By: Kevin Ramsell and Paul Reichert
The weather tried to rain on our racing parade, but it would stay far enough away to allow us to get day two of the 49th Oktoberfest Race Weekend completed. The highlight of this night’s racing was the annual Dick Trickle 99 for the Super Late Models. Johnny Sauter was a man on a mission after becoming Oktoberfest champion last year, as another famous Wisconsin racing name added his name to one of Wisconsin’s biggest races of the year.
Segment one saw pole sitter Dan Fredrickson lead early, but then got into a battle with Austin Nason for the lead. Nason would wrestle away the top spot on lap six. Nason looked like he would claim an easy win as he drove away from the field. Johnny Sauter came from his 12th starting spot to break into the top five by lap 12. Sauter began to pick off the top five, disposing of Fredrickson for second on lap 22. Five laps later Sauter would catch and pass Nason to claim the lead and drive away with the win.
Paul Shafer, Jr. build a huge lead in segment two, but Ty Majeski would make his presence known late in the going. Coming from eighth starting spot, Ty made his way through the field getting up to second by lap 20. With seven to go, Ty surged by Shafer to take the race lead and capture the segment win.
Jason Weinkauf started on the pole for segment three and would hold onto the lead throughout the race. Skylar Holzhausen and Paul Shafer Jr. would give chase to the purple 76 of Weinkauf. Once Johnny Sauter passed Ty Majeski on lap ten, Sauter began his march to the front. Sauter would get all the way up to second with five laps to go but could make a dent into Weinkauf’s lead. Weinkauf won the battle in segment three, but Sauter won the war and captured the overall win.
Colin Neisius led the opening eight laps of the Great Northern Sportsmen Series feature, but championship contender Jason Thoma got by to take the lead on lap nine. Thursday’s La Crosse Sportsmen feature winner Eric Campbell charged by Thoma for the top spot. After a yellow with five to go, Campbell drove away from the field to claim the win. Jason Thoma came home fourth to capture the Great Northern Sportsmen Series title.
The Midwest Truck Series put on an interesting next to last race of the season. Points leader James Swan led the opening ten circuits, but then along came a new challenger to Swan’s dominance. Mike Corvo drove around Swan on the outside for the lead on lap 11 and began to pull away from the field. A caution with nine laps to go slowly Corvo’s progress, but he picked right back up where he left off and drove away with a comfortable win.
The 49th Oktoberfest Race Weekend continues with ‘Championship Saturday’ as three more series run their final races of the season and crown their champions. You’ll witness the last race of the year for the Big 8 Late Models, the Mid-American Stock Cars and the Midwest Dash Series. The ARCA Midwest Tour will also run their preliminary events leading up to Sunday’s big 200-lap main event. Gates open at 2:15, qualifying starts at 2:25 and racing takes the green flag at 5:00.
For more information about LaCrosse Speedway or the 2018 schedule of events, please call the office at 608-786-1525 or visit lacrossespeedway.com. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
RESULTS
Dick Trickle 99
Segment 1: 1. Johnny Sauter, 2. Austin Nason, 3. Dan Fredrickson
Segment 2: 1. Ty Majeski, 2. Paul Shafer Jr., 3. Michael Sauter
Segment 3: 1. Jason Weinkauf, 2. J. Sauter, 3. Casey Johnson
Overall: 1. Johnny Sauter 10, 2. Casey Johnson 15, 3. Ty Majeski 16, 4. Jason Weinkauf 18, 5. Skylar Holzhausen 19, 6. Paul Shafer, Jr. 20, 7. Michael Sauter 20, 8., Jacob Goede 22, 9. Nick Barstad 23, 10. Austin Nason 24, 11. Dan Fredrickson 30, 12. Chris Weinkauf 33, 13., Nick Murgic 34, 14. Dennis Prunty 41, 15. Colin Reffner 43, 16. Bryan Syer-Keske 46, 17. Michael Ostdiek 49, 18. Bubba Pollard 52, 19. Dillon Hammond 58, 20. Billy Mohn 59, 21. Griffin McGrath 63, 22. Dalton Zehr 65
‘Stubby’ Feature: 1. Justin Mondeik, 2. Luke Fenhaus, 3. John Beale
Qualifying: 1. Dan Fredrickson, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Austin Nason
Great Northern Sportsmen Series
Feature: 1. Eric Campbell, 2., Randy Humfeld, 3., Chris Weber., 4. Jason Thoma, 5. Colin Neisius
Qualifying: 1. Scott Luck (New Track Record–21.088)
Midwest Truck Series
Feature: 1. Mike Corvo, 2. James Swan, 3. Dave Edwards, 4. Luke Fenhaus, 5. Kevin Knuese
Qualifying: 1. Jerry Brickner (New Track Record–20.411)