By: Paul Reichert
July 26, 2019
It was another warm night at Tomah-Sparta Speedway, but not as screaming hot as last Friday night was. It is always great to see new drivers compete at a brand new racetrack to them and have a good showing their first time out. That was the case for veteran La Crosse Hornet racer Shawn McCarthy as he won both his heat race and the feature event.
The Hornet feature got off to a rough start. Contact between Mason Morphy and Ronnie Foster in turn two got Foster briefly airborne. Foster tagged the wall right in Jazelynn Myer’s path. Shawn McCarthy quickly got to the front on the second try to go green. As McCarthy tried to pull away from the field, reigning Hornet champ Alec DeVito and Rob Schliefer began to close up on ‘The Joker’. DeVito first tried going low and high around McCarthy. Then it was Schliefer’s turn. Neither were successful. All three made contact in turn four coming to four laps to go. That allowed McCarthy to pull away in the closing laps to score his first ever feature win at Tomah-Sparta.
Rick DeVito took the lead early in the Modified feature. DeVito began to open up a lead as the field battled among themselves. Paul Brown was the first to break out of the pack on lap six. Brown slowly reeled in DeVito over the next few laps. Brown powered his way past DeVito with five laps to go to take the race lead. A lap later Brad Wildes would also drive around DeVito to move up to second. Wildes began to track down Brown in the final few laps, looking for the win. Brown would fight off the challenges of Wildes to claim his second feature win this season.
In the Sportsmen feature, Troy Dobbartz and his new race car battled with Lonnie Wood, Sr. for the lead at the start. When Wood suffered a mechanical issue, Dobbratz took over the lead. That would not last long as David Borntrager powered past Dobbratz to take command of the race. Three laps later, Devin Schmidt got around Dobbratz to take over the runner-up spot. Schmidt did all he could to catch up to Borntrager and make a race of it. Schmidt got as close as three car lengths, but Borntrager held off Schmidt to capture the checkered flag first..
Joel Geisser led the opening three laps of the Hobby Stock feature while the rest of the field was trying to sort themselves out. Coming from the middle of the pack was Mike Krueger, Jr. He would drive past Geisser on the outside to take over the top spot on lap four. Also coming from mid-pack was Raymond Hardy as he got around Geisser for second on lap six. Hardy caught up to Krueger, Jr. by the midway point, and the fight for the victory began. Hardy tried to make his way around Krueger, Jr., but he could not complete the pass. Krueger, Jr. held off Hardy in the closing laps to score the win. Krueger however failed postrace inspection giving the win to Hardy.
In the Mini Stock feature, Paul Finch took the lead early on in the race. Fast qualifier Tim Finstad would come from the back to pass Finch for the lead on lap four. Jefferson regular James Bohling got up to second by lap seven, and began working on closing down on Finstad’s lead. Bohling got as close as four car lengths, but Finstad would hold on to capture his second straight feature win and clean sweep of the division.
Austin Schott took the lead early in the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature. Making his first appearance of the season, it looked like Schott might claim the win. Dan Frye made a hard charge through the field from the back of the pack to power past Schott for the lead on lap five. The other big name in the division, Matt Moore, was also charging through the field from the back. Moore took second away from Schott on lap seven. The battle for the lead and the win was now on as Moore caught Frye by lap nine. Moore tried going low on Frye, then tried going high. Nothing was working. Moore threw everything but the kitchen sink to get around Frye, but nothing phased Frye. He held onto the top spot and claimed his fourth win of 2019.
The Chaos division had a very entertaining Outhouse Race. Modified racer Brad ‘Wild Man’ Wildes even got in on the action as well. Cameron Riggs just edged out Tim Murphy to be the “King of the Port-A-Potty” and received the coveted Roll of Toilet Paper Trophy.
Action continues next Friday, August 2 with the Modifieds, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks, Hornets and Six Shooters in action. The Wisconsin Fastrac Legends and Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series will make a return visit to ‘Daytomah’ that night. Gates open at 4:00, qualifying starts at 6:00 and racing begins 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
Hornets
Feature: 1. Shawn McCarthy, 2. Alec DeVito, 3. Rob Schliefer, 4. Jazelynn Myer, 5. Mike Carlson
Heat 1: 1. McCarthy, 2. James Rittenhouse, 3. Andrew Lamb
Heat 2: 1. A. DeVito, 2. J. Myer, 3. Schliefer
Qualifying: 1. A. DeVito, 2. Schliefer, 3. J. Myer
Modifieds
Feature: 1. Paul Brown, 2. Brad Wildes, 3. Rick DeVito, 4. Larry DeVito, 5. Nick Quinnell
Heat: 1. R. DeVito, 2. Quinnell, 3. Brown
Qualifying: 1. Brown, 2. Darin Salo, 3. Wildes
Sportsmen
Feature: 1. David Borntrager, 2. Devin Schmidt, 3. Jake Schiller, 4.Troy Dobbratz, 5. Lonnie Wood, Sr.
Heat: 1. Schiller, 2. Schmidt, 3. D. Borntrager
Qualifying: 1. D. Borntrager, 2. Schmidt, 3. Schiller
Hobby Stocks
Feature: 1. Raymond Hardy, 2. Andy Moore, 3. Alex Rud, 4. Joel Geisser, 5. Aaron Hendricks
Heat: 1. Hardy, 2. A. Moore, 3. Geisser
Qualifying: 1. Hardy, 2. Alex Rud, 3. Aaron Hendricks
Mini Stocks
Feature: 1. Tim Finstad, 2. James Bohling, 3. Paul Finch, 4. Keenan Shaw, 5. Dave Lembke
Heat: 1. Finstad, 2. Bohling, 3. P. Finch
Qualifying: 1. Finstad, 2. P. Finch, 3. Dave Lembke
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Feature: 1. Dan Frye, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Clayton Haessig, 4. Austin Schott, 5. Tim Murphy
Heat 1: 1. Schott, 2. Haessig, 3. Murphy
Heat 2: 1. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 2. Frye, 3. M. Moore
Qualifying: 1. Frye, 2. M. Moore, 3. Cameron Riggs
Chaos Division
Outhouse Race: 1. Cameron Riggs, 2. Tim Murphy, 3. Tristan Drazkowski
