Mars and Anderson Top Red Cedar Speedway Foes

 

By Ed Reichert

 

Menomonie WI, June 4 – Jimmy Mars and Mike Anderson both earned their first feature wins of 2010 at the Red Cedar Speedway to highlight the action on the Relay for Life night at the track on a beautiful Friday night for auto racing. Other first time winners for the season were Ben Hillman and Dusty Brown while Matt Leer was a repeat winner in the Midwest Modifieds.

Mars is usually the chaser, but tonight he was the chased, as he managed to hold off the heavy pressure of Chad Mahder to score the win in the nonstop Late Model main event. Jesse Redetzke and Mike Prochnow shared the front row for the Late Model headliner but Mars wasted little time in driving between them in turn three on the opening lap to take the lead by the time they passed the scorers for the first time. Redetzke and Prochnow had a good battle for second before Prochnow secured the spot as Mars moved away from the pack.

Mahder started sixth and by moving to the high side of the track, he was able to drive by several of the contending cars until he caught Prochnow for second. As Mars continued to maintain a half straightaway lead, Mahder was trying both high and low to get past Prochnow for second. Finally Chad found an opening on the high side and squeezed by down the front chute, taking second. He quickly pulled away from Prochnow and closed on Mars and within five laps was on Mars rear bumper. He tried several times to get a run on the outside, but each time Mars would have just enough momentum to hold him off down the chutes. One last attempt in turn four saw Chad jump the cushion, and Mars motored on to a two car length win at the finish. Prochnow held on for third over Redetzke while Jake Hartung moved up from the fifth row to complete the top five.

Anderson had been on a roll of late, and tonight marked his third feature win in less than a week at area ovals. The Modified main got off to a sinister start as Cory Williams got turned around in turn four on the opening circuit, triggering a six car pileup but only Robby Bunkelman was eliminated from action.

Returning to green, Anderson quickly moved in to challenge Bryan Nayes for the lead. Nayes was having a great run, but Anderson was eventually able to slip past him to take over the lead. Once in front, Anderson checked out on the field , at one time building a full straightaway advantage on the rest of the pack.

However, there was an excellent battle going on for second as Nayes fought with Craig Thatcher, Mark Hessler, Kevin Adams and Scott Duval for the spot. Adams had started in the back of the pack, but by utilizing the high side he was able to drive into contention. Jay Richardson fought his way around Nayes, but then he got into the wall which ended his run. When Thatcher finally secured second, Adams followed him through and the battle was on.

Once more yellow for a spin at midrace tightened up the field, but Anderson again drew away from the field while Thatcher and Adams put on a show for the fans and Adams threw a slide job to take second but Thatcher came right back in turn four to squeeze past for the runner up slot. While Anderson was long gone for the win, Thatcher fought off all challenges to hold off Adams with Duval and Nayes completing the top five.

Hillman was most pleased to record his first Super Stock win of the year in a flag to flag win. He took the early lead over Aaron Wilson, and while there was a great battle for positions behind him, Hillman was mostly able to keep the pack at bay. One driver who put on the pressure was Brad Johnson, who used the high side to provide a stiff challenge in the early going. However, he wasn’t able to stay with Hillman, who opened up a few car lengths on the pack while the battle for positions behind him intensified. Steve Thomas, Wilson, Shane Kisling, Mike Keller and Tom Karis were all locked in a severe tussle for positions with the running order changing every lap. A yellow with five laps to go when Johnson spun in turn two and was contacted by Mike Anderson slowed the field. Hillman again gained a slight edge on the green, but the pack behind him tried to go five wide down the front stretch which clearly wouldn’t work. There was considerable rubbing, and Karis was the loser with suspension damage that slowed his run. The shuffling found Keller in the second spot and he tried to track down Hillman, but Ben stayed strong to take the win. Kisling fought off the charging Jason Forehand to take third with Thomas completing the top five.

Leer got to the front early and then held off the challenges of Mark Gerth to take his second straight Midwest Modified win here. Travis Anderson was the early leader, but Leer moved up from the third row to take over the top spot. The Midwest Mods had some troubles early, with three yellows in the first four laps slowing their progress.

Once things got straightened out, Leer continued to lead with Ronnie Rihn moving into second. A great battle for that spot then developed as Rihn was challenged by Gerth and Shane Halopka for the spot. Gerth, driving a different car after destroying his regular mount last week, moved to the high side and drove into second. That line worked so good he stayed with it, and he soon had caught the leader. Leer sensed the top side was the best and he moved up the track just in time to block Gerth’s path. The last couple of laps Gerth followed Leer, but Matt gave no openings and drove on for the win. Halopka got past Rihn for third with Anderson completing the top five.

Brown made his first appearance of the year a winning one, as he led from start to finish in the Pure Stock finale. The nonstop race saw Brown open up a comfortable cushion until Nick Traynor moved into second and closed on the leader. Chaz Ducommun was also working his way up through the pack as well. Brown continued to hold a two car length lead over Traynor , who was trying his best to close the gap. The leaders remained static, and while both drove their hardest, the margin remained the same as Brown drove home for the win. Ducommun was able to pass Jake Smeltzer on the last lap for third while the apparent fifth place car of Willy Hughes was disqualified for failing to scale which moved Mike Liphardt into the top five.

Next Friday, June 11^th, it will be the Midseason Championships presented by Miller Lite. The cars will line up for their heat races based on points that they have earned so far this year and will qualify for the main events based on their heat race finishes. It will also be Amery, St. Croix Falls and Somerset night at the track with residents of those communities eligible for discounted adult admission tickets. Race time at the Dunn Co. Rec Park will be 7 p.m.

 

SUMMARY

 

Red Cedar Speedway

Menomonie WI

June 4, 2010

 

WISSOTA Late Models

 

20 lap Feature – Jimmy Mars, Menomonie; Chad Mahder, Eau Claire; Mike Prochnow, Menomonie; Jesse Redetzke, Altoona; Jake Hartung, Elmwood; Cory Mahder, Elk Mound; Jake Redetzke, Eau Claire; Rick Hanestad, Boyceville; Ashley Anderson, Elk Mound; Pat Doar, New Richmond; Scott Gilberts, Menomonie; Brent Larson, Lake Elmo MN; Ronnie Rihn, Bloomer; Steve Isenberg, Marshfield; Kerry Hansen, Spencer; Scott Meeds, Spooner; Cory Jorgensen, Hermantown MN; Dennis Larson, Lake Elmo MN.

8 lap Heat 1 – J. Redetzke; Prochnow; Hanestad; Co. Mahder; B. Larson; Doar; Rihn; Hansen; D. Larson

Heat 2 – Anderson; Ch. Mahder; Je. Redetzke; Mars; Hartung; Gilberts; Isenberg; Jorgensen; Meeds

 

WISSOTA Modifieds

 

18 lap Feature – Mike Anderson, Colfax; Craig Thatcher, Knapp; Kevin Adams, Cameron; Scott Duval, Bloomer; Bryan Nayes, Chippewa Falls; Mark Hessler, Menomonie; Luke Schilling, Granton; Brent Prochnow, Colfax; Cory Williams, Spring Valley; Steve Lavasseur, River Falls; Mark Hanson, Chippewa Falls; Jason Swan, Chippewa Falls; Don Brightbill, Hudson; Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire; Jay Richardson, Spring Valley; Robby Bunkelman, Abbotsford.

8 lap Heat 1 – Bunkelman; Thatcher; Anderson; Schilling; Hessler; Richardson; Hallquist; Adams

Heat 2 – Lavasseur; Williams; Prochnow; Nayes; Duval; Hanson; Brightbill; Swan.

 

WISSOTA Super Stocks

 

15 lap Feature – Ben Hillman, Menomonie; Mike Keller, Menomonie; Shane Kisling, Sarona; Jason Forehand, Eau Claire; Steve Thomas, Menomonie; Cory Davis, Turtle Lake; Aaron Wilson, Menomonie; Bernie Christianson, Menomonie; Rick Hallquist, Eau Claire; Luke Plank, Eau Claire; Tony Falkner, Menomonie; Bart Steffen, Eau Claire; Ryan Olson, Chippewa Falls; Tom Karis, Menomonie; Mike Anderson, Colfax; Brad Johnson, Wilson

8 lap Heat 1 – Wilson; Forehand; Keller; Hillman; Anderson; Davis; Plank; Falkner

Heat 2 – Kisling; Thomas; Karis; Johnson; Christianson; Hallquist; Steffen

 

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

 

15 lap Feature – Matt Leer, Bruce; Mark Gerth, Menomonie; Shane Halopka, Greenwood; Ronnie Rihn, Bloomer; Travis Anderson, Colfax; Randy Smeltzer, Colfax; Clark Swartz, Bloomer; Grant Southworth, Bloomer; Mark Thomas, Menomonie; Josh Smith, Chippewa Falls; Justin Supri, Eau Claire; A.J. Roschen, Hudson; Bob Wood, Cadott; Kevin Smeltzer, Menomonie; Jordan Hessler, Elk Mound; Jake Smith, Eau Claire; Tony Schill, Oakdale MN; Jason Swan, Chippewa Falls.

8 lap Heat 1 – Anderson; Rihn; Ja Smith; Jo Smith; Swartz; Supri; Swan; Hessler; Thomas

Heat 2 – Leer; R. Smeltzer; Halopka; Gerth; Wood; Southworth; K. Smeltzer; Roschen; Schill

 

Pure Stocks

 

10 lap Feature – Dusty Brown, Rice Lake; Nick Traynor, Chetek; Chaz Ducommun, Chetek; Jake Smeltzer, Menomonie; Mike Liphardt, Menomonie; Nate Spence, Spring Valley; Scotty Schoettle, Osseo; Josh Bach, Rice Lake; Ron Zurek, Chippewa Falls; Matt Klukas, Colfax; Jeremy Dahl, Knapp; Kory Hathaway, Elmwood

6 lap Heat 1 – Dahl; Ducommun; Schoettle; Hathaway; Willy Hughes; Bach; Klukas; Gunnar Watkins

Heat 2 – Brown; Traynor; Smeltzer; Liphardt; Spence; Steve Zurek; R. Zurek.