Marek and Gilster grab Oktoberfest wins on Day Three

By: Kevin Ramsell
(West Salem, WI – October 5, 2013)

Day three of the 44th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend crowned two winners and two champions as the Big 8 Series and Mid-American Series took center stage at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.

Chris Marek picked up a huge win in his young career as he got by Austin Nason with five laps to go to get the Big 8 Series 68 victory. Nason took the lead at the start of the event and pulled away to a big lead. He would lose that lead as the caution flew lap 50 for an incident involving Ryan DeStefano and J. Herbst. Both made heavy contact with the turn one wall and walked away.

Marek was on Nason’s bumper after the restart searching for a way to get by the Illinois driver. But with five to go, went to the outside lane and was able to make the winning move. Dan Lensing was third with Tim Sargent in fourth. Corey Jankowski rounded out the top five.

Casey Johnson finished tenth to claim the Big 8 Series championship.

Dan Gilster gave the hometown crowd something to cheer about as he won the Mid-American Stock Car Series 40-lap feature event. Taylor Bauknecht made a bold move on the opening lap as he went from this third starting position to the lead coming out of turn two. Bauknecht led until lap 27 when Gilster, who started eleventh, chased him down and made the winning pass coming out of turn two to lead the final 13 laps to the checkered flag. Bauknecht finished second with Brad Keith in third. Bill Prietzel was fourth and Bobby Gutknecht rounded out the top-five.

Keith’s third place finish secured the 2013 Mid-American Series championship.

In ARCA Midwest Tour preliminary action, Andrew Morrissey held off a late charge from Dan Fredrickson to win the fast dash. Morrissey and Fredrickson will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday’s Oktoberfest 100.

Colin Reffner won the odd qualifier heat with Bryan Syer-Keske in second and Dennis Prunty in third. Ross Kenseth took the checkers in the even qualifier heat with Ryan Hinner in second and Tim Sauter in third. These six drivers advance to the 100-lap event on Sunday.

The final day of the 2013 edition of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend gets underway at noon on Sunday. The ARCA Midwest Tour will highlight the afternoon with the Oktoberfest 100. The JMCK 63 Invitational for the Big 8 Series, Late Model Challenge, Vintage Cars, Outlawz and Bandits in action. 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
Big-8 Late Models
Bud Light 68 Feature (26 Cars) — 1, Christopher Marek, Lakeville, Minn.; 2, Austin Nason, Roscoe, Ill.; 3, Dan Lensing, Poplar Grove, Ill.; 4, Tim Sargent, Beloit, Ill.; 5, Corey Jankowski, Tomah; 6, Zack Riddle, Brooklyn; 7, Shane Morrissey, Cuba City; 8, Harley Jankowski, Sparta; 9, Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green; 10, Casey Johnson, Stoughton; 11, Matthew Henderson, La Crosse; 12, Dale Nottestad, Cambridge; 13, John DeAngelis Jr., Hubertus; 14, Michael Beamish, Eagan, Minn.; 15, Steve Dobbratz, Rio; 16, Brett Wenzel, Manotiwoc; 17, Brent Edmunds, Monticello; 18, Dave Edwards, Salem; 19, Danny Church, Big Bend; 20, Mike Ehde, Praire du Chien; 21, Jon Reynolds, Rockford, Ill.; 22, J. Herbst, La Crosse; 23, Ryan DeStefano, Colgate; 24, Clint Sillars, Weston; 25, Jon Lemke, Shakopee, Minn.; 26, Rich Schumann Jr., Portage.
Qualifying — 1, Zack Riddle, 20.492 seconds, 95.818 MPH; 2, Christopher Marek, 20.529 secs, 95.645 MPH; 3, Dan Lensing, 20.545 secs, 95.571 MPH; 4, Jon Reynolds, 20.598 secs, 95.325 MPH; 5, Corey Jankowski, 20.690 secs, 94.901 MPH; 6, Mike Ehde; 7, Rich Schumann Jr.; 8, Shayne Poehnelt; 9, Steve Dobbratz; 10, Michael Beamish; 11, Austin Nason; 12, Harley Jankowski; 13, Tim Sargent; 14, J. Herbst; 15, John DeAngelis Jr.; 16, Casey Johnson; 17, Matthew Henderson; 18, Shane Morrissey, Cuba City; 19, Jon Lemke; 20, Brent Edmunds; 21, Davey Pennell, Sparta; 22, Dale Nottestad; 23, Kyle Shear, Roscoe, Ohio; 24, Travis Stanley, Prior Lake, Minn.; 25, Clint Sillars; 26, Darren Wolke, Belle Plaine, Minn.; 27, Dave Edwards; 28, Brett Wenzel; 29, Ryan Farrell, New Berlin; 30, Ryan DeStefano; 31, Bret Widdis, Pestigo; 32 Cory Kemkes, Appleton; 33, Jacob Finney, Sycamore, Ill.; 34, Michael Clapper, Dane; 35, Gregg Pawelski, Muskego; 36, Cole Anderson, Northfield, Minn.; 37, Joe Neisius, Rosemount, Minn.; 38, Natalie Decker, Eagle River; 39, Lawrence Berthiaume, Rogers, Minn.; 40, Mike Lichtfeld, Portage; 41, Dexter Bean, Westby; 42, Brady Liddle, Oregon; 43, Casey Strese, Johnson Creek; 44, Morgan Schissel, Marshall; 45, Tom McClintock, Onalaska; 46, Todd Oliver, Bangor; 47, Kyle Smith, Lake Mills; 48, Ryan Kamish, Bloomington, Minn.; 49, Danny Church, Big Bent; 50, Mike Lange, West Allis; 51, Kelsey Schultz, Mauston; 52, Gary Krueger, New Lisbon; 53, Joe Wendorf, Beaver Dam; 54, Jared Lannert, West Allis; 55, Joel Willman, Portage.
Dash 1 — 1, Rich Schumann Jr.; 2, Austin Nason; 3, Clint Sillars; 4, Steve Dobbratz; 5, Corey Jankowski.
Dash 2 — 1, J. Herbst; 2, Harley Jankowski; 3, Michael Beamish; 4, Jon Reynolds; 5, Christopher Marek.
Heat 1 — 1, Dave Edwards; 2, Jon Lemke3, Kyle Shear; 4, John DeAngelis Jr.; 5, Bret Widdis.
Heat 2 — 1, Brett Wenzel; 2, Travis Stanley; 3, Brent Edmunds; 4, Casey Johnson; 5, Cory Kemkes.
Heat 3 — 1, Clint Sillars; 2, Davey Pennell; 3, Ryan Farrell; 4, Matthew Henderson; 5, Joe Neisius.
Heat 4 — 1, Ryan DeStefano; 2, Dale Nottestad; 3, Darren Wolke; 4, Shane Morrissey; 5, Michael Clapper.
Last Chance 1 — 1, Jon Lemke; 2, Casey Johnson; 3, John DeAngelis Jr.; 4, Travis Stanley; 5, Dexter Bean.
Last Chance 2 — 1, Matthew Henderson; 2, Dale Nottestad; 3, Brett Edmunds; 4, Bret Widdis; 5, Shane Morrissey.

Mid-American Stock Car Series
Bud Light 40 Feature (23 Cars) — 1, Danny Gilster, West Salem; 2, Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville; 3, Brad Keith, West Bend; 4, Bill Prietzel, Richfield; 5, Bobby Gutknecht, Oak Creek; 6, Randy Humfeld, Chaseburg, 7, Jeremy Spoonmore, Somonauk, Ill.; 8, Rick Corso, McHenry, Ill.; 9, Lyle Nowak, Wausau; 10, Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek; 11, Brian Holz, Muskego; 12, Dusty Krebs, Hartford; 13, Chris Storey, Burlington; 14, Vinny Wilkinson, Sandwich, Ill.; 15, Tim Fulford, Solsberry, Ind.; 16, Stephen Cox, Indianapolis, Ind.; 17, Rick Tackman, Waukesha; 18, Eric Buchholz, Wautoma; 19, Bob Hamel, Milwaukee; 20, James Swan, Genoa City; 21, Jack Stern, Slinger; 22, Ben Blascock, Indianola, Iowa; 23, Brian Back, Rudolph.
Qualifying — 1, Brian Back, 20.697 seconds, 94.869 MPH; 2, Dan Gilster, 20.998 secs, 93.509 MPH; 3, Bill Prietzel, 21.136 secs, 92.898 MPH; 4, Brad Keith, 21.185 secs, 92.684 MPH; 5, James Swan, 21.266 secs, 92.330 MPH; 6, Eric Buchholz; 7, Jeremy Spoonmore; 8, Rick Corso; 9, Randy Humfeld; 10, Tyler Bauknecht; 11, Jack Stern; 12, Rick Tackman; 13, Travis Rodewald, Manitowoc; 14, Vinny Wilkinson; 15, Bobby Gutknecht; 16, Lyle Nowak; 17, Brian Holz; 18, Ben Blascock; 19, Ryan Gutknecht; 20, Chris Storey; 21, Dusty Krebs; 22, Tim Fulford; 23, Stephen Cox; 24, Bob Hamel.
Heat 1 — 1, Stephen Cox; 2, Ryan Gutknecht; 3, Dusty Krebs; 4, Brian Holz; 5, Chris Storey.
Heat 2 — 1, Lyle Nowak; 2, Rick Tackman; 3, Brad Keith; 4, Dan Gilster; 5, Rick Corso.
Heat 3 — 1, Bobby Gutknecht; 2, Jeremy Spoonmore; 3, Brian Back; 4, James Swan; 5, Travis Rodewald.

ARCA Midwest Tour – Preliminaries
Bud Light 20 Qualifying Feature 1 — 1, Colin Reffner, Wisconsin Rapids; 2, Bryan Syer-Keske, Lakeville, Minn.; 3, Dennis Prunty, Knowles; 4, Jeremy Miller, Rockton, Ill.; 5, Paige Decker, Eagle River.
Bud Light 20 Qualifying Feature 2 — 1, Ross Kenseth, Little Chute; 2, Ryan Hinner, Steven’s Point; 3, Tim Sauter, Necedah; 4, Ty Majeski, Seymour; 5, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor.
Bud Light 15 Top-16 Dash — 1, Andrew Morrissey, De Forest; 2, Dan Fredrickson, Lakeville, Minn.; 3, Mark Kraus, Stratford; 4, Nathan Haseleu, Marshall; 5, Johnny Sauter, Prairie du Sac.
Qualifying — 1, Johnny Sauter, 18.760 seconds, 104.664 MPH; 2, Griffin McGrath, Cedar Rapids, 18.806 secs, 104.408 MPH; 3, Jacob Goede, Carver, Minn., 18.826 secs, 104.297 MPH; 4, Chris Weinkauf, Merrill, 18.883 secs, 103.982 MPH; 5, Travis Sauter, Prairie du Sac, 18.885 secs, 103.971 MPH; 6, Nathan Haseleu; 7, Matt Kocourek, Franklin; 8, Dan Fredrickson; 9, Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor; 10, Nick Panitzke, Lakeville, Minn.; 11, Mark Kraus; 12, Andrew Morrissey; 13, Jason Weinkauf, Merrill; 14, Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.; 15, Erik Darnell, Park City, Ill.; 16, Chris Wimmer, Wausau; 17, Colin Reffner; 18, Ross Kenseth; 19, Dennis Prunty; 20, Ty Majeski; 21, Paige Decker; 22, Ryan Hinner; 23, Jeremy Miller; 24, Steve Holzhausen; 25, Bryan Syer-Keske; 26, Derek Lemke; 27, Jeremy Lepak, Wausau; 28, Tim Sauter; 29, Dan Lensing, Roscoe, Ill.; 30, Cardell Potter, Wausau; 31, Jeff Storm, Waterford; 32, Mark Lamoreaux, Burnsville, Minn.; 33, Gary LaMonte, West Allis; 34, James Swan, Lake Geneva; 35, Joel Theisen, Maple Grove, Minn.; 36, Claire Decker, Eagle River; 37, Jonathan Eilen, Hampton, Minn.; 38, Steve LaPointe, Marshfield; 39, Rich Bickle, Edgerton; 40, Kelsey Bauer, West Bend; 41, Jeff Way, Honey Creek; 42, Ed Selegowski Jr., Westfield; 43, Jeff Fredrickson, Kaukauna.