By: Paul Reichert
May 17, 2025
Remember the dramatic ending to the 2024 NASCAR Late Model season? Skylar Holzhausen wins the final of four features at Oktoberfest to repeat as track champion by just two points over Jacob Goede. Even though it has been seven months since that happened, 2025 got off to the same start for the Bangor native. After starting in 12th position, Holzhausen methodically made his way through the field before powering around race long leader Tony Leis late in the going to start his title defense off with another impressive feature victory.
Tony Leis (Middle Ridge, WI) powered by Jeremy Wolff (Chaska, MN) to take the lead at the start of the 25 lap Budweiser NASCAR Late Model feature. As Leis pulled out to a healthy lead, Wolff would have to deal with Mike Carlson (West Salem, WI) in the fight over second. Wolff stood his ground for several laps before slowly pulling away from Carlson. Adam Bendzick (New Prague, MN) would battle with Carlson over third for several laps, but when the crossed flags were displayed a new challenge was looking for another victory. Two-time and defending champion Skylar Holzhausen (Bangor, WI) broke into the top five at halfway, and began to make his presence known. After taking away from Bendzick on lap 14, third from Carlson on lap 16 and second from Wolff on lap 17, could Holzhausen catch Leis in the final eight circuits? Holzhausen took big bites out of Leis’ advantage before driving around the 07 machine with just two left. Just as he ended 2024, Holzhausen kicked off his title defense with yet another checkered flag to add to his garage.
Bob Fort (Fountain City, WI) started up front in the NASCAR Sportsmen feature and quickly shot to the top spot. Charles Vian, Jr. (Sparta, WI) and Dan Linnehan (Leon, WI) also had fast race cars that were doing everything they could to close the gap on Fort. Fort was no match for neither Vian, Jr. nor Linnehan as the reigning division champion drove off with his first checkered flag of the year.
The NASCAR Hornet feature saw a back-and-forth battle take place between Brandon Olson and Jace Lafleur. A brand new ride gave Lafleur his first ever Dash win earlier in the day, and saw him in contention for his first ever feature win. Olson would get the better of the young lion with two laps to go and captured his first checkered flag in a while.
John Clauson dominated much of the way in the Six Shooter feature until he had a new challenger to his lead. Curtis Hellickson closed up on Clauson before powering under the ‘Reckless’ one with just three laps remaining to give the HSRA overall series champion the win.
The first Mini-Van feature of the year saw Kevin Laufenberg shoot past the front row to lead the opening lap. He was quickly overtaken a lap later by Matt Parent, who had to contend with quarter-mile master Rob Stanfield down the stretch. Parent did a masterful job to stay ahead of Stanfield to claim the victory, which went along with his first-ever fast qualifier honor earlier in the day.
The first Novelty event of the season was the Joker Lap Race. A tire was set up in turn two and once during the race you had to go around it for the Joker Lap. Rob Stanfield did his Joker Lap early and regained the lead a lap later when others did theirs. Stanfield ran away from the field to score the victory.
While we got the 2025 racing season underway, the start of 2025 was the end of an era in the pits at the LaCrosse Speedway. Ray Loughan has been a fixture at the LaCrosse Speedway since 1989 as one of the hardest working officials in the pits race in and race out. His voice is even more famous when calling out the drivers to get ready for practice or a race. This was the final race for Ray, and we thank him for his dedication and service to the LaCrosse Speedway.
Ray Loughan is a veteran, and we salute all of our retired veterans and active duty military with a big night of racing on Saturday, May 24. The Late Models, Sportsmen, Hornets, Street Stocks, Mini-Vans and Great North Legends will create excitement on the race track. The wild and out of control Spin to Win Novelty race will leave you dizzy. There will be a lot of heavy pockets, wallets and purses full of quarters and dollar bills for our annual Buck-Buck Night. All items in the concession stands will be just $2 for the night, and cold beers will be a measly $3. Gates open at 5:15, the race against the clock in qualifying starts up at 5:30 and the ‘edge of your seat’ racing revs up at 7.
For more information about the LaCrosse Speedway and the 2025 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 Regional race track, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
RESULTS
Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Adam Bendzick, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Skylar Holzhausen, 4. Adam Degenhardt, 5. Bryan Wrolstad, 6. Jason Stark
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Tony Leis, 2. Mike Carlson, 3. Jeremy Wolff, 4. Nick Clements, 5. Steve Bachman, 6. Michael Beamish, 7. Tom Luethe, 8. Gib Scharpf
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Devin Schmidt, 2. Cole Howland, 3. Steve Carlson, 4. Chad Walen, 5. Ryan Brown, 6. Don Turner, 7. Brian Lee, 8. Joe Nuttleman
Qualifying: 1. Skylar Holzhausen, 19.3870; 2. Adam Degenhardt, 19.4700; 3. Jacob Goede, 19.4910; 4. Bryan Wrolstad, 19.5080; 5. Adam Bendzick, 19.5110; 6. Jason Stark, 19.6730; 7. Steve Bachman, 19.6990; 8. Tom Luethe, 19.7230; 9. Michael Beamish, 19.7410; 10. Gib Scharpf, 19.7970; 11. Michael Carlson, 19.8060; 12. Nick Clements, 19.8260; 13. Tony Leis, 19.8340; 14. Jeremy Wolff, 19.8390; 15. Chad Walen, 19.8920; 16. Cole Howland, 20.0070; 17. Steve Carlson, 20.0071; 18. Devin Schmidt, 20.1390; 19. Don Turner, 20.3170; 20. Ryan Brown, 20.5970; 21. Joe Nuttleman, 20.6720; 22. Brian Lee, 21.2190
TDS Telecom NASCAR Sportsmen
Feature (15 laps): 1. Bob Fort, 2. Charles Vian, Jr. 3. Dan Linnehan, 4. Tina Lodermeier, 5. Zach Oliver, 6. Taylor Goldman, 7. Jacob Lodermeier, 8. Justin Berg, 9. Kevin Burg, 10. Travis Gordon, 11. Bill Schott
5-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Dan Linnehan, 2. Charles Vian, Jr., 3. Zach Oliver, 4. Jacob Lodermeier, 5. Tina Lodermeier
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Bob Fort, 2. Justin Berg, 3. Taylor Goldman, 4. Bill Schott, 5. Kevin Berg, 6. Travis Gordon
Qualifying: 1. Dan Linnehan, 22.0000; 2. Zach Oliver, 22.0060; 3. Jacob Lodermeier, 22.0110; 4. Charles Vian Jr, 22.0270; 5. Tina Lodermeier, 22.0330; 6. Bill Schott, 22.0640; 7. Taylor Goldman, 22.0720; 8. Robert Fort, 22.1460; 9. Kevin Burr, 22.1590; 10. Travis Gordon, 22.2430; 11. Justin Berg, NO TIME
Skyline Fireworks NASCAR Hornets
Feature (15 laps): 1. Brandon Olson, 2. Jace Lafleur, 3. Greg Oliver, 4. Jake Schomers, 5. Jimmy Bjorkman, 6. Carter Horstman, 7. Mitchell Rinartz, 8. Shane Kohlmeier, 9. Al Bartels, 10. Nick Hadler, 11. Jacob Iverson, 12. Kyle Herlitzke, 13. Brandon Thorson, 14. Terry Lafleur, 15. Abigail Knaack, 16. Alex Liebsch, 17. Shawn Strangstalien, 18. Ben Thurk, 19. Dakota Clauson
6-for-6 Dash (6 laps): 1. Jace Lafleur, 2. Jimmy Bjorkman, 3. Shawn Strangstalien, 4. Carter Horstman, 5. Ben Thurk, 6. Shane Kohlmeier
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Brandon Thorson, 2. Mitchell Rinartz, 3. Abigail Knaack, 4. Alex Liebsch, 5. Dakota Clauson
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Brandon Olson, 2. Nick Hadler, 3. Greg Oliver, 4. Jake Schomers, 5. Jacob Iverson, 6. Terry Lafleur, 7. Kyle Herlitzke
Qualifying: 1. Carter Horstman, 15.6710; 2. Shane Kohlmeier, 15.7700; 3. Ben Thurk, 15.7720; 4. Shaw Strangstalien, 15.7740; 5. Jimmy Bjorkman, 15.7940; 6. Jace Lafleur, 15.8660; 7. Nick Hadler, 15.9050; 8. Jacob Iverson, 15.9780; 9. Brandon Olson, 16.0840; 10. Jake Schomers, 16.0890; 11. Greg Oliver, 16.1470; 12. Kyle Herlitzke, 16.2660; 13. Terry Lafleur, 16.5750; 14. Mitchell Rinartz, 16.6770; 15. Dakota Clauson, 16.7340; 16. Abigail Knaack, 16.7670; 17. Brandon Thorson, 17.0870; 18. Alex Liebsch, 17.6540
Auto Value Six Shooters
Feature (15 laps): 1. Curtis Hellickson, 2. John Clauson, 3. Marshall Rinartz, 4. Dan Osthoff, 5. Dakota Clauson, 6. Ryan Stanfield, 7. Rob Stanfield, 8. Landon Lockington, 9. Matt Parent, 10. Steven Brasda, 11. Carlie Rinartz, 12. Bryon Olson, 13. Bethany Cottone, 14. Chris Christen
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Ryan Stanfield, 2. Landon Lockington, 3. John Clauson, 4. Carlie Rinartz, 5. Bryon Olson, 6. Bethany Cottone, 7. Chris Christen
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Matt Parent, 2. Rob Stanfield, 3. Curtis Hellickson, 4. Marshall Rinartz, 5. Dakota Clauson, 6. Steven Brasda, 7. Dan Osthoff
Qualifying: 1. Dan Osthoff, 16.1870; 2. Robert Stanfield, 16.3360; 3. Dakota Clauson, 16.3370; 4. Curtis Hellcikson, 16.5690; 5. Steve Brasda, 16.6310; 6. Marshall Rinartz, 16.6320; 7. Matthew Parent, 16.7440; 8. John Clauson, 16.7930; 9. Ryan Stanfield, 16.8530; 10. Chris Christen, 17.2000; 11. Landon Lockington, 17.9840; 12. Carlie Rinartz, 18.0470; 13. Bryon Olsen, 19.4250; 14. Bethany Cottone, 23.1860, 15. Jessica Rinartz, NO TIME
Auto Value Mini-Vans
Feature (15 laps): 1. Matt Parent, 2. Rob Stanfield, 3. Kevin Laufenberg, 4. John Huebner, 5. Fletcher Milene, 6. Matthew Miller, 7. Marshall Rinartz, 8. Adam Milene
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Rob Stanfield, 2. Kevin Laufenberg, 3. Matt Parent, 4. Fletcher Milene, 56. Marshall Rinartz, 6. Adam Milene
Qualifying: 1. Matthew Parent, 16.8740; 2. Robert Stanfield, 16.9860; 3. 4. Kevin Laufenberg, 17.2020; 4. Fletcher Milene, 17.3690; 5. Marshall Rinartz, 18.1170, 6. Adam Milene, NO TIME
Novelty
Joker Lap Race: 1. Rob Stanfield, 2. Dan Osthoff, 3. Steven Brasda, 4. Chris Christen, 5. Marshall Rinartz, 6. Carlie Rinartz