August 17, 2015 at 3:33 p.m.
New faces in victory lane at TNT
New faces in victory lane at TNT
It was a night where the points leaders in some classes didn't even finish the feature, while new drivers made the trip to the NAPA Victory Lane.
Getting his first win of the season in the 10-car field of Stingers was Rhinelander's Bobby Sheldon, who held the driver who has clinched the Stingers track championship, Merrill's Louis Malluege, in check.
"I just got the car rebuilt this week. I have just been having so many problems. I didn't even think I would finish the heat, much less go on to win the feature," Sheldon said.
What did the track champion think about having to follow Sheldon?
"I actually thought it was awesome seeing all those cars in the Stinger class," Malluege said of Saturday's 10-car field.
Fellow Merrill driver Zach Degner concurred.
"It was great seeing all those cars in the Stinger class, loved the competition," stated Degner, who finished third in the feature.
While Malluege has clinched the Stinger championship, three drivers are in a close battle for the Pure Stock title. Going into Saturday night's races, Rhinelander's Tyler Lundberg held a 15-point lead on Eagle River's Jason Melton and was 22 markers ahead of Eagle River's David Blackberg.
Lundberg held serve by winning the first Pure Stock heat while Blackberg took the second heat.
Blackberg started the feature race on the outside of Row 3, followed by Lundberg and Melton in Row 4. All three drivers moved quickly through traffic to get to the front of the pack. Blackberg used the high line around the high-banked oval to take the lead and hold it.
On the fifth lap, Lundberg had a tire go down, moving him to the back. But he would not stay there long. While Blackberg held the point, cautions allowed Lundberg and Melton to get in position to challenge Blackberg for the lead.
Halfway through the 15-lap feature, Lundberg's car started to leak transmission fluid. From the driver's seats to the pits to the grandstands, everyone wondered if Lundberg would be able to finish the race.
He not only finished but pushed Blackberg right to the finish line. Blackberg got the win, Lundberg took second, while Melton finished fourth, right behind Jason Eisel.
Getting his first feature win of the year in the TNT Pro Trucks was James Koga. It came one year to the day of his last feature victory - a day that holds special significance to Koga for another reason. That was the night that he met Jamie Pooch of TNT Motor Speedway.
"On our one-year anniversary, I celebrated by winning the feature! Is that great, is that ironic!" said a smiling James Koga.
Koga utilized the high line Saturday night and rode it to victory lane.
"Who says you can't run a high line and win? That's the line I started the feature with and the line I had when I crossed the finish line," Koga said.
While Sheldon, Blackberg and Koga all ran high on the high-banked track, the bottom proved to be the preferred groove in the WISSOTA-sanctioned classes. Rhinelander's Dan Melton ran inches off the grass on the inside of the track to win the WISSOTA Midwest Modified Feature. Melton used this line to get by two of the fastest cars in the class at TNT, Rhinelander's Dennis Mikkelson and Eagle River's Guy Carley.
"This was one of the most fun nights of racing I have ever had," stated Mikkelson, who won the previous week's feature and finished in the runner-up spot Saturday.
Melton may have clinched the track championship in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, but that is not the case in the other WISSOTA-sanctioned class, the Street Stocks. Bruce Crossing, Michigan's Jordan Kurtti has a slim 18-point lead over Nate Langberg.
With the class championship on the line, Kurtti - who took a employment opportunity outside the region a few weeks ago - is driving close to 1,000 miles to get back to race. Knowing how important it is to rack up as many points as he can, Kurtti came out of the blocks with a vengeance and easily won the heat.
Then bad luck hit Kurtti in the feature. Car problems knocked him out of the race. That opened the door for Langberg to cut into Kurtti's points lead.
Then the unexpected happened. Langberg had tire problems and he left the race. This opened the door for someone other than Kurtti and Langberg to make the trek to the NAPA Victory Lane.
Running an inside line was Rhinelander's Britt Bromann. That was the same groove that Eagle River's Ryan Valeria ran right on Bromann's bumper. As the race was came down to the final laps, Valeria tried going around Bromann, but Bromann kept his speed up on a tight line to get the win.
Getting his first win of the year in the Junior Sprints was 6-year-old Dayton Rein of Conover. Rein and Phelps Dustin Kangas proved that all you need are two cars to put on a good show. Kangas came back to win the feature.
The youngster from Phelps stated at the end of the night, "I love the competition and to go fast. I want to move up to the Pro Trucks, although I wouldn't mind going into the Micro Sprints."
It is in the Micro Sprints that former Junior Sprint drivers continue to dominate. That includes 15-year-old Denver Larson of Shiocton, and his 13-year-old brother Dylan. Denver Larson held off Jake Schilleman of Rhinelander and Dylan Larson to win the feature.
"With class championships on the line in the WISSOTA Street Stock, the TNT Pro Trucks and Pure Stock Classes, fans can expect the 'unexpected' as we head into the final points races of the year," concluded Jamie Pooch of TNT Motor Speedway.
Racing will return to the high-banked one third-mile clay track south of Three Lakes Saturday night. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.
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