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Sabraski had a much better time of it in the Super Stock feature, where he led for much of the race to take the win. Doug Koski had a nice drive, taking the early lead and being the only other driver to lead other than Sabraski. There was only one yellow in this race when Andy LaBarge got turned around early. Koski had a nice-sized lead but simply couldn't hold off Sabraski for the win. Instead, he settled for second.

Harry Hanson held the pole for the Late Model feature and as hot has he has been of late, I thought this race might go to him also. However, I was wrong again—Jeff Provinzino got a great start, took the lead immediately and led all 20 laps for the win in a race stopped only once early for a spin.

Kevin Burdick eventually moved into second and sometimes closed on Provo, but not to the point where he could provide any real challenge. Provinzino put down a couple of solid laps and extended his lead again. Hanson was third.

Smith led all the way in the Pure Stock feature and while Carlson eventually closed up somewhat once he got to second, Smith was still comfortably in front at the end. Pure Stocks are still struggling here for car count, with only enough on hand for one heat race.

Quite honestly, the best race of the night was the nonstop 12-lap Hornet feature. McKenna Folstad was the early leader but was passed mid race by Ryker Larson, who then drove on for the win. The top nine drivers were in a big bunch throughout the race and the black slick track that they inherited as the final race of the night was perfect for them. The Hornets run their best on this type of surface and they put on an exciting show as they jockeyed for position and took turns racing each other hard. Brady Fosso came from the fifth row to move into second late, running down Larson, but ran out of time. Folstad was third.

They started the program right on time with no hot laps. Even though they did some pretty extensive track work after the heats, it was still a quick night. The lack of yellows in the mains helped greatly and the final checkered waved at 9:26 p.m. An early finish on a week night is always a great thing for both the fans, the participants and perhaps most importantly, the track neighbors.

In other racing news from the area, an auction this week was held for the former Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Falls, Wisconsin, and it was reported that Midwest Mod driver and former Late Model driver Steve Haas has purchased the property. What his plans are moving forward, it is unknown at this time.

Sunday, June 14

Sunday Proctor KME Speedway held United States Military Night at the track, with veterans getting into the races with no admission price.

It was actually one of the nicest racing nights of the season so far. Those in the pits had to suffer a bit with the wind in their faces all night, and it produced a very dry and slick race track, but was still much more tolerable than it has been in previous weeks.

In off-track news, the speedway held a special midweek meeting, where everyone was allowed to air their feelings and hopefully reach some kind of resolution moving forward following incidents from the last few weeks.

In an effort to add a positive touch to this week’s program, longtime track supporter and former racer Loren Inman and others provided gas cards in a drawing to a number of the racers as a “thank you” for being on hand to race.

The events from last week may or may not have had an effect on the pit car count this Sunday. There were 61 drivers on hand in the six classes offered, which may have been the low mark of the season to date. The Hornets, Super Stocks and Modifieds all had less than the 10 racers needed for two heats.

That said, as I look around to other tracks, I also see some divisions very low in car count, too. So who knows if the disagreements of the last few weeks were a deciding factor in who raced Sunday or not.

Ironically, the fan turnout in the grandstands looked to be one of the better ones so far this year, likely because the weather was more tolerable. Hopefully what they saw will bring them back again for another Sunday.

Mike Grover made his first start of the year at Proctor on Sunday. He is a Rice Lake racer and with that track being off this weekend, he made one of his road trips that he likes to do several times each year. Grover used to race Pure Stocks and made several visits to Proctor over the years. Now that he has been racing Midwest Mods for several years, he likes to do the same while racing that class.

Donnie Lofdahl made a Saturday night decision to race his Late Model on Sunday, so he put a motor in the car to race this week. He told me that the motor he was using was actually the last motor that Les Buchanan raced in his Late Model, with that motor now the equivalent of a Modified motor. He didn't know if it would even last for the heat race, but he really didn't care. He was just trying to put a race on while he waits for his good motor to get returned, which should happen by next weekend. That motor, which started out as a Modified motor, has now been updated as a legitimate Late Model engine.

The 30-some-year-old motor held up well, allowing Lofdahl to race the full feature race and finish eighth. He remained on the lead lap, which was probably as much as could be expected of it. It probably helped that the track was hard and slick; it wasn’t a horsepower track, but one where handling and throttle control was most important. It did make for some interesting racing and the drivers as a whole adapted well to the track. There were very few yellow flags and crashes all night.

With Rice Lake dark this past weekend, Joe Swearingen made a weekend pull up to Ashland and then over to Proctor on Sunday with his Midwest Mod. He is doing very well in the Wisconsin points and likely wanted a couple more shows to help him in that regard. However, it was not the best of nights; his car was smoking heavily all night and though he completed his heat race, he pulled off before even taking the green in the feature.

Congratulations go out to Kevin Carlson and in what was the highlight event of the night, to me at least, Carlson won his first Late Model feature in seven years. He led from start to finish while dogged the whole time by Harry Hanson— one of the hottest drivers on the circuit right now. Carlson has been much faster all year so far, and nearly won a feature race here a couple weeks ago.

He drove a smooth race Sunday and did a good job withstanding the pressure from Hanson. The surface was very tricky and one bobble might have cost him. Hanson made a late charge in the last couple of laps but Carlson held his line and Hanson raced him clean. Carlson pointed out in his victory lane interview that after a rocky few years, he has finally gotten himself some better equipment again. I believe he is one of many in this area now running a 525 crate motor.

There were a couple of close feature races for the fans as well. The Pure Stock feature had the winning pass occur with just over a lap to go and in the Modified class, the winning pass came with just three laps remaining.

The Pure Stocks went green to checkers, as Tyler Wahlstrom took the early lead in his first time ever at the track. He built up a good-sized lead as his brother Simon, who started seventh, gradually worked his way through the field. There were good battles going on as Simon moved to the front and after he finally cleared into second, he began to eat into Tyler's lead.

Tyler began to get just a little loose in the corners and Simon jumped on that; as they raced to the white flag down the front chute, Simon was able to make the winning pass.

It was another nonstop feature for the Modifieds. Cody Carlson led the majority of the race as he looked for his first feature win of 2026. However, after a battle with Oreskovich, Brandon Copp moved into second and slowly caught Carlson. He made a pass with five laps to go for the lead but Carlson crossed him over to take the lead back. With three to go, Copp again got past when Carlson pushed up the track and this time he then held on for the win. Oreskovich drove past on the last lap for second.

Joey Jensen made his first appearance of 2026 with his Midwest Mod and he led from start to finish to win that feature. Jacob Anderson, who came off a great run on Saturday night with the Sabre Late Model elsewhere, had the pole but he simply couldn't hold his car down in the corners. Jensen drove under him from the second row and then basically was gone.

Paul Ripley found a line that others weren't using late in the race and it served him well. While most drivers were hugging the inside line, he moved up to the edge of the black and it allowed him to drive harder into the corners. He raced all the way up to second. He tried to flag down Jensen in the late going but Jensen was the one driver just too quick to catch.

The Super Stock field was short on drivers on Sunday and it didn't help a bit when a grinding crash in the first corner of their heat race eliminated three for the entire night. But when is the last time that you recall a driver getting a flat tire in the heat, finishing as a DNF, and still starting on the outside pole for the feature race, where they led from start to finish? Well, that was the strange scenario that played out for Shawn McFadden on Sunday. He got clipped in the big pileup and got a flat tire that eliminated him from the heat. Because so many didn't make the call for the feature, he still found himself with a front-row starting spot. As good as he runs at Proctor, that was more than enough to help him to score an easy win. Alex Myers, making his first start of the season here, drove home for second ahead of Austin Blom.

The Hornets did well on a black slick track and they wrapped up the night with an entertaining race that featured three lead changes. Nathan Penney, himself on a hot streak, started on the outside pole and took the early lead but he was soon challenged by Nick Ruzich. Ruzich took the lead on lap three, Penney exchanged spots with him one lap later. The final lead change ocurred three laps, when Ruzich finally claimed the spot and then drove away from the pack.

Kyle LeDoux made a nice run up from the third row and passed Penney late in the race for second.

It was a quick show on Sunday with the racing started right at the advertised time of 5 p.m. The heats took only one hour and five of the six features were completed without a single yellow flag. The whole show was completed just after 8 p.m., leaving folks half of Sunday evening to do other things.

After the races I had the chance to share some stories with the Twin Ports legend, Crash Carlson, and that might have been my highlight of the entire evening. Even in the short time we talked, I learned some things about Proctor Speedway and Gondik Law Speedway that I’ve never heard before.