By: Paul Reichert August 29, 2021
The pit area was packed to the gills with race cars from all over the Midwest and the race fans packed the grandstands to the rafters to witness the new tradition at Tomah Sparta Speedway on a picture perfect Sunday afternoon. The 2nd Annual Hobbyfest brought out another huge contingent of Hobby Stock racers from seven tracks and four states to battle for a ton of cash, prizes and even some big contingency awards. During post-race inspection the winnings were changing hands faster than the fast time set by Dave Trute in the event. After the dust settled and the post-race inspections were completed, veteran Jefferson racer Chuck Egli came out of it with the biggest win of his career and the Kim Parsons Memorial Trophy for winning Hobbyfest 2.
Jamie Tate wasted little time to charge past Dalton Egli for the lead at the start of the Hobbyfest 2 feature. Robbie Rucks and Jason Dunn locked fenders while battling over third to bring out the yellow flag on lap two. Egli got another chance to challenge Tate for the top spot on the restart and surged into the lead heading down the back straight. Dalton, one of three Egli family members racing at Jefferson, would have Charles Vian, Jr. to contend with as Vian, Jr. took over second from Tate on lap five. Vian, Jr. was all over Egli for the top spot by lap eight, but a mechanical issue would end Egli’s race on lap ten. Vian, Jr. was now in command, but defending Hobbyfest champ Andy Moore was right on his tail by lap 13. Just before the halfway mark Dave Trute moved around Chuck Egli to settle into third place. On lap 17 Trute used the outside groove to power around Moore for the runner-up position. Moore lost third that same lap to Mike Krueger, Jr., but fought back to reclaim the spot two laps later. With six laps to go Trute knew it was time to go after the win as he moved back to the outside lane to challenge Vian, Jr. Both drivers swapped the lead back and forth until Trute got loose in turn four coming to two laps to go. Vian, Jr. pulled away from Trute down the stretch to see the checkered flag first and notch a huge win. However post-race inspection would change the total complexion of Hobbyfest 2 as Vian, Jr., Trute, Moore and Krueger, Jr. were nipped for various infractions at the tech shed. Chuck Egli, the patriarch of the Egli racing family, made it through his post-race inspection to be declared the winner of Hobbyfest 2 and walk away with the biggest win of his career.
After battling side by side for the first couple laps of the Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modified feature, Larry DeVito surged past brother Rick to assume the lead. A quick yellow for a quick spin by Derrin Salo on lap four briefly slowed the action. Denny Schott could not make the outside groove work on the restart as Larry DeVito began to pull away. Schott’s effort to get to the front would be helped out by another caution period at the midway point of the race. Salo cut a tire exiting turn two and took a hard hit into the outside wall to end his race. Schott lined up behind DeVito on the restart as they both quickly pulled away from Bill Schott. DeVito and Denny Schott fought hard and clean for the race lead and the win over the final eight laps. Schott never saw DeVito make a slip up as Larry drove a terrific race and scored his first career Modified feature win.
In the Sportsmen feature Jim Hendricks, Jr. shot past Henry Vian to take command of the race. The front two cars tangled in turn one on lap four to bring out the caution and gave the lead to Dan Frye. Frye began to open up his advantage on the field off the restart. Vian was doing his best to keep up with the point leader but Vian had a half straightaway mountain to climb at the crossed flags. That earlier collision would signal an early end to the race for Hendricks, Jr. on lap nine. Frye held an insurmountable lead on Vian over the final six laps as the Rookie of the Year leader scored his seventh victory of the season and put himself on the doorstep of a track championship.
Jordan Finch shot past Brandon Riedner to take the early lead of the Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornet feature. Zach Oliver and first time ‘Daytomah’ visitor Nick Newton also got around Riedner and got into a hard fought battle over second. Newton would use the outside lane to get around Oliver for the runner-up spot on lap five. Over the next several laps Newton would slowly try to close the distance on Finch, but qucikly making his way through the field was the unstoppable force that is Mason Morphy. Morphy woudl break into the top three on lap 11 as he quickly shot past Oliver. Sticking to the outside lane Morphy would shoot around Newton for second with three laps to go. Morphy would have to work a little harder to get around Finch for the lead. The point leader would drive around Finch down the back straight on the next to last lap to assume the race lead and claim his seventh checkered flag this year.
At the start of the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature Devin Glass drove around Alex Liebsch to take command of the race. Steven Mueller also used the outer lane to surge ahead of Liebsch for second on lap two. The ‘Mastermind of the Mailbus’ Matt Moore was quickly slicing and dicing his way through traffic to get around Liebsch for third on lap five. Zach Liebsch and Tessa Wilder tangled in turn two on lap seven to bring out the yellow flag. Moore and Mueller shot around Glass on the restart to be the leading duo of race. Glass’ race came to a sudden end on lap eight when the steering wheel came loose in his car. Glass spun out on the back straight and got hit hard by Gratz and Tessa Wilder. All three drivers were done but walked away from the accident. Dustin McCracken drove around Mueller and cracked the top three on lap nine. Mueller made a sweeping move to charge past both McCracken and Liebsch to settle into second on lap ten. Taylor McMullen quickly got around McCracken on lap 11, then tracked down Mueller to take over the number two position on the final lap. Back up front, Moore checked out on the field to see the checkered flag first.
After a rough first try to start the High School Racing Association feature, Dawsynn Frye charged past brother Landin to assume command of the race. Mitchell Berg needed only three laps to come from the back of the pack to move into second, but Berg was having trouble trying to catch Frye. Frye’s car was on rails as he put several cars a lap down and built up a huge full straightaway lead on Berg to caputre his first HSRA feature win.
Action continues on Friday, September 3 with the final weekly show of the season. The Modifieds, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks, Hornets and Six Shooters will race one last time and crown their division champions for the year. Gates open at 5, qualifying fires up at 6 and racing takes the green flag at 7:30.
Call the track office at 608-461-1920, visit our web site at tomahspartaspeeway.com or check out the track’s Facebook page for more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway and the 2021 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Hobbyfest 2
Feature (30 laps): 1. Chuck Egli, 2. Nick Oxborough, 3. Jevin Guralski, 4. Jamie Tate, 5. Tucker Bodendorfer, 6. Jordan Egli, 7. Jason Dunn, 8. Jordan Lamb, 9. Tyler Vincetech, 10. Alex Rud, 11. Jason Bolster, 12. Scott Mahlum, 13. Shelby Lockington, 14. Brandon Johnson, 15. Brad Wildes, 16. Joey Johnson, 17. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 18.
Dalton Egli, 19. Robbie Rucks, 20. Charles Vian, Jr. (DQ), 21. Dave Trute (DQ), 22. Andy Moore (DQ), 23. Mike Krueger, Jr. (DQ)
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Jason Bolster, 2. Tyler Vincetech, 3. Scott Mahlum, 4. Dalton Egli, 5. Brandon Johnson, 6. Brad Wildes, 7. Shelby Lockington, 8. Joey Johnson, 9. Jestin DeLap, Sr.
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Andy Moore, 2. Nick Oxborough, 3. Alex Rud, 4. Chuck Egli, 5. Jevin Guralski, 6. Jamie Tate, 7. Jordan Egli
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Dave Trute, 3. Jason Dunn, 4. Mike Krueger, Jr., 5. Jordan Lamb, 6. Robbie Rucks, 7. Tucker Bodendorfer
Qualifying: 1. Dave Trute, 2. Andy Moore, 3. Mike Krueger, Jr., 4. Jevin Guralski, 5. Charles Vian, Jr., 6. Nick Oxborough, 7. Jason Dunn, 8. Jordan Egli, 9. Robbie Rucks, 10. Chuck Egli, 11. Tucker Bodendorfer, 12. Dalton Egli, 13. Jamie Tate, 14. Jordan Lamb, 15. Alex Rud, 16. Brandon Johnson, 17. Jason Bolster, 18. Tyler Vincetech, 19. Brad Wildes, 20. Shelby Lockington, 21. Scott Mahlum, 22. Joey Johnson, 23. Jestin DeLap, Sr.
Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modifieds
Feature (15 laps): 1. Larry DeVito, 2. Denny Schott, 3. Bill Schott, 4. Rick DeVito, 5. Derrin Salo
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Larry DeVito, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Denny Schott, 4. Rick DeVito, 5. Derrin Salo
Qualifying:. 1. Denny Schott, 2. Derrin Salo, 3. Bill Schott, 4. Larry DeVito, 5. Rick DeVito
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. Henry Vian, 3. Jim Hendricks, Jr. Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Jim Hendricks, Jr., Dan Frye, 3. Henry Vian Qualifying: 1. Dan Frye, 2. Henry Vian, 3. Jim Hendricks, Jr.
Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Jordan Finch, 3. Nick Newton, 4. Zach Oliver, 5. Cheyanne Stanfield, 6. Jamie Pearson, 7. Shawn McCarthy, 8. Paul Finch, 9. Kyle Riedner, 10. Bryan Wallace, 11. Amelia Marshall, 12. Sammy Linnehan, 13. Mike Hennessy, Jr., 14. Ryan Oetzel, 15. Matt Krinke, 16. James Hendricks, Sr., 17. Tristan Finnegan, 18. Jeremy Moore, 19. Brandon Riedner, 20. Jacob Iverson, 21. Mark Anthony
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Tristan Finnegan, 2. James Hendricks, Sr., 3. Jeremy Moore, 4. Jacob Iverson, 5. Justin Iverson, 6. Mark Anthony
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Brandon Riedner, 2. Nick Newton, 3. Kyle Riedner, 4. Shawn McCarthy, 5. Sammy Linnehan, 6. Bryan Wallace, 7. Matt Krinke, 8. Ryan Oetzel
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Mike Hennessy, Jr., 3. Jamie Pearson, 4. Cheyanne Stanfield, 5. Paul Finch, 6. Zach Oliver, 7. Jordan Finch, 8. Amelia Marshall
Qualifying: 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Shawn McCarthy, 3. Cheyanne Stanfield, 4. Kyle Riedner, 5. Paul Finch, 6. Bryan Wallace, 7. Jamie Pearson, 8. Sammy Linnehan, 9. Amelia Marshall, 10.
Nick Newton, 11. Zach Oliver, 12. Brandon Riedner, 13. Jordan Finch, 14. Ryan Oetzel, 15. Mike Hennessy, Jr., 16. Matt Krinke, 17. James Hendricks, Sr., 18. Tristan Finnegan, 19. Mark Anthony, 20. Jeremy Moore, 21. Jacob Iverson, 22. Justin Iverson
TACU Credit Union 6 Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Matt Moore, 2. Taylor McMullen, 3. Steven Mueller, 4. Dustin McCracken, 5. Jake Schomers, 6. Chuck Muller, 7. Rob Stanfield, 8. Joshua Zacharias, 9. Alex Liebsch, 10. Todd Holerud, 11. John Huebner, 12. Matthew Heim, 13. Tory Lockington, 14. Cody Bell, 15. Clayton Haessig, 16. Zach Liebsch, 17. Chris Brown, 18. Tessa Wilder, 19. Devin Glass, 20. Mike Gratz, 21. Tim Murphy, Sr., 22. Lester Stanfield
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Tessa Wilder, 2. Cody Bell, 3. Mike Gratz, 4. Lester Stanfield, 5. Zach Liebsch, 6. Chris Brown
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Taylor McMullen, 2. Clayton Haessig, 3. Chuck Muller, 4. Matthew Heim, 5. Tim Murphy, Sr., 6. Rob Stanfield, 7. John Huebner, 8. Devin Glass
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Matt Moore, 2. Dustin McCracken, 3. Tory Lockington, 4. Joshua Zacharias, 5. Todd Holerud, 6. Jake Schomers, 7. Alex Liebsch
Qualifying: 1. Matt Moore, 2. Taylor McMullen, 3. Dustin McCracken, 4. Chuck Muller, 5. Jake Schomers, 6. Rob Stanfield, 7.Todd Holerud, 8. Tim Murphy, Sr., 9. Joshua Zacharias, 10. John Huebner, 11. Steven Mueller, 12. Devin Glass, 13. Alex Liebsch, 14. Matthew Heim, 15. Tory Lockington, 16. Clatyon Haessig, 17. Lester Stanfield, 18. Zach Liebsch, 19. Mike Gratz, 20. Cody Bell, 21. Chris Brown, 22. Tessa Wilder
High School Racing Association
Feature (10 laps): 1. Dawsynn Frye, 2. Mitchell Berg, 3. Curtis Hellickson, 4. Seth Gnewikow, 5. Braydon Lockington, 6. Isaiah Moore, 7. Ashton Kinsey, 8. Landin Frye, 9. Charlie
Thompson, 10. McKenna Rudolph, 11. Treevon Frye, 12. Kelsey Clements
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Seth Gnewikow, 2. Ashton Kinsey, 3. McKenna Rudolph, 4. Charlie Thompson, 5. Landin Frye, 6. Isaiah Moore
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Dawsynn Frye, 2. Braydon Lockington, 3. Mitchell Berg, 4. Curtis Hellickson, 5. Kelsey Clements, 6. Treevon Frye
Qualifying: 1. Mitchell Berg, 2. Seth Gnewikow, 3. Braydon Lockington, 4. Ashton Kinsey, 5. Curtis Hellickson, 6. Isaiah Moore, 7. Dawsynn Frye, 8. Charlie Thompson, 9. Kelsey Clements, 10. McKenna Rudolph, 11. Treevon Frye, 12. Landin Frye
