Fitzsimmons Gets First Truck Win At I-94 Raceway
By Dean Reller
SAUK CENTRE, MN (Aug. 6, 2005) - "Crazy" Larry Fitzsimmons scored his first career Mid-American Super Truck win at the I-94 Raceway in Sauk Centre. Tony Holm took the lead from the pole as Gary Fredrickson ran alongside. Third starting Fitzsimmons tried to make it three-wide early on as he moved up to second. Holm held onto the lead as Fitzsimmons moved alongside and then pulled ahead in turn four on lap four. Once in front, Fitzsimmons slowly began to pull away. The race for second then heated up as Donnie Woller, John Froelich and Mark Storlie came to life as they work past Holm. The second spot swapped several times as the race wore on. Meanwhile out in front, Fitzsimmons was ahead by a full straightaway by the time he took the checkered flag on a memorable first win. Woller hung on to finish second, with Storlie and Froelich right behind.
Tim Olson was back to full speed as he won his second ASA Super Late Model Feature of the season. Starting on the pole, Olson and Joey Johnson battled it out as Olson took control on lap two. Gary Mueller then stepped up to second before the caution waved on lap 13, when Jon Olson slowed in turn four and then got together with Pat Maloney. Tim Olson held the lead on the restart, but just three laps back to green, JR Studniski blew his power steering and dropped fluid all around the track. After an extensive cleanup, Olson had Joe Berthiaume challenging for the lead. Berthiaume took the spot on lap 16 as Olson hung close by. The leaders raced within a car length of each other allowing Jake Jay and Gary Mueller to close in. With eleven laps to go, Olson retook the lead. Berthiaume fell back in the final few laps as Olson tore to the win.
A late race move paid off as Rich Snyder won the Modified Feature. The race got off to a rough start as Jonathan Olmscheid and Jerry Voigt got together on the backstretch on the opening lap, knocking both cars out of the race. When the green waved again, Jeremy Fleck took the lead out of a three-wide race through turn one. Joey Johnson moved to second with Snyder in third. Fleck’s car slowed on lap 7, bringing out a caution as he stopped on the front stretch. That gave Johnson the lead on the restart with Snyder right behind. Snyder pressured Johnson in the closing laps as the race for the lead was nose-to-tail. With one lap to go, Snyder squeezed past Johnson to take the lead. Johnson stayed close, but Snyder finished off the race and took home the win.
Less than two hours before the start of racing, Tim Brockhouse didn’t have a car to race, but a couple hours later, Brockhouse found himself standing in Victory Lane following the Great North Legends Feature. After his son’s car was destroyed in a wreck the night before, Brockhouse surrendered his car and planned on sitting out the night. A call to Dave Ewert gave Brockhouse a car to use for the evening in the 30 lap feature. Charlie Balderston took the lead from the start as Zac Davids held second. Debris on the track brought out a yellow on lap 6. Brockhouse took the restart with Jon Lewerer in second. Brockhouse pulled to a full straightaway lead, only to see that erased when the yellow waved for an incident involving Rollie Davidson and Paul Hartman. Brockhouse maintained control on the restart as Dirk Henry came to life as he moved by Lewerer for second. Brockhouse completed the final couple of laps to take the win.
Fifteen year-old Nick Panitzke held off a serious challenge as he won the Thunder Car Feature. Starting on the pole, Panitzke took the lead as the green flag waved. Jerry Messer started alongside and he took the lead by the end of lap one. Panitzke stayed right alongside and two laps later he moved ahead to take the lead. Messer held his line and on lap seven, he retook the lead. Panitzke remained smooth and steady and two laps after that, he was back in front. Messer kept close, as Panitzke went on to take the win.
David Bolstad was declared the winner in the UCAR Feature. Josh Christi took the lead from the start, but Curt Peterson then took it on lap two. Corey Flynn was on a roll as he charged up to second. Flynn then pressured Peterson and he took the lead on lap seven. Bolstad followed along as he then moved to second. The leaders raced side-by-side as Bolstad finally took control on lap 14. With one lap to go, Peterson brought out a caution when he spun, setting up a green, white, checkered finish. Flynn got the jump on the restart and went on to take the apparent win. Race officials penalized Flynn two-positions for his jump on the restart, thus moving Bolstad up to take the win.
I-94 Raceway Results Aug. 6, 2005
Mid-American Super Trucks
Heat
1. Mark Storlie (Elko) 2. Donnie Woller (Merrill, WI) 3. Larry Fitzsimmons (Apple Valley) 4. Tony Holm (Prior Lake) 5. Gary Fredrickson (Northfield) 6. John Froelich (Chippewa Falls, WI)-DNF
Fast Qualifiers
1. Mark Storlie (18.217 sec.) 2. John Froelich (18.467 sec.) 3. Donnie Woller (18.508 sec.) 4. Larry Fitzsimmons (18.656 sec.) 5. Gary Fredrickson (18.785 sec.) 6. Tony Holm (18.888 sec.)
Feature
1. Larry Fitzsimmons 2. Donnie Woller 3. Mark Storlie 4. John Froelich 5. Tony Holm 6. Gary Fredrickson
ASA Super Late Models
First Heat
1. Jeff Lofquist (Fergus Falls) 2. Bob White (Spring Lake Park) 3. Tim Olson (Hamel) 4. LB Berthiaume (Rogers) 5. Matt Gottwald (Willmar) 6. Ritch Johnson (Monticello) 7. Josh Farnum (St. Francis)
Second Heat
1. JR Studniski (St. Joseph) 2. Tim Dehaan (Pine City) 3. Pat Maloney (Alexandria) 4. Jon Olson (Hamel) 5. John Froelich (Chippewa Falls, WI) 6. Tory Nygren (Apple Valley) 7. Danny Edenloff (Alexandria)
Fast Dash
1. Gary Mueller (Chisago City) 2. Rob Dubnecay (Maple Grove) 3. Joe Berthiaume (Rogers) 4. Joey Johnson (Alexandria) 5. Eugene Dick (Watkins) 6. Jake Jay (Lindstrom)
Fast Qualifiers
1. Jake Jay (17.271 sec.) 2. Joe Berthiaume (17.287 sec.) 3. Rob Dubnecay (17.345 sec.) 4. Eugene Dick (17.378 sec.) 5. Gary Mueller (17.398 sec.) 6. Joey Johnson (17.490 sec.)
Feature
1. Tim Olson 2. Joe Berthiaume 3. Jake Jay 4. Gary Mueller 5. Eugene Dick 6. Rob Dubnecay 7. Ritch Johnson 8. Bob White 9. Josh Farnum 10. LB Berthiaume 11. Jeff Lofquist 12. Joey Johnson 13. Tim Dehaan 14. Tory Nygren 15. Pat Maloney 16. Danny Edenloff 17. Matt Gottwald-DNF 18. JR Studniski-DNF 19. Jon Olson-DNF
Modifieds
First Heat
1. Tony Robertson (Darwin) 2. Joey Johnson (Alexandria) 3. Jeremy Fleck (Sauk Rapids) 4. John Notch (St. Cloud) 5. Jerry Messer (Sauk Centre) 6. Kevin Woeste (Waite Park)
Second Heat
1. Rich Snyder (Alexandria) 2. John Gottwald (Paynesville) 3. Jeff Rohner (Willmar) 4. Jonathan Olmscheid (Elrosa) 5. Corey Flynn (Alexandria) 6. Jerry Voigt (Cold Spring)
Feature
1. Rich Snyder 2. Joey Johnson 3. Jeff Rohner 4. John Notch 5. Tony Robertson 6. John Gottwald 7. Corey Flynn 8. Jerry Messer 9. Kevin Woeste-DNF 10. Jeremy Fleck-DNF 11. Jonathan Olmscheid-DNF 12. Jerry Voigt-DNF
Great North Legends
First Heat
1. Jon Lewerer (Coon Rapids) 2. Joe Kostreba (Sauk Centre) 3. Charlie Balderston (Freeport) 4. Jake Varnum (Morris) 5. Paul Hartman (Willmar) 6. Robbie Carter (Prior Lake) 7. Joey Miller (Lakeville)-DNF 8. Dirk Henry (Sauk Centre)-DNF
Second Heat
1. Tyler Sjoman (Alexandria) 2. Zac Davids (Apple Valley) 3. Rollie Davidson (Eagan) 4. Rick Dubay (Coon Rapids) 5. Beaner Wiese (Sauk Centre) 6. Ryan Johnson (Eagan) 7. Gary Oie (St. Paul) 8. Preston Dahl (Lakeville)
Third Heat
1. Tim Brockhouse (Shorewood) 2. Cal Lease (Little Falls) 3. Scott Petty (Elk River) 4. Jaycen Brockhouse (Shorewood) 5. Patrick Brejcha (Alexandria) 6. Rob Thurston (Olivia) 7. Mike Turbes (North Mankato) 8. Matt Hendrickson (Albany)
Feature
1. Tim Brockhouse 2. Dirk Henry 3. Jon Lewerer 4. Zac Davids 5. Cal Lease 6. Jaycen Brockhouse 7. Tyler Sjoman 8. Matt Hendrickson 9. Ryan Johnson 10. Jake Varnum 11. Charlie Balderston 12. Beaner Wiese 13. Scott Petty 14. Rick Dubay 15. Mike Turbes 16. Preston Dahl 17. Robbie Carter 18. Paul Hartman 19. Rollie Davidson 20. Patrick Brejcha 21. Gary Oie 22. Rob Thurston-DNF 23. Joe Kostreba-DNF 24. Joey Miller-DNS
Thunder Cars
First Heat
1. Jerry Messer (Sauk Centre) 2. Jason Schroepfer (Comfrey) 3. Matt Miller (Glenwood) 4. Chris Bromen (St. Paul Park) 5. Joe Karl (Osakis) 6. Lee McDougall (Monticello)-DNF 7. Mark Milbeck (Erhard)-DNF
Second Heat
1. Nick Panitzke (Sauk Centre) 2. Patrick Amelung (St. Joseph) 3. Pat Henry (Sauk Centre) 4. Jim Larkin (Monticello) 5. Lance Stueve (Greenwald) 6. Matt Hoeschen (Sauk Centre) 7. Doug Olmscheid (Padua)
Feature
1. Nick Panitzke 2. Jerry Messer 3. Patrick Amelung 4. Jason Schroepfer 5. Jim Larkin 6. Joe Karl 7. Pat Henry 8. Lance Stueve 9. Mark Milbeck 10. Doug Olmscheid 11. Lee McDougall 12. Chris Bromen 13. Matt Hoeschen-DNF 14. Matt Miller-DNS
UCARs
First Heat
1. Andy Mayavski (St. Cloud) 2. Chad Burke (Alexandria) 3. Matt Peterson (Upsala) 4. Billy Weyer (Waite Park) 5. Craig Maack (Pelican Rapids) 6. Jim Eblin (St. Cloud) 7. Josh Whipple (Fergus Falls) 8. Marc Rosenow (Grey Eagle) 9. Tony Hallerman (Sauk Centre) 10. Kris Wensmann (Elmdale)-DNF
Second Heat
1. Corey Flynn (Alexandria) 2. David Bolstad (Fergus Falls) 3. Josh Christi (Sauk Rapids) 4. Curt Peterson (Upsala) 5. Andy Heying (St. Cloud) 6. Butch Thompson (Waite Park) 7. Doug Fick (Fergus Falls) 8. Cory Koening (Sauk Rapids) 9. Dave Heurung (Long Prairie) 10. Bobbi Jo Maras (Grey Eagle)-DNS
Feature
1. David Bolstad 2. Andy Mayavski 3. Corey Flynn 4. Chad Burke 5. Andy Heying 6. Craig Maack 7. Butch Thompson 8. Josh Christi 9. Matt Peterson 10. Billy Weyer 11. Marc Rosenow 12. Josh Whipple 13. Kris Wensmann 14. Jim Eblin 15. Cory Koening 16. Doug Fick 17. Tony Hallerman 18. Dave Heurung 19. Curt Peterson-DNF 20. Bobbi Jo Maras-DNS