Thatcher started eighth on the grid for the Modified finale, but as has been the pattern so far this year, it proved to be only a minor inconvenience to Thatcher as he quickly carved his way to the front of the pack. Paul Knauf used the cushion to take the early lead with Scott Duval in second while Kevin Adams and Luke Schilling battled for position. Thatcher dropped to the low side where most competitors were unable to run and he quickly moved into a challenging position. After working his way into second, he moved under Knauf to take over the lead as the early laps of the event were plagued by a series of yellow flags. Once in front, Thatcher moved back to the cushion and drove away from the field. Knauf was a victim of one of the yellows as he spun while running second and had to tag the field. Thatcher continued on without a serious challenge for the win while Todd Siddons worked the low side to drive into second and keep Thatcher within distant view. Duval, Mike Anderson and A.J. Heuer rounded out the top five.

The Pure Stock feature was a slam-bang affair that saw only half the starting field still running at the end of the event. It took three tries to get the first lap in the books with Jeremy Robinson finally taking the lead when green flag racing commenced. He was soon challenged by Danny Richards who drove around him on the high side. However, Justin Lindner rapidly moved up from the fourth row, and moving on the low side, he was able to take over the lead.

Once in front he was able to pull away from the field rather easily. The last yellow occurred when Robinson lost a wheel in turn four and was blasted by Josh Rud. Lindner again pulled away for his fourth win of the year. Mike Knudtson made the long drive up from fifteenth to squeeze past Richards for second on the final lap with Jason Lang and Scott Anderson completing the top five.

Ajay Christianson was the early leader in the Street Stock feature but when he pushed up the track, Jimmy Randall was right there to drive under him and take over the lead. Randall’s lead was a tenuous one, as he was receiving heavy pressure from Cory Crapser, Jay Kesan, Troy Fransway and Wayne Dean.

Crapser was on the move as he drove up from the fourth row to become Randall’s severest challenge. Randall tried to hold the low side but his car slid up the track and Crapser drove past him to take over the lead. Randall was then locked in a battle with Kesan and Fransway for position that got physical from time to time. Dean moved in also and the action for second got even hotter. As Crapser stayed clear of the trouble, Dean spun and the yellow came out with Dean returned to his position.

Again, Crapser put distance on the field as he raced on for his second win here in 2006. Heavy jockeying in the final laps between Randall and Fransway allowed Dean to slip past both of them and take second. Matt Wolfe had his best run ever as he raced into the top five at the finish.

Bernie Christianson jumped into the initial lead in the Super Stock feature, but before a lap could be completed Steve Hallquist had got past him for the lead. Cory Karshbaum moved into a challenging position as Jesse Redetzke, Mark Stender and Cory Mahder battled for racing room. When Hallquist slid up the track, Karshbaum was right there to take over the lead.

Most drivers rode the cushion while Mahder worked the low side to drive into second. He then moved back up top, and put the pressure on Karshbaum who continued to hold the lead. Mike Keller was gradually working his way to the front also, and he managed to into the third spot. Mahder continued to pressure Karshbaum and the field rode the cushion, but Karshbaum remained strong and didn’t falter.

A spin with thirteen laps completed bunched the field and on the restart, Mahder was all over Karshbaum. Cory nearly got too high but was able to hold on, but in turn one he jumped the cushion and Mahder ducked under him to take over the lead. On the next lap the same thing happened as Karshbaum pushed hard to try and regain his lead, and Keller moved to second.

Mahder opened up some distance and wasn’t threatened the remainder of the race as he took his third win of the year here. Keller settled for second with Karshbaum garnering third ahead of Stender and Aaron Wilson.

Jared Loos returned to action for the first time in many weeks and he took the initial lead in the Midwest Modified feature event. He was under the gun immediately as Kyle Johnson, Dan Svee, Ryan Olson and Dave Salzman Jr were all close behind. Shane Halopka quickly moved up after starting seventh as he worked the low side, and he found an opening to move right in with the leaders.

A two car incident slowed the action and on the restart, a group of cars came together on the back chute with Kevin Adams getting the worst of it as he had to replace a tire and then limp through the rest of the event with suspension damage.

When racing resumed, Halopka and Olson put the pressure on Loos and they split him down the front chute, with Halopka going by on the inside and taking over the lead with Olson driving into second.

Once in front, Halopka pulled out to a comfortable advantage as no one in the field had anything for him. Shane drove on for his third feature win of the season, tops in the division. Olson drove home second with Salzman Jr, Bryce Johnson and Loos rounding out the top five in the diminished field.

Next weekend will be a big one at the speedway with a double header planned. Baxter Engines & Baxter Speedshop will be the sponsor of the events. On Saturday, July 22nd , it will be Kid’s Night at the track with the theme this year being “Halloween” night with many prizes and other fun for the kids as all the drivers will have their cars on display on the track before the racing program begins. Racing will continued on Sunday, July 23rd with another full program of racing. All six classes will race on both Saturday and Sunday and race time each night will be at 6 p.m. For more information, visit the speedway website: www.racingonline.com/evs/

SUMMARY

Eagle Valley Speedway - Jim Falls WI - July 16, 2006

WISSOTA Modifieds
20 lap Feature – Craig Thatcher, Todd Siddons, Scott Duval, Mike Anderson, A.J. Heuer, Luke Schilling, Paul Knauf, Bill Stettner, Mark Baxter, Kevin Adams.
10 lap Heat 1 – Schilling, Adams, Knauf, Kevin Viebrock.
Heat 2 – Thatcher, Siddons, Anderson, Duval.

WISSOTA Super Stocks
20 lap Feature – Cory Mahder, Mike Keller, Cory Karshbaum, Mark Stender, Aaron Wilson, Jesse Redetzke, Eric Olson, Bernie Christianson, Ryan Olson, Brad Johnson.
10 lap Heat 1 – Keller, Steve Hallquist, E. Olson, Christianson.
Heat 2 – Mahder, Redetzke, Stender, Karshbaum.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Shane Halopka, Ryan Olson, Dave Salzman Jr, Bryce Johnson, Jared Loos, Dan Svee, Kevin Adams, Dave Miller, Pat Loertscher, Scott Meeds.
10 lap Heat 1 – Adams, Olson, Loos, Salzman Jr.
Heat 2 – Halopka, Brad Hudson, Svee, Kyle Johnson.

WISSOTA Street Stocks
15 lap Feature – Cory Crapser, Wayne Dean, Troy Fransway, Jimmy Randall, Matt Wolfe, Ajay Christianson, Chanda Fjorden-Nord, Adam Soltis, Darrel Hazelton, Clark Swartz.
10 lap Heat 1 – Crapser, Jay Kesan, Rod Brewe, Mike Conrad.
Heat 2 – Fransway, Randall, Dean, Christianson.

Pure Stocks
12 lap Feature – Justin Lindner, Mike Knudtson, Danny Richards, Jason Lang, Scott Anderson, Carolyn Nosser, Chris Spath, Keith Stephens, Jordan Johnson, Luke Lindner.
6 lap Heat 1 – Nosser, D. Richards, Lang, Spath.