by Kevin Ramsell
(West Salem, WI – October 4, 2013) Erik Darnell was looking to improve on his run at Oktoberfest’s Dick Trickle “99” last year. In fact, he wasn’t in the main event but won the “Stubby” for the drivers that didn’t make the big show. Tonight, he made a great improvement, as he became the seventh different winner of the popular event on day two of the 44th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
Johnny Sauter started on the pole for the first segment and he showed his muscle early. He was leading until the only caution of the segment waved on lap nine as Paige Decker made contact with the frontstretch wall. Greg VanGool got the worse of the incident with heavy front-end damage. On the restart, Chris Weinkauf got a jump on Sauter and took the lead. But that lead only lasted a lap as Sauter drove right by him and sailed on to the checkered flag.
Sauter said in victory lane that they still have some work to do on the car to get it better to turn in the corner. Which they later found out that he had a broken shock and was able to repair it for segment two. He drew a six, for a 16-car invert for the second segment.
Steve Holzhausen and Neil Knoblock led the field to the start of the second segment. Knoblock got the lead with Ty Majeski right behind him. On lap two, Majeski went to the inside of Knoblock going into turn three to challenge for the top spot. A lap later, Majeski got the lead broke away from the rest of the field. Steve Carlson made a late charge to go to second as the checkered flag fell. Nick Panitzke was third.
Johnny Sauter pulled into the pits with 12 laps to go in the first segment. Crew was working on the driver side of the car. Majeski pulled a one for an eleven-car invert for the final segment.
Erik Darnell was the overall leader after two segments with nine points as he finished seventh in the second segment.
Darnell started eleventh in the final segment. Jonathan Eilen got the lead at the drop of the green flag but Majeski didn’t waste any time as he went from fourth to the lead in three laps. Darnell knew he had to stay ahead of Nathan Haseleu and Frank Kreyer to take the overall win.
While Majeski led, Darnell got past Colin Reffner for fifth on lap 14. Darnell didn’t stop as he got past Johnny Sauter for second in the closing laps.
Majeski won the third segment but it was Darnell picking up the overall win over Haseleu and Majeski.
Dave Auringer passed Scott Ciesielske on lap 3 and pulled away from the rest of the field to win the Midwestern Dash 15-lap feature event. Ashley Gottchalk took the lead at the green but was passed by Ciesielske heading into turn one on lap three. Two turns later, Auringer made the winning pass. Only one caution flew in race when Gary Stark went up in flames in front of the crowd on the frontstretch. He would walk away. Phil Malouf tried to chase down Auringer but would run out of laps and finished second. Kyle Stark was third.
Devin Schmidt led all 25 caution-free laps to win the Great Northern Sportsmen feature event. But it wasn’t easy as he was held off challenge from Randy Humfeld with ten laps to go. Humfeld got in a battle with Rich Schermerhorn with five laps to allowing Schmidt to get away. Schermerhorn and Humfeld would make contact in turns one and two laps to go but would not get a chance to run down Schmidt who took the win.
Jason Thoma finished fourth and won the 2013 Great Northern Sportsmen Series Championship.
Andy Jones won the Midwest Truck Tour feature. Jerry Wood claimed his third championship.
The Big-8 Late Models series will be leading the action come Saturday night, also on tap is the Mid-American Stock Car series and ARCA Midwest Tour preliminaries. Ending the weekend on Sunday will be the ARCA Oktoberfest 100-lap feature, along with the JMCK 63 Late Models, Late Model Challenge, Vintage Cars, Outlawz and Bandits. For more information please call the Speedway office at (608) 786-1525 or visit www.lacrossespeedway.com.
LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway is a proud NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series – www.hometracks.nascar.com.
LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY
Dick Trickle 99 – Super Late Models
Coca-Cola 33 Segment 1 (23 Cars) — 1, Johnny Sauter, Necedah; 2, Erik Darnell, Park City, Ill.; 3, Chris Weinkauf, Merrill; 4, Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville; 5, Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor; 6, Frank Kreyer, Wisconsin Dells; 7, Jonathan Eilen, unknown; 8, Colin Reffner, Wisconsin Rapids; 9, Griffin McGrath, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 10, Steve Carlson, West Salem; 11, Nick Panitzke, Sauk Centre, Minn.; 12, Bobby Kendall, Montello; 13, Ty Majeski, Seymour; 14, Chris Wimmer, Wausau; 15, Neil Knoblock, Wausau; 16, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor; 17, Mark Kraus, Stratford; 18, Matt Pyburn, Wisconsin Rapids; 19, Gary La Monte, West Allis; 20, Chad Walen, Prior Lake, Minn.; 21, Andrew Morrissey, De Forest; 22, Joel Theisen, Maple Grove, Minn.; 23, Paige Decker, Eagle River; 24, Greg Vangool, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Coca-Cola 33 Segment 2 (21 Cars) — 1, Ty Majeski; 2, Steve Carlson; 3, Nick Panitzke; 4, Frank Kreyer; 5, Colin Reffner; 6, Nathan Haseleu; 7, Erik Darnell; 8, Griffin McGrath; 9, Chris Wimmer; 10, Skylar Holzhausen; 11, Chris Weinkauf; 12, Jonathan Eilen; 13, Mark Kraus; 14, Neil Knoblock; 15, Matt Pyburn; 16, Gary La Monte; 17, Bobby Kendall; 18, Johnny Sauter; 19, Steve Holzhausen; 20, Andrew Morrissey; 21, Chad Walen.
Coca-Cola 33 Segment 3 (19 Cars) — 1, Ty Majeski; 2, Erik Darnell; 3, Johnny Sauter; 4, Nathan Haseleu; 5, Chris Weinkauf; 6, Steve Holzhausen; 7, Colin Reffner; 8, Frank Kreyer; 9, Skylar Holzhausen; 10, Steve Carlson; 11, Mark Kraus; 12, Neil Knoblock; 13, Matt Pyburn; 14, Nick Panitzke; 15, Bobby Kendall; 16, Griffin McGrath; 17, Jonathan Eilen; 18, Gary La Monte; 19, Chris Wimmer.
Qualifying — 1, Johnny Sauter, 18.865 seconds, 104.082 MPH; 2, Chris Weinkauf, 18.959 secs, 103.566 MPH; 3, Nathan Haseleu, 19.017 secs, 103.250 MPH; 4, Erik Darnell, 19.044 secs, 103.103 MPH; 5, Dan Fredrickson, 19.094 secs, 102.833 MPH; 6, Frank Kreyer; 7, Skylar Holzhausen; 8, Ty Majeski; 9, Travis Sauter; 10, Colin Reffner; 11, Steve Carlson; 12, Bobby Kendall; 13, Griffin McGrath; 14, Matt Pyburn; 15, Jonathan Eilen; 16, Nick Panitzke; 17, Neil Knoblock; 18, Steve Holzhausen; 19, Andrew Morrissey; 20, Greg Vangool; 21, Mark Kraus; 22, Chris Wimmer; 23, Paige Decker; 24, Joel Theisen; 25, Derek Lemke; 26, Bryan Syer-Keske; 27, Dan Lensing; 28, Gary La Monte; 29, Tim Sauter; 30, Nick Barstad; 31, Jason Weinkauf; 32, Mike Carlson; 33, Jeremy Lepak; 34, Dean La Pointe; 35, Nick Murgic; 36, Maxwell Schultz; 37, Chad Walen; 38, Tim Rothe; 39, Claire Decker; 40, Brandon Hill; 41, Brandon Selle; 42, Jeff Storm; 43, Jeremy Miller; 44, Bryan Roach; 45, Nathan Matz; 46, Clint Sillars; 47, Ryan Hinner; 48, Mark Lamereaux; 49, Mike Egan; 50, Tim Schendel; 51, Don Turner; 52, Kelsey Bauer; 53, Dalton Zehr; 54, Matt Goede; 55, Monte Gress; 56, Billy Mohn; 57, Mike Olson; 58, Ed Szelagowski Jr.; 59, Bret Widdis; 60, Ryan Wolke; 61, Mike Ehde; 62, J. Herbst; 63, John Heath.
Last Chance 1 — 1, Paige Decker; 2, Neil Knoblock; 3, Greg Vangool; 4, Bryan Syer-Keske; 5, Tim Sauter.
Last Chance 2 — 1, Joel Theisen; 2, Steve Holzhausen; 3, Mark Kraus; 4, Jeff Storm; 5, Nick Barstad.
Last Chance 3 — 1, Chris Wimmer; 2, Gary La Monte; 3, Derek Lemke; 4, Andrew Morrissey; 5, Jason Weinkauf.
Great Northern Sportsmen
Coca-Cola 25 Feature (24 Cars) — 1, Devin Schmidt, Belle Plaine, Minn.; 2, Rick Schermerhorn, Westby; 3, Randy Humfeld, Chaseburg; 4, Kody Hubred, Cambridge; 5, Jason Thoma, Jefferson; 6, Bill Martin, Madison; 7, Bill Prietzel, Richfield; 8, Dave Trute, New Lisbon; 9, Steve Bachman, West Salem; 10, Jason Dummer, Holmen; 11, Greg Scheck, La Crosse; 12, Brent Kane, Lansdale, Minn.; 13, Jake Arneson, Taylor; 14, Jimmy Gilster, West Salem; 15, Jamie Dummer, Tomah; 16, Kyle Chwala, Johnson Creek; 17, Rick Johnson, West Salem; 18, Gordy Swanson, Elko, Minn.; 19, Brian Hesselberg, West Salem; 20, Dusty Mann, Dundas, Minn.; 21, Adam Wiebusch, Belle Plaine, Minn.; 22, Seth Lootans, Kenosha; 23, Jim Tate Jr., Watertown; 24, Johnny Robinson, Beloit.
Qualifying — 1, Randy Humfeld, 21.530 seconds, 91.198 MPH; 2, Rick Schermerhorn, 21.704 secs, 90.467 MPH; 3, Dave Trute, 21.838 secs, 89.912 MPH; 4, Jason Thoma, 21.872 secs, 89.772 MPH; 5, Steve Bachman, 21.878 secs, 89.748 MPH; 6, Bill Prietzel; 7, Jim Tate Jr.; 8, Jake Arneson; 9, Kody Hubred; 10, Jason Dummer; 11, Bill Martin; 12, Devin Schmidt; 13, Scott Luck, Praire Du Sac; 14, Rick Johnson; 15, Jimmy Gilster; 16, Kyle Chwala; 17, Greg Scheck; 18, Brent Kane; 19, Dusty Mann; 20, Brian Hesselberg; 21, Gordy Swanson; 22, Adam Wiebusch; 23, Gregory Borchardt, Prior Lake, Minn.; 24, Rob Curran, Rockland; 25, Seth Lootans; 26, Jerrod Loging, West Salem; 27, Johnny Robinson; 28, Spencer Wilhelm, West Salem; 29, Eric Campbell, Lonsdale, Minn.; 30, Justin Berg, Bangor; 31, Bobby Frisch, Beloit; 32, Mike Taylor, Stoughton; 33, Tom Luethe, West Salem; 34, Erik Turner, Two Rivers; 35, Mark Challet, La Crosse; 36, Brad Warthan, Sparta; 37, Andy Buhrow, Sparta.
Last Chance 1 — 1, Greg Scheck; 2, Jimmy Gilster; 3, Gordy Swanson; 4, Dusty Mann; 5, Johnny Robinson.
Last Chance 2 — 1, Brent Kane; 2, Brian Hesselberg; 3, Kyle Chwala; 4, Rick Johnson; 5, Adam Wiebusch.
Midwest Trucks
Coca-Cola 30 Feature (12 cars) — 1, Andy Jones, Gurnee, Ill.; 2, Chad Wood, Sun Praire; 3, Justin Oertel, Lincolnshire, Ill.; 4, Jerry Wood, Sun Praire; 5, Camden Murphy, unknown; 6, Natalie Decker, Eagle River; 7, Mike Corva, Park Ridge, Ill.; 8, Jacob VanWazer, Lombard, Ill.; 9, Joshua James, Saukville; 10, Jack Litshiem, Galesville; 11, Chad Knaus, Sun Praire; 12, John Wood, Sun Praire.
Qualifying — 1, Andy Jones, 20.443 seconds, 96.048 MPH; 2, Chad Wood, 20.602 secs, 95.306 MPH; 3, Chad Knaus, 20.718 secs, 94.773 MPH; 4, Jerry Wood, 20.771 secs, 94.531 MPH; 5, Camden Murphy, 20.786 secs, 94.463 MPH; 6, Jacob VanWazer; 7, Justin Oertel; 8, Natalie Decker; 9, John Wood; 10, Jack Litshiem; 11, Joshua James; 12, Mike Corva.
Midwestern Dash Series
Coca-Cola 15 Feature (17 cars) — 1, Dave Auringer, Prior Lake, Minn.; 2, Phil Malouf, Manitowish Waters; 3, Kyle Stark, Waterloo; 4, Brad Conant, Antigo; 5, Charlie Nickel, Chili; 6, Adam Eckes, Auburndale; 7, Mike Heidmann, Edgar; 8, Scott Ciesielske, Stevens Point; 9, Seth Reamer, Lake Mills; 10, Tim Anderson, Auburndale; 11, Ashley Gottchalk, Fort Atkinson; 12, Mark Bornitz, Holmen; 13, Danielle Behn, Waupaca; 14, John Radtke, La Crosse; 15, Matthew Carpenter, Galesville; 16, Garrett Thicke, West Salem; 17, Gary Stark, Waterloo.
Qualifying — 1, Brad Conant, 23.105 seconds, 84.982 MPH; 2, Adam Eckes, 23.439 secs, 83.771 MPH; 3, Charlie Nickel, 23.465 secs, 83.678 MPH; 4, Kyle Stark, 23.514 secs, 83.503 MPH; 5, Dave Auringer, 23.610 secs, 83.164 MPH; 6, Phil Malouf; 7, Seth Reamer; 8, Gary Stark; 9, Scott Ciesielske; 10, Mike Heidmann; 11, Ashley Gottchalk; 12, Danielle Behn; 13, John Radtke; 14, Tim Anderson; 15, Garrett Thicke; 16, Matthew Carpenter.