June 19, 2001; Eagle
River, WI. -For a change the weather was not a factor in the 4th week of
racing at Riverside Raceway in Eagle River. Paul's Pump & Pantry sponsored the Tuesday
night races held June 19th.
The first Bandit heat quickly saw the three fastest cars go to
the front. Rob Rodziczak took the early lead and held it for a few laps. Bruce Belland
stayed outside and passed for the lead and took the win. Rodziczak finished second and
Ryan Burzinski finished third. Heat two had Jim Nieckula lead early and keep the lead to
the end. Rob Schuppler finished second and Robin Smith third. The third Heat was led from
flag to flag by #27 Rich Rosemark. Shawn Depies finished second and #7 Tim Rosemark came
from the back to finish third.
The Pure Stock first heat was the race of the night. Chad Rosinski
took the early lead but was challenged the entire race by John Dorion. Dorion got inside
on the last lap but got loose in the last corner and they came across the finish line with
Rosinski winning by inches with Dorion second and in the guardrail.
Third place was a battle between Marlys Scharf and Vic Bodamer. They
exchanged places a few times with Marlys finally ending up third. Heat two had the early
leader, Ron Reese, get a flat tire early on. Chad Belland in 5 ½ took over the lead and
kept it despite a late challenge by Brian Slizewski. Tom Nolda followed for third.
Mike Boyd led the way in the first heat of Street Stocks for a few
laps but was overtaken on the inside by Ken Valeria who went on to win. Shawn Bialas
finished second with Boyd third. Pole sitter, Joe St Germain gave way early to #77 John
Johnson. Fritz Scharf got by both of them to win the second Street Stock heat with Johnson
ending up second and St Germain third.
Tad Schoonover led the first few laps of the Miller Lite A-Mod heat
but was overtaken by Chad Boettcher. Later in the race third place Scott Blamberg spun in
corner four and caused a chain reaction incident, which saw Tim Kolehouse and Ken Smith
retire with heavy damage. After the restart, leader Chad Boettcher had trouble in corner
four and Schoonover went on to win. Bob Kleinschmidt took second and Scott Blamberg came
in third.
The Bandit semi-feature was won to advance the first two finishers to
the feature. Dustin Miller and Phil Malouf finished first and second to advance.
The order of the feature races was changed this week with the Street
Stock feature running first. After a restart because of #33 Jerrald Johnson losing power,
John Johnson took the lead but Ken Valeria soon overtook him. Another restart tightened
the field up. Fritz Scharf challenged for the lead but just didn't have enough and Valeria
prevailed with Fritz second and Joe St Germain third.
The second Feature was the Miller Lite A-Mods. On the start, Bob
Kleinschmidt climbed the concrete wall but continued. Chad Boettcher led and went on to
win but the real race was for second. Scott Blamberg and Bob Kleinschmidt traded places
several times and on the final lap with sparks flying they came across the finish line
with Kleinschmidt ahead by inches to take second and Blamberg third.
The Pure Stocks were next and pole sitter Chad Rosinski jumped off to
an early lead. A number of cautions kept the field tight. After finally getting past the
third lap, Rosinski still held the lead with Marlys Scharf tight on his heels. Brian
Slizewski also got into the mix. On the last lap among a ton of lap traffic, Rosinski held
on for a clean sweep and his first feature win ever at Riverside Raceway. Marlys Scharf
finished second with Slizewski third.
Twelve cars started the fifteen lap Bandit feature. Jim Nieckula, #4,
led the entire race for the win. Bruce Belland charged from the back but a flat sent him
to pit lane. He got a fortunate caution flag and got back in the race but soon got another
flat and was done for the night. The race for second was tight the entire time between
Jason Shattuck and Tim Rosemark. Shattuck held on for second with Rosemark third.
Street Eliminator matched up Jason Mitchell in a 79 Chevy truck
against Russ Gilman in a 77 Maverick. The Maverick prevailed and he went on to face off
with the second round winner which saw Kyle Alsteen's S-10 Blazer against Thad Boettcher's
Dodge Shadow. The final round saw Boettcher pick up the trophy as he out motored Gilman's
Maverick. |
