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Cedar Lake Speedway
BLOOMQUIST BLASTS TO USA NATIONALS WIN
by: Chris Stepan
Scott Bloomquist has won just about everything that there is to win, but he
had never won the USA Nationals. Until Saturday night that is. After a late race
altercation between race leader Rick Eckert and a car he was trying to put a lap
down caused Eckert to spin, Bloomquist inherited the lead and went on to become
the sixth winner in the 12 year history of the event.
Night number 1 of the 12th annual USA Nationals saw Scott Bloomquist outrun all
59 entrants to post a quick lap of 14. 297 seconds and pick up the
$1,000 bonus courtesy of Graham Trailers. The top 24 times were then inverted,
meaning that the 24th fastest qualifier would start on the pole of the first
heat and Bloomquist would have to start outside of row # 2 in the 6th heat.
The first heat found a pair of local contenders, Jon Kurshinsky and Jim
Bruggeman on the front row with the current Hav-A-Tampa point leader, Wendell
Wallace and the drivers sitting second in the point standings, Dale McDowell
right behind. As the green fell, Tony Izzo, Jr. wasted little time moving to the
front and immediately began to stretch his advantage over Bruggeman, who had
moved by Kurshinsky into second at the start.
Wallace was working on Kurshinsky for fourth and took over the position near the
half way point. Bruggeman was keeping Izzo in striking distance and Wallace was
now closing in to try to take the second position. McDowell and Earl Pearson,
Jr. were engaged in a great battle for 5th early on in the event until McDowell
got his machine hooked up and proceeded to dispose of Pearson and set his sights
on Kurshinsky. As the
laps winded down the order remained the same until on lap 18, Bruggeman slowed
in turn 4 and was out of the event, ending a great run. Wallace took over second
and McDowell was searching for a way around Kurshinsky and into the final
transfer position.
As the checkered was about to fall, McDowell snuck to the inside of Kurshinsky
and nipped him at the line for third. Izzo was very strong earning himself the
pole position and an additional $500 courtesy of J & J Steel and Big Johnson
for being "always in the pole position". Wallace and McDowell also
earned starting spots for Saturday night's main event.
Heat # 2 saw Bill Frye and the 1999 Dream winner, Rick Eckert pacing the
field down to the green with Eckert immediately bolting up to the cushion and
taking command. Bill Frye secured the second position, but had his hands full
with Marshall Green. Green was able to nose under Frye several times, but Frye
used his momentum to keep Green at bay. WISSOTA competitors, Pete Parker and
Mitch Johnson swapped the fifth position on every lap from laps 8 to 16. Rick
Aukland made his presence known as he
moved to the cushion and closed in on Green in a battle for third. Aukland
used the high line to draw even with Green several times, but Marshall was just
too strong as he maintained his position throughout the entire event. Eckert
cruised to the win ahead of Frye and Green, assuring themselves a spot in the 26
car starting grid.
Lance Matthees and Kevin Weaver drew the front row for the third heat race of
the night. Weaver powered into the lead at the drop of the green with Matthees
trailing and Johnny Johnson and Shannon Babb waging a great war for the final
transfer spot. Babb moved into second and quickly reeled in Matthees. The duo
went side by side for several laps until Babb secured the spot and quickly set
his sights on Weaver. Babb effortlessly took the top spot from Weaver on lap 6
and left the battle for second behind him. On lap 9 Weaver drifted too high in
turn 2 and brushed the wall letting Matthees,Johnson and a suddenly surging
Billy Moyer past into the top five. Moyer was finally able to make his # 21 work
at the half way point and looked as if he had been shot out of a cannon as he
blew by Matthees and Johnson on the next lap and rapidly reeled in Babb. With
five laps to go, Moyer edged up under Babb and the two went wheel to wheel for
the lead with Babb running high and Moyer low. As the white flag flew, Babb held
less than a car length advantage and coming out of turn four for the
checkered,Babb was able to out power Moyer to the stripe by 5 feet for the win.
Moyer had to settle for second with Matthees running a very strong third.
Skip Arp and Gary Webb sat up front in the fourth heat with Arp taking
command at the drop of the green. Freddy Smith and Terry Phillips quickly moved
into second and third respectively as Webb was shuffled back to fifth on the
start. Smith and Phillips were locked in a battle for second with Phillips
taking the position on lap 5.Dan Schlieper moved up to challenge Smith for third
as the two went side by side for several laps until
Schlieper was able to move by and set his sights on Phillips. The first
yellow of the night was displayed as Brad Waits rolled to a halt. On the
restart, Schlieper and Phillips made contact several times in their battle
for second, causing Phillips to bobble and letting Schlieper and Smith move by.
Phillips wasted little time regaining himself and rejoining the
battle for second. Arp had checked out on the field, but the battle for
second was spectacular. Schlieper, Smith and Phillips raced three wide for the
remaining 4 laps to see who would make the main. Arp easily won the event and
when all was said and done,Smith came home in second and Phillips edged
Schlieper for third.
Clint Smith and Jerry Redetzke paced the lineup for the fifth heat. Smith
shot into the lead and slowly stretched his lead over Ray Cook, Redetzke and
Jeff Wildung, who were in a heated battle for third. Cook tried to reel in Smith
while Redetzke moved into third. Russ Scheffler was on the move as he come up to
battle with Redetzke for the final transfer spot. Scheffler was able to slip
under Redetzke for third as was Kerry Hansen who was running very well on the
extreme low side of the track. Scheffler was able to catch Cook and mounted a
challenge for the second spot. Scheffler was able to get by Cook with only a few
laps remaining in the event to claim second behind Smith. Cook also advanced
into the main event with his third place finish.
The sixth and final heat found Brian Birkhofer and Steve Francis sharing the
font row. The pair of 15's put on a show up front as they went door to door for
the lead for the first several laps until Birkhofer was able to claim the top
spot. Brandon Ball brought out the yellow as he spun in turn 2 on lap 2. As the
green waved again, Scott Bloomquist moved up to the cushion and blasted past
Francis and began to reel in Birkhofer. Mike Nutzmann and Jim Curry were
swapping the fourth position as Bloomquist was now putting heavy pressure on
Birkhofer for the lead. Birkhofer bobbled coming
out of turn 2 and Bloomquist took advantage and shot into the lead on lap 9.
Bloomquist would never be challenged again as he cruised to the win with
Birkhofer a secure second and Francis third. Nutzmann was able to hold off Curry
for fourth at the stripe.
Saturday, the WISSOTA Street Stocks were on hand along with the Late
Models.the Street heats were up first with the wins going to Todd Nelson and Jay
Kesan.
The first of two Late Model b-features was next on the agenda with Johnny
Johnson taking the lead at the start from Jon Kurshinsky leaving him to
battle with Earl Pearson for second. After a lap 2 restart, Johnson again took
command and Pearson dove low under Kurshinsky in a battle for second. Kerry
Hansen also drove low to look under Kevin Weaver for fourth. Kurshinsky secured
the second spot as Weaver moved
in to challenge Pearson for third. By lap 12, Johnson was lapping cars allowing
Kurshinsky to close in. Pearson and Weaver were also reeling in the leaders and
by lap 15,Pearson was again making a bid for the second position. He was
searching for a way by Kurshinsky for the final transfer spot. Contact between
the two on the front stretch allowed Weaver to
sneak by both of them into second. The final caution of the event waved on lap
19 as Hansen spun onto the infield. Johnson was able to hold off Weaver for the
win, securing himself and Weaver a transfer spot into the main. Kurshinsky
finished third ahead of a hard charging Tony Bahr and Mike Goodremote.
B-feature # 2 saw Rick Aukland and Dan Schlieper pacing the field to the
green with Aukland taking the lead as Schlieper got completely sideways in front
of the field allowing Aukland to assume a large advantage. Schlieper regained
himself and maintained his second position over Mike Nutzmann and Mitch Johnson,
who were in a side by side battle for third. Schlieper wasted little time
reeling in Aukland and moved to the high side and took the lead as the two raced
down the backstretch on lap 7. Contact was made between Nutzmann and Rick
Egersdorf, causing Egersdorf to slow on the track bringing out the yellow on lap
12. On the restart, Schlieper quickly moved to a four car length advantage over
Aukland, who was blasting into the turns high and shooting low in the middle of
the corners, trying to close the gap to the leader.Nutzmann sat in third looking
for a way into the top 2. Schlieper went on to win by a straightaway over
Aukland,Nutzmann, Bart Hartman and John Gill.
The 23rd and 24th starting spots were filled by HAT provisionals, Bart
Hartman and Brandon Ball.The 25th and 26th starters in the main event were to be
determined by the WISSOTA Last Chance race. Mike Nutzmann took the early lead
from Jon Kurshinsky and Mitch Johnson at the start, but Pat Doar was on a
mission as he moved from 10th to take over second on lap 4 and blasted into the
lead on lap 6. Doar was using the cushion as Johnson, Kurshinsky and Nutzmann
were three wide for the final transfer spot for
several circuits. Johnson moved into second and began to reel in Doar while
Mike Goodremote was on the move and up to third by the half way point.
Goodremote began to close in on Johnson, but ran out of time as Doar and Johnson
became the final 2 entrants into the $40,000 to win main event.
The Street Stock feature was up next with Todd Nelson and Jay Kesan sharing the
front row. Kesan took the lead at the start and immediately checked out on the
field. Arlin Diercks, Curt Myers, Cory Davis and Charlie Weber ran in a tight
pack in a battle for second with Myers emerging with hopes to try to reel in
Kesan and win his 10th main event of the season at Cedar. Kesan was smooth and
there was no catching him as he picked up the big win over Myers, Diercks, Rick
Hanestad and Weber.
The much anticipated 100 lap USA Nationals feature was the final event of
the night and as the drivers were paraded around the track in the back of Dodge
pickup trucks courtesy of event sponsor Bernard's Northtown, the starting lineup
was called out to the packed house. Electricity filled the air as the command
was given to the drivers to fire their machines and the place erupted as
fireworks lit up the sky during the four-wide parade lap.
Tony Izzo, Jr., Rick Eckert, Shannon Babb, Skip Arp, Clint Smith, Scott
Bloomquist, Wendell Wallace, Bill Frye, Billy Moyer, Freddy Smith, Russ
Scheffler, Brian Birkhofer, Dale McDowell, Marshall Green, Lance Matthees, Terry
Phillips,Ray Cook,Steve Francis, Johnny Johnson, Dan Schlieper, Kevin Weaver,
Rick Aukland,Bart Hartman, Brandon Ball, Pat Doar and Mitch Johnson were set to
do battle for 100 laps of fast and furious Hav-A-Tampa racing action.
As the green flag flew to start the event, Rick Eckert out raced Tony Izzo,
Jr. into the first turn and took the top spot. Eckert looked very strong
in his ParkerStore sponsored machine as he was in command while Skip Arp went
the high groove and on lap 5 took over second from a slipping Izzo. Shannon Babb
and Scott Bloomquist were side by side for the fourth spot with Bloomer taking
the spot on lap 10.Bill Frye was also able to slip by Babb into fifth with 10
laps complete. By lap 13, Bloomquist had reeled in
Izzo and blew by into third. Frye and Babb also moved into the top five as
Izzo was shuffled back to sixth early. The track began to take rubber in
the low groove as most of the competitors were running there because it was the
fastest way around.
The dreams of seeing a second non-stop 100 lap HAT event at the track this
season were over as Rick Aukland rolled to a halt on lap 22. Eckert retook
command on the restart with Arp now on his tail. Eckert immediately pulled away
from the field. Bloomquist began to pressure Arp for second and on lap 31 was
able to nose under and take the second spot. The second yellow flew on lap 32 as
Clint Smith, who was running sixth, slid to a stop on the
front stretch. Eckert again blasted off on the restart with Bloomquist in
tow. Frye was now peeking his nose under Arp's machine in a good battle for
third. Frye would get his nose alongside Arp's quarterpanel, but Arp would slam
the door each time Frye tried to draw alongside.
The track had taken a lot of rubber by the half way point with Eckert
holding down the lead over Bloomquist, Arp, Frye and Babb. The running order
remained unchanged as Eckert ran up on the slower car of Russ Scheffler.
Scheffler was running in the same groove as the leaders, so Eckert was content
to stay in line rather than to try to pass on the slower outside line. The laps
quickly clicked away and on lap 77, Bloomquist
started nosing on the inside of Eckert, trying to look for the slightest
opening. Eckert new he had Bloomquist on his tail and had to pick up the pace
again. On lap 80, Scheffler pushed up a bit in turn three and Eckert shot to the
inside to put him a lap down, but instead made contact and climbed onto the side
of Scheffler's car and spun himself around.
The caution waved and as it states in the HAT rule book, any car that stops
on the track goes to the tail, Eckert was sent to the rear of the event, ending
his run at the $40,000 paycheck and handing the lead to Bloomquist. On the
restart, Bloomquist blasted off and never looked back as he lead the final 20
laps to add his name to the famed list of winners of the prestigious USA
Nationals. Arp came home second, Frye was third, Babb fourth
and Wallace rounded out the top five.
Even though the track took rubber, the race was still very entertaining and
Bloomquist was very happy to accept the trophy as well as the big check.
Racing resumes at Cedar Lake this Saturday, with WISSOTA Late Models,
Modifieds, Super Stocks and Street Stocks on the card. The first green flag
is set to fly at 7:30pm.
SUMMARY:
LATE MODELS
Heat 1: Tony Izzo, Jr., Wendell Wallace, Dale McDowell, Jon Kurshinsky, Earl
Pearson,Jr.
Heat 2: Rick Eckert, Bill Frye, Marshall Green, Rick Aukland, Mitch Johnson
Heat 3: Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer, Lance Matthees, Johnny Johnson, Kevin
Weaver
Heat 4: Skip Arp, Freddy Smith, Terry Phillips, Dan Schlieper, Gary Webb
Heat 5: Clint Smith, Russ Scheffler, Ray Cook, Kerry Hansen, Jeff Wildung
Heat 6: Scott Bloomquist, Brian Birkhofer, Steve Francis, Mike Nutzmann, Jim
Curry
B-feature 1: J. Johnson, Weaver, Kurshinsky, Tony Bahr, Mike Goodremote
B-feature 2: Schlieper, Aukland, Nutzmann, Bart Hartman, John Gill
WISSOTA Late Chance: Pat Doar, Mitch Johnson, Goodremote, Jerry Redetzke, Ashley
Anderson
Feature: Bloomquist, Arp, Frye, Babb, Wallace, F. Smith, McDowell, Moyer,
Francis, Birkhofer, Phillips, Izzo, Jr., Cook, Green, Hartman, Ball, Matthees,
Eckert, Scheffler,(DNF) Weaver, C. Smith, M. Johnson, Doar, Aukland, J. Johnson,
Schlieper
WISSOTA Street Stocks
Heat 1: Todd Nelson, Arlin Diercks, Cory Davis, Curt Myers, Rick Hanestad
Heat 2: Jay Kesan, Josh Moulton, Charlie Weber, Paul Berg, John Bandemer
Feature: Kesan, Myers, Diercks, Hanestad, Weber, Davis, Berg, Nelson, Mark
Thomas,Bandemer
(Logo design by Karen Teets)