By: Paul Reichert
July 4, 2025
We have some very die-hard race fans here at Tomah Sparta Speedway. They will come out to enjoy great fender rubbing and wheel banging competition no matter how cold or warm it gets, and they will brave any snowstorm or rainstorm that blows through Cranberry Country. You can also apply that to our drivers as well. They enjoy the thrill of competition and will put on a great show for the race fans regardless of the elements they have to deal with. On a warm and sultry 4th of July evening a hearty bunch of drivers and race fans gathered for the Summer Sizzle 300 Enduro, the second leg of our Enduro Triple Crown Series. Curtis Hellickson started the race and ran the first half, while dad Matt Moore took over the driving duties in the second half. It only took three laps after leader Louie Ansolabehere dropped out as Moore helped Hellickson notch his first ever enduro victory.
Before the Summer Sizzle 300 Enduro started up, veteran enduro racer Troy Tuma was offered and accepted a challenge to earn a $300 bonus if he started the race five laps off the lead. Jacob Wickesburg started on the pole and led the early going of the race. Tuma was able to get one on his laps back on lap eight. Wickesburg’s time up front ended on lap 13 when he suffered a flat tire. Hard contact with Colter Sagler resulted in a flat tire at the same time for Jason Witte. Kyle Ansolabehere assumed the top spot on lap 13, and five laps later was able to drive around Tuma to put him back five laps behind. On lap 23 Louie Ansolabehere would power around Kyle to take over the lead. Mike Kreuger, Jr. would slowly close the gap on Ansolabehere as they approached the 50 laps down mark. Krueger, Jr. tried to look for a way underneath Ansolabehere, but Ansolabehere would slam the door shut on Krueger, Jr. every time. Former Tomah enduro winner Rob Dubnecay fell victim to Ansolabehere and lost a lap to him on lap 71. Krueger, Jr. would get another shot at Ansolabehere for the lead as we closed in on the one-third mark. Try as he might again, Krueger, Jr. would have the door slammed on him by Ansolabehere. The race suddenly came to an end for Krueger, Jr. with a mechanical issue that forced him to park in the infield on lap 105. Tuma tried to toy with Ansolabehere around lap 125 and prevent himself from losing a seventh lap, which finally happened on lap 126. At the same time the race for Dubnecay came to an end with his own mechanical issue. Louie drove around Kyle coming to the crossed flags to make him the only car on the lead lap as the halfway break took place.
After a cat and mouse race between Tim Brockhouse and Krueger, Jr. in Hippos that went to Krueger, Jr., the Summer Sizzle 300 fired back up to run the second 150 laps with Matt Moore climbing into Hellickson’s car for the rest of the race. A tow link issue was fixed on Tuma’s car during the break as he wasted little time to gain a lap back from Ansolabehere on lap 158. Timmy Schmitz suddenly retired from the race and gave up fourth place on lap 170 with a broken right front wheel. The racing got a bit dicey for Kyle Ansolabehere when Zach Liebsch and him made contact in turn four on lap 175, then turned Colter Sagler on the front straight before making hard contact with Tristan Finnigan in turn two. All that action was hard on Ansolabehere’s car as he was forced to drop out on lap 178. Joshua Johnson nearly rolled his car in turn two on lap 192, while Tuma powered past Louie Ansolabehere to be just five laps in arrears. Unfortunately, that breakneck pace and fast lap after fast lap was too much for Tuma’s car as he dropped out with 72 laps to go. Fourth place was not a very lucky spot in the race as Zach Liebsch also had an issue with his car that forced him to the pits with 50 laps remaining. The good news was that Liebsch would return with about 25 laps to go and hold onto his fourth place spot. The pace that Ansolabehere was running finally caught up to his car as smoke began to show and led to his race ending early with 31 laps left. Matt Moore was running his usual steady race and would dismiss Ansolabehere from the lead with 28 laps left to run. Moore showed why he is a driver to be aware of at Tomah Sparta Speedway as he helped Hellickson score his first ever enduro win. The real story on this 4th of July may have been Adam Spiess, driving one of Louie Ansolabehere’s cars to a second place effort even if he was 11 laps behind. This was the very first race of any kind that Spiess was competing in, and it was an impressive effort with Spiess joining up with the United States Navy later this month.
We kick off the second half of the 2025 racing season next Friday, July 11 as our Sixer class gets to be the featured division with the annual running of the Sixer Mania event. A longer feature race with a little more money in the purse will have our regular drivers and even a few competitors from other tracks out to claim one of the biggest Sixer races in Wisconsin. The Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks, Great North Legends, INEX Bandoleros and the High School Racing Association will also be competing for checkered flag victories. The kids will have the chance to race around Tomah Sparta Speedway as well during our 2nd annual 1/3-mile Marathon at intermission. Gates open at 5:30, group qualifying hits the pavement running at 6 and racing action shifts into high gear at 7.
Call the track office at 952-994-1282, visit our website at tomahspartaspeedway.com and be sure to Like the track’s Facebook page to learn more information about Tomah Sparta Speedway and the 2025 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Summer Sizzle 300 Enduro (300 laps): 1. Curtis Hellickson/Matt Moore 300, 2. Adam Spiess 289, 3. Louie Ansolabehere 270, 4. Zach Liebsch 260, 5. Shawn Carpenter 255, 6. Troy Tuma 244, 7. Jason Witte 233, 8. Kyle Ansolabehere 176, 9. Timmy Schmitz 163, 10. Austin Finnigan 154, 11. Rob Dubnecay 126, 12. Colter Sagler 115, 13. Mike Krueger, Jr. 104, 14. Joshua Johnson 90, 15. Tristan Finnigan 76, 16. Charlie Thompson 60, 17. Levi Thompson 52, 18. Jacob Wickesberg 13, 19. A.J. Finnigan 1