By:  Paul Reichert

July 17, 2024

Tom Reffner is one of the classiest and most successful racing personalities to grace the Wisconsin short track scene.  Reffner was a prominent contender at each race and each track on the Central Wisconsin Racing Association for many years.  Reffner was crowned the first Oktoberfest champion in 1970 on his way to three titles.  Son Bryan and grandson Colin have shown they have the racing genes that their dad and grandfather passed onto them.  Tonight we recognize the ‘Blue Knight’ with the inaugural running of the Tom Reffner 88 Classic at the LaCrosse Speedway.  With the Reffner family on hand to witness this event, Ty Majeski was the man to beat as he swept both 44 lap feature segments to drive off with a huge payday.   

Bryce Miller (Columbus, WI) outran Matthew Henderson (Coon Valley, WI) to the lead at the start of the first 44 lap segment of the Tom Reffner 88 Classic.  Henderson began to reel Miller back in using the inside groove, then powered under Miller entering turn three and came out of turn four with the number one position on lap three.  Henderson quickly began to pull away from the pack, even though Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) moved into second on lap eight,  Billy Mohn (Elko New Market, MN) lost control of his race car in turn four and hit the wall and the styrofoam blocks.  It was a hard hit, but Mohn was alert and awake.  Goede wasted little time to power by Henderson on the restart with Ty Majeski (Seymour, WI) following in Goede’s tire tracks.  Majeski surged underneath Goede for the lead on lap 18 with Levon Van der Geest (Merrill, WI) shooting past Goede and taking over the runner-up spot.  Van der Geest was doing everything he could to keep up with Majeski’s torrid pace, but Majeski began to pull away from Van der Geest with 16 laps remaining.  Van der Geest would get another chance at Majeski when Joseph Scholze (Holmen, WI) spun on the front straight with nine laps to go.  Majeski quickly got ahead of Van der Geest on the restart, and now the 23 machine’s mirrors were full of Goede in the fight for second.  After the race Majeski said “We have a good race and a good race, but we will make a few minor changes for the next segment.”

Jeff Storm (Waterford, WI) shot past Matthew Henderson to take the lead at the start of Tom Reffner 88 Classic segment number two.  Derek Lemke (Charlotte, NC) looped his race car in turn two on lap three and Braden Berge (Elkhorn, WI) had nowhere to go but into the outside wall.  Storm’s mirror quickly filled up with the white machine of Johnny Sauter (DeForest, WI).  Sauter powered his way past Storm to assume the lead on lap seven.  Colin Reffner (Custer, WI) got turned around in turn four on lap 14 to bring out another caution period.  Majeski was all over the back of Sauter’s car in pursuit of a sweep of both segments on the restart.  That battle was interrupted by the front straight spin of Ty Fredrickson (Northfield, MN), who parked his car on the angled wall slab on the front straight.  Majeski went right after Sauter again on the restart with both drivers making contact in turn two.  Majeski pulled ahead for the lead, while Sauter would have his hands full with both Jacob Goede and Levon Van der Geest.  Sauter pulled away from both Goede and Van der Geest and refocused his energy on Majeski.  Van der Geest powered around Goede to settle into third with nine laps remaining.  Sauter tried to close in on Majeski but the night belonged to the Seymour native as he swept the show and earned a cool $20,000 for the victory.  After the race Majeski said “No matter what we are racing and where we are, we always have a good time racing and I hope the Reffner 88 becomes a big mid-season event here at LaCrosse.”  

Mark Mackesy (Wausau, WI) powered to the lead of the first 30 lap CWRA Late Model feature.  Thomas Farra (Cataract, WI) spun out entering turn one on lap three to bring out the first yellow flag.  Off the restart Paul Paine (Mound, MN) took to the outside and applied a lot of pressure on Mackesy.  Paine nosed ahead of Mackesy for lead at the end of laps six, seven and eight before surging down the back straight to take over control of the race on lap nine.  Larry Schotten (Baraboo, WI) spun out in turn two on lap 14 to bring back the yellow flag.  Dan Linnehan (Leon, WI) began to catch up to Paine and challenge for the lead past halfway.   Fast qualifier Darek Gress (Neillsville, WI) got into Linnehan and turned him on the front straight with 13 laps remaining.  Gress “tapped out” to admit fault and put Linnehan back in second place.  Corey Jankowski (Tomah, WI) powered around Linnehan to take over second with eight laps left.  There was just too much ground for Jankowski to make up as Paine drove away with the victory.  After the race Paine said “The quarter-mile here at LaCrosse was slick and challenging.  It was one of the toughest races I have ever run.”

Tyler Sauter (Necedah, WI) powered by first year CWRA Late Model racer Shelby Lockington (Mindoro, WI) to lead the early going of 30 lap CWRA Late Model feature #2.  Darek Gress powered by Lockington for second on lap two and began to close the gap on Sauter.  Lockington and Mark Mackesy got together in turn four, which sent Mackesy into the spin cycle on lap ten. Mackesy got his position in sixth back after Lockington ‘tapped out”.  Gress tagged the back straight wall and his rear bumper cover got loose just before halfway.  Corey Jankowski began to eat up Sauter’s advantage before powering under the black 7 machine on lap 17.  Monte Gress (Neillsville, WI) got turned by Thomas Farra in turn four and made contact with the tire.  The restart only completed one lap before Jeff Weinfurter (Wisconsin Rapids, WI) ran a bit too wide in turn two and hit the tires lining the outside wall hard.   Jankowski would have to deal with first feature winner Paul Paine on the restart.  Jankowski got loose in turn two with eight laps left, and Paine took advantage to take over the lead.  Jankowski was relentless in throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Paine, but it came to a head with three laps remaining.  Jankowski tried to get under Paine, but they made contact and Jankowski lost it coming out of turn two.  Paine pulled away from Sauter over the final few laps to sweep the features and claim a $500 bonus from O’Brien and Associates Security.  After the race Paine said “It was hard to race on this slick track, but the tires and I just had enough left in us to pull off the win.”

The biggest week of racing in the history of the LaCrosse Interstate Fair and the LaCrosse Speedway continues on Saturday, July 20 with the resumption of a long standing fair tradition.  WIsconsin Kenworth returns to sponsor the Fair Time 50, a huge 50-lap main event for the Late Models that will handsomely pay $1,000 to the winner.  The Sportsmen, Hornets, Six Shooters and Mini-Vans will be in action, plus the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series make their annual pre-Oktoberfest visit to transport us back to the good old days of racing at LaCrosse.  The Novelty event you will get a kick out of this week is the Wild and Wacky Drive-Thru Race.  Gates open at 5:30, the showdown for speed supremacy in qualifying takes off shortly after that and the battle for the racing ‘blue ribbons’ fires up at 7.

To learn more 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.