Photo By: Mike Ramsell

Story By: Paul Reichert

October 5, 2023

Windy but sunny weather greeted race fans from all over the Midwest back to the LaCrosse Speedway for Wisconsin’s biggest year-end party at the 54th edition of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend kicked off. During Oktoberfest we will see a number of competitors try their hand at racing in different events. Several do double duty, a few do triple duty and even one of two may try to do quadruple duty. It is always interesting to see how these drivers measure up in different divisions or different types of race cars. No matter what kind of race car you put Jacob Goede in, he will always be a big time contender for the win. He proved that on Thursday as Goede dominated and led all the way to win the second edition of the Super Late Model ‘Knights’. Goede began his quest for a second Nuttleman Grain Cleaning Festmaster title by winning the first of four 20 lap features for the LaCrosse NASCAR Late Models.

The 25 lap Super Late Model ‘Futures’ feature saw Max Kahler (Caledonia, IL) power by Jerry Mueller (Richfield, WI) take the race lead at the start. Kahler suddenly was experiencing an issue with his car on lap three, and that allowed Kole Guralski (Wausau, WI) to power by the former Big 8 champion for command of the race. Kahler was able to gather his car back together and hold onto second with Mueller and Mitchell Haver (West Bend, WI) breathing down his neck. Guralski maintained a few car lengths advantage on Kahler for much of the race as he was having the race of his life. With eight laps remaining in the feature Kahler’s car was coming back to life as he began to slowly close back up on Guralski. Kahler had Guralski in his sights with four to go waiting for the right opportunity to strike. That opportunity came as the leaders came to two laps left as Guralski got a bit loose in turn four. Kahler pounced on that opening to surge past Guralski and drive away with the victory in his first drive behind the wheel of the famous Chase Motorsports #47.

Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) outran veteran Midwest racer Mark Lamoreaux (Bloomington, MN) to the lead entering turn one of the Super Late Model ‘Knights’ 25 lap main event. Goede was building up a sizable advantage over the field, but Goede would soon have to contend with a racer from his neck of the woods. Dan Fredrickson (Lakeville, MN) was making his car work in both the low and high grooves as made his way forward through his competition. Fredrickson got all the way up to second at the halfway point, but he would be dealing with a familiar rival before too long. Ty Majeski (Seymour, WI) drove past Dalton Zehr (Port Orange, FL) for third with 11 laps to go, and the next chapter of the Fredrickson-Majeski battle was about to begin. Both drivers made contact with five laps to go, but it allowed Majeski to power into second. Time and time again Majeski was looking for a way around Goede for the lead and another Oktoberfest victory, but Goede stood his ground on the inside lane. Goede was able to repel the challenges by Majeski to be crowned the second ever Super Late Models ‘Knights’ champion.

The first 20 lap feature for the LaCrosse NASCAR Late Models was led by Bryan Syer-Keske (Lakeville, MN) as he shot past Grant Brown (Jordan, MN) for the top spot. As Syer-Keske pulled away to a comfortable lead on the field, the top runners were struggling to find any openings to advance through the field. Jacob Goede needed a few laps to break out from his ninth starting spot and power through the traffic to get to the front. Just before the crossed flags were displayed, Goede drove around Brown to settle into second place. Over the next eight laps Goede would slowly eat away at Syer-Keske’s advantage and put a ton of pressure on him with five laps to go. Goede bolted to the outside in turns one and two with three laps to go to surge past Syer-Keske and became the new front runner. Goede pulled away down the stretch and crossed the finish in first to claim his second victory of the season.

Old but familiar foes led the way to the green flag for LaCrosse NASCAR Late Model 20 lap feature #2. Brent Kirchner (Stoddard, WI) wasted little time in overpowering Devin Schmidt (New Prague, MN) to settle into the race lead. As he tried to open up a lead on the field, Kirchner would soon have to deal with his current championship foe. Skylar Holzhausen (Sparta, WI) needed only five laps to move into second and quickly catch up to Kirchner. Holzhausen tried to go low on lap six, but the two front runners made contact in turn four. Holzhausen regrouped, moved to the outside groove the next lap and this time was able to power by Kirchner for the number one position. Kirchner began to slowly fall back through the field as Tom Carlson (West Salem, WI) and Steve Carlson (West Salem, WI) took over second and third just before the midway point. Now we would be taken back in time to past memorable LaCrosse and Oktoberfest battles between Steve Holzhausen and the Carlsons. The next generation of Holzhausen had too much of a lead for both Tom and Steve to overcome in the second half of the race. Holzhausen proved why he has been the driver to beat this season as he notched his season-leading fifth feature win of 2023.

Taylor Goldman (St. Louis Park, MN) was in the lead position from the start of the 20 lap LaCrosse Sportsmen feature until a caution period with seven laps to go changed the complexion of the race. Chris Weber (West Salem, WI) needed just a lap into the restart to power around Goldman and settle into the lead spot. Weber would have to deal with a two lap shootout to end the race, but he quickly pulled away from Robert Turzinski, Jr. (Mauston, WI) to claim his first feature win at LaCrosse in a few years. A seventh place finish by Andy Barney (West Salem, WI) would be good enough to wrap up Barney’s first track championship, as well as give him the Chase Championship for a second year in a row.

The second half of the 20 lap LaCrosse Hornet feature saw a very exciting and intense battle for the win between Davey Pennel and former champion Kristopher Berg. A yellow with eight laps remaining gave Berg hope that he still had a shot at the victory. On the restart Pennel pulled away from Berg and maintained a healthy lead to capture his first ever feature win at LaCrosse. Ben Thurk put in a strong showing to come home fourth and not only locked up the Hornet season championship but was crowned the second Chase Champion for the division.

The 20 lap Six Shooter feature was being dominated by veteran quarter-mile competitor John Huebner. With six laps left Huebner’s car was suddenly slowing and that allowed Tim Murphy, Sr. to take the lead. His lead only lasted a couple laps as Steven Mueller drove under Murphy, Sr. down the back straight with two laps to go. Mueller pulled away down the stretch to capture his first ever checkered flag at LaCrosse.

The opening night of Oktoberfest wrapped up with the exciting and heart pounding 12 lap Double-O Race. Last year’s winner Dale Lecus, Jr. tangled with a slower car on lap two, and both cars ended up colliding with the front straight wall. As the field reached the halfway mark of the race, Rick Redig-Tackman powered by Kyle Stark to settle into the number one position. Not even Bill Schott and his Modified were able to challenge Redig-Tackman as he put a Mid-Am race car in victory lane for a second straight year.

We hoped you enjoyed the first act of the 54th Oktoberfest Race Weekend because the action will ramp up a little bit more on Friday, October 6. The 15th edition of the Dick Trickle 99 will headline the night as Super Late Model drivers from all over the Midwest will look to add their name to the list of distinguished winners of the race that Dick Trickle gives his stamp of approval to. The LaCrosse NASCAR Late Models will run another pair of 20 lap features to decide the Festmaster title, the Chase Championship and the season points crown. The Area Sportsmen racers will also be a part of the show and will be looking to claim one of the much sought after Oktoberfest Champion banners. Gates open at 2:45, qualifying fires up at 3 and racing kicks into high gear starting at 5:30.

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.

RESULTS

Super Late Model ‘Futures’

Feature (25 laps): 1. Max Kahler, 2. Kole Guralski, 3. Jerry Mueller, 4. Ty Fredrickson, 5. Barrett Polhemus, 6. Tristan Swanson, 7. Riley Stenjem, 8. Justin Mondeik, 9. Levon Van der Geest, 10. Chad Butz, 11. Braison Bennett, 12. Owin Giles, 13. Maxwell Schultz, 14. Cameron Clifford, 15. Travis Volm, 16. Michael Haggar, 17. Carter Christenson, 18. Brady Bill, 19. Braden Berge, 20. Randy Sargent, 21. Sam Niles, 22. Mitchell Haver
Qualifying: 1. Chad Butz, 2. Levon Van der Geest, 3. Braden Berge, 4. Braison Bennett, 5. Ty Fredrickson, 6. Tristan Swanson, 7. Riley Stenjem, 8. Justin Mondeik, 9. Brady Bill, 10. Barrett Polhemus, 11. Kole Guralski, 12. Mitchell Haver, 13. Jerry Mueller, 14. Max Kahler, 15. Maxwell Schultz, 16. Owin Giles, 17. Cameron Clifford, 18. Carter Christenson, 19. Randy Sargent, 20. Travis Volm, 21. Michael Haggar

Super Late Model ‘Knights’

Feature (25 laps): 1. Jacob Goede, 2. Ty Majeski, 3. Dan Fredrickson, 4. Dalton Zehr, 5. Chris Weinkauf, 6. Jason Weinkauf, 7. Andrew Morrissey, 8. Corey Jankowski, 9. Jonahtan Eilen, 10. Mark Lamoreaux, 11. Bryan Syer-Keske, 12. Doni Wanat, 13. Andy Monday, 14. Harley Jankowski, 15. Joseph Scholze, 16. Colin Reffner, 17. Gabe Sommers, 18. Jeremy Lepak
Qualifying: 1. Ty Majeski, 2. Gabe Sommers, 3. Dalton Zehr, 4. Andrew Morrissey, 5. Chris Weinkauf, 6. Colin Reffner, 7. Dan Fredrickson, 8. Jonathan Eilen, 9. Jason Weinkauf, 10. Corey Jankowski, 11. Jacob Goede, 12. Mark Lamoreaux, 13. Bryan Syer-Keske, 14. Jeremy Lepak, 15. Harley Jankowski, 16. Doni Wanat, 17. Andy Monday, 18. Joseph Scholze

LaCrosse Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models

Feature #1 (20 laps): 1. Jacob Goede, 2. Bryan Syer-Keske, 3. Adam Degenhardt, 4. Adam Bendzick, 5. Steve Bachman, 6. Steve Carlson, 7. Grant Brown, 8. Skylar Holzhausen, 9. Michael Beamish, 10. Tom Carlson, 11. Devin Schmidt, 12. Brent Kirchner, 13. Steve Anderson, Jr., 14. Nick Clements, 15. Mike Carlson, 16. Michael Haggar, 17. Cole Howland, 18. Ryan Kamish, 19. Tony Leis, 20. Ryan Varner, 21. Tom Luethe, 22. Don Turner, 23. Robbie Hazelton, 24. Ridge Oien, 25. Chris Skrede
Feature #2 (20 laps): 1. Skylar Holzhausen, 2. Tom Carlson, 3. Steve Carlson, 4. Devin Schmidt, 5. Adam Degenhardt, 6. Steve Bachman, 7. Nick Clements, 8. Jacob Goede, 9. Adam Bendzick, 10. Brent Kirchner, 11. Michael Beamish, 12. Mike Carlson, 13. Bryan Syer-Keske, 14. Steve Anderson, Jr., 15. Michael Haggar, 16. Grant Brown, 17. Ryan Varner, 18. Ryan Kamish, 19. Cole Howland, 20. Tony Leis, 21. Tom Luethe, 22. Don Turner, 23. Robbie Hazelton, 24. Ridge Oien
B-Feature (15 laps): 1. Tony Leis, 2. Ryan Varner, 3. Ryan Kamish, 4. Chris Skrede, 5. Robbie Hazleton, 6. Franc Beldowski, 7. Todd Verhagen, 8. Rick Redig-Tackman, 9. Ryan Brown, 10. Randy Sargent, 11. Thomas Farra, 12. Jeremy Wolff, 13. Gregory Borchardt, 14. Adam Oxborough
Qualifying: 1. Skylar Holzhausen, 2. Nick Clements, 3. Jacob Goede, 4. Mike Carlson, 5. Adam Degenhardt, 6. Steve Bachman, 7. Adam Bendzick, 8. Michael Beamish, 9. Michael Haggar, 10. Devin Schmidt, 11. Bryan Syer-Keske, 12. Grant Brown, 13. Steve Carlson, 14. Cole Howland, 15. Brent Kirchner, 16. Steve Anderson, Jr., 17. Tom Carlson, 18. Tom Luethe, 19. Don Turner, 20. Franc Beldowski, 21. Adam Oxborough, 22. Tony Leis, 23. Ryan Kamish, 24. Chris Skrede, 25. Gregory Borchardt, 26. Ryan Varner, 27. Ridge Oien, 28. Todd Verhagen, 29. Robbie Hazelton, 30. Jeremy Wolff, 31. Ryan Brown, 32. Thomas Farra, 33. Rick Redig-Tackman

LaCrosse Line-X NASCAR Sportsmen

Feature (20 laps): 1. Chris Weber, 2. Robert Turzinski, Jr., 3. Bill Schott, 4. Mark Challet, 5. Taylor Goldman, 6. Henry Vian, 7. Andy Barney, 8. Tina Lodermeier, 9. Ken Christenson, 10. Travis Gordon, 11. Mike Krueger, Jr., 12. Zach Oliver, 13. Dan Secor, 14. Dave Swanson, 15. Kenneth Donais, 16. Tony Holm, 17. Tytus Helgestad, 18, Bob Fort, 19. Dave Trute, 20. Justin Berg, 21. Brandon Birdsill, 22. Scott Mahlum
B-Feature (12 laps): 1. Chris Weber, 2. Dave Trute, 3. Mike Krueger, Jr., 4. John Ventrello, 5. Ben Gannon, 6. Jason Bolster, 7. Austin Schott, 8. Devin Schmidt, 9. Tom Carlson, 10. Carson Sillars; 11. Brad Warthan (DQ)
Qualifying: 1. Andy Barney, 2. Dave Swanson, 3. Travis Gordon, 4. Tytus Helgestad, 5. Kenneth Donais, 6. Henry Vian, 7. Robert Turzinski, Jr., 8. Tony Holm, 9. Ken Christenson, 10. Justin Berg, 11. Taylor Goldman, 12. Mark Challet, 13. Bob Fort, 14. Brandon Birdsill, 15. Dan Secor, 16. Zach Oliver, 17. Bill Schott, 18. MIke Krueger, Jr., 19. Ben Gannon, 20. Tom Carlson, 21. John Ventrello, 22. Tina Lodermeier, 23. Dave Trute, 24. Scott Mahlum, 25. Carson Sillars, 26. Jason Bolster, 27. Austin Schott, 28. Chris Weber (DQ), 29. Brad Warthan (DQ), 30. Devin Schmidt (DQ)

LaCrosse Skyline Fireworks NASCAR Hornets

Feature (20 laps): 1. Davey Pennel, 2. Kristopher Berg, 3. Ben Thurk, 4. Jake Schomers, 5. Eric Breitenfeldt, 6. Joey Johnson III, 7. Jacob Iverson, 8. Kendon Thurk, 9. Jimmy Bjorkman, 10. Bentley Knaack, 11. Abigail Knaack, 12. Nick Hadler, 13. Matthew Heim, 14. Thomas Farra, 15. Jaydin Schock, 16. Mitchell Rinartz, 17. Alex Liebsch, 18. Michael Wachs, Jr., 19. Darren Pahl, 20. Brandon Olson, 21. Carter Horstman, 22. Justin Schelitzche (DQ)
B-Feature (10 laps): 1. Mitchell Rinartz, 2. Matthew Heim, 3. Todd Tacheny, 4. Alex Liebsch, 5. Austin Albrecht, 6. Luke Geisler, 7. Al Bartels, 8. Greg Oliver, 9. Tristan Drazkowski, 10. Glen Bush, Jr., 11. Hunter Sarver, 12. Gregory Lofquist, 13. Justin Iverson, 14. Doyle Cavender III, 15. Tristan Finnegan, 16. Shane Kohlmeier, 17. Christopher Lofquist, 18. Shawn Breese, 19. Nick Loesel, 20. Dan Linnehan (DQ)
Qualifying: 1. Kristopher Berg, 2. Justin Schelitzche, 3. Davey Pennel, 4. Adam Moore, 5. Brandon Olson, 6. Michael Wachs, Jr., 7. Jacob Iverson, 8. Carter Horstman, 9. Joey Johnson III, 10. Eric Breitenfeldt, 11. Jake Schomers, 12. Ben Thurk, 13. Jimmy Bjorkman, 14. Kendon Thurk, 15. Jaydin Schock, 16. Darren Pahl, 17. Mitchell Rinartz, 18. Todd Tacheny, 19. Thomas Farra, 20. Dan Linnehan, 21. Christopher Lofquist, 22. Abagail Knaack, 23. Nick Hadler, 24. Matthew Heim, 25. Shane Kohlmeier, 26. Shawn Breese, 27. Hunter Sarver, 28. Tristan Drazkowski, 29. Austin Albrecht, 30. Alex Liebsch, 31. Greg Oliver, 32. Al Bartels, 33. Luke Geisler, 34. Bentley Knaack, 35. Gregory Lofquist, 36. Glen Bush, Jr., 37. Doyle Cavender III

Street Stocks/Six Shooters

Feature (20 laps): 1. Steven Mueller, 2. Tim Murphy, Sr., 3. Dustin McCracken, 4. Rob Stanfield, 5. Jake Schomers, 6. Mike Gratz, 7. Al Bartels, 8. Marshall Rinartz, 9. Steven Brasda, 10. Dan Frye, 11. Zach Liebsch, 12. Ryan Stanfield, 13. Grant Witcraft, 14. Matthew Miller, 15. Alex Lueth, 16. John Huebner, 17. Ashton Kinsey, 18. Charlie Thompson, 19. Braydon Lockington, 20. Tristan Drazkowski, 21. Carlie Rinartz
B-Feature (10 laps): 1. Grant Witcraft, 2. Charlie Thompson, 3. Zach Liebsch, 4. Braydon Lockington, 5. Matthew Miller, 6. Kyle Cottone, 7. A.J. Finnegan, 8. Matthew Parent, 9. Devin Glass, 10. Bryon Olson, 11. Connor Pelch, 12. Jeff Graf, 13. Peter Thompson
Qualifying: 1. Mike Gratz, 2. Jake Schomers, 3. Ashton Kinsey, 4. Steven Mueller, 5. Dustin McCracken, 6. Marshall Rinartz, 7. Tristan Drazkowski, 8. Dan Frye, 9. Steven Brasda, 10. Rob Stanfield, 11. Al Bartels, 12. Tim Murphy, Sr., 13. Ryan Stanfield, 14. John Huebner, 15. Carlie Rinartz, 16. Alex Lueth, 17. Charlie Thompson, 18. Matthew Miller, 19. Matthew Parent, 20. Braydon Lockington, 21. Kyle Cottone, 22. Grant Witcraft, 23. Peter Thompson, 24. Chris Christen, 25. Connor Pelch, 26. Bryon Olson, 27. Zach Liebsch, 28. Jeff Graf, 29. Devin Glass

Double-O Race (12 laps): 1. Rick Redig-Tackman, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Mike Krueger, Jr., 4. Phil Malouf, 5. Kyle Stark; 6. Kyle Cottone, 7. Jacob Iverson, 8, Alex Liebsch, 9. Bob Fort, 10. Austin Albrecht