By: Paul Reichert
July 12, 2024
We at Tomah-Sparta Speedway love to give our weekly divisions their own special night of racing under the bright lights. Since 2015 we salute our Sportsmen and remember a great racer who had a great future in the Tim Myer Memorial. HobbyFest has quickly become one of the most anticipated races for the division since its debut in 2020. Our Hornet division has considered the Hornet Hustle race their Daytona 500 since the first running in 2021. Thanks to sponsoring the Six Shooters, TACU Credit Union has given them a bonus going back to 2021 with the annual Six Shooter Mania event. A little longer feature and a bit more money in the purse makes all the drivers want to claim such a prestigious event. Dustin McCracken dominated the race in a ‘gate-to-wire’ performance to continue the streak of four races and four winners.
The 20 lap Six Shooter Mania feature saw Dustin McCracken outrun Greg Brown to the first turn shortly after the green flag flew. Brown would have to contend with points leader Ryatt Dobbratz for several laps before last year’s High School champion powered around Brown to take over the runner-up slot on lap eight. Starting shotgun on the field was no problem for Tim Murphy, Sr. as he began to scratch and claw his way through the traffic. Murphy, Sr. would dismiss Christopher Neal from the top five on lap seven, then had quite a spirited battle with Jay Raines over fourth for several laps. Raines got loose in turns one and two with six laps to go and that left the door wide open for Murphy, Sr. to settle into fourth. Back up front Dobbratz was doing everything he could to close the distance that McCracken had over him. Unfortunately the strong car of McCracken was getting smaller and further away from Dobbratz as the laps ticked away. With two laps remaining Brown started to slow down on the back straight with a mechanical issue, which allowed Murphy, Sr. to take the last podium position. McCracken was the unstoppable force this night as he became the fourth different winner of this special event for the TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Mark Challet shot past Troy Dobbratz for the lead at the start of the Sportsmen feature. Dobbratz would have his hands full for much of the race battling with former champions Jason Backus and Dan Frye. As Challet opened up a sizable lead on the rest of the field, Dobbratz was doing a good job holding onto the inside line. Backus tried several times to use the outside groove to power by Dobbratz, but it was a struggle to try to get side-by-side with the 05 machine. Coming to two laps remaining, Backus suddenly moved to the inside coming out of turn four and surged by Dobbratz to take over second place. Frye stuck right behind Backus on the inside and took over third place by the time they got to the back straight. Challet was long gone as he dominated the race to claim his third checkered flag of the season. In his post-race interview, Backus announced to the crowd that this would be his last race ever. Backus said that his son Logan, currently running with the High Schoolers, would be ready soon to take the reins of his black and gold 29 machine in the near future. .
In the Hobby Stock feature defending track champion Shelby Lockington was out muscled to turn one by veteran Raymond Hardy. As Hardy began to open up his lead over the pack, Lockington had her hands full first with rookie Mike Gratz for several laps. Just before the halfway point of the race, former champion Robby Robinson powered past Gratz to claim third place. Lockington spun out in turn two on lap eight to bring out the race’s only yellow flag. Robinson lined up alongside Hardy on the restart, and that is how they would the rest of the way. Robinson nosed ahead of Hardy on lap nine to grab the top spot and continued to hit the line first until coming to the white flag. Robinson got loose in turn four and that allowed Hardy to surge back into the lead. Hardy would claim his first Tomah feature win in quite some time, and proudly rang the Victory Bell in TACU Credit Union Victory Lane.
Curtis Hellickson powered by Caleb Arenson to lead the early going of the High School Racing Association feature. Turn two became a bit of a ‘calamity corner’ with solo spins slowing down the action. First time racer Trinity Nichols lost it in turn two on lap two, and Raelynn Dobbratz looped it in turn two on lap four in just her second ever race. Hellickson pulled away from Arneson on the restart and maintained a fair distance. Ghage Moore, winner of the first feature last month, powered by relative Alivia to settle into third on lap six. Try as he might, Arneson was unable to make a dent in the lead Hellickson had over him. On the final lap Alivia Moore spun out in turn three and collided with the race car of Trinity Aasen. Both did not make it to the finish line, but were able to walk away from the incident uninjured. Hellickson drove away with the victory as he piloted a former Matt Moore race car back to TACU Credit Union Victory Lane.
Tomah-Sparta’s annual fan friendly night takes place next Friday, July 19 with our annual Fan Photo and Autograph Night. All drivers from the Sportsmen, Hobby Stock, Hornet, Six Shooter and Crown Vic divisions will be lined up on the front straight to hand out autographed hero cards, plus free treats and gifts to the race fans. A few teams will even have some prizes to give away to the race fans. So make sure to pack your goodie bags before you come to the races. Gates open at 6, an abbreviated qualifying session will happen at 6:15, the Fan Photo and Autograph Session starts shortly after qualifying ends and the hard nosed racing Tomah-Sparta is famous for kicks off 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 to learn more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway and the 2024 schedule of events.
RESULTS
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Six Shooter Mania Feature (20 laps): 1. Dustin McCracken, 2. Ryatt Dobbratz, 3. Tim Murphy, Sr., 4. Jay Raines, 5. Christopher Neal, 6. Trenton Frye, 7. A.J. Finnigan, 8. Alex Lueth, 9. Greg Brown
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Christopher Neal, 2. Alex Lueth, 3. Trenton Frye, 4. A.J. Finnigan, 5. Thomas Dreger
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Dustin McCracken, 2. Greg Brown, 3. Jay Raines, 4. Ryatt Dobbratz, 5. Tim Murphy, Sr.
Qualifying: 1. Ryatt Dobbratz 19.399, 2. Dustin McCracken 19.401, 3. TIm Murphy, Sr. 19.489, 4. Greg Brown 19.621, 5. Jay Raines 19.906, 6. Trenton Frye 19.966, 7. Christopher Neal 20.241, 8. A.J. Finnigan 20.261, 9. Alex Lueth 21.176, 10. Thomas Dreger 22.499
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mark Challet, 2. Jason Backus, 3. Dan Frye, 4. Troy Dobbratz
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mark Challet, 2. Dan Frye, 3. Troy Dobbratz, 4. Jason Backus
Qualifying: 1. Jason Backus 16.557, 2. Mark Challet 16.575, 3. Troy Dobbratz 16.905, 4. Dan Frye 17.127
Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Raymond Hardy, 2. Robby Robinson, 3. Grant Witcraft, 4. Mike Gratz, 5. Seth Gnewikow, 6. Shelby Lockington, 7. Landon Lockington, 8. Bryan Schott
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Landon Lockington, 2. Grant Witcraft, 3. Seth Gnewikow, 4. Bryan Schott
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Robby Robinson, 2. Mike Gratz, 3. Raymond Hardy, 4. Shelby Lockington
Qualifying: 1. Robby Robinson 18.027, 2. Raymond Hardy 18.042, 3. Shelby Lockington 18.476, 4. Mike Gratz 18.594, 5. Grant Witcraft 18.766, 6. Seth Gnewikow 18.776, 7. Landon Lockington 18.982, 8. Bryan Schott 19.447
Finish Line Towing High School Racing Association
Feature (15 laps): 1. Curtis Hellickson, 2. Caleb Arneson, 3. Ghage Moore, 4. Monty Odegard, 5. Aidra Day, 6. Russell Allen, 7. Zachary Neal, 8. Logan Backus, 9. Alivia Moore, 10. Trinity Aasen, 11. James Gratz, 12. Taylor Aasen, 13. Raelynn Dobbratz, 14. Trinity Nichols
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Ghage Moore, 2. Logan Backus, 3. Raelynn Dobbratz, 4. Zachary Neal, 5. Aidra Day, 6. Taylor Aasen, 7. Trinity Nichols
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Curtis Hellickson, 2. Russell Allen, 3. Monty Odegard, 4. Alivia Moore, 5. Caleb Arneson, 6. Trinity Aasen, 7. James Gratz
Qualifying: 1. Alivia Moore 19.510, 2. Caleb Arneson 19.656, 3. Curtis Hellickson 19.661, 4. Monty Odegard 19.702, 5. Trinity Aasen 19.758, 6. James Gratz 19.794, 7. Russell Allen 20.011, 8. Ghage Moore 20.305, 9. Logan Backus 20.372, 10. Aidra Day 20.574, 11. Zachary Neal 20.670, 12. Raelynn Dobbratz 20.911, 13. Taylor Aasen 23.080, 14. Trinity Nichols 26.201
