October 5, 2003; West Salem, WI - On a busy Saturday evening at Oktoberfest action began with the NASCAR Northern Late Models. Lorin Kurth jumped to the lead at the start of the first of two qualifying features for the Northern Series late models, and the field was jumbled as Bill Niles slid high in turn one. Niles’ slip allowed Mike Belling to move into second, but Niles quickly recovered to wrest third from Monte Gress.
Five laps in, fast qualifier Charlie Menard had moved from his tenth starting spot to fourth, and closing on Niles, with Tim Hagen right on his heels. On lap 11, Menard went high to get by Niles, and quickly closed the gap to leaders Kurth and Belling. As Menard caught the leaders, he brought Andy Burgess and Dean Cornellius along for the ride, and Menard went to the outside, taking the second spot from Belling on lap 13, and moving up to challenge Kurth at the front. Cornellius followed Menard to the front, and took over second a lap later, with Burgess also looking to by Kurth and challenge at the front. Burgess made the pass, but much too late to be a factor, but Cornellius closed right on Menard’s bumper, and looked to the inside three times, but was unable to make the pass, as the pair had to navigate lapped traffic, and Menard took the win. Shawn Pfaff started up front, and jumped to the lead of the second qualifying feature, with Tom McClintock on his tail. The man on the move was Kevin Nuttleman, who quickly moved to the top five. He ducked inside to get by Tony Bagstad, then went to the outside to pass McClintock and Pfaff to take the lead. Former La Crosse champ Brad Powell patiently followed Nuttleman through, taking second While Nuttleman stretched his lead out, Steve Holzhausen began moving up, along with J. Herbst. Bagstad slipped to the outside, and led them up to third, fourth and fifth by lap 10. On lap 13, Pfaff started slide through turn one, nearly saved it, but spun between the turns, bringing out the caution, and wiping out Nuttleman’s lead. Nuttleman and Powell opened up a gap on the field, as Holzhausen and
Bagstad battled for third. Holzhausen chased down Powell, taking the second spot on lap
22, but by that time, Nuttleman had opened up a seven-car lead, and cruised to win number
90. In the second qualifier, Tim Schendel worked his way to the front quickly,
and then checked out on the field, opening a big lead over Matt Kocourek by lap six. The
field from second on back shuffled throughout the race, with Eddie Hoffman and Ron Breese,
Jr. moving to the front, but no one made a challenge on the Sparta driver, as Schendel
cruised to the win. Further back, Bobby Gutknecht was making his own charge from the back, and at the halfway point, he was sitting in fourth. Gutknecht caught Norris on lap 18 and got a nose underneath Norris, but the two cars touched, and went into the turn one wall, bringing out the caution. As the cars were slowing, the 99 car of Jim Thorson broke into flames on the frontstretch, further delaying the restart of the race. Keith Sterkowitz made a quick move on the restart, moving by Schnitzer into third. Jeremy Miller may have seen Sterkowitz’ move in his rear view mirror, as he quickly ducked under Norris, and took the lead, the two cars bumping twice as they battled. Sterkowitz followed into second, and on lap 23, Sterkowitz worked under Miller in turn three, and took the lead down the frontstretch. Jake Ryan and Josh Bauer worked into the top five, looking to challenge Utphall for third, as the lead pair pulled away. Utphall held them off for several laps, as the battle at the front heated up once again. Miller worked his way up behind Sterkowitz, and the two cars bumped in turn four, and several times down the front stretch, as they slid to the inside wall. Sterkowitz’s car flipped down the frontstretch, as Miller’s slammed the turn one wall hard. The top three battled over the final three laps, battling back and forth,
as Utphall came away with the win, and Bauer slipped by Jake Ryan to take second. Bill
Prietzel and Dave Gentile rounded out the top five. Donnie Woller was the other truck moving up, as he tried to clinch the season championship. He was in the top five by lap six, and on lap nine, he moved by Andy Jirik and into fourth. On lap 12, Soronen went to the outside of Fitzsimmons heading into turn
one, and took the lead on the backstretch. 99 Points leader Woller had a tire go down on lap 19, and tried to limp the car around the track to a yellow, but it never came, and he was forced to pit. Soronen worked his way back up, catching Fitzsimmons again by lap 24. On lap 26, Soronen went to the high side, and took the lead back, with Anthony Brewer following by into second. Brewer closed on Soronen down the stretch, but had to settle for second, as Soronen claimed the victory. Fitzsimmons was third, followed by Vincent Wilkinson, Terry Marzofka and Andy Jirik. Jamie Farrell was fast timer at 20.863 seconds, and heat wins went to
Brewer and Tony Holm. Odd Feature - 1, Tommy Pecaro, Janesville; 2,
Kris Kelly, Morway, Mich.; 3, Rod Brewe, Appleton; 4, Bobby Wilberg, Orfordville, IL; 5,
Dean Cornellius, Bloomington, Minn.; 6, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire; 7, Chris Weinkauf,
Merrill; 8, Jason Hicks, Lake Geneva. Odd Feature - 1, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire; 2,
Dean Cornelius, Bloomington, Minn.; 3, Andy Burgess, Fall Creek; 4, Mike Belling, La
Crosse; 5, Lorin Kurth, Waukon, IA; 6, Blake Horstman, Bangor; 8, Tim Hagen, La Crescent,
Minn. Last Chance 1 - 1, Duane Halvorson, Rosemount,
Minn; 2, Brian Baker, Springfiield; 3, Ryan Manthei, Green Bay; 4, Ron Weyer, Jackson. Qualifying -1, Jake Ryan Lakeville, Minn., 20.702 seconds, 94.846 MPH; 2, Dave Gentile Elwood, Ill. 20.780 secs, 94.490 MPH; 3, Bill Prietzel Franklin, 20.821 secs, 94.304 MPH; 4, Bobby Gutknecht Oak Creek, 20.849 secs, 94.177 MPH; 5, Keith Sterkowitz Cedar Lake, Ind., 20.952 secs, 93.714 MPH. Heat 1 - 1, Kevin Lee, Homestead, Iowa; 2, Mel
Schappert, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 3, Tony Habeck, Hortonville; 4, Rob Dubleavy, Maple Grove,
Minn.; 5, Thomas Garbacz, Schaumburg, Ill. Qualifying - 1, Jamie Farrell New Prague, Minn.;
20.863 seconds, 94.114 MPH; 2, John Vig, Jr. Shakopee, Minn., 20.997 secs, 93.513 MPH; 3,
John Froelich Chippewa Falls, 21.006 secs, 93.473 MPH; 4, Donnie Woller Merrill, 21.096
secs, 93.075 MPH; 5, Terry Marzofka Port Edwards, 21.125 secs, 92.947 MPH. |
