October 9, 2004;  West Salem, WI - Wisconsin Late Models:
The Wisconsin Late Models ran two preliminary Qualifying Features as a prelude to the season ending Oktoberfest 50 Feature Sunday afternoon.

In the first one, Bobby Wilberg from Ortonville, WI led early on, then held on to barely edge 2004 La Crosse Fairgrounds Late Model Champion Charlie Menard. Wilberg started on the pole, built a nice lead which was then erased on a lap four caution flag as Andy Burgess spun after contact by Tim Schendel.

After the restart, Menard began mounting his charge from deep in the field to the front. Menard moved from 12th to 5th in the next eight laps, into third by lap 16, and finally into second on lap 23. Menard was right on the rear bumper of Wilberg, but ran out of time to make a pass for the lead. Don Turner was third, Jacob Humphrey fourth and Nathan Haseleu fifth.

The second Qualifying Feature race showcased a lot of close racing, but not much passing. Terry Schoppenhorst started on the pole and started to put distance on the field from the drop of the green flag.

Jason Schuler pressured Schoppenhorst for over 20 laps, just inches behind but never able to make a move for the lead. Steve Carlson finished third, Dan Fredrickson fourth and Travis Dassow fifth.

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division-Midwest Series
The AutoZone Elite Division ran a preliminary qualifying heat to the premier event of the 35th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Winning the 25 Lap qualifier was Eric Fransen, with Josh Vadhais a close second. Russ Blakeley, Todd Hansen fourth and Josh Bauer rounded out the top five.

Beloit, WI driver Ryan Hanson was fast timer in qualifying, with a lap of 19.293 seconds, 101.773 MPH. Sitting on the pole in the Oktoberfest 250 Feature will be Justin Diercks, winner of six AutoZone Elite Division races this year. With a finish of 18th or better, Diercks will claim the season championship.

La Crosse Late Models:
La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway regular competitors Steve Holzhausen and Andy Burgess came home victorious in the two Qualifying races held.

Holzhausen started deep in the field in his race, but used a caution to his advantage to gain positions. On lap 12, a three car accident took out three of his competitors, including Charlie Menard, the fast time in qualifying. Holzhausen then moved to the inside of race leader Shawn Pfaff on lap 21 to take the lead. From there on, he maintained a slight advantage over Pfaff to win the race.

Burgess also used a similar strategy in winning his race, only he had to hold off a serious challenge from J. Herbst, who pressured him hard for several laps before settling for second. A caution on lap nine which took out Tim Nelson and Tom McClintock also provided Burgess with some help.

These races are a prelude to the Oktoberfest 50 which will be run Sunday afternoon on the closing day of the 2004 Oktoberfest Race Weekend.


Yellow Book USA Mid-American Trucks:
Charlie Cottam took the lead from John Froelich on lap eight, then stretched his lead over the course of the race, leading by as many as 15 truck lengths to win Oktoberfest 30 Feature. Cottam started in fourth, then passed Larry Fitzsimmons when he brushed the wall coming out of turn four. Kevin Korsmo was moving up, but simply ran out of time to overtake the race leader. John Froelich, who led the first eight laps, finished third, Tony Holm fourth and Jamie Farrell fifth.

Farrell, by virtue of starting the feature, clinched the season championship. Farrell won both races this season at the Milwaukee Mile and Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. He is also the two-time track champion at Elko SPeedway.

In the first Mid-Am Truck heat race, Mark Soronen held off a late race charge by Gordy Swanson to take the win. Davey Cox led the opening lap, but was soon shown the black flag for fluids coming from his truck. A caution slowed the field on lap two as Madison, WI driver Dan Harris spun down the backstretch. On lap four, Soronen moved to the lead as he passed Swanson coming down the frontstretch. From there on, Soronen managed to hold the lead to take the heat win. Swanson was second, Kyle Bauknecht third, Anthony Brewer fourth and Gary Fredrickson fifth.

In the second Truck heat race, Andy Jirik battled Charlie Cottam to the thrilling race to the line. Jirk started in fifth, but quickly moved his truck up in the field, taking the lead just a few laps into the race. Cottam attempted to take the lead several times, but was rebuffed on all attempts. However, Cottam did get second, Larry Fitzsimmons was third, Tony Holm fourth and Jamie Farrell fifth.

Yellow Book USA Mid-American Stock Cars:
Jonathan Iilen pressured leader Jeremy Miller for a dozen laps, but a late race caution gave him just the opportunity he needed to make a pass with five laps to go to take the Oktoberfest 30 Feature Race.

Iilen patiently worked his way towards the front, all the way to the back bumper of Miller. A caution flag came out on 23, which allowed Iilen to cool his tires and position his cars for the winning pass. Once the green flag came back out, Iilen moved his car to the inside of Millers, battling him side by side until he was able to nudge ahead going down the backstretch.

Once clear, Iilen was able to maintain his advantage all the way to the checkers. Miller finished second, George schultz third, Greg Bieber fourth and Bobby Gutknecht fifth.

Peter Hernandez wrapped up the season title, finishing in eighth position. The Mokena, IL driver celebrated his championship by doing a Polish victory lap around the track. The championship was Hernandez's first. He has run the Mid-Am series for over five years, finishing in the top ten every year.

Four qualifying heats highlighted the preliminary action for this series. In the first race, Duane Halvorson survived a couple accidents and had a little help in winning his heat race. Halvorson was running third on the last lap when the race leader, Kevin King spun and collected second place Brian Baker. That allowed Halvorson to make the winning pass. Second was Mike Skaja, followed by Mike Felixberger, Andrew Rothenbeck and Monte Strouf.

Dave Auringer came out victorious in the second heat race. In one of the most exciting finishes, Auringer made a last lap turn four pass to take the win. Josh Larsen took the lead on the first lap, and held it until Auringer was able to move up for the win. Ken Smart was also able to take advantage as well, passing Larsen for second. Larsen did get third, Tom Schmitzer fourth and Ken Joosten was fifth.

Josh Nelms passed Bobby hacker with five laps to go to secure the win in the third heat race. Hacker jumped to the lead on the opening lap, but was chased down and passed in turn four. After being passed, Hacker appeared to lose the handling a little on his car, falling to a fourth place finish. Rob Dubnecay was third and Greg Bieber fifth.

In the closest finish of the evening, Doug Brown held off a late surge from James Swan to win by a half car length. Brown jumped out to a 10 car length lead on the second lap and appeared to be heading towards a comfotable win. with about five laps to go, Swam made a strong move to the front, with easily the fastest car in the field. Swan moved to the inside of Brown on the last lap, and was close to taking the lead, but fell a half car lenght short at the line. Jeremy Miller was third, Jeremy Spoonmore fourth and Peter Hernandez fifth.

Kevin Lee and Ken Joosten were the winners of the Last Chance Qualifying races, advancing them to the Oktoberfest 30 Feature Race.

LA CROSSE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY

NASCAR AutoZone Midwest Series
Qualifying 25 Feature (12 cars) - 1, Eric Fransen, West Bend, WI; 2, Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, MN; 3, Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, WI; 4, Todd Hansen, Minneapolis, MN; 5, Josh Bauer, Random Lake, WI; 6, Justin Hirt, Tigerton, WI; 7, David Finney, Sycamore, IL; 8, Greg Fowler, Longmont, CO; 9, Les Ferris, Northfield, MN; 10, Jeff Way, Burlington, WI; 11, Gib Scharpf, La Crosse, WI; 12, David Bean, Westby, WI.

Qualifying - 1, Ryan Hanson, Sun Prairie, WI, 19.293 seconds, 101.773 MPH; 2, Tim Schendel, Sparta, WI, 19.354 secs, 101.452 MPH; 3, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor, WI, 19.354 secs, 101.452 MPH; 4, Erik Darnell, Beach Park, IL, 19.377 secs, 101.331 MPH; 5, Brian Hoppe, Madison, WI, 19.387 secs, 101.279 MPH; 6, Justin Diercks, Davenport, IA, 19.393 secs, 101.542 MPH; 7, Tony Bagstad, Cashton, WI 19.410 secs, 101.500 MPH; 8, Steve Carlson, West Salem, WI 19.438 secs, 101.453 MPH; 9, Brad Powell, La Crosse, WI, 19.482 secs, 101.307 MPH; 10, Brent Kirchner, La Crosse, WI, 19.507 secs, 101.078 MPH;

11, Bryan Roach, Becker, MN, 19.557 secs, 100.948 MPH; 13, AJ Rhoads, Hastings, MN, 19.565 secs, 100.690 MPH; 14, Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton, IL, 19.565 secs, 100.649 MPH; 15, Jake Ryan, Farmington, MN, 19.617 secs, 100.480 MPH; 16, Andrew Morrissey, DeForest, WI, 19.641 secs, 100.382 MPH; 17, Nathan Haseleu, Arlington, WI, 19.664 secs, 100.260 MPH; 18, Justin Hirt, Tigerton, WI, 19.680 secs, 100.142 MPH; 19, Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, MN, 19.706 secs, 100.061 MPH; 20, Eric Fransen, West Bend, WI, 19.706 secs, 99.929 MPH;21, Todd Hansen, Minneapolis, MN, 19.709 secs, 99.914 MPH; 22, Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, WI, 19.710 secs, 99.909 MPH; 23, David Finney, Sycamore, IL, 19.798 secs, 99.465 MPH; 24, Les Ferris, Northfield, MN, 19.832 secs, 99.294 MPH; 25, Greg Fowler, Longmont, CO, 20.025 secs, 98.337 MPH; 26, Molly Rhoads, Hastings, MN, 20.032 secs, 98.303 MPH; 27, David Bean, Westby, WI, 20.354 secs, 96.748 MPH; 28, Gib Scharpf, La Crosse, WI, 20.828 secs, 94.546 MPH; 29, Josh Bauer, Random Lake, WI, 20.858 secs, 94.410 MPH.


Wisconsin Late Models
Qualifying Feature 1 - 1, Bobby Wilberg, Orfordville; 2, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire; 3, Don Turner, La Crosse; 4, Jacob Humphrey, Lake Geneva; 5, Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville.
Qualifying Feature 2- 1, Terry Schoppenhorst, Berlin; 2, Jason Schuler, Cambridge; 3, Steve Carlson, West Salem; 4, Dan Fredrickson, Elko, MN; 5, Travis Dassow, West Bend.
Qualifying - 1, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire, 19.124secs, 102.672 MPH; 2, Dan Fredrickson, Elko, Minn, 19.229 secs, 102.111 MPH; 3, Chris Weinkauf, Merrill, 19.230 secs, 102.106 MPH; 4, Dean Cornelius, Chaska, Minn, 19.299 secs, 101.741 MPH; 5, Jeff Kendall, Montello, 19.414 secs, 101.138 MPH.

La Crosse Late Models
Qualifying Feature 1 - 1, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor; 2, Shawn Pfaff, Sparta; 3, Kevin Nuttleman, Bangor; 4, Ryan Carlson, Loves Park, IL; 5, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire.
Qualifying Feature 2- 1, Andy Burgess, Eau Claire; 2, J. Herbst, West Salem; 3, Mark Lamoreaux, Bloomington, MN; 4, Lorin Kurth, Waukon, IA; 5, Tony Bagstad, Cashton.
Qualifying - 1, Charlie Menard, Eau Claire, 20.277 seconds, 96.834 MPH; 2, Andy Burgess, Eau Claire, 20.538 secs, 95.603 MPH; 3, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor, 20.540 secs, 95.594 MPH; 4, J. Herbst, West Salem, 20.573 secs, 95.441 MPH; 5, Kevin Nuttleman, Bangor, 20.626 secs, 95.195 MPH.