By: Paul Reichert
July 20, 2024
Fair time brings out all ages to enjoy the best of the county. Everyone can feel like a kid again riding the carnival rides on the midway. You can witness all the hard work the kids have put into producing the best livestock for judging or the countless hours they have put into their arts and crafts exhibits. The adults are out to prove who is the best farmer in the county at the annual Super Farmer Olympics. One of the long standing mainstays of a fair is the auto racing thrills and excitement. The Fair Time 50 lap feature, a long time tradition at the LaCrosse Speedway, returned once again with a very dramatic ending. A late race caution erased a nearly seven second lead for Skylar Holzhausen, but it would not stop him from driving off with his second checkered flag victory this year.
Jeff Partington (Farmington, MN) got around Ryan Kamish (Farmington, MN) to lead the first seven circuits of the Wisconsin Kenworth 50 lap NASCAR Late Model feature. Adam Degenhardt (Coon Valley, WI) touched Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) in turn three on lap eight, sending both cars into the spin cycle. Amazingly the incident did not collect any other drivers and allowed everyone to continue on. Steve Carlson (West Salem, WI) wasted little time off of the restart to power past Partington and take over the lead position. Carlson’s time up front lasted only five laps as Skylar Hozlhausen (Bangor, WI) caught and passed the “King of the Short Tracks” to take charge of the race. A spin in turn four by Ryan Brown (LaCrescent, MN) on lap 14 slowed the action briefly. As Holzhausen began to open up a huge advantage on the field, Jacob Goede was powering through the field after starting 17th following the incident he was in earlier. Goede broke into the top five as the crossed flags were displayed. Over the next fifteen laps Adam Bendzick (New Prague, MN) lost fourth to Goede, Steve Bachman (Bangor, WI) surrendered third to the orange 72 machine, and Carlson saw Goede power by him for second with ten laps to go. All hope was lost for a win for Goede when the caution flew with four laps left. Jimmy Summerfield (Rockland, WI) saw his engine expire and resulted in contact with the turn one wall. Rookie Andy Barney (West Salem, WI) spun in Summerfield’s fluid. After a brief red flag for cleanup, Holzhausen and Goede lined up side-by-side. Holzhausen made quick work of Goede on the restart and pulled away to his second feature win of the year. After the race Holzhausen said “I have been coming to the fair since I was a little kid dreaming of winning the big fair race at my hometown track, and now I have achieved that life long dream.”
Bob Fort (Fountain City, WI) was leading the NASCAR Sportsmen feature with four laps remaining when Chris Weber (Cashton, WI) challenged him again for the win. Weber, the driver that broke Fort’s four race win streak, unfortunately broke out three different times during the feature leading to his disqualification. Fort held off Henry Vian (Sparta, WI) late in the going to score his fifth victory of 2024.
You have heard of the sophomore slump, but Carter Horstman has been experiencing the third year slump. Mechanical issues and bad breaks have made this season a difficult one until tonight. Taking the lead of the NASCAR Hornet feature on lap three, Horstman had the dominant car this night as he captured his first checkered flag win of the season.
John Clauson shot past Matthew Parent for the lead on lap five of the Six Shooter feature. Not even Jay Raines could make a dent into Clauson’s insurmountable lead as Clauson checked out on the field to hit the finish line first.
The Mini-Van feature saw a seesaw battle over the lead between Kevin Laufenburg and John Clauson for the first two-thirds of the race. Clauson finally took the lead for good with five laps remaining and pulled away from Laufenburg to wrap up his second feature win on the night.
Jason Stark powered by Jerimy Wagner and his resorted Steve Holzhausen CWRA Mustang at the mid-race mark of the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series feature. Stark left the field in his dust as he drove off with a very comfortable victory. Stark was driving the former vintage car piloted by Woody Poole, who won the vintage feature at Oktoberfest for four straight years.
This week’s Novelty event was the Drive-Thru Race. During the race each driver had to stop at the bucket and deposit their token. Rob Stanfield and four other drivers decided to do that right after the green flag waved on the race. That was to their advantage as Stanfield powered his way to the win.
After running hard for 50 laps this week, the Late Models will be running a marathon of five straight programs with double features to end the 2024 racing campaign. That endless running of double features nights stars next Saturday, July 27. Along with that first pair of 20 laps features you will see the Sportsmen, Hornets, Street Stocks, High School Racing Association and the 3rd Over the Line Wins Novelty event. Bring the kids out early to the track for their chance to ride in a full-sized race car during the Kids’ Rides after qualifying. Gates open at 5:30, group and single car qualifying fires up shortly after that and the ‘on the edge of your seat’ racing competition takes the green at 7.
For more information about the LaCrosse Speedway or the 2024 schedule of events, please call the track office at 608-786-1525 or visit our website at lacrossespeedway.com. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
RESULTS
Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models
Feature (50 laps): 1. Skylar Holzhausen, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Adam Bendzick, 4. Steve Carlson, 5. Steve Bachman, 6. Mike Carlson, 7. Tony Leis, 8. Ryan Kamish, 9. Nick Clements, 10. Bryan Worlstad, 11. MIchael Haggar, 12. Tom Luethe, 13. Jeff Partington, 14. Don Turner, 15. Ryan Brown, 16. Andy Barney, 17. Gib Scharpf, 18. Adam Degenhardt, 19. Jimmy Summerfield, 20. Chris Skrede
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Adam Degenhardt, 2. Adam Bendzick, 3. Skylar Holzhausen, 4. Steve Bachman, 5. Jacob Goede, 6. Bryan Wrolstad
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Steve Carlson, 2. Ryan Kamish, 3. Nick Clements, 4. Mike Carlson, 5. Tony Leis, 6. Gib Schrapf, 7. Michael Haggar
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Tom Luethe, 2. Jeff Partington, 3. Andy Barney, 4. Ryan Brown, 5. Don Turner, 6. Chris Skrede, 7. Jimmy Summerfield
Qualifying: 1. Skylar Holzhausen 19.430, 2. Jacob Goede 19.559, 3. Adam Bendzick 19.724, 4. Bryan Wrolstad 19.775, 5. Steve Bachman 19.863, 6. Adam Degenhardt 19.866, 7. Tony Leis 19.895, 8. Nick Clements 19.900, 9. Gib Scharpf 19.977, 10. Mike Carlson 19.991, 11. Michael Haggar 20.061, 12. Steve Carlson 20.115, 13. Ryan Kamish 20.142, 14. Jeff Partington 20.148, 15. Tom Luethe, 20.168, 16. Ryan Brown 20.420, 17. Don Turner 20.543, 18. Chris Skrede 20.757, 19. Andy Barney 20.896, 20. Jim Summerfield 22.203
NASCAR Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Bob Fort, 2. Henry Vian, 3. Dan Gilster, 4. Tina Lodermeier, 5. Mark Challet, 6. Bill Schott, 7. Justin Berg, 8. Zach Oliver, 9. Travis Gordon, 10. Andy Muller, 11. Ashton Kinsey, 12. Jason Bolster, 13. Tom Carlson (DQ), 14. Chris Weber (DQ)
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Dan Gilster, 2. Mark Challet, 3. Chris Weber, 4. Justin Berg, 5. Travis Gordon, 6. Henry Vian (DQ)
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Bob Fort, 2. Tom Carlson, 3. Bill Schott, 4. Tina Lodermeier, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Andy Muller, 7. Ashton Kinsey, 8. Jason Bolster
Qualifying: 1. Chris Weber 22.202, 2. Justin Berg 22.219, 3. Travis Gordon 22.228, 4. Dan Gilster 22.231, 5. Henry Vian 22.262, 6. Mark Challet 22.288, 7. Zach Oliver 22.348, 8. Tina Lodermeier 22.349, 9. Bob Fort 22.369, 10. Bill Schott 22.374, 11. Andy Muller 22.578, 12. Ashton Kinsey 22.6190, 13. Tom Carlson 22.997
Skyline Fireworks NASCAR Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Carter Horstman, 2. Mitchell Rinartz, 3. Al Bartels, 4. Shane Kohlmeier, 5. Christopher Lofquist, 6. Jacob Lodermeier, 7. Jace Flafleur, 8. Shaw Strangstalien, 9. Jimmy Bjorkman, 10. Thomas Farra, 11. Jake Schomers, 12. Terry Lafleur, 13. Brandon Thorson, 14. Paityn Barney, 15. Nick Hadler
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Thomas Farra, 2. Craig Kohlmeier, 3. Jimmy Bjorkman, 4. Christopher Lofquist, 5. Nick Hadler, 6. Jacob Lodermeier
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Jace Lafleur, 2. Brandon Thorson, 3. Paityn Barney, 4. Terry Lafleur, 5. Doyle Cavender, Jr., 6. James Tobias
Heat #2 (8 laps); 1. Carter Horstman, 2. Jake Schomers, 3. Al Bartels, 4. Shaw Strangstalien, 5. Mitchell Rinartz, 6. Abigail Knaack
Qualifying: 1. Christopher Lofquist 15.868, 2. Jimmy Bjorkman 15.932, 3. Nick Hadler 15.963, 4. Shane Kohlmeier 16.097, 5. Jacob Lodermeier 16.112, 6. Thomas Farra 16.183, 7. Al Bartels 16.219, 8. Jake Schomers, 16.221, 9. Mitchell Rinartz 16.292, 10. Abigail Knaack 16.302, 11. Shaw Strangstalien 16.308, 12. Carter Horstman 16.328, 13. Jace Lafleur 16.436, 14. Terry Lafleur 16.653, 15. Brandon Thorson 16.819, 16. Doyle Cavender Jr. 16.962, 17. Paityn Barney 17.328, 18. James Tobias 19.218
Auto Value Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. John Clauson, 2. Jay Raines, 3. Marshall Rinartz, 4. John Huebner, 5. Matthew Parent, 6. Cody Bell, 7. Kyle Cottone, 8. Bryon Olson, 9. Josh Heyer, 10. Joey Miller, 11. Carlie Rinartz
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. John Clauson, 2. Jay Raines, 3. Matthew Parent, 4. Carlie Rinartz, 5. Kyle Cottone, 6. Joey Miller, 7. Marshall Rinartz, 8. John Huebner, 9. Cody Bell, 10. Bryon Olson, 11. Josh Heyer
Qualifying: 1. Marshall Rinartz 16.657, 2. Jay Raines 16.745, 3. Cody Bell 17.148, 4. Kyle Cottone 17.200, 5. Carlie Rinartz 17.365, 6. Matthew Parent 17.445, 7. Bryon Olsen 18.397, 8. Joey Miller 18.731, 9. Josh Heyer 18.823, 10. John Clauson 20.731
Auto Value Mini-Vans
Feature (15 laps): 1. John Clauson, 2. Al Bartels, 3. John Huebner, 4. Marshall Rinartz (DQ), 5. Kevin Laufenburg (DQ)
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. John Clauson, 2. John Huebner, 3. Kevin Laufenburg, 4. Al Bartels, 5. Marshall Rinartz
Qualifying: 1. Kevin Laufenberg 16.900, 2. John Clauson 17.342, 3. Al Bartels 17.393, 4. Marshall Rinartz 17.827
Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jason Stark, 2. Jerimy Wagner, 3. Brian Hesselberg, 4. J.J. Meyer, 5. Justin Jessup, 6. Sean Herzog, 7. Dan Linnehan, 8. Lloyd Wilkinson, 9. Tim Lind, 10. Kenny Hutchens, 11. Mike Breckenridge
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Jerimy Wagner, 2. Justin Jessup, 3. J.J. Meyer, 4. Kenny Hutchens, 5. Mike Breckenridge, 6. Lloyd Wilkinson
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Brian Hesselberg, 2. Dan Linnehan, 3. Jason Stark, 4. Sean Herzog, 5. Tim Lind
Novelty
Drive-Thru Race: 1. Rob Stanfield, 2. John Huebner, 3. Jay Raines, 4. Kyle Cottone, 5. Cody Bell, 6. Carlie Rinartz, 7. John Clauson, 8. Bryon Olson