By: Paul Reichert July 31, 2020
A picture perfect night welcomed another huge crowd and a huge field of cars to Tomah Sparta Speedway for the biggest event of the season. Big trophies and a ton of money were on the line in all the feature events during the 6th annual Tim Myer Memorial Shootout. The Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series put on another exciting show as they made their second appearance of the year. Dillon Sellner notched his very first feature victory at Tomah as he scored the win in the ‘crown jewel’ event of the night, the big 25 lap Sportsmen feature.
Mark Challet took the lead out of the gate in the Coors Light Sportsmen feature. Working the outside groove and making his way quickly to the front was Elko regular Dillon Sellner. After battling with Challet for a couple of laps, Sellner got a run entering turn one to power by Challet and claim the top spot on lap five. Making their way through the field from the back of the pack were last year’s Sportsmen champion David Borntrager and Chris Weber. On lap eight, they both drove past Challet to move into second and third. As they worked on closing the gap on Sellner, they also got into a hot and heavy battle over the runner-up spot. With five laps to go, Borntrager got loose in turn four and that allowed Weber to surge past him into second. Weber got as close as three car lengths to Sellner, who drove off with his first ever victory at Tomah and proudly rang the Victory Bell in TACU Credit Union Victory Lane.
Keegan Benz showed the way at the start of the Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series feature. A yellow flag on lap three for a spun out Tucker Bodendorfer would not stop Benz from holding onto the top spot on the restart. Making his way through the field was Alex Hartwig, the 2019 Wisconsin INEX Bandolero Champion. Hartwig dove low down the back straight to wrestle the lead away from Benz on lap six. Aryton Brockhouse was a young driver on a mission as he charged through the field to take over second by the halfway mark. Brockhouse got a break in trying to chase down Hartwig thanks to a yellow with four laps to go for a spinning Clayton Dorner. Hartwig hit the accelerator on the restart and quickly pulled away from Brockhouse to capture his fourth straight ‘Daytomah’ victory. Hartwig also scored a clean sweep of the Bandolero division on the night.
The Twisted Ted Modified feature got off to a rough start when Dan Howard had something break on his car. Everybody was able to avoid him expect Nick Quinnell. Quinnell collided with Howard and rode the side of his car down the back straight. The good news was that both drivers were doing fine. Coming to the second try to start the race, a ball joint broke on Brad Wildes’ car as his night was over before it could get started. First time Tomah competitor Eric Campbell shot past Rick DeVito for the lead on the third try to get the race going. Denny Schott and Brent Kane got into a fierce battle over the runner-up spot after four laps. Both made contact a couple of times during their battle, but Schott was able to prevent Kane from taking over second. While Schott and Kane continued their battle over second, Campbell drove away from them to become the newest first time winner at Tomah.
Rookie Austin Schott took the lead early in the Hobby Stock feature. Quickly working his way through the field was Kaleb Hardy. It only took Hardy two laps to move into second and set his sights on Schott. Schott and Hardy would get into a hard fought side-by-side battle for the top spot for a few laps. Using the outside lane Hardy would nose ahead of Schott into the lead on lap four. The two made contact in turn four on lap eight, which allowed Schott to surge back into the lead. Schott got loose entering turn one on lap 12 and that gave Hardy his chance to pull ahead to take back the lead. Lurking behind them for several laps was Andy Moore as he waited for the right opportunity to strike. Once Hardy took over the race lead, Moore made his move and he passed Hardy down the back straight on the next to last lap to score another feature win.
In the Hornet feature, Chandler Turner bolted out to the lead after the green flag flew. After taking a few laps to make their way up to second and third, Scott Mahlum and Mason Morphy started their pursuit of Turner for the race lead. As Turner slowly began to pull away from his challengers, Mahlum and Morphy got into their own fight over second. Morphy tried to look low for a few laps without any success. Morphy tried to work the high line for a few more laps, but he could not complete the pass of Mahlum. Leaving Morphy behind with five laps to go, Mahlum tried again to close up the advantage Turner had over him. Mahlum could only get as close as five car lengths in the end as Turner captured the checkered flag first.
Tom Farra quickly grabbed the race lead at the start of the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter feature. Farra would be challenged early on in the race by former LaCrosse competitor David Cavin, who were both driving Chevrolet Malibu Maxx wagons. Farra had a stronger race car to keep him ahead of Cavin. Making their way to the front once again were the ‘teammates’, Dan Frye and Matt Moore. By lap six, Frye and Moore were ready to battle Farra and Cavin for the lead. Frye would drive around the outside of Cavin for second on lap eight. A lap later, Frye stuck to the outside as he powered past Farra to take over the top spot. Moore struggled to get around both Cavin and Farra for second over the final five laps. Farra and Moore made contact in turn four coming to two to go, resulting in Moore dropping back through the field with a tire issue. Back up front, Farra was no match for Frye this night as he claimed his third win of the year.
Action continues next Friday, August 7 as the Mid-American Stock Car Series makes its annual trip to ‘Daytomah’. They will be joined by the Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Hornets and Six Shooters. Gates open at 5:00, qualifying starts at 6:15 and racing action takes the green flag at 7:30. For more information about Tomah Sparta Speedway or the 2020 schedule of events, please call the office at 608-461-1920 or visit our web site at tomahspartaspeedway.com.
RESULTS
Wisconsin Mighty Bandos Traveling Series
Feature: 1. Alex Hartwig, 2. Aryton Brockhouse, 3. Anna Malouf, 4. Cohen Henze, 5. Keegan Benz, 6. Payton Benz, 7. Avery Linnerud, 8. Adam Ratliff, 9. Clayton Dorner, 10. Tucker Bodendorfer
B-Feature: 1. Ratliff, 2. Dorner, 3. Cooper Bodendorfer, 4. Colin Murphy, 5. Aiden Brockhouse, 6. Colton Rae Pershell
Heat #1: 1. K. Benz, 2. Ratliff, 3. C. Bodendorfer, 4. Ai. Brockhouse, 5. Pershell, 6. Dorner, 7. Murphy Heat #2: 1. Hartwig, 2. Ar. Brockhouse, 3. Malouf, 4. Henze, 5. T. Bodendorfer, 6. Linnerud, 7. P. Benz Qualifying: 1. Hartwig 17.995, 2. T. Bodendorfer, 3. Malouf, 4. Henze, 5. Ar. Brockhouse, 6. P. Benz, 7. Linnerud, 8. K. Benz, 9. Ratliff, 10. Pershell, 11. Murphy, 12. C. Bodendorfer, 13. Dorner, 14. Ai. Brockhouse
Coors Light Sportsmen
Feature: 1. Dillon Sellner, 2. Chris Weber, 3. David Borntrager, 4. Dusty Mann, 5. Tyler Sauter Heat #1: 1. Mitch Lyden, 2. Weber, 3. Mann, 4. Bill Schott, 5. Lonnie Wood, Sr.
Heat #2: 1. Sellner, 2. Borntrager, 3. Mark Challet, 4. Sauter, 5. Jake Schiller
Qualifying: 1. Borntrager 16.096, 2. Mann, 3. Sauter, 4. Weber, 5. Sellner
Twisted Tea Modifieds
Feature: 1. Eric Campbell, 2. Denny Schott, 3. Brent Kane, 4. Rick DeVito, 5. Antonio DeVito Heat #1: 1. Campbell, 2. R. DeVito, 3. A. DeVito, 4. Eric Fredrickson, 5. Hanna Raley
Heat #2: 1. Brad Wildes, 2. Dan Howard, 3. D. Schott, 4. Derrin Salo, 5. Kane
Qualfying: 1. Nick Quinnell 15.901, 2. D. Schott, 3. Kane, 4. Wildes, 5. Salo
Hobby Stocks
Feature: 1. Andy Moore, 2. Kaleb Hardy, 3. Mike Krueger, Jr., 4. Austin Schott, 5. Paul Hamilton Heat #1: 1. Hamilton, 2. Kreuger, Jr., 3. Jason Bolster, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Landon Lockington
Heat #2: 1. An. Moore, 2. Ben Gannon, 3. A. Schott, 4. Aaron Hendricks, 5. K. Hardy Qualifying: 1. An. Moore, 17.754, 2. Krueger, Jr., 3. Gannon, 4. Hamilton, 5. Hendricks
Hornets:
Feature: 1. Chandler Turner, 2. Scott Mahlum, 3. Mason Morphy, 4. Tom Luethe, 5. Matt Olson Heat #1: 1. Jacob Iverson, 2. Jordan Finch, 3. Jim Hendricks, 4. Chris Christen
Heat #2: 1. Jake Schomers, 2. T. Luethe, 3. Jazelynn Myer, 4. Morphy, 5. Olson
Heat #3: 1. Turner, 2. Shawn McCarthy, 3. Mahlum, 4. Amelia Marshall, 5. Bryan Wallace Qualifying: 1. McCarthy 18.811, 2. Zach Oliver, 3. Paul Finch, 4. Morphy, 5. Taylor McMullen
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Feature: 1. Dan Frye, 2. Tom Farra, 3. David Cavin, 4. Kevin Beyer, 5. Dustin McCracken
Heat #1: 1. Alex Liebsch, 2. Jestin DeLap, Sr., 3. Traton Winecke, 4. John Clauson, 5. Perry Topness Heat #2: 1. Frye, 2. Joshua Zacharias, 3. Al Bartels, 4. Tim Murphy, Sr., 5. Steve Mueller
Heat #3: 1. Farra, 2. Matt Moore, 3. Landon Lockington, 4. Sean Worman, 5. Cavin
Qualifying: 1. Dustin McCracken 19.207, 2. Cameron Riggs, 3. M. Moore, 4. Frye, 5. Worman
