By: Paul Reichert
October 7, 2021
Last year was a terrific weekend of Oktoberfest racing at the LaCrosse Speedway with excellent weather. Everyone had high hopes for the 52nd Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend, but Mother Nature would not get this year’s edition off to a great start. Persistent afternoon rain showers began falling shortly after qualifying started, leading track officials to make a difficult call and cancel the opening night of Oktoberfest.
Morning rain showers had everyone on high alert as to whether or not the first night of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend would take place. Track drying began with urgency once the rains stopped and practice finally got underway. Qualifying began as scheduled with the LaCrosse Sportsmen taking to the track first. Dave Swanson claimed his first ever fast qualifying honor as he topped the Sportsmen time sheets. Just as the LaCrosse Late Models were about to begin their qualifying session the rain returned to wreck havoc. There would be brief breaks in between showers but not long enough to allow for any track drying. This would force the hands of track officials to make the tough decision to call off racing for the night. Sadly there will be no make-up of Thursday’s night racing.
Despite the loss of racing to the weather, three of our regular weekly divisions still crowned track champions for the 2021 racing season. Sam Niles’ long journey finally paid off with the Sportsmen crown, his first ever track championship. Dexter Malin’s leap from Hornets to Sportsmen this year scored him the Rookie of the Year honors. Call Rob Stanfield the ‘King of the Entry Level Divisions’ as he was named the inaugural Six Shooters champion. That title will go well with the Street Stocks, Mini-Vans and Novelty division crowns he captured this year. History would be made at LaCrosse as Cheyanne Stanfield finally locked up her first ever Hornet championship and becomes the first female competitor to ever earn a track championship.
The 52nd Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend continues on Friday, October 8 with the 14th Annual Dick Trickle 99 headlining the night’s action. The LaCrosse Late Models will run a pair of 20 lap features and crown a trio of champions. Not only will the 2021 track champion be crowned, but so will the Chase Champion and the Festmaster Champion from those 20 laps features. The Area Sportsmen division will also be in action. Fan gates open at 3, qualifying kicks off at 3:05 and the first of many green flags will fly at 5:30. Be sure to visit oktoberfestraceweekend.com for the latest updates and news on the weekend.
For more information about LaCrosse Speedway or the 2021 schedule of events, please call the track office at 608-786-1525 or visit our web site at lacrossespeedway.com. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
RESULTS
La Crosse LawnKeepers Sportsmen
Qualifying: 1. Dave Swanson, 2. Ed Ross, 3. Jesse Green, 4. Adam Wiebusch, 5. Sam Niles, 6. Mark Challet, 7. Nathan Borchardt, 8. Justin Berg, 9. Bill Schott, 10. Riley Zillmer, 11. Colton Morgan, 12. Jamie Dummer, 13. Brian Warner, 14. Eric Campbell, 15. Jack Litshiem, 16. Rick Coppernoll, 17. Denny Schott, 18. Kevin Seidler, 19. John Larson, 20. Dexter Malin, 21. Travis Gordon, 22. Tony Holm, 23. Randy Humfeld (DQ), 24. Tytus Helgestad (DQ), 25. Brad Warthan (DQ), 26. Bob Fort (DQ)