May 18, 2003; Seymour, WI - The weather co-operated Sunday for a big night of racing at the Seymour Tri Oval Raceway. A good crowd saw 120 cars compete for the evening.
The IMCA Stock Cars took the track first with Larry Karcz, Jr quickly pulling into the lead followed by Rick Mahlberg, Rod Snellenberger, Jerry Wilinski, Jeremy Christians, Greg Gretz and Shawn Kilgore. Karcz took off while the next bunch of cars sorted out while running most of the next four laps three wide. A spin on lap 13 bunched the field on Karcz with Snellenberger, Brandon Czarapata, Wilinski, Gretz, and Kilgore behind. Karcz was able to pull away again after the restart while the battle for second was the point to watch. Karcz collected his first feature win since the opener last season with Brandon Czarapata taking the runner up spot. Gretz held off last weeks winner, Jason Czarapata for third with Kilgore and Snellenberger rounding out the top six. Joe Van Ooyen set the pace for the first 5 laps of the Street Stock main with Darren Otto taking charge on lap 6. Debris on the track brought out the caution on lap 8,and on the restart, Lance Arneson pulled alongside Otto. The pair ran side by side for 2 laps before Arneson pulled into the top spot for good,and pulled away from the pack to collect his second straight division feature win. The race was for second the rest of the way and a good battle ensued. Phil Hiles took second on lap 11 and chased the leader to the finish. Otto, Jamie Van Ooyen, Darci Czarapata, and Shawn Van Ooyen exchange spots to the finish with Otto finishing in third, Jamie Van Ooyen fourth, Czarapata fifth. Jeremy Wiitila nipped Jamie Schmidt at the line for sixth. A.J. Diemel pulled from the pole into the lead of the Late Model main at the start and built a lead over Randy Markwardt, Troy Springborn, Doug Klemp, T.J. White and Ralph Aschenbrenner. Springborn moved into the runner up spot on lap 4 but brought out a caution one lap later with a flat tire and stall on the back chute. After the restart, Nick Anvelink was picking his way from the back and moved into third on lap 6. Two laps later, while taking the inside look in turn one for second, he spun, bringing out the final caution of the race. Diemel was still in command but Terry Casey moved to the inside entering the tri oval on lap 12 and came out the leader. Anvelink quickly moved through traffic again and was in third again by lap 13. Two Laps later he was in second and faced a six length margin to close on Casey. Four laps later, Anvelink was right behind Casey and on lap 18, used the inside line though the tri oval to take the lead and pull away to his first career, Tri Oval feature win. Casey was second followed by Markwardt in a strong run for third. Pete Parker was fourth. Jeremy Hedrick, his first night here ion the division was fifth with Klemp sixth. The mods ran a quick non stop feature event with R.M. Van Pay taking the lead on the start and building a big lead while the pack stayed bunch behind. Jeremy Jacobs, Joel Schmit, Julie McDermid, Dennis Young, Travis Spaulding and Danny Deau were tin that pack. Former Stock Car pilot, Benji LaCrosse, made his first appearance of the year in the mod and started the main in 12. He hooked up on the outside and quickly pulled through traffic to be running sixth by lap 5. By lap 8, he was in third and 1 lap later was in second and looking to chase Van Pay down for the lead. LaCrosse closed the gap quickly and flew into the lead on lap 11. Once in front, He checked out on the field and collected his first career division feature win in only his fourth night in the car. The battle was for third the rest of the way. Spaulding, McDermid and Brian Mullen raced each other hard to the finish and it was Mullen that came out in third place with Spaulding a close fourth. McDermid was right there in fifth and Dean Maurer rounded out the top six. Marty Vande Hei set the pace for the 4 Banger finale leading for the first 2 laps before Todd Welsay took charge on lap 3 and pulled away from the field to collect his first feature win ever at the tri oval. Vande Hei held on for second with Justin Sobieck taking third. Jasper Drengler got his car sideways three laps from the end and almost rolled it over in the tri oval, but it caught and landed on the wheels and he continued on to finish fourth. Tom Schmidt took fifth his first night out and Tony Everard rounded out the top six. Next week will be the Big Memorial Day weekend with a full program on tap. The WISSOTA Late Model Challenge series will visit the Tri Oval on Thursday night, June 5 as part of a Northeastern WI swing that starts the night before in Shawano. SUMMARY IMCA MODIFIED WISSOTA LATE MODEL STREET STOCK IMCA STOCK CAR 4 BANGER |
