July 23, 2012 at 4:15 p.m.
Points battles tightening at TNT Speedway
Points battles tightening at TNT Speedway
Eagle River's Bruce Belland won his second feature in the last three weeks in the WISSOTA AMSOIL Dirt Track Series Midwest Modifieds Saturday, but still trails Tomahawk's Jeff Klopstein Jr. by a point in the standings. Belland's victory was the highlight of Saturday's race program, sponsored by Auto Value of Eagle River.
Sugar Camp's Ben Pitlik won the feature in the WADTS Street Stocks, while Argonne's Jeff Mullins padded his points lead with a fourth-place finish. Hiles' Mike Bukovic scored his third win in the last four weeks in the TNT Pure Stocks. Rhinelander's Richard Barlowski earned the win in the TNT Stingers and Birnamwood's Sean Thayer scored another win in the TNT Trucks.
Belland passed Joe Kin of Greenland, Mich., on lap four of the 25-lap feature and cruised the rest of the way. The field was slowed just once because of the caution, for an incident involving Joe Houle on lap 13.
Despite the win, Belland made no headway on Klopstein, who picked his way from the eighth starting spot to second by lap seven, a position he would hold over the final 18 laps. Both drivers earned 54 points for the evening as Klopstein won his heat race while Belland finished third in his heat.
Tomahawk's C.J. Hedges Jr. remained within shouting distance of the championship with a third place finish in the feature. He sits six points behind Klopstein with five nights remaining. Kin and last week's $1,000 Midwest Modified special winner, Dan Melton, rounded out the top five.
Argonne's Todd Brass was back in a race car Saturday, a little more than two months after an accident in a passenger automobile left him seriously injured. Brass was in position for a grand comeback as he took the lead on lap eight of the WADTS Street Stock feature, but he lost the lead on a restart with 10 laps remaining as he slipped up the track in turn four, allowing Pitlik to get past. Pitlik, Brass, Paul Sowinski of Rhinelander, Mullins and Brit Bromann of Rhinelander comprised the top five.
Mullins entered the night with a five-point lead over Jordan Kurtti of Bruce Crossing, Mich. That lead grew to 13 as Kurtti finished last in the field of 12 after sustaining suspension damage while trying to take the lead on lap four.
Barlowski led flag-to-flag in the TNT Stingers, moving back into the championship conversation, 18-points behind Gleason's Brandon Langbecker. Langbecker finished sixth in the feature after a flat tire knocked him out of the race with four laps remaining. Langbecker maintained his one-point lead over Merrill's Zach Degner, who went two laps down after an early pit stop and finished fifth.
Bukovic passed Rhinelander's Dan Schultz for the lead on lap eight of the Pure Stock feature and continued his recent hot streak in the class. Schultz, Rhinelander's Jesse Dettman, Lac du Flambeau's John Johnson, Sr. and Bromann, pulling double duty, rounded out the top five. Bromann still holds a comfortable 21-point lead over Schultz for the class championship.
Thayer scored his ninth feature win in 10 chances in the TNT Trucks, executing a bump-and-run move to pass Rhinelander's Jeff McDonald for the lead on lap nine. McDonald never got close enough to return the favor. Truck rookie Cory Allen of Rhinelander, Deerbrook's Ed Andraschko and Sean Janssen of Birnamwood rounded out the top five. Thayer stretched his lead to 45 points over Erik Kessen, who finished sixth.
Racing continues next Saturday at Three Lakes TNT Speedway highlighted by the third annual Jake Mullins Memorial WISSOTA AMSOIL Dirt Track Series, which will feature an increased purse. Hot laps start at 6:30 p.m. with racing at 7:15.
River News sports editor Jeremy Mayo is the track announcer at Three Lakes TNT Speedway. He may be reached at [email protected].
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