Entertaining Opening Weekend Concludes at Cedar Lake Speedway
New Richmond, WI (4-10-10)
by Greg Parent
Fantastic early spring weather continued for the second night of racing on opening weekend at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday April 10. Great racing action in all four NASCAR divisions kept the fans entertained with another stout field of 97 cars on hand. When the 16-event program wrapped up, one driver had repeated while three new winners also graced Victory Lane following the feature races.
The only driver to earn a clean-sweep of feature race action on opening weekend was Dan Gullikson in the NASCAR Pro Stock division. Gullikson drove past race-long leader Donnie Lofdahl on lap fourteen and led the final seven circuits to cap off a super weekend for the Stacy, MN driver. Dan Wheeler held off a determined Bob Smith and Jeff Marshall to earn the victory in a very good NASCAR Midwest Modified main event. Joey Jensen showed that his Friday night run forward from 23rd to 6th was just a prelude to his Saturday night performance, as Jensen topped another strong field of NASCAR Modifieds to garner his first win of the season. Like Jensen, John Kaanta had a great run forward on Friday night from 18th to 5th in the NASCAR Late Model feature race. On Saturday night, the veteran Elk Mound driver found himself in a much better starting position (4th), and eventually Kaanta raced his way past leader Darrell Nelson on lap 22 enroute to the win in a very entertaining 30 lap finale.
Looking for a clean-sweep of opening weekend feature race action, Jeff Marshall would start from the seventh position for the 20 lap NASCAR Midwest Modified main event. Mike Gibson and Mike Mueller brought the 24 car field to the green, but the yellow blinked on quickly for a turn one spin by Jake Miller. On the restart, Gibson grabbed the early lead over fourth starter Dan Wheeler and E J Heitala. Just four laps into the race, Wheeler got around Gibson for the top spot while Marshall and Bob Smith moved up to fourth and fifth. A second caution slowed the pace with five laps in for a Jason Meyer spin. A twelve lap green flag run would provide fans with some exciting racing for the top spots.
With Wheeler at the helm, Marshall and Smith continued their march forward. On lap eight, they moved by Gibson for second and third and began closing in on the leader. As the laps clicked by under green, Marshall and Smith battled for the runner-up spot just behind Wheeler. Marshall caught up to Wheeler and the race was on for the lead with Smith a close third. The third and final caution waved when A J Roschen stalled on the backstretch and needed wrecker assistance with seventeen laps in. This set the stage for a thrilling three lap dash to the checkers. Smith got by Marshall on the restart and closed in on Wheeler. Wheeler held off a determined charge by Smith over the final two laps to earn the victory with Marshall close behind in third. Mike Gibson ran a solid race to finish fourth ahead of 10th starter Clayton Wagamon in fifth. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Robbie Franklin, E J Heitala, defending track champion Jason Vandekamp from 17th, Bryan Siercks, and Grant Southworth. Heat race wins went to Franklin, Siercks and Wheeler.
Dan Gullikson was also looking for a clean-sweep during the opening weekend, but he would have to come from his ninth starting spot to accomplish that feat in the 20 lap NASCAR Pro Stock feature race. Donnie Lofdahl and Jeff Heintz occupied row one when the green flag flew. The yellow replaced the green rather quickly, as rookie driver John Olson spun on the backstretch. On the restart, Lofdahl blasted to the lead trailed by Shawn Kammerud, Cory Davis, and Gullikson already up to fourth after just one lap. The race was under yellow again for a Ryan Wiome spin after just one lap. Davis got by Kammerud for second at the conclusion of lap two, but the third and final yellow blinked on for debris in turn two. Once track safety workers retrieved a spring from the track, the race was under the green flag again. Lofdahl showed the way up front while the battle raged behind him. Gullikson moved to third on lap three, and he then got by Davis for second on lap five. The Steve Polich owned DIRT 1 car was on the move forward, as Gullikson began to track down the leader.
With Gullikson slowly reeling in Lofdahl, a tremendous race for several positions behind them was taking place. Moving forward from his 11th starting spot, Tim Borgeson raced past Kammerud for fourth on lap five. Kammerud, Mike Loomis and Rich Bishop proceeded to put on a great race for the fifth spot for many laps. Soon Gullikson had closed in on Lofdahl and began to apply the pressure while Davis and Borgeson raced for third. On lap fourteen, Gullikson was finally able to move past Lofdahl and into the lead. Two laps later, Davis got by Lofdahl for second. With the checkered flag flying, Dan Gullikson went on to record his second straight feature victory on opening weekend. On his cool down lap, the driveshaft in Gullikson's car broke and he coasted into Victory Lane. Cory Davis, Donnie Lofdahl, and Tim Borgeson finished behind Gullikson. Mike Loomis won the torrid battle for fifth ahead of Rich Bishop and Shawn Kammerud. Completing the top ten finishers were Cody Campeau, Justin Dodge and Jeff Heintz. Heat race winners included Bishop and Davis.
Another top-quality field of NASCAR Modifieds were on hand to vie for the win. Defending track champion Darrell Nelson would have to come from the back of the 27-car starting grid in the A Main after a breakdown in his heat race earlier in the evening. Pat Hoffman and 2009 Legendary 100 champion Ron Schreiner brought the field to life, as the open wheel modifieds thundered into turn one. Schreiner blasted into the early lead followed by Dave Lear and Jason Miller. When the first caution flew for a Cory Crapser spin with five laps in, Joey Jensen had moved from 9th to 4th already. Jensen got by Miller the next lap and then moved past Lear for second on lap seven. The yellow blinked on again when Shaun Kelley spun and collected Al Stettner in turn two with eight laps in. This put Jensen right behind Schreiner on the restart and set the stage for a good battle up front.
As Jensen raced Schreiner for the lead, Jason Miller got by Lear for third on lap nine. By the midway point of the race, Darrell Nelson was on the moved forward in a big way! Nelson was eleventh. Scott Duvall suddenly appeared in the top five and raced past Lear for fourth on lap 13. The battle up front between Schreiner and Jensen was a good one with Jensen getting past Schreiner for the lead one lap later. The yellow waved for the third time with fourteen laps in when Cory Crapser slowed on the backstretch and dropped out of the race. It was Jensen, Schreiner, Miller, Duvall and Lear in the top five on the restart with Nelson up to eighth. Duvall dashed past Miller on lap fifteen for third while Nelson passed three cars in just one lap to run fifth. On lap 17, Jason Miller suddenly slowed in turn three and pulled to the high side in turn four. Miller was out of the race with a breakdown while running fourth. Over the final three lap sprint to the checkers, Joey Jensen held off Ron Schreiner for the win. Scott Duvall, Darrell Nelson from 27th, and Keith Tourville rounded out the top five. Contact on the final lap in turn four between Tourville and Dave Lear saw Tourville spin to the infield. Track officials called the caution on Lear, thus giving Tourville the fifth spot in the final finishing order. Completing the top ten in the final rundown were Terry Hanson, Andy Jones, Friday night winner Jason Gross, Craig Brightbill and Rick Kobs. Kobs, Schreiner and Duvall won the heats.
The final race of the weekend featured 24 high-powered NASCAR Super Late Models for 30 racing laps. Eric Breeschoten and Darrell Nelson paced the talented field, as it was about to get loud and lively! Nelson, who had just raced his modified from 27th to 4th, immediately drove away from the field when the green flag flew. Following Nelson was Breeschoten, John Kaanta, defending and 13-time track champion Rick Egersdorf, and Marshall Fegers. The battle behind the leaders for fourth was a good one in the opening laps between Egersdorf, Fegers and Pat Doar. Fegers got to fourth in a couple of laps with Doar and Egersdorf close behind, and often times alongside the young speedster from Mound, MN. Encountering some lapped traffic on lap 9, Kaanta moved past Breeschoten for second one lap later as did Fegers. Nelson still held a comfortable lead when the first caution blinked on with eleven laps in. The caution was unfortunately for fourth place Eric Breeschoten, as he spun in turn four. This allowed the field to close in on Nelson, and the battle for the lead would get very interesting.
Pat Doar got by Fegers for third on the restart and closed in on Kaanta with Nelson just ahead of them. Chad Mahder got by Egersdorf for fifth one lap later. With the lead pack approaching Scott Meeds, Meeds looped his car in turn four right in front of the leaders to bring out the caution with sixteen laps in. It was a close call, but all cars avoided Meeds. Kaanta raced hard with Nelson for the lead when the green replaced the yellow while Doar and Fegers battled right behind them. The third and final caution waved with 20 laps in when Adam Hensel slowed in turn four. Hensel drove to the work area, but he did not return to the race. A great battle for the top spots would be waged over the final ten laps.
Kaanta raced side-by-side with Nelson for a couple of laps while Fegers regained the third spot from Doar. On lap 22, Kaanta slipped underneath Nelson exiting turn four to grab a narrow lead at the line. Nelson fought back, but Kaanta's car was very strong on the bottom. Fegers also took a peak at the lead duo on occasion with Doar alongside. Kaanta opened up a small lead in the closing laps, as the Elk Mound master and 1983-84 CLS street stock track champion drove to his first victory of the season. Darrell Nelson held strong in second ahead of Marshall Fegers and Pat Doar. Rick Egersdorf got back by Chad Mahder for fifth just two laps from the finish. Joel Cryderman from 12th, Rick Hanestad, Mike Nutzmann, and Friday night winner Lance Matthees completed the top ten. Matthees started 19th after winning the B Main. Heat race winners in the 29 car field included Doar, Egersdorf and Nelson.
Racing action returns to the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday night April 17 with NASCAR and track points set to get underway in the four weekly divisions. Be sure and catch all the racing action in the NASCAR Midwest Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Modifieds and Late Models at the popular western Wisconsin facility. Racing is slated to start at 6:00 PM. For more information or to purchase tickets for upcoming special events, please visit our website at www.cedarlakespeedway.com or call 1-800-4CLS-FUN.
