RICE LAKE, Wis. – On a steamy Saturday night, three drivers continued to show that they will be the teams to beat this season at Rice Lake Speedway.
Both Curt Myers and Mike Schnider won their third feature races in three tries, while Mike Anderson won his second straight modified main event, with that class having been absent for the last program two weeks ago at the track.
Shane Halopka won his first feature race of the year and Shawn Amundson was a winner for the first time ever racing in the Street Stock class.
Josh Bach was the early leader in the Super Stock feature, using the outside pole to lead the first two laps before he was overtaken by Nick Traynor for the lead.
Myers started eighth on the grid but quickly moved to the front as the race was stopped twice for spins in the first eight laps of the event.
By the second yellow, Myers had worked his way up to second and when the green flew again, he threw a wicked slide job at Traynor in turn one and was able to squeeze past and take over the lead.
Only two more laps could be completed before a spin once again packed up the field with Myers showing the way this time.
However, when the green flew, Myers found plenty of competition as Eric Olson used the low groove to pull up beside Myers and twice he made strong moves in an attempt to make the pass, but each time Myers had just enough momentum to fight him off.
With the last half of the race running green to checkered, Myers was able to gradually pull away from the pack. Simon Wahlstrom then sped up and he was able to drive around Olson and secure the runner up slot, which he held to the finish.
Olson finished a strong third and Bart Steffen made a late drive up through the field to finish ahead of Traynor and round out the top five.
For Myers, it was his third straight win of the season in the Super Stocks and 44th of his career in that class at Rice Lake.
Also winning his third straight feature race at Rice Lake was Pure Stock driver Mike Schnider. The Pure Stocks had a tough time putting in consecutive laps early in their main event, with four yellow flags in the first five laps for a variety of spins and collisions.
Travis Hazelton started on the outside pole and each time the green waved early, he would jump into the lead with Ryan Olson, Dan Boissy and Bob Thompson chasing him.
Point leader Schnider started eighth but he quickly moved to the front to join the challenge for the lead.
Following the third spin and yellow, he was up to second and when the green flew again, he was able to get to the outside of Shackleton and after a brief battle, drive past him to take over the lead.
One more yellow flew and then the last seven laps ran off green to checkered and despite a badly smoking car, Schnider gradually pulled away from the field to record a relatively easy win.
The battle for second was a good one as Shackleton and Dan Boissy fought hard for the spot with Thompson also close behind.
Hazelton was able to hold on and record the second place finish but in post race technical inspection, Boissy’s car was turned down by officials for a violation and he lost the third spot.
Thompson then moved up to third with Jay Folz and Randy Graham completing the top five.
The modified feature got off to a rocky start also with two collisions in the first two attempts to get the race going that resulted in three cars being eliminated early.
During the yellow, Jason Richardson was sent off the track after losing a muffler, a tough break that ended a top five run for him. After that they went 19 laps without a stop and it was teammates Pat Hoffman and Kyle Helling battling for the lead in the early going.
Hoffman had the top spot but Helling was all over the “Pistol” as he looked for a way by for the lead.
Anderson started fourth and he then challenged to make it a three car battle for the top spot before Anderson was able to get past Helling and then he and Hoffman battled it out for the top spot.
Anderson made a strong move to the low side in turn four and he was able to drive into the lead.
Once in front and with no yellows to bunch the field, Anderson gradually pulled away for a relatively easy win.
The driver on the move the second half of the race was Zack Drews. The Superior driver was making his first visit to the track and the second half of the feature belonged to him as he got wired to the low groove and marched to the front in the fading laps.
Coming from sixth, he drove under Curt Myers, Jason Gross, and then both Helling and Hoffman in the late part of the race to finish a sterling second to Anderson.
Hoffman and Helling came next in line with their best finishes of the year and Gross rounded out the top five.
The win was Anderson’s 43rd triumph in the modified class at Rice Lake.
On the other end of the spectrum, his win Saturday night marked the very first Street Stock victory ever for Shawn Amundson at Rice Lake.
A third generation racer from a tradition-laden family at the speedway, Amundson’s lone wins earlier in his career were a pair of Pure Stock victories during the 2015 season, after which he was largely absent from racing until he returned late in 2019 with a Street Stock.
During the early season, he has been fast with the car but until Saturday, the results have not been there but on this night, he won a sterling two-car battle with Cody Kummer to take his first win ever in this division.
Kolby Kiehl drove a consistent race to finish third, while Andrew Hanson and Hunter VanGilder both marched through the field to get top five finishes – VanGilder’s from dead last after he had heat race mechanical issues.
Halopka led all the way to win the feature race in the Midwest Modifieds. It looked to be an easy night for the Greenwood driver until two late yellow flags bunched the field and gave Tony Bahr a chance to get past for the win.
Travis Anderson finally shook off some bad early season luck and finished a strong third, with Austin Ellis and Jamie Bisonette next in line.
It will be a quick turnaround for Rice Lake racers and fans, as one of the biggest races of the year will be presented Thursday night, July 2, with the annual Firecracker special.
All five divisions will be racing on Thursday, along with a gigantic fireworks display. The rain date for the fireworks is Saturday night, July 4.