Rice Lake Speedway season champions crowned

The final regular Saturday night event of the 2024 racing season was held at the Rice Lake Speedway on a sunny and hot late August night, with the 2024 Season Championship races determining the five drivers who claimed titles in the first year under the new ownership team of Rice Lake Speedway LLC.

When the battling was done and the celebrating beginning, the first drivers crowned as track champions were Bob Wahlstrom, Cody Kummer, Mike Schnider, Curt Myers and Kevin Adams. And now, with the regular racing season completed, all attention can be turned to the new Dairyland Dash event, a two-night show to be held this coming weekend at the speedway.

In Wahlstrom, Schnider and Myers, three of the track point champions pulled off a double play, winning both titles in the same year and claiming the two most prestigious awards that the track can offer.

Pure StockWahlstrom waited until he was 62 years old to claim his first ever title but he made it a memorable year for the Chetek veteran as he led from start to finish to win the Pure Stock Season Championship race. After starting on the pole, he pulled away from the field, endured a quick yellow after three laps that tightened up the field and then, when racing started once again, Wahlstrom again pulled away and maintained a comfortable edge for the rest of the event.

Charlie Pitcavage quickly moved into the second spot with Bob Thompson and Brent Mindock battling for third. Their individual fight for position got a bit aggressive when they banged together and spun in turn one, triggering the lone yellow flag of the event. Thompson got his spot back while Mindock elected to call it a night.

While Wahlstrom continued to control the lead, the battle for second was a good one as Thompson got past Pitcavage for the second spot just past the midpoint of the race. And while Wahlstrom had no threats to his leadership of the race, the battle for second went right down to the wire with Thompson edging out Pitcavage for the second spot. It was Wahlstrom’s second feature win of the year at the track to go along with both the point title and season championship.

Street StockTrack point champion Danny Richards grabbed the early lead in the Street Stock feature with rookie driver Nolan Brown moving into second. Cody Kummer, who has had an exceptional year at the track, quickly moved up after starting fifth on the grid, and he cracked the top three when the first yellow flew for a spinning Bryar Zimmerman.

Kummer, who excels at this track running a higher line than most drivers can here, then swept past Brown on the restart and closed on leader Richards, who normally runs the higher line also but was right on the bottom in the early going. Keeping up his momentum, just one lap later Kummer swept past Richards in turn four and drove into the lead.

Richards tried to respond and get the lead back but it didn’t go well for the point champion, as he pushed very hard into turn three, trying to get back under Kummer but his car broke loose and the former Little Dream winner spun out in front of the field, with everyone able to avoid contact.

Kummer retained the lead while Richards went to the tail of the field, and the last 10 laps of this race ran off green to checkers. Kummer continued to lead but Hunter VanGilder, who started sixth, moved into second and was closely behind the leader and trying to gain as the race moved into its second half.

Parker Anderson, who started eighth, moved to the outside lane also and had immediate success as he moved into third and started to gain on VanGilder.

The top three pulled away from the field as the race neared its conclusion. Anderson continued to gain on VanGilder as he tried to make a pass for second. Up front, however, it was all Kummer has he ran a smooth and steady line and drove home with the win by several car lengths over VanGilder. Anderson finished a very close third as he ran out of laps while appearing to be the fastest car on the track at the end.

For Kummer, the regular season wrapped up the same way much of his season has here, in victory lane. Not only did he win the biggest Street Stock race in the country, he won five feature races at the track this year, topping all competitors no matter what class they raced, and he was the only driver in the Street Stocks to win more than one feature race this year here.

Midwest ModifiedWhile leading the track points all year in the Midwest Modified division, Mike Schnider has struggled to visit victory lane, with that first win remaining elusive despite the fact that different driver after different driver managed to win, but not the defending point champion from Cameron.

Season Championship night was different however, as Schnider took the lead at the drop of the green flag and then showed the field his rear spoiler as he led from start to finish to grab that elusive first main while also pulling off the double of being point champion as well as season champion.

Early on, he battled wheel to wheel with Jake Stai, the only driver to have won more than one main event here this year, and Cody Cimfl for the lead. An early yellow for a spin bunched the field with Cimfl edging into second but then the driver on the move was Joey Jensen. A terror at tracks all over WISSOTA this year with his many wins, he started seventh but didn’t stay there long as he got up to second by the halfway point of the race when the yellow flew for the second time after Stai and Brady Larson got into their own private war, with Stai ending up pointed the wrong direction in turn four.

Schnider had to be at his best the second half of the race as Jensen had a clear shot at him and was pushing his hardest, running the high side of the track. But Schnider was dialed in on this night as he never made a single slip and that was important as one bobble and Jensen would likely have made the pass for the lead.

As it turned out, Schnider crossed the line with Jensen a scant car length behind, having pushed for all he was worth but not able to complete the pass. Cimfl completed the top three. In the ultra competitive class, Schnider became the 10th different feature winner at the track this year, with Stai the only driver to win more than once.

Super Stock

Curt Myers became the third driver to win both the important titles when Myers led from start to finish to win the Super Stock feature race despite a constant challenge from Eric Olson. Those two raced first and second from the drop of the green to the completion of the race, which had its share of yellow flags due to some spinners.

Alex Myers moved into third by the halfway point of the race with Leslie and Leu and Randy Graham trailing. The frequent yellows allowed the field to bunch each time but Myers pulled away on each and every green flag to maintain a solid lead over Olson.

With only two laps to go, third running Alex Myers suffered mechanical issues on his car and he slowed to trigger the yellow once again and set up a two lap sprint to the finish.

Curt Myers was up to the task, however, and for the final time he pulled away once again as he led Olson across the finish line for the win. Leu climbed up to third at the finish with Patrick Beeksma, who had to go to the back early for a tangle, working his way back up to fourth at the finish.

It was Myers’ fourth Super Stock win of the season at Rice Lake and 52nd of his career here as he continues his chase of Don Drew, who holds the all time record for wins in the class.

Modified

Modified point champion Joe Chaplin Jr. started on the pole for the feature race and led the first seven laps as he and Brent Prochnow had a good battle for that top spot. Kevin Adams started third and after a slow start that saw him slip behind Pat Hoffman, Adams moved to the outside of the track and started to make time, getting past both Hoffman and Prochnow and then moving in on the leader.

Chaplin Jr. proved hard to track down but Adams slowly gained on him and then with a burst down the back stretch, pulled past Chaplin Jr. on lap seven to take over the lead. Also on the charge was Mike Anderson, who had started sixth. He began to pick up the pace and by the halfway point of the race, had passed Chaplin Jr. also to move into second.

The two all-time leaders in feature wins in the Modifieds then began one of their classic battles. Adams continued running the top side of the track while Anderson was low and Anderson continually showed a nose under the leader, but Adams powered off the corners and held him off. Back to back to back yellows with just three laps to go for spins bunched the field and produced a shootout on each green.

Adams adjusted his line slightly as Anderson was strong off the bottom in turn four and while in those last three laps, Anderson continued to get close, at the finish it was Adams by a car length for the win with point champion Chaplin Jr. a close third.

It was Adams’ second win of the year at the track as he became the first driver all year to claim more than one win in the division. For Adams, it was his 96th Modified feature win at Rice Lake and between he and Anderson, they have won a total of 153 feature wins at Rice Lake, the top two in all-time track history.

Up Next

With the regular season now complete, attention will now turn to the Dairyland Dash, a first-ever event for the track and the newest promotion for the new ownership team at Rice Lake. With a full racing program on both Saturday and Sunday nights, the five regular divisions that race at the speedway will be joined by the USRA Late Models, which will also be running a full show on both nights.

Big money is on the line in all six divisions and the track hopes to attract many out of town drivers and new faces that the local fans haven’t seen all season. Race time will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday. All the information for the drivers and fans is on the track website, ricelakespeedway.net as well as the track Facebook page .

Results, Aug. 24Modifieds — Feature (20 Laps): 1. 40-Kevin Adams[3]; 2. 57-Mike Anderson[6]; 3. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[1]; 4. 22S-Cole Spacek[8]; 5. 308-Pat Hoffman[4]; 6. 27H-Steve Hallquist[5]; 7. 20-Austin Ellis[11]; 8. 78-Brent Prochnow[2]; 9. 9MM-Aiden Hoffman[9]; 10. 37-Travis Anderson[13]; 11. 204-David Mayala[14]; 12. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[12]; 13. 10-Kyle Helling[10]; 14. 28-Don Gleason[15]; 15. (DNF) 4N-Nick Wojcik[16]; 16. (DNF) 18S-Kennedy Swan[7]. First heat (8 Laps): 1. 57-Mike Anderson[6]; 2. 78-Brent Prochnow[1]; 3. 5-Joe Chaplin Jr[3]; 4. 27H-Steve Hallquist[5]; 5. 9MM-Aiden Hoffman[7]; 6. 20-Austin Ellis[2]; 7. 37-Travis Anderson[4]; 8. 28-Don Gleason[8]. Second heat: 1. 40-Kevin Adams[2]; 2. 22S-Cole Spacek[1]; 3. 18S-Kennedy Swan[4]; 4. 308-Pat Hoffman[6]; 5. 10-Kyle Helling[3]; 6. 38-Simon Wahlstrom[5]; 7. 204-David Mayala[8]; 8. 4N-Nick Wojcik[7].

Super Stock — Feature (20 Laps): 1. 33-Curt Myers[1]; 2. 1E-Eric Olson[2]; 3. 14X-Leslie Leu[7]; 4. 21C-Patrick Beeksma[8]; 5. 1-Ryan Olson[4]; 6. 20-Cory Davis[14]; 7. 57-Randy Graham[5]; 8. 01-Michael Anderson[15]; 9. 245-James Cimfl[10]; 10. 28-Josh Cappo[11]; 11. (DNF) 1M-Alex Myers[3]; 12. (DNF) 62-Dalton Truchon[12]; 13. (DNF) 22-Clay Albrecht[16]; 14. (DNF) 247-Jackson Larson[13]; 15. (DNF) 21-Mike Siewert[6]; 16. (DNS) 1776-Wayne Dean. First heat (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ryan Olson[4]; 2. 57-Randy Graham[2]; 3. 21C-Patrick Beeksma[6]; 4. 1M-Alex Myers[5]; 5. 1776-Wayne Dean[7]; 6. 28-Josh Cappo[1]; 7. 247-Jackson Larson[8]; 8. 01-Michael Anderson[3]. Second heat: 1. 1E-Eric Olson[3]; 2. 33-Curt Myers[5]; 3. 21-Mike Siewert[2]; 4. 14X-Leslie Leu[8]; 5. 245-James Cimfl[7]; 6. 62-Dalton Truchon[1]; 7. 20-Cory Davis[4]; 8. (DNF) 22-Clay Albrecht[6].

Midwest Mods — Feature (15 Laps): 1. 7-Mike Schnider[1]; 2. 30-Joey Jensen[7]; 3. 19H-Cody Cimfl[3]; 4. 63JR-Brady Larson[9]; 5. 40D-Blake Adams[6]; 6. 37-Travis Anderson[4]; 7. 28-Paul Ripley[8]; 8. 00-Joseph Swearingen[16]; 9. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[12]; 10. 1-Jake Stai[2]; 11. 410-Jesse Young[11]; 12. 101-Michael Grover[13]; 13. 5-Rory Taber[14]; 14. 78-Bently Prochnow[10]; 15. 88K-Donavan Knutson[5]; 16. (DNS) 39-Rusty Taber. First heat (8 Laps): 1. 40D-Blake Adams[2]; 2. 19H-Cody Cimfl[3]; 3. 37-Travis Anderson[4]; 4. 7-Mike Schnider[6]; 5. 63JR-Brady Larson[5]; 6. 410-Jesse Young[1]; 7. 101-Michael Grover[8]; 8. 5-Rory Taber[7]. Second heat: 1. 28-Paul Ripley[3]; 2. 30-Joey Jensen[4]; 3. 1-Jake Stai[6]; 4. 88K-Donavan Knutson[5]; 5. 78-Bently Prochnow[8]; 6. 4K-Kenny Kincaid[7]; 7. (DNF) 39-Rusty Taber[1]; 8. (DQ) 00-Joseph Swearingen[2].

Street Stock — Feature (15 Laps): 1. 12-Cody Kummer[5]; 2. 84-Hunter VanGilder[6]; 3. 127-Parker Anderson[8]; 4. 19H-Nolan Brown[2]; 5. 12K-Jay Kesan[4]; 6. 9-Adam Soltis[9]; 7. 7-Caiden Engel[7]; 8. 3R-Danny Richards[1]; 9. 20F-Connor Franson[3]; 10. 92R-Courtney Rose[10]; 11. 19J-Jenna Herrman[13]; 12. 74-Bruce Stanley[12]; 13. (DNF) 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman[11]; 14. (DNS) 79-Joseph Ott. First heat (8 Laps): 1. 127-Parker Anderson[1]; 2. 3R-Danny Richards[2]; 3. 12K-Jay Kesan; 4. 20F-Connor Franson; 5. 9-Adam Soltis; 6. 00Z-Bryar Zimmerman; 7. 19J-Jenna Herrman Second heat: 1. 12-Cody Kummer[4]; 2. 7-Caiden Engel[1]; 3. 84-Hunter VanGilder[2]; 4. 19H-Nolan Brown[5]; 5. 92R-Courtney Rose[3]; 6. 74-Bruce Stanley[6]; 7. (DNF) 79-Joseph Ott[7].

Pure Stock — Feature (12 Laps): 1. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[1]; 2. 70-Bob Thompson[3]; 3. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[2]; 4. 7D-Trevor Phillips[5]; 5. (DNF) 17-Brian DeNucci[6]; 6. (DNF) 57M-Brent Mindock[4]. First heat (8 Laps): 1. 70-Bob Thompson[1]; 2. 57M-Brent Mindock[5]; 3. 88-Robert Wahlstrom[4]; 4. 81-Charlie Pitcavage[3]; 5. 7D-Trevor Phillips[6]; 6. 17-Brian DeNucci[2].