By: Paul Reichert
August 3, 2024
Fans jam packed the LaCrosse Speedway not just for the exciting on-track racing competition, but for the bone jarring fan friendly event known as the Trailer Race of Destruction. This annual event provides more hard hits and even faster paced action than a boxing match with Tyson Fury. Before there would be a massive amount of debris all around the ‘action track’ quarter-mile, the fans would be entertained by a lot of close quarters fender rubbing racing action. Both Mike Carlson and Nick Clements built up huge leads in their features, lost their leads to a late race yellow flag, but built them right back up on the restart to score dominant victories in their respective features.
The first 20 lap Auto Value NASCAR Late Model feature saw Mike Carlson (West Salem, WI) powered ahead of dad Steve (West Salem, WI) for the lead. As this famous father and son duo was pulling away from their competition, the rest of the top five was trying to sort itself out. The best battle on the track was over third spot between Michael Beamish (Eagan, MN) and Steve Bachman (Bangor, WI) Bachman took over the last podium spot just before halfway. The first caution of the race flew with five laps to go when Andrew Buhrow (Bangor, WI) made contact with the grass and spun into the infield in turn four. The restart did not last very long as Brian Lee (Holmen, WI) spun out in turn two. Mike Carlson quickly pulled away from dad on the restart, then Skylar Holzhausen (Bangor, WI) and Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) dove low on Steve Carlson to move into second and third with three laps left. Mike Carlson was untouchable the rest of the way as the 2022 champion scored his first win of the season. After the race Carlson said “I literally changed everything on the car prior to tonight and it seemed to be working very well.”
Nick Clements (West Salem, WI) powered by 2022 rookie champion Tom Luethe (West Salem, WI) to take the lead at the start of Auto Value NASCAR Late Model 20 lap feature #2. Both drivers were able to open up a sizable advantage on the field as the rest of the top five tried to get themselves organized once again. Michael Beamish held onto third spot for several laps before his mirrors filled up with Skylar Holzhausen and Jacob Goede as the crossed flags were displayed. The yellow flag came out with six laps to run after contact in turn two between Bryan Wrolstad (Faribault, MN) and Jeff Partington (Farmington, MN) Partington was able to rejoin the field and complete the final feature of his 33-year career with a 12th place effort. Clements immediately opened a lead on the field, while Holzhausen and Adam Bendzick (New Prague, MN) dove to the inside of both Beamish and Luethe with four laps left to complete the rest of the top three runners. Clements was the man to beat in feature #2 as the two-time Chase champion became the seventh feature victor this year. After the race Clements said “The car was not very good in the first feature, but we put in a lot of hard work to make it a rocket ship in the second feature.”
The Sportsmen feature saw Tom Carlson (West Salem, WI) bolt to a huge lead at the start of the race without forcing the issue of the breakout time of 22.000. Bob Fort (Fountain City, WI) took over second with six laps left and slowly began to reel in Carlson. Fort was unable to make a move around the veteran LaCrosse competitor over the final two laps as Carlson became just the third different feature winner of 2024.
Jimmy Bjorkman thought he was about to become the first repeat Hornet feature winner of the year until a hard hit into the back straight wall by Brandon McCarthy with four laps remaining brought out the yellow. Ben Thurk powered by Bjorkman using the outer lane on the restart to hit the finish line first and become the first repeat winner after eight features run this season.
John Clauson looked like he was on his way to another feature win in the Six Shooters until a late yellow flew with two laps to go that led to Clauson ducking into the pits. Clauson’s misstep was Jay Raines’ gain as he pulled away in the final shootout to score his second checkered flag victory of the year.
This fantastic night of racing came to a thrilling conclusion with the annual running of the World Famous Trailer Race of Destruction. The objective of this hard hitting competition is to do the best job of taking out the mobile homes, boat trailers and campers of the other drivers and smash them to smithereens. The winner is not decided on the track, but ultimately by the fans that gather for this annual night of good clean fun. Tristan Finnigan did the best job of destruction in the fans’ eyes to claim the prestigious Gargoyle trophy.
It is hard to believe, but next Saturday, August 10 is the final night of weekly racing at the LaCrosse Speedway. The Late Models will have their biggest night of their run of consecutive double feature programs as they battle in a pair of 25 lap features with a big $2,500 to win payday for each. All of this is happening as we salute the late Don Dionne, our former pace truck driver for a decade. The Sportsmen, Hornets, Street Stocks, Mini-Vans and the Spin to Win Novelty event are also a part of our weekly finale program. In addition, the High School Racing Association will run double features as well to crown their 2024 season champion. You have one last chance to give the kids the thrill of a lifetime with the last Kids’ Rides of the year after qualifying. Gates open at 5:30, the battle to be the quickest in qualifying revs up shortly after that and the night to remember a beloved LaCrosse family member goes green at 7.
To learn more about the LaCrosse Speedway or the 2024 schedule of events, 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 #1 (20 laps): 1. Mike Carlson, 2. Skylar Holzhausen, 3. Jacob Goede, 4. Steve Carlson, 5. Steve Bachman, 6. Bryan Worlstad, 7. Michael Beamish, 8. Jeff Partington, 9. Tom Luethe, 10. Nick Clements, 11. Don Turner, 12. Andy Barney, 13. Thomas Farra, 14. Brian Lee, 15. Adam Bendzick, 16. Andrew Buhrow, 17. Michael Haggar, 18. Adam Degenhardt
Feature #2 (20 laps): 1. Nick Clements, 2. Skylar Holzhausen, 3. Adam Bendzick, 4. Jacob Goede, 5. Michael Beamish, 6. Steve Carlson, 7. Adam Degenhardt, 8. Mike Carson, 9. Michael Haggar, 10. Tom Luethe, 11. Don Turner, 12. Jeff Partington, 13. Andy Barney, 14. Bryan Wrolstad, 15. Thomas Farra, 16. Brian Lee, 17. Steve Bachman, 18. Andrew Buhrow
Qualifying: 1. Skylar Holzhausen 19.805, 2. Adam Bendzick 19.827, 3. Jacob Goede 19.855, 4. Bryan Wrolstad 19.870, 5. Nick Clements 19.922, 6. Adam Degenhardt 19.976, 7. Steve Bachman 20.042, 8. Michael Beamish 20.058, 9. Steve Carlson 20.077, 10. MIke Carlson 20.140, 11.Tom Luethe 20.185, 12. Jeff Partington 20.201, 13. Andy Barney 20.549, 14. Don Turner 20.556, 15. Brian Lee 20.880, 16. Thomas Farra 21.068, 17. Andrew Buhrow 21.497
NASCAR Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Tom Carlson, 2. Bob Fort, 3. Dan GIlster, 4. Justin Berg, 5. Bill Schott, 6. Tina Lodermeier, 7. Zach Oliver, 8. Dexter Malin, 9. Travis Gordon, 10. Andy Muller, 11. Jason Bolster
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Tina Lodermeier, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Bob Fort, 4. Travis Gordon, 5. Justin Berg, 6. Dan Gilster (DQ)
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Tom Carlson, 2. Zach Oliver, 3. Dexter Malin, 4. Andy Muller, 5. Jason Bolster, 6. Tony Leis
Qualifying: 1. Bob Fort 22.015, 2. BIll Schott 22.022, 3. Justin Berg 22.031, 4. Dan Gilster 22.037, 5. Tina Lodermeier 22.039, 6. Travis Gordon 22.055, 7. Tony Leis 22.056, 8. Zach Oliver 22.070, 9. Dexter Malin 22.107, 10. Tom Carlson 22.253, 11. Jason Bolster 22.797, 12. Andy Muller 22.979
Skyline Fireworks NASCAR Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Ben Thurk, 2. Jimmy Bjorkman, 3. Christopher Lofquist, 4. Jace Flafleur, 5. Al Bartels, 6. Carter Horstman, 7. Mitchell Rinartz, 8. Terry Lafleur, 9. Shane Kohlmeier, 10. Scott Buhrow, 11. Doyle Cavender, Jr., 12. Aubrie Leis, 13. Brandon McCarthy, 14. Jake Schomers, 15. Jacob Iverson, 16. Nick Hadler, 17. Abigail Knaack, 18. Jacob Lodermeier, 19. Shaw Strangstalien, 20. James Tobias
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Terry Lafleur, 2. Scott Buhrow, 3. Doyle Cavender, Jr., 4. Aubrie Leis, 5. Craig Kohlemier, 6. James Tobias, 7. Jacob Lodermeier, 8. Kyle Ritter
Qualifying: 1. Ben Thurk 15.852, 2. Jacob Iverson 15.971, 3. Jimmy Bjorkman 16.005, 4. Shane Kohlmeier 16.013, 5. Christopher Lofquist 16.047, 6. Abigail Knaack 16.162, 7. Carter Horstman 16.236, 8. Al Bartels 16.253, 9. Jake Schomers 16.277, 10. Nick Hadler 16.307, 11. Shaw Strangstalien 16.427, 12. Mitchell Rinartz 16.448, 13. Jace Lafleur 16.502, 14. Brandon McCarthy 16.603, 15. Scott Buhrow 16.610, 16. Criag Kohlmeier 16.643, 17. Terry Lafleur 16.764, 18. Kyle Ritter 16.801, 19. Jacob Lodermeier 17.159, 20. Doyle Cavender, Jr. 17.330, 21. Aubrie Leis 17.379. 22. James Tobias 29.059
Auto Value Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jay Raines, 2. Matthew Miller, 3. Matthew Parent, 4. Marshall Rinartz, 5. Scott Mahlum, 6. Kyle Cottone, 7. Melissa Rusch, 8. Landon Lockington, 9. Cody Bell, 10. Josh Heyer, 11. A.J. Finnigan, 12. John Clauson, 13. Joey Miller, 14. Kyle Hopkins, 15. Mike Heyer, 16. Tim Murphy, Sr., 17. Carlie Rinartz, 18. Jessica Rinartz, 19. Amy Witcraft, 20. Dakota Clauson, 21. Alex Rud, 22. John Huebner, 23. Bryon Olsen, 24. Devin Glass
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Dakota Clauson, 2. Melissa Rusch, 3. Kyle Cottone, 4. Joey Miller, 5. Kyle Hopkins, 6. Josh Heyer, 7. Bryon Olsen, 8. Amy Witcraft
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1.Matthew Miller, 2. Scott Mahlum, 3. A.J. Finnigan, 4. Alex Rud, 5. Landon Lockington, 6. Devin Glass, 7. Jessica Rinartz, 8. Mike Heyer
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Matthew Parent, 2. Carlie Rinartz, 3. John Clauson, 4. Marshall Rinartz, 5. John Huebner, 6. Tim Murphy, Sr., 7. Jay Raines, 8. Cody Bell
Qualifying: 1. Cody Bell 16.517, 2. John Huebner 16.517, 3. Jay Raines 16.627, 4, Marshall RInartz 16.890, 5. Tim Murphy, Sr. 16.967, 6. Carlie Rinartz 16.976, 7. John Clauson 17.067, 8. Matthew Parent 17.248, 9. Scott Mahlum 17.314, 10. Landon Lockington 17.320, 11. Mike Heyer 17.389, 12. Alex Rud 17.502, 13. Devin Glass 17.586, 14. Matthew Miller 17.640, 15. A.J. Finnigan 17.856, 16. John Heyer 17.861, 17. Kyle Cottone 17.864, 18. Bryon Olsen 18.146, 19. Kyle Hopkins 20.343, 20. Melissa Rusch 20.599, 21. Dakota Clauson 20.968, 22. Amy Witcraft 21.661, 23. Joey Miller 27.178
Trailer Race of Destruction (Fan Vote) 1. Tristan Finnigan, 2. Dakota Clauson, 3. Jared Novak