Large Crowd for School Bus Night at Cedar Lake Speedway
(Rare Sunday Show A Night of Firsts for Bazey and Mass)
New Richmond, WI
by Greg Parent (5-15-11)
Following a rain out on Saturday night, the Cedar Lake Speedway hosted the 7th Annual School Bus Race Night. This yearly May tradition is very popular with the local area high school students, as teachers from six area schools participated in a series of bus races during the evening. With a large crowd on hand for a rare Sunday night race program at CLS, the NASCAR Pro Stocks and Midwest Modifieds were also part of the event in addition to the NVRA vintage cars. The Sunday evening program also proved to be a night of firsts for a couple of drivers. Josh Bazey from Luck, WI recorded his first-ever Cedar Lake Speedway feature victory in the Midwest Modified division in what proved to be an outstanding race. Although Dave Mass from Brainerd, MN has won feature races at Cedar Lake Speedway in the past, Mass had never driven to victory in the Pro Stock (Super Stock) division at the popular 3/8 mile western Wisconsin dirt oval until tonight.
With many fans on hand to watch the popular School Bus Race Night, a total of seven buses were ready to do battle. Six of them were driven by local high school teachers while the final bus was piloted by "Wildman" Clay Gallagher. The local area schools paint and prepare their buses ahead of time in pursuit of a championship title. The New Richmond High School bus driven by Ken Bessac topped the Amery bus driven by Jason Goucker in the first heat. On the opening lap of the second heat, the Amery bus rolled over entering turn three after contact with another bus. Jason Goucker was okay and quickly hopped into the Cedar Lake bus driven by Clay Gallagher. The powerful Osceola High School bus driven by veteran bus racer Brian Meyer went on to record the win in the second heat followed by the Somerset High School bus with Eric Olson behind the wheel. In the main event for the school buses, the New Richmond High School bus prevailed in the 12-lap bump-and-bang feature followed by the Somerset High School bus, Osceola High School bus, Baldwin-Woodville bus driven by Kyle Miller, and the Unity High School bus with Andy Beaver behind the wheel. The Amery High School makeshift CLS bus dropped out of the race while the "Wildman" attempted unsuccessfully to roll the second CLS bus. The local New Richmond High School earned bragging rights until next year to round out an entertaining evening.
A 32 car NASCAR Midwest Modified field saw 2009 track champion Jason Vandekamp, Eric Herbison and Josh Bazey take the top spots in each of the 10 lap heat races. Kevin Marlette won the 12 lap B Main, setting the stage for the 24 car feature event for what would prove to be 20 exciting laps. Josh Bazey and Ryan Olson brought the field to the green, but the yellow blinked on for a spin in turn one by Zach Stewart. A complete restart was in order, and Bazey bolted into the early lead over Olson, Tony Schill and Mike Kyllonen. Another caution for a car slowing in turn four slowed the pace with two laps in. Bazey continued to lead Olson, as the two ran close together.
When the third caution flew for a spin by Andy Nelson with 8 laps scored, Bazey and Olson were still battling for the lead with Robbie Franklin, Scott Splittstoesser and Vandekamp swapping the 3-5 positions. A ten lap green flag run saw things get very interesting up front, as 10th starter Vandekamp worked his way forward to third behind the leaders and closed in. With a great three car battle for the lead lap after lap, the crowd's attention was focused up front. Several times Olson made a bid for the lead that would come up just short with Vandekamp in the mix too. Just as the three lead cars exited turn four to take the white flag, Kyle Matuska looped his car in turn two. This set the stage for a thrilling two lap dash to the checkers. Once again Olson looked to duck under Bazey on each of the final two circuits, but the young Luck, WI driver held firm up top on the cushion and Olson ran him clean. Josh Bazey went on to record his very first Midwest Modified feature win at the Cedar Lake Speedway, and the third over all in his career. Olson settled for a close second just ahead of Vandekamp. Robbie Franklin finished fourth and young Jordan Hessler grabbed the fifth spot on the final lap. A close finish for sixth saw official scoring award the position to Dan Wheeler over Scott Splittstoesser. Rounding out the top ten were Schill, Herbison, and Dave Siercks.
A strong field of 21 NASCAR Pro Stocks survived a couple of heat races, which were won by Shawn Nolan and Adam Ayotte, and all 21 cars started their 20 lap feature. The feature event was plagued with cautions for spins and accidents. Front row starters Dave Mass and Jake Hiatt brought the field to the green. The race actually ran eight straight laps before the first of many cautions slowed the pace. With Mass out front and opening night winner Cory Davis in second, the next three spots traded hands on several occasions as the race was under yellow on six different occasions over the next six laps.
Davis continued to pressure Mass for the lead on each restart, but Mass withstood each challenge. A four lap green flag run brought the race up to the 18 lap mark before another caution flew for a spin. On the restart, an accident in turn one caused heavy damage to the cars driven by Adam Ayotte and Frank Fabio. The final two lap dash to the checkers saw Dave Mass hold off Cory Davis for the win. It was Mass' first-ever Pro Stock win at the track. Lyle Archambeau, 13th starter Devin Neske, and 10th starter Shawn Nolan completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten finishers were late model racer Toby Patchen, 2009 rookie fo the year Shawn Kammerud, Jim Gullikson, Jeff Heintz, and Justin Stahl.
In Northern Vintage Racing Association action, Sonny VanWilgen and Ken Varing topped the full body division races while Dennis Olson and Keith Lepinski raced to victory in the super modified class. A total of 19 NVRA cars were on hand. The NVRA vintage cars will return to the Cedar Lake Speedway later this season for the 11th Annual Jerry Richert Memorial on Saturday September 10.
Racing next Saturday night May 21 at the Cedar Lake Speedway will see a big event termed the Triple Crown take place. Local area late models will compete for $3,000 to win their feature while the mighty IRA 410 Outlaw sprint cars will also race for $3,000 to win. The NASCAR Midwest Modifieds will be part of the race program as well. A strong field of late models is expected to be on hand with many of the area's top runners in the field along with several cars from just outside the immediate area. Racing gets underway at 6:00 PM at the Legendary Cedar Lake Speedway. Race fans are encouraged to come out to the track early and BBQ in the vast camping and parking area or camp overnight. Camping is free for this event. For more information, please visit our website at www.cedarlakespeedway.com or call 1-866-4CLS-FUN. See you at the Triple Crown!
