By: Ashley Iwanski
(West Salem, WI – July 18, 2009) - The La Crosse Interstate Fair helped to bring a considerably large crowd to the Midwest Toyota Night at the Races despite the unseasonably cool weather. Todd Korish didn’t mind the weather either; in fact, he considered it one of the reasons he was able to win the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models 50 lap feature.
The race started with Bill Niles and Tom Thill racing side by side for the lead. It took two laps for Niles to finally jump into the lead as Thill fell back through the field. The first caution came eight laps in when rookies Thor Anderson and Cole Howland got together on the front stretch. Howland was able to drive away despite severe front end damage; Anderson’s car had to be helped off the track. On the restart the front three (Niles, Adam Degenhardt, and Korish) were bumper to bumper. For four laps they were pushing each other around until Korish relieved the other two of their struggle and took the lead. Meanwhile Brad Powell, who stayed in the top five all night, was fighting a loose car and at times looked as though he was going to lose that fight.
At the half way point Niles started to fall back as Shawn Pfaff worked his way into the second position. Korish, still in the lead, was focused on the track ahead of him while Pfaff slowly caught up to him. On the last lap Pfaff dove to the bottom in turn three trying to over take Korish, but Korish quickly close the door and took the checkered flag. In a post race interview Pfaff stated “I was trying to put pressure on him (Korish), but he’s too stubborn.” Korish later said “I was just trying to stay smooth and consistent.” Korish also commented on his change in setup. “We’re back to our original setup…this cold weather is what the car likes.”
Jerimy Wagner also walked away Saturday night with a feature win. The North Country Contractors Sportsmen drivers were extremely rowdy compared to usual. The leader stayed consistent while the drivers from fifth place back were beating and banging each other trying to get to the front. By the end Steve Bachman was putting pressure on race leader Wagner. Wagner was able to stay in the lead and take the win.
The United Auto Supply Thunderstox feature was won by Andy Moore, who had to fight lap cars, three wide racing, and cars spinning across the track. With three to go a caution came out when Chris Weber spun into the grass exiting turn two. This brought the field up to the tail end of Moore. Wayne Smith tried passing for the win on the last lap but was unsuccessful. Moore walked away with the win. Smith finished 2nd.
Next week the Features Sports Bar and Grill Hornets division will accompany the regular weekly series divisions. Then, Saturday, August 1st will be another exciting night of racing with the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models, North Country Contractors Sportsmen, United Auto Supply Thunderstox and a special Trail Race of Destruction. 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 July 19th, 2009
