By: Dave Noelke
It was a night of firsts on a fantastic evening of racing at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Twenty-three year old Emily Sue Steck went home with her first feature win in her third full season in the Late Model Division. It was also the first time that a female driver had taken home the checkers in that division.

The Coca-Cola 25 for the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models began with rookie Cole Howland on the pole, and Steck on the outside. Steck was able to get a good run out of turn four on the first lap and take the early lead, with Howland in tow. Two time feature winner this season Jeff Baker dropped into third, and fell back during the mid stages, but was able to charge his way back to the leaders before the end. Battles were strong throughout the field, and the biggest gainer in the night was Steve Carlson, defending division champ, who started eleventh and made his way up to fourth. The evening was a struggle for most recent winner, Brad Powell, as he started outside row seven and while stuck in traffic only made it up to eleventh. At the finish, young gun Howland gave it all he had, but also drove it home to a smart second place finish, immediately behind Steck’s rear bumper. Rounding out the top five in the caution free race were Baker, Carlson, and Kevin Nuttleman. Driving with a healing broken thumb – in a cast, by the way – Steck was thrilled to earn her first win. “When it got down to a couple laps to go, I just reminded myself not to look back in the mirror, and that certainly helped. I did better when I didn’t worry about the car behind me. Thanks for everyone for their support and encouragement!” concluded Steck while addressing the fans in victory lane.

The North Country Contractors Sportsmen Coca-Cola 15 had some exciting moments, as Nick Clements of Onalaska took the top honors earning his first win of the season. The only incident was a spin by Jason Dummer into the turn one wall, and he was able to continue. Some of the most interesting racing was watching a very loose #51 of Rick Johnson, nearly spinning his car, exiting the corners several times. At the finish, Clements led Dan Gilster, point leader Rick Schermerhorn, Keaton Hilby and most recent winner, Randy Humfeld.

The United Auto Supply Thunderstox had its usual bumps and bruises during their Coca-Cola 15. Adam Gallagher led the first half of the race until 2nd place Joey Johnson spun out Gallagher on the backstretch. A Black flag sent Johnson to the pits. Chris Weber assumed the lead and went on to take the checkers, but was later disqualified for a rules infraction. The win was awarded to Brad Warthan, and finishing second through 5th were Jason Schaller, Jason Bolster, Charles Vian Sr. and Jason Stark.

Coming up on the Speedway’s 2009 calendar of events is Friday, June 19th for the Friday Night Street Drags, brought to you by Unique Edge Customizing, featuring many different brackets of street car drags, as well as a Burnout Contest and Shine N’ Show Contest. Then, a Dad’s Day Doubleheader Weekend continues on Saturday, June 20th including the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models, North Country Contractors Sportsmen, United Auto Supply , and the Powerade Hornets, all presented by Clason Pontiac-Buick-GMC. The annual pre-race on-track driver autograph session will take place at 6:30. Come out and meet the drivers and many may even have treats for the kids! 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.

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