5/14/2019
Outstanding Racing at the Red Cedar Speedway
Menomonie, Wisconsin -The Red Cedar Speedway presented WAXX 104.5, Sports Talk 105.1, Greatest Hits 98.1 and 92.9 The X night. The WISSOTA Pure Stocks, Street Stocks, Midwest Modifieds, Super Stocks, Modifieds, RCS Hornets, and the Limited Late Models were in action. Makeup features were also run in the Midwest Modifieds, Pure Stocks, and Hornets. The condition of the racing surface can simply not be over emphasized as it was very smooth, fast, and once again, multi-grooved. A great amount of rain throughout the week posed a challenge for the track crew but their efforts produced an amazing track to compete on. The racing at the Red Cedar Speedway has been unmatched in 2019 and was simply amazing on this night.
The feature winners were Mike Anderson Curt Myers, Andrew Hanson, Shane Halopka, Dean Pronschinske, Jake Halterman, and Kyle Johnson. Additionally, Tony Bahr, Jeff Tisdale, and Jason Bauer scored feature wins from the May 03, 2019, make up event.
Three heats were run in the WISSOTA Modified class with Michael Truscott, Mike Anderson, and Kevin Eder earning victories. At feature time, it was Cory Mahder, coming off a commanding win in Rice Lake one week earlier, sitting on the pole with Kerry Halopka flanked to his outside. At the drop of the green, Mike Anderson moved from the inside of the second row under Mahder and into the lead. He quickly set a blistering pace which could not be matched by the competition.
It was Anderson out front with Mahder, also fast in his own right, solidly in second, as Michael Truscott took over third. Behind them, Shane Sabranski raced to fourth and Ashley Anderson ran in fifth. Dan Ebert was on the move using the low line to pass through traffic and he was able to take the position from Ashley Anderson.
Mike Anderson had reached lapped traffic and as he began to negotiate the same, Truscott suddenly spun coming off of turn two drawing the only caution flag of the race. The lap eleven restart saw Mike Anderson in the lead with Mahder down low and Sabranski on the outside in the second row. Mike Anderson once again pulled out to a several car length lead on the restart as he cruised home to his first feature win in 2019 in his SSR racecar. Mahder chased him home in a solid second place run as Ebert continued his charge moving to third late in the event. Sabraski and Jody Bellefeuille rounded out the top five. Jordan Hessler, coming off of his feature win one week earlier at Cedar Lake, was the hard charger, finishing in 11th.
Curt and Brett Myers won their respective heats in the Super Stocks and Rick Hallquist and Kyle Copp led the field to the start of the feature. On the green, Nick Oreskovich dropped low in turns one and two and powered into the lead, but by lap two, Curt Myers had driven from eighth to second and looked extremely strong. Myers had two wins a week earlier including at the Red Cedar Speedway and he appeared poised to pick up where he left off.
With Oreskovich low and Myers working the high side, they raced closely until they were side by side on lap five. Myers moved to the lead but Oreskovich wasn’t giving up as he drove back under Myers for the point. The action was intense as Myers drove back into the lead one lap later. Meanwhile Jesse Redetzke had moved from seventh into third, also on the outer rim of the track. Lap after lap, Oreskovich worked low off of turn four and was able to begin to pull beside Myers but Myers carried the momentum outside and stayed in the lead.
A caution flag flew for a spin involving Tommy Richards and Bart Steffen who were running in the top five. Steffen was called for the foul and the field was reset. The restart saw little change up front as Richards moved to third. Suddenly, Shane Sabranski, who had started at the tail of the field, came to a stop on the backstretch just as he was threatening to break into the top five. The caution flag again slowed the pace to allow the track crew to remove his machine.
The restart saw Oreskovich power down low and ease into the lead but a multi-car spin drew the yellow flag and negated the start. A green, white, checkered restart saw the Flying Farmer, Oreskovich, back under Myers to the point. They literally drag raced the final lap and a half with a photo finish as Myers was able to nip Oreskovich at the line in a thriller. Richards, Copp who had a fine run, and Redetzke rounded out the top five. Curt Myers and sixth finishing Adam Soltis tied for the hard charger of the event.
The Street Stocks saw Mike Knudtson and Dustin Doughty win heats as Braden Bauer and Kolby Kiehl were side by side on the front row at the start of the feature. As the came to the green flag, Brauer took the early lead with Kiehl in tow as they were side by side for third on back. Brauer pushed up the track through a corner and Kiehl struck, moving to the point. Andrew Hanson moved into second as Knudtson raced to third. A spinning C.J. Wagner, who has two feature wins already in 2019, slowed the pace.
Kiehl continued to lead on the restart but it was Hanson working below him into the lead and Dustin Doughty following him into second. Danny Richards spun, once again resetting the field and the restart saw Hanson and Doughty nose to tail and driving away from the pack. The final caution of the event saw Brauer spinning off of turn two as Cody Kummer was called for the cause and sent to the rear of the field.
A green, white, checkered finish saw Iron River, Wisconsin’s, Andrew Hanson lead the group to the feature win, followed by Doughty and Kiehl. Braden Bauer took fourth, holding off the challenging Knudtson who was scored in fifth. Doughty was the hard charger of the event.
The Midwest Modifieds saw Brandon Copp, Calvin Iverson, Travis Anderson, and Shane Halopka winning heats as Shadow Kitchner won the first B-Feature of the season in Menomonie. The feature race saw Anderson on the pole with Nick Ayotte to his outside. The first attempt of a start was aborted due to a spin, but the second try saw Anderson pull out into the lead. Behind him, Shane Howell ran in second as Shane Halopka moved from seventh into third. Anderson continued to lead as Calvin Iverson moved into the fourth position.
As Anderson led the field by a few car lengths, Halopka was working the high line and moved into second. Ayotte settled into fourth as Iverson dropped a position to fifth. Halopka used the high side momentum and closed on Anderson for the lead. He was able to pull even in the waning laps of the race, but Anderson dug hard and continued to lead at the line. With the white flag in the air, it was Anderson by a few feet at the start finish line as they raced side by side for the final circuit. Anderson had a slight advantage coming off of turn four but Halopka was able to score the victory passing very late to win a side by side finish at the checkered flag.
Howell finished a strong third with Ayotte in fourth as Tony Bahr moved from 16th to fifth on the field to earn the hard charger award.
The red-hot Jeff Tisdale won the Pure Stock heat as Cole Richards and Dean Pronschinske were on the front row of the feature. It was Pronschinske’s night as he drove to the lead and raced unfaltering to his first ever feature win. Pronschinske has shown speed though this season but he was not being caught on this evening. The top three checked out on the field and George Richards was scored as the runner up and Tisdale came home in third. Joe Prusak and Cole Richards rounded out the top five.
Bradley York, Chad Halterman, and Jake Halterman scored heat wins in the RCS Hornets as Dean Butler and Roy Cooper lead the pack at feature time. It was Butler to the lead followed by Armond Love as Cooper fought back into second. Jake Halterman was on the moved as he drove into third and then used the low line to overtake the lead. Love followed Halterman and drove in the second position as Bradley York closed into third.
At the halfway point, York challenged side by side for second and overtook the spot. It was Jason Brauer now looking strong as he moved his way through traffic and overtook third and eventually second. Halterman was checked out on the field however as he cruised to the feature win with Bauer, York, Love, and Jason Helgeson rounding out the top five. Derek Krumrie moved from 23rd on the field to finish ninth to earn the hard charger award.
Kyle Johnson swept the Limited Late Model night with both heat and feature win, but it wasn’t that simple. Although he blasted to the lead from the pole position, and dominated the race, a late yellow flag drawn by a spinning Barry Johnson called for a green, white, checkered finish. What had been an uneventful race turned into a barn burner as Shaun Mann drove low on the restart to take the point. Johnson set chase and as Mann drove too high in turn two on the final circuit, Johnson dove beneath him and regained the lead. Johnson was first at the stripe followed by Mann, Michael Bruggeman, Ashley Wahlstrom, Barry Johnson, and Jordan Langer, who made the move from a Hornet to the Limited Late Models was scored in sixth.
The makeup feature races from the rain shortened May 03, 2019, race event finished as follows:
The WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds saw pole sitter Cody Borgeson move to the lead early as D.J. Ford looked very strong and overtook the lead on lap two. Borgeson was not going away easily though and he moved back to the lead by a nose on lap four. It was Tony Bahr however, who had moved from the inside of row five to the third position. He split the leaders on the back stretch and found himself impressively on the point.
As Bahr checked out of the field, Ford and Borgeson battled side by side for the runner up position. But it was Shane Halopka with a different idea as he changed lanes from high to low and back again as he carved through the pack up front. He moved into the runner up position with four laps to go, but there was no catching Bahr as he scorched the field out front. Bahr was the winner as Halopka finished second over Ford. Calvin Iverson overtook fourth as Borgeson rounded out the top five.
The WISSOTA Pure Stocks raced without a caution as Jeff Tisdale beat George Richards and Cole Richards was scored in third.
The RCS Hornets saw Sean Svee lead early, but Brad York overtook the point on the second circuit. Jason Bauer moved through the pack and took second and Armond Love drove to third. Late in the race, York came back to challenge for the win as Bauer lead at the white flag. York drove under Bauer for the lead on the back stretch, but Bauer used a cross over move to retake the point on the final corner. At the flag it was Bauer, York, Halterman, Love, and Derek Krumrie rounding out the top five.
The Red Cedar Speedway returns to action on Friday, May 17, 2019, with a Tack Gives Back to Charity Night with WISSOTA Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, and Hornets all in action.
Article Credit: Brad Erickson
