By; Paul Reichert
August 8, 2025
The name Borntreger has become a well known name in the racing scene here in Wisconsin, and especially here at Tomah Spata Speedway. David claimed the 2019 Sportsmen track champion, as well as the 2022 Tim Myer Memorial Shootout winner. Andrew and Rose are successful and very competitive Legends drivers, and Rose claimed first ever Late Model win at the Dells about a month ago. Speaking of the Late Models, that is where the Borntregers accel the best at. Allen captured the 2023 Late Model Triple Crown championship here at Tomah. After a year away, the highly competitive Big 8 Late Model Series returned to Cranberry Country for the Ron Meister Memorial. Mahlon Borntreger put on an impressive gate-to-wire drive against some of the best Late Model competitors in the Midwest to capture his first career Big 8 victory.
A plethora of Borntregers would occupy the first three positions at the start of the 58 lap Ron Meister Memorial feature for the Big 8 Late Model Series. Mahlon, piloting Rose’s race car, powered underneath Andrew to lead the early few laps of the race. Allen followed Mahlon’s lead and also drove by Andrew on the low side to give the 2023 Tomah Late Model Triple Crown Champion the runner-up position on lap three. Jesse Bernhagen spent the first four laps making his way around multi-time Big 8 champions Jeremy Miller and Jon Reynolds, Jr. to leap up to fourth. Bernhagen, the winner of the inaugural Big 8 race at Tomah in 2022, quickly caught up to Andrew Borntreger before he shot by him to settle into third on lap seven and begin his pursuit of the other two Borntregers. Andrew would fall back to sixth as Miller and Reynolds, Jr. drove past him, but he gathered himself back up and would rally back to return to the top four. First Andrew got back around Reynolds, Jr. on lap 13 for fifth, then would drive back around Miller to settle into fourth on lap 15. Racing up front remained the status quo as Allen Borntreger and Bernhagen continued to pursue Mahlon Borntreger. Both drivers benefitted from a yellow flag just before halfway with fast qualifier Carson Phillips and Andrew Borntreger tangled and spun in turn two. Everyone was able to go high to avoid getting caught up in their incident. It was a rare sight to see both drivers tap out at the flag stand to accept blame for the incident. Despite that unusual ‘double tap’, both drivers ended up restarting at the back. Allen Borntreger got loose in turn two on the restart, and that allowed Bernhagen to get alongside him in the fight over second. The battle got a bit heated and a bit testy at times, but Allen would come out ahead in second at the halfway mark of the race. Bernhagen would reset after that battle with Allen and spent several laps waiting for another opportunity to go for second. As we approached 15 laps left to run, Bernhagen knew it was time to go as he made contact with the back of Allen’s machine. Allen would fall all the way back to fifth as Bernhagen, Jerry Mueller and Jacob Gille shot by him. The second and last caution flew with only six laps to go after a solo spin by Phillips in turn three. The restart allowed Mahlon Bornterger to pull away from the field, while the race would be over for Bernhagen as he suffered a flat tire in turns one and two. The other competitors had to make some evasive moves to prevent a major calamity from happening. Despite being off the pace, Bernhagen’s car was still running and he ran the final six laps of the race. Mueller and Gille moved up to podium places after that, but they had very little time left to track down Mahlon Borntreger. Borntreger would complete a rare Big 8 start-to-finsh performance and end the night doing victory doughnuts in turns one and two. Not only would it be Borntreger’s first career Big 8 win, he would become the 55th different feature winner in Big 8 history.
The 20 lap Hobby Stock feature saw a tight side-by-side battle for the lead early on between Bryan Schott and Landon Lockington. Lockington got loose in turn one and that allowed Schott to settle into first. Lockington fought back on the outside and powered around Schott to take over the number one position on lap three. A flat tire derailed Mike Stoer’s race on lap four, but was able to return after the restart happened. Lockington would have his hands full with Andy Moore to keep the lead all to himself. They maintained a steady fight for the lead, but Moore would surge ahead of Lockington at the line from lap eight on. This was the best battle the Hobby Stocks had in quite some time as Lockington nosed ahead of Moore with five laps left to run. The back and forth fight over the lead continued as Moore got ahead with three laps left. In an incredible ending, Lockington got a great run out of turn four on Moore to hit the line first by 3/1000th of a second to head to Victory Lane for the first time since opening night.
Braxtyn Moore shot past A.J. Finnigan to lead the first few laps of the Hornet feature. Tristan Finnigan picked his way through traffic to move up to second on lap five and started to see Moore get bigger in his windshield. Working the outside lane was a benefit to Finnigan as he powered around Moore to take charge of the race as the crossed flags were displayed. A.J. Finnigan looped his machine in turn three with six laps remaining. Landon Peterson worked over Tristan Finnigan on the outside on the restart and surged ahead at the five laps to go mark. Last week’s Hornet Hustle winner Paul Finch began to make things a little more for the front runners. However, a mechanical issue suddenly forced Finch out of the race with two laps to go and his issue was left on the racetrack. Finnigan would not let up on Peterson over the final two lap shootout, but Peterson pulled away to score his second feature win of the season.
Jay Raines, Jr. powered quickly to the lead at the start of the Sixer feature. As Raines, Jr. pulled out to a sizable lead, Trenton Frye had a hoard of Moores to fight off and keep a tight hold on the runner-up spot. Ghage Moore was the first to drive around Frye to take over second spot just before halfway. As the field was coming to seven laps to go, Landin Frye and Curtis Hellickson tangled coming out of turn four. It was an unfortunate result for Hellickson as he nosed into the front straight wall. Moore wasted little time on the restart to power around Raines, Jr. to become the leader of the pack. A lap later Matt Moore shot past Raines, Jr. into second. Both Moores put on a whale of a side-by-side battle over the final two laps with Ghage just barely holding off Matt for his second win of the year.
A pair of 19 machines started on the front row of the High School Racing Association feature, but Peyton Payne shot past Lilly Estenson to take the early race lead. Estenson had a mirror full of hungry young challengers to her second place position for several laps. Noah Waughtal, Monty Odegard and Caleb Arneson were battling with each other to decide who would take on Estenson for second. Waughtal would win that battle on lap six and began to slowly close the gap on Estenson. Arneson and Odegard caught back up to Waughtal to resume the fight over third. That allowed Estenson to pull away down the stretch, but she would have nothing for Payne as she scored her first career feature win at Tomah.
Join us for another thrilling and heart stopping Friday night of racing at Tomah Sparta Speedway next Friday, August 15. The Hobby Stocks and High School Racing Association will be right back at it, and joining them will be the Great North Legends and the INEX Bandoleros. There will be late nights for the kids as they work and thrash away on their cars for the next Kids’ Box Car Races that take place at intermission. Gates open at 5:30, group qualifying hits the ground running at 6 and the exciting door handle-to-door handle competition comes to life at 7.
Call the track office at 952-994-1282, visit our web site at tomahspartaspeedway.com and be sure to like the track’s Facebook page to learn more about Tomah Sparta Speedway and the 2025 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Big 8 Late Model Series
Ron Meister Memorial (58 laps): 1. Mahlon Borntreger, 2. Jerry Mueller, 3. Jacob Gille, 4. Randy Sargent, 5. Michael Ostdiek, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. Carson Phillips, 8. Joshua Lundy, 9. Allen Borntreger, 10. Andrew Borntreger, 11. Garrett Scott, 12. Jesse Bernhagen, 13. Jon Reynolds, Jr.
Heat #1 (12 laps): 1. Mahlon Borntreger, 2. Allen Borntreger, 3. Jon Reynolds, Jr., 4. Carson Philips, 5. Randy Sargent, 6. Jacob Gille, 7. Garrett Scott
Heat #2 (12 laps): 1. Jerry Mueller, 2. Jeremy Miller, 3. Andrew Borntreger, 4. Michael Ostdiek, 5. Jesse Bernhagen, 6. Joshua Lundy
Qualifying: 1. Carson Phillips 14.603 (New Track Record), 2. Jesse Bernhagen 14.664, 3. Jon Reynolds, Jr. 14.672, 4. Jeremy Miller 14.694, 5. Allen Borntreger 14.754, 6. Andrew Borntreger 14.829, 7. Mahlon Borntreger 14.843, 8. Jerry Mueller 14.872, 9. Randy Sargent 14.885, 10. Michael Ostdiek 14.939, 11. Jacob Giller 14.960, 12. Joshua Lundy 15.152, 13. Garrett Scott 15.482
Victory Fireworks Hobby Stocks
Feature (20 laps): 1. Landon Lockington, 2. Andy Moore, 3. Bryan Schott, 4. Mike Stoer
Heat #1 (10 laps): 1. Andy Moore, 2. Mike Stoer, 3. Landon Lockington, 4. Taylor McMullen, 5. Bryan Schott
Qualifying: 1. Andy Moore 17.015, 2. Mike Stoer 17.166, 3. Taylor McMullen 17.250, 4. Landon Lockington 17.559, 5. Bryan Schott 17.730
Auto Value Hornets
Feature (20 laps): 1. Landon Peterson, 2. Braxtyn Moore, 3. Ashtin Quinnell, 4. A.J. Finnigan, 5. Caleb Uksas, 6. Alex Liebsch, 7. Glen Bush, Jr., 8. Paul Finch, 9. Tristan Finnigan (DQ)
Heat #1 (10 laps); 1. Glen Bush, Jr., 2. A.J. Finnigan, 3. Braxtyn Moore, 4. Alex Liebsch, 4. Caleb Uksas
Heat #2 (10 laps): 1. Landon Peterson, 2. Tristan Finnigan, 3. Ashtin Quinnell, 4. Paul Finch
Qualifying: 1. Tristan Finnigan 17.432, 2. Paul Finch 17.498, 3. Landon Peterson 17.537, 4. Ashtin Quinnell 17.768, 5. Braxtyn Moore 17.770, 6. A.J. Finnigan 18.097, 7. Caleb Uksas 18.302, 8. Glen Bush, Jr. 18.316, 9. Alex Liebsch 18.426
Sixers
Feature (15 laps): 1. Ghage Moore, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Jay Raines, Jr., 4. Trenton Frye, 5. Alivia Moore, 6. Landin Frye, 7. Christopher Neal, 8. Brayden Bernhagen, 9. Curtis Hellickson, 10. Izayah Hughes
Heat #1 (8 laps); 1. Landin Frye, 2. Trenton Frye, 3. Christopher Neal, 4. Brayden Bernhagen 5. Izayah Hughes
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Alivia Moore, 2. Curtis Hellickson, 3. Matt Moore, 4. Jay Raines, Jr., 5. Ghage Moore
Qualifying: 1. Matt Moore 18.004 (New Track Record), 2. Ghage Moore 18.077, 3. Curtis Hellickson 18.098, 4. Jay Raines, Jr. 18.218, 5. Alivia Moore 18.290, 6. Trenton Frye 18.460, 7. Landin Frye 18.465, 8. Christopher Neal 18.855, 9. Brayden Bernhagen 19.283, 10. Izayah Hughes 19.850
Finish Line Towing High School Racing Association
Feature (15 laps): 1. Peyton Payne, 2. Lilly Estenson, 3. Noah Waughtal, 4. Caleb Arneson, 5. Monty Odegard, 6. Adria Day, 7. Zachary Neal, 8. Trinity Aasen, 9. Russell Allen, 10. Parker Thompson, 11. Izaak Odegard, 12. Ryan Allen, 13. Lauralee Stanton, 14. James Gratz
Last Chance Race (12 laps/Top 4 advance): 1. Izaak Odegard, 2. Russell Allen, 3. Parker Thompson, 4. Ryan Allen, 5. Jeremiah Neal, 6. Taylor Aasen, 7. Destiny Schneider
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Jeremiah Neal, 2. Russell Allen, 3. Ryan Allen, 4. Taylor Aasen, 5. Destiny Schneider, 6. Eric Gratz
Heat #2 (8 laps); 1. Adria Day, 2. Zachary Neal, 3. Trinity Aasen, 4. Parker Thompson, 5. Izaak Odegard, 6. Lauralee Stanton
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Lilly Estenson, 2. Noah Waughtal, 3. Caleb Arneson, 4. Monty Odegard, Peyton Payne, 6. James Gratz
Qualifying: 1. Caleb Arneson 18.210, 2. Monty Odegard 18.291, 3. Noah Waughtal 18.360, 4. Peyton Payne 18.375, 5. Lilly Estenson 18.380, 6. James Gratz 18.477, 7. Trinity Aasen 18.505, 8. Zachary Neal 18.590, 9. Lauralee Stanton 18.617, 10. Adria Day 18.646, 11. Izaak Odegard 18.674, 12. Parker Thompson 18.872, 13. Russell Allen 18.946, 14. Taylor Aasen 19.248, 15. Jeremiah Neal 19.367, 16. Ryan Allen 19.823, 17. Eric Gratz 19.996, 18. Destiny Schneider 20.086