Aho sweeps Eagle River USRA Late Models, track champions crowned

Former track champion Jesse Aho of Twin Lakes, Michigan fought off a late race surge from Cooper Sundby and Cade Nelson and went on to capture the USRA Late Model feature win at Eagle River Speedway last Tuesday.

Aho sprinted into the lead from his pole position at the drop of the green of the 20-lap contest. The Michigan driver wasted no time building up a sizable lead over the rest of the field. That margin was wiped out on Lap 9 when a caution flew, and the field was tightened up on a restart.

When racing resumed, Menominee’s Sundby began pressuring Aho from the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Jason Zdroik and Nelson engaged in a spirited scrum for the third spot. With five laps remaining, Nelson disposed of Zdroik and caught up with Sundby and Aho. The trio put on a thrilling show for the fans, with Sundby pulling alongside of Aho twice. 

Aho hung on for his first feature flag at Eagle River of ‘25, and became the sixth different winner in the division in ‘25. Sundby took second, followed by Nelson, Zdroik and Jason McFadden.

Wakefield, Michigan veteran George Dalbeck pulled off his third B-Mod feature win of the season here.

Dalbeck chased down early race leader Zack McKinnon and second-place runner Michael Truscott. Dalbeck breezed past Truscott by mid-race, and stormed past McKinnon for the lead a few circuits later. Dalbeck hung on to score the win. Truscott would battle past McKinnon to nab runner-up honors. McKinnon took third, followed by Dave Dishaw and Jake Stai.

Pulaski’s Rod Snellenberger passed Troy LaRock for the lead on the second circuit and cruised to his eighth feature flag at Eagle River in ‘25 in the IMCA Stock Car class. The victory was the 237th IMCA stock car victory of his career.

In the Street Stocks, Sugar Camp’s Jason Eisel won both the battle and the war. After earning the division’s track title simply by starting the feature race, Eisel did anything but take it easy. Eisel stormed through the field from his row four starting spot to earn his seventh win here of the season.

Tomahawk’s Trevor Schumann captured the caution-free, 15 lap Pure Stock feature.

Stacy, Minnesota’s Tyler Pelofske snatched the lead from Boulder Junction’s Katherine Towne on Lap 7 and cruised to victory in the 600 micro sprint feature. The win was Pelofske’s ninth here of the year.

The 300 Micro Sprint features were won by Ontonagon, Michigan’s Addison Dishaw and hometown racer Reed Joslin.

The IMCA Stock Car heat was red flagged on the second lap when hometown driver Ryan Glembin flipped his mount in turn four after running over a tractor tire. Glembin emerged from the flip unhurt.

With it being the final points night of racing, champions were crowned in the respective divisions. They included Stockholm’s Lucas Peterson (USRA late model), Ontonagon, Michigan’s Dave Dishaw (B Modified), Eagle River’s Jason Zdroik (IMCA stock car), Sugar Camp’s Jason Eisel (Street Stock), Eagle River’s Cole Bennett (Pure Stock), Rhinelander’s Blake Joslin (600 Micro Sprint) and Twin Lake, Michigan’s Cooper Aho (300 Micro Sprint).

Eighty one drivers from four states (Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Texas) participated in Tuesday’s races.

The last race of the season is slated to take place on Saturday, Aug. 30. The track will be hosting the grand national division for the third straight year. The track’s regular, weekly divisions will also be in action, including an appearance of the Dairyland Vintage racers. The hammer drops at 6 p.m.