By: Paul Reichert
May 23, 2025
The big news this week at Tomah Sparta Speedway was the laying down of new asphalt over the turns of the old 1/4-mile race track. After an open test of that new asphalt took place on Thursday, it would be put to the real test in actual racing action. After the first night of racing, it looks like that new asphalt was much appreciated by all the competitors. Four of the divisions running established new track records during qualifying with that new asphalt. The competition on the track was incredible with a lot of close racing and thrilling battles. We would witness three drivers claim their first-ever feature wins and two score clean sweeps of their division. One of those clean sweeps was the first to be accomplished by a female as Alivia Moore was the star of the Sixers division.
In the 20 lap Sixers feature, opening night winner Curtis Hellickson shot past Adria Day going into turn one to settle into the number one spot. Hellickson would be caught by Greg Brown, Jr. on lap seven, and the fight was on for the lead between the two. Yellow flew on lap 12 when Tim Murphy, Sr. and Christopher Neal got tangled up with each other on the front straight. The battle between Hellickson and Brown got a bit more intense on the restart and it allowed Alivia Moore to power by both drivers into the lead on lap 13. A lap later that battle blew up when Brown, Jr. and Hellickson got together in turn four. Brown, Jr. drove through the grass before getting back on track and Hellickson spun out. Ghage Moore also got caught up in the incident, but only Hellickson was able to rejoin the competition. Moore drove away from Landin Frye on the restart to capture her first-ever feature checkered flag. That win put on a cap on a clean sweep of the racing that included Moore becoming the first female driver ever to hold a track qualifying record at Tomah Sparta Speedway
The 25 lap Sportsmen feature saw Mike Krueger debut a brand new race car and power past LaCrosse champion Bob Fort for the lead position. Charles Vian, Jr. followed Krueger, in his tire tracks to surge by Fort for second on lap two. Vian, Jr. caught and then drove around the outside of Krueger to take over being the ‘top dog’ on lap five. Soon to be making his presence known to Vian, Jr. was former HobbyFest champion Chris Weber. Weber would power around Krueger to claim second spot on lap ten and began to close in on Vian, Jr. The second half of the feature would be a very intense fight between Vian, Jr. and Weber. A lot of bumping and banging between the two drivers occurred. Weber tried several times to nose under Vian, Jr. for the front spot. Both drivers maintained their composure and kept things as clean between them as possible even with the new surface in the turns. Vian, Jr. would pull away down the stretch to capture his second straight feature victory.
Tyler Stuber led the first three laps of the 25 lap Hobby Stock feature. Those were the first laps that Stuber ever led in a feature. Stuber was doing everything he could to hold off the field, but Scott “Chico” Riedner powered his Shaggin’ Wagon around Stuber to move up to first place on lap four. New track record holder Waylon Robinson slowly reeled in Riedner before moving to the outside to charge past Riedner to take the lead on lap 12. You think that Robinson would pull away from the field, but Riedner was determined to charge back into the top spot. By lap 16 Riedner would get back to the bumper of Robinson, then found an opening coming out of turn two to get side-by-side. Riedner nose ahead at the field completed lap 19, then got a run on the inside in turns one and two to take full command of the race. The complexion of the race changed with only two laps to run when Raymond Hardy spun in turn two. Riedner and Robinson lined up next to each other on the final restart and would battle hard over those final two laps. Riedner maintained his position on the inside and got ahead of Robinson to claim the win, Riedner’s third in the last seven races going back to last season.
A sibling rivalry between A.J. and Tristan Finnigan led the 20 lap Hornet feature to the green flag. A.J. nosed ahead to lead the opening lap, but Tristan got a great run coming out of turn two to move into the top spot on lap two. Action was slowed on lap three when Landon Peterson and rookie Braxtyn Moore made contact in turn three that sent Moore into a spin. The Finnigans again led the field on the restart, but Tristan shot by A.J. to remain in the lead. Soon Tristan would have to contend with a young veteran of four-cylinder racing. When Karter Stark shows up at a race track with his car, you know he is going after the victory. After taking over second on lap five, Stark was slowly reeling in Finnigan for the lead position. Stark tried looking low and high to find a way by Finnigan but would never get that opportunity. Even though Finnigan would have his hands full holding back Stark, he would never bobble or make a mistake despite the new surface in the turns. Finnigan did a terrific job of driving and keeping Stark at bay to notch his first-ever feature triumph.
The 20 lap Hippo feature saw Christopher Neal charge past Curtis Hellickson to lead the early laps of the race. Neal would get a ton of pressure from 2023 champion Mike Gratz as the fight for the top spot got intense. Contact between Neal and Gratz coming out of turn two on lap five allowed Monty Odegard to zoom past both drivers and settle into the lead. Somehow both Neal and Gratz gathered things together and resumed their squabble over second before Gratz claimed the runner-up spot just past halfway. As Gratz began to close in on Odegard, someone hit a tire on the inside of the new racing surface that came onto the track and forced a yellow flag with five laps to go. Odegard, who celebrated his birthday the day before, powered away from Gratz on the restart to claim his first-ever feature win. The feature victory capped off a clean sweep by Odegard, which included a new track record in qualifying.
We had an added late minute bonus to the night’s racing with the first Chaos event in over a year. All divisions running were invited to be a part of the Tire Race. Here you had to balance a tire on the hood of your car while making ten laps around the track, but if your tire fell off you were eliminated. The closing laps of the Tire Race became a battle between Hobby Stock racers Mathew Cleveland and Raymond Hardy. Cleveland lost his tire in turn two on the final lap, while Hardy stayed balanced and crossed the finish line first with his tire still in place.
We wrap up the opening month of the racing season with a fun night for everybody on Friday, May 30. The Hobby Stocks, Hornets, Six Shooters, Great North Legends and INEX Bandoleros will be the present-day drivers competing. The Milwaukee Stock Car Racing Association brings their Vintage Modifieds back to Tomah Sparta for a fourth straight year as we take a trip to the heyday of dirt track racing in Wisconsin. Following qualifying the kids will give the front straight a little more color as they get to ‘Chalk the Track’. Gates open at 5:30, group qualifying goes green at 6 and the thrill of racing speed will bring the crowd to its feet starting at 7.
Call the track office at 952-994-1282, visit our website at tomahspartaspeedway.com and be sure to like our track’s Facebook page for more information about Tomah Sparta Speedway and the 2025 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Sportsmen
Feature (25 laps): 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Chris Weber, 3. MIke Kreuger, 4. Bob Fort, 5. Jason Bolster
Heat #1 (10 laps): 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Chris Weber, 3. Mike Krueger, Jr., 4. Bob Fort, 5. Jason Bolster
Qualifying: 1. Chris Weber 15.276 (New Track Record), 2. MIke Krueger, Jr. 15.526, 3. Charles Vian, Jr. 15.808, 4. Henry Vian 15.917, 5. Jason Bolster 17.028, 6. Bob Fort 17.822
Hobby Stocks
Feature (25 laps): 1. Scott Riedner, 2. Waylon Robinson, 3. Mathew Cleveland, 4. Tyler Stuber, 5. Landon Lockington, 6. Raymond Hardy, 7. Robby Robinson
Heat #1 (10 laps): 1. Robby Robinson, 2. Tyler Stuber, 3. Raymond Hardy, 4. Landon Lockington
Heat #2 (10 laps): 1. Scott Riedner, 2. Mathew Cleveland, 3. Waylon Robinson
Qualifying: 1. Waylon Robinson 16.923, 2. Scott Riedner 16.982, 3. Mathew Cleveland 17.006, 4. Raymond Hardy 17.251, 5. Landon Lockington 17.375, 6. Robby Robinson 17.477, 7. Tyler Stuber 17.969
Hornets
Feature (20 laps): 1. Tristan Finnigan, 2. Karter Stark, 3. Paul Finch, 4. A.J. Finnigan, 5. Landon Peterson, 6. Glen Bush, Jr., 7. Ashtin Quinnell, 8. Caleb Uksas, 9. Hunter Bush, 10. Heidi Cuff, 11. Braxtyn Moore
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Braxtyn Moore, 2. Tristan Finnigan, 3. A.J. Finnigan, 4. Heidi Cuff, 5. Glen Bush, Jr., 6. Hunter Bush
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Paul Finch, 2. Karter Stark, 3. Landon Peterson, 4. Ashtin Quinnell, 5. Caleb Uksas
Qualifying: 1. Landon Peterson 17.422 (New Track Record), 2. Ashtin Quinnel 17.481, 3. Karter Stark 17.547, 4. Paul Finch 17.551, 5. Heidi Cuff 17.623, 6. Tristan Finnigan 17.623, 7. A.J. Finnigan 17.689, 8. Glen Bush, Jr. 17.824, 9. Braxtyn Moore 18.117
Sixers
Feature (20 laps): 1. Alivia Moore, 2. Landin Frye, 3. Curtis Hellickson, 4. Adria Day, 5. Greg Brown, Jr., 6. Ghage Moore, 7. Tim Murphy, Sr., 8. Christopher Neal
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Landin Frye, 2. Greg Brown, Jr., 3. Curtis Hellickson, 4. Adria Day
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Alivia Moore, 2. Ghage Moore, 3. Tim Murphy, Sr., 4. Christopher Neal
Qualifying: 1. Alivia Moore 18.301 (New Track Record), 2. Christopher Neal 18.326, 3. Ghage Moore 18.338, 4. Tim Murphy, Sr. 18.344, 5. Greg Brown, Jr. 18.358, 6. Curtis Hellickson 18.360, 7. Adria Day 18.475, 8. Landin Frye 18.486
Hippos
Feature (20 laps): 1. Monty Odegard, 2. Mike Gratz, 3. Christopher Neal, 4. James Gratz, 5. Curtis Hellickson
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Monty Odegard, 2. Mike Gratz, 3. James Gratz, 4. Christopher Neal, 5. Curtis Hellickson
Qualifying: 1. Monty Odegard 18.946 (New Track Record), 2. Mike Gratz 19.005, 3. James Gratz 19.185, 4. Christopher Neal 19.364, 5. Curtis Hellickson 19.777
Crown Vics
Feature (25 laps): 1. Cole Scholze
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Cole Scholze
Novelty
Tire Race (10 laps); 1. Raymond Hardy, 2. Braxtyn Moore, 3. Mike Gratz, 4. Mathew Cleveland, 5. James Gratz, 6. Tristan Finnigan, 7. Christopher Neal, 8. Cole Scholze, 9. Tyler Stuber