8/23/2023
Beaver Dam Raceway
Schmitt Continues Domination; Racing All Around
Beaver Dam, WI (8/23/2023) - Fan Appreciation Night brought great fans and great racing as the five divisions of fun returned after a week break.
19 EK Machines Unified Street Stocks, 17 Legends.Direct Legends, 2 High School Racing Association cars, 19 Beaver Dam Tire and Service IMCA SportMods, 16 N&S Towing IMCA Stock Cars, and 26 Shepy’s Auto Body IMCA Modifieds meant 99 cars ready for battle.
Heat races came and went, with T.J. Reichenberger and Russ Davison winning their EK Machines Unified Street Stocks; Hunter Cardinal and Eric Blumer won the Legends.Direct Legend heats; Ryatt Dobbratz picked up the lone High School Racing Association heat; Jimmy Berkevich and Tim Thrun won the Beaver Dam Tire and Service IMCA SportMods heats; N&S Towing IMCA Stock Car heats went to Karly Stadler and Alex Crapser; the final trio of heats for the Shepy’s Auto Body IMCA Modifieds going to Jeff Schepp, Mike Klenz, and Mike Wedelstadt.
The EK Machines Unified Street Stocks took to the track first for their feature with T.J. Reichenberger and Russ Davison on the point. Davison would fire off well and take the lead heading into lap one. The field scattered behind him as they all fought for track position. Reichenberger shuffled back as the #75F of James Fletcher went to work, trying to pass Jerry Winkler for second. Fletcher eventually got past on lap eight, setting his sights on the race lead. A battle further in the pack included championship rivals Jesse Krahn and Larry Richard, who went at it for fourth. Krahn got the better of the battle and went to work on third place Winkler. Fletcher got to the back bumper of Davison on lap twelve and pestered the #25P before the yellow flag flew. After the liquid spilled onto the track was cleaned, the field took the green again with Davison in the lead followed by Fletcher and Krahn. Fletcher and Krahn challenged once again for the race lead before calamity struck for Krahn, as he got into Davison, sending himself around and bringing out the yellow. Krahn would tag the rear on the restart as the field launched again. Fletcher again looked for the lead, as well as Jon Schultz and Richards. Davison and Fletcher would see the white, as Fletcher dove into turn one, getting into Davison, before Davison returned the favor in turn four, getting into Fletcher’s rear, sending him around, which collected Richards, Krahn, Todd Ascherien, and Dustin Schwandt. A sprint to the line between Krahn, Richards, and Schultz ensued, with the latter ending up the victor on track. As the races concluded for the night, video and scoring was reviewed and it was determined that based on track rules, once a white flag has been displayed any cautions end the race. Therefore the caution cars would be removed and the last completed lap is used for an official finish, in this case it left Larry Richards with the win.
After the excitement cooled down, the Legends.Direct Legends came to the track for their feature. Cal Swenson and Hunter Cardinal got the draw and started from the front row. Cardinal got the jump and led the field through the first lap. Ryan Mech surged to the lead shortly after with Payton Jones along for the ride. Jones moved to the lead before Cardinal spun, executed a perfect 360, and kept driving. That left Jones in the lead, and a battle for second between Austin Winkel and Mech. Winkel moved into second where he started to chase down race leader Jones. Eric Blumer worked past Mech or third as Winkel went to work on Jones, taking the lead on lap ten. A stack up in lap traffic allowed Blumer to close in and it became a three car battle for the lead before the yellow flew. The race went back green with Winkel in the lead. Blumer took a look at the race lead before knocking part of his car off, scattering debris and bringing out the caution. Adam Zellmer moved into third on the restart and chased down leader Winkel, passing him for the lead on lap nineteen and not looking back, picking up the win as Winkel and Jones followed him in second and third.
After a B-Main for the Shepy’s Auto Body IMCA Modifieds, which saw Mike Schmuhl pick up the win, it was time for the High School Racing Association feature. Zach Ziegler started first with Ryatt Dobbratz second. Ziegler got the jump and ran away as Dobbratz fell back. Both cars managed to finish the race, with Ziegler taking the win.
Gary Klamrowski and Tim Thrun found themselves on the front row of the Beaver Dam Tire and Service IMCA SportMod feature. Thrun got the best jump as a battle for second transpired. Ryan Kuehn, Jimmy Berkevich, and Chris Blawat went at it before Kuehn broke away to chase down the leader. Berkevich went on to fight Elijah Koenig for third before they made contact bringing out the caution. Thrun led the field back to green as Kuehn and Koenig challenged him. Skylar Woods was on the move, up eight spots from his starting position. Koenig challenged Kuehn for second as laps dwindled. Thrun checked out on the field, picking up his first feature win of the season with Kuehn and Koenig behind, rounding out the podium.
Roger Frank and Alex Crapser started on the front row of the N&S Towing IMCA Stock Car feature. Crapser got the best start as he broke away from the field. The yellow would fly quickly as a car came to a stop in turn three. Under the yellow, Jeremy Christians was forced to the work area for an issue. He was able to get back on the track in time for the green flag to fly. Crapser led the field back to green as the swarm of cars chased him. Battles for second through seventh heated up with cars sapping spots left, right, and center. A spun car in turn four brought out another yellow which stacked the field back up. All eyes were on the third place car, Christians, who had worked his way from the back to the front. On the restart, Christians worked his way past Aaron Stolp for second and made his way past Crapser on lap sixteen. Kenny Richards made his way past Crapser for third, where he would finish, as Christians closed the points gap in the championship with the win. Stolp came home second with the aforementioned Richards third.
The final feature of the night, the Shepy’s Auto Body IMCA Modifieds pulled onto the track ready to go, with Tim Robbins and Bruce Troesch first and second. Troesch launched well and led the first lap before Dave Schoenberger slammed the wall out of turn two, bringing out the red flag based on the sheer velocity of the hit. Dave was ok and walked to the ambulance himself to applause from the crowd. The field restarted and Troesch led the field once again. Troesch would fall back as Mike Klenz and Jason Ebert worked past him on lap ten. They would fight for the lead for a handful of laps before points leader Brandon Schmitt rolled by, taking second and first in a matter of two laps. They then came under pressure from second in points Dan Roedl, who slipped by for second. A spun car in turn four with three laps to go made for a thrilling finale to the night, as Schmitt had to battle Roedl for the win. Schmitt would remain cool under pressure and take his sixth feature win of the season with Roedl second and Klenz third.
With only two points-paying nights left it is a great time to take a look at the standings. Larry Richards sits on top of the EK Machines Unified Street Stocks standings, with Jesse Krahn 2 points behind. Austin Winkel holds the top spot in the Legends.Direct Legends standings with Adam Zellmer 48 points behind. Elijah Koenig sits atop the Beaver Dam Tire and Service IMCA SportMod points with Skylar Woods right on his tail, 13 points back. N&S Towing IMCA Stock Cars standings see Kenny Richards at the top with Jeremy Christians 5 points behind and Aaron Stolp 6 points back. And finally, Brandon Schmitt leads the way in the Shepy’s Auto Body IMCA Modifieds standings but has Dan Roedl only 2 points behind.
Beaver Dam Raceway will be back in action next Tuesday, August 29th with a regular, 5 class show. All information can be found on wismotorsports.net and the Beaver Dam Raceway Facebook page.
Article Credit: Zack Krueger
Submitted By: Zack Krueger