CORN BELT CLASH LATE MODEL SPECIAL THUNDERS INTO MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY

May 14, 2010

By Tracy Hager
FOUNTAIN CITY, WI (May 14, 2010) – Sun, meet Friday. Friday, meet Sun. Shake hands and play nice! The old adage “good things come to those who wait” holds true. After three weeks of waiting, those good things were drivers, cars, and fans back at Mississippi Thunder Speedway for the first DART Cornbelt Clash Late Model eventpresented by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Winona. West Concord’s Rick Lisowski was finally crowned the Driver of the Week for the opening night. Lisowski has been competitive in the very fierce Jailhouse Saloon WISSOTA Street Stocks.

Donny Ganz gained points and some more credibility as a top contender in 2010 in the WISSOTA Street Stocks as he nailed a clean sweep in the division. Josh Angst is a man on a mission after notching his second feature win in the Rivercity manufacturing USRA Modifieds in as many nights of racing at the speedway this season.

Ben Anderson topped the field of the EngineStore.com USRA B-Mods while Chad Simpson cleared his way to victory lane in the big event of the night when the DART Cornbelt Clash Late Models waltzed into town. The DART Cornbelt Clash brought 36 contenders from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota to duke it out for the big paycheck.

Chad Simpson Collects $2000 CBC Late Model Feature!

The only topless runner Justin Kay started on the pole with Adam Hensel outside in the Cornbelt Clash Late Model feature. Chad Simpson quickly took the lead followed by Hensel. Keith Foss dipped inside of Kay for third when a caution for a spun car realigned the pack. Simpson got a great start but another caution slowed the field when John Kaanta was off the pace down the front stretch. Simpson again grabbed a big lead as Foss was up on Hensel for second. Kay held his ground in fourth place when Lance Matthees nosed in on the spot. A spin in turn four resulted in another caution as Hensel headed pitside with car troubles. Simpson assumed the lead followed by Kay, Foss, and Matthees. Foss charged to second while Jake Redetzke closed in on Kay’s third place spot. As the drivers manhandled their machines on a less than perfect track after the immense rains, they were finally able to string several laps together as they wailed around the oval. Simpson continued his dominance over Foss, Kay, and Redetzke. Chris Simpson had worked his way into fifth place from his 12th place start when Redetzke briefly jumped Foss for second. Foss was able to move up on Chad Simpson’s bumper as they began their journey through lap traffic. A caution reeled them all back in and set them up with no lap traffic in between. With eight laps to go, Chad Simpson held Foss and the rest behind him. The final caution flew when Brad Waits spun between turns three and four. Eric Pember crashed hard into Waits eliminating them both from competition. Chad Simpson endured the long haul as he cashed in on the $2,000 check. Foss was able to secure second followed by Chris Simpson, Jason Raun, and Redetzke.

Ganz Gains at Mississippi Thunder Speedway

Donny Ganz used his heat two winning stance to set himself up on pole for the WISSOTA Street Stock feature. Mondovi’s Richard Weir pulled up outside pole as the race went to green. Four-wide racing through turn two set up a green-to-checkered marathon as Ganz quickly got chased by Danny Richards for the lead. Dan Bork, Danny Hanson, and Fred Prudoehl darted into the top five. Richards reeled in Ganz while Hanson moved in to challenge Bork for third. Hanson and Bork raced side by side before Hanson shot under Bork for the spot. Bork shot right back as Ganz kept hold of the reigns out front. Richards once again closed in on Ganz for the lead as they ran side by side when lap traffic got into the equation. Hanson put Bork back to third as the laps wound down. With two laps to go, Ganz was able to put a little distance on the field and grab the win. Danny Richards finished a strong second followed by Hanson, Bork, and Tommy Richards.

Anderson Advances to Victory Lane

It took a couple tries to get the USRA B-Mod feature in full swing, and when they did, Andrew Kelly was quickly challenged by Tyler Groenendyk from Oskaloosa, Iowa. Kelly and Groenendyk raced side by side for the lead, but it was Kelly who finished lap one in front. Brandon Hare ran hard in third ahead of Ben Anderson before Anderson, Hare, and Kelly raced three-wide down the front stretch for second place. Anderson ducked under Hare for second and moved on to pick off the leader. Anderson made his move on Groenendyk for the lead which left Groenendyk to fight off Hare and Kelly. Lap traffic came into play for Anderson, but he was able to slink through virtually unnoticed. A caution with two laps to go reset the field and gave Hare his chance to overtake Anderson for the win. Anderson was able to pull off the win and clean sweep in commanding style followed by Hare, Brian Schrage, Tyler Groenendyk, and Ben Moudry.

Angst Makes it Two-In-A-Row

The green flag turned into three-wide for the lead in the USRA Modified feature. Lance Hofer made a lightning bolt move to the lead, but along with the lightning bolt came the storm as his machine poofed a big cloud and was immediately shut down resulting in the first caution. Ryan York assumed the lead in the complete restart with John Doelle outside front row. Leroy Scharkey and Bob Timm charged for third and fourth spots while four-wide racing ensued mid-pack. A second caution flew when Doelle spun in turn four and collected Timm. York once again took the point on the restart when Josh Angst flew into second place over Chris Gilbertson and Timm. Angst had smoothly sailed through the pack and just as smoothly shot past York for the lead. Timm eventually dropped from competition due to mechanical injuries suffered in the earlier mishap which allowed Hank Rollinger Jr. and Jay Ihrke moving room as the two zipped into the top five. As Angst tore away from the bunch, Ihrke took over second from York as Rollinger dealt with Gilbertson for fourth place. Angst was the mover as he went from an 11th place start to victory lane making him two for two this season. Ihrke’s season is off to a great start as he finished a stout second followed by York, Rollinger, and Gilbertson.

Wagner Wins

Nicholas Wagner from Trempealeau, Wisconsin led from flag to flag in the opener for the Junior Mini Mods. Garrett Koster and Jackson Hale closed in on Wagner a few times, but Wagner proved to be too strong. On the last lap, as Hale made a move for second place, he spun in turn four. Koster went into a spin to avoid Hale. Matthew Stevens was not so lucky and ran into Hale. Wagner logged the win over Koster and Stevens.

Wonderful Win for Williamson

In the Senior Mini Mods, Alex Williamson also led flag to flag. Williamson took a considerable lead right away. Mike Stevens worked on his cousin Alex Stevens for second, but Mike Stevens slipped inside too far and fell back to fourth. Dylan Buckland made a hard charge on Brandon Reutzel and spun the two which brought out a caution. Williamson held his ground and won the main followed by Reutzel, Alex Stevens, Mike Stevens, and Dylan Buckland.

The next event will be Friday, May 21 with all regular classes including WISSOTA Street Stocks, WISSOTA Super Stocks, USRA B-Mods, USRA Modifieds, 600 Mini Mods, and the Junior and Senior Mini Mods. Racing begins at 6 p.m. for the Mini Mods and 7 p.m. for all other classes.

May 14th RESULTS

Corn Belt Clash Late Model Series

A-Main Feature - Chad Simpson, Keith Foss, Chris Simpson, Jason Raun, Jake Redetzke, Justin Kay, Dave Eukrich, Jake Meier, Marshal Fegers, Justin Mitchell, Kevin Kile, Jason Utter, Eric Pember, Brad Waits, Lance Matthees, Kurt Kile, Darin Burco, Todd Frank, Adam Hensel, Doug Herrick, Nick Herrick, Justin Fegers, John Kaanta, Justin Sass
B-Feature #2 (Top six Transfer to A-Main Feature) - Kaanta, Pember, Utter, Burco, Frank, Mitchell, Hillson, Haukom, Jumbeck, Hansen, Ludemann, Brueggeman
B-Feature #1 (Top six Transfer to A-Main Feature) - Sass, Eukrich, Kurt Kile, Kevin Kile, N. Herrick, Waits, Smock, Kramer, Peterson, Yaggy, Oertel, Wehrs
Heat 1 (Top three Transfered Directly to A-Main Feature) - Hensel, J. Fegers, Raun, Oertel, Sass, Smock, Peterson, N. Herrick, Frank
Heat 2 (Top three Transfered Directly to A-Main Feature) - Kay, M. Fegers, D. Herrick, Kaanta, Brueggeman, Pember, Burco, Jumbeck, Kramer
Heat 3 (Top three Transfered Directly to A-Main Feature) - Redetzke, Chad Simpson, Foss, Waits, Eukrich, Kurt Kile, Yaggy, Haukom, Wehrs
Heat 4 (Top three Transfered Directly to A-Main Feature) - Matthees, Chris Simpson, Meier, Hansen, Hillson, Mitchell, Ludemann, Kevin Kile, Utter

River City Manufacturing USRA Modifieds

Feature - Josh Angst, Jay Ihrke, Ryan York, Hank Rollinger, Jr., Chris Gilbertson, Colt Mather, Zack VanderBeek, LeRoy Scharkey, Lucas Schott, Bryan Hessler, Kevin Viebrock, Troy Langowski, Andy Bohnstengel, John Doelle, Phil Wernert, Randy Jonsgaard, Les Jonsgaard, Bob Timm, Les Duellman, Lance Hofer, Adam Stockhausen, Paul Hamernik, Ron Konkel
Heat 1 - Angst, Ihrke, Timm, Mather, Stockhausen, Bohnstengel, R. Jonsgaard, VanderBeek
Heat 2 - Hofer, Hessler, York, Rollinger, Duellman, Schott, Hamernik, L. Jonsgaard
Heat 3 - Gilbertson, Doelle, Scharkey, Viebrock, Wernert, Langowski, Konkel

The Engine Store.com USRA B Mods

Feature - Ben Anderson, Brandon Hare, Brian Schrage, Tyler Groenendyk, Ben Moudry, Erik Kanz, Eric Verthein, Chad Kosidowski, Parker Hale, Jack Baehman, Tyler Creeley, Andrew Kelly, Jake Timm, Barry Johnson, Jimmy Broszel, Ed Appel, Brian Mahlstedt, Greg Mitchell
Heat 1 - Anderson, Appel, Kosidowski, Verthein, Timm, Creeley, Hare, Baehman, Mahlstedt
Heat 2 - Kelly, Moudry, Groenendyk, Schrage, Mitchell, Johnson, Broszel, Hale, Kanz

Jailhouse Saloon WISSOTA Street Stocks

Feature - Donny Ganz, Danny Richards, Danny Hanson, Dan Bork, Tommy Richards, Fred Prudoehl, Rick Lisowski, Shaun Mann, Kevin Hager, David Smith, Ryan Henderson, Richard Weir, Lee Hager, Ashley Husby, Lonnie Klonecki, Michael Knudtson
Heat 1 - Hanson, D. Richards, Bork, T. Richards, Mann, Smith, K. Hager, Knudtson
Heat 2 - Ganz, Prudoehl, Weir, Lisowski, Henderson, Husby, L. Hager, Klonecki

RedBox+ A Mini Mods

Feature - Alex Williamson, Brandon Reutzel, Alex Stevens, Mike Stevens, Dylan Buckland, Jack Koster
Heat - Williamson, A. Stevens, M. Stevens, Koster, Buckland, Reutzel

RedBox+ B Mini Mods

Feature - Nicholas Wagner, Garrett Koster, Matthew Stevens, Einke, Jackson Hale, Spencer Ihrke, Hendrik Welti
Heat - Wagner, Koster, Hale, Stevens, Welti, Ihrke