By: Paul Reichert
June 17, 2022
Back in the late 1990s and the early 2000s the driver to beat and be aware of on the Sportsmen racing scene in central Wisconsin was Tim Myer. Myer racked up three track championships at Tomah-Sparta Speedway and was a driver on the rise when he left us too soon in 2001. Since 2015 we have honored the memory of Tim Myer with the annual Tim Myer Memorial Shootout. While the Sportsmen take the spotlight, the other divisions have a little extra money on the line and trophies awaiting the winners as well. Dillon Sellner stole the show in the Sportsmen feature as he romped to his second Myer Memorial win in three years.
The 30 lap Myer Memorial Sportsmen feature got off to a rough start. Troy Dobbratz ran wide in turns one and two then tried to get back in line but collided with both Mitch Lyden and Terrence Robinson. All three drivers ended up in the grass on the back straight with only Robinson able to make repairs and return to the race. On try number two to start the race Dan Frye powered his way past Jesse Green to assume command. 2020 Myer Memorial champion Dillon Sellner drove past Green to move into second on lap three and wasted little time to track down Frye for the lead. Sellner worked the outside lane perfectly to drive past Frye for the lead on lap five. Jason Stark also used the outer lane to get around Frye for second on lap eight. Chris Weber started in the back of the field and broke into the top three by lap 11 as he disposed quickly of Frye. Just before the halfway mark both Stark and Weber got into a heated battle over the runner-up spot. Stark finally got the better of the battle as he kept a tight hold on second with 11 laps to go. Stark would hardly make a dent in Sellner’s advantage over the final 11 laps as Sellner became the third two-time winner of the Tim Myer Memorial Shootout.
In the Command Post Saloon feature visiting Rockford area racer Waylon Robinson charged by Jamie Pearson to show the field the way. Tuffy Myer represented the Myer family driving Jazelynn’s 00 car, and after battling with Amelia Marshall for a couple laps would crack the top three on lap three. Myer would only need one additional lap to settle to second at the expense of Pearson. After building up a half a straightaway lead, Robinson would slowly start to see Myer creep up closer and closer in his rear view. Myer caught Robinson by lap nine before making his move on the outside to become the new king of the mountain with five laps remaining. Former track champion Shawn McCarthy drove around Josh Schaller for third with three laps to go but would not have enough laps to challenge Robinson for second. Back up front, Myer checked out on the field to capture his second straight Tim Myer Memorial trophy, and give the family three Hornet feature wins on Myer Memorial night in four years.
Brotherly love would be put to the test in the first half of the Modified feature. Hobbyfest champion Larry DeVito would nose ahead of brother Rick at the end of lap one. Rick fought back on the inside line to power ahead of Larry for the next two laps. Larry ended the ‘battle of the brothers’ as he got a better run coming out of turn four to take over the top spot on lap four. While the brothers DeVito fought over the lead, former two-time champion Brad Wildes used the outside lane to move through traffic and take over second from Rick DeVito on lap six. Wildes used the outside lane to drive past Larry DeVito to move into the lead at the halfway mark. 15 year old Weston Marthaler was looking to challenge Wildes as he powered by Larry DeVito for second on lap ten. Marthlaer would get a chance to go for the win thanks to a spin by Rick DeVito with two laps to go. Wildes and Marthaler ran side by side on the restart and made contact in turn three that allowed Wildes to claim the lead. WIldes ran wide in turns one and two allowing Marthaler to power into the lead position. Both made hard contact in turn four coming to the checkereds that sent Marthaler hard into the inside wall and Wildes to the win. However, track officials would step in to take a hard review of those actions on the final lap. Officials made the call to strip Wildes of the win and drop him to fourth in the running order, while Larry DeVito would be awarded his second career Modified feature win.
In the Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Hobby Stock feature, Matthew Cleveland powered his way past Shelby Lockington to take the early race lead. Mike Krueger, Jr. was on the move making quickly cutting his way through the field while doing it in another car. Issues with his own car earlier in the day forced Krueger, Jr. to borrow another competitor’s car, but it was running just as well as his own car. Krueger, Jr. powered his way around Lockington for second by lap five and would quickly close the gap on Cleveland. As the field took the crossed flags Krueger, Jr. used the outside lane to drive around Cleveland and move into the top spot. With five laps to go Brandon Riedner and Andy Moore took over second and third as they both shot past Cleveland. They would get into a hard-fought battle over that runner-up spot that eventually went to Moore. All the battling would let Krueger, Jr. build up a huge lead and capture his second victory of the season.
Pole sitter Tim Murphy, Sr. shot by Chris Brown to lead the way at the start of the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature. Mike Gratz followed right behind Murphy, Sr. as he drove by Crown to settle into second on lap two. Gratz stuck right behind Murphy, Sr. as he patiently waited for the right opportunity to make his move for the lead. That opportunity came on lap five as Murphy, Sr. ran wide in turns one and two and Gratz drove right under him to become the new leader. Action in the middle stages of the race was slowed by two caution flags. The first came on lap seven for a spun-out Dawsynn Frye in turn four. A lap later, Brown and Matt Moore tangled in turn two and both retired from the race. Now it was Murphy, Sr. pursuing Gratz for the top spot on the restart. Gratz maintained a two car length over Murphy, Sr. as the laps clicked away. Late in the going young lion Seth Gnewikow moved up to third and closed on Murphy, Sr. to make the fight for the lead a little more interesting. Gratz held off both Murphy, Sr. and Gnewikow as he captured his first career feature win and rang the Victory Bell loud and proud in TACU Victory Lane.
Action continues next Friday, June 24 with a very inexpensive altenative to the bigger event happening around the Tomah area. All adults will be admitted for just $5 as part of ‘Cheap Date Night’. The Upper Midwest VIntage Racing Series makes their annual visit and will take us on a journey back to the heyday of racing in Wisconsin. The vintage cars will join the Hobby Stocks, Hornets, Six Shooters, High School Racing Association and the Mini-Vans. Gates open at 5, qualifying fires up at 6:15 and green flag racing kicks off at 7:30.
Call the track office at 608-461-1920, visit our web site at tomahspartaspeedway.com or check out the track’s Facebook page for more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway and the 2022 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Sportsmen
Feature (30 laps): 1. Dillon Sellner, 2. Jason Stark, 3. Chris Weber, 4. Dan Frye, 5. Terrence Robinson, 6. Jim Hendricks, Jr., 7. Jesse Green, 8. Mitch Lyden, 9. Troy Dobbratz
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. Jim Hendricks, Jr., 3. Troy Dobbratz, 4. Jesse Green
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Terrence Robinson, 2. Mitch Lyden, 3. Jason Stark, 4. Chris Weber, 5. Dillon Sellner
Qualifying: 1. Chris Weber 16.294, 2. Dillon Sellner 16.300, 3. Mitch Lyden 16.548, 4. Jason Stark 16.576, 5. Terrence Robinson 16.769, 6. Dan Frye 16.895, 7. Jim Hendricks, Jr. 17.046, 8. Troy Dobbratz 17.373, 9. Jesse Green 17.637, 10. Ed Ross 18.755
Modifieds
Feature (15 laps): 1. Larry DeVito, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Rick DeVito, 4. Brad Wildes, 5. Weston Marthaler
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Brad Wildes, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Larry DeVito, 4. Weston Marthaler, 5. Rick DeVito
Qualifying: 1. Brad Wildes 16.219, 2. Weston Marthaler 16.268, 3. Bill Schott 16.275, 4. Larry DeVito, 16.609, 5. Rick DeVito 17.103, 6. Jesse Vian 17.182
Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mike Krueger, Jr., 2. Andy Moore, 3. Brandon Riedner, 4. Jimmy Robinson, 5. Tucker Bodendorfer, 6. Jason Bolster, 7. Matthew Cleveland, 8. Shelby Lockington, 9. Andy Muller, 10. John Clauson, 11. Robby Robinson, 12. Landon Lockington, 13. Nick Bruley
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Andy Muller, 2. Nick Bruley, 3. Matthew Cleveland, 4. Mike Krueger, Jr., 5. Jimmy Robinson, 6. Jason Bolster, 7. John Clauson
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Robby Robinson, 2. Brandon Riedner, 3. Andy Moore, 4. Tucker Bodendorfer, 5. Landon Lockington, 6. Shelby Lockington
Qualifying: 1. Andy Moore 17.702, 2. Jimmy Robinson 17.935, 3. Brandon Riedner 17.973, 4. Mike Krueger, Jr. 17.975, 5. Tucker Bodendorfer 18.067, 6. Nick Bruley 18.082, 7. Robby Robinson 18.173, 8. Matthew Cleveland 18.491, 9. Jason Bolster 18.692, 10. Shelby Lockington 18.699, 11. Landon Lockington 19.243, 12. Andy Muller 19.319, 13. John Clauson 21.454
Command Post Saloon Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Tuffy Myer, 2. Waylon Robinson, 3. Shawn McCarthy, 4. Josh Schaller, 5. Paul Finch, 6. Ben Thurk, 7. Jamie Pearson, 8. Mason Morphey, 9. Matthew Heim, 10. Bryan Wallace, 11. Tristan Drazkowski, 12. David Treu, Jr., 13. Zach Oliver, 14. Jason Stark, 15. Amelia Marshall, 16. Tristan Finnegan, 17. Ron Pearson, 18. James Hendricks, Sr., 19. Travis Atkinson, 20. Cooper Bodendorfer, 21. Andrew Gardner
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Zach Oliver, 2. David Treu, Jr., 3. James Hendricks, Sr., 4. Tristan Drazkowski, 5. Tristan Finnegan, 6. Ron Pearson, 7. Cooper Bodendorfer
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Bryan Wallace, 2. Matthew Heim, 3. Jamie Pearson, 4. Shawn McCarthy, 5. Tuffy Myer, 6. Mason Morphey, 7. Andrew Gardner
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Jason Stark, 2. Josh Schaller, 3. Ben Thurk, 4. Paul Finch, 5. Waylon Robinson, 6. Amelia Marshall, 7. Travis Atkinson
Qualifying: 1. Paul Finch 18.556, 2. Mason Morphey 18.702, 3. Josh Schaller 18.829, 4. Shawn McCarthy 18.840, 5. Ben Thurk 18.864, 6. Tuffy Myer 18.903, 7. Amelia Marshall 18.904, 8. Jamie Pearson 19.036, 9. Waylon Robinson 19.052, 10. Matthew Heim 19.056, 11. Jason Stark 19.111, 12. Bryan Wallace 19.134, 13. David Treu, Jr. 19.191, 14. Tristan Drazkowski 19.281, 15. Zach Oliver 19.305, 16. Ron Pearson 19.527, 17. Tristan Finnegan 19.705, 18. Cooper Bodendorfer 17.785, 19. James Hendricks, Sr. 20.010, 20. Andrew Gardner 21.576, 21. Travis Atkinson NO TIME
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mike Gratz, 2. Tim Murphy, Sr., 3. Seth Gnewikow, 4. Dustin McCracken, 5. Chuck Muller, 6. Greg Brown, 7 Matthew Heim, 8. Zachary Morgan, 9. Andrew Moore, 10. Clayton Haessig, 11. Austyn Blank, 12. Tim Murphy, Jr., 13. Dawsynn Frye, 14. Jake Schomers, 15. Matt Moore, 16. Chris Brown, 17. Josh Myer
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Zachary Morgan, 2. Clayton Haessig, 3. TIm Murphy, Jr., 4. Austyn Blank, 5. Josh Myer, 6. Josh Muller
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Chuck Muller, 2. Seth Gnewikow, 3. Dustin McCracken, 4. Dawsynn Frye, 5. Chris Brown, 6. Matthew Heim
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Andrew Moore, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Mike Gratz, 4. Tim Murphy, Sr., 5. Jake Schomers, 6. Greg Brown
Qualifying: 1. Matt Moore 19.266, 2. Dustin McCracken 19.274, 3. Andrew Moore 19.352, 4. Seth Gnewikow 19.430, 5. Jake Schomer 19.579, 6. Chuck Muller 19.628, 7. Mike Gratz 19.665, 8. Chris Brown 19.712, 9. Tim Murphy, Sr. 19.890, 10. Matthew Heim 20.019, 11. Greg Brown 20.021, 12. Dawsynn Frye 20.256, 13. Zachary Morgan 20.282, 14. Clayton Haessig 20.346, 15. Austyn Blank 20.436, 16. Josh Muller 20.663, 17. Tim Murphy, Sr. 20.713, 18. Josh Myer 21.040
