The first class to take on the slick track Saturday had sixteen drivers in the Full Size division strapped into their cars waiting for the green flag to wave. Scott Miller took the early lead with Jarred Amundson and Andy Cimfl in tow, but Millers lead would only last the first seven laps. Amundson and Miller swapped positions up front and at the same time Troy Holder moved into the third position bringing Brandon Davis with him. After falling back early on Steve Hallquist found a grove late in the race moving him into the top five.
Amundson would survive the caution filled feature for the win with Miller second. Hallquist continued his charge to the front passing Davis on the last lap and crossing the line a foot ahead of Holder for third, bumping Holder to fourth and Davis fifth
Fielding seventeen cars for the second week in a row, the Front Wheel Drive class had the most enteries for the day. Steve Hallquist would lead from wire to wire, giving the Eau Claire driver his second clean sweep in a row and his fourth for the season.
At the race's mid point Hallquist had a huge lead on the field looking like he would go unchallenged for the win but Mike Schnider had other ideas for the leader, moving to the high side, catching Hallquist on the last lap. Schnider's bid for the win would come up short though, leaving Hallquist on top of the podium with Schnider runner up. The duo lapped all but two cars in the caution free race.
Brooke Fairbanks had his best feature finish to date in third place with Jon Wigchers in forth. Karen Koltunski was the first car one lap down in fifth place.
Missy Hallquistit and Jill Amundson put on a good show in the Powder Puff class, running side by side and sending Amundson airborn over the bank at the finish line. Hallquist would chalk up her fourth clean sweep of the season, with two of them scored in the Front Wheel Drive class and two in the Full Size class. Powder Puff drivers can use either class of car to race but thier points are seperated for the year end awards.
Meanwhile Tiffany Davis, Jane Demars and Sheila Cook were left to do battle for the third spot. Demars late race pass on Davis earned her the third spot. Davis was able to hold down fourth with Cook rounding out the top five.
Next on the track had six COMP4 cars ready to duke it out for their last oppertunity to accumulat points for the Championship lineup, and Tadd Davis brought his A-Game with leading all fifteen laps, Al Koltunski and Troy Gross swapped the runner up spot the first half of the race but it would be Ken Hansen finishing there after a mid race pass. Gross fell back giving third to Al Koltunski, with his wife,Karen, in the fourth spot. Simon Wahlstrom was able to take advantage of Gross's misfortune crossing the stripe in fifth.
Driver rewarded thier crews by letting them take to the wheels of thier cars in the first anual Pitmans Race, and fourteen crew members participated in a heat and feature race. Trophies for the top two positions were given out along with heat and feature stickers for the winners to display.
The first laps of the first heat had Steve Davis and Bob Wahlstrom leading rookie dirt track driver Will Hargraves.. Dave Erickson needed a couple of laps to figure out an ice car after many years on the dirt track, and after falling to the rear of the field early he made his way to the front, leading the last half of the race for the win. Hargraves finished second ahead of Davis.
Jason Dodge lead the early laps of the second heat with Bob Schnider running second. Schnider passed Dodge on lap three and never looked back for the win. Dodge held on to the second spot with Rob Seavers squeaking past Josh Bach to finish third.
The feature line up had drivers lined up according to their heat finish.The front row comprized of heat winners Erickson and Schnider ahead of runner's up Hargrave and Dodge. Erickson wasted no time taking the point, leading all twelve laps for the win. Matt Larson quickly made his way to the runner up spot with heavy pressure from Bach, Davis and Schnider. Larson was able to hold his spot to finish second ahead of Bach. Schnider passed Davis late in the race to place fourth, with Davis fifth.
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.
6/8 FULL SIZE
Heat 1: 1~John Erickson, Cameron; 2~Jarred Amundson, Barron; 3~Scott Miller, Rice Lake
Heat 2: 1~Doc Cimfl, Cameron; 2~Troy Holder, Rice Lake; 3~Jim Demars, Rice Lake
Heat 3: 1~S. Miller; 2~Richard Featherly, Rice Lake; 3~Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire
Heat 4: 1~J. Amundson; 2~Chase Kreier, Cameron; 3~T. Holder
Feature: 1~J. Amundson; 2~S. Miller; 3~S. Hallquist; 4~T. Holder; 5~Brandon Davis, Chetek
FWD
Heat 1: 1~Jon Wigchers, Rice Lake; 2~Mike Schnider, Rice Lake; 3~Jerret Hamilton, Chetek
Heat 2: 1~Steve Hallquist, Eau Claire; 2~Jessie Tripp, Spooner; 3~Nick Traynor, Chetek
Heat 3: 1~M. Schnider; 2~J. Hamilton; 3~J. Wigchers
Heat 4: 1~S. Hallquist; 2~Scott Miller, Rice Lake; 3~N. Traynor
Feature: 1~S. Hallquist; 2~M. Schnider; 3~Brooke Fairbanks, Spooner; 4~J. Wigchers; 5~Karen Koltunski, Cumberland
POWDER PUFF
Heat 1: 1~Missy Hallquist, Eau Claire; 2~Jill Amundson, Barron; 3~Jessica Achterberg
Feature: 1~M. Hallquist; 2~J. Amundson; 3~Jane Demers, Rice Lake; 4~Tiffany Davis, Chetek; 5~Sheila Cook, Barron
COMP4
Heat 1: 1~Troy Gross, Turtle lake; 2~Tadd Davis, Rice Lake; 3~Ken Hansen, Webster
Heat 2: 1~T. Davis; 2~T. Gross; 3~Karen Koltunski, Cumberland
Feature: 1~T. Davis; 2~K. Hansen; 3~Al Koltunski, Cumberland; 4~K. Koltunski; 5~Simon Wahlstrom, Cameron
PITMANS RACE
Heat 1: 1~Dave Erickson; 2~Will Hargraves; 3~Steve Davis; 4~Matt Larson; 5~Bob Wahlstrom
Heat 2: 1~Bob Schnider; 2~Jason Dodge; 3~Rob Seavers; 4~Josh Bach; 5~Jeff Pitts
Feature: 1~Erickson; 2~Larson; 3~Bach; 4~Schnider; 5~Davis; 6~Wahlstrom; 7~Steve Robbins; 8~Jasson Hoff; 9~Gary Gransee; 10~Dodge; 11~Seavers; 12~Pitts; 13~Ben Dresser; 14~Hargraves