by Mike Barrett
Matt Ciesielski of Plover posted his very first career Fast Time Friday at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, and backed it up with a hard-fought 4th place finish in the Super Stock class. Erin Schlough fended off Roger Peterson all race long while cautions threatened to delay the planned fireworks show. But, after a shaky start and major engine woes for Kyle Andrich, the Super Stocks raced the final half of the 25 lap feature with Schlough and Peterson leading the way. 3rd place finisher Ryan Hinner again steadily improves, and Ciesielski and Scott Hamel raced their way into the top five.
The Pure Stocks backed up their promise to bring more and more racers, and 18 started the feature led by Ben Capek. Ben took off and looked like green flag racing would help him win a feature, but a caution bunched the field, and Kyle Gennett, Jake Capek, Mike Kasperek and Eric Buchholz jockeyed for spots behind Capek. Ben Capek was the victim of the short track "freight train" about halfway, when several cars made their way past, including Jake Capek, the fast qualifier, who trailed Gennett the final few laps, but could never complete a pass. Gennett wins, followed by Jake Capek, Mike Kasperek, Eric Buchholz, and Ben Capek.
4 Cylinder Stock Racers suffered multiple cautions, and after the 2nd yellow flag in less than 10 laps, the race was shortened to 15 from the extended 20. Cory Stephens saw the field catch up after he built a big lead, and Joachim Mangen took advantage of speed to get past Stephens to pick up his 2nd win this year. Adam Akibicki, Lucas Betro, Stephens, and Kelley Sankey put on a thrilling show to complete the top 5. Fast Timer Kevin Burris suffered a bunch of problems, and finished laps down.
The 4 Cylinder Mod class put it all on the track, when they went 4 wide for several laps to scramble for positions. Brandon Bender got an early lead, but teammate Brad Conant tracked him down and flew by, bringing the very fast qualifier Scott Scholze with him. Phil Malouf, Adam Eckes, and others lurked mid-pack, until Malouf amazingly caught and passed Conant for the top spot amidst heavy lapped traffic. Malouf led the final 2, Scott Scholze beat Conant for 2nd, and Eckes and Austin McKeever filled out the top 5.
An amazing group of Vintage racers showed up, and the field was split into Late Model and Modified groups. About a dozen of the Late Model drivers piloted beautifully restored machines at race track speeds, with Gary Mitidiero besting the field followed by Pat Heany and Darrel Bassuener. The Modifieds wowed the crowd with cars of the past, and Terry Pulver blasted out front, with no one getting anywhere near. The racing pair of Bill and Roger Schmitz finished 3-4. The well-maintained cars were a treat to watch at race speeds!
The 2 man Cruisers completed the night of racing, and Kalata and McIntee broke the winning streak of Berg and Berg, who finished 3rd. Wheelock and Helbach posted 2nd.
The perfectly black night sky was then cracked open by a nifty fireworks show, and the fans were reminded that next week is Three Dog Night is Back! (3) Hot Dogs for $3 Bucks! Money Machine Mania! SLM, SS, 4CM&S*, Figure 8’s
