By: Paul Reichert
May 10, 2024
Everything was motoring along smoothly at Tomah-Sparta Speedway when a line of showers from the north invaded our second Friday night of racing. After the rain passed through Cranberry Country, track drying efforts followed in earnest. Not only did the drivers help get the track dried by 8:15 to start racing, but it only took them two hours to get a full program completed with only one yellow flag. The INEX Great North Legends headlined the night with their first appearance of the new season, and Ayrton Brockhouse picked up right where he left off the 2023 season by capturing the feature win.
The start of the INEX Great North Legends feature had to be aborted when Cael Slater and Matt Sceckleman tangled in turn four coming to the green. Their nights abruptly ended before they ever saw the green flag. Jake Baker nosed ahead of Elliott Weiler to lead the opening lap of the second attempt to start the race. Weiler stuck to the outside line and powered by Baker to take over the top spot on lap two. As Weiler began to open up an advantage on the field, defending champion Ayrton Brockhouse began to slice and dice his way through the field. Brockhouse shot past Robby Carter to claim fourth place on lap two. It was a brotherly duel for three laps before Ayrton drove by brother Ayden to move into third on lap five. Brockhouse needed a few more laps to reel in Baker and settle into second at the crossed flags. Daden Barclay brought out the only caution period when he looped his race car in turn two with six to go. On the restart Weiler stood his ground on the inside and got the better of Brockhouse for a few laps. Brockhouse maintained his poise and finally powered around Weiler for the lead with just three laps remaining. Brockhouse slowly drew clear of the field to see the checkered flag first and scored his fourth Legends feature win in the last six races at Tomah-Sparta.
The Hobby Stock feature saw a bold move made by last year’s opening night winner Jesse Fishcer at the start. He shot under HobbyFest IV fast qualifier Shane Strothman coming out of turn two, then powered by Waylon Robinson entering turn three to move into the race lead. Andy Moore powered past Grant Witcraft in turn two to crack the top five on lap three. Both Matthew Cleveland and Moore shot past Strothman to take over the number two and three positions on lap five. As Fsicher opened up his lead on the feature field, Moore and Cleveland battled hard for several laps over the runner-up spot. Moore finally took to the outer groove and changed by Cleveland for second with six laps left. Moore only needed three laps to close the gap on Fsicher. Now the fight for the feature win was on. Try as he might, Moore looked for an opening to pounce on Fischer for the lead but never got that chance. Fischer held off Moore down the stretch to capture his second Tomah-Sparta victory and proudly rang the Victory Bell in TACU Credit Union Victory Lane.
Matthew Heim battled Landon Peterson for the first four circuits of the Hornet feature, with Heim nosing ahead of Peterson to lead each lap. Peterson drove around Heim down the back straight to assume command of the race on lap five. There was a two car length gap between Peterson and Heim as the race reached the halfway mark, but soon they would have to contend with Adam Moore. The opening night feature winner roared around both Heim and Peterson to take charge of the race on lap nine. It looked like Moore was on his way to a second straight victory when the complexion of the race changed with two laps remaining. Moore suddenly slowed down the back straight with a mechanical issue that forced him to pull into the infield. Peterson was back in command, but had Heim on his tail again as they took the white flag. Our visiting driver from Jefferson held back Heim to notch his first career Tomah-Sparta victory as Peterson took the famous Jeffrey LeFave paint scheme back to TACU Credit Union Victory Lane.
The battle for the lead in the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature would be a see-saw back-and-forth battle between the front row of Ryatt Dobbratz and Tim Murphy, Sr. Dobbartz held the low line to nose ahead of Murphy, Sr. and be credited with the lead for the first three laps. Murphy, Sr. stuck to his guns on the outside groove to power by Dobbratz for the number one spot coming out of turn four on lap four. The first ever High School Racing Association champion at Tomah got a run under Murphy, Sr. down the back straight to take back the lead position on lap five. Murphy, Sr. found some new life to charge ahead of Dobbratz at the completion of lap seven. It all went away quickly as Murphy, Sr. ran wide in turns one and two on lap eight to give Dobbartz full control of the race. Dustin McCracken had been patiently biding his time to get that golden opportunity to power by both drivers. Murphy, Sr. would fall victim to McCracken on lap eight as the opening night feature winner settled into second. The final seven laps would be a big time boxing match between Dobbratz and McCracken. Time after time, McCracken tried to look for a way around Dobbratz but that chance never materialized. Dobbratz never budged from his run on the inside as he hit the finish line first to score his first career Six Shooter feature win..
Mark Challet would be the only Sportsmen to be a part of the night’s racing festivities. He would join the Hobby Socks for one of their heat races and the feature.
Action continues next Friday, May 17 with the return to Tomah-Sparta Speedway of the Central Wisconsin Racing Association Late Models for the first time in six years. A pair of 30 lap main events will honor Everett Fox, the first ever CWRA champion here at Tomah-Sparta back in the 60s. The Hobby Stocks, Hornets, Six Shooters and Crown Vics will also be competing on the legendary Tomah-Sparta oval. The kids will get a chance to draw on the race track as they get to ‘chalk the track’ after qualifying. Gates open at 6, group qualifying fires up at 6:15 and the heart pounding racing action goes green 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 for more information about Tomah-Sparta Speedway and the 2024 schedule of events.
RESULTS
INEX Great North Legends
Feature (15 laps): 1. Ayrton Brockhouse, 2. Elliott Weiler, 3. Jake Baker, 4. Ayden Brockhouse, 5. Robby Carter, 6. Russ Weiler, 7. Rose Borntreger, 8. Coty Gular, 9. Ryan Phillips, 10. Camron Benson, 11. Andrew Borntreger, 12. Devon Lee, 13. Ernie Duerr, 14. Daden Barclay, 15. Alex Haese, 16. Hayden Dieringer, 17. Devin Dieringer, 18. Matt Schecklman, 19. Cael Slater
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Camron Benson, 2. Daden Barclay, 3. Alex Haese, 4. Dev\on Lee, 5. Ernie Duerr, 6. Hayden Dieringer, 7. Anne Green, 8. Dalton Lee
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Rose Borntreger, 2. Cael Slater, 3. Russ Weiler, 4. Coty Gular, 5. Ryan Phillips, 6. Matt Schecklman, 7. Devin Dieringer
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Ayrton Brockhouse, 2. Elliott Weiler, 3. Robby Carter, 4. Jake Baker, 5. Ayden Brockhouse, 6. Andrew Borntreger
Qualifying: 1. Ayrton Brockhouse 16.691, 2. Robby Carter 16.944, 3. Ayden Brockhouse 16.973, 4. Elliott Weiler 17.043, 5. Jake Baker 17.094, 6. Andrew Brontreger 17.133, 7. Rose Borntreger 17.170, 8. Coty Guler 17.381, 9. Ryan Phillips 17.453, 10. Matt Schecklman 17.532, 11. Russ Weiler 17.923, 12. Cael Slater 18.017, 13. Camron Benson 18.226, 14. Alex Haese 18.460, 15. Ernie Duerr 18.463, 16. Devon Lee 18.789, 17. Daden Barclay 18.976, 18. Hayden Dieringer 19.553, 19. Dalton Lee NO TIME, 20. Anne Green NO TIME, 21. Devon Dieringer NO TIME
Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Mark Challet
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mark Challet
Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jesse Fischer, 2. Andy Moore, 3. Matthew Cleveland, 4. Shane Strothman, 5. Grant Witcraft, 6. Shelby Lockington, 7. Ethan Degner, 8. Seth Gnewikow, 9. Mike Gratz, 10. Landon Lockington, 11. Scott Mahlum, 12. Bryan Schott, 13. Waylon Robinson
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Scott Mahlum, 2. Mike Gratz, 3. Seth Gnewikow, 4. Shelby Lockington, 5. Ethan Degner, 6. Landon Lockington, 7. Bryan Schott
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Andy Moore, 2. Matthew Cleveland, 3. Jesse Fischer, 4. Shane Strothman, 5. Grant Witcraft, 6. Waylon Robinson, 7. Robby Robinson
Qualifying (Practice Times due to rainout): 1. Jesse Fischer 17.964, 2. Matthew Cleveland 18.216, 3. Andy Moore 18.348, 4. Robby Robinson 18.484, 5. Shane Strothman 18.516, 6. Waylon Robinson 18.573, 7. Grant Witcraft 18.723, 8. Landon Lockington 18.736, 9. Ethan Degner 18.737, 10. Seth Gnewikow 18.749, 11. Shelby Lockington 18.819, 12. Scott Mahlum 18.995, 13. MIke Gratz 19.275, 14. Bryan Schott 20.259
Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Landon Peterson, 2. Jamie Pearson, 3. Matthew Heim, 4. Tristan Finnegan, 5. Glen Bush, 6. Andrew Gardner, 7. Caleb Uksas, 8. Ashtin Quinnell, 9. Adam Moore, 10. Aubrey Leis
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Glen Bush, 2. Tristan Finnegan, 3. Caleb Uksas, 2. Aubrey Leis, 5. Ashtin Quinnell
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Adam Moore, 2. Matthew Heim, 3. Landon Peterson, 4. Jamie Pearson, 5. Andrew Gardner
Qualifying: 1. Jamie Pearson 18.828, 2. Adam Moore 18.869, 3. Andrew Gardner 19.044, 4. Landon Peterson 19.136, 5. Matthew Heim 19.224, 6. Jordan Finch 19.495, 7. Tristan Finnegan 19.498, 8. Ashtin Quinnell 20.074, 9. Caleb Uksas 20.818, 10. Aubrie Leis 21.765, 11. Glen Bush NO TIME
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Ryatt Dobbratz, 2. Dustin McCracken, 3. Jay Raines, 4. Tim Murphy, Sr., 5. Greg Brown, Jr., 6. Christopher Neal, 7. Hunter Hart, 8. Zachary Morgan, 9. Alex Lueth, 10. Brandon Young, 11 Carlie Rinartz
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Ryaty Dobbratz, 2. Brandon Young, 3. Alex Lueth, 4. Zachary Morgan, 5. Hunter Hart, 6. Christopher Neal, 7. Carlie Rinartz
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Dustin McCracken, 2. Tim Murphy, Sr., 3. Jay Raines, 4. Chris Brown, 5. Greg Brown, Jr.
Qualifying: 1. Dustin McCracken 19.582, 2. Chris Brown 19.617, 3. Greg Brown, Jr. 19.624, 4. Jay Raines 19.744, 5. Tim Murphy, Sr. 19.803, 6. Ryatt Dobbratz 19.916, 7. Christopher Neal 19.995, 8. Hunter Hart 20.601, 9. Zachary Morgan 20.822, 10. Alex Lueth NO TIME, 11. Brandon Young NO TIME
