TNT SPEEDWAY

Jeremy Mayo, Editor-in-Chief, HodagSports.com

THREE LAKES – It’s the middle of August. Temperatures are hot, tempers are short and point battles are tightening. It’s the recipe for an exciting night of racing and that’s exactly what fans got on Yellowbook night at TNT Speedway.  There was drama in every class, either with a point leader in trouble, a close finish or both. Rhinelander’s Dennis Lacrosse held off Jeff Hoogland to score a win in the WISSOTA AMSOIL Dirt Track Series Street Stocks. Eagle River’s Jason Zdroik recovered from drive train trouble and scored his sixth TNT win of ’09 in the WADTS Midwest Modifieds.  Ben Pitlik of Sugar Camp got the win in a tightening TNT Bomber class and Elcho’s Nick Visser came out the winner of a three-wide scramble to the line in the TNT Stingers.

Track point leader Jeff Klopstein nearly saw a Street Stock track championship slip away Friday in Tomahawk when the engine expired on his 21-car. But, with the help of fellow Upper Peninsula driver Tom Waara, Klopstein had a car to race and found himself in the lead of the Street Stock feature on Saturday night.  But Lacrosse, who was shaking down class runner-up Ron Van Dusen’s 8-car while Van Dusen drove a second team car, closed in quickly along with Catawba’s Hoogland, who was making his first start of the season on the high banks.  Moments after a lap 11 restart, Lacrosse was on the attack. By lap 13 Lacrosse was out in front and Hoogland had moved to second with Klopstein close behind in third. Caution flew again with three laps to go. Lacrosse got an excellent restart, which was the difference. Hoogland got back to Lacrosse’s back bumper coming to the white flag, but could not make the pass.   Klopstein, Bill Froehlich and Cliff Houle rounded out the top five. Klopstein extended his lead over Van Dusen to 31 points. Van Dusen finished seventh in the feature. 

Jason Zdroik needed a tow off the track during hot laps when the rear end seized on his car. His crew could not get the car repaired in time for the heat race, but the car was right for the feature. Zdroik passed Chad Boettcher for the lead on lap five and never looked back.   2008 track champion Bruce Belland kept the pressure on with a second place finish and cut Zdroik’s lead down to 11 points. Terry Stebbeds, Joe Kin and Stan Rychlock rounded out the top five. Chad Boettcher finished seventh as handling problems made him a non-factor in the outcome and dropped him to 22 points out of first. 

Pitlik led the final 14 laps of the TNT Bomber feature to take his second win of the season, but the drama was taking place behind him and the result is a Bomber track championship that is truly anybody’s race.  The fireworks began in the heat race as the point leader Denny Tushoski and runner-up Jeff Fannin played demolition derby. Tushoski initiated contact in the side-by-side battle, but Fannin pushed back and was eventually black flagged for rough driving.  Tushoski has lived by the chrome horn during the season, but it caught up with him in the feature. On lap four, he tried to execute a bump and run on Pitlik for the lead but cut down his right front tire instead, he stopped in turn four and brought out a caution, but not before losing a lap. He would finish ninth.  Tushoski still has the point lead, but it is down to two points over Pitlik and Fannin, who finished fourth in the feature. Lee Bradley overcame an early spin to finish fifth. He is fourth in the points, just four points out of the lead. 

One of the best races of the season took place Saturday night in the TNT Stingers. Nick Visser took the lead from John Barlowski on lap four, but he was quickly joined at the front by Brit Bromann and first-time starter Roger Carne. Bromann took the lead on lap six, executing a three-wide pass for the point, but Visser stayed with him and took the lead back on lap nine. Carne made it three-wide on lap 12 and took the lead, but the pass would not stand as a caution for a spin involving Barlowski reverted scoring back to the previous lap.  Visser tried to pull away on the final restart as Carne and Bromann jostled for second. Bromann took the spot and went to the inside for the lead. He could not make the pass on the final lap and Carne made it three-wide coming to the line. Visser won the drag race to the line, notching his fourth win of the season at TNT and his sixth overall on the year. Carne inched out Bromann for second. Bill Martin finished fourth and increased his point-lead to 13 points over fifth-place finishing Brandon Ross.

As Saturday night proved, the race for the track championships is far from over and next Saturday will be a pivot night. Racing will be sponsored by New Radio Group Northwoods and begin with Hot Laps at 7:00 PM. Races start at 7:45.

RESULTS: TNT Speedway – Saturday, August 15, 2009

WISSOTA AMSOIL Dirt Track Series Midwest Modifieds

Heat 1: 1. 8-Chad Boettcher; 2. 7-Joe Kin; 3. 19R-Stan Rychlock; 4. 33-Bill Gryczkowski; 5. 16-Cory Dickman; DNS: 1Z-Jason Zdroik

Heat 2: 1. 22B-Bruce Bellande; 2. 11-John Johnson Jr.; 3. 52-Terry Stebbeds; 4. 41-Dennis Mikkelson; 5. 65-Larry Gasperini

Feature: 1. 1Z-Zdroik; 2. 22B-Belland; 3. 52-Stebbeds; 4. 7-Kin; 5. 19R-Rychlock; 6. 11-Johnson Jr; 7. 8-Boettcher; 8. 65-Gasperini; 9. 41-Mikkelson; 10. 16-Dickman; DNS: 33-Gryczkowski

WISSOTA AMSOIL Dirt Track Series Street Stocks

Heat 1: 1. 74-Cliff Houle; 2. 17-Zach Shawano; 3. 1-Fritz Scharf; 4. 04-Ron Van Dusen; 5. 0-Oliver Shawano; 6. 7-Gene Shawano Jr.; DNS: 23M-Kevin Maulson Jr.

Heat 2: 1. 06-Jeff Klopstein; 2. 8-Dennis Lacrosse; 3. 101-Leif Gunderson; 4. A8-Bill Froehlich; 5. 38H-Jeff Hoogland; 6. 3-Jake Mullins; 7. 11-John Johnson Sr.

Feature: 1. 8-Lacrosse; 2. 38H-Hoogland; 3. 06-Klopstein; 4. A8-Froehlich; 5. 74-Houle; 6. 17-Z. Shawano; 7. 04-Van Dusen; 8. 11-Johnson Sr.; 9. 3-Mullins; 10. 0-O. Shawano; 11. 101-Gunderson; 12. 1-Scharf; DNS: 7-Shawano Jr.; 23M-Maulson Jr.

TNT Bombers

Heat 1: 1. 28-Lee Bradley; 2. 81-Dan Melton; 3. 4-Jesse Votis; 4. 01Z-Ron Reese; 5. 18-Mike Bukovic; 6. 61-Jim Melton; 7-33 Mike Terry

Heat 2: 1. 190-Ben Pitlik; 2. 21-Denny Tushoski; 3. 04-Jeff Fannin; 4. 17-Tim Miller; 5. 95-Kevin Hartman; 6. 01-Austyn Booth

Feature: 1. 190-Pitlik; 2. 81-D. Melton; 3. 4-Votis; 4. 04-Fannin; 5. 28-Bradley; 6. 18-Bukovic; 7. 01Z-Reese; 8. 33-Terry; 9. 21-Tushoski; 10. 17-T. Miller; 11. 61-J. Melton; 12. 95-Hartman; 13. 01-Booth

TNT Stingers

Heat 1: 13-John Barlowski; 2. 2-Brandon Ross; 3. 31-Richard Barlowski; 4. 9-Logan Lannet; 5. 44-Fred Feger

Heat 2: 1. 26B-Brit Bromann; 2. 27-Bill Martin; 3. 30V-Nick Visser; 4. 48-Roger Carne; 5. 47-Brandon Miller

Feature: 1. 30V-Visser; 2. 48-Carne; 3. 26B-Bromann; 4. 27-Martin; 5. 2-Ross; 6. 47-B. Miller; 7. 9-Lannet; 8. 31-R. Barlowski; 9. 44-Feger; 10. 13-J. Barlowski