By: Paul Reichert July 16, 2021
The saying “it’s darkest before the dawn” refers to a common situation we see in auto racing sometimes. A driver has an issue during practice or qualifying, is in a mad dash to make repairs with a ton of help from other teams and is able to run the rest of the program. We would witness this at Tomah-Sparta Speedway with the long awaited appearance of the Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series. Two-time series champion Alex Hartwig crashed into the front straight wall during qualifying and had a lot of help from other Bandolero and Tomah race teams to fix his damage. In the end Hartwig was able to keep racing and drove off with his fifth consecutive Bandolero feature win at ‘Daytomah’.
Cohen Henze shot past Anna Malouf for the lead at the start of the Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series feature. As Henze built up his advantage over the field, both Paxton Benz and Ayrton Brockhouse began to make their way forward and sent Avery Linnerud back to fourth by lap four. The top gun of the series, two-time series champion Alex Hartwig, was making his way to the front as well. Hartwig crashed into the front straight wall during his qualifying run, had help from other teams to repair the damage and was able to continue racing. By the halfway mark of the race Hartwig caught and passed Henze to take over the race lead. Malouf spun in turn two with five laps to go to bring out the caution. The restart only lasted a lap before Henze lost a right front wheel in turn two. Hartwig pulled away from the field on the final restart to claim his fifth straight Tomah Bandolero feature win.
In the Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modified feature, Denny Schott drove past cousin Bill Schott for the race lead early on. Both drivers were able to pull away from Kevin Seidler as the battling Schotts got into their own race within a race for the win. Bill spent a few laps trying to dive low for that opportunity to get by Denny but it did not happen. Bill then moved to the high side in hopes of making that move but struggled to get around Denny. Bill decided to follow Denny’s tire tracks with five laps to go hoping for a bobble by the leader. Denny never wavered and maintained the lead as he saw the checkered flag first for his second win of the year.
Dan Frye and James Hendricks, Jr. have had great battles in the last two Sportsmen features. They would have a new competitor in this week’s race as Jason Stark shot to the lead of the feature right from the drop of the green flag. Just like in their previous battles, Frye and Hendricks, Jr. were only a couple
car lengths apart but were trying their best to cut into Jason Stark’s advantage. Stark pulled out to a five car length lead over Frye by the midway point as Stark began to mix it up with one of the Modifieds. Stark maintained that lead over Frye during the second half of the race as he crossed the finish line first.
The lead in the Hobby Stock feature was a hot potato at the start. Jim Hendricks, Sr. led the first two laps, but Andy Muller got a run on the outside to nose ahead at the end of lap three. Hendricks, Sr. fought back on the inside to lead laps four and five, but again Muller used the outside groove to surge past Hendricks, Sr. on lap six. Behind that back and forth exchange Mike Krueger, Jr. was making his way through the field. When Muller got ahead of Hendricks, Sr., Krueger, Jr. powered around Hendricks, Sr. for second on lap six. A lap later Krueger, Jr. got around Muller to take over the lead on lap seven. Andy Moore moved up to second by lap eight and his chase of Krueger, Jr. began. Both drivers made contact with five laps to go and that led to a flat tire for Moore with three laps to go to bring out the yellow flag. Krueger, Jr. pulled away from former Bandolero driver Tucker Bodendorfer on the final restart to capture his second feature win of the season.
In the Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornets feature newcomer Tristan Finnegan led the opening three circuits. Scott Mahlum got around Finnegan to assume command of the race on lap four. Mahlum was building up his lead as the top runners in the division were trying to make their way to the front. Paul Finch got around Finnegan to move into second just before halfway and began to reel in the leader. Point leader Mason Morphy used the outside lane to power past Zach Oliver on lap nine. Finch finally went low to get around Mahlum with three laps to go, but Morphy followed Finch to take over second. After taking the white flag Morphy went to the outside to get a run on Finch, took over the lead on the back straight and drove off with his third checkered flag of 2021.
Greg Brown led the opening lap of the TACU Credit Union 6 Shooters feature, but Andrew Moore would get a run on the outside of Brown to move into the lead on lap two. While Moore was building up his lead Matt Moore and last week’s winner Tim Murphy, Sr. wre slicing and dicing their way through the field to catch Andrew. Matt Moore and Murphy, Sr. took over second and third from Chuck Muller on lap nine. It only took both drivers three laps to catch up to the rear end of Andrew Moore, but passing Andrew for the lead would be a tall order. Matt tried to look for the right opportunity to get around Andrew but he stood his ground to take the checkered flag for his first victory this season.
The Tire Race was this week’s Chaos event. In this race the drivers had to balance a tire on the hood of their race car over the four laps they ran. Jestin DeLap, Sr. got out to a huge lead and was able to keep
his tire balanced on the hood to score the win in his quest for a second straight Chaos division championship.
Action continues next Friday, July 23 with a full night of racing featuring the Modifieds, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks, Hornets, Six Shooters, Soccer Moms and the long overdue season debut of the High School Racing Association. Bring everybody out to ‘Daytomah’ early for the annual Fan Photo and Autograph Night. Drivers will have signed hero cards, treats for everybody to enjoy, plus there will even be a few giveaways for both the kids and adults. Gates open at 5:00, qualifying takes place at 5:45, the Fan Photo and Autograph session begins right after qualifying and racing starts 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 to learn more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway or the 2021 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series
Feature (15 laps): 1. Alex Hartwig, 2. Paxton Benz, 3. Ayrton Brockhouse, 4. Avery Linnerud, 5. Tucker Bodendorfer, 6. Anna Malouf, 7. Bentley Thompson, 8. Ayden Brockhouse, 9. Parker Bodendorfer, 10. Cohen Henze, 11. Collin Murphy
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Avery Linnerud, 2. Bentley Thompson, 3. Ayden Brockhouse, 4. Parker Bodendorfer, 5. Collin Murphy
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Cohen Henze, 2. Alex Hartwig, 3. Ayrton Brockhouse, 4. Tucker Bodendorfer, 5. Anna Malouf, 6. Paxton Benz
Qualifying: 1. Alex Hartwig, 2. Ayrton Brockhouse, 3. Tucker Bodendorfer, 4. Anna Malouf, 5. Cohen Henze, 6. Paxton Benz, 7. Avery Linnerud, 8. Collin Murphy, 9. Bentley Thompson, 10. Ayden Brockhouse, 11. Parker Bodendorfer
Clark Powersport of Hillsboro Modifieds
Feature (15 laps): 1. Denny Schott, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Kevin Seidler Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Dennty Schott, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Kevin Seidler Qualifying: 1. Denny Schott, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Kevin Seidler
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jason Stark, 2. Dan Frye, 3. James Hendricks, Jr. Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Dan Frye, 2. James Hendricks, Jr., 3. Jason Stark Qualifying:. 1. James Hendricks, Jr., 2. Jason Stark, 3. Dan Frye
Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mike Krueger, Jr., 2. Tucker Bodendorfer, 3. Alex Rud, 4. Andy Moore, 5. Chad Leis, 6. Joey Johnson, 7. Shelby Lockington, 8. Andy Muller, 9. Aaron Hendricks, 10. Mark Challet
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Aaron Hendricks, 2. Joey Johnson, 3. Shelby Lockington, 4. Andy Muller, 5. Mark Challet
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Mike Krueger, Jr., 2. Andy Moore, 3. Tucker Bodendorfer, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Chad Leis
Qualifying: 1. Andy Moore, 2. Mike Krueger, Jr., 3. Tucker Bodendorfer, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Chad Leis, 6. Andy Muller, 7. Shelby Lockington, 8. Mark Challet, 9. Joey Johnson, 10. Aaron Hendricks
Oops! Saloon and Grill by Angie Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Paul Finch, 3. Scott Mahlum, 4. Zach Oliver, 5. Shawn McCarthy, 6. Jamie Pearson, 7. Sammy Linnehan, 8. Tristan Finnegan, 9. Amelia Marshall, 10. Jordan Finch, 11. Bryan Wallace, 12. Andrew Lamb, 13. Justin Marshall
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Paul Finch, 2. Jamie Pearson, 3. Mason Morphy, 4. Tristan Finnegan, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Scott Mahlum, 7. Andrew Lamb, 8. Andrew Gardner
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Shawn McCarthy, 2. Jordan Finch, 3. Sammy Linnehan, 4. Amelia Marshall, 5. Bryan Wallace, 6. Justin Marshall
Qualifying: 1. Mason Morphy, 2. Shawn McCarthy, 3. Jamie Pearson, 4. Sammy Linnehan, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Amelia Marshall, 7. Paul Finch, 8. Bryan Wallace, 9. Scott Mahlum, 10. Jordan Finch, 11. Tristan Finnegan, 12. Justin Marshall, 13. Andrew Lamb, 14. Andrew Gardner (NO TIME)
TACU Credit Union 6 Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Andrew Moore, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Tim Murphy, Sr., 4. Chuck Muller, 5. Dustin McCracken, 6. Charles Vian, Jr., 7. Steven Mueller, 8. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 9. Joshua Zacharias, 10. Greg Brown, 11. Todd Holerud, 12. Tory Lockington, 13. Landon Lockington, 14. Mike Gratz, 15. Seth Gnewikow, 16. Dwayne Wilder
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Alex Liebsch, 2. Clayton Haessig, 3. Mike Gratz, 4. Dwayne Wilder, 5. Austyn Blank
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Chuck Muller, 2. Tim Murphy, Sr., 3. Steven Mueller, 4. Seth Gnewikow, 5. Greg Brown, 6. Joshua Zacharias, 7. Andrew Moore
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Dustin McCracken, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Charles Vian, Jr., 4. Todd Holerud, 5. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 6. Landon Lockington, 7. Tory Lockington
Qualifying: 1. Matt Moore, 2. Tim Murphy, Sr., 3. Dustin McCracken, 4. Chuck Muller, 5. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 6. Steven Mueller, 7. Charles Vian, Jr., 8. Andrew Moore, 9. Todd Holerud, 10. Greg Brown, 11. Tory Lockington, 12. Joshua Zacharias, 13. Landon Lockington, 14. Mike Gratz, 15. Austyn Blank, 16. Seth Gnewikow, 17. Dwayne Wilder, 18. Alex Liebsch, 19. Clayton Haessig
Chaos
Tire Race (4 laps): 1. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 2. Matt Moore, 3. Tim Murphy, Sr., 4. Dustin McCracken, 5. Clayton Haessig, 6. Alex Rud, 7. Mike Gratz, 8. Charles Vian, Jr., 9. Todd Holerud
