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Sunday, June 7

The first full weekend in June wrapped up on Sunday, June 7 at Proctor KME Speedway. I was again reminded on Sunday just why only the really tough folks call this area home. How disheartening is it to have to wear your winter coat and a stocking cap to keep your head from freezing the first week of June?!

That was exactly the situation on this Sunday. At home it was a toasty 87 degrees but it was 51 across the bridge into the Twin Ports area. The fog was also of the pea soup variety in Superior, too. Fortunately that didn't carry on up “the hill” or there would have been no racing.

It is tough enough to draw a crowd to the races on a Sunday these days but the weather makes it worse. I know of no other track in WISSOTA that is as constantly haunted by the ill weather than Proctor.

Credit should go out to the track officials that recognized this and did everything possible to move the show along. They rescheduled the bike races from intermission to another week when the chains on the bikes wouldn't freeze up and kept the intermission to just a few short minutes of track prep.

Between the weather and a tough weekend of racing, the car count was down. Four of the six divisions only had enough drivers for one heat per class, which also helped speed things up.

Pat Kapella from KME, a large supporter at the track, did one of his promotions on Sunday, giving away five, $100 winners on a ticket drawing for the spectators. Two folks right near me were winners and went home cold but happy.

Racing started at exactly 5 p.m. with the heat races taking little time to complete. After just a very short break, the features were on the track with everyone wanting to see the show moved along at a rapid pace.

There were some good feature races but two of the features showcased circumstances that were at best, unfortunate. The Pure Stocks ran first Sunday and Jake Smith took the early lead. He was chased by Simon Wahlstrom, as those two pulled away from the pack.

A yellow flew with six laps complete for a spinning driver and the pack was reformed. However, during the yellow it was observed and verified that Smith was losing his whole exhaust system, which was dragging on the ground. He was appropriately sent to the pits for this violation, which was also a safety issue as well.

This gave Wahlstrom the lead and he led the rest of the race although Aaron Bernick gave it his all, hanging his car out sideways in the corners in an effort to catch Wahlstrom. Wahlstrom has apparently decided to race for national points, primarily by running Proctor, Gondik and Rice Lake. Derek Ament finished third.

The Midwest Modified feature may have been the closest and most competitive of the night; Blake Adams came from the third row to take the win. Mason Musel was the early leader and has shown a great deal of improvement already this year. Mikey and Sam Blevins and Adams chased him in the early going, along with Landyn Randt.

Adams took advantage of a couple breaks with both Mikey and Musel pushing up the track in the corners; Adams drove into the lead. A tangle following a yellow flag between Musel and Randt eliminated both from the race which left Paul Ripley, up from the fifth row, to chase Adams. Adams drove his line the rest of the event and wasn't really challenged while Ripley held off a late charge from Ryan Savoy for second.

Clearly, there is still plenty of fire in a post 70-year-old Late Model driver, at least if that driver is Harry Hanson. Hanson, who started on the pole, ran away with the Late Model headliner which turned into a nonstop 25-lap event. Hanson pulled away from the field and was not severely challenged over the course of the race.

Hanson, who has shown much more speed the last couple of weeks in his new Infinity chassis, was not about to be caught on Sunday. A couple times Danny Vang managed to get within a few car lengths in traffic, but each time Harry made solid moves and then pulled away once again. Cade Nelson ran third for virtually the entire contest, with only one driver not finishing the race.

Adams became a double winner when he was scored the victor in the Modified feature, a race that was certainly the most surprising and controversial of the night. Jody Bellefeuille started in the second row but had the lead by the time the first lap was completed and appeared to lead the entire race. He was not ever challenged and the only thing that slowed him down were a pair of yellow flags.

He crossed the line with a substantial lead over Adams but was halted as he went to pull into victory lane, while Adams was stopped as he went to exit the track. Adams was instead steered into victory lane while Bellefeuille received an explanation through his window from a track official.

Apparently Bellefeuille was called for a jump start following the second yellow flag and with no further yellows happening during the race to execute the penalty, he was docked two spots in the finishing order.

Many in the crowd were stunned by the decision and the response was not, shall we say, positive in nature. Adams even appeared stunned and shocked as he climbed out of his car. It was a bit of a chaotic scene with many just trying to wrap their heads around what had just happened.

Nothing I saw during the race jumped out at me as a violation of rules but I was not at the driver's meeting and didn't hear the specific rules and instructions given to the drivers so I can't say for certain if the call was correct or not and it would be out of order for me to do so. What I can say is that the decision was not a popular one but then again, tough calls often are not popular.

It was ironic that Adams only gained second on the final lap when Brandon Copp slipped high on the track, as he tried to get past a lapped car, and that race for second turned out to actually be the race for the win.

Steve Stuart started on the pole for the Super Stock feature and led all the way for an easy win. Jordan Henkemeyer was second with Shawn McFadden third.

Second year Hornet driver Nathan Penney led from start to finish to win that classes main event. Despite a unique style that saw him chasing his car through the corners several times, he kept his foot on the gas and Brady Fosso was not able to catch him. Fosso settled for second with Kyle LeDoux third.

All racing was completed by around 8:30 p.m. with a mass exit for the parking lot and the warmth of the vehicles taking place. Racing will continue next Sunday at Proctor and we wish warmer weather for them.