TJ Harron Photography / TJHarron.com
Jason Thoma and Dave Trute each won a feature for the Great Northern Sportsman Series at Madison tonight with Thoma picking up the overall win based on combined finishes. Kelly Evink picked up a clean sweep in the Midwest Dash Series, Dustin Ward topped the Hobby Stox field, and Jed Buchholz won in the 6Shooters. It was a great night for the young fans too as they were able to pedal their bikes around the track during intermission as part of Kids’ Night.
Thoma Takes the Win in First GNSS Feature
Jason Thoma won the first fifteen lap feature for the Great Northern Sportsman Series.
Darrell Garman set the early pace taking the lead from Mike Taylor at the drop of the green flag. Garman showed the way for the first seven laps although getting pressured by Michael Gilomen just before the caution flag came out on lap seven for an incident involving Devin Schmidt and Dave Trute.
Garman was able to maintain his lead when the race went green, but on lap 11 Gilomen worked his way to the outside of the leader coming out of turn two and made the pass for the lead. On lap 12 Thoma moved into second when he passed Garman and quickly caught the leader.
On lap 14 Thoma found the room he needed and passed Gilomen for the lead coming out of turn four. From there it was all Thoma who rolled to victory lane. Following Thoma and Gilomen in the top five were Garman, Chris Weber and Trute.
“We’ve gone through a little bad luck lately so we really wanted to win tonight,” said Thoma.
Feature #1: (1-10)Jason Thoma, Michael Gilomen, Darrell Garman, Chris Weber, Dave Trute, Mike Taylor, Jake Arneson, Tim Coley, Steve Anderson, Jeremy Wolff
(11-13) Ray Hellenbrand, Devin Schmidt, Adam Oxborough
TJ Harron Photography / TJHarron.com
Trute Trumps the Field in Second GNSS Feature
Dave Trute won the second 15 lap feature for the Great Northern Sportsman Series.
Jeremy Wolff and Steve Anderson paced the field to the green flag with Anderson taking the early lead. On lap 2 Jake Arneson moved to second followed closely by Trute. On lap 3 Trute worked his way past Arneson for second and then powered his way to the inside of Anderson coming out of turn two to take the lead.
The caution flag waved on lap 6 for a spin coming out of turn four.
But Trute had no trouble maintaining his lead following the restart with Chris Weber and Arneson in pursuit. On lap 10 Jason Thoma moved past Arneson for third but neither would have enough to catch the speedy Trute who cruised to victory lane.
“Our car was the best it’s been all night. We got it done,” said Trute from victory lane.
15 Lap Feature #2: (1-11) Dave Trute, Chris Weber, Jason Thoma, Jake Arneson, Steve Anderson, Darrell Garman, Mike Taylor, Jeremy Wolff, Michael Gilomen, Tim Coley, Ray Hellenbrand
Based on his combined finishes from the two features, Thoma was declared the overall winner for the Great Northern Sportsman Series.
Fast qualifier was Trute with a lap of 20.033 with Thoma and Weber winning the heat races.
A Clean Sweep for Kelly Evink
Kelly Evink picked up the clean sweep tonight in the Midwest Dash Series.
The field was brought to the green flag for their 20 lap feature by Dave Lembke and Tim Finstad with Lembke leading the first lap. By the second lap Derek Bettenhausen took the lead with Joe Cross and John Handeland close behind.
On lap 4 Handeland got to the inside of Bettenhausen coming down the front stretch to take the lead. One lap later Evink was up to second but had a lot of ground to make up to catch Handeland.
It looked like Handeland was not going to get caught until he slowed coming out of turn two on lap 10 which allowed Evink to motor his way by for the lead. Handeland was not about to give up as he continued to chase Evink and several times closed the gap to a single car length.
As the two distanced themselves from the pack, a good battle was shaping up for third between Joe Cross, Bettenhausen, and Noah Pankow.
But despite the best efforts of Handeland, Evink proved to be too fast as he sprinted his way to victory lane. Following Handeland were Cross, Bettenhausen, and Noah Pankow.
“I gained a lot of ground when he (Handeland) got a little crossed up,” said Evink.
Evink set fast time with a lap of 21.491 and won a heat race with Greg DiMaggio winning the other heat.
Dustin Ward Crowned King of the Ring in Hobby Stox
Dustin Ward won the 20 lap feature for the Hobby Stox on the quarter-mile “Ring of Fire.”
Andy Raley led the first two laps before surrendering the lead to Wayne Buchs on the third lap. Buchs moved out to a two car length lead with Jeff LeFave Jr. moving up to second and on lap 8 the two were side by side. Buchs was able to keep LeFave behind him but never by less than a car length. On lap 17 a spin brought out the caution flag.
Buchs continued to lead after the green flag waved with Ward getting by LeFave for second. On lap 18 Ward powered his way to the outside of Buchs coming out of turn four to take the lead and the eventual checkered flag. Buchs finished second followed by LeFave Jr., Chester Williams and Boyd Eichelkraut.
“Wayne’s a good buddy of mine. It was clean racing and I’m happy to get the win,” said Ward.
Cody Buchs set fast time with a lap of 14.535 with heat wins going to Wayne Buchs and Dustin Ward.
6Shooter Win Goes to Jed Buchholz
Jed Buchholz won the eight lap feature for the 6Shooters by edging Justin Harrington. Buchholz led wire to wire to pick up his second feature win in as many outings.
“It’s a lot of fun out there,” said Buchholz. “It’s great being able to race under the lights and in front of the fans. I’ve realized that racing is not as easy as it looks.”
Next week is Budweiser Buck Night at Madison with nearly all food and drink priced at just $1.00. The NASCAR Whelen All American Late Models, Dave’s White Rock Sportsman, Midwest Trucks, and Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandit all in action. Practice begins at 5:00 with qualifying at 6:20 and racing at 7:30.
Results
DASH Series
20 Lap Feature:1. Kelly Evink (Machesney Park, IL), 2. John Handeland (Belleville, WI), 3. Joe Cross (Sun Prairie, WI), 4. Derek Bettenhausen (Milton, WI), 5. Noah Pankow (Jefferson, WI), 6. Merek Pankow (Jefferson, WI), 7. Greg DiMaggio (Oregon, WI), 8. Tim Finstad (Poynette, WI), 9. Dave Lembke (Germantown, WI), 10. Ed Klug (Verona, WI),
Heat 1:1. Kelly Evink (Machesney Park, IL), 2. John Handeland (Belleville, WI), 3. Joe Cross (Sun Prairie, WI), 4. Noah Pankow (Jefferson, WI), 5. Merek Pankow (Jefferson, WI),
Heat 2:1. Greg DiMaggio (Oregon, WI), 2. Derek Bettenhausen (Milton, WI), 3. Dave Lembke (Germantown, WI), 4. Tim Finstad (Poynette, WI), 5. Ed Klug (Verona, WI),
Qualifying:1. Kelly Evink (Machesney Park, IL), 2. John Handeland (Belleville, WI), 3. Merek Pankow (Jefferson, WI), 4. Joe Cross (Sun Prairie, WI), 5. Noah Pankow (Jefferson, WI), 6. Derek Bettenhausen (Milton, WI), 7. Greg DiMaggio (Oregon, WI), 8. Tim Finstad (Poynette, WI), 9. Dave Lembke (Germantown, WI), 10. Ed Klug (Verona, WI),
Hobby Stox
20 Lap Feature:1. Dustin Ward (Waterloo, WI), 2. Wayne Buchs (Mazomanie, WI), 3. Jeffrey Lefave Jr. (Fort Atkinson, WI), 4. Chester Williams (Waukesha, WI), 5. Boyd Eichelkraut (Stoughton, WI), 6. Jamie Tate (Doylestown, WI), 7. Cody Buchs (Mazomanie, WI), 8. Jared Vike (Sussex, WI), 9. Andy Raley (Fall River, WI), 10. Jon Benninger (Windsor, WI), 11. Joey Thomas (Rockford, IL), 12. Eric Bennett (Beloit, WI),
Heat 1:1. Wayne Buchs (Mazomanie, WI), 2. Jared Vike (Sussex, WI), 3. Jon Benninger (Windsor, WI), 4. Joey Thomas (Rockford, IL), 5. Andy Raley (Fall River, WI), 6. Eric Bennett (Beloit, WI),
Heat 2:1. Dustin Ward (Waterloo, WI), 2. Boyd Eichelkraut (Stoughton, WI), 3. Jeffrey Lefave Jr. (Fort Atkinson, WI), 4. Cody Buchs (Mazomanie, WI), 5. Jamie Tate (Doylestown, WI), 6. Chester Williams (Waukesha, WI),
Qualifying:1. Cody Buchs (Mazomanie, WI), 2. Dustin Ward (Waterloo, WI), 3. Chester Williams (Waukesha, WI), 4. Jeffrey Lefave Jr. (Fort Atkinson, WI), 5. Jamie Tate (Doylestown, WI), 6. Boyd Eichelkraut (Stoughton, WI), 7. Jon Benninger (Windsor, WI), 8. Wayne Buchs (Mazomanie, WI), 9. Andy Raley (Fall River, WI), 10. Joey Thomas (Rockford, IL), 11. Jared Vike (Sussex, WI), 12. Eric Bennett (Beloit, WI),