By: Kevin Ramsell & Stephanie Johnson
(West Salem, WI – October 8, 2015) One of the best crowds was on hand for opening night of the 46th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. That crowd witnessed eight divisions of racing on Thursday night.
Brad Keith, Ty Majeski, Steve Bachman, Mark Luethe, Charles Vian Jr., Mark Bornitz, and Jason Stark entered their names into the famous Oktoberfest record books.
Brad Keith would go wire-to-wire to capture the The Futures 25-lap feature for the Super Late Models. Keith had a great side-by-side battle with Austin Nason in the final 10 laps, but Keith would get away for the victory.
With 46 cars qualifying, there were two 20-lap qualifier races with the top three advancing to the feature. Chad Whalen, Corey Jankowski, and Mike Lichtfeld advanced from the first while Ryan Farrell, Natalie Decker and Adam Degenhardt advanced from the second qualifier.
Ty Majeski didn’t waste time in the Kwik Trip La Crosse Late Models as he worked his way to the front and drove his way up to second until the first caution flew for Cam Dezelske’s spin in turn four. On the restart, Majeski would take the lead from from Cole Howland. Caution flew again for a light sprinkle on lap 18. After a brief delay, Majeski would restart alongside Steve Carlson. The would touch going into turn one as Carlson was hoping to get in front of Majeski into turn one. Majeski held his inside line and would pull away to the victory in the 40-lap feature.
Carlson would claim another Late Model championship at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
Steve Bachman was the big winner in the Dean’s Satellite Sportsmen 20-lap feature. Bachman inherited the lead after Tony Leis, who was leading, got tangled with the lap car of Dave Meyerhofer going into turn one. Leis made contact with the wall and he was done for the night. Bachman would get the lead and go on to take the drive to victory lane.
Nick Clements won the 2015 Sportsmen track championship.
Mark Luethe jumped to the lead and wasn’t challenged as he won the ANTS Complete Pest Control Hornet 15-lap feature. Luethe started on the outside of the front row and jumped away from the field. The caution flew with two laps to go when Kris Berg lost a tire in turn three. Luethe wasn’t challenged on the restart to get the win.
Brandon LeMoine, Luethe, and Travis Lee were the Hornet heat winners. Patrick Thicke won the B-Feature.
Nate Towner is the 2015 Hornet champion.
The Auto Value Thunderstox finished off their 2015 season with a stellar photo finish between Charles Vian Jr. and Bill Schott. The caution flew on the last lap when Kayla Lockington spun on the frontstretch. It was a one-lap dash to the checkered flag where Vian and Schott battled side-by-side all the way to the line with Vian taking it by inches.
Jacinda Pfaff and Andy Moore won the Thunderstox heats.
Andy Moore finished fourth to capture the season championship.
Mark Bornitz took home the Bandit feature win. Ridge Oieh took the early lead until the caution flew on lap five. On the restart, Bornitz got on the inside of Oieh coming out of turn four and took over the top spot going into turn one. He would go on to take the victory.
Oieh and Michael Wachs Jr. took the checkered flags in the Bandit heats.
The Mountain Dew Outlawz had a wild 20-lap feature with Jason Stark taking the win. Ron Lockington came into the season finale with the point lead, but he was involved in an incident with Brian Back on lap three where the two got together in turn three. Lockington was done for the night. Stark was uncontested in the lead while Jason Bolster tried to steal the championship. As Stark went to take the checkered flag, Bolster came up short as Lockington took the title.
Stark would return to compete in the famous Double-O race and would go on to his second victory of the night.
Day two of the 46th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend gets underway on Friday with the Super Late Models Dick Trickle 99, Great Northern Sportsmen Series, and Fest Trucks in action. The Pet Costume parade starts at 2pm with qualifying at 2:25pm. Racing will get underway at 5pm.
For more information, please visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com.
LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY
Kwik Trip NASCAR Late ModelsOktoberfest 40 Feature (19 Cars) — 1. Ty Majeski, Seymour, 2. Steve Carlson, West Salem, 3. Brad Powell, LaCrosse, 4. Shawn Pfaff, Sparta, 5. Mike Carlson, West Salem, 6. Brent Kirchner, LaCrosse, 7. Jerimy Wagner, Onalaska, 8. Matthew Henderson, LaCrosse, 9. Mike Koeneke, Rockland, 10. Harley Jankowski, Sparta, 11. Cole Howland, LaCrosse, 12. Todd Oliver, Bangor, 13. Carter Christenson, West Salem, 14. Jason Dummer, Holmen, 15. Cam Dezelske, LaCrosse, 16. Justin Zmyewski, Houston, MN, 17. Jonathan Eckelberg, West Salem, 18. Jeff Pataska, LaCrosse, 19. Curt Eckelberg, West Salem
Qualifying — 1 Ty Majeski, 20.015 sec., 98.101 mph, 2. Shawn Pfaff, 20.095 sec.,97.711 mph 3. Steve Carlson, 20.212 sec.,97.145 mph 4. Brad Powell, 20.288 sec., 96.781 mph 5. Mike Koeneke, 20.346 sec., 96.505 mph 6. Harley Jankowski, 20.348 sec., 7. Mike Carlson, 20.381 sec., 8. Jerimy Wagner, 20.425 sec., 9. Brent Kirchner, 20.457 sec., 10. Cole Howland, 20.528 sec., 11. Matthew Henderson, 20.617 sec., 12. Cam Dezelske, 21.738 sec., 13. Carter Christenson, 21.953 sec., 14. Curt Eckelberg, 21.976 sec., 15. Justin Zmyewski, 22.126 sec., 16. Jonathan Eckelberg, 22.148 sec., 17. Jeff Pataska, 23.043 sec., 18. Mike Meyerhofer, 99.999 sec., 19. Todd Oliver, 99.999 sec., 20. Jimmy Summerfield, 99.999 sec., 21. Ryan Kamish, 99.999 sec., 22. Jason Dummer, 99.999 sec.
Super Late Model FuturesOktoberfest 25 Feature (26 Cars) — 1. Brad Keith, West Bend, 2. Austin Nason, Roscoe, IL, 3. Matt Goede, New Germany, MN, 4. Casey Johnson, Stoughton, 5. Cole Anderson, Northfield, MN, 6. Terry Schoppenhorst, Berlin, 7. Bobby Kendall, Montello, 8. Caleb Adrian, Walcott, IA, 9. Ty Majeski, Seymour, 10. Derek Kraus, unknown, 11. Steve Apel, West Bend, 12. John DeAngelis Jr., Hubertus, WI, 13. Travis Dassow, West Bend, 14. Natalie Decker, Eagle River, 15. Derek Lemke, Shakopee, MN, 16. Dalton Zehr, unknown, 17. Alex Stumpf, Brillion, WI, 18. Duke Long, West Bend, 19. Mike Lichtfeld, Portage, 20. Corey Jankowski, Tomah, 21. Gregory Borchardt, Prior Lake, MN, 22. Ryan Farrell, New Berlin, 23. Brandon Hill, Genoa City, 24. Ryan Hinner, Stevens Point, 25. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, 26. Chad Walen, Prior Lake, MN
Qualifying — 1. Skylar Holzhausen, 19.002 sec., 103.331 mph, 2. Casey Johnson, 19.086 sec., 102.876 mph, 3. Bobby Kendall, 19.154 sec., 102.511 mph, 4. Ty Majeski, 19.161 sec., 102.474 mph, 5. Terry Schoppenhorst, 19.191 sec., 102.314 mph, 6. Ryan Hinner, 19.218 sec., 7. Travis Dassow, 19.219 sec., 8. Cole Anderson, 19.239 sec., 9. Austin Nason, 19.252 sec., 10. Matt Goede, 19.266 sec., 11. Brad Keith, 19.294 sec., 12. Caleb Adrian, 19.299 sec., 13. Steve Apel, 19.321 sec., 14. Derek Kraus, 19.357 sec., 15. John DeAngelis Jr., 19.401 sec., 16. Brandon Hill, 19.414 sec., 17. Duke Long, 19.422 sec., 18. Dalton Zehr, 19.463 sec., 19. Derek Lemke, 19.463 sec., 20. Alex Stumpf, 19.475 sec., 21. Andy Jones, 19.480 sec., 22. Natalie Decker, 19.483 sec., 23. Dean La Pointe, 19.523 sec., 24. Anthony Danta, 19.560 sec., 25. Mike Lichtfeld, 19.571 sec., 26. Brandon Selle, 19.575 sec., 27. Corey Jankowski, 19.585 sec., 28. Jimmy Dragich, 19.620 sec., 29. Chad Walen, 19.633 sec., 30. Dan Jung, 19.642 sec., 31. Jay VanderGeest, 19.662 sec., 32. Ryan Farrel, 19.667 sec., 33. Mike Egan, 19.686 sec., 34. Adam Degenhardt, 19.723 sec., 35. Ryan De Stefano, 19.734 sec., 36. Gregory Borchardt, 19.761 sec., 37. Jerry Mueller, 19.799 sec., 38. Billy Mohn, 19.806 sec., 39. Doug Brown, 19.815 sec., 40. Justin Oertel, 20.114 sec., 41. Ken Jacoby, 20.334 sec., 42. Curt Tillman, 20.346 sec., 43. Bradley Tilton, 20.361 sec., 44. John Baumeister Jr., 20.873 sec., 45. Shane Morrissey, 21.713 sec., 46. Dustin Hapka, 22.411 sec., 47. LenNowesle, 99.999 sec., 48. Gordy Swanson, 99.999 sec., 49. Nick Barstad, 99.999 sec.
Hooligan 1 — 1. Chad Walen, 2. Corey Jankowski, 3. Mike Lichtfeld, 4. Dean La Pointe, 5. Andy Jones.
Hooligan 2 — 1.Ryan Farrel, 2. Natalie Decker, 3. Adam Degenhardt, 4. Jimmy Dragich, 5. Gregory Borchardt
Dean’s Satellite SportsmenOktoberfest 20 Feature (25 Cars) — 1. Steve Bachman, West Salem, 2. Nick Clements, West Salem, 3. Jake Arneson, Taylor, 4. Brad Warthan, Sparta, 5. Aaron Hass, LaCrosse, 6. Brian Hesselberg, Bangor, 7. Dan Gilster, West Salem, 8. Jimmy Gilster, West Salem, 9. Justin Mullikin, Holmen, 10. Jeff Thompson, LaCrosse, 11. Mark Challet, LaCrosse, 12. Mike Hanson, Burnsville, MN, 13. Jamie Dummer, Tomah, 14. Jeremy Wolff, Chaska, MN, 15. Nathan Borchardt, Prior Lake, MN, 16. Dave Meyerhofer, Kaukauna, 17. Dakota Miller, Sparta, 18. Mandi Eckelberg, West Salem, 19. Travis Gordon, Mindoro, 20. Tom Luethe, West Salem, 21. Darren Waltermann, Elko, MN, 22. Rick Schermerhorn, Westby, 23. Jake Bemis, Trempealeau, 24. Dusty Mann, Dundas, MN, 25. Tony Leis, Onalaska, 26. Adam Oxborough, New Prague, MN, 27. John Radtke, LaCrosse
Qualifying — 1, Nick Clements, 21.765 sec., 90.214 mph, 2. Bachman, 21.782 sec. 90.143 mph, 3. Dan Gilster, 21.910 sec. 89.617 mph, 4. Tony Leis, 21.976 sec. 89.347 mph, 5. Jake Arneson, 22.240 sec. 88.287mph, 6. Aaaron Hass, 22.372 sec., 7. Brian Hesselberg, 22.379 sec., 8. Jeremy Wolff, 22.394 sec., 9. Brad Warthan, 22.404 sec., 10. Dusty Mann, 22.434 sec., 11. Jimmy Gilster, 22.464 sec., 12. Justin Mullikin, 22.557 sec., 13. Jamie Dummer, 22.600 sec., 14. Jeff Thompson, 22.716 sec., 15. Mike Hanson, 22.864 sec., 16. Tom Luethe, 23.147 sec., 17. Adam Oxborough, 23.209 sec., 18. Nathan Borchardt, 23.275 sec., 19. Dakota Miller, 23.476 sec., 20. Mandi Eckelberg, 23.645 sec., 21. Mark Challet, 23.645 sec., 22. Jake Bemis, 23.720 sec., 23. John Radtke, 23.720 sec., 24. Travis Gordon, 24.435 sec., 25. Dave Meyerhofer, 24.527 sec., 26. Darren Waltermann, 99.999 sec., 27. Rick Schermerhorn, 99.999 sec.
Heat — 1, Martin, 2. Mullikin, 3. Dummer, 4. Gilster, 5. Challet
Auto Value ThunderstoxOktoberfest 15 (14 cars) — 1, Charles Vian Jr.,Sparta, 2. Bill Schott, LaCrosse, 3. Scott Mahlum, LaCrosse, 4. Andy Moore, Sparta, 5. Jason Schaller, LaCrosse, 6. Kyle Lockington, LaCrosse, 7. Adam Moore, Sparta, 8. Jason Bolster, Sparta, 9. Melissa Rusch, LaCrosse, 10. Ron White, Camp Douglas, 11. Kaleb Hardy, Sparta, 12. Kayla Lockington, Mindoro, 13. Jacinda Pfaff, Sparta, 14. Mark Challet, LaCrosse
Heat 1 — 1, Jacinda Pfaf, 2. Adam Moore, 3. Kyle Lockington, 4.Jason Bolster, 5. Bill Schott
Heat 2 — 1, Andy Moore, 2. Jason Schaller, 3. Charles Vian Jr., 4. Mark Challet, 5. Melissa Rusch
Mountain Dew Outlawz
Oktoberfest 20 Feature (12 cars) — 1, Jason Stark, Leon, 2. Jason Bolster, Sparta, 3. Wayne Smith, West Salem, 4. Jim Hendricks, Tomah, 5. Cole Scholze, Sparta, 6. Scott Guetzke, Iron Ridge, WI, 7. Rick Bruskiewicz, Mayville, WI, 8. Jeff Sarver, West Salem, 9. Roger Burrows, Sparta, 10. Brian Back, Rudolph, WI, 11. Ron Lockington, Mindoro, 12. Joe Mueller, Hartford, WI
Qualifying — 1, Jason Stark, 14.333 sec., 62.792 mph, 2. Joe Mueller, 14.517 sec., 61.996 mph 3. Ron Lockington, 14.950 sec., 60.201 mph 4. Brian Back, 15.042 sec., 59.832 mph 5. Wayne Smith, 15.043 sec. 59.828 mph. 6. Roger Burrows, 15.077 sec., 7. Jim Hendricks, 15.195 sec., 8. Jason Bolster, 15.394 sec., 9. Scott Guetzke, 15.604 sec., 10. Cole Scholze, 15.851 sec., 11. Jeff Sarver, 18.162 sec., 12. Rick Bruskiewicz, 99.999 sec., 13. Brett Wenzel, 99.999 sec.
ANTS Complete Pest Control HornetsOktoberfest 15 Feature (20 cars) — 1, Marc Luethe, West Salem, 2. Brandon Lemoine, LaCrosse, 3. Kevin Turner, LaCrosse, 4. Tom Luethe, West Salem, 5. Kim Strom, West Salem, 6. Todd Tacheny, Mankato, MN, 7. Ridge Oieh, Bloomington, MN, 8. Davey Pennel, Sparta, 9. Patrick Thicke, West Salem, 10. Garrett Thicke, West Salem, 11. Nate Towner, Trempeauleau, 12. Jordan Young, Melrose, 13. Blake Dorweier, Montgomery, MN, 14. Hunter Miller, West Salem, 15. Dan Hundorf, Minnesota City, MN, 16. Justin Schelitzche, Lester Praire, MN, 17. Ashley Bell, Lester Praire, MN, 18. Joey Johnson, North Bend, 19. Kris Berg, Ettrick, 20. Travis Lee, Chaseburg.
B-Feature(Top 5 Advance) – 1. Patrick Thicke, 2. Hunter Miler, 3. Todd Tacheny, 4. Ashley Bell, 5.Blake Dorweier, 6. Jake Schomers, 7. John Towner, 8. Kyle Ritter, 9. Matthew Carpenter, 10. John Piotrowski, 11. Adam Hayden, 12. Jonathan Burbach, 13. Cheyanne Williamson, 14. Matt Miller, 15. Cheyanne Stanfield, 16. Jason Lindsey, 17. Ben Thurk
Heat 1 — 1, Brandon Lemoine, 2. Tom Luethe, 3. Kevin Turner, 4. Justin Schelitzche, 5. Ridge OiehHeat 2 — 1, Marc Luethe, 2. Nate Towner, 3. Kris Berg, 4. Joey Johnson, 5. Jordan Young
Heat 3 — 1, Travis Lee, 2. Davey Pennel, 3. Garrett Thicke, 4. Dan Hundorf, 5. Kim Strom
Bandits
Oktoberfest 20 Feature — 1. Mark Bornitz, Holmen, 2. Ridge Oieh, Bloomington, MN, 3. Phil Malouf, Manitowish Waters, WI, 4. Blake Dorweier, Montgomery, MN, 5. Michael Weiss, Bloomington, MN, 6. Davey Pennel, Sparta, 7. Justin Schelitzche, Lester Praire, MN, 8. Jonathan Burbach, Winona, MN, 9. Michael Wachs Jr., Shakopee, MN, 10. Ashley Bell, Lester Praire, MN, 11. Todd Tacheny, Mankato, MN, 12. Steven Rusch, Sparta, 13. Jack Litsheim, LaCrosse, 14. Adam Hayden, Sparta, 15. Matthew Moore, Kendall, 16. Jason Lindsey, Bloomington, MN.
Heat 1 — 1. Ridge Oieh, 2. Phil Malouf, 3. Blake Dorweier, 4. Ashley Bell, 5. Todd Tacheny
Heat 2 — 1. Michael Wachs Jr., 2. Justin Schelitzche, 3. Mark Bornitz, 4. Davey Pennel, 5. Michael Wass
Double-O Oktoberfest – Jason Stark