By: Ashley Iwanski
Fans were on their feet Saturday as Brad Powell held off advances from multiple drivers to win the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models feature.
It all started with the front three cars going three wide into turn one. Not two laps later Tony Bagstad, then in third, spun in the front stretch.
Impressively he was able to keep it out of the wall, but the caution flag still came out. On the restart Bill Niles, then in second, shot across the track. Just when it looked as though Niles was going to hit the wall he got the car under control and was able to stay in the top five. Soon, the front four cars started to pull away from the rest of the pack. Todd Korish and Brad Powell were in a side by side battle for the lead. Behind them Shawn Pfaff and J. Herbst were side by side for third. Just then another caution came out when Travis Christenson spun out in turn two. The caution was exactly what Powell needed; on the restart he dove to the inside of Korish and took the lead. Korish fell back to third.
Meanwhile, Herbst and Kevin Nuttleman were passing cars left and right to get back up into the top five. They made racing look easy as they flew past Korish, knocking him back to fifth. All the drivers were trying desperately to catch up to Powell, but he was just too fast. Powell walked away with the win followed by Pfaff (2nd), Herbst (3rd), Nuttleman (4th) and Korish (5th).
The North Country Contractors Sportsmen division was the last feature race of the night, but was no less exciting. Randy Humfeld (1st) and Jerimy Wagner (2nd) maintained the front two positions, flipping back and forth a few times, but the real race was for third. Matt Inglett, Keaton Hilby and Greg Scheck were racing three wide, pushing and shoving each other to get to the front. Hilby and Inglett were side by side as they crossed the finish line. After a few minutes officials finally scored Inglett as the 3rd place finisher and Hilby as 4th. Scheck finished 5th.
Dakota Miller finished the night with a feature win in the United Auto Supply Thunderstox division. Throughout the race cars were going three wide and slamming each other into the wall. As a result, a few cautions came out for debris on the track. In the end, Miller was battling Kayla Steinhoff for the lead. Steinhoff was unable to pass Miller as they came around to the checkered flag. Steinhoff finished 2nd followed by Scott Geier (3rd), Jason Stark (4th) and Danielle Neary (5th).
La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway unveiled its first ever KQ98 Boat Race Saturday night. As described, cars towed boats around the track sans trailer. The goal was to be the last driver with a boat attached while keeping their cars in the best shape they could. Not knowing what to expect drivers started off slow, but as the race went on they became more daring. Drivers started slamming into each others boats. At times it appeared as though the boat was hauling the car instead of the opposite way around. In the end there were boats all over the track, one of which had a car on top of it. After a fan vote Ben Allen was declared the winner.
Saturday, June 5th the Skidders will be back to accompany the regular racing divisions. Friday, June 12th is the first of many Friday Night Street Drags, brought to you by Unique Edge Customizing, Monster Energy Drink and the U.S. Army, to take place throughout the season. Multiple brackets will be open for any drivers who wish to join in on the fun. On Saturday, June 13 Pastors from around the area will join the NASCAR Late Models, Sportsmen and Thunderstox divisions for a Faster Pastor race. For more information about La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway please visit www.lacrossespeedway.com or contact the office at (608) 786-1525 or lacrossespeedway@yahoo.com.
This article was posted to the website on May 31st, 2009
