June 19, 2017 at 1:02 p.m.
Grasse holds off Aho in Mods at ERS
Grasse holds off Aho in Mods at ERS
After losing to the reigning track champion in the previous two encounters, Grasse finally got the last laugh Friday and took the checkered flag in the main event.
Two weeks ago, Aho made a bold move to pass Grasse on the inside of the backstretch to get the win. Last week, as the race was ending, the Toivola, Michigan driver got on the inside of Grasse coming out of the hairpin third turn. Aho edged out Grasse once again.
Last Friday, Grasse and Aho duked it out again. However the race started out as a battle between Mercer's Steve Altman, Marenisco, Michigan's, Duane Dunbar, and Wakefield's Marcus Dunbar. Right behind those three was Grasse and Aho waiting for anyone of those three to give them an opening big enough to thread a needle.
Grasse made his way to the second position on Lap 5, right behind Altman, with Aho in close pursuit. On the seventh lap of the 20 lap feature, Grasse got by Altman, as did Aho.
Grasse and Aho were bumper to bumper over the final 13 laps. In the end, Grasse took the checkered flag.
"I got the car to work on the inside. I found my line and I was going to stick to it," commented Grasse after the race. "I adjusted my brakes throughout the race, and worked on the suspension."
Another exciting race took place in the WISSOTA Street Stock feature. Eagle River's Frank Gasperini jumped out to an early lead. On the fourth lap, Eagle River's Dustin White got the lead when Gasperini got loose coming out of the third turn. White then had his hands full staying in front of Kevin Bogdonavich of Phillips.
It may have been Bogdonavich's first race of the season at Eagle River Speedway, but a challenging track is nothing new to Bogdonavich, who finished third in the WISSOTA national in points in 1996. White did everything he could to hold Bogdonavich off and earn the right to go to the Auto Value Victory Lane.
Pelican Lake's Herb Dettman worked every line on the track to find a way to get the lead from Harshaw's Ron Vernick in the Speedway Truck feature. Dettman finally got the lead halfway through the feature and went on to get the win.
"Just lucky I guess," is all Dettman could say after the win. "The truck is really running good. Vernick ran strong, and the competition in this class is tough."
Another class that continues to have close finishes is the WISSOTA Pure Stocks. Once again it was Eagle River's Jake Ison, Rhinelander's Jason Eisel, and Eagle River's Isabelle Valeria that went right to the finish, with any of the three having a chance to get the win. In the end, Ison won the race with Valeria right on his bumper.
"Isabelle has really improved. She's going to get a win one of these weeks," commented WISSOTA Street Stock driver Ryan Valeria, Isabelle's cousin.
Ty Springer's Honda-powered 600 Sprint won that feature, and Dustin Kangas of Phelps won the Junior Sprint feature. Both are the class defending champions.
The night opened on a somber note as racers and crew members gathered on the front stretch to remember longtime track official Mike Trinka.
Trinka, of Eagle River, passed away unexpectedly the day before the race.
"Mike was not just our director of competition but he was a close friend. This has been real difficult for all of us, especially Lori (Schmidt), Lou (Deditz) and (announcer Skip Schulz), who worked with Mike for close to 30 years at the track," commented Kevin Dawson, Eagle River Speedway Promoter.
Deditz, track flagman, spoke to the crowd while Tad Schoonover drove his Midwest Modified car in a black flag lap. Also on the track at the time was the old blue pickup truck that Trinka used to help prepare the track before every race.
Racing returns to Eagle River Speedway this coming Friday night. In addition to the regular weekly five classes, the Speedway Trucks will return. Hot laps start at 7 p.m., with racing at 7:30 p.m.
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