By: Paul Reichert
August 2, 2024
It is not just the top division at a race track that puts in a lot of hard work to make a great racing program. All the divisions competing night in and night out are working hard to entertain the race fans that pay to see a terrific show every week. Each division needs to be recognized with a special race for all their hard work, and that is the case every season here at Tomah-Sparta Speedway. It was the Hornet class’ turn to run their big race of the year, the annual Hornet Hustle which became a little more challenging as the race went from 20 laps to 25 laps. Jordan Finch took the lead on lap two, endured many threats to her time upfront and survived a couple late race yellow flags to bag the biggest win of her young career.
21 cars, the largest field of Hornets this season, were ready to go to battle for big money in the 25 lap Hornet Hustle feature. Top LaCrosse Hornet racer Jacob Iverson powered by Matthew Heim to take the lead on the opening circuit, but soon gave up the lead to Jordan Finch down the back straight on lap two. Finch maintained the inside line while she would have many challengers putting a ton of pressure on her for the lead. Heim would remain in the top five for much of the race as he was chasing his second career Hornet feature win. Tristan Finnigan also was a constant threat to Finch as he stayed in the top five for much of the race. Dustin McCracken, making a rare Hornet appearance in Adam Moore’s car, also made his presence felt in the top five. Tomah veteran racer Jamie Pearson and fast qualifier Tristan Drazkowski were also a part of the swarm that was throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Finch, who was handling the pressure very well and driving like a long-time veteran. Brandon McCarthy spun out in turn four with six laps left to bring on the yellow. Things got a bit hairier with three laps left with McCracken got into Finnigan and spun him out in turn three. Pearson and Drazkowski slammed on the brakes to avoid Finnigan, but got collected in the incident. Only Finnigan was able to rejoin the race and would do so back in third place after McCracken tapped his roof to admit fault for the incident. Finch pulled away from both Heim and Finnigan on the final restart to make her third career Hornet victory the biggest of her career.
The start of the INEX Great North Legend feature saw pole sitter Coty Gular nose ahead of Devon Lee for the lead. Lee fought back around Gular down the back straight to take command of the race on lap two. Russ Weiler surged around Lee to become the new driver leading the way on lap four. After starting tenth in the main event, Ayrton Brockhouse was powering through the field and made the other cars look like they were running at half speed. Brockhouse only needed five laps to go from tenth to take the lead away from Weiler. As Brockhouse continued to build up his lead over the field, Weiler would have his hands full the rest of the way. Robby Carter charged past Weiler to move into second place on lap eight, Weiler was displaced from third by his own brother Elliott on lap nine and the number four position would be taken over by Andrew Borntreger on lap ten. The trio of Carter, Elliott Weiler and Borntreger had way too much ground to make up on Brockhouse as they ended up battling amongst themselves for second. Brockhouse put an exclamation point on his season with a sweep of all four Legends features and scored his second straight Tomah title for the INEX Great North Legends.
The final INEX Bandolero feature of the year saw Logen Carter surge ahead of Ethan Jensen for the number one position early. Carter’s time up front was short lived as Blake Michael drove around Carter to take over the lead on lap two. 2022 Bandolero champion Alex Oldenhoff started tenth and was slicing and dicing his way through traffic in his quest for the lead. That would be achieved on lap five as Oldenhoff wrestled the lead away from Michael. Bentlet Thompson started on the final row and he was making quick work of the field. Thompson would catch up to Oldenhoff and pass him down the back straight to become the new driver in charge as the crossed flags were displayed. Jensen brought out the lone yellow flag with three laps remaining for hsi solo spin in turn tw. Thompson powered away from the Oldenhoff brothers down the stretch to claim his second feature win this and put an exclamation point on claiming the Bandolero championship at Tomah for a second consecutive year.
Mark Challet went from last to the lead at the end of the first lap of the Sportsmen feature. Keith Paulsrud would not let Challet get away from him that easily as the longtime Elko veteran stayed a few car lengths behind the points leader. Paulsrud tried several times to close back up on Challet and challenge him for the top spot, but was not able to make up any ground. A slip during the heat race, resulting in a third place finish, weighed on Challet’s mind as he was determined to not let that happen again in the feature. Chalet continued to keep Paulsrud a few car lengths over the second half of the race and drove off with feature win number five this season.
The start of the Hobby Stock feature still had the field in a tight pack led by the front row of Landon Lockington and Mike Gratz. Gratz would nose ahead at the line to each the first four laps before powering around the outside of Lockington to take full charge of the race on lap five. It was still a rather tight pack behind Gratz as Seth Gnewikow took to the outside and fought hard for second with Lockington. First time Tomah visitor Tony Ciano, who was two-thirds of the way to a clean sweep of the night, tried to make a three-wide move under Shelby Lockington coming out of turn two with five laps left. Lockington went into a long slide and hit the dirt berm protecting one of the light poles on the back straight, but fortunately Lockington was okay after that hard hit. Gratz pulled away into the lead on the restart, but would have his hands full with a pair of Riedners on his tail. Last week’s feature winner Scott Reidner and his 13 year old grandson Easton applied a ton of pressure on the rookie leader. Gratz ran wide through turns one and two on the final lap and left the bottom wide open. Scott Reidner powered under his grandson and Gratz to move into the top position. Unfortunately Easton Riedner and Gratz collided, hit the turn two wall hard and Gratz ended up flipping over on his driver’s side. Officials declared the race was over with that wild accident as Scott Riedner notched his second straight victory.
Another exciting Fast Friday of racing takes place next Friday, August 9 at Tomah-Sparta Speedway. The Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series returns to try again and get their appearance in after being rained out back in June. The Sportsmen, Hornets, Six Shooters, Crown Vics and the High School Racing Association will also be a part of the show. Gates open at 6, qualifying will decide who has superior speed beginning at 6:15 and the ‘on the edge of your seat’ racing hits the gas 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 for more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway and the 2024 schedule of events.
RESULTS
Hornets
Hornet Hustle Feature (25 laps): 1. Jordan Finch, 2. Matthew Heim, 3. Mike Hennessy, Jr., 4. Tristan Finnigan, 5. Justin Iverson, 6. Jacob Iverson, 7. Ben Thurk, 8. Dan Linnehan, 9. Glen Bush, Jr., 10. Caden Pankow, 11. Aubrie Leis, 12. Matthew Drazkowski, 13. Joshua Schwartz, 14. Jamie Pearson, 15. Tristan Drazkowski, 16. Dakota Clauson, 17. Scott Mahlum, 18. Brandon McCarthy, 19. Ashtin Quinnell, 20. Marek Pankow (DQ), 21. Dustin McCracken (DQ)
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Matthew Drazkowski, 2. Aubrie Leis, 3. Marek Pankow, 4. Brandon McCarthy, 5. Caden Pankow, 6. Joshua Schwartz, 7. Lee Dechant
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Jordan Finch, 2. Tristan Finnigan, 3. Justin Iverson, 4. Jacob Iverson, 5. Matthew Heim, 6. Scott Mahlum, 7. Ashtin Quinnell
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Mike Hennessy, Jr., 2. Tristan Drazkowski, 3. Dustin McCracken, 4. Jamie Pearson, 5. Ben Thurk, 6. Glen Bush, Jr., 7. Dan Linnehan, 8. Dakota Clauson
Qualifying: 1. Tristan Drazkowski 18.728, 2. Jamie Pearson 18.769, 3. Dakota Clauson 18.877, 4. Glen Bush, Jr. 18.958, 5. Ben Thurk 18.998, 6. Tristan Finnigan 19.033, 7. Jordan Finch 19.051, 8. Matthew Heim 19.070, 9. Jacob Iverson 19.228, 10. Ashtin Quinnell 19.238, 11. Scott Mahlum 19.464, 12. Justin Iverson 19.466, 13. Brandon McCarthy 10.499, 14. Marek Pankow 19.591, 15. Aubrie Leis 19.647, 16. Caden Pankow 19.681, 17. Joshua Schwartz 20.034, 18. Matthew Drazkowski 20.333, 19. Lee Dechant 20.727, 20. Dan Linnehan NO TIME, 21. Dustin McCracken (DQ), 22. MIke Hennessy, Jr. (DQ)
INEX Great North Legends
Feature (15 laps): 1. Ayrton Brockhouse, 2. Ayden Brockhouse, 3. Andrew Borntreger, 4. Elliott Wieler, 5. Cael Slater, 6. Robby Carter, 7. Russ Weiler, 8. Kooper Heintz, 9. Devon Lee, 10. Coty Gular, 11. Kaleb Baumgart, 12. Matt Schecklman, 13. Dalton Lee, 14. Anne Green
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Kaleb Baumgart, 2. Devon Lee, 3. Coty Gular, 4. Kooper Heintz, 5. Anne Green, 6. Dalton Lee, 7. Matt Schecklman
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Ayrton Brockhouse, 2. Robby Carter, 3. Elliott Weiler, 4. Cael Slater, 5. Russ Weiler, 6. Andrew Borntreger, 7. Ayden Brockhouse
Qualifying: 1. Ayrton Brockhouse 16.537, 2. Ayden Brockhouse 16.729, 3. Andrew Borntreger 16.732, 4. Elliott Weiler 16.834, 5. Cael Slater 16.919, 6. Robby Carter 16.922, 7. Russ Weiler 16.956, 8. Kooper Heintz 19.996, 9. Devon Lee 17.050, 10. Coty Gular 17.166, 11. Kaleb Baumgart 17.215, 12. Matt Schecklman 17.528, 13. Dalton Lee 17.952, 14. Anne Green 18.060
INEX Bandoleros
Feature (15 laps): 1. Bentley Thompson, 2. Ace Oldenhoff, 3. Axel Oldenhoff, 4. Wesley Barmeister, 5. Carter Stein, 6. Oliver Weinkauf, 7. Emily Billings, 8. Blake Michael, 9. Mason Westphal, 10. Ransom Tate, 11. Christopher Flynn, 12. Logen Carter, 13. Jase Riedner, 14. Ethan Jensen
Semi-Feature (8 laps): 1. John Robinson III, 2. Brody Thompson, 3. Caleb Hawes, 4. Roman Crow
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Ethan Jensen, 2. Brody Thompson, 3. Caleb Hawes, 4. Jase Riedner, 5. John Robinson III, 6. Roman Crow
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Logen Carter, 2. Ransom Tate, 3. Mason Westphal, 4. Carter Stein, 5. Blake Michael, 6. Christopher Flynn
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Bentley Thompson, 2. Alex Oldenhoff, 3. Oliver Weinkauf, 4. Emily Billings, 5. Wesley Barmeister, 6. Ace Oldehoff
Qualifying: 1. Bentley Thompson 18.167, 2. Wesley Barmeister 18.182, 3. Oliver Weinkauf 18.265, 4. Alex Oldenhoff 18.464, 5. Emily Billings 18.501, 6. Ace Oldenhoff 18.508, 7. Carter Stein 18.619, 8. Mason Westphal 18.769, 9. Christopher Flynn 18.780, 10. Ransom Tate 18.861, 11. Blake Michael 19.054, 12. Logen Carter 19.151, 13, Ethan Jensen 19.169, 14. Jase Riedner 19.493, 15. Brody Thompson 20.444, 16. John Robinson III 20.913, 17. Roman Crow 21.675, 18. Caleb Hawes 22.614
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mark Challet, 2. Keith Paulsrud, 3. Troy Dobbratz
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Keith Paulsrud, 2. Troy Dobbratz, 3. Mark Challet
Qualifying: 1. Mark Challet 16.381, 2. Keith Paulrud 17.356, 3. Troy Dobbratz 17.528
Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Scott Riedner, 2. Landon Lockington, 3. Seth Gnewikow, 4. Mike Gratz, 5. Easton Riedner, 6. Shelby Lockington, 7. Tony Ciano, 8. Grant Witcraft, 9. Raymond Hardy
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Landon Lockington, 2. Shelby Lockington, 3. Seth Gnewikow, 4. Mike Grtz, 5. Grant Witcraft
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Tony Ciano, 2. Scott Riedner, 3. Easton Reidner, 4. Raymond Hardy
Qualifying: 1. Tony Ciano 17.822, 2. Scott Riedner 17.894, 3. Raymond Hardy 18.138, 4. Easton Riedner 18.275, 5. Shelby Lockington 18.634, 6. Grant Witcraft 18.647, 7. Seth Gnewikow 18.681, 9. Mike Gratz 18.722, 9. Landon Lockington 18.963
