by Chris Stepan

ARACADIA, Wis. (Oct. 5, 2001) - The inaugural season at the state-of-the-art Fox Ridge Speedway in Arcadia, Wisconsin came to a culmination with the biggest show of the season capping off a fantastic season on a bitterly cold Friday and Saturday in early October for the 1st annual Thunder at the Ridge Spectacular. An awesome 200 competitors signed in the back gate on Friday, October 4th to do battle for the Ridge's biggest paychecks in history. WISSOTA Late Models, Super Stocks, Street Stocks and Midwest Modifieds along with open Modifieds were the five divisions in competition for the weekend. Heat races and qualifying fast dashes were on the agenda for Friday night with b-features and the 5 main events up on Saturday night.

The Street Stocks were up first on Saturday night for their main event with the 2001 Fox Ridge track champion, Travis Krause blasting into the lead at the drop of the green flag and leaving everyone in his dust to battle for second. Kevin Adams settled into second as Dan Gullikson and Jeff Brauer were locked in a great contest for third. The battle was a short-lived one however, as the caution blinked on early for a spin in turn 2.

Krause took back off into the lead on the restart with Adams giving chase. Brauer and Gullikson resumed their battle for third while Jimmy Randall and Mike Prochnow began to dice with each other for position just behind the top five. Adams did not let Krause check out and hung right with him until the caution flew again on lap 8.

This time on the restart, Adams made a bid for the lead, but Krause was too strong and held off Adams advances. Brauer, Gullikson and now Prochnow continued a great battle for position behind the leaders. Krause began to stretch his advantage now over Adams as the laps continued to clip away. One final caution flag bunched up the field with 5 laps to go, putting Adams back on the rear bumper of Krause and giving him one last shot to try to steal the lead and the win away from Krause.

Krause was not about to let the biggest win of his career slip away and bolted away from the field on the restart and cruised the remaining five laps to pick up the dominating win. Adams was forced to settle for second with Gullikson sneaking by Brauer for third at the line. Brauer and Prochnow rounded out the top five with Tony Sass nipping Randall at the line as well.

For the first and only time throughout the 2001 racing season, the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds took the track for their main event. A slim number of only 14 cars were able to make the call for their feature, but it turned out to be a very eventful one none-the-less. George Sniezek took command at the start of the main event with Jeff Ringenburg settling into second early.

Dan Koziol and Scott Anderson quickly began to pressure Ringenburg for second while Sniezek steadily pulled away from the field. Ringenburg got hung out on the high side a bit, allowing Anderson and Koziol to drive to the inside of him into second and third respectively. Anderson then stole second away from Koziol after a three-lap battle for that position. Once Anderson settled into second he began to try to reel in Sniezek out front.

Anderson started to cut into Sneizek's lead while George Mattson snuck to the inside of Ringenburg for fourth. The duo began to wage a spirited battle for position while Koziol remained in the mix as well. National point leader, Jim Arnold was making his way through the field after being forced to start at the tail due to a mechanical problem in his heat race. Arnold had made his way into the top ten and was beginning to pick up several more positions until his night suddenly came to an end with a puff of smoke, ending his night and brining out a caution flag, bunching up the field.

Anderson was now stuck to Sniezek's rear bumper for the restart and made a bid to steal the lead away, but was unable to accomplish the pass while a great battle was ensuing for third between Mattson, Koziol Steve Eide and Craig Larson. This scramble was a great one as all four drivers were swapping the position with each lap.

Jerry Young began to make his presence felt and joined the battle for third, making it a five-car shootout until the pack got a bit too close, causing several of the competitors spinning and bringing out the second caution of the event.

Again on the restart, Anderson made a bid for the lead, but Sniezek was very strong and was able to hold onto the top spot. Eide moved in on Mattson and Ringenburg for third at the conclusion of the event. Back up front, Sniezek motored away from Anderson's challenge to pick up the first Midwest Modified feature win in the history of the speedway. Anderson settled for second ahead of Mattson, who edged Eide for third.

Scott Lawrence sat on the pole for the Super Stock feature with Bill Stettner to his outside. Lawrence wasted no time blasting off into the lead at the start of the main event, shuffling Stettner into second at the start.

Ron Host and Kenny Davis were scrambling for third in the early stages of the event, which saw Host steal the spot on lap 3. Once Host settled into the third spot, he then suddenly came to life and motored by Stettner into second and continued his onslaught toward the front, pulling even along with Lawrence for the lead on lap 4. Host and Lawrence then began to thrill the crowd as they ran very closely door-to-door for the top spot over the next several laps until Host stole the spot away and settled into the lead.

Once Host secured the top spot, the leaders began to encounter the lapped machine of Tim Brandenburg, who turned down into Lawrence, sending him spinning onto the infield. Lawrence was able to continue and on the restart, began to duke it out again with Host for the top spot. The lead duo ran wheel-to-wheel for the top spot over the course of the next laps.

Troy Brand and FRS track champion Jason Johnson were storming through the field and both appeared in the top five before the ½ way point of the event. Brand began to move in on Davis for third on lap 12 while Johnson, after starting 16th on the grid, was locked in battle with Stettner for fifth.

Back up front, Host was amazing as he pulled away from the field with ease, while Lawrence was now under heavy attack from Brand and Johnson.

Lawrence's great weekend came to an end on lap 22, when his # 77 suddenly had enough, sending him pit side for the remainder of the event. On the restart, Host took back off into the lead, but Johnson was now glued to his rear bumper and began to pressure "the dominator" for the lead. Just behind the leaders, Stettner, Davis and John Doelle were now in a great battle for position as the laps wound down.

Johnson's bid for the lead and the win came up just short as Host was too strong and held on for the win. Johnson had a great run from 16th to second ahead of Davis, who nipped both Doelle and Stettner at the line for third.

The open-wheeled Modifieds were up next with Bob Timm continuing his domination at Fox Ridge by taking the lead at the start. Rick Kobs and Les Duellman were not going to let Timm get away that easily as they stuck right with Bob and made it a three-wide battle for the lead as the field completed lap one.

Timm stuck his # 49 on the high groove and quickly left the field and the battle for second between Duellman and Kobs behind him. Timm held a healthy advantage over Duellman, who had stolen the second spot away from Kobs until the caution flew early on for a spin on lap 4.

Duellman dove to the inside of Timm on the restart and made his Dirt Dueller stick on the low groove, shooting by into the lead, but Timm battled back on the top side putting on a thrilling display of nerf bar-to-nerf car racing out front. Duellman took control on lap 7 and began to pull away from Timm, who was not beginning to feel the pressure once again from Kobs for second.

After another caution on lap 17 slowed the action once again, Duellman took back off into the lead while Kobs began working Timm on the inside for second. Dave Cain and Tony Devine were also locked in a great battle for fourth just behind the leaders and were swapping that spot until the caution blinked on once again just past the half-way point of the event.

On the restart, Duellman's great run abruptly came to an end as he slowed on the front stretch, pulling into the pit area and handing the lead back over to Timm. Timm made the most of his position by pulling away from Kobs, who was now under pressure from both Cain and Devine for second.

Timm left nothing to the imagination now as he stretched his lead with every lap but the battle for second remained very heated between Kobs, Cain and Devine. Kobs disposed of Cain and Devine and settled back into his runner-up spot, dropping the battle on the speedway to third. Cain and Devine continued to duke it out for position, while Pat Doar suddenly came to life, after starting 24th on the grid, Doar was flying on the high side and began to battle with Brad Seehafer for fifth as the white flag flew.

Timm cruised to yet another feature win at the Ridge ahead of Kobs in second. Devine's pressure paid off as he was able to slip by Cain into third at the line and Doar completed his fine fun coming home in fifth.

The $3,000 to win, 40-lap WISSOTA Late Model feature rolled out onto the speedway to cap off a fantastic weekend and an even better season with two of the best Late Model pilots around, John Kaanta and Pat Doar sharing the front row for the event everyone had been waiting for.

The green flag flew and just as if it would have been planned, Kaanta and Doar raced side-by-side into turn one, out of turn two and remained wheel-to-wheel as they came to the start/finish line to complete lap #1 when suddenly Doar's # 11 pulled up lame, ending the battle for the lead and ending his run.

On the restart, Kaanta took off out front with rookie Nick Anvelink giving chase. Just behind Anvelink, another pair of rookies, Brady Smith and Bob Timm were running in a tight battle for third, just behind the leader. Smith stole third away from Timm and quickly set off after Anvelink for second.

Smith and Anvelink began to duke it out for the runner-up spot while Kaanta continued to pull away from the field out front.

Smith and Anvelink put on a great show as they swapped the second spot on several occasions over the next 7 laps until Smith was able to slip by and secure the position. Just as Smith stole that spot, three Winona, Minnesota drivers were putting on a three-wide show for fourth. Timm, Lance Matthees and Keith Foss were slicing and dicing with each other for position, while all three were trying to make their way toward the front and chase down Anvelink.

Back up front, Smith was running extremely well on the bottom side of the speedway and was cutting into Kaanta's lead until Duane Mahder suffered mechanical troubles, bringing out the second and final caution flag of the event on lap 13, eliminating Kaanta's advantage and putting Smith on his bumper for the restart.

On the restart, Kaanta shot to the middle groove that had been working so well for him and Smith again ducked back to the bottom side with hopes of slipping under John for the lead. Kaanta was very strong in his # 85 MasterSbilt and was able to hold off Smith's challenge and set back off into the lead. Foss began to hook up his car as he blasted by Anvelink into third on lap 15, bringing Matthees with him into fourth. Matthees then quickly moved in on Foss and the duo began to dice it up for third while Kaanta now began to pull back away from Smith out front.

The race ran non-stop for the remaining 27 circuits, with Kaanta stretching his lead over the remaining laps. Foss and Matthees were running extremely well around the speedway and both were coming after Smith, who was still sitting in second. Foss shot to the outside of Smith on lap 22, but Brady was up to the challenge and held off Foss' charge.

Matthees then came back after Foss and pulled even with him on lap 24, setting up a side-by-side battle for the next 8 laps, until Lance was able to secure the spot with under 10 laps to go. A bit further back, Mark Hessler found the high groove to his liking and began to storm to the front, flying by Anvelink into the top five as the laps wound down. Hessler continued his charge after Foss for fourth, but ran out of laps and had to settle for fifth.

Kaanta completed the sweep of the weekend in impressive fashion ahead of a great run by Smith in second. Matthees rounded out the top three finishers at the line.

The first season at the Ridge was a huge success capped off by a very successful Thunder at the Ridge invitational. Look for updates on more special events and bigger things to come in the 2002 season at the Ridge.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first annual Thunder at the Ridge and also to everyone who braved the cold weather over the course of the weekend. From everyone at the Ridge, we appreciate it very much.

RESULTS

WISSOTA LATE MODELS

Feature: Kaanta, Smith, Matthees, Foss, Hessler, Anvelink, Cramer, Nesbitt, Kurshinsky, Goodremote

Dash: Kaanta, Doar, Anvelink, Timm, Foss

Heat 1: Ron Mahder, Nick Anvelink, Tom Nesbitt, Lance Matthees, Jerry Redetzke

Heat 2: Pat Doar, Scott Cramer, Terry Casey, Troy Springborn, Mike Bear

Heat 3: John Kaanta, Brady Smith, Jon Chrest, Brent Laursen, Jim Bruggeman

Heat 4: Keith Foss, Jon Kurshinsky, Eric Pember, Mike Goodremote, Rick Kobs

Heat 5: Duane Mahder, Bob Timm, Mark Hessler, Doug Gustafson, Jason Schill

B-feature 1: Jerry Redetzke, Jim Bruggeman, Jeff Keeney, Chad Cummings, Jeff Matejka

B-feature 2: Larry Stockwell, Mark Teske, Larry Zellar, Marty Wold, Rick Kobs

MODIFIEDS

Feature: Timm, Kobs, Devine, Cain, Doar, Isenburg, Wik, Wetzstein, R. Prochnow, Rollinger

Dash: Timm, Kobs, Duellman, Wetzstein, Wik

Heat 1: Steve Wik, Les Duellman, Ross Prochnow, Dan Hesch, Hank Rollinger

Heat 2: Dave Cain, Tony Devine, Keith Foss, Steve Isenburg, Bruce Angst

Heat 3: Mike Anderson, Bob Timm, Don Brightbill, Steve Speltz, Todd Siddons

Heat 4: Rick Kobs, Kerry Ledebuhr, Brad Waits, Ron Britain, Leroy Scharkey

Heat 5: Steve Wetzstein, Troy Kuyoth, Brent Prochnow, Troy Girolamo, Troy Langowski

B-feature 1: Hank Rollinger, Todd Siddons, Rob Fenske, Darryl Hazelton, Brandon Kallenbach

B-feature 2: Bruce Angst, Pat Doar, Dave Siercks, Leroy Scharkey, Andy Simonson

WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS

Feature: Host, Johnson, Davis, Doelle, Stettner, Thomas, Greg Nippldt, Duval, Haberman, Solum

Dash: Lawrence, Stettner, Host, Davis, Haberman

Heat 1: Kenny Davis, Troy Brand, Gary Solum, Mark Wytaske, Joey Jensen

Heat 2: Scott Lawrence, John Doelle, John Duffy, Mark Teske, Al Koren

Heat 3: Tim Brandenburg, Steve Thomas, Kevin Ayotte, Tyler Rubin, Mark Peterson

Heat 4: Ron Host, Tim Borgeson, Jason Johnson, Steve Hallquist, Scott Duval

Heat 5: Eddie Sanders, Rick Hallquist, Kevin Hager, Kevin Glander, Dan Nissalke

Heat 6: Dave Haberman, Bruce Tourville, Kelly Anderson, Bob Fort, Dustin Wagner

Heat 7: Bill Stettner, Gary Nippoldt, Shatney Sanders, Greg Nippoldt, Adam Stockhausen

B-feature 1: Greg Nippoldt, Steve Hallquist, Lonnie Nelson, Mike Hesselink, Adam Geberud

B-feature 2: Scott Duval, Donnie Drew, Kevin Glander, Mark Teske, Dan Arneson

B-feature 3: Al Koren, Gary Wiersgalla, John Rodewald, Mike Eckdahl, Bob Fort

WISSOTA STREET STOCKS

Feature: Krause, Adams, Gullikson, Brauer, Prochnow, Sass, Randall, Sauer, Fort, Sirek

Dash: Krause, Adams, Gullikson, Brauer, Randall

Heat 1: Kevin Hager, Dennis Davis, Tony Sass, Tom Brink, Tom Hund

Heat 2: Travis Krause, John Laumb, Mike Prochnow, Ralph Stark, Scott Miller

Heat 3: Jimmy Randall, Jeff Brauer, Bob Fort, Terry Sirek, Danny Hanson

Heat 4: Dan Gullikson, Kevin Adams, Trevor Wilson, Drew Sauer, Jeremy Sommer

B-feature 1: Steve Karshbaum, Lee Hager, Darren Jonsgaard, Jeremy Wendt, Ken Slusser

B-feature 2: Ken Heser, John Becker, Andy Bohenstangle, David Nastvold, Larry Grahs

WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIEDS

Feature: Sneizek, Anderson, Mattson, Steve Eide, Frericks, Craig Larson, Matt Stark, Harland Morehart, McCarthy, Ringenburg

Dash: Sniezek, Ringenburg, Koziol, Mattson, Anderson

Heat 1: Scott Anderson, Jesse Frericks, Dan Koziol, Pat McCarthy, Chuck Chesler

Heat 2: Jeff Ringenburg, George Sniezek, George Mattson, Jerry Young, Matt Stark