By: Paul Reichert
July 12, 2019
Another spectacular summer evening welcomed race fans back to Tomah-Sparta Speedway for another great Friday night of racing, and they were treated to two traveling series this night. The Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series returned after putting on exciting shows last season. They were joined by the Wisconsin Fastrac Legends, who were making their first ever appearance at Tomah-Sparta. They put on some action packed racing as well in their debut.
Jonathan Kemp lead the opening lap of the Legends feature. Matthew Allen brushed the front straight wall and spun into the infield to bring out the caution flag. A lot of bumping occurred in turn three shortly after the restart. All of that action allowed Ethan Ross to quickly charge to the front. As the field settled down and got back to close and competitive racing, Ross began to open up his advantage. Tim Brockhouse tried to close the gap on Ross, but Ross continued to pull away from the field. Ross showed why he is known as the ‘Rocket’ as he claimed a dominant win in the first ever Legends feature run at Tomah-Sparta Speedway.
The Bandoleros also put on a very exciting feature event. Robbie Rucks led the opening two laps before being caught and passed by Ayrton Brockhouse. Brockhouse tried to pull away, but fast qualifier Alex Hartwig started to make his presense known. It took Hartwig seven laps to come from the back of the field to dive under Brockhouse and take over the race lead. Brockhouse and Kody King got into their own tussle for second over the final few laps. That allowed Hartwig to drive away with a win for the second straight year at Tomah-Sparta.
Brad Wildes assumed command of the Modified feature right from the start. He would fend off many challenges over the 15 lap event. Reigning track champ Paul Brown tried to attack Wildes on the outside for several laps, but could not complete the pass. Nick Quinnell tried to get a nose under Wildes several times to take the race lead. Wildes would get on the power first down the back straight every time. They all would run single file over the last few laps. Wildes kept both Brown and Quinnell in check as he captured his third win of the season.
The Sportsmen feature would be dominated by Jake Schiller and David Borntrager. They traded the lead back and forth at least five times in the 15 lap race. A late race caution with four to go made for an interesting shootout. Schiller held the inside groove, while Borntrager ran his line on the outside. Remember how the NASCAR race at Darlington in 2003 finished? Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch trading paint coming to the finish line and Craven winning by a nose. That is how the Sportsmen feature finished. Both drivers traded paint coming out of turn four, and Schiller just nosed ahead of Borntrager to score the win
Ronnie Foster led the first lap of the Hornet feature. The yellow flag came out on lap two when Alec DeVito’s hood flew up. James Rittenhouse drove around Foster to take command of the race. After another caution period for Courtney LaBeause’s spin in turn two, Ben Thurk caught Rittenhouse on the restart. They battled side by side until yellow interrupted things again for Jordan Fnch’s spin. Thurk would stick close behind Rittenhouse after the single file restart. Thurk gave Rittenhouse’s rear bumper several love taps over the last laps of the race. Those love taps would not stop Rittenhouse from capturing his first win of the year and ringing the Victory Bell.
Tim Murphy went three wide at the start of the TACU Six Shooter feature to take the race lead. Murphy tried to pull out to a big lead, but Dan Frye quickly caught him. Frye would motor past Murphy on lap seven and move into the top spot. Matt Moore was also on a mission to get to the front. After starting last, Moore got up to second by lap ten. Over the last five laps Moore closed in on Frye. Moore tried to get alongside of Frye on the final lap, but Frye got on the gas first coming out of turn four to score win number three of 2019.
The Mini Stock feature would be a back and forth affair between Paul Finch and Tim Finstad. Finch led the first two circuits, then Finstad would power by Finch on the outside to lead the next two laps. Finch took advantage of Finstad getting loose in turns three and four to take the top spot back. Finch did all he could to fight off the 33 machine until Finstad powered by Finch on the outside again with five laps to go. Finstad would drive away with the win, capping off a clean sweep of the Mini Stocks.
Action continues next Friday, July 19 with the annual Tim Myer Memorial Shootout. It’s the biggest race of the year for the Modifieds, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks, Hornets and Six Shooters. The rescheduled visit by the Midwest Dash Series will make the night even bigger. The Chaos division returns to action with the always entertaining Outhouse Race. Gates open at 4:00, qualifying begins at 6:00 and racing starts at 7:30.
For more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway or the 2019 schedule of events, please call the office at 608-461-1920 or visit tomahspartaspeedway.com.
RESULTS
Wisconsin Fastrac Legends
Feature: 1. Ethan Ross, 2. Darrell J. Stewart, 3. Tim Brockhouse, 4. Aaron Moyer, 5. Darrell Lee Stewart, 6. Luke Allen, 7. Hans Roeschli, 8. Jessie Mahoney, 9. Jonathan Kemp, 10.Tony Moyer, 11. Matthew Allen
Heat 1: 1. Ross, 2. D.L. Stewart, 3. L. Allen, 4. Mahoney, 5. T. Moyer, 6. Kemp
Heat 2: 1. A. Moyer, 2. T. Brockhouse, 3. D.J. Stewart, 4. M. Allen, 5. Roeschli
Qualifying: 1. D.J. Stewart, 2. T. Brockhouse, 3. A. Moyer, 4. Roeschli, 5. M. Allen, 6. L. Allen, 7. Mahoney, 8. Ross, 9. D.L. Stewart, 10. Kemp, 11. T. Moyer
WIsconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series
Feature: 1. Alex Hartwig, 2. Kody King, 3. Ayrton Brockhouse, 4. Laney Osborne, 5. Michael Guderski, 6. Robbie Rucks, 7. Justin Ziemiecki
Heat: 1. King, 2. Osborne, 3. Hartwig, 4. Guderski, 5. A. Brockhouse, 6. Ziemiecki, 7. Rucks
Qualifying: 1. Hartwig, 2. A. Brockhouse, 3. Guderski, 4.King, 5. Osborne, 6. Ziemiecki, 7. Rucks
Modifieds
Feature: 1. Brad Wildes, 2. Paul Brown, 3. Nick Quinnell, 4. Rick DeVito
Heat: 1. Quinnell, 2. Wildes, 3. Brown
Qualifying: 1. Brown, 2. Wildes, 3. Quinnell
Sportsmen
Feature: 1. Jake Schiller, 2. David Borntrager, 3. Lonnie Wood, Sr., 4. Aaron Hendricks, 5. Troy Dobbratz
Heat: 1. Schiller, 2. D. Borntrager, 3. Dobbratz
Qualifying: 1. D. Borntrager, 2. Schiller, 3. Wood, Sr.
Hornets
Feature: 1. James Rittenhouse, 2. Ben Thurk, 3. Jazelynn Myer, 4. Ronnie Foster, 5. Mason Morphy
Heat 1: 1. Jordan Finch, 2. Morphy, 3. Foster
Heat 2: 1. Rittenhouse, 2. Thurk, 3. J. Myer
Qualifying: 1. Thurk, 2., J. Myer, 3. Rittenhouse
TACU Six Shooters
Feature: 1. Dan Frye, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Clayton Haessig, 4. Tim Murphy, 5. Al Bartels
Heat 1: 1. Murphy, 2. Moore, 3. Tory Lockington
Heat 2: 1. Frye, 2. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 3. Haessig
Qualifying: 1. Frye, 2. Cameron Riggs, 3. DeLap, Sr.
Mini Stocks
Feature: 1. Tim Finstad, 2. Paul Finch, 3. Donovan Hawes
Heat 1. Finstad, 2. P. Finch, 3. Hawes
Qualifying: 1. Finstad, 2. P. Finch, 3. Hawes
