Week four of the 2012 St. Croix Valley Raceway season started off with hot muggy temperatures, gave birth to a new area tradition, and was wrapped up by fans driving their family vehicles and the same quarter-mile track as their weekend heroes. Rob Caho Jr. claimed the inaugural Traditional 30 title on “you be the driver” night at The Valley.
In a break from tradition, the Pure Stocks, not the Future Fours, were the first class to take the feature’s green flag. After a first lap caution that took out rookie Ben Kaphing, Rice Lake’s Jason Havel blasted his way to the point on the restart. Jake Silbernagel gave chase, but Havel, having won the two prior weeks, wouldn’t go down easy. Greg Hallin, Jon Wigchers, and Justin Rick all spent time in the top five, while for the third consecutive week, Havel had his way with the Pure Stock field. Silbernagel crossed the line second ahead of Rick, Wigchers and Mason McEvers.
Next up were the Bullseye Shooting Range Future Fours, paced by heat race winner Kyle Dahlheimer and Brian Adams. On the opening circuit, third starting Todd Tachery bolted to the front with Dahlheimer, Adams, Jack Purcell and first heat race winner Oliver Swanson in tow. By lap three, Purcell had advanced to second while Dahlheimer slid back to fifth. With most of the jostling for position happening for second place on back, Tachery motored to the double checkers first in front of Purcell, Adams, Swanson and Dahlheimer.
The Northern Vintage Stockcar Racers were also on hand for a second consecutive week, with Will Matsch winning the Full Bodied division, and Butch Bethke claiming his second consecutive Super Modified win.
In UMSS Micro sprint action, Sioux Falls, South Dakota pilot, “Silent Thunder” Greg Gunderson dominated both the heat and feature. The winged sprint car veteran cruised to the line in front of Ty Sampair, Tony Duran and rookie Chris Lanz.
The penultimate race of the night was the headlining UMSS Traditional 30, featuring the Sterling Bank UMSS Traditional sprint cars. In just their second year of existence, an all-time record high twelve wingless warriors checked in to vie for the largest payout to date in the growing class. Of the twelve competitors, only the #71H of Mike Huesmann was unable to take the green flag for the night’s main event. After winning the evening’s first heat race, Strum, Wisconsin’s “Flyin” Ryan Olson found himself chasing Rob Caho with one lap in the books. Behind the rookie Olson, ageless Jack Clark was fending off Jeff Pellersels and reigning champion Kevin “Rocketman” Bradwell in the battle for third. By lap three, Bradwell had blasted up to third and was chasing Olson with Caho still running strong in the high groove out front. After a lap ten caution for Olson, Johnny Parsons III, despite a heavily smoking engine, was a consistent factor in the top five battle, and Pellersels climbed to the runner-up spot. The final caution of the race was on lap 21, after which Travis Jehlicka broke into the top five along with “Hurricane” Katrina Sautbine. At the final double checkers, it was Caho by a comfortable margin ahead of Pellersels, Parsons, Jehlicka and Sautbine.
The last race of the night was the WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature with Tony Schill and Josh Bazey pacing the field. From the get-go, it was Bazey at the point, with Vince Corbin and Schill vying for second. Behind the leaders, Tyler English had charged up from his ninth starting spot up to fourth, battling for position with Mitch Weiss and Corey Fogelson. With the track proving to be quite fast, the Midwest Modified pilots at times struggled to keep the yellow flag from appearing, but with each restart, Bazey continued his strong run out front. With all twenty laps in the books, it was Bazey for the second time this season ahead of Schill, Weiss, English and Corbin.
On tap for this Friday night, June 15, St. Croix Valley Raceway will include the always comedic and entertaining trailer races. The added dimension (and distraction) of towing a trailer behind the car as the racers circle the track always results in unpredictable hilarity. This is a ‘can’t miss’ event for kids from ages three to ninety three. The night will also include all regular weekly classes: Future Fours, Pure Stocks, UMSS Micro Sprints, UMSS Traditional Sprints and WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. And less than three weeks away, excitement continues to build for the first annual Open Wheel Nationals Kouba Memorial Race presented by Jack Links. The night will be completely fender free, featuring the second appearance of the season by the UMSS winged sprint cars, as well as the UMSS Traditional sprints, WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and open Modifieds. Additional details for these or any other future events at SCVR can be found on the tracks website, www.scvraceway.com.
Article Credit: Terry Lehnertz