By: Paul Reichert
June 17, 2023
When you watch the videos of vehicles being pummeled and destroyed on television, you hope that the worst did not happen. But when you come to a race track and see smashing and crashing, it is done in a safe and controlled environment that everyone enjoys. We took a break from the first month of the competitive racing action to let loose and see vehicles destroyed to bits during the annual Smash-O-Rama event at the LaCrosse Speedway. Not only did we destroy a lot of vehicles throughout the night, we also had some exciting racing action on the ‘action track’ quarter mile.
The Hobby Stock feature was a battle of champions between multi-time champ Jason Bolster and defending champion Charles Vian, Jr. They ran side-by-side for the last ten laps of the race, but experience won out in the end as Bolster just barely nosed ahead of Vian, Jr. to make a long overdue return to Altra Federal Credit Union Victory Lane.
Chris Larson and Rob Stanfield put on a hard fought battle for the win in the Six Shooter feature. Larson was under intense pressure to hold onto the top spot, but Stanfield found an opening in turns one and two on the next to last lap to drive off with the win.
‘Reckless’ John Clauson returned to action on the quarter mile for the Piano Smash. Clauson was able to center punch the piano and decimated the 88 keys on the piano and knocked off the dust off the piano that has not been used for a long time.
The Yoga Ball Contest was a battle of the Big Ten with Mitchell Rinartz representing Minnesota, John Clauson representing Iowa and Matthew Miller representing Wisconsin. The finals would be a border battle between Rinartz and Miller. Two solid and long kicks through the uprights by Rinartz gave the Gophers another victory over the Badgers.
This week’s Novelty event was the Backwards Race, where the drivers would run backwards on the quarter mile for six laps. This is the perfect example of mirror driving as the drivers had to tippy toe around their fellow competitors. John Clauson gave the best performance of mirror driving as he dominated the race.
The Monster Trucks put on another thrilling show that left the fans in awe of the new heights they were reaching with their big jumps. Josh Baumgartner (Litchfield, MN) returned to LaCrosse with the always crowd pleasing Mechanical Mischief monster truck. Making his first ever visit to western Wisconsin was Brad Shippert (Dixon, IL) with his mean, green and powerful Against the Grain monster truck. Brad’s devotion to monster truck racing was tested after a leukemia diagnosis back in 2020 that now has gone into remission.
The Go Till They Blow saw two cars tested and pushed to their limits to see how long they could last before blowing up. The Volvo, driven by Marshall Rinartz, gave its all and would be the last car and engine standing.
An extra attraction to the smashing good fun was the Double Flagpole Race. The drivers had to negotiate flagpoles in turn four and turn one for six laps. There was a lot of banging, beating and bumpers falling off trying to maneuver their way around the modified race course. Alex Liebsch did the best job of working around the obstacles to win the race.
Our new announcer Connor Pelsh was taken for a ride by John Clauson in the Pool Splashtacular. Pelch rode in the back seat as Clauson make direct contact with the inflatable pool as he destroyed it and the beach balls that were inside the pool
11 drivers were loaded with boats of different sizes ready to destroy them into tiny bits in the annual Shipwreck Boat Race. The race was nearing its finish when John Clauson had a small fire develop under his car to bring the race to a sudden end for safety purposes. The massive crowd gathered had the final say as they voted for their favorite ‘King of Crushing’. Despite that small fire, Clauson did the best job of wrecking boats to earn a popular fan vote victory.
Before the fireworks lit up the night sky over the race track, Josh Baumgartner brought out the Magdatude Jet Car and was all set to burn out and obliterate a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. After about three minutes there was an explosion as something got really toasted by the jet engine of Magdatude. It only took about five minutes to reduce that Hyundai to its bare metal frame.
Action continues next Saturday, June 24 with another round of double features for the NASCAR Late Models. Joining them will be the NASCAR Sportsmen, NASCAR Hornets, the High School Racing Association and the American Super Cup Series making their return to LaCrosse. Everyone will be a winner before the races as the first 250 adults will receive a complimentary Wisconsin Lottery scratch-off ticket, and the kids will have the chance to ride in a stock car during the KQ98 Kids’ Rides after qualifying. Gates open at 5:30, the drivers go up against the clock shortly after that and the ‘edge of your seat’ racing goes green at 7.
For more information about LaCrosse Speedway or the 2023 schedule of events, please call the track office at 608-786-1525 or visit our web site at lacrossespeedway.com. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
RESULTS
Auto Value Hobby Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jason Bolster, 2. Charles Vian, Jr., 3. Landon Lockington, 4. Byron Olson
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Jason Bolster, 3. Landon Lockington, 4. Bryon Olson
Qualifying: 1. Charles Vian, Jr., 2. Jason Bolster, 3. Landon Lockington, 4. Byron Olson
Auto Value Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Rob Stanfield, 2. Chris Larson, 3. Landon Lockington, 4. Cody Bell, 5. Matthew Miller, 6. Kreg Miller, 7. Kyle Cottone, 8. Nathan Myhre, 9. Marshall Rinartz
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Rob Stanfield, 2. Chris Larson, 3. Cody Bell, 4. Landon Lockington, 5. Marshall Rinartz
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Matthew Miller, 2. Kreg Miller, 3. Kyle Cottone, 4. Tristan Finnegan, 5. Bryon Olson, 6. Nathan Myhre
Qualifying: 1. Rob Stanfield, 2. Chris Larson, 3. Cody Bell, 4. Marshall Rinartz, 5. Landon Lockington, 6. Kreg Miller, 7. Nathan Myhre, 8. Kyle Cottone, 9. Bryon Olson, 10. Matthew Miller
Novelty Race
Backwards Race: 1. John Clauson, 2. Marshall Rinartz, 3. Alex Liebsch, 4. Bryon Olson
Shipwreck Boat Race (Fan Vote): 1. John Clauson, 2. Jared Novak, 3. Alex Liebsch