By: Paul Reichert
July 27, 2019
As the championship races begin to heat up at the LaCrosse Speedway, the racing action is also becoming very competitive every week. As Steve Carlson and Nick Panitzke fight for the season-long Late Model championship, new faces have emerged in victory lane recently. Tonight it was Nick Murgic’s turn to steal the spotlight from the NASCAR Late Model championship pair. Murgic lead from the pole and had to fight back a hard charging Jacob Goede to capture his first ever regular season feature win.
Nick Murgic (Rosemount, MN) started on the pole of the Reinhart Foodservice 25 Late Model feature and quickly assumed command. Murgic would open up his lead over Tony Bagstad (Westby, WI) as the rest of the field was trying to sort itself out. Among the drivers trying to get to the front were Jacob Goede (Carver, MN), winner of one of last week’s twin features, as well as the championship duo of Nick Panitzke (Lonsdale, MN) and Steve Carlson (West Salem, WI). Entering the feature, Panitzke held a three point lead over Carlson. Goede drove past Bagstad to settle into second on lap 14. Over the remaining 11 laps, Goede would slowly chop away at Murgic’s lead. Lap traffic played a big role in deciding the outcome of the race over the final two laps. Murgic held onto a slim two car length lead over Goede at the finish to capture his first win at LaCrosse since Oktoberfest 2012. After the race, Murgic said “We made a couple adjustments after our heat race. We were excited to be very competitive here tonight.” Panitzke ran fourth behind Carlson, and holds a single point lead in the championship hunt.
Chris Weber (Sparta, WI) took the lead halfway through the Sportsmen feature. After yellow flew for a spinning Sam Niles in turn four with six to go, Jeff Thompson (West Salem, WI) and Tom Luethe (West Salem, WI) had another shot at the win. Weber pulled away on the restart and motored away to capture his fifth win this season.
Adam Moore showed the way early in the Hobby Stock feature, but Kaleb Hardy would track down Moore and make the final few laps exciting. Hardy pulled to within two car lengths, but Moore would keep a tight grasp on the lead to score the victory.
Yellow with five laps to go in the Street Stock feature made the finish very competitive. Dan Frye would be passed on the outside by Jack Schomers with only two laps to go to as Schomers claimed his fourth feature win of the year.
Matt Moore lead the Mini-Van feature, but would have to contend with Rob Stanfield for the last six laps of the race. Moore held off Stanfield to capture the checkered flag first.
The Street Stocks participated in the Novelty event, the Tag Team Race. One driver ran three laps before tagging the bumper of their partner, who ran the last three laps. The No Limitz Racing team of Clayton Haessig and Jonathan Burbach were the top tag team and scored the victory.
Action continues next Saturday, August 3 with the Late Models, Sportsmen, Hobby Stocks and Hornets. Kids get to ride in a stock car during the KQ98 Kids’ Rides after qualifying. Ending the night will be the biggest Novelty event of the season. Get ready for the smashing and crashing mayhem in the World Famous Trailer Race of Destruction. Gates open at 6:00, qualifying begins at 6:15 and racing starts at 7:30.
For more information about 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 Murgic, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Steve Carlson, 4. NIck Panitzke, 5. Nick Clements
6-for-6 Dash: 1. Mike Carlson, 2. Brad Powell, 3. Clements
Heat 1: 1. Murgic, 2. S. Carlson, 3. MIke Ehde
Heat 2: 1. Justin Mullikin, 2. Adam Degenhardt, 3. Justin Neisius
Qualifying: 1. Nick Panitzke, 2. Jacob Goede, 3. Clements
Mountain Dew AMP Game Fuel Sportsmen
Feature: 1. Chris Weber, 2. Jeff Thompson, 3. Tom Luethe, 4. Jack Litshiem, 5. Sam Niles
Dash: 1. Niles, 2. Luethe, 3. Weber
Heat: 1. Justin Berg, 2. Henry Vian, 3. Mandi Eckelberg
Qualifying: 1. Weber, 2. Thompson, 3. Luethe
Auto Value Hobby Stocks
Feature: 1. Adam Moore, 2. Kaleb Hardy, 3. Jason Bolster, 4. Taylor Dobbs, 5. Joel Geisser
Dash: 1. Bolster, 2. Geisser, 3. Alex Rud
Qualifying: 1. A. Moore, 2. Hardy, 3. Bolster
Auto Value Street Stocks
Feature: 1. Jake Schomers, 2. Dan Frye, 3. Al Bartels, 4. Rob Schliefer, 5. Clayton Haessig
Heat 1: 1. Zach Liebsch, 2. Frye, 3. Steve Brasda
Heat 2: 1. Austin Schott, 2. Haessig, 3. Bartels
Heat 3: 1. Schomers, 2. Jonathan Burbach, 3. Schliefer
Qualifying: 1. Schomers, 2. Chris Larson, 3. Tristan Drazkowski
Mountain Dew Mini-Vans
Feature: 1. Matt Moore, 2. Rob Stanfield, 3. Keith Larson, 4. Clayton Haessig, 5. Al Bartels
Heat: 1. M. Moore, 2. Stanfield, 3. Haessig
Qualifying: 1. Stanfield, 2. K. Larson, 3. M. Moore
Novelty Tag Team Race: 1. Clayton Haessig/Jonathan Burbach, 2. Rob Stanfield/Jake Schomers, 3. Steve Brazda/Mike Heyer