By: Paul Reichert
August 25, 2024
The fans and race teams were greeted by a sunny but steamy Sunday at Tomah-Sparta Speedway for the fifth running of HobbyFest. The first four runnings of the newest marquee event has featured some late-race drama and even a couple of post-race events that caused some unexpected results. All four running have seen drivers from the area that know Tomah-Sparta very well capture the biggest race for Hobby Stocks in the Midwest. We have been waiting for a driver from outside of Wisconsin to be crowned a HobbyFest champion, and it finally happened. Iowa racer Reggie Mitchell had a huge lead in the feature that disappeared thanks to a late race yellow. That yellow did not stop Mitchell as he pulled away on the final restart to continue the streak of five different winners in the five runnings of HobbyFest.
Chaos ensued in turn three on the first try to start the HobbyFest V feature, and that chaos resulted in a flat tire for Jarrod Sutherland. Sutherland headed to the pits, got his tire replaced and quickly rejoined the race. Jacob Mathison powered by Raymond Hardy to lead the first two laps of the second try to begin. Mathison had Reggie Mitchell following right behind him, then Mitchell drove into the lead on lap three. The caution flag came out on lap nine for a tangle in turn four between Hardy, Jason Michaud and Justin Wagner. Mitchell wasted little time on the restart as he stepped on the gas and began to pull away from the competition. Chris Weber, the only former champion in the field from 2022, moved into the runner-up spot on lap 17. Weber tried to close the gap on Mitchell in his quest to become the first repeat winner, but it was only a small bit of the gap being whittled away over the second half of the race. The yellow flag returned with five laps left when someone ran over a tire separating the new track from the old track and it came onto the track. Weber lined up next to Mitchell for the restart, but the inside line railroaded Weber back to seventh in the end. Mitchell pulled away from the field on the final restart to become the first driver outside of Wisconsin to capture HobbyFest. In fact, the top three finishers made up the first ever non-Wisconsin podium with Mitchell (Iowa), two-time feature winner Jesse Fischer (Minnesota) and an impressive rebounding performance by Sutherland (Illinois).
The first start of the Midwest Dash Series feature had to be aborted when Ashley Bell’s backup car spun out in turn two. Anna Price-Malouf surged past Tyler Muller to take the top position on take number two of the start. Point leader Justin Pearson found a way around Price-Malouf to settle into first on lap three. Pearson’s time up front did not last very long as Davey Pennel powered by him to settle into the lead spot on lap four. Yellow returned on lap six when a driver’s exhaust pipe was sitting in turn two. Pennel quickly pulled away from the field on the restart and continued to pull away. Mark English, who lost that exhaust pipe earlier, moved into second on lap 13 with Pennel a mile away. With ten laps remaining the right rear of English’s car bounced off the front straight wall and left a white mark on that tire. Despite all of those moments, English still came on in second but nearly seven and a half seconds behind the dominant performance of Pennel.
Elko veteran Keith Paulsrud surged by LaCrosse Sportsmen veteran Justin Berg to lead his first Sportsmen feature laps at Tomah. Within four laps Paulsrud’s mirrors would be filled up with the white and black race car of Mark Challet. Catching your competition is one thing while passing them is another as Challet struggled with a loose race car in the turns in his attempts to challenge Paulsrud. Chalet gathered himself together to get a run out of turn two at halfway and powered around Paulsrud down the back straight to settle into the number one spot. Once the pass was completed, Paulsrud would not let Challet get away from him that easily. Paulsrud stayed about two or three car lengths behind the points leader in hopes of challenging for the lead again. That would not happen as Challet made his seventh trip to TACU Credit Union Victory Lane and virtually assured himself of the season points crown.
The start of the Hornet feature saw Jordan Finch outmuscle hot newcomer Colten Pennel to the lead entering turn one. Dylan Roberts, the first dirt racer to compete at Tomah-Sparta in five years, briefly took over second from Pennel before falling back to fourth when Pennel and Kaleb Hardy got around him. A spirited battle ensued between Pennel and Hardy that boiled over on lap three when Pennel turned Hardy on the front straight. Finch pulled away from the field on the restart and it was looking like her Hornet Hustle win earlier this month. By the midway mark of the race championship contender Tristan Finnigan began to slowly catch up to Finch and was looking to make it a real race. Finnigan got as close as a couple car lengths as Finch hit the finish line first for her second win of the season. This was also the second straight year that Finch won the Hornet feature at HobbyFest.
A.J. Finnigan powered under James Gratz to lead the first three laps of the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature. Gratz gathered himself back up to close the gap Finnigan had over him. Gratz drove by Finnigan down the back straight to take over the lead position on lap four. As Finnigan began to fall back and lose touch with the leaders, Monty Odegard was making his way forward to challenge the front runners. By the halfway point of the feature Odegard was right on the rear bumper of Gratz. That was the start of the chess match between two of the High School Racing Association regulars. Gratz stuck to his guns holding onto the low line leaving Odegard the outside lane to make his move for the lead. Odegard tried to get alongside of Gratz a couple times but was not able to complete the pass for the lead. Gratz held the advantage with the inside lane and that propelled him to his second Six Shooter victory this year.
The 2024 racing season comes to a dramatic conclusion on Friday, August 30 as we settle the season points championships in all of our weekly divisions. The Sportsmen, Hornets, Six Shooters, High School Racing Association and Crown Vics will run their last feature races this year and crown brand new first-time champions. The wild and crazy battle for the Hobby Stock points title will go right down to the finish of their feature. Will Mike Gratz become the first Rookie of the Year and season champ since Weston Marthaler turned the feat in the Modifieds two years ago? Will either Grant Witcraft or Seth Gnewikow surprise us all and capture their first ever track crowns? Gates open at 6, the last races against the clock in qualifying go green at 6:15 and the answers to those and other racing championship questions will be answered starting at 7:30.
Call the track office at 608-461-1920, 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 2024 schedule of events.
RESULTS
HobbyFest V
Feature (30 laps): 1. Reggie Mitchell, 2. Jesse Fischer, 3. Jarrod Sutherland, 4. Shane Strothman, 5. Jason Michaud, 6. Tyler Vincetich, 7. Chris Weber, 8. Peyton King, 9. Bill Schott, 10. Brock Westermayer, 11. Jason Bolster, 12. Elliott Hawkins, 13. Jamie Tate, 14. Landon Lockington, 15. Waylon Robinson, 16. Justin Wagner, 17. Robby Robinson, 18. Jacob Mathison, 19. Raymond Hardy, 20. Alex Rud
Heat #1 (10 laps): 1. Landon Lockington, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Peyton King, 4. Elliott Hawkins, 5. Alex Rud, 6. Jamie Tate
Odd Dash (10 laps): 1. Chris Weber, 2. Brock Westermayer, 3. Robby Robinson, 4. Jarrod Sutherland, 5. Jesse Fischer, 6. Raymond Hardy, 7. Tyler Vincetich
Even Dash (10 laps): 1. Jason Michaud, 2. Waylon Robinson, 3. Justin Wagner, 4. Reggie Mitchell, 5. Shane Strothman, 6. Jason Bolster, 7. Jacob Mathison
Qualifying: 1. Chris Weber 17.253, 2. Waylon Robinson 17.300, 3. Jarrod Sutherland 17.324, 4. Shane Strothman 17.485, 5. Robby Robinson 17.538, 6. Reggie Mitchell 17.585, 7. Jesse Fischer 17.694, 8. Jacob Mathison 17.796, 9. Raymond Hardy 17.885, 10. Jason Bolster 17.972, 11. Tyler Vincetich 18.067, 12. Justin Wagner 18.094, 13. Brock Westermayer 18.123, 14. Jason MIchaud 18.217, 15. Elliott Hawkins 18.245, 16. Bill Schott 18.322, 17. Alex Rud 18.354, 18. Landon Lockington 18.360, 19. Peyton King 18.632, 20. Jamie Tate 18.687
Midwest Dash Series
Godfather 30 Feature (30 laps): 1. Davey Pennel, 2. Mark English, 3. Tyler Muller, 4. Tim Anderson, 5. Phil Malouf, 6. Justin Pearson, 7. Anna Price-Malouf, 8. Taylor Dawson, 9. Ashley Bell, 10. Travis Hill, 11. Shawn Grabinger, 12. Pete Doxey
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Shawn Grabinger, 2. Tim Anderson, 3. Anna Price-Malouf, 4. Pete Doxey, 5. Taylor Dawson, 6. Ashley Bell, 7. Travis Price
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Tyler Muller, 2. Davey Pennel, 3. Phil Malouf, 4. Mark English, 5. Justin Pearson, 6. Kyle Reidner
Qualifying: 1. Kyle Riedner 17.171, 2. Davey Pennel 17.230, 3. Mark English 17.327, 4. Phil Malouf 17.571, 5. Justin Pearson 17.659, 6. Tyler Muller 17.698, 7. Anna Price-Malouf 17.743, 8. Tim Anderson 17.839, 9. Mark Dewey 17.993, 10. Shawn Grabinger 18.097, 11. Pete Doxey 18.282, 12. Taylor Dawson 18.307, 13. Travis Hill 18.463, 14. Ashley Bell 19.228
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mark Challet, 2. Ketih Paulsrud, 3. Justin Berg
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mark Challet, 2. Keith Paulsrud, 3. Justin Berg
Qualifying: 1. Keith Paulsrud 16.573, 2. Mark Challet 16.577, 3. Justin Berg 16.909
Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jordan Finch, 2. Tristan Finnigan, 3. Adam Hayden, 4. Glen Bush, Jr., 5. Dylan Roberts, 6. Colten Pennel, 7. Brandon Olson, 8. Matthew Heim, 9. Aubrie Leis, 10. Ashtin Quinnell, 11. Logan Groskreutz, 12. Kaleb Hardy
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Jordan Finch, 2. Colten Pennel, 3. Brandon Olson, 4. Aubrie Leis, 5. Matthew Heim, 6. Ashtin Quinnell, 7. Logan Groskreutz
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Glen Bush, Jr., 2. Adam Hayden, 3. Kaleb Hardy, 4. Tristan Finnigan, 5. Jamie Pearson, 6. Dylan Roberts
Qualifying: 1. Tristan Finnigan 18.770, 2. Adam Hayden 18.809, 3. Jamie Pearson 18.864, 4. Kaleb Hardy 18.931, 5. Dylan Roberts 18.964, 6. Glen Bush, Jr. 18.981, 7. Colten Pennel 19.036, 8. Jordan Finch 19.058, 9. Brandon Olson 19.102, 10. Matthew Heim 19.429, 11. Ashtin Quinnell 19.640, 12. Aubrie Leis 19.857, 13. Logan Groskreutz 20.475
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. James Gratz, 2. Monty Odegard, 3. Christopher Neal, 4. Ryatt Dobbratz, 5. Greg Brown, 6. TIm Murphy, Sr., 7. Dakota Clauson, 8. A.J. Finnigan, 9. Alex Lueth
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Christopher Neal, 2. Monty Odegard, 3. A.J. Finnigan, 4. Alex Lueth, 5. James Gratz
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. TIm Murphy, Sr., 2. Dakota Clauson, 3. Ryatt Dobbratz, 4. Greg Brown
Qualifying: 1. Greg Brown 19.535, 2. Ryatt Dobbratz 19.629, 3. Dakota Clauson 19.646, 4. TIm Murphy, Sr. 19.719, 5. Monty Odegard 19.730, 6. Christopher Neal 20.010, 7. James Gratz 20.208, 8. A.J. Finnigan 20.099, 9. Alex Lueth 20.294
