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Wednesday, August 20

We decided to make another run back up to Thunder Bay, Ontario and catch the second-to-last regular season program at Thunder City Speedway. It was simply a great night for racing and the great weather brought out another big crowd. I’d assume Thunder City is one of the most successful tracks under WISSOTA sanctioning based on crowd and car counts.

It was “Midweek Mod Mayhem” night, with the Modifieds racing for $1,000 to win, while the other four classes had a regular night of racing. Of course, a normal night at Thunder City means there were 118 cars in the pits, including 40 Midwest Mods, 31 Street Stocks, and good fields in the other three classes as well.

Trey Hess continues to pull from Grand Forks, North Dakota each week. He told me Wednesday was his 14th trip here this year. With the automatic Thursday night rain date in effect at the track, every trip has been productive — even if he has had to wait a night to race.

The exact distance from Grand Forks to the track can't be calculated because he takes a secret short cut that Goggle can't figure out. It’s safe to say that 450 miles is a good estimate. Folks, that's a lot of driving to do every week just to race his Streeter. And of course, Wednesday is just the first night of what is a busy week for him, weather permitting. He planned to race in Minnesota and North Dakota, as well as Canada before the sun sets on Sunday.

Hess is locked in a very tight points battle here with Kyle Bolt as the season winds down. He is most excited about the fact that next Tuesday he will be dropping a new Zeuli motor in his car, to replace the one that he is currently running that has more than 80 shows on it. He is just crossing his fingers it lasts for the weekend.

His thinking might be right; though he led the opening eight laps of the feature later, he was passed and in the final few laps, he dropped back to fifth, losing points to Bolt. His car’s motor was also smoking badly. The rest of his week is now up in the air as he was headed to Lisbon for Thursday, originally.

I ran into Jeff Marshall after the races. Many will remember him as a top-notch Midwest Mod and Modified driver, who now helps on the track crew when he is not traveling for work. He mentioned the program on Wednesday ended up being their smoothest ever, with 22 races run off in three and a half hours with the final checkered flag waving just around 10 p.m.

After some track prep, the Hornets got the first opportunity to run their main event. They used to have huge numbers in this class, but a number of former drivers have moved up, while others who were running somewhat renegade former ice racing cars have disappeared from the scene.

Rick Breukelman took the early lead but could only hold back Spencer Smith for four laps before Smith drove around him, took the lead, and then led the rest of the way. Marking what would be the norm for the night, after a first lap yellow for a spin, the rest of the race went off nonstop.

Smith has been racing quite a bit in the U.S. the last few weeks and has been close to getting feature wins at Proctor and Gondik. He hasn’t met that goal quite yet, but he looked strong Wednesday. Breukelman settled for second with Sam Bolt third.

Joey Jensen dropped in to race with the Midwest Mods and Canadian drivers got to see what a lot of American drivers have been seeing lately — the rear end of the No. 30. Although he dazzled in his heat race, coming from sixth almost immediately to grab the eventual win, he had a tougher time in the feature thanks to Jamie Davis.

Davis started on the pole with Jensen right behind him and it was a two-car battle all the way. Jensen tried repeatedly to make a pass, but each time Davis held him off.

Finally, just after the halfway point, Jensen made a move high in turn one, got a great run down the back chute, and was able to get under Davis' car to take the lead. It was game over as Jensen led the rest of the way, although Davis still ran him hard. David Simpson came from eighth to finish third.

The Super Stock feature was a two-horse battle, with strong local drivers Cole Chernosky and Rick Simpson battling it out. I suspected that whoever started in front of the other would come out as the winner. Chernosky drew better and started third, with Simpson right behind him. Chernosky had the lead before one lap was completed and it took Simpson a while to get past Tyler Kostecki for second. Chernosky was too far ahead and with no yellows to bunch the field, they finished in that running order. Kostecki, by the way, is a very impressive rookie. He’s never raced before but finished a strong third.

The Modified feature was a close battle all the way with Brandon Copp playing “defense” for much of the race. He managed to block lanes on the track just as contenders tried them to challenge him. He started on the pole but had serious challenges from Simpson, Chernosky and Dave Cain before he claimed victory. Simpson and Chernosky were both working the low side of the track and were giving Copp plenty of heat.

Cain was shuffling around in about fifth when following a restart, he let his car rip the cushion and found immediate success, moving all the way up to second and nearly getting by for the lead. Copp then started using the outside lane and took away the Cain line. Chernosky then put the most pressure on as Cain seemed to slow a bit.

Despite the repeated challenges, Copp managed to keep the lead and held off Chernosky on the inside.

It was an interesting race for Cain, as he was alternatively fast and then slow using the cushion, perhaps as his tired heated up or cooled? On the last lap he let it rip again and was able to nip Chernosky for second at the line.

The Street Stocks completed the night with Hess holding off Bolt and then Brauer for about half the race. Brauer was just too fast, however, and drove past him for the lead.

However, Brauer then had his hands full with Bolt, who drove right up to the rear bumper of Brauer in the final laps. I was waiting for Bolt to try something on the final tour as he was literally right on Brauer's bumper, but he settled for tailgating him to the finish. Brauer took yet another win, while 10th-starter Darren Wolframe finished third behind Bolt.

The track seemed to be coming around Wednesday. The dust level was much less than previous nights and the top side was used more successfully. It is still very flat and you better know what you're doing to run the cushion, but it appears that there might actually be a line up there.

As always, they treat you like royalty here — the employees are top-notch and friendly and I must send out special thanks to Clarence Downey and the entire crew from the Thunder Bay Truck Centre, who provide us first class seats and treat us so well. Their many considerations for us are so much appreciated.

Thursday, August 21

It was a very sticky Thursday night as Grand Rapids Speedway wrapped its regular season on August 21. For one of the few times all year, all seven classes that race at the track were together on Thursday. As many tracks do, GRS crowns the point champion as the “track champion.”

With all seven classes racing and decent numbers in all seven, it was paramount that a quick program occur. Rain was also a possibility, so it was announced at the driver's meeting that everyone had better be “on the ball” and if a race had more than two yellows, they were going to realign your field single file.

(Just a thought, since we are living in a time of impatience, why not always restart the races single file and throw the Delaware style restart in the Delaware River?!)

It was an entertaining night of racing. The track changed in a dramatic way as the evening progressed and it was interesting to see who was sharp enough to catch what was happening and use this to their advantage.

The track started out blinding fast and tacky but as it dried out, it did so very quickly. Apparently the moisture was not down too deep in the track, and when the tack was kicked off during the heats, it was plenty dry underneath, thus leading to a different strategy for the features.

There was a violent collision between a pair of Pure Stocks that sent the crowd shivering during the heat race action. Caylyn Binkley was racing through turn three when the car of Wes Reini went barreling into and through that same corner and slammed into the side of her car at tremendous speed, knocking it over on to its roof before it slammed back to earth. Fortunately Caylyn climbed out quickly and then got a hug from Billy Binkley, also a Pure Stock driver himself. He had raced in the previous heat and rushed onto the track to check on Caylyn.

The amazing part was that both cars were repaired and both raced in the Pure Stock feature later! The Binkley car was pretty battered, but it held together and she finished the feature in eighth. Reini got into another crack-up in the feature and left the track on the hook.

Few drivers these days have been able to keep Joey Jensen behind them, but Sam Blevins was one of the few able to pull off that trick in 2025 and on top of that, his win guaranteed him the track title in the Midwest Mods.

Twenty-five drivers took the green for the Mid Mod feature with Sam on the outside pole, flanking his father Michael. Sam took the initial lead but only one lap was completed before a pile-up slowed things. After that, the Midwest Mods ran clean to the checkered and with so many drivers on the track, lapped traffic was a big factor in this race.

Sam continued to lead with Jensen, who started fifth, finally getting by Michael for second and moving into that spot by the halfway point of the race. Jensen was all over Sam for the lead but each time Jensen challenged, Sam was up for it and held him off. They got into heavy traffic in the second half of the race but each time slower cars appeared, Sam made the correct move while Joey got hung up a couple of times. Every move Sam made was correct and his handling of traffic was impeccable.

Sam crossed the line with one lapped car between himself and Jensen, who had to settle for second with Michael Blevins getting third.

The Hornets ran their event off green to checkered flag. Easton Pfeiffer nearly pulled off the upset, leading from the drop of the green until just a couple of laps were left, when Brady Fosso got by him. Fosso had moved up from the fourth row and eventually worked his way into second, trailed by Russell Kiker Jr.

Fosso pulled up alongside Pfeiffer several times but just couldn't quite get past, as Pfeiffer was pushing for all he was worth. Finally, in turn four he tripped up slightly with his car pushing up the track and Fosso quickly made the move to take over the lead. Pfeiffer didn't give up and on the final lap made another charge, but his car pushed even worse this time. This allowed Kiker to drive past him for second as Fosso went on for the victory.

I suppose it’s old hat by now for him, having accomplished the feat many times before, but Shane Sabraski won all three feature races he entered Thursday.

The Super Stock ran their feature off nonstop and this proved to be the first of Sabraski's three wins. Matt Sparby led the opening lap but Sabraski quickly moved up after starting fourth. It took him only one lap to pass Sparby and then pull away for the win.

He was nearly a full straightaway ahead of Tristan LaBarge, who claimed second. Curt Myers looked fast in his heat but drew the eight pill; he did a good job finding enough track to race on to finish third.

There were three different leaders in the Modified feature but eventually Sabraski dominated this event also. Bob Broking took the early lead but then a pair of yellows for spins bunched the field.

Blake Adams made a great move from the second row on a restart, passing both Josh Beaulieu and then Broking to take over the lead. Those two were tight in the corners until Adams gained the edge.

Adams then fought for all he was worth, trying to keep Sabraski behind him by trying different lines on the track. Shane was just too strong, passing and then gradually pulling away to build up another big lead.

Adams was left to play defense and hold off Mervin Castle for second as he provided a constant challenge to Adams in the latter half of the race. Tyler Kintner was not a factor but did win the track title in the Modifieds.

It was then feature time for the Late Models. Derek Vesel started on the pole and led the early going but Jeff Massingill started beside him and gradually used the high side of the track to take over the lead. The top side was faster at this point and Vesel lost several spots before he could get up to the cushion.

Sabraski started sixth and by the halfway point of the race he was into second. The race's only yellow took place at this point and this was huge. While everyone had been “making hay” on the top side, Sabraski restarted on the inside lane and making use of that old phrase, “You have to pass them where they aren’t racing,” he made the bottom lane work and was able to get by Massingill and then take over the lead.

Interestingly, at this point Sabraski then moved back up to the cushion while Massingill — who has been having good success in recent weeks “catfishing” around on the bottom — went back to that line.

Suddenly the track started to change and after Sabraski had built up a good-sized lead, Massingill was clearly cutting into that margin.

The last few laps the lead was cut dramatically, while Sabraski chose to continue running the cushion. On the final lap, Massingill made it a photo finish as Sabraski held on by a very small margin for the win. Another lap or two and he would have been passed for sure.

Kevin Burdick drove up from seventh to finish third, but came up three points short of the point title as Billy Kendall, with a sixth-place finish, held on for the KME point title. I believe there was a $5,000 point fund that went with that.

Jake Smith started in the front row and led wire to wire to win the Pure Stock feature. An opening lap tangle involving Dustin Puffe, in the race for a national title, left him with front-end damage while Austin Carlson soldered on with a pushed-up hood.

It paid off for Carlson though, as his second-place finish guaranteed him the track title in the Pure Stocks. It was a great night for the Carlson family, with Dalton winning the Super Stock title as well.

All racing was completed by about 10 p.m. under dry conditions.

Friday, August 22

Red Cedar Speedway held racing Friday night, August 22. It was championship night but as a number of other tracks do, the high point driver in each class was crowned champion.

A very nice field of drivers was assembled for the night, with 97 drivers entered in the five WISSOTA classes that race at Red Cedar, including 26 Midwest Mods and 22 each in the Super Stocks and Late Models.

This was especially impressive given the threatening weather conditions that existed all day. While it did rain lightly for a few minutes just after the pit gates were opening, it never threatened the racing.

However, at about the halfway point of the night, some angry looking thunderheads formed to the west of Menomonie. Thankfully they skirted by the fairgrounds, so close we could feel the cold breeze abruptly as the storm passed by. Later we learned the rain was as close as the north side of Menomonie, out by the freeway.

Mike Prochnow was so sure it was going to rain in town that he headed north to Gondik in Superior. This turned out to bite him; while Red Cedar got their whole show in, Gondik rained out after the heats, thus making for a long drive for eight laps of racing. However, I have done the same thing a time or two over the years when I “out-thunk” myself.

Top-notch Midwest Mod driver Shadow Kitchner was missing Friday, out with a concussion after he flipped his Legends car on Wednesday night at Thunder Hill Speedway near Menomonie.

Even at this late stage of the season, new drivers emerge. Mike Pratt made his first run at Red Cedar in a Street Stock Friday. Mike and his brother Adam used to race a number of years ago and now both are back, with Adam racing a Super Stock. I understand they were part of a test night recently at Rice Lake, as both were getting laps and shaking off the rust. Mike was running in the top five in the Streeter feature until the hood popped up and he had to pull into the infield.

I also learned that Super Stock driver Chad Johnson had a devastating fire that consumed his race shop recently. Luckily, Johnson was out of town racing or his race car would have probably been destroyed as well. The Super Stock drivers passed the hat for him at intermission and Chad had a strong third-place finish in the Super Stock feature.

With the humid conditions and recent rains, the track was “hammer down” all night. It was a handful for the drivers, and they earned their pay on this night.

There was also the makeup feature for the Mid Mods and the Hornets to contend with.

They started the makeup feature for the Midwest Mods a half hour earlier than normal. The track was very fast and Derek Haas, who started on the outside pole, led the entire distance for the win. For a long time, Steve Haas ran second but he was passed in the late going by Brandon Jensen and Justen Seipel. Only two drivers from August 8 failed to return to run the race, and that included Kitchner.

The Super Stock feature was the first to go out for their main following a smooth set of heat races for all classes. Terran Spacek has been a tough one to catch here all year, and with him starting on the outside pole, it seemed logical that he would dominate.

However, that's why we attend the races — it’s rare that everything is cut and dried. Spacek did take the early lead and indeed, led the first half of the race. Following a yellow when Alex Myers spun his way out of third place, Tommy Richards drove past Spacek on the restart to take the lead.

Spacek tried to fight back but Richards fought off all challenges and actually pulled away from Spacek at the end. Behind Johnson's third-place finish, a rare appearance by Brandon Clemens was highlighted by his charge from 11th to fourth.

There was not a big field of Street Stocks on Friday but those on hand put on a good race. Travis Loew started on the pole and dominated much of the race, which ran green to checkered. He built up nearly a full straightaway lead over the pack until Parker Anderson got free and made his way forward from seventh. Anderson tracked down Loew and with just three laps to go, he blew past him on the outside to take the lead and indeed, the win. Danny Richards finished third.

A couple of the main events had dramatic turns in them that involved the race leader. One of them occurred in the Midwest Mod feature race. To my knowledge, Reese Schlosser has never won a feature race at Red Cedar. Friday night he came oh, so close to doing just that. He started on the pole and was extremely fast, opening up some distance on the pack.

Three yellows in the first three laps kept everyone packed together but when racing resumed, he again pulled away for the lead. As laps ticked off, neither Brady Larson nor Jensen could catch him or even get too close. It seemed more and more likely Schlosser might indeed pull off the upset.

He was still in good shape as the leader when they caught the back of the pack just as the white flag was about to be displayed. Schlosser found a couple cars at the back of the pack running the same inside line as he was, and instead of pulling out to pass them down the back chute, he tucked in behind them and Larson and Jensen ate up his lead immediately. He had to take some action or be passed, and unfortunately for Schlosser, when he “gassed it up,” he got directly into the back of one of the slower cars and turned that driver around, triggering the yellow.

This is always a tough call for track management and while the leader should be protected, that protection doesn't give him the privilege of just running over everyone. It seemed the correct call to send Schlosser to the back in my opinion. However, it still must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow.

The battle wasn't over yet, as Larson now had Jensen right behind him. Under green for the two-lap sprint to the finish, Jensen pulled right in beside Larson and they raced extremely hard on the final two laps, running door to door at high speed. It was a “pucker moment” but both made it, with Jensen driving deeper into turn three on the final lap. He claimed the win over Larson, while the late yellow also gave Haas time to reload and he passed Nick Koehler on the final tour for third.

Another one of those “whoops” moments happened in the Modified feature. Cory Mahder, looking for his first Red Cedar win of the year, grabbed the opening lap lead with a pack snarling behind him. On lap three, he overshot turn one and plastered the concrete wall, ending his night and turning over the lead to Jake Smith.

The lead changing was far from done however, as one lap later Mike Anderson passed Smith to grab the point. Anderson couldn't hold onto the top spot either, as just a lap later Cory Crapser drove under him to take over out front.

After that, Crapser pulled away as he drove on for his first win here this season, with Anderson second. Kaden Blaeser, after suffering mechanical issues in his heat, came charging up from the back of the pack to finish third.

Ashley Anderson led from start to finish to win the Late Model feature. He got the jump on Sam Mars to grab the initial lead and then held off challenges from A.J. Diemel, who was close the whole race but just not quite able to pull off that winning move.

A yellow at the halfway point allowed James Giossi, who has been masterful here all year, to close up on the top two from his third running spot. I thought we might see some action then, but Giossi had nothing for the top two racers. They were the dominant cars Friday.

Despite the extra feature races, the show moved along smoothly on Friday, perhaps with the threat of rain spurring the effort to keep things moving.

Saturday, August 23

Rice Lake Speedway concluded its regular season on Saturday, August 23 with season championship night. It was 23 days since the track last raced due to rainouts and scheduling quirks. The weather has been rough on the track this year, and Rice Lake certainly isn't the only one that has felt that. Rice Lake lost six nights to rain, with two other scheduled off-nights due to other local activities. That's two months of the racing season down the drain and folks, our season isn't that long to begin with. It's tough for a track to make any money when they aren't racing, as some expenses are still fixed whether you race or not.

Rice Lake is considering adding an automatic rain date for 2026 if they start losing events at the rate they did this year. Thunder City seems to make that happen, although their situation may be a unique one. Even on Saturday, with no talk of rain, they still almost lost the show when a surprise rain shower blew over the track just as the Super Stock heats were starting. They recovered the track and it did produce an awesome track for the rest of the program.

It was also Hall of Fame night at the track, held over from a previous rainout. I am involved somewhat with the Hall of Fame, so this night is always a stressor for me, but it seemed to go well. The idea Dean Kiehl had to do it right in front of the crowd was a great one; it increased the crowd interaction a great deal and allowed folks to mingle with the new inductees. A beautiful rainbow over the track as the rain ended portended a good completion of the rest of the program.

Jason Havel's father Dave was one of the inductees into the Hall on Saturday, so Jason used this opportunity to break out his Super Stock and race for the first time in 2025. He did pretty well, moving from 16th to seventh in the feature race. I'm sure that he’s upset the Supers were dropped from the Seitz this year, as he always liked to race that event and visit with family in Devils Lake.

And, as usual, when the Havels race, they always have a food spread in the pits afterward as is their tradition, and they did again Saturday.

Joe Swearingen, who also races in the Mid Mod class, made his first start in the Super Stocks. It's Swearingen’s second year in the Mid Mods but he told me that he wanted more seat time. In an effort to do that, he bought a car to race in another class. He must have a good-sized pit crew, as keeping two cars racing is quite a task. His car is a 2022 Xtreme chassis he bought from Simon Wahlstrom. He had a pretty good heat race but an early tangle during the feature ended with him headed to the pits.

Rice Lake hosts a season championship race as the last regular season event of the year. The track points ended last week and point champions were crowned, while this past Saturday drivers were lined up by their points earned during the season. And every year, no matter how much the event is publicized ahead of time, there is always one driver who seems to get bent out of shape over the format.

Personally, I think it only fair to reward those drivers that support a track by being there every week and earning track points. They should get one night where they can earn the right to start toward the front of a feature race. They still have to earn their spot by racing into a redraw position in their heat, and they still have to race in the feature against competitors. There aren’t any “give-mes.” Only one of five point champions doubled up by winning season championships, and winners tonight came from as far back as the third row, which is not much different than a normal night of draw/redraw racing.

They have been doing a season championship night as far back as when many of the area tracks were still hay fields, and if they want to do this once a year to reward their most loyal drivers, I say more power to them.

Likely the biggest story of the night was the Super Stock win by Curt Myers, which broke the long-standing record of Don Drew for most feature wins in track history in the class. Drew's record stood at 57 when he retired from racing in 2005. It was one of those track records that I never thought would be challenged, but in the last few years, Myers has really taken off.

He tied the record several weeks ago and it was most appropriate that he break it on championship night, especially after a door-to-door battle with his son Alex. His son has really progressed as a driver in the last year or so as well. That new record of 58 will certainly be bumped some before Curt hangs up his helmet.

Even though they didn't win point titles, Nick Traynor, Nick Koehler and Myers have been the dominant drivers in their class when they have been on hand. For Traynor, it was his sixth Street Stock feature win, No. 7 for Koehler in the Midwest Mods and the fourth for Myers.

Blake Adams continues to put together quite the season. His Modified feature victory marked his 31st feature win so far this year, a combination of Modified and Midwest Mod victories.

The Pure Stock class has been the most balanced of any at the track this year, with eight different winners so far in 2025. It was good to see another new driver visit victory lane in the class tonight, when rookie driver Mark Barta beat some tough competition in Austin Fencl, Eric Crosby and Jake Smith to win his first-ever feature. Barta is a veteran of ice racing and has also done some kart racing, but his Pure Stock racing this year was his first season on the dirt.

C.J. Hedges was back for his first regular season run since his scary incident earlier this year. In the hub bub of the July 3 holiday race, he was missed, but Saturday he received his money the fans contributed to him the week after his emergency episode at the track. They raised nearly $2,000 that C.J was pleased to receive.