TNT SPEEDWAY

 Jeremy Mayo
Editor-in-Chief, HodagSports.com

THREE LAKES, WI – Dave Dishaw made the jump up from Bombers to WISSOTA Street Stocks and showed in the 2009 Season Opener at TNT Speedway his learning curve was not that steep.  The Ontonagon, Michigan driver passed track champion Jordan Kurtti on the last lap to win his heat and then held of Cliff Houle and Kurtti to win the feature. He was the one new face to Reliv Victory Lane at TNT Speedway on a night otherwise controlled by the veterans. Jason Zdroik from Eagle River, WI took the win in the WISSOTA Amsoil Dirt Track Series Midwest Modified division. Lee Bradley of Crandon, WI walked away with the Bomber feature and Elcho’s Nick Visser took first in the TNT Stingers.

Dishaw was slated to start sixth in the Street Stock feature, but that became fourth when a Jake Mullins spin brought out a caution before the first lap was complete. From there, Dishaw charged to second on the high side and passed Houle for the lead on lap four.   Kurtti road on the coattails of the leaders for the first half of the race, but slowly began to fade in the final ten laps. Houle never faded, dogging the 44 Machine the entire race. He could never get past Dishaw though, who held on for his first TNT Speedway Feature. Kurtti, Ron Van Dusen and Jeff Klopstein completed the top five. 

Zdroik could not get from the back to the front in the Midwest Mod heat race. After starting eighth, he failed to find a way around Terry Stebbeds for second.  He started fifth right behind Stebbeds in the feature. It only took two laps for Zdroik to dispatch Stebbeds for second and another three for him to pass Bruce Belland, last year’s track champion for the lead.  From there Zdroik put a hurting on the field, leading the last 15 laps and winning by more than a straightaway. Belland, heat race winner Jeff McDonald, Joe Kin and Dennis Mikkelson rounded out the top five. Stebbeds finished sixth after he developed a problem and slowed with two laps remaining.

Bradley got the benefit of an excellent starting position thanks to the opening night redraw format for the feature races. He used the outside pole to his advantage in a rare caution-free Bomber main event.  Bradley quickly passed pole sitter Dan Melton, who was never a factor in the race. He built a large margin on Ben Pitlik while Denny Tushoski, the man who bested him in their heat race, was mired in traffic. Tushoski finally moved to second with three laps to go, but by that time there was no catching Car 28. Pitlik, Jesse Votis and Mike Bukovik completed the top five.

The best feature finish on opening night was saved for last as Visser used lapped traffic and a three-wide maneuver to pass Bruce Crossing, Michigan’s Leo Nippa for the feature win on the last lap.  Visser pulled to the inside coming to the white flag, edged past Nippa on the backstretch as they went three-wide past a lapped car and held on as Nippa pushed up the track in a last ditch effort to get back by in turns three and four.  Bill Martin, last year’s track champion, finished third, followed by Bobby Sheldon and Brandon Ross.

The season opener was worth the wait after cold temperatures and wind postponed the event by one week. Though there was frost in the forecast, the fans enjoyed a wonderful night of racing that was complete by 10:00 PM, before the cold set in. 

Racing resumes next Saturday night at TNT Speedway with the WISSOTA Midwest Mods, WISSOTA Street Stocks, TNT Bombers and TNT Stingers back on the high-banked third-mile clay oval. Hot Laps begin at 7:00 PM, with racing at 7:45.   For more information on the track, check out our new website, TNTSpeedway.com. If you are a Facebook user, sign up to become our friend. Go to Facebook and search for TNT Speedway.

--

RESULTS: TNT Speedway – Saturday, May 23, 2009

WISSOTA Midwest Mods

Heat: 1. 7M-Jeff McDonald; 2. 52-Terry Stebbeds; 3. 1Z-Jason Zdroik; 4. 22B-Bruce Belland; 5. 8-Chad Boettcher; 6. 11-John Johnson, Jr.; 7. 7-Joe Kin; 8. 41-Dennis Mikkelson; 9. 33-Bill Gryczkowski

Feature: 1. 1Z-Zdroik; 2. 22B-Belland; 3. 7M-McDonald; 4. 7-Kin; 5. 41-Mikkelson; 6. 52-Stebbeds; 7. 11-Johnson, Jr.; 8. 8-Boettcher

WISSOTA Street Stocks

Heat 1: 1. 21-Jeff Klopstein; 2. 1-Fritz Scharf; 3. 8-Ron Van Dusen; 4. 3-Jake Mullins; 5. 11-John Johnson, Sr.

Heat 2: 1. 44-Dave Dishaw; 2. 26-Jordan Kurtti; 3. 74-Cliff Houle; 4. 101-Leif Gunderson

Feature: 1. 44-Dishaw; 2. 74-Houle; 3. 26-Kurtti; 4. 8-Van Dusen; 5. 21-Klopstein; 6. 1-Scharf; 7. 11-Johnson, Sr.; 8. A8-Bill Froelich; 9. 101-Gunderson; 10. 3-Mullins

TNT Bombers

Heat 1: 1. 21-Denny Tushoski; 2. 28-Lee Bradley; 3. 190-Ben Pitlik; 4. 18-Mike Bukovic; 5. 95-Kevin Hartman

Heat 2: 1. 04-Jeff Fannin; 2. 4-Jesse Votis; 3. 81-Dan Melton

Feature: 1. 28-Bradley; 2. 21-Tushoski; 3. 190-Pitlik; 4. 4-Votis; 5. 18-Bukovic; 6. 04-Fannin; 7. 81-Melton; 8. 95-Hartman

TNT Stingers

Heat 1: 1. 27-Bill Martin; 2. 44-Fred Feger; 3. 18-Bobby Sheldon; 4. 31-Richard Barlowski; 5. 70-Mike Bocek; 6. 8-Randy Charbarneau

Heat 2: 1. 13X-Shawn Depies; 2. 37-Joe LaFreniere; 3. 2-Brandon Ross; 4. 13-John Barlowski; 5. 88-Will Lundberg

Heat 3: 1. 30V-Nick Visser; 2. 97-Leo Nippa; 3. 75-Cory Dickman; 4. 9-Logan Lannet; 5. 7-Domonick Tranetzki

Feature: 1. 30V-Visser; 2. 97-Nippa; 3. 27-Martin; 4. 18-Sheldon; 5. 2-Ross; 6. 13X-Depies; 7. 70-Bocek; 8. 8-Charbarneau; 9. 75-Dickman; 10. 13-J. Barlowski; 11. 9-Lannet; 12. 88-Lundberg; 13. 44-Feger; 14. 31-R. Barlwoski; 15. 37-LaFreniere; 16. 7-Tranetzki