Menomonie WI, July 29 – For the first time in a number of years, the Red Cedar Speedway raced during the annual Dunn County Fair and a huge crowd was on hand to enjoy the racing action. There were several close finishes Friday but the highlight event was the Late Model feature where Jimmy Mars and Mike Prochnow battled it out to the wire with Mars taking the win. Other winners Friday included Kevin Adams, Jason Forehand, Shane Halopka and Jason Havel.
The Late Model main event went nonstop with Jake Redetzke, fresh off a $10,000 win last weekend pulling ahead of Ashley Anderson to take the early lead. Scott Gilberts and Prochnow were close behind and challenging while Mars was slowly working his way up after starting in the fourth row. Prochnow picked up the pace and moved into the runner up position, where he began to put heavy pressure on Redetzke for the lead. Jake pushed up the track in turn one and Mike dropped under him and took over the top spot. After that, Prochnow moved back to the cushion and started to put distance on the field.
Mars began to move up with greater ungency, as he raced past Gilberts and then Redetzke to take over the second spot. However, he was still half a straightaway behind Prochnow with the laps running down. However, Mars really started driving deep into the corners and he rapidly closed on Prochnow, and it was clear it would be a close finish.
Jimmy drove low in turn one and edged ahead of Prochnow, only to slide up the track and give Mike an opening on the low side. As they raced to the white flag, they were side by side but Prochnow now had the inside line. Powering off the cushion, Mars remained even as they raced down the back chute. Mars remained high on the track and got a great run off turn four while Prochnow couldn’t hold the bottom and Mars accelerated ahead by a car length or two to take the win as the crowd was on its collective feet. It was Mars’ third win of the year at Red Cedar, and he is the only driver in the Late Models to have been able to win more than once in 2011. Redetzke held on for third with Gilberts and Rick Hanestad completing the top five.
Adams continued his assault on area tracks with his Modified, winning his fifth feature win at Red Cedar, tops for any driver in any division and nineteenth overall. He started eighth on the grid but quickly made some strong moves as he cut through the middle of the pack and advanced to the third spot. The lead was held by Mark Hessler who was also receiving a hard challenge from Ross Prochnow.
Spins on lap three and four bunched the field, with the top three cars battling on each restart. Following the second yellow, Adams made a strong move low in turn one and was able to slide up the track and edge into the lead while Prochnow used the high side to take second. The top two then began to pull away from the field as both moved to the cushion. Hessler was receiving a strong challenge from Mark Gerth and Craig Thatcher for the third spot as Adams gradually began to pull away from Prochnow.
A late yellow slowed the action again, with Adams again drawing away from Prochnow on the green. Kevin Eder came from no where to charge into third on the restart as he used the extreme high side of the track. Adams kept Prochnow several car lengths behind as he completed the win while Eder held off a last lap challenge from Gerth for third with Hessler rounding out the top five.
The Super Stock feature was a three car battle before Forehand came on to win his second main of the year at Red Cedar. Tom Karis sat on the pole and beat Tommy Richards into the first turn to take the lead. Karis was working the cushion, and he put some distance on the pack early. Shane Kisling then moved into second and closed on Karis. Shane tried several times to get past Karis, but Tom continued to get a good run off the top side and held off all Shane’s challenges.
A lap six yellow for debris bunched the field, and Forehand, who was running third put on a charge as he squeezed past Kisling on the green to take over second and then began to move in on Karis. Forehand then moved in on Karis and the race was on for the lead. Back and forth they went, Forehand first getting slightly ahead on the low side but then Karis charging back on the corners working off the cushion. They continued to jockey for the lead, with Forehand finally edging ahead with only a few laps left. Karis gave it everything he had, but he came up just short as Forehand drove home for the win. Kisling ran third for the remainder of the race with Aaron Wilson and Richards next in line.
Halopka recovered from near disaster to win his third Midwest Modified feature race of the year. Jake Smith was the initial leader with Travis Anderson, Jordan Hessler and Josh Smith challenging him. Halopka, Matt Leer and Cory Crapser were all on the charge from the fourth and fifth row toward the front. Halopka had moved into third when he got too high and bounced off the wall, losing several positions. However, a fortuitous yellow flag for a spin saved him, and he moved back up to third for the restart. Halopka then put on the pressure, as he drove under Jake Smith to take over the top spot.
Crapser moved past Leer for second, and tried to track down Halopka for the lead. However, Shane was in the groove and he withstood all challenges to record the win. Leer settled for third with Josh Smith and Anderson next in line.
The Pure Stock feature also had a good battle for the lead, with three drivers fighting it out right to the checkered flag. Jeremy Dahl eased past Gunnar Watkins to take the early lead with Bill Skoug and Havel moving in to provide a challenge also. Havel was able to get under Skoug to take over second and he then closed on Dahl for the lead. They battled side by side for a couple of laps until Havel was able to get under Dahl and take over the top spot. However, Skoug was not done as he moved up the track and found success as he charged back up to make it a three car battle once again. Havel continued to run the bottom and Skoug moved past Dahl and then closed beside Havel as the race neared its conclusion.
Skoug threw caution to the wind as he tried to work the high side on the final lap. However, he slipped up just enough that Havel was able to take the advantage and he held on for his fourth Red Cedar win of 2011. Behind the top three, Dustin Doughty made a late charge to take the fourth spot with Chaz Ducommun next in line.
Racing action continues next Friday night at 7 p.m. with Coca Cola night at the track. The Late Models have the night off while the other four classes will conclude their points season at the speedway as the year rapidly winds down. On August 12th the Season Championships will be held in all five classes and the regular season concludes with a full show on August 19th.
SUMMARY
Red Cedar Speedway
Menomonie WI
July 29, 2011
WISSOTA Late Models
20 lap Feature – Jimmy Mars(Menomonie), Mike Prochnow(Menomonie), Jake Redetzke(Eau Claire), Scott Gilberts(Menomonie), Rick Hanestad(Boyceville), Chad Mahder(Eau Claire), Ashley Anderson(Elk Mound), Scott Duval(Bloomer), Jake Hartung(Elmwood), Cory Mahder(Elk Mound), John Kaanta, Kerry Hanson, Greg Nippoldt, Chris Oertel
8 lap Heat 1 – Hartung, Prochnow, Hanestad, Redetzke, Nippoldt, Duval, Oertel
Heat 2 – Mars, Ch. Mahder, Anderson, Gilberts, Kaanta, Co. Mahder, Hanson
WISSOTA Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Ross Prochnow(Boyceville), Kevin Eder(Ashland), Mark Gerth(Menomonie), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Craig Thatcher(Knapp), Jesse Glenz(Cadott), Brent Prochnow(Colfax), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Brandon Jensen(Hammond), Jay Richardson, Jerry Hartman, Rich Lofthus, Cory Williams, Paul Niznik, Don Brightbill, Robbie Johnson, Steve Hallquist, Bob Wood
8 lap Heat 1 – Eder, Hessler, Hallquist(Eau Claire), Richardson(Spring Valley), Jensen, Brightbill, Johnson
Heat 2 – Gerth, Thatcher, Anderson, B. Prochnow, Williams(Spring Valley), Wood
Heat 3 – Adams, R. Prochnow, Glenz, Lofthus(Bloomer), Hartman(Marenisco MI), Niznik
WISSOTA Super Stocks
15 lap Feature – Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Tom Karis(Menomonie), Shane Kisling(Sarona), Aaron Wilson(Menomonie), Tommy Richards(Mondovi), Luke Plank(Eau Claire), Ben Hillman(Menomonie), Cory Davis(Turtle Lake), Steve Thomas(Menomonie), Wayne Dean(Fall Creek), Rick Hallquist, Brad Johnson, Jay Quilling, Tony Falkner, Michael Hofer, Gary Wiersgalla, Wayne Bignell, Bart Steffen, Bernie Christiansen
8 lap Heat 1 – Kisling, Plank, Karis, Steffen(Eau Claire), Johnson(Wilson), Christiansen, Bignell
Heat 2 – Hillman, Forehand, Wilson, Quilling(Menomonie), Hallquist(Eau Claire), Wiersgalla
Heat 3 – Thomas, Dean, Richards, Davis, Hofer(Cochrane), Falkner
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Cory Crapser(Chippewa Falls), Matt Leer(Bruce), Josh Smith(Rice Lake), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Jake Smith(Eau Claire), Mark Thomas(Menomonie), Justin Supri(Eau Claire), Kevin Smeltzer(Menomonie), Zach Manley(Cameron), Jordan Hessler, Kerry Halopka, Jake Smeltzer, Scott Splittstoesser, Mark Clements, Shawn Carlson, Scott Guthrie, Scottie Schoettle, Mitch Anderson, Brad Spence, Clark Swartz
8 lap Heat 1 – Leer, K. Smeltzer, T. Anderson, Clements(Bloomer), Thomas, K. Halopka, Sam Fankhauser, Levi Alton
Heat 2 – Swartz(Bloomer), Ja. Smith, Hessler(Elk Mound), Guthrie(Whitehall), J. Smeltzer(Menomonie), Carlson, Spence, M. Anderson
Heat 3 – Jo. Smith, Crapser, Halopka, Supri, Schoettle((Osseo), Manley, Splittstoesser, Taylor Overbo
Pure Stocks
10 lap Feature – Jason Havel(Rice Lake), Bill Skoug(Osseo), Jeremy Dahl(Knapp), Dustin Doughty(Ladysmith), Chaz Ducommun(Chetek), Kory Hathaway(Elmwood), Randy Burton(Menomonie), Chris Wert(Roberts), Jason Supri(Chippewa Falls), Dave Nogle(Hastings MN), Kendall Grover, Brad Hoffman, Gunnar Watkins, Brandon Lofgren, Jason Stevens, Jesse Bryan
6 lap Heat 1 – Dahl, Ducommun, Doughty, Lofgren(Taylor), Supri, Nogle, Wert, Grover
Heat 2 – Watkins(Elk Mound), Havel, Burton, Skoug, Hathaway, Bryan, Stevens, Hoffman