Red Cedar Speedway
June 7, 2013
_______________________________________

Prochnow and Hanestad dominate in Late Model feature wins at Red Cedar Speedway

by Ed Reichert
MENOMONIE WI (June 7) – With four leftover feature races to be completed following a premature rainstorm last Friday night at the Red Cedar Speedway, there was racing action galore for the fans Friday night. The four left over mains were won by Ben Hillman, Jake Hartung, Mike Prochnow and Eric Schultz with the seven winners from the regularly scheduled program being Rick Hanestad, Kevin Adams, Tom Karis, Shane Halopka, Sam Fankhauser and George Richards while Schultz became the only double winner, taking both ends of the Hornet action.

The makeup feature for the Late Models saw Prochnow get to the front quickly from his second row starting position, and once in the lead, he drew away from the field to build up a comfortable margin in the nonstop contest. There was a good battle for second with John Kaanta ending up in the position trailed closely by Jake Redetzke and Chad Mahder. Scott Gilberts completed the top five.

The regularly scheduled Late Model finale saw Hanestad grab the top spot immediately and lead throughout the entire contest which again went nonstop. Gilberts moved into second after Hanestad had built up a good sized lead, and Scott was able to cut into the margin considerably, but he came up short as Hanestad took his first win of the year at Red Cedar. Kaanta, Redetzke and Mahder completed the top five.

Hartung got past early leader Mark Hessler in the makeup Modified main, and once he was in front he quickly pulled away from the field. This race also ran nonstop and Hartung eventually built up nearly a straightaway lead over the field. Hessler held second most of the contest until a late rush by Mike Anderson saw him charge into the second spot with Cory Mahder also moving past Hessler while Mark Gerth completed the top five.

The regularly scheduled Modified feature saw Jesse Glenz take the early lead. Soon he was challenged by Adams and they ran side by side for a couple of laps in an exciting duel before Adams was able to edge into the lead. Once in front, Kevin was able to expand on his advantage in what was again a green to checkered finish. Mahder again made a serious charge through the field from his fourth row starting position and he got by both Hessler and Glenz near the end to finish second. Gerth once again finished fifth in the run down.

The makeup Super Stock feature saw a great battle between Gunnar Watkins and Steve Thomas for most of the contest. Watkins had the early lead until Thomas used the high side to draw up beside him, and they then raced wheel to wheel most of the event, despite the fact that Thomas’ car was smoking very heavily. However, with only two laps to go, Watkins caught a marker tire in turn four which caused him to spin, and Thomas then suffered an engine fire under the yellow with the result that the top two cars were both out of the running. Hillman inherited the lead for the last two laps and held off Jesse Redetzke, Aaron Wilson, Rick Hallquist and Bart Steffen for the win.

The regularly scheduled Super Stock feature saw Eric Olson and Tom Karis battle in the early going before Karis pulled away. He built up a huge lead as the race continued under the green, but gradually Olson began to reel him in. Olson closed in a rush the last few laps but came up just short as Karis hung on for his first win of the year. Mike Keller fought off Hillman for third with Luke Plank completing the top five.

The Street Stock feature saw Sam Fankhauser and Cody Kummer battle in the early going before Fankhauser secured the spot. Once in front, he gradually began to pull away from the field while a good battle was under way for second. Adam Soltis was finally able to get past Kummer for second with Jimmy Randall following Soltis. However, Fankhauser was strong and the pack couldn’t catch the leader, who drove on for his second win at Red Cedar. Ron Hanestad eventually finished fourth with Kummer settling for fifth.

The Midwest Modified feature race may have been the most exciting of the evening. Travis Anderson was able to work past Jake Smeltzer and Justin Supri to take the lead and after he was in front, he pulled away to a healthy margin. However, there was an intense battle for second that saw a swarm of about eight cars battling hard. Mike Truscott moved to the high side of the track and he was able to race into second with Shane Halopka, Grant Southworth and Josh Smith all continuing to fight in out for position. The yellow flew for a spin which took away Anderson’s big lead and allowed Truscott to close on his rear bumper. However, on the green, Anderson showed his muscle as he once again opened some distance on the field. Meanwhile, Halopka had pulled up to challenge Truscott for second. Once again the yellow light blinked on for a spin with only three laps to go. Anderson again took the lead, but Halopka got past Truscott for second and then took off after Anderson. Running the tricky high side, Halopka pulled up beside Anderson and as they raced out of turn four, Shane edged into the lead. He continued to build on his advantage and flashed across the line for a hard fought win, his second of the year at Red Cedar. A disappointed Anderson settled for second with Truscott, Smith and Kerry Halopka completing the top five.

Richards threaded his way through the pack to get the lead in the Pure Stock main and once in front he had to fend off two challenges in the late going due to yellow flags. George didn’t falter and he held off Jeremy Dahl, Dustin Doughty, Randy Burton and Jesse Bryan for the win.

Schultz made it a clean sweep for the night when he won both of the Hornet feature races. The makeup feature saw Schultz get to the front early and dominate, winning over Dan Prissel, Jeremy Johnson, Brendan Uetz and Ray Ellsworth.

In the evening’s finale, Schultz had a tougher go as he had to get around Johnson for the lead and that proved to be a tough task. However, Eric eventually was able to make the winning pass and he then held off Johnson, Jay Welk, Ellsworth and Prissel for the win.

Racing action will continue next Friday, June 14th with the first green flag to drop at 7 p.m. The Late Models will have the night off, but the other six divisions will all be in racing action for a full program.

SUMMARY
Red Cedar Speedway
Menomonie WI
June 7, 2013

WISSOTA Late Models
20 lap Feature – Rick Hanestad(Boyceville), Scott Gilberts(Menomonie), John Kaanta(Elk Mound), Jake Redetzke(Eau Claire), Chad Mahder(Eau Claire), Robby Bunkelman(Abbotsford), Mike Prochnow(Menomonie), Greg Nippoldt(Roberts), Nick Herrick(West Concord MN), Michael Stangl(Marshfield), Justin Ochsner, Todd Green
15 lap Makeup Feature – Prochnow, Kaanta, Redetzke, Mahder, Gilberts, Bunkelman, Nippoldt
8 lap Heat 1- Gilberts, Redetzke, Kaanta, Mahder, Bunkelman, Green
Heat 2 – Prochnow, Hanestad, Nippoldt, Herrick, Stangl, Ochsner

WISSOTA Modifieds
18 lap Feature – Kevin Adams(Cameron), Cory Mahder(Elk Mound), Jesse Glenz(Cadott), Mark Hessler(Menomonie), Mark Gerth(Menomonie), Mike Anderson(Colfax), Dave Baxter(Eau Claire), Jake Hartung(Elmwood), Brent Prochnow(Colfax), Mark Hanson(Chippewa Falls), Dale Mathison, Jay Richardson, Zach Drews, Ashley Anderson, Steve Hallquist
15 lap Makeup Feature – Hartung, M. Anderson, Mahder, Hessler, Gerth, A. Anderson(Elk Mound), Baxter, Adams, Hanson, Richardson(Spring Valley), Hallquist, Cory Williams, Drews, Prochnow, Glenz
8 lap Heat 1 – Adams, Mathison(Clearwater MN), Hartung, Hanson, Williams, Richardson, Hallquist, Drews
Heat 2 – Mahder, Hessler, Gerth, Glenz, Baxter, A. Anderson, M. Anderson, Prochnow

WISSOTA Super Stocks
18 lap Feature – Tom Karis(Menomonie), Eric Olson(Ladysmith), Mike Keller(Menomonie), Ben Hillman(Menomonie), Luke Plank(Eau Claire), Jesse Redetzke(Eau Claire), Aaron Wilson(Eau Claire), Jason Forehand(Eau Claire), Rick Hallquist(Eau Claire), Bart Steffen(Eau Claire), Gunnar Watkins, Wayne Dean, Jim Cimfl, Brad Johnson, Cory Davis
15 lap Makeup Feature – Hillman, Redetzke, Wilson, Hallquist, Steffen, Cimfl(Turtle Lake), Watkins(Elk Mound), Plank, Steve Thomas(Menomonie), Johnson(Wilson), Keller
8 lap Heat 1 – Keller, Karis, Olson, Plank, Redetzke, Forehand, Steffen
Heat 2 – Wilson, Hillman, Davis(Turtle Lake), Hallquist, Watkins, Johnson, Cimfl, Dean

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
15 lap Feature – Shane Halopka(Greenwood), Travis Anderson(Colfax), Mike Truscott(Chippewa Falls), Josh Smith(Eau Claire), Kerry Halopka(Wheeler), Grant Southworth(Bloomer), Ryan Olson(Strum), Jake Smith(Eau Claire), Nick Koehler(Bloomer), Justin Supri(Eau Claire), Mark Thomas, Jake Smeltzer, Dylan Goettl, Ben Schultz, Mike Schnider, Jason Richardson, Mitch Anderson, Chris Huther, Robert Ellsworth, Dean Pronschinske, Robbie Johnson
8 lap Heat 1 – Southworth, Smeltzer(Menomonie), Truscott, Olson, Ja. Smith, Goettl, M. Anderson
Heat 2 – Koehler, Supri, S. Halopka, Jo. Smith, Schultz(Menomonie), Thomas, Ellsworth
Heat 3 – T. Anderson, K. Halopka, Johnson(Wilson), Richardson(Spring Valley), Schnider(Rice Lake), Huther, Pronschinske

WISSOTA Street Stocks
15 lap Feature – Sam Fankhauser(Rice Lake), Adam Soltis(Ladysmith), Jimmy Randall(Rice Lake), Ron Hanestad(Glenwood City), Cody Kummer(Medford), Mike Knudtson(Osseo), Troy Fransway(Elk Mound), Brandon Davis(Chetek), Andrea Keeney(Ridgeland), Ashley Wahlstrom(Rice Lake)
8 lap Heat – Kummer, Fankhauser, Hanestad, Randall, Soltis, Fransway, Knudtson, Wahlstrom, Davis, Keeney

Pure Stocks
10 lap Feature – George Richards(Mondovi), Jeremy Dahl(Knapp), Dustin Doughty(Ladysmith), Randy Burton(Menomonie), Jesse Bryan(Menomonie), Mike Grover(Chetek), Jake Hanson(Downing), Andrew Conklin(Ladysmith)
6 lap Heat – Richards, Dahl, Burton, Doughty, Grover, Bryan, Conklin, Hanson

Hornets
10 lap Feature – Eric Schultz(Downing), Jeremy Johnson(Elmwood), Jay Welk(Cadott), Ray Ellsworth(New Auburn), Dan Prissel(Mondovi), Devin Johnson(Ellsworth), Matt Klukas(Colfax), Mark McQuisten(Elk Mound), Bill Greifzu(Spring Valley), Justin Lamm(Boyceville), Eric Albrightson, Josh Fransway
6 lap Makeup Feature – Schultz, Prissel, J. Johnson, Brendan Uetz(Menomonie), Ellsworth, McQuisten, D. Johnson
6 lap Heat 1 – Schultz, Welk, Ellsworth, Lamm, Greifzu, Uetz
Heat 2 – J. Johnson, Prissel, Klukas, D. Johnson, Jess Seim(Glenwood City), Fransway