By: Ashley Iwanski & Kevin Ramsell
Thursday, October 4, 2007 (West Salem, WI) – Larry Bolster Jr. (Sparta) was able to keep Sportsmen Division Champion Dan Gilster behind him to win the North Country Contractors Sportsmen feature. Bolster Jr. pulled into the lead quickly and four laps later had to fend off the advances of Nick Clements (4th). Within two laps the pair were side by side, but Clements couldn’t complete the pass. Larry Bolster Jr. was then able to pull away for ten laps until a caution came out with four to go. Gilster (2nd) chose to restart on the inside allowing him to race side by side with the leader. Bolster Jr. had the advantage though; Gilster was out of the draft and fell back. Just as they were coming around to complete lap seventeen Wayne Smith spun on the front stretch to bring out yet another caution. On the restart Gilster was all over the back bumper of Bolster Jr. threatening to take the lead. But as they came around turn four Bolster Jr. held on to the bottom and was able to keep Gilster behind him. Gilster finished 2nd.
Four cautions littered the Sportsman race. The first was on the starting lap when Tim Steinhoff spun on the front stretch. Because the first lap was not completed the race was restarted. The second came out six laps later when Jamie Millis went flying into the wall. Fourth place finisher Clements looked as though he was going to bring out the third caution when he was sliding through the corners sideways but was able to hold on and avoid a caution and wrecked car. The last two cautions came right in a row with three laps to go making it a dangerous race for Bolster Jr. and the rest of the top five. Luckily for Bolster Jr. no one was able to catch him. Randy Humfeld and Jes Tenner put their cars in the top five in the last two laps to finish 4th and 5th. Aaron Hass finished in the 3rd position.
Steve Bornitz walked away from the final night of racing for the United Auto Supply Thunderstox Division with a win. They started side by side but quickly went into three wide racing. Kris Buldhaupt spun on lap seven to bring out a caution. Then on the restart cars got together and started spinning all over the front stretch. This put Bornitz in the position to win. The front three were nose to tail for the last seven laps and although Matt Inglett and Jason Stark tried to get good runs on Bornitz they just couldn’t get around him. Inglett finished 2nd, Stark 3rd, and Dean Ashbacher 4th. Jamie Dummer finished 5th, behind Inglett, making Matt Inglett the 2007 Champion. Bornitz came back later in the night to win the Double O feature.
Brett Wenzel won the R.A.Y.S. Oktoberfest feature. Ryan Gutknecht and Larry Bolster Jr. battled for the lead in the early going of the 12-lap feature event for the Run All Your Stuff division. Bolster would take over the top spot on lap 3 as he was able to pull away from Gutknecht going down the backstretch.
Wenzel started fifth and quickly got his way to the lead pack on lap 3. A lap later he got on the outside of Bolster and the two put on a great side-by-side battle until Wenzel would finally get away after Bolster got loose in turns one and two on lap 8. Wenzel would go on to lead the final four circuits en route to the victory. Bolster held on to second with Greg Lindvig, who started shotgun on the field, finishing third. Kevin Eckes barely held off Gutknecht for fourth at the line.
Pete Muenkel won the 75-lap Enduro despite the race being stopped twice. One of two red flags appeared on lap 16 when Andrew Meyer’s caught on fire going into turn one. He was able to escape unharmed, but was done. A total of 66 cars started the final event of the first day of Oktoberfest. Muenkel first appeared on the leaderboard on lap 30 and swapped the lead with Kevin Thompson just past the halfway point. Muenkel would get back to the lead on lap 46. He would carefully work his way around the ¼ mile oval to take home the win.
Oktoberfest Race Weekend isn’t over yet. We still have many more divisions to race over the next three days. Friday we will see more exciting racing from the Super Sportsmen division along with the Dick Trickle 99. The racing begins at 5. On Saturday racing starts at 4 when the ASA Midwest Tour will run their heats followed by features from the ASA North Late Model Series and Mid American Stock Car. Sunday is the final day of Oktoberfest Racing. We will see the ASA Midwest Tour feature and the USST Truck series. Racing starts at noon. For more information visit our website at www.lacrossespeedway.com or call the office at (608) 786-1525.
LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY
Late Models Big 8 Series
Feature (26 Cars) —1, Andy Burgess, Eau Claire, Wis; 2, Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 3, Matt Byrne, Burlington, Wis; 4, Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley; 5, Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 6, Todd Oliver, Bangor, Wis; 7, Skylar Holzhausen, Eau Claire, Wis; 8, Emily Sue Steck, Holmen, Wis; 9, Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 10, Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 11, Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 12, Bob Wilberg, Town of Beloit, Wis; 13, John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 14, Andy Jirik, Lonsdale, Minn.; 15, Jason Schuler, Cambridge, Wis; 16, Chad Stevens, Orfordville, Wis; 17, Gary Natrop, Appleton, Wis; 18, Brian Back, Rudolph, Wis; 19, Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 20. Mike Beyer, Machesney Park; 21, Tim Nelson, La Crescent, Minn.; 22, Tim Hagen, La Crescent, Minn.; 23, Mike Ehde, Prairie du Chien, Wis; 24, Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 25, Shawn Pfaff, Sparta, Wis; 26, Dan Jung, Iron Ridge, Wis.
Last Chance 1 — 1, Ricky Bilderback; 2, Brian Back; 3, Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis.; 4, Danny Haying, Waukesha, Wis.; 5, James Kruschke III, Reedsburg, Wis.
Last Chance 2 — 1, Mike Beyer; 2, Gary Natrop; 3, Bill Niles, Holmen, Wis.; 4, Corey Jankowski, Tomah, Wis.; 5, Tim Hagen, La Crescent, Minn.
Qualifying — 1, Ross Kenseth; 2, Emily Sue Steck; 3, Skylar Holzhausen; 4, Todd Oliver; 5, Jeremy Miller.
Qualifying Heat 1 — 1, John Baumeister, Jr.; 2, Chad Stevens; 3, Ricky Bilderback; 4, Mike Beyer; 5, Brian Back.
Qualifying Heat 2 — 1, Dan Jung; 2, Andy Jirik; 3, Tim Hagen; 4, Steve Apel, Colgate, Wis.; 5, Todd Schmitz, Verona, Wis.
Qualifying Heat 3 — 1, Bob Wilberg; 2, Tim Nelson; 3, Bret Widdis, Manistique, Mich.; 4, Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis.; 5, Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis.
Odd Bud Dash — 1, Robert E. Gash Jr.; 2, Gib Scharpf; 3, Andy Burgess; 4, Jeremy Miller; 5, Ross Kenseth.
Even Bud Dash — 1, Kris Kelly; 2, Todd Korish; 3, Michael Bilderback; 4, Ryan Carlson; 5, Todd Oliver.
North Country Contractors Sportsmen
Feature (24 Cars) — 1, Larry Bolster Jr., Sparta; 2, Dan Gilster, West Salem; 3, Aaron Hass, La Crosse; 4, Nick Clements, Onalaska; 5, Jes Tenner, Melrose; 6, Rob Mahan, Sparta; 7, Branden Berg, Melrose; 8, Jerimy Wagner, Melrose; 9, Jimmy Gilster, West Salem; 10, Ken Lewis, Black River Falls; 11, Randy Humfeld, Chaseburg; 12, Rick Schermerhorn, Westby; 13, Rob Curran, Rockland; 14, Troy Maier, La Crosse; 15, Rob Mason, Caledonia, Minn.; 16, Kevin Eddy; 17, Todd Lockington, Mindoro; 18, Justin Berg, Bangor; 19, Keaton Hilby, Bangor; 20, Joe Rinartz, La Crosse; 21, Wayne Smith, Onalaska; 22, Randy Hass, La Crosse; 23, Jamie Millis, Black River Falls; 24, Tim Steinhoff, Cashton.
B-Feature — 1, Justin Berg; 2, Joe Rinartz; 3, Keaton Hilby; 4, Rob Mason; 5, Jerrod Loging, West Salem.
Qualifying — 1, Jes Tenner, 22.181 secs, 88.522 MPH; 2, Dan Gilster, 22.184 secs, 88.510 MPH; 3, Aaron Hass, 22.205 secs, 88.426 MPH; 4, Randy Humfeld, 22.277 secs, 88.140 MPH; 5, Jamie Millis, 22.369 secs, 87.778 MPH.
Qualifying Heat 1 — 1, Wayne Smith; 2, Ken Lewis; 3, Greg Scheck, West Salem; 4, Jerrod Loging; 5, Keaton Hilby.
Qualifying Heat 2 — 1, Tim Steinhoff; 2, Randy Hass; 3, Ralph Cattone, Onalaska; 4, Joe Rinartz; 5, Gordie Gerke, West Salem.
Odd Bud Dash — 1, Brandon Berg; 2, Rick Schermerhorn; 3, Wayne Smith; 4, Larry Bolster Jr.; 5, Randy Humfeld.
Even Bud Dash — 1, Rob Curran; 2, Troy Maier; 3, Rob Mahan; 4, Aaron Hass; 5, Jamie Millis.
United Auto Supply Thunderstox
Feature (23 cars) — 1, Steve Bornitz, West Salem; 2, Matt Ingett, La Crosse; 3, Jason Stark; 4, Dean Ashbacher, Rockland; 5, Jamie Dummer, Galesville; 6, Bill Inglett, La Crosse; 7, Raymond Hardy, Sparta; 8, Jason Bolster, Sparta; 9, Joey Johnson, North Bend; 10, Chad Oehler, La Crosse; 11, Brad Warthan, Sparta; 12, Andy Moore, Sparta; 13, Ray Burkum, Westby; 14, Steven Rusch, Sparta; 15, Keith Larson, La Crosse; 16, Steven Brasda, Osseo; 17, Kris Buldhaupt, La Crosse; 18, Harley Jankowski, Sparta; 19, Josh Inglett, La Crosse; 20, LaVern Berg, Ettrick; 21, Steve Owen, West Salem; 22, Mike Olson, Sparta; 23, Jason Schaller, La Crosse.
B-Feature — 1, Keith Larson; 2, Steven Rusch; 3, Dean Ashbacher; 4, Chris Weber; 5, Joey Johnson.
Heat 1 — 1, Harley Jankowski; 2, Steve Bornitz; 3, Dean Ashbacher; 4, Jake Krueger; 5, LaVern Berg.
Heat 2 — 1, Brad Warthan; 2, Matt Inglett; 3, Jason Schaller; 4, Bill Inglett; 5, Raymond Hardy.
Heat 3 — 1, Mike Olson; 2, Steve Owen; 3, Josh Inglett; 4, Andy Moore; 5, Steven Brasda.
Heat 4 — 1, Jason Stark; 2, Jamie Dummer; 3, Ray Burkum; 4, Jason Bolster; 5, Kris Buldhaupt.
R.A.Y.S.
Feature (9 Cars) — 1, Brett Wenzel, Two Rivers; 2, Larry Bolster Jr.; 3, Greg Lindvig, Holmen; 4, Kevin Eckes, Auburndale; 5, Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek; 6, Jason Bolster; 7, Brad Warthan; 8, Ben Allen, Bangor; 9, Steve Scholze, Sparta.
Heat 1 — 1, Brett Wenzel, Two Rivers; 2, Larry Bolster Jr.; 3, Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek; 4, Dean Ashbacher.
Heat 2 — 1, Steve Scholze, Sparta; 2, Kevin Eckes, Auburndale; 3, Jason Bolster; 4, Brad Warthan; 5, Ben Allen, Bangor.
Double-O – 1. Steve Bornitz; 2. Raymond Hardy; 3. Dean Ashbacher; 4. Jason Bolster; 5. Ryan Gutknecht; 6. Randy Steinhoff; 7. Steve Rusch; 8. Justin Gage; 9. Louie Merriam; 10. Dwayne Anderson; 11. John Huebner; 12. Steve Brasda; 13. Ben Allen; 14. Brad Warthan; 15. Nick Clements; 16. Andy Moore
Miller Lite 75 Lap Enduro: 1. Pete Muenkel; 2. John Ratz; 3. Kule Riedner; 4. Phill Halutpzok; 5. Kule Ranzenberger; 6. Blake Young; 7. Mark Hanson; 8. Derrick Hammer; 9. Mark Wright; 10. Tom Schroud; 11. Kevin Thompson; 12. Logan Donahue; 13. Eric North; 14. Kaleb Miller; 15. Randy Goss; 16. Craig Kohlmeier; 17. Dave Clements; 18. Brett Bagstad; 19. Matt Miller; 20. Matthew Carpenter.