By: Paul Reichert

June 1, 2019

One month into the 2019 racing season at the LaCrosse Speedway, there has been exciting competition in all of our weekly divisions. The best battle of all can be found in the NASCAR Late Model division between the its two most recent champions- Steve Carlson and Nick Panitzke. Two late race yellows allowed Panitzke work his way to the lead, with Steve Carlson glued to his bumper.

When the green flag waved for the Bud Light 25 lap main, Jeremy Wagner and Tom Carlson brought the field to the first turn. Wagner bolted to the front ahead of (Tom) Carlson on the back stretch. By lap ten, the Mike Carlson closed the gap on Wagner and began to pressure him for the lead. The first of two yellow flags slowed the action with nine laps to go and made the double file restarts interesting. Mike Carlson shot by Wagner to take command of the race. Panitzke squeezed under Mike Carlson with four to go to take the top spot. Panitzke was able to maintain the lead as (Steve) Carlson’s car began to have handling issues. Panitzke was able to take the win and for his third consecutive race. In victory lane, Panitzke stated “Those guys are picking things up and we have to stay on our A-game.”

In the Sportsmen feature, Brian Hesselberg was leading the way while holding off Chris Weber. With five laps to go they made contact in turn one and spun out. Both were relegated to the rear of the field. That opened the door for Tom Luethe to inherit the lead- yet he was pressured for the remainder of the race as he had to a couple of late race yellow flags to score his first win of the season.

Jason Stark was on his way to a clean sweep in the Hobby Stock division. That was until something broke on Stark’s car with two laps to go, resulting in a surprise feature win for Adam Moore.

Jonathan Burbach started on the pole in the Street Stock feature and led the entire way to capture his first win of 2019. The wacky Outhouse Race lived up to its billing once again as Adam Moore was the ‘King of the Port-A-Potty” for the fourth straight year.

Action continues next Saturday, June 8 with the Late Models, Sportsmen, Hobby Stock and Hornets. After qualifying, another round of Kids’ Rides will takes place. The thrilling Double Spin to Win race for the Novelty division takes place later on in the program. Gates open at 6:00, qualifying begins at 6:15 and racing starts at 7:30.

For more information on the LaCrosse Speedway or the 2019 schedule of events, please call the office at 608-786-1525 or visit lacrossespeedway.com. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Hometrack, part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

RESULTS

Tobacco Outlet Plus Grocery NASCAR Late Models

Feature: 1. Nick Panitzke, 2. Steve Carlson, 3. Nick Clements, 4. MIke Carlson, 5. Ty Reedy

6-For-6 Dash: 1. Reedy, 2. Randy Humfeld, 3. Clements

Heat 1: 1. Brent Kirchner, 2. Don Turner, 3. Jeff Partington

Heat 2: 1. S. Carlson, 2. Tom Carlson, 3. Jerimy Wagner

Qualifying: 1. Panitzke, 2. Matt Henderson, 3. Cole Howland

Mountain Dew AMP Game Fuel Sportsmen

Feature: 1. Tom Luethe, 2. Chris Skrede, 3. Chris Weber, 4. Sam Niles, 5. Jeff Thompson

6-For-6 Dash: 1. Luethe, 2. Thompson, 3. Weber

Heat: 1. Jesse Green, 2. Henry Vian, 3. Niles

Qualifying: 1. Weber, 2. Luethe, 3. Brian Hesselberg

Auto Value Hobby Stocks

Feature: 1. Adam Moore, 2. Kaleb Hardy, 3. Tom Farra, 4. Jason Bolster, 5. Brandon Gallagher

Dash: 1. Jason Stark, 2. Hardy, 3. Dan Secor

Heat: 1. Gallagher, 2. Bill Schott, 3. Farra

Qualifying: 1. Stark (15.806–NTR), 2. Moore, 3. Hardy

Auto Value Street Stocks

Feature: 1. Jonathan Burbach, 2. Rob Schliefer, 3. Chris Larson, 4. Al Bartels, 5. Jestin Delap, Sr.

Heat 1: 1. Schliefer, 2. Scott Pataska, 3. Cameron Riggs

Heat 2: 1. Bartels, 2. Keith Larson, 3. Zach Liebsch

Heat 3: 1. Jake Schomers, 2. Alex Liebsch, 3. Tristan Drazkowski

Qualifying: 1. C. Larson, 2. Schomers, 3. Skylar Pozanc

Outhouse Race: 1. Adam Moore, 2. Kaleb Hardy, 3. Brandon Gallagher