Six Different Drivers Win Features at the Cheese Curd Cup
For the third week in a row not only rain but severe weather threatened the racing program here, but Mother Nature cooperated just enough to make sure racing would take place for the running of the sixth annual Cheese Curd Cup.
Six divisions took to the track tonight with two drivers, Lincoln Cain (Legends) and Gracie Flanagan (HSRA) taking home track championships. Both drivers also won their respective feature races with Flanagan taking the checkered flag in the two HSRA main events. Other winners included Karter Stark (Midwest Dash), Soren Johnson (Bandits), Chase Wangsness (Crown Vics), and Dylan Klinger (6Shooters).
The speedway would like to thank Tim’s Detailing for his supporting the HSRA event tonight
Flanagan Makes History at Madison
With her track championship in the Finishline Towing High School Racing Association, Gracie Flanagan becomes the first female track champion and winningest female driver in speedway history at Madison. After last year’s runner-up finish, Flanagan left no doubt as she won six feature races in a row. She now has nine HSRA wins which puts her on top of the all-time standings in the division.
She totaled 642 points to lead Kennedy Krueger (581) and Lillian Estenson (356) in the points race. Krueger won the championships in ’24 and ’25.
First Madison Title for Cain
Lincoln Cain won his first-ever track championship at Madison in a points battle that came down to the final race of the season. Fueled by three wins, Cain totaled 620 points which put him twenty four ahead of Cael Slater (596). Carter Stein finished in third with 542 points. Bentley Thompson was Rookie of the Year.
Cain becomes only the fifth different driver (Blake Brown, Max McNamara, Andy Jones, Cory Talaska) to win a track championship at Madison since 2007. The last time a champion was recognized was in 2014 when Cory Talaska took the honors.
Lincoln Cain Holds Off Cael Slater for Legends Victory
For the third time this year and the sixth in his career at Madison, Lincoln Cain picked up the checkered flag for the Slater Racing Legends and in doing so took home a clean sweep. This feature event was #100 for the Legends racing at Madison.
Tyler Edmundson and Dalton Lee led the field to the green flag. Edmundson had a slight lead after the first lap. On lap 3 they were side by side with Lee taking the lead. On lap 7 Lincoln Cain moved up to fourth and kept going forward quickly up to second one lap later.
Lee and Cain began pulling away from the pack and with ten laps to go had a three second lead over the third place car of Cael Slater. With eight laps to go Cain had taken the lead just before the caution flag waved for a spin back in the pack thus taking away the big lead for the top two.
For the restart, Cain lined up inside Lee on the front row followed by Slater and Carter Stein. Cain got a great restart and moved back to the lead followed by Slater, Stein, and Lee.
From there it was Cain and Slater pulling away from the pack with Cain maintaining the top spot and never looking back on his way to his way to victory lane and a track championship. Completing the top five behind Cain and Slater were Stein, Lee, and Bentley Thompson.
Lincoln Cain was fast qualifier with a lap of 13.719 (65.602 mph). Trevor Lami and Cain won the heat races.
A Clean Sweep for Gracie Flanagan
Gracie Flanagan capped off an amazing year by getting a clean sweep tonight in the HSRA. Flanagan won all six feature races this year in the division enroute to her track championship.
La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway track champion Alivia Moore and Kennedy Krueger started in the front row for the first feature and battled side by side as Flanagan waited patiently for an opportunity to pass. Her opportunity would come on lap 6 when she was able to get to the inside of Krueger to take the lead.
As Krueger and Moore continued their battle for second it allowed Flanagan to build a big lead and advance directly to victory lane for the fifth time in five tries this year.
It was much the same in the second feature as Flanagan picked up the win in the twelve lap event.
Lillie Estenson and Krueger brought the field to the green flag with Krueger grabbing the early lead while Estenson and Alivia Moore were racing for second. Moore won the battle for second and now set her sights on the leader.
She was able to get by Krueger on lap 5 which allowed Flanagan to move up to second. Flanagan took the lead on lap 3 and led the rest of the way to pick up the win with Moore finishing second.
Flanagan was presented with a Cheese Curd Cup compliments of Tim’s Detailing.
She also set a new track record in qualifying with a lap of 15.809 (56.930 mph)
Karter Stark Back in Victory Lane at Madison
Stark won the 30 lap feature for the Midwest Dash Series. For Stark, the track holder, it was his fifth “Dash” style car win at Madison.
Anna Price Malouf and Mason Zerwinski, who was making his first appearance at Madison, paced the field to the green flag with the caution flag coming out on the second lap when several cars tangled coming out of turn one.
Price Malouf led the field back to the green flag followed by Tim Anderson and Phil Malouf. On lap 5 Tim Anderson powered by to take the point with Stark close behind. On lap 9 the leaders caught lapped traffic which allowed Stark to take advantage as he vaulted to the lead over Anderson and quickly jumped out to a six car length lead.
On lap 12 Mark English passed Anderson for second coming out of turn one. At the half-way mark it was Stark, English, Malouf, Justin Schelitzche, and Kyle Riedner.
Stark continued to work his way around lapped traffic with English doing everything to keep him in his sights. With five laps to go Stark had increased his lead over the field to more than 15 car lengths. It was no contest from there as Stark sprinted to victory lane.
Rounding out the top five were Riedner, Anderson, and Schelitzche.
Stark set fast time with a lap of 13.990.(64.332 mph). Anderson and Riedner won the heat races.
Dylan Klinger Makes It Look Easy in 6Shooter Win
For the second time in a row and fourth time this season, Dylan Klinger took home the checkered flag for the Roto Rooter 6Shooters. The three time track champion now has fourteen career wins on the Ring of Fire.
Starting from the outside of the first row, Dylan Klinger wasted no time getting out to the lead. From there it was everyone else trying to catch the leader. Rookie Nick Lorenz seemed to have the best shot. Only a caution flag was going to slow down Klinger and unfortunately for the competition it never came to fruition.
Lorenz, who was trying for his first feature win at Madison, finished second followed by Easton Riedner, Noah Karr, and Colin McKeown.
Heat race winners were Colin McKeown and Randy Grancorvitz.
Soren Johnson Best of the Bandits
Johnson won the 25 lap feature for the Bandits. It was his first-ever win at Madison as he now enters the record book as the 32nd different driver to win at Bandit feature here.
Ryan Oetzel grabbed the early lead from the start with Glen Bush Jr. taking the second spot and eventually the lead on lap 5. Moving up through the field was Johnson who was up to second on lap 6 as the three cars of Bush Jr., Johnson, and Oetzel separated themselves from the rest of the field.
With eight laps to go Johnson successfully worked his way to the inside of Bush Jr. and took the lead and opened up a three car length lead with Oetzel a distant third. Johnson would continue to lead the rest of the way to pick up the win followed by Bush Jr., Oetzel, Miguel Baladez Jr., and Abe Bires.
Soren Johnson was fast qualifier with a lap of 15.289 (58.866 mph). Heat races were won by Miguel Baladez Jr. and Glen Bush Jr.
Crown Vic Clean Sweep for Chase Wangsness
Wangsness took the lead with three laps to go and won the 20 feature race for the Crown Vics.
Carli Lenz and Elliot Rehm brought the field to the green flag with Rehm jumping out to the early lead. Rehm opened up a ten car length lead with Wangsness in second. By the half way mark, Wangsness was starting to cut into Rehm’s lead.
Rehm’s advantage would disappear when the caution flag came out on lap 14 for fluids on the track. On the restart, he was able to continue to lead but was now under heavy pressure from Wangsness and Elliott Hawkins. The three leaders got together on lap 16 bringing out the caution flag thus sending them to the pack of the field and giving the lead to Lenz.
Lenz led the field back to green and got out to the lead before Wangsness powered by on the outside to take the lead and cruise to victory. Rehm finished second followed by Hawkins and Lenz.
Fast qualifier was Chase Wangsness with a lap of 15.537 (57.926 mph). He also won the heat race.
Next Friday night at Madison it’s the ARCA Menards Series Atlas 200. Advanced tickets are on sale for just $20 at all area Menards stores. The Midwest Dash Series will also be in action taking on Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile.
Results
Slater Racing Legends Qualifying
1. 5C-Lincoln Cain, 13.7190; 2. 11L-Cael Slater, 13.7210; 3. 18L-Ryan Laatsch, 13.8810; 4. 11T-Carter Stein, 13.9350; 5. 69L-Devon Lee, 13.9530; 6. 22T-Bentley Thompson, 13.9710; 7. D1L-Dalton Lee, 13.9760; 8. 21E-Tyler Edmundson, 13.9850; 9. 21L-Trevor Lami, 14.0370; 10. 80H-Art Hahn, 14.1090; 11. 115G-Aaron Genske, 14.1560; 12. 126K-Gage Kubicz, 14.1720; 13. 13S-Michael Sina, 14.5000
Legends – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 21L-Trevor Lami, East Troy, WI [4], 2. 115G-Aaron Genske, Pardeeville, WI [2], 3. D1L-Dalton Lee, Hustler, WI [6], 4. 80H-Art Hahn, Hartford, WI [3], 5. 21E-Tyler Edmundson, Johnson Creek, WI [5], 6. 126K-Gage Kubicz, Whitewater, WI [1], 7. 13S-Michael Sina, Whitewater, WI [7]
Legends – Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 5C-Lincoln Cain, Slinger, WI [6], 2. 18L-Ryan Laatsch, Beloit, WI [4], 3. 69L-Devon Lee, New Lisbon, WI [2], 4. 11L-Cael Slater, Hayward, WI [5], 5. 11T-Carter Stein, Germantown, WI [3], 6. 22T-Bentley Thompson, West Salem, WI [1]
Legends – Feature 20 Laps
1. 5C-Lincoln Cain, Slinger, WI [7], 2. 11L-Cael Slater, Hayward, WI [8], 3. 11T-Carter Stein, Germantown, WI [5], 4. 13S-Michael Sina, Whitewater, WI [13], 5. 18L-Ryan Laatsch, Beloit, WI [6], 6. 21E-Tyler Edmundson, Johnson Creek, WI [1], 7. 21L-Trevor Lami, East Troy, WI [9], 8. 22T-Bentley Thompson, West Salem, WI [3], 9. 69L-Devon Lee, New Lisbon, WI [4], 10. 80H-Art Hahn, Hartford, WI [10], 11. 115G-Aaron Genske, Pardeeville, WI [11], 12. 126K-Gage Kubicz, Whitewater, WI [12], 13. D1L-Dalton Lee, Hustler, WI [2]
HSRA Qualifying
1.73F-Gracie Flanagan, 15.8090; 2. 19M-Alivia Moore, 15.8170; 3. 19E-Lillian Estenson, 15.9430; 4. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger, 16.1070
HSRA – Feature 1 15 Laps
1. 73F-Gracie Flanagan, Oregon, WI [4], 2. 19M-Alivia Moore, Sparta, WI [3], 3. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger, Sparta, WI [1], 4. 19E-Lillian Estenson, Whitehall, WI [2]
HSRA – Feature 2 0 Laps
1. 73F-Gracie Flanagan, Oregon, WI [4], 2. 19M-Alivia Moore, Sparta, WI [3], 3. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger, Sparta, WI [2], 4. 19E-Lillian Estenson, Whitehall, WI [1]
Midwest Dash Qualifying
1. 92S-Karter Stark, 13.9900; 2. 17D-Mark Dewey, 14.1120; 3. 116R-Kyle Riedner, 14.1830; 4. 14S-Justin Schelitzche, 14.2010; 5. 57E-Mark English, 14.2610; 6. 19H-John Handeland, 14.3030; 7. 32M-Phil Malouf, 14.3190; 8. 27A-Tim Anderson, 14.4920; 9. 64PM-Anna Price Malouf, 14.5560; 10. 35Z-Morgan Zerwinski, 14.8640; 11. 45W-Jeremy Whitman, 14.8650; 12. 10D-Steve Dickson, 14.9850; 13. 647P-Julia Pirog, 15.7630
Midwest Dash – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 27A-Tim Anderson, Pittsville, WI [5], 2. 10D-Steve Dickson, Rockton, IL [1], 3. 35Z-Morgan Zerwinski, West Bend, WI [3], 4. 64PM-Anna Price Malouf, Manitowish Waters, WI [4], 5. 45W-Jeremy Whitman, Milwaukee, WI [2], 6. 647P-Julia Pirog, Vesper, WI [6]
Midwest Dash – Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 116R-Kyle Riedner, Lodi, WI [5], 2. 32M-Phil Malouf, Manitowish Waters, WI [1], 3. 14S-Justin Schelitzche, Chaska, MN [4], 4. 17D-Mark Dewey, Janesville, WI [6], 5. 19H-John Handeland, Stoughton, WI [2], 6. 92S-Karter Stark, Marshall, WI [7], 7. 57E-Mark English, Janesville, WI [3]
Midwest Dash – Feature 30 Laps
1. 92S-Karter Stark, Marshall, WI [10], 2. 57E-Mark English, Janesville, WI [6], 3. 116R-Kyle Riedner, Lodi, WI [8], 4. 27A-Tim Anderson, Pittsville, WI [3], 5. 14S-Justin Schelitzche, Chaska, MN [7], 6. 17D-Mark Dewey, Janesville, WI [9], 7. 64PM-Anna Price Malouf, Manitowish Waters, WI [2], 8. 19H-John Handeland, Stoughton, WI [5], 9. 45W-Jeremy Whitman, Milwaukee, WI [11], 10. 35Z-Morgan Zerwinski, West Bend, WI [1], 11. 647P-Julia Pirog, Vesper, WI [13], 12. 32M-Phil Malouf, Manitowish Waters, WI [4], 13. 10D-Steve Dickson, Rockton, IL [12]
6Shooters – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 09M-Colin McKeown, McFarland, WI [1], 2. 13W-Christopher Webb, Portage, WI [3], 3. 9R-Easton Riedner, Waunakee, WI [4], 4. 4R-Gene Robbins, Evansville, WI [2], 5. 22L-Duane Lounsbury, Beloit, WI [7], 6. 76M-Jason Morgan, Evansville, WI [5], 7. 5K-Todd Klinger, Madison, WI [6]
6Shooters – Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 33G-Randy Grancorvitz, Fort Atkinson, WI [1], 2. 67K-Noah Karr, Belleville, WI [3], 3. 74C-Matt Crowell, Oregon, WI [2], 4. EF-5L-Nick Lorenz, Oregon, WI [6], 5. 7DK-Dylan Klinger, Albany, WI [5], 6. 3M-Kenny Morris, Windsor, WI [4]
6Shooters – Feature 15 Laps
1.7DK-Dylan Klinger, Albany, WI [2], 2. EF-5L-Nick Lorenz, Oregon, WI [4], 3. 9R-Easton Riedner, Waunakee, WI [5], 4. 67K-Noah Karr, Belleville, WI [8], 5. 09M-Colin McKeown, McFarland, WI [9], 6. 13W-Christopher Webb, Portage, WI [7], 7. 33G-Randy Grancorvitz, Fort Atkinson, WI [10], 8. 74C-Matt Crowell, Oregon, WI [6], 9. 4R-Gene Robbins, Evansville, WI [3], 10. 3M-Kenny Morris, Windsor, WI [12], 11. 22L-Duane Lounsbury, Beloit, WI [1], 12. 76M-Jason Morgan, Evansville, WI [11], 13. 5K-Todd Klinger, Madison, WI [13]
Bandits Qualifying
1. 96J-Soren Johnson, 15.2890; 2. 5x-Jordan Goecks, 15.3000; 3. 109W-Mason Wilcott, 15.3330; 4. 15W-CJ Wilcott, 15.4300; 5. 27B-Abe Bires, 15.4870; 6. 7B-Glen Bush Jr, 15.5450; 7. 68B-Miguel Baladez Jr, 15.6180; 8. 87o-Ryan Oetzel, 15.7950; 9. 76x-Ryan Helling, 15.8440; 10. 16H-Leeland Hawkins, 15.9400; 11. 91B-Jeff Byer, 15.9640; 12. 64R-Kyle Riedner, 16.2990
Bandits – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 68B-Miguel Baladez Jr, Milton, WI [5], 2. 87o-Ryan Oetzel, Brodhead, WI [4], 3. 91B-Jeff Byer, Waukesha, WI [1], 4. 16H-Leeland Hawkins, Machesney Park, IL [2]
Bandits – Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 7B-Glen Bush Jr, New Lisbon, WI [1], 2. 96J-Soren Johnson, Janesville, WI [6], 3. 5x-Jordan Goecks, Janesville, WI [5], 4. 15W-CJ Wilcott, Iron Ridge, WI [3], 5. 27B-Abe Bires, Necedah, WI [2], 6. 109W-Mason Wilcott, Watertown, WI [4]
Bandits – Feature 20 Laps
1. 96J-Soren Johnson, Janesville, WI [8], 2. 7B-Glen Bush Jr, New Lisbon, WI [3], 3. 87o-Ryan Oetzel, Brodhead, WI [1], 4. 68B-Miguel Baladez Jr, Milton, WI [2], 5. 27B-Abe Bires, Necedah, WI [4], 6. 15W-CJ Wilcott, Iron Ridge, WI [5], 7. 91B-Jeff Byer, Waukesha, WI [10], 8. 16H-Leeland Hawkins, Machesney Park, IL [9], 9. 5x-Jordan Goecks, Janesville, WI [7], 10. 109W-Mason Wilcott, Watertown, WI [6], 11. 64R-Kyle Riedner, Lodi, WI [11]
Crown Vic Qualifying
1. 62W-Chase Wangsness, 15.5370; 2. 94R-Elliott Rehm, 15.7830; 3. 4H-Elliott Hawkins, 15.8120; 4. 26L-Carli Lenz, 16.3160; 5. 00S-Cole Scholze, 49.9990
Crown Vics – Heat 8 Laps
1. 62W-Chase Wangsness, Jefferson, WI [4], 2. 4H-Elliott Hawkins, Machesney Park, IL [2], 3. 94R-Elliott Rehm, Westfield, WI [3], 4. 26L-Carli Lenz, Lake Mills, WI [1], 5. 00S-Cole Scholze, Sparta, WI [5]
Crown Vics – Feature 20 Laps
1. 62W-Chase Wangsness, Jefferson, WI [4], 2. 94R-Elliott Rehm, Westfield, WI [2], 3. 4H-Elliott Hawkins, Machesney Park, IL [3], 4. 26L-Carli Lenz, Lake Mills, WI [1], 5. 00S-Cole Scholze, Sparta, WI [5]