

Viltz was building up an advantage over the field as the race for second continued. Finally Halopka was able to take the spot and he set off after Tito by midrace. Viltz appeared to have a comfortable advantage but Halopka began to cut into it in considerable chunks, and by the time the last five laps was up, Halopka was right in a challenging position. When Tito pushed up the track, it gave Halopka the opening he needed and he blew past Viltz to take the lead. On the last lap he stretched it to two car lengths as he took his second feature race of the year here. Leer chased home the top two with Gerth and Loos completing the top five.

Before he took home his track leading seventh feature win of the year, Clark had a tough battle with Danny Richards. Richards took the early lead with Clark moving up to the second spot from row two to put the heat on Richards. Clark looked to the inside and he was able to get under Danny in turn four to take over the lead. Chanda Fjorden-Nord was also on the move and she pulled in to pressure Richards, but she got a little too close and contact was made with Richards going for a spin. He was restored to his position and the race continued.

While Danny was able to keep things fairly close, Clark was never in any serious danger as he drove home for yet another win. Richards maintained a solid second over Sam Fankhauser. Cory Karshbaum crossed the line fourth but was disqualified for a safety issue which moved rookie Adam Delfosse and Gary Jones into the top five.

The Pure Stock feature was a spin fest with cars sliding in all sorts of directions before order was finally restored and some racing commenced. Zach Manley found himself in the lead after a wild couple of laps but Doug Wojcik was able to drive past him for the top spot. After that Manley was the target as twice in close order he was sent spinning by other cars. Fortunately there was no serious damage to any of the vehicles and everyone was able to race on. C.J. Wagner moved into the second spot and he began to pressure Doug Wojcik for the lead. Several times Wagner was able to get his nose inside Wojcik but each time Doug was able to fight him off. They crossed the finish line in close formation with Doug taking his third feature win of the year here. Following Wagner were Joel Hinrichs, Nick Wojcik and Manley.

The Rice Lake Speedway will take next Saturday off as the Barron County Fair will be in session and everyone is encouraged to attend some of the activities there. Racing will resume on Saturday, July 25th when the highlight will be the annual United Cerebral Palsy race. Race time will be 7 p.m. Check the speedway website at www.rlspeedway.com for other upcoming events.

SUMMARY

Rice Lake Speedway
Rice Lake WI
July 11, 2009

WISSOTA Modifieds

20 lap Feature – Luke Schilling, Granton; Mike Anderson, Colfax; Brent Prochnow, Colfax; Kevin Adams, Cameron; Larry Prochnow, Menomonie; Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire; Scott Miller, Rice Lake; Aric Lindberg, Dallas; Dave Mayala, Barron; Mark Hanson, Chippewa Falls; Jerry Weigel, Jim Falls; Don Paddock, Bruce; Tim Shackleton, Dallas; Scott Duval, Bloomer.
10 lap Heat 1 – Hallquist; Anderson; Schilling; Miller; Weigel; Paddock; Mayala; Rich Lofthus.
Heat 2 – Adams; B. Prochnow; Hanson; Duval; L. Prochnow; Lindberg; Shackleton.

WISSOTA Super Stocks

20 lap Feature – Darrel Hazelton, Chippewa Falls; Jason Forehand, Eau Claire; Shane Kisling, Sarona; Paul Erikson, Abbotsford; Aaron Wilson, Menomonie; Marcel Hoaglan, Hudson; Cy Hoaglan, Ashland; Butch Madsen, Rice Lake; Scott Zitelman, Taylors Falls MN; Jim Harris, Menomonie; Pat Jungerberg, Barron; Jim Harstad, Amery.
10 lap Heat 1 – Kisling; Erikson; Forehand; M. Hoaglan; C. Hoaglan; Harris.
Heat 2 – Hazelton; Zitelman; Madsen; Wilson; Harstad; Jungerberg.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

15 lap Feature – Shane Halopka, Eau Claire; Tito Viltz, Cameron; Matt Leer, Bruce; Mark Gerth, Menomonie; Jared Loos, Loyal; Ronnie Rihn, Bloomer; Brad Hudson, Chippewa Falls; Clark Swartz, Bloomer; Scott Erickson, Barron; Travis Anderson, Colfax; Mark Turner, Rice Lake; Randy Smeltzer, Colfax; Ben Johnson, E. Bethel MN; Al Broker, Turtle Lake.
10 lap Heat 1 – Leer; Swartz; Bryce Johnson; Viltz; Anderson; Turner; Broker; Reid Tiegs.
Heat 2 – Gerth; Loos; Halopka; Hudson; Rihn; Erickson; Smeltzer; Be. Johnson.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

15 lap Feature – Scott Clark, Cameron; Danny Richards, Mondovi; Sam Fankhauser, Rice Lake; Adam Delfosse, Cumberland; Gary Jones, New Auburn; Kenny Paulson, Turtle Lake; Steve Karshbaum, Chetek; James Vought, Hudson; Chanda Fjorden-Nord, Luck.
10 lap Heat 1 – Richards; Delfosse; Fjorden-Nord; Vought.
Heat 2 – Clark; Fankhauser; Cory Karshbaum; Paulson; Jones.

Pure Stocks

12 lap Feature – Doug Wojcik, Ladysmith; C.J. Wagner, Hayward; Joel Hinrichs, Cameron; Nick Wojcik, Ladysmith; Zach Manley, Cameron; Kyle Hunter, Luck; Dusty Brown, Rice Lake; Bob Thompson, Cameron; Randy Conner, Seeley; Heidi Karshbarm, Chetek; George Richards, Mondovi.
8 lap Heat 1 – D. Wojcik; N. Wojcik; Manley; Thompson; Du. Brown; Karshbaum.
Heat 2 – Richards; Wagner; Conner; Hinrichs; Hunter; Darwin Brown.