Guralski, Sillars score State Park Speedway firsts at Detjens Memorial, Willhite and Thompson add wins

Adam Glatczak | State Park Speedway track writer

WAUSAU, Wis. – The Larry Detjens Memorial has had a penchant for furnishing first-time feature winners at State Park Speedway in recent years, and the 2024 edition of the event brought milestones for two Wausau natives on Saturday.

Thirteen-year old Kooper Guralski won his first career feature in the Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks, becoming the latest member of his family to win a feature at the track. Later in the evening it was Carson Sillars wrapping up the night by scoring his first career Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks victory. Josh Willhite of Wausau (Snap-on Mini Mods) and Bentley Thompson of West Salem (Bandoleros) also added wins to wrap up the second and final day of the 44th running of the Detjens Memorial.

Guralski became the fourth in his family to win a feature at State Park, joining his brothers Kolton and Jevin and father Kurt all as winners at the track. Kooper benefitted from an incident in front of him to inherit the lead early in the 25-lap mini stocks feature, but from there held the lead and late in the race drove away from a number of perennially strong contenders in the class to earn the win.

Guralski started seventh in the field but had moved into third early when Trevor Schumann of Tomahawk and Stratford’s Branden Sischo made contact racing for the lead and spun out of Turn 2 on a lap 7 restart, sending Schumann spinning in front of the field. Cars scattered and missed the Schumann car, but both leaders were sent to the back of the field, moving Guralski into first with Friday night fast qualifier Clayton Phillips of Marathon in second.

Guralski took over first on the restart, and did so again when cars were lined up after a lap 10 incident when Friday night runner-up Luke Mikula hit the frontstretch wall, ending his night. By then the top six included Phillips plus 2024 feature winners Nick Kurth, Eric Breitenfeldt and Garret Strachota, but Guralski pulled away from all of them as the laps wound down, finishing eight car lengths ahead of Strachota with Phillips third, Kurth fourth and Breitenfeldt fifth.

The win continues a quick rise for Guralski, who briefly raced Bandoleros at ages 8 and 9 but retired from driving in 2020. He returned this year and has run well and been a contender at tracks of all sizes, competing at State Park, Golden Sands Speedway and Marshfield Motor Speedway.

Jacob Hintze of Wausau was a double winner in the mini stocks, taking the first heat and semi-feature. Amanda Rowe of Mosinee and Guralski also added heat wins.

Sillars also won twice on the night, taking the pure stocks first heat and then the feature. A former regular competitor in the pure stocks who has raced enduros among a variety of cars in recent years, he won in just his second appearance of the season at State Park.

Sillars chased Dustin Ochodnicky of Ogema for the first half of the 25-lap feature, but got inside Ochodnicky on lap 12, led the next lap and was clear a lap later. He stayed ahead of the field but received a challenge from Brett Breitenfeldt of Wausau in the closing laps. Breitenfeldt just about got to the bumper of Sillars on lap 21, but a lap later got loose out of Turn 4 and lost ground on Sillars and was unable to challenge again.

Sillars won with a car no-frills car with chipped paint and rust that was recently pulled out of a barn in southern Wisconsin and that he said hadn’t been raced in roughly 20 years. The car carries the familiar No. 2 used by Carson and his father Clint Sillars in the past, and has been fast in both appearances at State Park this year.

Breitenfeldt finished second with fast timer Jeff Spatz of Wausau third, Kyle Kluetz of Schofield fourth and Ringle’s Steve Schilling fifth. The feature was stopped with a red flag on lap 8 when a checkup in Turn 1 resulted in Dave Cabelka’s car driving over the wheel of Tim Nawrocki, shooting Cabelka hard into the wall in turns 1 and 2. He walked away but his car was towed away with heavy damage.

Willhite earned his first feature win of the season in the mini mods, taking the lead from Jim Lietz of Mosinee on lap 7 and leading the rest of the way in the 25-lap race.

Fast qualifier Zach Degner of Merrill followed Willhite behind Lietz a lap later, but Degner and the rest of the field were unable to cut into Willhite’s lead. The Wausau native kept a comfortable margin through the final 17 laps and won by six car lengths with Degner second, points leader Tim Anderson of Pittsville third, Joe Kuehn of Wausau fourth and Lietz fifth.

Willhite was another double-winner on the night, also taking the fast heat. Kamren Hill of Marshfield won the first heat.

Thompson continued what has become a big year at State Park with his third feature win of the season. He also completed a sweep of the Bandoleros’ features in the Detjens Memorial, winning for the second straight night.

Thompson won both Detjens Bando features in similar fashion, getting help from a late caution to take the lead in the final laps. Saturday’s 15-lap feature saw Axel Oldenhoff of Lake Mills the victim of Thompson’s good fortune and taking advantage of opportunity.

Oldenhoff was bidding for his first feature win at State Park and held a six-car length lead after Thompson had just moved into second on lap 11. A spin by Evansville’s Blake Michael out of Turn 4 on the same lap would bunch the field up, though, and Thompson quickly pounced on the outside on the restart, taking the lead and pulling away from Oldenhoff and the rest of the15-car field in the final laps.

Paxton Benz of Wausau edged Oldenhoff by inches at the line for second, while Oliver Weinkauf of Merrill came in fourth and Emily Billings of Waterloo was fifth. Oldenhoff and Benz also won heat races while Thompson was the night’s fastest qualifier with a lap of 16.247 seconds.

State Park Speedway’s next event will be the Eve of Devastation Saturday, Aug. 10. Racing is back at SPS Thursday, Aug. 15, with Breaman Merrill Ford Night, Corn Night and WCAR Kids Backpack Night. Super late models, pure stocks, mini mods and mini stocks all will race with Menke Auto Group qualifying at 6 p.m. and racing to follow at 7 p.m.

Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks

Fast Qualifier: Jeff Spatz, Wausau, 15.634 sec.

First Heat: 1. Carson Sillars, Wausau; 2. Kyle Kluetz, Schofield; 3. Dustin Ochodnicky, Ogema; 4. Dillon Mackesy, Athens; 5. Kyle Check, Shantytown

Second Heat: 1. Brett Breitenfeldt, Wausau; 2. Tim Nawrocki, Wausau; 3. Spatz; 4. Dave Cabelka, Wausau; 5. Steve Schilling, Ringle

Feature: 1. Sillars; 2. B. Breitenfeldt; 3. Spatz; 4. Kluetz; 5. D. Mackesy; 6. Schilling; 7. Nawrocki; 8. Check; 9. Ochodnicky; 10. Cabelka

Snap-on Mini Mods

Fast Qualifier: Zach Degner, Merrill, 15.899 sec.

First Heat: 1. Kamren Hill, Marshfield; 2. Anna Malouf Price, Rhinelander; 3. Pat Dickman, Marshfield; 4. Jim Lietz, Mosinee; 5. Brian Marquardt, Weston; 6. John Lietz, Mosinee; 7. Jeremy Whitman, Milwaukee

Second Heat: 1. Josh Willhite, Wausau; 2. Tim Anderson, Pittsville; 3. Keagen Benz, Wausau; 4. Mike Heidmann, Edgar; 5. Joe Kuehn, Wausau; 6. Mark Dewey, Janesville; 7. Degner; 8. Tyler Muller, Sun Prairie

Feature: 1. Willhite; 2. Degner; 3. Anderson; 4. Kuehn; 5. Jim Lietz; 6. John Lietz; 7. K. Benz; 8. Muller; 9. Dewey; 10. Price; 11. Dickman; 12. Marquardt; 13. Heidmann; 14. Whitman; 15. Hill

Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks

Fast Qualifier: Eric Breitenfeldt, Wausau, 16.735 sec.

First Heat: 1. Jacob Hintze, Wausau; 2. Jake Halterman, Stanley; 3. Shawn Carpenter, Marshfield; 4. Kendra Baumann; 5. Austin Bohman, Wausau; 6. Jim Schara, Hamburg

Second Heat: 1. Amanda Rowe, Mosinee; 2. Trevor Schumann, Tomahawk; 3. Chase Kurth, Wisconsin Rapids; 4. Jenny Wegner, Wausau; 5. Joe Schoener, Wausau; 6. Branden Sischo, Stratford

Third Heat: 1. Kooper Guralski, Wausau; 2. Nick Kurth, Wausau; 3. Luke Mikula, Wausau; 4. E. Breitenfeldt; 5. Garret Strachota, Wausau; 6. Clayton Phillips; 7. Tom Lecher, Wausau

Semi-Feature: 1. Hintze; 2. Halterman; 3. Wegner; 4. Carpenter; 5. Bohman; 6. Baumann; 7. Schara

Feature: 1. K. Guralski; 2. Strachota; 3. Phillips; 4. N. Kurth; 5. E. Breitenfeldt; 6. Hintze; 7. Sischo; 8. Rowe; 9. Halterman; 10. Schumann; 11. Lecher; 12. Schoener; 13. Mikula; 14. Chase Kurth

Bandoleros

Fast Qualifier: Bentley Thompson, West Salem, 16.247 sec.

First Heat: 1. Axel Oldenhoff, Lake Mills; 2. Ace Oldenhoff, Lake Mills; 3. Gage Kubicz, Whitewater; 4. Blake Michael, Evansville; 5. Brody Thompson, West Salem; 6. Logen Carter, Lakeville, Minn.; 7. William Carpenter, Marshfield

Second Heat: 1. Paxton Benz, Wausau; 2. Cole Kurth, Wisconsin Rapids; 3. Oliver Weinkauf, Merrill; 4. Wesley Baumeister, Beloit; 5. Emily Billings, Waterloo; 6. Carter Stein, Germantown; 7. B. Thompson; 8. Mason Obermeyer, Union Grove

Feature: 1. Bentley Thompson; 2. P. Benz; 3. Axel Oldenhoff; 4. O. Weinkauf; 5. Billings; 6. Ace Oldenhoff; 7. Cole Kurth; 8. Kubicz; 9. Stein; 10. Baumeister; 11. Mason Westphal, Farmington, Minn.; 12. Michael; 13. Carter; 14. W. Carpenter; 15. Brody Thompson