:: MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY News

08.25.17

CLINTON BUZZES IN FROM IA TO GRAB THE $1,000-TO-WIN HORNET SWARM AT MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY!

Angst, Hofer, Hale, Holthaus, Schmitt, Schloegel, Boland, & Stockhausen Crowned Season Champions on Minnesota State College Southeast Night

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By Dan Bailey
FOUNTAIN CITY, WI (Friday August 25, 2017) – Race fans were treated to a tremendous night of racing as almost 150 cars registered into the pits for the final regular season points paying event of the 2017 season at - a night that would wrap up battles for 2017 track championships at MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY, before the big specials ramp up to wrap up the year!

Coming into Friday night's event, MANY battles for positions throughout the point standings were still undecided in ALL divisions. The battles that took center stage and garnered all the attention, however, were for the division championships in the Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mod division and the redbox+ 600 Mod division.

In the Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mod division four drivers - Alex Williamson (#15W), Parker Hale (#28 - 2015 MTS Track Champion), Erik Kanz (#23K - 2012 MTS Track Champion), & Ryan Olson (#21) - entered the evening separated by just FIVE (5) points!

Alex Williamson - 911 pts
Ryan Olson - 910 pts
Parker Hale - 909 pts
Erik Kanz - 906 pts

In the redbox+ 600 Mod division four drivers - Bruce Schmitt (#80), Greg Wohletz (#32 - 2012 MTS Track Champion), Chris Gilbertson (#4G - three regular season feature wins @ MTS), & Brad Kramer (#13 - 2 regular season feature wins @ MTS) - entered the evening separated by 62 points. In overall points, the order was Schmitt, Wohletz, Gilbertson, Kramer - but the 600 Mod drivers are allowed to drop their single worst regular season points finish from the total; meaning that after the mathematical gymnastics, the order was Wohletz, Schmitt, Gilbertson, Kramer. While Kramer, down by 46 points, probably didn't stand any chance at a championship - the top 3 (Wohletz, Schmitt & Gilbertson) were only separated by 10 points!

Greg Wohletz - 894 pts
Bruce Schmitt - 887 pts
Chris Gilbertson - 884 pts
Brad Kramer - 848 pts

Fans were going to need calculators as the evening progressed!

Rivercity Manufacturing USRA Modifieds

2009 MTS Track Champion John Doelle (one feature win this season) rocketed away from the field at the drop of the green flag to lead the opening 24 laps of the Rivercity Manufacturing USRA Modified feature
At one point, Doelle's lead was almost ½ a straight away
Behind Doelle, battles for position were fierce
Outside pole sitter Brian Albrecht Kept his #6T7 in the top four, fending off multiple challenges from Keith Foss (#95 - 2 feature wins prior to Friday night) and Dustin Sorensen (#19)
On lap 13 Albrecht slipped behind two former track champions - Josh Angst (#99) and Lucas Schott (#69 - defending USRA NATIONAL CHAMPION) and settled into this eventual 6th place finishing spot
Foss, however, was gunning for the front of the field
Lap after lap, Foss continued cutting into the lead that Doelle had established
In the closing laps, Doelle and Foss began approaching the tail end of the lead lap of competitors
On the final lap, Foss had caught Doelle and both had caught the #44 of Lee Roy Scharkey - ready to put Scharkey a lap down
As the three raced out of turn 2 on the FINAL LAP, Doelle went to the outside (right) of Scharkey, Foss went to the inside (left) of Scharkey
The three raced the length of the back straight THREE WIDE, and entered turn three the same!
Foss got a better run through turns 3 & 4 and beat Doelle to the line by just slightly more than a tenth of a second!
Behind Foss and Doelle, Josh Angst raced hard, but smart; his fifth place finish insured him of his fourth Track Championship at MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY (2016, 2013, 2010)

Centerville Welding & Repair USRA Late Models presented by Big Toy Storage

The Late Model feature was a wild one!
Scheduled to be a 20-lap feature, Pole sitter Ryan Konkel led the opening lap before Mark Teske zipped by to take the lead
On lap 6 Ryan Konkel blew his engine in-between turns 1 and 2 - spreading a heavy sheen of engine parts and slick oil all of the racing surface
Car after car behind Konkel raced full speed into the oil and immediately lost traction
Troy Langowski, Justin Sass and others all sliding up the banking unexpectedly and getting into the turn two wall
But it was Derek Sutton who took the worst hit
Sutton's #33 shot up the backing, careened off the turn two wall and turned nose first into the back straight wall
Sutton's car launched straight up into the air, spinning 180 degrees around before dropping back down and rolling first onto its roof and then flopping over onto its wheels
Speedway officials immediately on the scene helped a dazed and sore Sutton from his totaled car just as the skies opened up with rain - ending the final feature of the night at 6 laps
Teske was awarded the feature win as his #9 had the lead on the last completed lap before the caution/red-flag/rain ended the feature
Lance Hofer finished second - but more importantly grabbed his second MTS Track Champion (2015) with his #11.

Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mods

Four heat races, a Last Chance Qualifier B-Main and an 18-lap feature . . . all needed to determine the 2017 Track Champion.
JT Wasmund (#51W) jumped from the front row to lead the opening 8 laps before Shaun Walski zipped by and raced on to the feature win.
Much of the attention, however, was focused on the afore mentioned 4 B-Mod drivers embroiled in the title chase!
Parker Hale started fifth, dropped to sixth before battling Williamson and Olson for positions in the top 5.
Kanz Came from 19th! And climbed as high as 10th before a spin on lap 8 forced him to restart at the back of the 22-car field - from which he could only muster an 11th place finish.
Hale battled to a third place finish, just inches ahead of Olson (who, obviously, finished 4th) while Williamson settled for an 8th place finish.
When all was said and done, Parker Hale was crowned the MTS B-Mod Track Champion - his second championship added to his 2015 title.

Redbox+ 600 Mods

Three racers battling for the championship in the redbox+ 600 Mod division (as explained above)
Wohletz appeared ready to grab his second championship, jumping to the lead and setting the pace for the opening 10 laps of the 18-lap feature
On lap, however, Joe Provinzino snatched the top spot away from Wohletz, and Wohletz's race changed dramatically from there on out.
First Schmitt got by, then Gilbertson, then Kyle Jumbeck - before Wohletz could battle back to salvage a 4th place finish
Schmitt beat Gilbertson across the line by .015 seconds to garner the second place finish - enough to claim the Track Championship (his first ever)!

Jailhouse Saloon USRA Hobby Stocks

Travis Krause (#X01) picked up his fourth straight USRA Feature win by beating Steve Dwyer (#7) and Brady Link (#29) to the finish of the Jailhouse Saloon USRA Hobby Stock feature.
Dwyer finished second, Link third.

Harmston Trucking MTS Hornets

Friday was the make-up date of the prior week's running of the $1000-To-Win Harmston Trucking Hornet Swarm!
Dylan Clinton raced in from Iowa and turned his very first visit to the MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY into a $1000 night!

USRA Stock Cars

Brayden Gjere collected his FIRST EVER feature win by driving his #23 USRA Stock Car around series hot shoe Pete Solum (#37).

Sunshine Refuse Slingshots

Mason Stockhausen won the JR Slingshot feature on the Lightning Speedway
Jacob Peterson won the SR Slingshot feature

After a single week of silence, MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY will once again roar to life with the "6TH ANNUAL DAHL AUTO PLAZA MODIFIED NATIONALS - THE QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR WEEKEND" September 7th through the 9th! Hope to see you all for this multi-evening night at MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY in Fountain City, WI to "Feel the Thunder"

Get all the details HERE!

MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY is located 3.0 miles north of Fountain City on Wisconsin Highway 35. For more information, call 608-687-3282 or visit www.MississippiThunder.com on the World Wide Web.

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MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY is presenting its 9th season of top-notch dirt track action in Fountain City, WI. The high-banked 1/3 mile dark-clay oval is quickly becoming known as one of the best speedways in the upper Midwest presenting dirt track racing in a fan and family friendly atmosphere every Friday night throughout the racing season.

For all details, continue visiting the MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY web site: www.MississippiThunder.com

RESULTS - FRIDAY AUGUST 25th - SEVERSON OIL NIGHT

full results

MTS results at MyLaps.com

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