By: Paul Reichert

Photos By: Ryan Nuttleman & Kevin Ramsell

October 7, 2023

 

After the rain blew through the LaCrosse area on Friday, Oktoberfest-like weather settled around the LaCrosse Speedway to bring a lot of thrilling and exciting close competition on the track during day three of the 54th Oktoberfest Race Weekend.  Jacob Goede and Ty Majeski have been the stars of a very competitive weekend so far.  Majeski scored a fourth Dick Trickle 99 title and was crowned champion for a third straight year.  Goede was crowned the second Knights champion and nearly swept all four LaCrosse NASCAR Late Model features.  They figured prominently into ‘Championship Saturday’, even though they were not battling for any season titles.  Majeski scored a second straight Midwest Truck Series feature win, plus set fast time for the ASA Midwest Tour and accepted the Ultimate Challenge bonus.  Goede put in another impressive showing in the Big 8 Late Model feature, but fell a lap shy of a fifth consecutive win at the hands of Zach Riddle.

 

Ty Majeski (Seymour, WI) turned the fast lap in ASA Midwest Tour qualifying for their big 200 lap season finale on Sunday with an 18.683 second lap  After receiving another ‘Faster Than a Speeding Bullet’ award, Majeski was offered the Ultimate Challenge with a guaranteed $10,000 on the line.  In order to get that, Majeski would have to start shotgun in order to win Sunday’s 200 lap main event.  Encouraged by that guaranteed bonus, Majeski accepted the challenge.  Fourteen year old Ty Fredrickson (Webster, MN) led all the way to win the Odd Dash for his first race win in the ASA Midwest Tour.  A little contact between the leaders at the start of the Even Dash did not stop Bryan Syer-Keske (Lakeville, MN) from grabbing the lead and dominating the race.  The qualifying feature became a positioning race to set the rest of the field for the big dance on Sunday.  Justin Mondiek (Gleason, WI) kept Barrett Polhemus (Wimberly, TX) in his rear view as he led from start to finish to claim the number 17 starting spot in the 200 lapper.

 

Jacob Nottestad (Janesville, WI) stormed by Kevin Zielezinski (New Lenox, IL) to take the lead in the 25 lap Midwest Truck Series feature.  As Nottestad began to open up his lead over the field, a few drivers were making their way forward to challenge the former Kulwicki Driver Development Program competitor.  First James Swan (Genoa City, WI) was able to move into second on lap five but could not match Nottestad’s pace  Chester Ace (Oregon, WI) made his way up to third but could not leapfrog Swan to challenge the youngest member of the Nottestad racing family.  Ty Majeski (Seymour, WI) was on a torrid pace to get to the front as he powered by Ace for third on lap nine, and wrestled the runner-up spot away from Swan on lap 12.  Nick Quinnell (Arkdale, WI) spun out on the back straight to cause a caution on lap 14.  The restart only got to turn one before Tucker Bodendorfer (Muskego, WI) spun out and tagged the outside wall.  Majeski lined up alongside Nottestad on the restart and only needed three laps to.  Nottestad fell back into the clutches of both Swan and Ace as they dropped him back to fourth place.  Ty pulled away from his competition and drove off with the feature win for a second straight year.

 

Multi-time champion Jeremy Miller (Rockford, IL) drove past Zach Riddle (Oregon, WI) to lead the final Big 8 Late Model Series feature of the year.  Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) needed only three laps to power his way to second in his quest for a fifth straight Oktoberfest feature win.  Soon Goede would catch up to Miller and drive around to become the new race leader on lap six.  A little further back Skylar Holzhausen (Sparta, WI) and Kendrick Kreyer (Wisconsin Dells, WI) got into a hard fought battle over fourth that eventually went to Kreyer.  Riddle found a way around Miller just before halfway to take back second place.  Kreyer and Holzhausen would drop Miller back to fifth place by lap 24.  Just past the halfway mark Riddle began to slowly reel in Goede as the lead battle had the intensity level turned up a notch.  Riddle tried to get alongside of Goede but he was slowed by a caution on lap 31 for the stalled car of Mitchell Haver (West Bend, WI) in turn four.  Goede pulled away from Riddle on the restart but Riddle again started to catch back up to Goede.  They got into a close quarters battle for a few laps, but contact allowed Goede to pull ahead by a car length with ten laps to go.  With six laps to go they got back into a fierce side-by-side battle for the lead and the win.  Riddle got his opening through turn four as they came to the white flag and powered by Goede for the lead.  Riddle pulled away in the final lap to score the victory.  Jon Reynolds, Jr. ran 15th at the finish, but despite the fifth place effort by Randy Sargent it would be just enough to give Driver X his third series championship.

 

Steve Blair (Brownsburg, IN) outran Dan Gilster (West Salem, WI) for the lead at the start of the 25 lap Mid-Am Racing Series feature.  RIck Corso (McHenry, IL) spun in turn three on lap two and collected Tytus Helgestad (Milton, WI) and Mark Challet (Sparta, WI).  Only Challet would be done for the night.  Blair got loose as the restart began and he ran into Gilster, who ended up in the turn one wall.  2012 champion Jeremy Spoonmore (Leland, IL) assumed the top spot on the restart but a lap later Josh Nelms (Lockport, IL) made quick work of Spoonmore to become the new lead racer.  Ron Vandermier, Jr. (Sheridan, IL) was the man on a mission as he started the feature down 23 points to Clay Curts (Monee, IL).  Vandermier, Jr. received a lead gift when Nelms slowed in turn four on lap 12 with a flat tire.  Being in the was the best place for Vandermier, Jr. to be as far as the points race was concerned, but the yellow flew with two laps left for a spinning Tony Holm (Prior Lake, MN) on the back straight.  Vandermier, Jr. pulled away from Spoonmore in that final restart to finally claim his first win of the year.  Curts lost a fair amount of points to Vandermier, Jr., but was able to come home in sixth place and be crowned the 2023 champion by mere nine points. 

 

The 20 lap Midwest Dash Series feature saw Joe Kuehn (Wausau, WI) surge ahead of Dave Auringer (Prior Lake, MN) for the lead.  Kuehn ran wide in turn one on lap three and collided with Tim Anderson (Pittsville, WI) in turn two, which ended Kuehn’s race a little early,  Mark English (Janesville, WI) assumed the top spot and showed the way on the restart.   There was a car on the move that would challenge English for the lead.  You would think it was new track record setter Dan Braun, instead it was Tyler Deschaine.  Deschaine had a rocket ship as he quickly shot past English’s car, the car he drove to victory at Rockford last week, to move into the lead position on lap nine.  As Deschaine began to leave the field in his dust, points leader Phil Malouf was making his way through traffic to get up to the front and challenge the runaway leader.  Malouf got into a spirited battle for the lead with Anderson over the final seven laps.  There was no way Deschaine would be caught as he scored his second straight checkered flag win to end the season.  Malouf drove around Anderson on the final lap to take second, and that was more than good enough to wrap up Malouf’s second straight points championship.

 

The 54th Oktoberfest Race Weekend and the 2023 racing season at the LaCrosse Speedway will come to a huge and exciting conclusion on Sunday, October 8.  The ASA Midwest Tour will bring their exciting year to a dramatic conclusion with their biggest feature of the season, the 200 lap Oktoberfest 200 feature.  Not only will the ASA Midwest Tour championship be on the line, but so will the prominent title of Oktoberfest Champion that one driver will be known as forever.  Drivers running 602 crate motors will gather for the 5th edition of the Gandrud 602 Cratetoberfest Challenge.  Who knows what unique moment could happen with this year’s race and maybe top the previous four runnings?  We will take a trip back in time to Oktoberfest Race Weekends past as the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series helps us relive the glory days of Oktoberfest.  Gates open at 8:30, qualifying for the Gandrud 602 Cratetoberfest Challenge takes place at 10, the Autograph Session for the fans begins at 10:45 and the final checkered flags of the year will start waving at High Noon.

 

For more information about the 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.  Be sure to check out oktoberfestraceweekend.com for the latest news and results on Wisconsin’s biggest racing weekend.  LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

 

 

Feature (48 laps):  1. Zach Riddle, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Skylar Holzhausen, 4. Kendrick Kreyer, 5. Randy Sargent, 6. Jeremy Miller, 7. Grant Brown, 8. Steve Bachman, 9. Shaun Scheel, 10. Stephen Scheel, 11. Mike Carlson, 12. Steve Anderson, Jr., 13. Tony Leis, 14. Michael Ostdiek, 15. Jon Reynolds, Jr., 16. Michael Haggar, 17. Ryan Varner, 18. Tom Carlson, 19. Michael Beamish, 20. Jacob Gille, 21. Griffin McGrath, 22. Ryan Kamish, 23. Mitchell Haver, 24. Gib Scharpf, 25. NIck Clements, 26. Michael Bilderback

Last Chance Race (18 laps):  1. Gib Schapf, 2. Tony Leis, 3. Ryan Varner, 4. Mike Carlson, 5. Jacob Gille, 5. Kody King, 7. Jerry Mueller, 8. Tom Carlson, 9. Hunter Stenson, 10. Colton Morgan, 11. Ridge Oien, 12. Robbie Hazleton, 13. Doug Hillson, 14. Chris Skrede, 15. Michael Beamish, 16. Paul Dygon, 17. Tyler Hromadka, 18. Steve Rubeck, 19. Jon Reynolds, Jr.

Qualifying Feature #1 (20 laps):  1. Grant Brown, 2. Steve Anderson, Jr., 3. Skylar Holzhausen, 4. Griffin McGrath, 5. Kendrick Kreyer, 6. Shaun Scheel, 7. Mitchell Haver, 8. Nick Clements, 9. Michael Bilderback, 10. Jerry Mueller, 11. Mike Carlson, 12. GIb Scharpf, 13. Hunter Stenson, 14. Ryan Varner, 15. Tony Leis, 16. Tom Carlson, 17. Doug Hillson, 18. Tyler Hromadka, 19. Steve Rubeck

Qualifying Feature #2 (20 laps):  1. Ryan Kamish, 2. Jeremy Miller, 3. Michael Ostdiek, 4. Steve Bachman, 5. Michael Haggar, 6. Zach Riddle, 7. Randy Sargent, 8. Jacob Goede, 9. Stephen Scheel, 10. Jacob Gille, 11. Jon Reynolds, Jr., 12. Michael Beamish, 13. Kody King, 14. Colton Morgan, 15. Robbie Hazelton, 16. Ridge Oien, 17. Chris Skrede, 18. Paul Dygon, 1o. Gregory Borchardt

Qualifying:  1. Kendrick Kreyer, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Skylar Holzhausen, 4. Zach Riddle, 5. Mike Carlson, 6. Michael Beamish, 7. Tony Leis, 8. Jeremy Miller, 9. Gib Scharpf, 10. Randy Sargent, 11. Griffin McGrath, 12. Steve Bachman, 13. Shaun Scheel, 14. Stephen Scheel, 15. Ryan Kamish, 16. Steve Anderson, Jr., 17. Michael Haggar, 18. Grant Brown, 19. Michael Ostdiek, 20. Nick Clements, 21. Mitchell Haver, 22. Gregory Borchardt, 23. Ryan Varner, 24. Jon Reynolds, Jr., 25. Michael Bilderback, 26. Jacob Gille, 27. Jerry Mueller, 28. Kody King, 29. Tom Carlson, 30. Colton Morgan, 31. Hunter Stenson, 32. Ridge Oien, 33. Steve Rubeck, 34. Robbie Hazelton, 35. Doug Hillson, 36. Chris Skrede, 37. Tyler Hromadka, 38. Paul Dygon

 

Feature (25 laps):  1. Ron Vandermier, Jr., 2. Jeremy Spoonmore, 3. Chris Weber, 4. Tytus Helgestad, 5. Jim Cormack, 6. Clay Curts, 7. Timmy Stewart, 8. Bill Prietzel, 9. Daniel Calhoun, 10. Timmy Spatz, 11. Cameron Vandermier, 12. Bobby Gash III, 13. Mike Krueger, Jr., 14 Dale Lecus, Jr., 15. Andrew Meyerhofer, 16. Tadd Labuda, 17. Jim Thorson, 18. Joshua Fehrmann, 19. Tony Holm, 20. John Ventrello, 21. Rick Redig-Tackman, 22. Josh Nelms, 23. Gary West, 24. Steve Blair, 25. Dan Gilster, 26. Rick Corso, 27. Mark Challet

Heat #1 (8 laps):  1. Jeremy Spoonmore, 2. Mark Challet, 3. Bill Prietzel, 4. Steve Blair, 5. Ron Vandermier, Jr., 6. Josh Nelms, 7. MIke Krueger, Jr., 8. Dale Lecus, Jr., 9. Cameron Vandermier, 10. Andrew Meyerhofer, 11. Tytus Helgestad

Heat #2 (8 laps):  1. Timmy Stewart, 2. Rick Redig-Tackman, 3. Daniel Calhoun, 4. Tadd Labuda, 5. Bobby Gash III, 6. Clay Curts, 7. Rick Corso, 8. Timmy Spatz, 9. Dan Gilster, 10. Jim Cormack, 11. Chris Weber

Futures Race (8 laps):  1. John Ventrello, 2. Tony Holm, 3. Jim Thorson, 4. Joshua Fehrmann, 5. Gary West, 6. Tina Lodermeier

Qualifying:  1. Ron Vandermier, Jr., 2. Chris Weber, 3. Tytus Helgestad, 4. Clay Curts, 5. Josh Nelms, 6. Rick Corso, 7. Jeremy Spoonmore, 8. Dan Gilster, 9. Steve Blair, 10. Rick Redig-Tackman, 11. Mark Challet, 12. Jim Cormack, 13. Cameron Vandermier, 14. Bobby Gash III, 15. Bill Prietzel, 16. Timmy Spatz, 17. Mike Krueger, Jr, 18. Timmy Stewart, 19. Andrew Meyerhofer, 20. Tadd Labuda, 21. Dale Lecus, Jr., 22. Daniel Calhoun, 23. Jim Thorson, 24. Tina Lodermeier, 25. John Ventrello, 26. Joshua Fehrmann, 27. Gary West, 28. Tony Holm, 

 

Feature (20 laps):  1. Tyler Deschaine, 2. Phil Malouf, 3. Tim Anderson, 4. Mark English, 5. Shawn Kemnetz, 6. Dave Auringer, 7. Gary Stark, 8. Lyle Phillips, 9. Davey Pennel, 10. Anna Price Malouf, 11. Ashley Bell, 12. Shawn Grabinger, 13. Joe Kuehn, 14. Jacob Iverson, 15. Dan Braun, 16. Ben Thurk, 17. Mike Meharg, 18. Travis Hill, 19. George Sparkman, 20. Karter Stark

B-Feature (10 laps):  1. Gary Stark, 2. Mike Meharg, 3. Jacob Iverson, 4. Ben Thurk, 5. Patrick Dickman, 6. Shawn Breese

Heat #1 (8 laps):  1. Gary Stark, 2. Mike Meharg, 3. Ben Thurk, 4. Jacob Iverson, 5. Austin Indrehus, 6. Doyle Cavender III, 7. Patrick Jaeger, 8. Patrick Dickman

Heat #2 (8 laps):  1. Ashley Bell, 2. Dave Auringer, 3. Joe Kuehn, 4. Shawn Grabinger, 5. Davey Pennel, 6. Shawn Kemnetz, 7. Travis Hill, 8. Lyle Phillips

Heat #3 (8 laps):  1. George Sparkman, 2. Mark English, 3. Tim Anderson, 4. Karter Stark, 5. Tyler Deschaine, 6. Dan Braun, 7. Phil Malouf

Qualifying:  1. Dan Braun (New Track Record–22.122), 2. Karter Stark, 3. Tyler Deschaine, 4. George Sparkman, 5. Phil Malouf, 6. Tim Anderson, 7. Anna Price Malouf, 8. Mark English, 9. Shawn Kemnetz, 10. Lyle Phillips, 11. Joe Kuehn, 12. Dave Auringer, 13. Davey Pennel, 14. Shawn Grabinger, 15. Ashley Bell, 16. Travis Hill, 17. Mike Meharg, 18. Gary Stark, 19. Jacob Iverson, 20. Patrick Dickman, 21. Ben Thurk, 22. Austin Indrehus, 23. Doyle Cavender III, 24. Patrick Jaeger

 

Feature (25 laps):  1. Ty Majeski. 2. James Swan, 3. Chester Ace, 4. Jacob Nottestad, 5. James Lynch, 6. Jason Stark, 7. Jeff Holtz, 8. Nick Van, 9. Derek Doerr, 10. Brandon Reichenberger, 11. Bryce Miller, 12. Kevin Zielezinski, 13. Danielle Behn, 14. Kevin Knuese, 15. Cody Vanderloop, 16. Aaron Moyer, 17. Jerry Mueller, 18. Brent Kirchner, 19. Jesse Green, 20. Bobby Selsing, Jr., 21. Tom Steinbach, 22. Nick Quinnell, 23. Tyler Noble, 24. Tucker Bodendorfer

Heat #1 (8 laps):  1. Aaron Moyer, 2. Jerry Mueller, 3. Nick Quinnell, 4. Tucker Bodendorfer, 5. Bobby Selsing, Jr., 6. Cody Vanderloop, 7. Jesse Green, 8. Tom Steinbach

Odd Dash (8 laps):  1. Danielle Behn, 2. Jason Stark, 3. Kevin Knuese, 4. Nick Van, 5. Jacob Nottestad, 6. Ty Majeski, 7. Jeff Holtz, 8. James Swan

Even Dash (8 laps):  1. James Lynch, 2. Brent Kirchner, 3. Bryce Miller, 4. Derek Doerr, 5. Brandon Reichenberger, 6. Kevin Zielezinski, 7. Chester Ace, 8. Tyler Noble

Qualifying:  1. Ty Majeski, 2. Chester Ace, 3. Jeff Holtz, 4. Brandon Reichenberger, 5. James Swan, 6. Derek Doerr, 7. Nick Van, 8. Kevin Zielezinski, 9. Jacob Nottestad, 10. Bryce Miller, 11. Jason Stark, 12. James Lynch, 13. Kevin Knuese, 14. Tyler Noble, 15. Tom Steinbach, 16. Brent Kirchner, 17. Aaron Moyer, 18. Cody Vanderloop, 19. Jerry Mueller, 20. Jesse Green, 21. Tucker Bodendorfer, 22. Nick Quinnell, 23. Danielle Behn, 24. Bobby Selsing, Jr.

 

Qualifying Feature (12 laps):  1. Justin Mondeik, 2. Barrett Polhemus, 3. Kole Guralski, 4. Jason Weinkauf, 5. Cameron Clifford, 6. Tristan Swanson, 7. Max Kahler, 8. Doni Wanat, 9. Carter Christenson, 10. Harley Jankowski, 11. Joseph Scholze

Odd Dash (8 laps):  1. Ty Fredrickson, 2. Matthew Henderson, 3. Johnny Sauter, 4. Dalton Zehr, 5. Jacob Goede, 6. Ryan Farrell, 7. Andrew Morrissey, 8. Ty Majeski 

Even Dash (8 laps):  1. Bryan Syer-Keske, 2. Travis Volm, 3. Chris Weinkauf, 4. Dillon Hammond, 5. Levon Van der Geest, 6. Riley Stenjem, 7. Dan Fredrickson, 8. Gabe Sommers

Qualifying:  1. Ty Majeski, 2. Gabe Sommers, 3. Dalton Zehr, 4. Dillon Hammond, 5. Andrew Morrissey, 6. Levon Van der Geest, 7. Johnny Sauter, 8. Dan Fredrickson, 9. Jacob Goede, 10. Chris Weinkauf, 11. Matthew Henderson, 12. Riley Stenjem, 13. Ryan Farrell, 14. Bryan Syer-Keske, 15. Ty Fredrickson, 16. Travis Volm, 17. Justin Mondeik, 18. Barrett Polhemus, 19. Kole Guralski, 20. Cameron Clifford, 21. Jason Weinkauf, 22. Max Kahler, 23. Tristan Swanson, 24. Carter Christenson, 25. Doni Wanat, 26. Harley Jankowski, 27. Joseph Scholze