Johnny Sauter Accepts the “Ultimate Challenge” for Sunday’s Main Event
By: Kevin Ramsell & Stephanie Johnson
(West Salem, WI – October 10, 2015) A packed house was on hand Saturday night for day three of the 46th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin. Casey Johnson, Brian Back and Phil Malouf added their names to the list of 2015 winners at the historic event.
Casey Johnson finished second on the track, but was given the win after unofficial winner J. Herbst failed post race inspection for non-conforming boosters in the carburetor.
On the track, Herbst did lead all 68 laps while holding off challenges from Johnson. On the final lap, Johnson closed in on Herbst’s bumper in turns three and four but didn’t get the run he needed off the corner to challenge for the win.
Michael Bilderback finished second and claimed the 2015 Big 8 Series championship.
Ty Majeski finished third with Tim Sargent in fourth. Rich Schuman Jr. rounded out the top five.
Mike Ehde, Mike Meyerhofer Jr., Nick Nolden, and Jon Lemke advanced to the Big 8 Series feature after winning their respective qualifier races.
Herbst won the odd dash and Jesse Bernhagen won the even dash.
Michael Ostdiek, Ryan Kamish, and Kyle Shear advanced to the main event from the first last chance race. Wayne Friemund, Harley Jankowski, and John Baumeister Jr, advanced from the second.
The ARCA Midwest Tour had their qualifying and preliminary races for Sunday’s main event. Ty Majeski continued his incredible weekend by setting a fast time of 18.900 in qualifying.
In pre-race ceremonies, Majeski was offered to take the “Ultimate Challenge” by starting at the rear of the field for Sunday’s 200-lap main event for a $3,000 bonus. Majeski told the crowd that his focus was to get the win for his crew chief Toby Nuttleman, who has yet to win the Oktoberfest 200 and declined to take it. Matt Kocourek, who qualified second also declined to take the challenge. Johnny Sauter was the final driver given the opportunity, and by the encouragement of the fans, he will take the challenge and start 28th on Sunday.
Chris Weinkauf held off Jim Sauter Jr. and Andy Jones to win the odd dash. Dennis Prunty won the even dash over Natalie Decker and Griffin McGrath.
Travis Sauter and Dan Fredrickson advanced to the feature by finishing first and second in the first qualifier race. John DeAngelis Jr. and Caleb Adrian advance from the second qualifier race.
Fans witnessed a three-wide finish at the line in the Midwest Dash Series 20-lap main event as Phil Malouf was in the middle and held off George Sparkman on the outside and Adam Krzykowski on the inside for the victory. Malouf took over the lead on lap seven after early leaders Kyle Stark and Adam Eckes got together in turn three on lap six causing Eckes to ride the outside wall, putting two wheels on the wall. Sparkman, who spun earlier, chased down Malouf and challenged for the lead in the last five laps short but came up short at the line.
Rick Brandl and Adam Krzykowski won the Midwest Dash Series heat races.
Brian Back was the class of the field in the Mid-American Stock Car Series 40-lap feature event. Back started 11th and didn’t waste any time working his way to the front. At the halfway mark, Back easily passed Dan Gilster for the lead coming out of turn four. He would pull away from Brian Holtz en route to the win. Gilster would finish third.
Kenny Joosten and Rick Corso won the Mid-American heats.
The final day of the 46th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend gets underway with the annual charity pancake breakfast starting at 7:30am. The pumpkin coloring contest starts at 9am with the on-track autograph session at 11am. Racing will get underway at noon. The ARCA Midwest Tour Oktoberfest 200, JMcK 63 for the Big 8 Series, and Vintage Cars will be in action.
For more information, please visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com.
LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY
Big 8 Late Models
Oktoberfest 68 Feature (28 Cars) — 1. Casey Johnson, Stoughton, 2. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit, IL, 3. Ty Majeski, Seymour, 4. Tim Sargent, South Beloit, IL, 5. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, 6. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, 7. Micheal Beamish, Eagan, MN, 8. Zach Riddle, Brooklyn, WI, 9. Bobby Wilberg, Beloit, 10. Jesse Bernhagen, Markesan, WI, 11. Cole Anderson, Northfield, MN, 12. Michael Ostdiek, Lakeville, MN, 13. Ryan Kamish, Farmington, MN, 14. Kyle Shear, Roscoe, OH, 15. Jon Lemke, Shakopee, MN, 16. Austin Nason, Roscoe, IL, 17. Wayne Freimund, Elkmound, MN, 18. Mike Meyerhofer, Hilber, WI, 19. Ty Reedy, Holmen, 20. John Baumeister Jr., Beloit, 21. Mike Ehde, Praire Du Chien, 22. Michael Bachaus, Milton, 23. Harley Jankowski, Sparta, 24. Dave Edwards, Salem, 25. Shane Morrissey, Cuba City, 26. Jerimy Wagner, Onalaska, 27. Nick Nolden, Sun Praire, 28. J. Herbst, LaCrosse
Qualifying — 1. Ty Majeski, 20.319 sec., 96.634 mph, 2. Casey Johnson, 20.433 sec., 96.095 mph, 3. Michael Bilderback, 20.486 sec., 95.846 mph, 4. Ty Reedy, 20.501 sec., 95.776 mph, 5. Rich Schumann Jr., 20.507 sec., 95.748 mph, 6. Austin Nason, 20.517 sec., 7. Michael Beamish, 20.537 sec., 8. Tim Sargent, 20.533 sec., 9. Shane Morrissey, 20.538 sec., 10. Zack Riddle, 20.539 sec., 11. J. Herbst, 20.560 sec., 12. Jesse Bernhagen, 20.561 sec., 13. Jeremy Lepak, 20.579 sec., 14. Cole Anderson, 20.611 sec., 15. Kyle Shear, 20.640 sec., 16. Mike Meyerhofer Jr., 20.651 sec., 17. Micheael Ostdiek, 20.680 sec., 18. Jon Lemke, 20.683 sec., 19. Michael Bachaus, 20. 686 sec., 20. Bobby Wilberg, 20.715 sec., 21. Jerry Mueller, 20.726 sec., 22. John Baumeister Jr., 20.738 sec., 23. Mike Ehde, 20.746 sec., 24. Harley Jankowski, 20.748 sec., 25. Nick Nolden, 20.899 sec., 26. Dillon Hammon, 20.905 sec., 27. Jerimy Wagner, 20.927 sec., 28. Adam Bendzick, 20.935 sec., 29. Collin Olson, 20.939 sec., 30. Wayne Freimund, 20.939 sec., 31. Ryan Kamish, 20.940 sec., 32. Todd Oliver, 21.018 sec., 33. Christopher Marek, 21.076 sec., 34. Dan Jung, 21.096 sec., 35. Shayne Poehnelt, 21.107 sec., 36. Dave Edwards, 21.178 sec., 37. Jake Sernett, 21.178 sec., 38. Kyle Genett, 21.244 sec., 39. Michael Clapper, 21.273 sec., 40. Eric Connell, 21.344 sec., 41. Gary Krueger, 21.446 sec., 42. Brody Willett, 21.572 sec., 43. Ken Jacoby, 21.592 sec., 44. Larry DeVito, 21.825 sec., 45. Ricky Heinan, 21.897 sec. Heat 1 — 1. Mike Ehde, 2. Ryan Kamish, 3. Kyle Shear, 4. Shayne Poehnelt, 5. Jerimy Wagner Heat 2 — 1. Mike Meyerhofer, 2. Harley Jankowski, 3. Bobby Wilberg, 4. Todd Oliver, 5. Dave Edwards Heat 3 — 1. Nick Nolden, 2. Michael Ostdiek, 3. Christopher Marek, 4. Jerry Mueller, 5. Collin Olson Heat 4 — 1. Jon Lemke, 2. Wayne Freimund, 3. John Baumeister Jr., 4. Dillion Hammond, 5. Dan Jung. ODD Dash — 1. J. Herbst, 2. Michael Beamish, 3. Shane Morrissey, 4. Ty Majeski, 5. Michael Bilderback EVEN Dash — 1. Jesse Bernhagen, 2. Zach Riddle, 3. Cole Anderson, 4. Tim Sargent, 5. Casey Johnson Last Chance Race 1— 1. Michael Ostdiek, 2. Ryan Kamish, 3. Kyle Shear, 4. Shayne Poehnelt, 5. Jerry Mueller Last Chance Race 2— 1. Wayne Freimund, 2. Harley Jankowski, 3. John Baumeister Jr., 4. Todd Oliver, 5. Bobby Wilberg
ARCA Midwest Tour
Qualifying — 1. Ty Majeski, 18.900 sec., 119.048 mph, 2. Matt Kocourek, 18.919 sec., 118.928 mph, 3. Johnny Sauter, 18.946 sec., 118.759 mph, 4. Nick Murgic, 18.948 sec., 118.746 mph, 5. Austin Nason, 18.991 sec., 118.477 mph, 6. Skylar Holzhausen, 18.997 sec., 7. Erik Darnell, 19.023 sec., 8. Jacob Goede, 19.029 sec., 9. Jim Sauter Jr., 19.167 sec., 10. Griffin McGrath, 19.200 sec., 11. Dalton Zehr, 19. 237 sec., 12. DeanLaPointe, 19.265 sec., 13. Chris Weinkauf, 19.277 sec., 14. Dennis Prunty, 19.279 sec., 15. Andy Jones, 19.285 sec., 16. Natalie Decker, 19.294 sec., 17. Travis Sauter, 19.295 sec., 18. Caleb Adrian19.297 sec., 19. Ricky Baker, 19.304 sec., 20. John DeAngeis Jr., 19.326 sec., 21. Anthony Danta, 19.376 sec., 22. Casey Johnson, 19.405 sec., 23. Jason Weinkauf, 19.450 sec., 24. Andrew Morrissey, 19.458 sec., 25. Dan Fredrickson, 19.481 sec., 26. Nick Barstad, 19.488 sec., 27. Brent Kirchner, 19.510 sec., 28. Tim Sauter, 19.517 sec., 29. Ryan Ferrell, 19.526 sec., 30. Jonathan Eilen, 19.553 sec., 31. Steve Apel, 19.605 sec., 32. Derek Kraus, 19.621 sec., 33. James Swan, 19.646 sec., 34. Corey Kemkes, 19.864 sec., 35. Bruce Yackey, 19.865 sec., 36. Len Nowesle, 19.881 sec., 37. Justin Oretel, 20.242 sec., 38. Brad Tilton, 20.243 sec.
ODD Dash — 1. Chris Weinkauf, 2. Jim Sauter Jr., 3. Andy Jones, 4. Dalton Zehr, 5. Johnny Sauter
EVEN Dash — 1. Dennis Prunty, 2. Natalie Decker, 3. Griffin McGrath, 4. Skylar Holzhausen, 5. Dean LaPointe
Qualifying Feature 1 — 1. Travis Sauter, 2. Dan Fredrickson, 3. Ricky Baker, 4. Anthony Danta, 5. Jason Weinkauf
Qualifying Feature 2 — 1. John DeAngeis Jr., 2. Caleb Adrian, 3. Andrew Morrissey, 4. Tim Sauter, 5. Casey Johnson
Mid-American Stock Cars
Oktoberfest 40 Feature (17 Cars) — 1. Brian Back, Rudolph, WI, 2. Jeff Holtz, Franksville, WI, 3. Dan Gilster, West Salem, 4. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, WI, 5. Jeremy Spoonmore, Somonauk, IL, 6. Rick Corso, Mc Henry, IL, 7. Scott Dunning, Bolingbrook, IL, 8. Lyle Nowak, Wausau, 9. Rick Tackman Jr., Waukesha, 10. Eric Lingford, Wind Lake, IL, 11. Brian Holtz, Muskego, WI, 12. Austin Wiese, Plymouth, MN, 13. Mark Brooner, Tomah, 14. Greg Beebe, Waukesha, 15. Kenny Joosten, Wonder Lake, IL, 16. Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI
Qualifying — 1. Brian Back, 20.929 sec., 107.506 mph, 2. Jeff Holtz, 20.969 sec., 107.301 mph, 3. Dan Gilster, 21.008 sec., 107.102 mph, 4. Tyler Bauknecht, 21.155 sec., 106.358 mph, 5. Ryan Gutknecht, 21.204 sec., 106.112 mph, 6. Rick Corso, 21.328 sec., 7. Jeremy Spoonmore, 21.348 sec., 8. Lyle Nowak, 21.414 sec., 9. Scott Dunning, 21.422 sec., 10. Rick Tackman, 21.528 sec., 11. Erick Lingford, 21.932 sec., 12. Austin Wiese, 21.948 sec., 13. Brian Holtz, 22.060 sec., 14. Mark Brooner, 22.298 sec., 15. Greg Beebe, 22.305 sec., 16. Kenny Joosten, 22.400 sec., 17. Joe Monti, 22.622 sec.
Heat 1 — 1. Kenny Joosten, 2. Brian Bock, 3. Scott Dunning, 4. Rick Tackman Jr., 5. Mark Brooner
Heat 2 — 1. Rick Corso, 2. Tyler Bauknecht, 3. Lyle Nowak, 4. Jeremy Spoonmore, 5. Ryan Gutknecht
Midwest Dash
Oktoberfest 20 Feature (14 Cars) — 1. Phil Malouf, Manitowish Waters, WI, 2.George Sparkman, Loves Park, IL, 3. Adam Krzykowski, Wisconsin Rapids, 4. Mike Heidmann, Edgar, 5. Scott Ciesielske, Stevens Point, 6. Dave Auringer, Prior Lake, MN, 7. Rick Brandl, Milladore, WI, 8. Justin Schelitzche, Lester Praire, MN, 9. Scott Schlafke, Cleveland, WI, 10. Ridge Oieh, Bloomington, MN, 11. Tony DeVito, Camp Douglas, 12. Steven Rusch, Sparta, 13. Jonathan Burbach, Winon, MN, 14. Kyle Sikora, Hartford, 15. Kyle Stark, Waterloo, 16. Kevin Eckes, Auburndale, WI.
Qualifying — 1. Kevin Eckes, 23.229 sec., 84.528 mph, 2. George Sparkman, 23.250 sec., 84.452 mph, 3. Kyle Stark, 23.349 sec., 84.094 mph, 4. Dave Auringer, 23.511 sec., 83.514 mph, 5. Scott Ciesielske, 23.544 sec., 83.397 mph, 6. Phil Malouf, 23.616 sec., 7. Adam Krzykowski, 23.737 sec., 8. Mike Heidmann, 23.812 sec., 9. Rick Brandl, 24.237 sec., 10. Justin Schelitzche, 25.575 sec., 11. Ridge Oieh, 25.774 sec., 12. Scott Schlafke, 26.611 sec., 13. Kyle Sikora, 27.374 sec., 14. Tony Devito, 27.580 sec., 15. Steven Rusch, 27.870 sec., 16. Jonathan Burbach, 29.127 sec.
Heat 1 — 1. Rick Brandl, 2. Scott Schlafke, 3. Justin Schelitzche, 4. Ridge Oieh, 5. Kyle Sikora
Heat 2 — 1. Adam Krzykowski, 2. Kevin Eckes, 3. Kyle Stark, 4. Mike Heidmann, 5. George Sparkman
LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway PO Box 853 N4985 Cty Rd M West Salem, WI 54669 http://www.lacrossespeedway.com 608-786-1525