2024 Awards Banquet
FOUNTAIN CITY (May 29) – Jack Baehman Attorney At Law was the sponsor of the night at Mississippi Thunder Speedway. But before the night was over, it was Baehman who should have been on the receiving end of his cash giveaways to those in the stands when he took a tumble in the feature after catching a rut and flipping on his lid. Baehman was not the only driver to go tires up on the night as two Mini Mods and a Hornet also did acrobatics.
Night six at the speedway looked to be a beautiful night with no chance of rain, but as the night moved on, it looked like another night may get shortened by the weather as dark clouds rolled in. A few spits here and there came down, but the night was pulled off complete; a difficult feat this season.
Fred Prudoehl bolted inside of Phil Wernert to the solo lead in the WISSOTA Street Stock feature as Kevin Hager shot to second. Out of turn four to complete the first lap was four-wide racing, and Dan Bork got out on top of the bunch for third place behind Prudoehl and Hager as Wernert drifted backwards. Kylan Gamez and Donny Ganz tore side by side while Danny Hanson, Danny Richards, and Andy Hoch raced three wide. Hager went wide out of turn four which allowed Richards and Bork to sneak ahead dropping Hager to fourth. Hanson then shot inside of Hager when Gamez joined for a three-way battle down the back stretch. Hanson came out in third place about the time Bork dropped to the infield with mechanical issues. Richards gained momentum and got within reach of Prudoehl’s huge lead while Hanson ran comfortably in third place. Hager continued to chase down Gamez who had taken over fourth behind Hanson. Richards finally was able to grab the lead from Prudoehl by the half way mark of the race, and then a caution slowed the pack when Tyler Sass was found sitting inside turn four as well as a spun car in turn two. At the same time, the track took its toll on Hager as he once again drifted pitside when the right balljoint tore out. That pushed Ganz into the top five on the restart behind Richards, Prudoehl, Hanson, and Gamez. It was a tight restart as Prudoehl was on Richards’ bumper on the green. Hanson quickly look to the low side under Prudoehl for second place. Prudoehl fought back, but Hanson eventually overcame Prudoehl and locked in second place. Gamez and Ganz ran fourth and fifth when Gamez got a bit wide in turn one which allowed Ganz the opportunity to get closer to Gamez. With four laps to go, a caution set up Richards on the point with Hanson, Prudoehl, Ganz, and Rick Lisowski in the top five. Richards pulled away to make it two in a row. Hanson, Prudoehl, Ganz, and Tyler Sass rounded out the top five.
Cautions and attrition blanketed the WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature. The first start saw Tyler Creeley spin out of turn two as he sat on the pole. Amazingly, all cars got around Creeley, and they fell into a complete restart which handed Creeley’s dad, Chris, the pole. On that complete restart, Jack Baehman caught a deep rut in turn one which sent his machine into a hard flip. Baehman was able to get out of his car and take the “mandatory 15” in the ambulance for a check over. The third try at green-flag racing had Chris Creeley lead over Shaun Walski. Leigh Volkman, Chris Gilbertson, Dalton Yohnk, Kyle Jumbeck, and Dustin Scott all bunched up for spots three through seven while Walski took the lead briefly from Creeley. Scott emerged from the big pack into third and eventually second when Creeley slipped back. A lot of movement in the top spots allowed for great racing for the fans and drivers. Walski dropped off the pace with a wobbly front right drawing a cauti! on and shortly after that another caution was in the air for Tyler Creeley’s spin. Scott had gained the lead by this time and led the restart followed by Jumbeck and Chris Creeley. Yohnk squirted under Creeley for third place while Travis Krause made a big charge into fourth place. Jumbeck checked out the berm to take the lead from Scott and went by on the back stretch, but Scott did not back down easily. Yohnk held a steady third as Krause inched his way closer when a caution for a self-spin by Creeley set up the final laps to the checkered. Jumbeck reeled in another win followed by a strong second place run by Scott. Yohnk finished a stout third followed by Krause and Pete Bushman who was able to nip the top five when Creeley spun.
Michael Hofer and Dennis Earney earned top spots to lead the WISSOTA Super Stock main event. Gary Wiersgalla moved into second from fifth place immediately and threatened Hofer for the lead. Tim Williamson held third place as Bob Fort made a beeline for fourth. Hofer dropped from first when he slid inside the tires in turn four and reentered the track in fourth place. Wiersgalla had the lead over Williamson, Fort, and Troy Langowski as the cars bounced through the corners. Fort looked to the inside of Williamson for second place as Langowski closed in on Williamson as well. Kevin Hager moved in on Hofer’s fifth place spot while fending off Earney. Wiersgalla encountered lap traffic and sauntered through as the field spread out. Wiersgalla had a near-miss when a car almost got sideways in front of him in turn four. As the cars spread out and the laps wound down, the only real challenge became Hager’s bid for Hofer’s fifth place spot as the two ran side by side. Fort! closed the gap on Wiersgalla, but in the end, it was Wiersgalla who made the trip to victory lane. Fort finished second only a couple car lengths behind Wiersgalla. Williamson capped a great run in third followed by Langowski and Hofer.
Hank Rollinger Jr. and Andy Bohnstengel manned the front row in the USRA Modified feature, but it was Rollinger who lit up the track and was a constant threat the entire race. Rollinger chose the high line as he made his path around the track, and Bob Timm followed suit as he overtook Bohnstengel for second early on. Josh Angst quickly made his way around Adam Stockhausen into fourth place when Brad Waits ducked low and into fourth place. The first caution waved for a spun car in turn one, and Rollinger hit the binders just in time to avoid a fatal blow to his car. Rollinger, Timm, Angst, Stockhausen, and Waits topped the field on the restart where three-wide racing down the front stretch turned into Rollinger in the lead followed by Timm and Waits. An excellent battle for the lead ensued between Rollinger, Timm, and Waits. Waits pulled ahead followed by Rollinger and then Timm fell off with a flat tire. A caution reeled the field back together. Waits then had to fig! ht off the hard charges of Angst, while John Doelle fought for fourth place with Stockhausen behind Rollinger. Doelle gave it his all as he moved around Rollinger and Stockhausen into third place. Waits had stretched his lead over Angst as Rollinger and Doelle raced side by side for third place. Paul Hamernik wheeled his way into the mix for fifth place and eventually stole the spot from Stockhausen. Waits continued with his big lead followed by Angst and Doelle as Hamernik shot under Rollinger and into fourth place. With one lap to go, Hamernik made one last bid for third place and was able to take Doelle on the low side. Waits logged another feature win followed by Angst in a great second place finish. Hamernik finished a strong third place followed by Doelle and Rollinger.
Hornet feature action began with five-wide racing down the front stretch as Mike Krause sailed into the lead. Johny Severtson and Kevin Laufenberg ran in second and third place while Dean Grube, Ryan Happel, and Justin Yahnke vied for fourth place. Severtson dove under Krause for the lead, when Happel and Yahnke raced side by side for fourth behind Laufenberg. Happel worked his way under Laufenberg into third place while Severtson cruised to a big lead over Krause. Happel gained some ground on Krause as Yahnke and Mark Bornitz moved ahead of Laufenberg into fourth and fifth places. As the final lap came to a close, Yahnke was near a fourth place finish, but as he rounded turn four to take the checkered, he caught a rut and cartwheeled to a stop. A red flag stopped the race, and the race was called complete with a caution/checkered flag finish. Yahnke got out of his car and took the long ride back to the pits. Severtson grabbed the win. Krause tagged second place, an! d Happel, Bornitz, and Laufenberg finished out the top five.
Mathew Schliesman charged to a bid lead in the B Mini Mod feature over Dylan Buckland. Alex Stevens and Rachel LaDuke settled into third and fourth place. Schliesman zipped into lap traffic as the others buzzed through as well. Stevens gained some ground on Buckland while LaDuke fumbled a bit through lap traffic. The top three of Schliesman, Buckland, and Stevens were able to put some distance on LaDuke. As the laps wound down, Buckland’s ride began to show some smoke. Schliesman sailed to another feature win followed by Buckland, Stevens, LaDuke, and Nicholas Wagner.
A Mini Mod feature racing began with Charlie McNally and Mac Alberts darting side by side for the lead. Alex Williamson and Jake Timm also waged a good battle for third place. Williamson moved up to the outside of Alberts and dropped his right rear just off the edge of the front stretch as he tried to steal second place from Alberts. McNally held on to his lead, and Alberts held off Williamson until Alberts ran wide in turn four. Williamson almost made the pass, but stayed in third. Once again, Alberts ran wide which allowed Williamson and Timm to zip into second and third place. Cody Gardner made the move into fourth place ahead of Alberts. McNally walked away with the win. Williamson finished a solid second while Timm beat out Gardner for third place. Alberts notched fifth place.
WISSOTA Street Stock Feature –
Danny Richards, Danny Hanson, Fred Prudoehl, Donny Ganz, Tyler Sass, Rick Lisowski, Shaun Mann, Phil Wernert, Lonnie Klonecki, Jane Keating, Andy Hoch, Toby Jahnke, Kylan Gamez, Kevin Hager, Dan Bork, Rich Theisen, Lee Hager Heat 1 – Prudoehl, Richards, Wernert, Gamez, Hoch, Lisowski, Klonecki, Keating, L. Hager Heat 2 – Hanson, Bork, Ganz, K. Hager, Sass, Jahnke, Mann, Theisen
WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature –
Kyle Jumbeck, Dustin Scott, Dalton Yohnk, Travis Krause, Pete Bushman, Chris Creeley, Leigh Volkman, Josh Appel, Chris Gilbertson, Erik Kanz, Shaun Walski, Tyler Creeley, Josh Crary, Ryan Olson, Jack Baehman, Justin Sass Heat 1 – Scott, Volkman, C. Creeley, T. Creeley, Appel, Baehman, Crary, Olson Heat 2 – Jumbeck, Yohnk, Walski, Gilbertson, Bushman, Kanz, Krause, Sass
WISSOTA Super Stock Feature –
Gary Wiersgalla, Bob Fort, Tim Williamson, Troy Langowski, Michael Hofer, Jon Duffy, Kevin Hager, Dennis Earney, Scott Rollinger, Jay Oricchio Heat 1 – Duffy, Langowski, Hofer, Earney, Rollinger Heat 2 – Wiersgalla, Fort, Hager, Williamson, Oricchio
USRA Modifieds Feature –
Brad Waits, Josh Angst, Paul Hamernik, John Doelle, Hank Rollinger, Kerry Ledebuhr, Lance Hofer, Adam Stockhausen, Roger Niederkorn, Les Jonsgaard, Bob Timm, Tom Brink, Andy Bohnstengel, Ron Britain, Jeremy Jonsgaard Heat 1 – Timm, Waits, Doelle, Rollinger, Hofer, Ledebuhr, Brink, L. Jonsgaard Heat 2 – Angst, Stockhausen, Bohnstengel, Hamernik, Niederkorn, Britain, J. Jonsgaard
Hornets Feature –
Johny Severtson, Mike Krause, Ryan Happel, Mike Bornitz, Kevin Laufenberg, Dean Grube, Rick Slawson, Ron Jablonske, Shawn Applen, Fletcher Milene, Justin Eide, Justin Yahnke, Brandon Gleiter, Leonard Hicks, Ben Passa, Robert Drydal Heat 1 –Bornitz, Laufenberg, Jablonske, Grube, Gleiter, Hicks, Slawson, Drydal Heat 2 – Severtson, Happel, Krause, Yahnke, Passa, Milene, Applen, Eide
A Mini Mods Feature –
Charlie McNally, Alex Williamson, Jake Timm, Cody Gardner, Mac Alberts, Sydney Alberts, Mike Stevens, Don Werner B Mini Mods Feature – Mathew Schliesman, Dylan Buckland, Alex Stevens, Rachel LaDuke, Nicholas Wagner, Matt Stevens, Matthew LaDuke
600 Mini Mods Feature –
Charlie McNally, Don Werner, Brett LaDuke, Joe Provenzino, Jeff Matejka, Dave Frichte
Saturday, February 22, 2025
2024 Awards Banquet
