A season low count of four cars in the COMP4 class were the first out on the freshly groomed track. Karen Koltunski, last weeks Ice Jam winner, took off from the green in what looked to be a repeat performance putting distance between her pink #45 and the rest of the field. With Karen out front, Tadd Davis and Al Koltunski were left to do battle when Davis found a second grove and reeled the leader back in. Davis caught Karen on the last lap and made the pass for the win, handing Karen the second spot ahead of her husband, Al, and Simon Wahlstrom fourth.
The popular Full Size class had another stout show of cars reporting for lineup, this week eighteen drivers donned their helmets for the feature race. The drop of the green had Kyle Johnson out front with a hungry pack of cars hot on his tail.
As the laps wound down Johnson had Jarred Amundson and Brandon Davis in pursuit as Doc Cimfl, starting deep in the field, slowly made his way through traffic. By the twelfth lap Cimfl caught Johnson, putting heavy pressure on the driver of the late Joe Rowan's #44 ride, but it was Johnson by a bumper at the line. Cimfl finished a hard earned second with Amundson third. Andy Cimfl finished fourth and Davis fifth.
Next up was the Front Wheel Drive class , fielding seventeen cars for the main event. Early race leader Brooke Fairbanks got a glimpse of what the lead position looked like in his red Audi race machine, that is until Steve Hallquist put a lap four pass on Fairbanks. Hallquist would go on unchallenged for the win, giving him a clean sweep after winning both his heats.
With Hallquist out front, the battle for the second through fifth positions was brewing. Fairbanks held the number two spot until mid race, giving it up to Jessie Tripp. The duo swapped positions for two more laps, with Tripp coming out on top, putting Fairbanks up against Mike Schnider next.
With the leaders racing each other hard and approaching heavy lapped traffic, Nick Traynor was able to work his way from the back of the pack, challenging Fairbanks and Schnider. Schnider slipped past Fairbanks late in the race to take over third, with Traynor making a last lap pass on Fairbanks to round out the top five.
The Powder Puff class was last in the rotation to roll out for the day, and for a second race in a row the red and white #U2 found its way to victory lane. This time it would be Missy Hallquist at the wheel and just as Steve was able to do, it would be a clean sweep for Missy also. Jane Demars held on to the runner up spot for all twelve laps, with Ali Kuehndorf making a late race pass on Jill Amundson for third and fourth spots. Sheila Cook was left with the unpleasant task of driving an unfamiliar car for her feature after her usual ride had mechanical issues, but she was still able to post a fifth place finish..
Rice Lake Ice Racing is held on the north end of Rice Lake every Saturday through March 7th, race time is 12:30 pm.. Admission is free and there is a plowed parking area around the track. Spectators can tune their radios into FM102.5 and listen to live racing action and results, a new twist for the 09 season. For more info visit www.geocities.com/ricelakeiceracing . The club is also selling raffle tickets for a mini chopper to help offset expenses, info can be obtained by contacting the Bungalow Bar at (715)234-9931 or Troy at (715)296-6768.
COMP4
Heat 1: 1~Karen Koltunski, Cumberland; 2~Al Koltunski, Cumberland; 3~Tadd Davis, Rice Lake
Heat 2: 1~T. Davis; 2~K. Koltunski; 3~A. Koltunski
Feature: 1~T. Davis; 2~K. Koltunski; 3~A. Koltunski; 4~Simon Wahlstrom, Cameron
6/8 FULL SIZE
Heat 1: 1~John Erickson, Cameron; 2~Troy Holder, Rice Lake; 3~Jeff Brueggen, Rice Lake
Heat 2: 1~Jarred Amundson, Barron; 2~Richard Featherly, Rice Lake; 3~Andy Cimfl, Turtle Lake
Heat 3: 1~Kyle Johnson, Eau Claire; 2~T. Holder; 3~J. Amundson
Heat 4: 1~Scott Miller, Rice Lake; 2~Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire; 3~Brandon Davis, Chetek
Feature: 1~K. Johnson; 2~Doc Cimfl, Cameron; 3~J. Amundson; 4~A. Cimfl; 5~B. Davis
FWD
Heat 1: 1~Mike Schnider, Rice Lake; 2~Brooke Fairbanks, Spooner; 3~Jessie Tripp, Spooner
Heat 2: 1~Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire; 2~Jerret Hamilton, Chetek; 3~Nick Traynor, Chetek
Heat 3: 1~Scott Miller, Rice Lake; 2~Karen Koltunski, Cumberland; 3~Mark Lawrence, Cumberland
Heat 4: 1~S. Hallquist; 2~B. Fairbanks; 3~M. Schnider
Feature: 1~S. Hallquist; 2~J. Tripp; 3~M. Schnider; 4~N. Traynor; 5~B. Fairbanks
POWDER PUFF
Heat 1: 1~Missy Hallquist, Eau Claire; 2~Ali Kuehndorf, Chetek; 3~Sheila Cook, Barron
Feature: 1~M. Hallquist; 2~Jane Demers, Rice Lake; 3~A. Kuehndorf; 4~Jill Amundson, Barron; 5~S. Cook