By: Paul Reichert July 23, 2021
The sweltering summer weather returned Friday night to Tomah-Sparta Speedway but that did not stop another terrific crowd from packing into the grandstands and witnessing some more intense racing action. Always pay attention to the action on the track because you never know what surprise will happen during the race. That surprise happened during the final lap of the Hobby Stock feature when Andy Moore suffered some sort of mechanical glitch that briefly slowed him down. Mike Krueger, Jr. received a gift from the racing gods as he suddenly had the lead and an unexpected victory.
Chad Leis continues to make strides in his rookie year as he shot to the front of the Hobby Stock feature. Leis would lead the opening four circuits but soon would have a menacing presence to deal with in the form of Andy Moore. Moore used his patented outside lane to charge past Leis into the lead on lap five. Moore began to pull away from the field as Mike Krueger, Jr. began to make his way through traffic in his quest to get the better of the orange 19 machine. Krueger, Jr. would power around Leis to take over the runner-up spot with five laps to go. After taking the white flag the moment happened. Coming out of turn two Moore suddenly slowly as if a mechanical issue surfaced causing Moore to fall to fourth in the end. That would be the golden opportunity Krueger, Jr. needed as he shot around Moore to capture a surprise third win on the season.
In the Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modified feature Nick Quinnell made his return to action at ‘Daytomah’ by taking the lead early on in the race. Point leader Denny Schott would have to maneuver his way through a trio of DeVitos to challenge Quinnell for the top spot. Schott got around Alec DeVito, making his Modified debut, for fourth on lap two then surged past Rick DeVito for third on lap five. Over the next several laps Schott would get into a hot and heavy battle with Larry DeVito for the number two position. DeVito maintained his advantage on the inside while Schott worked him over on the outside. The two would make contact coming out of turn four with three laps to go with Schott bouncing off the front straight wall and ending his race. Quinnell pulled away from that trio of DeVitos in the three lap shootout to drive away with the checkered flag victory.
Dan Frye and Jim Hendricks, Jr. put on another entertaining battle in the Sportsmen feature. Frye used the outside lane to take the lead on the first, but then Hendricks, Jr. flexed his muscles in his Buick Grand National to surge ahead on lap two. As he kept Frye in check leading his first Sportsmen feature laps, you had to wonder if Hendricks, Jr. would claim his first feature win to go along with his four fast time honors. Frye patiently waited for the right chance to get back ahead of Hendricks, Jr., and that would come at the midway point of the race. Unlike previous races Frye would put the ‘pedal to the metal’ as he opened up his lead to about five car lengths over Hendricks, Jr. There would be no late race rally by Hendricks, Jr. as Frye would not be touched and score his fourth feature win.
Scott Mahlum shot past Bryan Wallace to take the lead at the start of the Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornet feature. The ‘Donut Man’ began to open his advantage on the field when the yellow flag appeared on lap six. Defending track champion Shawn McCarthy and Zach Oliver tangled coming out of turn four with Oliver tagging the inside front straight wall. Paul Finch drove around Mahlum on the restart to become the new leader on lap seven. As Finch tried to pull away from the field, the unstoppable yellow 9 machine of point leader Mason Morphy was getting through traffic with relative ease. Morphy caught up to Finch with four laps to go then moved to the outside to get around Finch to settle into the top spot with three laps to go. Morphy pulled away down the stretch to see the checkered flag first for the fourth time this year.
It has been tough year for Clayton Haessig but he would take the lead at the start of the TACU Credit Union 6 Shooter feature. Haessig would show the field the way over the first five circuits before Charles Vian, Jr. caught ‘Cheeto’. Vian, Jr. took the outside groove to power around Haessig and move into the top spot on lap six. While Vian, Jr began to pull away from Haessig and the field, Haessig would soon have to deal with the cream of the 6 Shooter division. Matt Moore came from deep in the field to take over third with five laps to go. Moore used the next three laps to close down the gap on Haessig, but could not find a way around Haessig for the runner-up spot. Back up front Vian, Jr. checked out on the field as he drove off with a dominant win.
Mitchell Berg showed the way for the first half of the High School Racing Association feature. Berg was the car to beat until his tie rod broke on lap seven to bring out a caution period and end his race early. That would turn the lead over to Braydon Lockington on the restart. Over the final four laps of the race Curtis Hellickson and Jestin DeLap, Jr. got into a fierce battle for the number two position. The Lockington family would add another track to their racing legacy as Braydon nailed down an impressive feature win.
In the Soccer Moms feature Carina Hellickson quickly got to the lead at the start of the race. Tara Frye tried to keep up with Hellickson over the ten lap feature but could not match the pace Hellickson was setting as she captured her second straight checkered flag.
Action continues next Friday, July 30 with the rescheduled inaugural running of the 6 Shooter Showdown. Todd Scholz and his crew at TACU Credit Union are putting up some extra money for the purse, including in the feature, for the 6 Shooters. The adults even have a chance to win some money from TACU Credit Union. The kids will also be big winners with the annual Backpack Giveaway as the race teams will be helping the kids get ready for the new school year. The Modifieds, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks and Hornets will also be in action as well. Gates open at 5:00, qualifying fires up at 6:00 and the first green flag flies 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 2021 schedule of events.
RESULTS Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mike Kreuger, Jr. 2. Chad Leis, 3. Alex Rud, 4. Andy Moore, 5. Andy Muller, 6. Shelby Lockington, 7. Aaron Hendricks
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mike Krueger, Jr., 2. Andy Moore, 3. Chad Leis, 4. Aaron Hendricks, 5. Alex Rud, 6. Andy Muller, 7. Shelby Lockington
Qualifying: 1. Andy Moore, 2. Mike Krueger, Jr. 3. Aaron Hendricks, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Shelby Lockington, 6. Andy Muller, 7. Chad Leis
Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modifieds
Feature (15 laps): 1. Nick Quinnell, 2. Larry DeVito, 3. Rick DeVito, 4. Alec DeVito, 5. Denny Schott
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Denny Schott, 2. Larry DeVito, 3. Nick Quinnell, 4. Rick DeVito, 5. Alec DeVito, 6. Bill Schott
Qualifying:. 1. Nick Quinnell, 2. Denny Schott, 3. Larry DeVito, 4. Rick DeVito, 5. Alec DeVito, 6. Bill Schott
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. Jim Hendricks, Jr. Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. Jim Hendricks, Jr. Qualifying: 1. Jim Hendricks, Jr., 2. Dan Frye
Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Paul Finch, 3. Scott Mahlum, 4. Bryan Wallace, 5. Tristan Drazkowski, 6. Sammy Linnehan, 7. Shawn McCarthy, 8. Jazelynn Myer, 9. Jamie Pearson, 10. James Hendricks, Sr., 11
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Tristan Drazkowski, 3. Zach Oliver, 4. Bryan Wallace, 5. Justin Marshall, 6. Tristan Finnegan, 7. Jamie Pearson, 8. William Petty
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Shawn McCarthy, 2. Sammy Linnehan, 3. Paul Finch, 4. Jazelynn Myer, 5. Andrew Gardner, 6. James Hendricks, Sr., 7. Scott Mahlum
Qualifying: 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Shawn McCarthy, 3. Jamie Pearson, 4. Sammy Linnehan, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Paul Finch, 7. Tristan Drazkowski, 8. Andrew Gardner, 9. Bryan Wallace, 10. Scott Mahlum, 11. Tristan Finnegan, 12. Troy Tuma, 13. Justin Marshall, 14. James Hendricks, Sr., 15. William Petty, 16. Jazelynn Myer (NO TIME), 17. Jordan Finch (NO TIME)
TACU Credit Union 6 Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Clayton Haessig, 3. Matt Moore, 4. Matt Heim, 5. Tim Murphy, Sr., 6. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 7. Chuck Muller, 8. Peter Thompson, 9. Landon Lockington, 10. Todd Holerud, 11. Tory Lockington, 12. Mike Gratz, 13. Greg Brown, 14. Matt Drazkowski, 15. Cody Bell, 16. Jonathan Walling
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Tim Murphy, Sr., 2. Matt Moore, 3. Charles Vian, Jr., 4. Todd Holerud, 5. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 6. Tory Lockington, 7. Greg Brown, 8. Landon Lockington, 9. Jonathan Walling
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Dustin McCracken, 2. Mike Gratz, 3. Matt Heim, 4. Chuck Muller, 5. Peter Thompson, 6. Matt Drazkowski, 7. Cody Bell, 8. Clayton Haessig
Qualifying: 1. Matt Moore, 2. Dustin McCracken, 3. Tim Murphy, Sr., 4. Chuck Muller, 5. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 6. Matt Heim, 7. Todd Holerud, 8. Peter Thompson, 9. Charles Vian, Jr., 10. Clayton Haessig, 11. Tory Lockington, 12. Matt Drazkowski, 13. Landon Lockington, 14. Mike Gratz, 15. Greg Brown, 16. Cody Bell, 17. Jonathan Walling
High School Racing Association
Feature (10 laps): 1. Braydon Lockington, 2. Curtis Hellickson, 3. Jestin DeLap, Jr., 4. Charlie Thompson, 5. Joey Miller, 6. Kelsey Clements, 7. Ashton Kinsey, 8. Mitchell Berg, 9. Dawsynn Frye, 10. Seth Gnewikow
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mitchell Berg, 2. Braydon Lockington, 3. Charlie Thompson, 4. Kelsey Clements, 5. Jestin DeLap, Jr., 6. McKenna Rudolph
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Dawsynn Frye, 2. Seth Gnewikow, 3. Curtis Hellickson, 4. Ashton Kinsey, 5. Joey Miller
Soccer Moms
Feature (10 laps): 1. Carina Hellickson, 2. Tara Frye, 3. Shelly White, 4. Skeyenne Squires
