State Park Speedway: Bilderback not to be denied, takes third Detjens Big 8 win

Adam Glatczak | State Park Speedway track writer

WAUSAU, Wis. (July 26) – After leading for over 40 laps of the Big 8 Late Models feature on the first night of the Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway, Michael Bilderback wasn’t about to give up quickly after losing the lead in the final three laps.

Bilderback muscled back inside Michael Ostdiek on the final lap and went on to win the 58-lap Big 8 feature in the highlight event of the 44th running of the Detjens Memorial and the Big 8 cars’ 13th visit to the venerable Rib Mountain quarter-mile.

Bilderback won for the third time in four Big 8 starts this season and extended his Big 8 record to 19 career feature wins in the series. The South Beloit, Ill., native also joined Jon Reynolds Jr. as the only three-time winners of the Big 8 race at State Park.

Bilderback and Ostdiek provided a dramatic finish to the Big 8 feature, as a caution-marred race over the first 37 laps ended up settling into a classic duel between past SPS Big 8 feature winners over the final 21 laps.

Ostdiek got to the inside of Bilderback on lap 39, just after the race’s ninth and final caution, and the two raced side-by-side in an amazing battle for 19 straight laps. The pair swapped the lead at the start-finish line seven times in that stretch with Bilderback holding strong and getting half a car length at times before Ostdiek would rally back.

Ostdiek, the Lakeville, Minn., native who also won the Big 8 feature at State Park in 2016, continued to fight back on the inside, and he took the lead on lap 55, inched further ahead the next lap and cleared Bilderback finally on lap 57. Bilderback made a last attempt back though on the final lap in turns 1 and 2 and took the lead back, with third-place Randy Sargent of South Beloit also getting inside Ostdiek on the backstretch.

Ostdiek made a last-ditch dive to the inside going into Turn 3 but ended up driving over Sargent, resulting in the two stacking up on the edge of the infield in turns 3 and 4. Last year’s SPS Big 8 winner Grant Brown of Prior Lake, Minn., avoided the tangle and went on to finish second with fast qualifier Carson Phillips of Edgerton taking third.

Ronnie Osborne of Fitchburg completed a solid and steady run in fourth and Ostdiek off-roaded through the grass in the final corner and crossed the line fifth. Sargent fell back to eighth at the finish.

Bilderback finished leading 42 of the 58 laps, after taking the lead from polesitter and early leader Shane Radtke of Watertown on lap 14, after the race’s first caution flag after Reynolds stopped on the track in Turn 3 after contact deep in the pack. Bilderback would hold the lead through eight more restarts, often driving away while Jevin Guralski of Wausau and Ostdiek followed in the row behind.

Lap 36 for a time appeared to be impossible to complete, with a total of four restarts before a lap was completed. The race was nearly turned upside down after the second of four restarts, when Guralski in second dove to the inside of Bilderback entering the third turn, resulting in both cars washing up the track and Bilderback stalling in Turn 4. Guralski was sent to the back for the yellow and Bilderback retained his top spot, moving Ostdiek into second and Brown to third.

Ostdiek nearly got inside Bilderback after a later restart before another yellow came out after Brandon Laing of South Beloit spun in turns 3 and 4 and Joshua Lundy of Roscoe, Ill., clipped him, but Bilderback pulled away again on the next restart. The ninth caution came out two laps later, though, when Laing stalled on the frontstretch on lap 38, lining up Ostdiek and Brown behind Bilderback again one more time.

Nineteen cars started the feature and 16 cars were running at the finish despite all the cautions, including 15 on the lead lap. Sargent made the biggest move through the field, coming all the way up to third after running as far back as 16th in the early laps. Guralski also made a charge after going to the back and finished sixth, with Reynolds coming in seventh.

Guralski won the fast dash while Laing and Clayton Storey of Burlington won heat races. Phillips was the night’s fastest qualifier with a lap of 14.310 seconds.

Big 8 Late Models

Fast Qualifier: Carson Phillips, Edgerton, 14.310 sec.

Fast 8 Dash: 1. Jevin Guralski, Wausau; 2. Grant Brown, Prior Lake, Minn.; 3. Michael Ostdiek, Lakeville, Minn.; 4. Randy Sargent, South Beloit, Ill.; 5. Jon Reynolds Jr., Loves Park, Ill.; 6. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit, Ill.; 7. Carson Phillips; 8. Ronnie Osborne, Fitchburg

Odd Heat: 1. Brandon Laing, South Beloit, Ill.; 2. Joshua Lundy, Roscoe, Ill.; 3. Shane Radtke, Watertown; 4. Colton Morgan, Baraboo; 5. Tyler Hromodka, Colgate; 6. Del Schuler, Mequon

Even Heat: 1. Clayton Storey, Burlington; 2. Devin Schmidt, New Prague, Minn.; 3. 27; 4. Nathan Goodwin, Marquette, Mich.; 5. Mike Cox Jr., Rhinelander

Feature: 1. Bilderback; 2. Brown; 3. Carson Phillips; 4. Osborne; 5. Ostdiek; 6. J. Guralski; 7. Reynolds; 8. Sargent; 9. Morgan; 10. Radtke; 11. Hromodka; 12. Lundy; 13. Gajewski; 14. Goodwin; 15. Schuler; 16. Cox; 17. Laing; 18. Storey; 19. Schmidt