St. Croix Falls, WI Sep 04, 2008 - A tacky track and near perfect weather conditions awaited racers and fans for season championship night at Kopellah Speedway on Friday night. While some drivers had titles wrapped up early, for others, it came right down to the very last lap.
Leading off Amsoil Dirt Track Series main events were the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. 2008 track champion John Remington and Mike Haseltine led a fast and determined group to the green. Haseltine bolted from his outside starting spot into the lead early, and “The Rev” kept his revs high while holding the spot during the first half of the race. The second of two mid-race cautions proved to be Haseltine's undoing, however. On the lap eleven restart, second row running mates Jason VandeKamp and Ronnie Rihn both swept past Haseltine, with Rihn garnering the top spot. While Rihn and VandeKamp battled, a three-way tussle broke out for third between Haseltine, Remington and Denis Czech – going three-wide through turn four. Back up front, try as he might, VandeKamp never found the speed necessary to pass Rihn. Rihn upped his winning percentage at the track to an even .500 with three victories in only six features. VandeKamp was a close second at the line and Haseltine emerged as fastest in the battle for third. Remington was closely followed by Czech to round out the top five.
In what is becoming an annual tradition at Kopellah Speedway, the WISSOTA Street Stock championship competition, and the final race, was extremely close. With single digits separating the top two championship contenders all year, Chanda Fjorden Nord and Jeff Heintz were on the front row for one last battle. With Heintz holding just a three point advantage coming into the final event, he would need to finish no lower than second place to secure his fourth consecutive track championship. At the drop of the green, Fjorden Nord did her part in adding to the suspense, quickly establishing herself as the leader on the opening lap. With Trisha Nyren and Andy Miskowic battling for third, Heintz stayed glued to the rear bumper of Fjorden Nord's #5. A caution flag just prior to the half-way mark added to the drama, but had little effect on the final outcome. Fjorden Nord continued to show the fast way and the top two cars once again separated from the rest of the field. With all 20 laps complete, Fjorden Nord collected her division leading sixth sticker of the summer, but Heintz raced hard enough for second and claimed the biggest prize, the season championship. Miskowic eventually bested Nyren in their battle for third, and Kyle Howland cemented his third place finish in the season point standings with yet another top five finish.
The timing couldn't be much better for Stacy, Minnesota's Dan Gullikson. The WISSOTA Super Stock pilot enters the post-season on a hot streak, having won five of his last six main events. Gullikson upped his Kopellah total to six features wins, and fifteen in all of WISSOTA on Friday. The clean sweep moved him from fifth up to fourth in the national championship standings. A series of late race cautions provided a mild scare for Gullikson, however. Rick Kobs, after occasionally piloting cars for a handful of different owners this summer, debuted his own #K1 Friday night. On each restart, Kobs could get front fender under Gullikson's #00x through the opening turns, but by turns three and four, Gullikson would reclaim the advantage and stretch it to a full car length by the flagstand. Behind the lead duo, Luke Strandlund and John Remington battled throughout the event, and Greg Alling made himself heard with a late charge to pass both drivers. In the final rundown, it was Gullikson, Kobs and Alling on the podium. Remington finished fourth ahead of Stranlund, easily good enough for him to secure a second championship to accompany the Midwest Modified title he had secured the previous week.
Looking for a pair of career firsts, Mike Mueller paced the WISSOTA Modifieds to the green on championship night. Consistency has been the hallmark of Mueller's season at Kopellah, while still searching for that elusive first career Modified feature victory, Mueller combined perfect attendance and slew of top five finishes to take a commanding points lead into the final night of the season. Veteran racer Jason Schill started the main event just to Mueller's right, and Mueller got the jump at the start. Schill, who has been chasing motor ghosts most the the season, is finally firing on all cylinders during the past month, quickly attached himself to Mueller's rear bumper. By virtue of his earlier heat race win, Mueller had the title locked up – only the feature win remained on his to-do list. For eighteen laps, the youngster out of Chisago City, Minnesota fended off the defending champ, but on lap nineteen, Schill saw the opening he needed and shot to the point. Schill throttle-stomped the final lap and a half to his first victory of the season and Mueller finished a career best second. St. Paul's Mike Kelley Jr. raced from flag to flag in third place, followed by Andy Miskowic and Tim VanMeter.
With his Lightning McQueen #95 Hornet car still on the mend, Kevin Bradwell hopped behind the wheel of his #35 2007 ride for the second consecutive week. Leading rookie Pamela Lutgen by just eight points coming into the night's competition, Bradwell had some work to do – starting two rows behind Lutgen for the main event. At the drop of the green, Mike Raboin quickly darted from fourth to first and led the opening three circuits, while Bradwell quickly squirted from ninth up to fifth. Damon Stusek grabbed the top stop away from Raboin on lap four, where he would stay until lap ten. Raboin came back to the lead again for one lap, but on lap eleven of the twelve lap main, Stusek made his second and final claim on the top spot. Raboin would have to settle for second in front of 2008 track champion Kevin Bradwell. Tyler English and Matt Skipper completed the top five on championship night. Stusek, a rookie, claimed his first feature win – one of three drivers to accomplish the feat this summer behind the wheel of the #3XL Dodge Neon, joining Mark Helene (twice) and Doug Summer.
After claiming his first career feature win just two weeks earlier, Cameron, Wisconsin's Will Hargreaves set out to repeat the task in his #71H Pure Stock on Friday. Travis Jehlicka won his heat and started on the pole, but Hargreaves used the high groove to take the early lead. Last week's winner Adam Delfosse raced from fifth to second behind Hargreaves by lap three. After the fifteenth and final lap, Hargreaves possessed the winning formula for the second time in three weeks. Delfosse finished in the runner-up spot ahead of Jehlicka, with Ben Johnson and David Leaf rounding out the top five. Third starting Mike Dyrdahl limped a sick car home to a sixth place finish, securing the 2008 Pure Stock track title.
Kopellah Speedway wishes to thank all of the drivers who competed at the facility in 2008, and proudly presents its six track champions: Hornet division – Luck, Wisconsin's Kevin Bradwell. Pure Stock division – Mike Dyrdahl of Cambridge, Minnesota. WISSOTA Street Stock division – Jeff Heintz from Turtle Lake Wisconsin. WISSOTA Midwest Modified and WISSOTA Super Stock divisions – John Remington of Scandia, Minnesota. WISSOTA Modified division – Chisago City, Minnesota's Mike Mueller. Congratulations to each of you for a job well done.
After its final event on Labor Day, the Kopellah season will conclude with its annual awards banquet. Once again in 2008, the celebration will take place at the Hog Will BBQ and Grill in Luck, Wisconsin, on Saturday night, October 18. Please contact the Speedway at 715-566-0647 for details, or visit the track's website at www.kopellahspeedway.net.
