By: Paul Reichert
July 27, 2024
The 2024 edition of the Summer Olympic Games has kicked off in Paris. The best athletes from all around the world have gathered to prove that they have the talent and ability to be called a world champion. The best Late Model competitors from all over the midwest will be making their way to the LaCrosse Speedway over the final five race nights for an unprecedented finish to a season in track history. The Late Models will run a marathon of five straight double feature nights that will see drivers battle for 210 laps over the course of ten features. That includes the pair of double feature nights over the first half of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Jacob Goede took advantage of a late race restart to strengthen his point lead with winning the first feature, while veteran Minnesota racer Bryan Wrolstad dominated the second race to claim his first big feature win at LaCrosse.
Steve Bachman (Bangor, WI) powered past Jeff Partington (Farmington, MN) for the lead coming out of turn four on the first lap of the first 20 lap Pischke Motors NASCAR Late Model feature. Adam Degenhardt (Coon Valley, WI) got around Partington for second on lap four and tried to keep up with Bachman’s torrid pace. As both Bachman and Degenhardt began to open sizable advantages, Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) and Skylar Holzhausen (Bangor, WI) were both doing everything they could to reel in the top two runners. Goede and Holzhausen moved into third and fourth when the crossed flags were shown. Neither driver was able to make a dent in Degenhardt’s sizable advantage in second. Bachman’s run to victory was slowed by a yellow with just four laps to go for a spin by Ryan Brown (LaCrescent, MN) in turn four. Goede was the first to go to the outside for the double file restart, and wasted little time to charge past Bachman for the lead. Goede checked out on Degenhardt and would capture his fourth victory of the season. After the race Goede said “I actually over drove the car in qualifying, but used a lot more patience to get to the front.”
The second 20 lap PIschke Motors NASCAR Late Model feature witnessed a side-by-side duel for the lead between Bryan Wrolstad (Faribault, MN) and Tom Luethe (West Salem, WI) at the start. Wrolstad finally surged ahead of Luethe down the back straight on lap three to take full command of the race. Contact between Jacob Goede and Adam Bendzick (New Prague, MN) in turn two on lap eight sent multi-time champion Goede into a rare spin. The restart was waved off when contact between Brain Lee (Holmen, WI) and Ryan Brown in the back of the field sent both drivers spinning. Wrolstad wasted little time on the restart to draw away from Luethe. Skylar Holzhausen began to scratch and claw his way through the field as the race entered the second half. Holzhausen broke into the top three after surging past Jeff Partington with seven laps remaining, then needed only three more laps to power by Luethe for second. There was too much distance for Holzhausen to overcome in a handful of laps as Wrolstad drove off with his first ever LaCrosse checkered flag. After the race Wrolstad said “I have to thank my crew for all the hard work they have done to show everyone we can get the job done running weekly here at LaCrosse.”
The Sportsmen feature was led for much of the way by Justin Berg (Bangor, WI). Drivers had to be mindful of the breakout time of 22.100 seconds, and that included point leader Bob Fort (Fountain City, WI). Despite just one breakout in the race, Fort surged ahead of Berg on the outside with two laps left to drive off with his sixth checkered flag win of 2024.
Shaw Strangstalien captured his first ever race win in a heat, and he looked like his good fortune would continue in the Hornet feature. That ended when Jacob Iverson drove around Strangstalien just before halfway and pulled away to a comfortable first win of the season.
In the Street Stock feature, Chris Larson charged by Alex Rud to move into the number one spot just before halfway. Larson was successful in fending off Rob Stanfield, the top dog on the ‘action track’ quarter-mile, to give the former division champion his first win this year
Caleb Arneson powered around Xander Weeks on a lap five restart to take the lead in the High School Racing Association feature. Arenson pulled away from the rest of the pack and took his second checkered flag victory of the year.
If you thought the 2nd Over the Line Wins race is crazy, this week’s Novelty event was an even wilder chess match. The 3rd Over the Line Wins race puts even more pressure on the drivers when to go and when to wait. Lester and Rob Stanfield tried to psych out the other drivers, but moved a little too soon. That allowed Steven Brasda to time his move precisely to win the race.
Be sure to get to the LaCrosse Speedway early for a good seat next Saturday, August 3 so you do not miss the most popular event of the year. No points are on the line but bragging rights and hard hitting glory will be at stake during the World Famous Trailer Race of Destruction at the end of the evening. Before this long running crashfest takes place, the Late Models will run their second double feature night as they continue their marathon of features to end their 2024 campaign. The Sportsmen, Hornets and Six Shooters will also be competing to begin their race towards the end of the season and their championships. Gates open at 5:30, the race against the clock in qualifying fires up shortly after that and the breakneck thrills and speeds of short track racing drops the clutch 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. Jacob Goede, 2. Steve Bachman, 3. Skylar Holzhausen, 4. Adam Bendzick, 5. Adam Degenhardt, 6. Nick Clements, 7. Steve Carlson, 8. Jeremy Wolff, 9. Mike Carlson, 10. Jeff Partington, 11. Tom Luethe, 12. Bryan Wrolstad, 13. Ryan Kamish, 14. Andy Barney, 15. Don Turner, 16. Brian Lee, 17. Ryan Brown
Feature #2 (20 laps): 1. Bryan Wrolstad, 2. Skylar Holzhausen, 3. Tom Luethe, 4. Jeff Partington, 5. Mike Carlson, 6. Jacob Goede, 7. Jeremy Wolff, 8. Steve Bachman, 9. Steve Carlson, 10. Adam Bendzick, 11. Adam Degenhardt, 12. Ryan Kamish, 13. Nick Clements, 14. Ryan Brown, 15. Don Turner, 16. Andy Barney, 17. Brian Lee
Qualifying: 1. Skylar Holzhausen 19.632, 2. Jacob Goede 19.855, 3. Nick Clements 19.888, 4. Mike Carlson 19.985, 5. Adam Degenhardt 19.916, 6. Bryan Wrolstad 19.916, 7. Adam Bendzick 20.001, 8. Jeremy Wolff 20.095, 9. Steve Bachman 20.203, 10. Jeff Partington 20.207, 11. Ryan Kamish 20.232, 12. Steve Carlson 20.242, 13. Tom Luethe 20.389, 14. Don Turner 20.476, 15. Andy Barney 20.517, 16. Ryan Brown 20.611, 17. Brian Lee 20.956
NASCAR Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Bob Fort, 2. Justin Berg, 3. Mark Challet, 4. Tina Lodermeier, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Travis Gordon, 7. Andy Muller, 8. Jason Bolster, 9. Ashton Kinsey
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Zach Oliver, 2. Andy Muller, 3. Justin Berg, 4. Tina Lodermeier (DQ), 5. Bob Fort (DQ)
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Mark Challet, 2. Travis Gordon, 3. Jason Bolster, 4. Ashton Kinsey
Qualifying: 1. Andy Muller 22.160, 2. Tina Lodermeier 22.171, 3. Bob Fort 22.174, 4. Zach Oliver 22.249, 5. Justin Berg, 22.308, 6. Bill Schott 22.311, 7. Jason Bolster 22.727, 8. Ashton Kinsey 22.733, 9. Mark Challet (DQ), 10. Travis Gordon (DQ)
Skyline Fireworks NASCAR Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Jacob Iverson, 2. Shane Kohlmeier, 3. Christopher Lofquist, 4. Nick Hadler, 5. Shaw Strangstalien, 6. Jimmy Bjorkman, 7. Al Bartels, 8. Jake Schomers, 9. Ben Thurk, 10. Abigail Knaack, 11. Justin Iverson, 12. Carter Horstman, 13. Mitchell Rinartz, 14. Jace Lafleur, 15. Kyle Ritter, 16. Rob Curran, 17. Paityn Barney, 18. Brandon Thorson
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Al Bartels, 2. Christopher Lofquist, 3. Jacob Iverson, 4. Ben Thurk, 5. Jimmy Bjorkman, 6. Shane Kohlmeier
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Shaw Starngstalien, 2. Justin Iverson, 3. Nick Hadler, 4. Jake Schomers, 5. Carter Horstman, 6. Abigail Knaack, 7. Kyle Ritter
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Mitchell Rinartz, 2. Jace Lafleur, 3. Rob Curran, 4. Joshua Schwartz, 5. Brandon Thorson, 6. Paityn Barney, 7. Thomas Farra, 8. Aubrey Leis
Qualifying: 1. Jimmy Bjorkman 15.754, 2. Ben Thurk 15.766, 3. Shane Kohlmeier 15.929, 4. Christopher Lofquist 15.956, 5. Jacob Iverson 16.014, 6. Al Bartels 16.047, 7. Nick Hadler 16.049, 8. Mike Carlson 16.064, 9. Abigail Knaack 16.209, 10. Carter Horstman 16.230, 11. Jake Schomers 16.384, 12. Justin Iverson 16.430, 13. Kyle Ritter 16.540, 14. Shaw Strangstalien 16.693, 15. Rob Curran 16.771, 16. Jacob Lodermeier 16.787, 17. Mitchell Rinartz 16.813, 18. Thomas Farra 16.956, 19. Jace Lafleur 17.023, 20. Paityn Barney 17.119, 21. Brandon Thorson 17.369, 22. Aubrey Beis 17.505, 23. Josh Schwartz 17.879
Auto Value Street Stocks
Feature (15 laps): 1. Chris Larson, 2. Rob Stanfield, 3. Lester Stanfield, 4. Keith Larson, 5. Matthew Bornheimer, 6. Al Bartels, 7. Alex Rud, 8. Steven Brasda, 9. Kyle Cottone, 10. Joey MIller, 11. Josh Heyer, 12. Bryon Olson, 13. John Huebner
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Matthew Bornheimer, 2. Chris Larson, 3. Keith Larson, 4. Al Bartels, 5. Rob Stanfield, 6. John Huebner
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Kyle Cottone, 2. Alex Rud, 3. Steven Brasda, 4. Lester Stanfield, 5. Bryon Olson, 6. Josh Heyer, 7. Joey Miller
Qualifying: 1. John Huebner 19.386, 2. Chris Larson 16.448, 3. Keith Larson 16.449, 4. Rob Stanfield 16.502, 5. Matthew Bornheimer 16.816, 6. Al Bartels 17.116, 7. Lester Stanfield 17.381, 8. Steven Brasda 17.547, 9. Joey Miller 17.921, 10. Josh Heyer 18.331, 11. Alex Rud 18.408, 12. Kyle Cottone 18.473, 13. Bryon Olson 18.699
Finish Line Towing High School Racing Association
Feature (15 laps): 1. Caleb Arneson, 2. Xander Weeks, 3. Kennedy Krueger, 4. Parker Thompson, 5. Noah Waughtal, 6. Ayla Reuter, 7. Belle Bolduan, 8. Charlie Thompson, 9. Peyton Payne
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Kennedy Krueger, 2. Charlie Thompson, 3. Noah Waughtal, 4. Caleb Arneson, 5. Xander Weeks, 6. Peyton Payne, 7. Parker Thompson, 8. Ayla Reuter, 9. Bella Bolduan
Qualifying: 1. Charlie Thompson 16.738, 2. Caleb Arneson 17.109, 3. Parker Thompson 17.452, 4. Bella Bolduan 17.588, 5. Peyton Payne 17.715, 6. Xander Weeks 17.792, 7. Noah Waughtal 17.823, 8. Kennedy Krueger 17.905, 9. Alya Reuter 18.015
Novelty
3rd Over the Line Wins: 1. Steven Brasda, 2. Alex Rud, 3. John Huebner, 4. Al Bartels, 5. Kyle Cottone, 6. Bryon Olson, 7. Josh Heyer, 8. Lester Stanfield, 9. Rob Stanfield