Karl Fenske was honored as the 2005 USRA Modified Track Champion at the recent Fox Ridge Speedway awards banquet. (Photo credit: Roger Wojchik)

ARCADIA, Wis. -- As the Saturday evening temperatures dropped outside the food, fun and festivities warmed up inside the Hilltop Ballroom as Fox Ridge Speedway held it’s 2005 awards banquet.

Fox Ridge Speedway owners David and Judy Hesch welcomed drivers, pit crew and family members, speedway and competitor sponsors, as well as speedway employees to the event with a buffet styled dinner before the awards presentation.

Awarding trophies to drivers finishing within the top-10 positions in the season ending point standings in the evening was highlighted with an additional ‘Hard Charger’ award in each division as well as the presentation of the 2005 Point Champions.

Winonan Karl Fenske enjoyed his third consecutive point champion by holding off season long challenges from Arcadia’s John Doelle and Zumbrota, Minn.’s Brad Waits. Posting seven Feature and nine heat-race wins through the 2005 season, Fenske enjoyed a season-ending 24 point spread over Doelle, in second, and a 76 point cushion over Waits’ third place finish to collect the 2005 USRA Modified Division Point Championship at Fox Ridge Speedway.

Looking back on this third consecutive Championship at Fox Ridge Speedway, Fenske remembers well the turning point in the year.

“We didn’t even start thinking ‘Championship’ until Brad Waits (point leader at the time) missed a week,” explained Fenske of the mid-season miss by Waits, “And then it was Doelle and me – and it got awfully close there for a while!”

Will Fenske be back for a full season in 2006 to defend his three-pete championship and put forth an effort for four-in-a-row?

“I’m not saying that I won’t ever drive again,” stated Fenske, after the final race of the regular 2005 season, when asked about ‘next year’, “But, you probably won’t see any more Championship runs from the Fenske camp!”

We’ll wait, however, to cast that in stone until we actually fail to see Fenske’s familiar #99 on the track week in and week out early in ’06.

In addition to his third place trophy, Waits also collected the ‘Hard Charger’ award in the USRA Division with Kerry Ledebuhr and Paul Hamernik completing the top-5.

DENNIS EARNEY – WISSOTA SUPER STOCK CHAMP

Cochrane’s Dennis Earney battled through an emotionally draining year, consisting of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ both on the track and off, en route to the 2005 WISSOTA Super Stock Points Championship at Fox Ridge Speedway. This veteran racer put together a dominating mid-season run collecting a total of six feature wins while ringing up 10 top-5 and 12 top-10 feature finishes.

Two straight DNFs on what turned out to be the final two nights of the season sure tightened up the point battles in this division – but Earney held on to the points lead and finished the season atop the standing by the smallest of margins - a scant three point advantage over Winona, Minn.’s Troy Langowski, a mere seven points ahead of Mondovi’s Rodney Dregney and only 20 points in front of Winonan Jon Duffy.

Earney was also presented with the Hard Charger Award in the WISSOTA Super Stock Division while two-time defending point champion Troy Brand settled for a fifth place trophy.

RYAN OLSON – WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIED CHAMP

Twenty-year-old college student Ryan Olson had a break-out year in only his second full-time season behind the wheel. Three WISSOTA Midwest Modified feature wins, coupled with an incredibly consistent 12 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes in 17 starts allowed the Strum school boy to teach his competitors a thing or two on his way to wrapping up the 2005 Division Championship.

Despite an impressive 11 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes in 16 feature starts (including a feature win) Eyota, Minn.’s Jeff Brauer had to settle for second, 21 points behind Olson. Four-time Street Stock Track Champion Travis Krause finished the year third just three points ahead of Bob Bautch and 15 in front of Dan Hesch.

The Hard Charger Award in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified Division was presented to Brauer.

DANNY HANSON – WISSOTA STREET STOCK CHAMP

Danny Hanson’s 2005 season will probably always be remembered as a story-book year of dominance. Six WISSOTA Street Stock feature wins with 13 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes in 17 starts built up a solid points lead in the standings, which was never truly challenged as the on-track action graduated into the second half of the season.

Despite strong runs from the likes of Arcadia’s Kylan Gamez, Fountain City’s Tom Hund, Independence’s Michael Conrad, and Winonan Andy Bohnstengel (all four of whom finished second through fifth, respectively, separated by only 39 points) Hanson was consistently at, or near, the front of the field at the drop of almost every checkered flag. The results of which, are a first-time Championship for Hanson in the WISSOTA Street Stock Division at Fox Ridge Speedway.

Conrad was awarded the Hard Charger plague in the Street Stock division.

MARK BORNITZ – 4-CYLINDER HORNETS CHAMP

With the “Bornitz Hornets” fan club cheering their support on a weekly basis from the Fox Ridge Speedway V.I.P. Suites, Holmen’s Mark Bornitz raced his way to the 2005 4-Cylinder Hornets Championship.

And with a total of 81 cars collecting points throughout the 2005 season schedule in the 4-Cylinder Hornets division, Bornitz has plenty to be proud of. In 17 feature starts, Bornitz’s impressive consistency brought fourth 16 top-10 and 15 top-5 finishes with three of those finishes ending in victory lane.

Black River Falls driver Robert Carpenter enjoyed three feature wins on his way to finishing second in the point standings, followed closely by Coty Slawson and Roger Niederkorn (both of Ettrick) and Arcadia’s Joel Hesch completing the top-5.

THE REST OF THE STORY

After the awards had been handed out, discussions turned to preparations for the 2006 season at Fox Ridge Speedway (which, incidentally, is scheduled to fire up with the season opener on Friday April 7th) including the announcement that the WISSOTA Late Model racing is scheduled to return to ‘The Ridge’ for the 2006 season. Scheduling is being formulated which is designed to not conflict with other major Late Model events and yet still provide a solid display of on-track action upon the high-banks of Fox Ridge Speedway throughout the 2006 season.

After a very successful running of the ‘2005 Thunder at The Ridge’, racers were assured that the popular event would return again for another appearance at the end of the 2006 season. Track owner Judy Hesch also announced that Fox Ridge Speedway would be continuing its involvements in the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” fund-raising event.

After hinting at other possible surprises and exciting possibilities for 2006, Dave and Judy Hesch ended the evening with a thank you and congratulations to all of the competitors in addition to the Point Champions, “Congratulations to our Track Champions, Karl, Dennis, Danny, Ryan and Mark and all of the 2005 drivers. We had a successful 2005 and are looking forward to another great year in 2006!”

Visit the Fox Ridge Speedway Web site (www.foxridgespeedway.com) for more information or call the Speedway office at (608) 323-3396 for more details.