ARCADIA, Wis. (July 26, 2002) - The terrible thing about Friday night's modified feature at the Fox Ridge Speedway was that someone had to lose. Troy Langowski led the early portion of the 25 lap feature. Langowski worked his way past pole sitter Hank Rollinger on the opening lap and led the first nine laps before the caution flew for debris in turn four.

Bob Timm and Les Duellman had moved in behind Langowski for second and third. The lap nine caution set off a series of spins in the next few laps. Three times yellows were flagged after one lap was completed. Langowski held Timm at bay during all three breaks.

The lap 12 restart proved to be Langowski's downfall as he drove to high into turn one. Timm and Duellman both passed on the low side setting Langowski back to third. The last half of the feature proved to be the most entertaining modified feature of the season.

Timm blazed around the top side of the track while Duellman stayed with the lower and middle grooves.

Duellman would sneak a peek under Timm through the corners then Timm would use the momentum off the cushion to maintain the lead. A couple of times Duellman and Timm swapped the lead, but Timm always prevailed. On lap 23 Duellman briefly took the lead only to have it erased when Gary Doelle blew a tire in turn four causing him to spin.

A two lap shootout determined the winner. On the restart Timm changed his driving line to the lower groove in an attempt to hold Duellman off. The strategy backfired as Duellman passed Timm on lap 24, Timm charged back but Duellman held him off by a car length to gain the win.

After the race, Duellman stated he was happy to win but happier to just finish. "This is the first time in like seven races that we even finished. Last week we had a hub break at Cedar Lake while we were running fourth with two laps to go. That cost at least $400 right there," said Duellman. In previous weeks, the team put in some overtime repairing the car after crashes at two other tracks.

Timm came home second, followed by Langowski, Karl Fenske, and Eric Pember.

Reggie Jackson may have been "Mr. October", but in this part of the world Eric Pember is establishing himself as "Mr. July". Eric Pember staved off a hard charging Lance Matthees to win his second straight late model feature. Pember sat on the pole for the 20 lap main with Bob Timm alongside. Pember and Timm battled side by side for the first lap with Pember garnering the lead.

Matthees blasted under Timm on lap two for second place. The two drivers pulled away from the field until a lap 12 caution dropped for Jim Sandvig. Pember and Matthees would now have to contend with Timm, Steve Isenberg, and Keith Foss.

Pember and Matthees stuck to the lower groove while Timm and Foss searched for a fast line on the cushion. Isenberg had tossed his hat into the ring as well. The top five drivers were only separated by a few car lengths until the top groove disappeared for Timm and Foss. Pember and Matthees pulled away from the field again as they hugged the bottom line.

Matthees attempted to duck under Pember racing through the corners but Pember held him off to pick up his second win in a row. Timm, Isenberg, and Foss rounded out the top five. For Pember the win wrapped up a very successful month at the track. Pember claimed a feature win in either the modified or late model class each night during July.

About a month ago, Pember had said that he felt the team was just a "tick" away from getting the late model fast at FRS. "Early in the season we probably messed with the car a little bit too much," said Pember. The team struggled at times at FRS while consistently finishing high at Cedar Lake Speedway, the teams Saturday night venue.

"We basically quit messing with car and just went to running what we run at Cedar Lake, it seems to work pretty good that way," Pember said.

Mark Teske held off Dan Nissalke to pick up the win in the super stock feature. Teske capitalized on his front row starting position to pull out to an early lead. Nissalke and Gary Wiersgalla stayed right with Teske as the top three drivers separated themselves from the rest of the field.

A lap 12 caution for a stalled Mike Hesselink closed the gap on the leaders. Teske got the jump on the restart while Nissalke and Wiersgalla followed. One lap later, Wiersgalla pulled off the track with a broken tie rod. Teske and Nissalke pulled away from the field while Troy Brand, Shawn Huse, and Lyle Schlomer battled behind them.

At the checkered it was Teske with his fourth win of the year at the track. Nissalke ran a steady second with Brand, Schlomer, and Huse falling in behind.

Randy Bradford was awarded the win in the street stock feature after Travis Krause failed a post-race inspection. Bradford led the first four laps of the feature before being overtaken by Krause. Krause steadily pulled away over the remainder of the race while Bradford had his hands full with Tom Hund.

Danny Hanson had blazed back through the field after some early race troubles.

Hanson sat on the pole for the race, only to lose his position when he exited the track after an early caution. Hanson was relegated to a 20th starting spot and gradually worked his way back into the top five with three laps to go.

Krause crossed the line 15 car lengths in front of Bradford. A post race inspection led to his disqualification, giving the win to Bradford. Hund had a career best second, Hanson moved to third and Matt Theisen and Fred Prudoehl rounded out the top five. Krause's misfortune allowed Hanson to gain several points in the street stock title chase.

News and Notes: Veteran Leroy Sharkey made his first appearance of the season. Sharkey won his heat and then d-qued for failing to make weight. The team has a new light weight Pierce chassis and forget to add extra fuel which accounted for the weight loss.Brad Waits and Mike Hesselink debuted new late models Friday night. Waits has switched from a GRT chassis to a Mastersbilt race car. Hesselink was behind the wheel of a Warrior chassis formerly owned by Wade Field. Last week, Jeff Keeney brought out his new Rayburn chassis. The late models will be off next week as the Wissota Sprint Car series appears at the speedway. Expect to see 25-30 sprinters for the show which is lined up by the draw system. No time trials will delay the start of the program. A Monster truck show is scheduled for August 17 at the track. The Eagle Valley Speedway will hold a double feature program tonight with late models appearing. The track is located just north of Chippewa Falls, (Wis.) on Highway 170. Race time is 6:30.

RESULTS

LATE MODELS

Feature

1. Eric Pember Pittsville, Wis. 2. Lance Matthees, Winona 3. Bob Timm, Winona 4. Steve Isenberg, Marshfield, Wis. 5. Keith Foss, Winona 6. Brad Waits, Zumbrota 7.Jeff Keeney, River Falls, Wis 8. Scott Cramer, Random Lake, Wis. 9. Corby Metzgar, Chippewa Falls, Wis. 10. Mike Hesselink, Deer Park, Wis. 11. Mike Sorenson, Rochester, Minn. 12. Jim Sandvig, Maple Plain, Minn.

Heats

1.Foss 2. Keeney 3. Waits

1.Pember 2. Matthees 3. Sorenson

MODIFIEDS

Feature

1. Les Duellman, Winona 2.Bob Timm, Winona 3. Troy Langowski, Winona 4. Karl Fenske, Winona 5. Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis. 6.Hank Rolloinger, Buffalo City, Wis. 7. Rick Hauser, Winona 8.Steve Speltz, Fountain City, 9. John Doelle, Arcadia Wis. 10 Jason Johnson, Ettrick 11. Ron Britain, Winona 12. Bob Fort, Fountain City 13.Jeff Rollonger, Minnesota City, Minn. 14. Paul Hammernik, Winona 15. Jonah Daffinson, Galesville, Wis. 16. Lonnie Earney, Cochrane, Wis. 17.Dan Hesch, Arcadia, Wis 18. Gary Doelle, Fountain City 19. Shane Wehrs, Bangor, Wis. 20. Kerry Ledebuhr, Winona

Heats

1.Fenske 2.Speltz 3. Timm

1.Duellman 2.Rollinger 3.J. Doelle

1.Hesch 2. Ledebuhr

SUPER STOCKS

Feature

1. Mark Teske, Spring Valley, Minn. 2. Dan Nissalke, Winona 3. Troy Brand, Winona 4. Lyle Schlomer, Osseo, Wis. 5. Shawn Huse, Bloomer, Wis. 6. Dennis Earney, Waumandee, Wis. 7. Kevin Glander, Pepin, Wis. 8.Ben Anderson, Winona 9. Jason Johnson, Ettrick, Wis. 10. Dan Arneson, Eleva, Wis. 11. Brian Fetting, Fountain City, Wis, 12. Kevin Hager, Kellogg, Minn. 13. Jesse Hanson, Modena, Wis. 14. Phil Kendrick, Winona 15. Luke Schultz, Arcadia, Wis. 16. Tim Brandenburg, Hudson, Wis. 17. Fort 18. Gary Wiersgalla, Fountain City 19. Quinn Arnoldy, Arcadia 20. Ed Sanders, Lake City, Minn.

Heats

1. 1.Teske 2. Wiersgalla 3. Johnson

2. 1. Glander 2. Duffy 3. Brand

3. 1.Stockhausen 2. Hanson 3. Arnoldy

STREET STOCKS

Feature

1.Randy Bradford, Eau Claire, Wis 2. Tom Hund, Fountain City, Wis 3. Danny Hanson, Alma, Wis 4.Matt Theisen, Arcadia, Wis 5. Fred Prudoehl, Winona 6. David Nastvold, Galesville, Wis. 7. Tom Brink, Winona 8. Dennis Davis, Fountain City, 9. Mike Conrad, Independence, Wis.10. Rick Loppnow, Buffalo City, Wis 11. Tony Sass, Fountain City 12. Roger Champlin, Arcadia, Wis 13. Scott Kunda, Winona 14. Lee Hager, Kellogg, Minn. 15. Brandon Baker, Eau Claire, Wis. 16. Jon Laumb, Rushford, Minn. 17. Dale Jacob, Winona 18. Andy Bohnstangel, Winona

Heats

1.Hund 2. Krause 3. Nastvold

1. Bradford 2. Jim Patzner, Lewiston, Minn. 3. Baker

1. Hanson 2. Theisen 3. Brink