August 10, 2015 at 3:20 p.m.
TNT Motor Speedway ignites new form of racing
TNT Motor Speedway ignites new form of racing
Fifty-six competitors took to the high-banked one-third mile dirt track.
That new form of racing was the Side-by-Side Off-Road Vehicle X-Challenge. Six of the best off-roaders raced on the inside of the oval on a course consisting of bumps, water, mud and jumps. Taking the checkered flag was Oostburg's Clint Walli. A strong contingent of drivers from Michigan's Upper Peninsula battled for position throughout the race.
While the U.P brought the racers for the Side-by-Side X-Challenge, it was drivers from throughout Wisconsin who came in full force to compete in the Junior Sprints. Ten children between the ages of 5 and 12 took part in two heats and an exciting feature.
Early on in the feature it looked like the racers from Southern Wisconsin were going to garner the top finishes. Ryan Kuehn of Oconomowoc was in a bumper-to-bumper battle with Dousman's Jack Vanderboom. Running third was Eagle River's Tommi-Jo Springer and in fourth was Conover's Dayton Rein. Then with two laps remaining, Kuehn and Vanderboom came upon lapped traffic. Kuehn went to the high side while Vanderboom went to the inside. Springer followed Vanderboom and quickly went from third to a side-by-side dash to the checkered flag. Vander-boom edged out Springer by a nose.
The WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature thrilled the fans from start to finish, however the racing at the start was not between the drivers who battled it out in the end. The start of the race was an exciting battle between Phelps' Jerry Grasse and Eagle River's Guy Carley, however the two got into an altercation that knocked Grasse out and put Carley to the back of the pack. Then it was a race between Rhinelander's Dennis Mikkelson, and Sugar Camp's Jeff McDonald. McDonald and Mikkelson kept swapping the lead. In the end, Mikkelson held off McDonald for his first feature win. In his first Midwest Modified race, Ron Drake of Phelps finished third.
Twelve cars opened the competitive Pure Stock feature. The top three drivers in this class - Tyler Lundberg, Jason Melton and David Blackberg - are locked in a tight points battle with only a handful of races remaining. Blackberg held off Melton in the first heat, and Lundberg won the second heat, so no one gained on anyone in the points battle, which made the feature very important.
The trio started the Pure Stock feature in the middle of the pack. By the middle of the race, Melton, Blackberg, and Lundberg putting the fans on the edge of their seats. Melton had the lead, with Blackberg and Lundberg trying everything they could to get around Melton.
Then on the final lap, caution came out. Seconds later Lundberg had engine problems and it appeared that the Rhinelander driver went from second to 11th in a matter of seconds. However, under track rules, when the caution comes after the leader takes the white flag, position is determined by where the racers were on the last completed lap, giving Lundberg credit for the runner-up spot.
"I just ran the inside line, and let David (Blackberg) and Tyler (Lundberg) fight it out for second," Melton said.
Another tight points battle is taking place in the TNT Pro Truck class, where Cory Allen has a 15-point advantage on runner-up James Koga.
Neither of them visited victory lane on Saturday night.
12-year-old Parker Retzlaff of Rhinelander won the heat and Lac du Flambeau's John Johnson Sr. took the feature. Not much changed in the point standings as Allen finished second and Koga took third in the main event.
"I helped 'Big Wheel' (Johnson Sr.) with his truck. (I) even let him use some of my weights for his truck ... hmmm, think I want them back," Allen cracked following the race.
Eight of the fastest Micro Sprint 600s in Wisconsin raced at TNT Motor Speedway Saturday night. Just like in the Junior Sprints, it was a north-south battle. The south took the first heat with a win by West Bend's Andy Rein. The north took the second heat with a win by Sugar Camp's Jered Cech.
In the feature Rein's Yamaha-powered Micro Sprinter was bumper-to-bumper with Shiocton's Denver Larson. The two hit speeds of 80 mph racing inches from each other. Larson held off Rein for the win.
Two U.P. drivers made the trip to the NAPA Victory Lane. One has had his picture taken in victory lane quite often, while the other was a first-time racer at TNT Motor-Speedway.
Bruce Crossing's Jordan Kurtti was able to get a long weekend off from his new job in Texas and made the trip back to race. Kurtti left the area three weeks ago with a lead in the WISSOTA Street Stock Class. However without racing for two weeks, his lead has shrunk to a mere 13 points over Tomahawk's Nate Langberg.
Kurtti started the night with a dominating win in the heat. He got some help when Ryan Valeria took second in the heat and Langberg finished fourth.
"It wasn't just as important for (Jordan) Kurtti to win the heat and the feature, he needed help from other drivers in the feature to finish ahead of Nate (Langberg)," commented Jaime Pooch of TNT Motor Speedway.
Kurtti did get the win in the feature, but Langberg took second, extending Kurtti's lead in the standings to 18 points.
"Kurtti will hold a lead going into the final three weeks, but now it is up to Kurtti's work schedule in Texas, whether he can make it back up for a race or two, and it is going to depend upon how Langberg does in the final weeks of the season," stated Pooch.
The other U.P driver who raced his car into NAPA Victory Lane, was Toivola's, Kyle Raffaelli. He's the driver who is dominating the 4-cylinder Stinger class at Adventure Mountain Speedway in Greenland, Mich. Raffaelli not only won the 4-Cylinder Stinger feature Saturday night, he beat the class points leader, Merrill's Louis Malluege, in the process. Wausau's Jennifer Nitschke got her first win the season at the track earlier in the night during the heat race.
Stock car racing returns to TNT Motor Speedway this Saturday night. Racing will start at 7 p.m.
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