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Wahlstrom wins first career Mod main while Spacek, Vernon, Trainer and Crosby capture other feature wins at Rice Lake Speedway

By Ed Reichert

RICE LAKE, WI (May 3) - Among the highlights of the second night of action at Rice Lake Speedway Saturday night was the first-ever WISSOTA Modified feature win for longtime racer Simon Wahlstrom, and the repeat wins for Eric Crosby and Nick Traynor.

Other WISSOTA Dirt Track Series winners included Terran Spacek and Tyler Vernon, while Kory Ressie won the USRA Late Model feature with a last-lap pass. The track welcomed 118 drivers from three states and Canada to race Saturday evening.

Wahlstrom took the initial lead in the WISSOTA Modifieds, getting the jump on Kennedy Swan, who then pulled in line behind him in the early going.

The yellow flew after just one lap as a three-car tangle in turn two stopped the action and ended the night for Canadian driver Riley Matthews.

Wahlstrom continued as the leader as the green flag was displayed once again, while Brandon Copp, from the third row, found an opening and moved into second. Darrell Nelson experimented with the high side of the track and moved up a couple spots into third. Cole Spacek was running in the top five when mechanical issues sent him to the pits as the race continued.

By the halfway point, the top five had settled in. Copp and then Nelson closed up the gap somewhat to Wahlstrom, but neither was able to execute a pass.

Wahlstrom, the Mikana driver, maintained his control and when the checkered flew, he was several car lengths ahead of Copp to earn his first victory. Copp finished second with Nelson, Blake Adams and Swan completing the top five.

With the win, Wahlstrom has now won feature races in five different divisions at Rice Lake Speedway, only the second driver in the 73-year history of the track to do so (the first known was Kevin Adams).

Traynor became the first repeat winner of the 2025 season when he won the WISSOTA Street Stock main event. The race started out as Cody Cimfl's to lose, as he passed Tom Treviranus and Warren Bartelt on the opening lap to grab the early lead from the second row. Traynor just as quickly moved up from the third row into second and the battle was on. Three laps into the main, the only yellow flew for a spin and this bunched up the field. Traynor and Danny Richards were lined up just behind Cimfl for the restart; back under green Cimfl pulled away slightly from the field. Meanwhile the battle for second heated up, with Richards slipping to the inside of Traynor to take away second.

The rest of the race ran off green to checkers with Cimfl pulling away from the pack as the battle for second continued. Late in the race, as the leaders raced through traffic, Traynor was able to slip past Richards and regain second. This pass proved to be monumental in the lead up to the last-lap drama that was about to unfold.

Cimfl was by himself with a comfortable lead as he took the white flag. However, he cut the first corner too short, clipped one of the big tires and broke the front end on his car. With no steering, he slid into the infield on the back straightaway, a half lap short of victory. This stunning development shocked everyone when suddenly Traynor drove out of the last corner as the leader and winner. Richards finished second, while Andrew Hanson made another charge through the field from eighth to finish third. Cole Richards and Travis Loew completed the top five.

In the Pure Stocks, Bob Wahlstrom started on the pole and led the opening pair of laps, as Crosby quickly moved up from fifth to challenge him, joined by Caleb Duffie.

Going into turn two, Wahlstrom had problems with the right front of his car and he slowed with mechanical issues, giving up the lead and triggering the first yellow all at the same time. Wahlstrom was done for the night.

Crosby inherited the lead and he then led the rest of the contest. Rob Grabon moved into second by lap four and he chased Crosby the rest of the distance. The race was slowed five times by spins, which kept the field packed and kept Grabon in a position to push Crosby hard for the win. In the third-place battle between Duffie and Mark Barta, a late-race tangle ended the race for both.

Grabon closed to the rear bumper of Crosby in the dash to the finish, but that was as close as he could get. Crosby maintained his lead to the checkers, while Grabon, Austin Fencl, Devin Fries and Steve Karshbaum finished out the top five.

The Super Stock feature was another race plagued by yellow flags for spins and other issues. Officials finally terminated the race five laps short due to time constraints. However, the top two drivers maintained their positions through all the trials and tribulations — Terran Spacek and Dalton Truchon ran first and second the entire event. After each of the many yellows, these two drivers pulled away from the field. Though Truchon never pressured Spacek for the lead, he maintained a solid second.

For Spacek, it was his 13th career Super Stock victory at Rice Lake. Chad Johnson, who had been third for the entire contest, dropped back to fifth during the final lap and Eric Olson and Shawn McFadden drove past him for third and fourth.

Kenny Kincaid was the early leader in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature ahead of Travis Anderson and Vernon, who challenged him early. Vernon, however, was able to find an opening and slip past Kincaid to take over the top spot. Blake Adams and Nick Koehler were also close behind, as the lead pack was a tight one.

Vernon had a tremendous scare near the halfway point of the race when a car he was trying to lap spun directly in front on him, slid across the track and made contact with the back of Vernon's car, driving him into the muddy infield. However, Vernon survived and rejoined the field as the leader for the restart.

With the final half of the race going nonstop, Vernon put distance on Kincaid and drove on for the win. A last-lap scramble on the back chute as Vernon took the checkered had the event scored back to the white flag, with positions adjusted from that tangle. Behind Kincaid in second, Adams, Brady Larson and Jake Stai completed the top five.

The USRA Late Models made their first appearance at the track for 2025, led early on in the feature by Mitchell Fenske. Ressie, who started outside of him in the front row, was close behind.

Fifth-starter Cade Nelson moved into third as the top three broke away from the field. Steve O'Brien stayed in contention by using the upper line, with Lucas Peterson running close behind him.

The battle for the lead continued with Ressie trying multiple times to get past Fenske. Finally on lap 13 he nosed ahead and took over the lead with Nelson following him through. Just then, a yellow for a spin set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Ressie took off strong and despite a push by Nelson, Ressie had the position covered and drove on for the win, his first-ever at the track. Nelson was a close second and he was trailed by Fenske, Peterson and Patrick Kelley. The class returns June 28 for their second night of the season.

Next Saturday the track will host its Springtime Modified Spectacular, sponsored by Henry Repeating Arms. For more information on this race and other events scheduled for the track, check the speedway website at www.ricelakespeedway.net.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Modifieds:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[1]; 2. 22-Brandon Copp[6]; 3. 44N-Darrell Nelson[5]; 4. 40D-Blake Adams[3]; 5. 18S-Kennedy Swan[2]; 6. 57-Mike Anderson[10]; 7. 3JR-Shane Halopka[7]; 8. 21F-Nick Oreskovich[9]; 9. 20-Austin Ellis[16]; 10. 9U-Brady Uotinen[18]; 11. 74-Shaun Kreyer[11]; 12. 9MM-Aiden Hoffman[15]; 13. 3H-Jake Hiatt[8]; 14. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[12]; 15. 55-Taylor Olson[17]; 16. 3-Bryan Hessler[14]; 17. (DNF) 308-Pat Hoffman[19]; 18. (DNF) 22S-Cole Spacek[4]; 19. (DNF) 9-Riley Matthews[13]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3JR-Shane Halopka[1]; 2. 44N-Darrell Nelson[5]; 3. 3H-Jake Hiatt[3]; 4. 57-Mike Anderson[6]; 5. 9-Riley Matthews[7]; 6. 20-Austin Ellis[4]; 7. 9U-Brady Uotinen[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21F-Nick Oreskovich[6]; 2. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[3]; 3. 22S-Cole Spacek[4]; 4. 74-Shaun Kreyer[2]; 5. 3-Bryan Hessler[1]; 6. (DNF) 308-Pat Hoffman[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Brandon Copp[1]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[2]; 3. 18S-Kennedy Swan[3]; 4. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[5]; 5. 9MM-Aiden Hoffman[6]; 6. 55-Taylor Olson[4]

WISSOTA Super Stocks:

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 22T-Terran Spacek[1]; 2. 62-Dalton Truchon[2]; 3. 1E-Eric Olson[9]; 4. 51JR-Shawn McFadden[11]; 5. 25X-Chad Johnson[3]; 6. 14X-Leslie Leu[12]; 7. 20*-Andrew Davis[17]; 8. 26-Kyle Copp[6]; 9. 57-Randy Graham[15]; 10. 22AT-Austin Tilton[16]; 11. (DNF) XJR-Austin Harris[21]; 12. (DNF) 74-Noah Shackleton[8]; 13. (DNF) 21M-Alex Myers[4]; 14. (DNF) 1M-Curt Myers[7]; 15. (DNF) 02-Travis Anderson[13]; 16. (DNF) 21-Mike Siewert[10]; 17. (DNF) 1-Ryan Olson[14]; 18. (DNF) 247-Jackson Larson[5]; 19. (DNF) 75-Scott Geiger[19]; 20. (DNF) 28-Josh Cappo[23]; 21. (DNS) 9-Jakob Bond; 22. (DNS) 90-Adam Pratt; 23. (DNS) 01-Michael Anderson; 24. (DNS) 22-Clay Albrecht; 25. (DNS) 10-Jeff Eisner Jr

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Kyle Copp[5]; 2. 247-Jackson Larson[4]; 3. 74-Noah Shackleton[6]; 4. 21-Mike Siewert[1]; 5. 02-Travis Anderson[9]; 6. 22AT-Austin Tilton[3]; 7. (DNF) 90-Adam Pratt[7]; 8. (DNF) 01-Michael Anderson[8]; 9. (DNF) 10-Jeff Eisner Jr[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1M-Curt Myers[4]; 2. 25X-Chad Johnson[1]; 3. 22T-Terran Spacek[8]; 4. 51JR-Shawn McFadden[5]; 5. 1-Ryan Olson[2]; 6. 20*-Andrew Davis[3]; 7. 75-Scott Geiger[6]; 8. (DNF) 28-Josh Cappo[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 1E-Eric Olson[5]; 2. 62-Dalton Truchon[1]; 3. 21M-Alex Myers[8]; 4. 14X-Leslie Leu[6]; 5. 57-Randy Graham[2]; 6. 9-Jakob Bond[4]; 7. (DNF) XJR-Austin Harris[7]; 8. (DNF) 22-Clay Albrecht[3]

WISSOTA Midwest Mods:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 41-Tyler Vernon[3]; 2. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[1]; 3. 40D-Blake Adams[4]; 4. 63JR-Brady Larson[6]; 5. 1-Jake Stai[9]; 6. 28-Paul Ripley[15]; 7. 37-Travis Anderson[2]; 8. 7-Mike Schnider[12]; 9. 16-Cory Jorgensen[8]; 10. 19H-Cody Cimfl[5]; 11. 00-Joseph Swearingen[20]; 12. 44-David Dishaw[14]; 13. 47-Tad Schoonover[17]; 14. 10Z-Cade Johnson[13]; 15. 09-Skylar Findley[11]; 16. 410-Jesse Young[10]; 17. 13-Nick Koehler[7]; 18. 88K-Donavan Knutson[19]; 19. 78-Bently Prochnow[18]; 20. (DNF) R1-Robert Crust[21]; 21. (DNF) 71-Jacob Anderson[16]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 13-Nick Koehler[2]; 2. 41-Tyler Vernon[4]; 3. 63JR-Brady Larson[3]; 4. 410-Jesse Young[5]; 5. 10Z-Cade Johnson[6]; 6. (DNF) 00-Joseph Swearingen[1]; 7. (DNS) R1-Robert Crust

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19H-Cody Cimfl[4]; 2. 37-Travis Anderson[5]; 3. 16-Cory Jorgensen[6]; 4. 09-Skylar Findley[3]; 5. 44-David Dishaw[1]; 6. 71-Jacob Anderson[2]; 7. 78-Bently Prochnow[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[1]; 2. 40D-Blake Adams[2]; 3. 1-Jake Stai[3]; 4. 7-Mike Schnider[5]; 5. 28-Paul Ripley[4]; 6. 47-Tad Schoonover[6]; 7. 88K-Donavan Knutson[7]

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 40T-Nick Traynor[5]; 2. 3R-Danny Richards[6]; 3. 20-Andrew Hanson[8]; 4. 1R-Cole Richards[7]; 5. 40-Travis Loew[11]; 6. 17-Zach Beaulieu[9]; 7. 84-Hunter VanGilder[18]; 8. 10-Dylan Baskin[4]; 9. 16-Warren Bartelt[2]; 10. 20F-Connor Franson[15]; 11. 31-Tom Treviranus[1]; 12. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[19]; 13. 20T-Michael Tuma[13]; 14. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[17]; 15. 19H-Kevin Herrman[12]; 16. 19-Paul Krawec[14]; 17. 86-Layla Chaplin[16]; 18. 19J-Jenna Herrman[10]; 19. (DNF) 19C-Cody Cimfl[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Warren Bartelt[1]; 2. 31-Tom Treviranus[5]; 3. 10-Dylan Baskin[3]; 4. 19J-Jenna Herrman[2]; 5. (DNF) 81-Charlie Pitcavage[4]; 6. (DNF) 84-Hunter VanGilder[6]; 7. (DQ) 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 40T-Nick Traynor[1]; 2. 19C-Cody Cimfl[3]; 3. 3R-Danny Richards[4]; 4. 40-Travis Loew[5]; 5. 20T-Michael Tuma[6]; 6. 20F-Connor Franson[2]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 20-Andrew Hanson[5]; 2. 17-Zach Beaulieu[1]; 3. 1R-Cole Richards[4]; 4. 19H-Kevin Herrman[2]; 5. 19-Paul Krawec[6]; 6. 86-Layla Chaplin[3]

WISSOTA Pure Stocks:

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 28-Eric Crosby[5]; 2. 16-Rob Grabon[3]; 3. 52W-Austin Fencl[9]; 4. 95F-Devin Fries[4]; 5. 89-Steve Karshbaum[7]; 6. 47-Anthony Schultz[10]; 7. 4K-Terry Kemp[12]; 8. (DNF) 9M-Marlene Lannet[11]; 9. (DNF) 78-Mark Barta[6]; 10. (DNF) 55-Caleb Duffie[2]; 11. (DNF) QQ-Shane Strenke[8]; 12. (DNF) 88-Robert Wahlstrom[1]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Eric Crosby[4]; 2. 78-Mark Barta[1]; 3. 16-Rob Grabon[3]; 4. 95F-Devin Fries[5]; 5. 52W-Austin Fencl[6]; 6. (DNF) 9M-Marlene Lannet[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[6]; 2. 55-Caleb Duffie[2]; 3. 89-Steve Karshbaum[3]; 4. QQ-Shane Strenke[1]; 5. 47-Anthony Schultz[4]; 6. (DNF) 4K-Terry Kemp[5]

USRA Late Models:

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 208-Kory Ressie[2]; 2. 44-Cade Nelson[5]; 3. 99F-Mitchell Fenske[1]; 4. 65-Lucas Peterson[4]; 5. 63-Patrick Kelley[6]; 6. 77-Ryan Howe[9]; 7. 14-Steven O'Brien Jr[3]; 8. 67-Josh Bach[10]; 9. 52-Jason McFadden[21]; 10. 55-Clayton Hofteig[13]; 11. 19-Josh Wahlstrom[8]; 12. 26D-Chad Dawson[12]; 13. 17-Chase Swerman[14]; 14. 42K-Patrick Kletschka[11]; 15. 007-Jess Seim[15]; 16. 73-Larry Fitzsimmons[7]; 17. 62-Todd Green[17]; 18. 3-Tyler Stargardt[20]; 19. 71-Ron Hanestad[18]; 20. 57-Brent Mindock[19]; 21. (DNF) 17J-Jared Bamberger[22]; 22. (DNS) 1-Kody Koski

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Ryan Howe[1]; 2. 14-Steven O'Brien Jr[7]; 3. 73-Larry Fitzsimmons[5]; 4. 67-Josh Bach[3]; 5. 55-Clayton Hofteig[2]; 6. 1-Kody Koski[6]; 7. 57-Brent Mindock[8]; 8. (DNF) 17J-Jared Bamberger[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Cade Nelson[2]; 2. 208-Cory Ressie[3]; 3. 63-Patrick Kelley[6]; 4. 42K-Patrick Kletschka[5]; 5. 17-Chase Swerman[4]; 6. 62-Todd Green[7]; 7. (DNF) 52-Jason McFadden[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Josh Wahlstrom[5]; 2. 65-Lucas Peterson[4]; 3. 99F-Mitchell Fenske[6]; 4. 26D-Chad Dawson[1]; 5. 007-Jess Seim[3]; 6. 71-Ron Hanestad[7]; 7. 3-Tyler Stargardt[2]