HASELEU CAPTURES THE SECOND ANNUAL DICK TRICKLE "99" AT OKTOBERFEST
Eric Fransen wins the Stubby 49 ½, Matt Plyburn and Dan Ryan also capture Fest wins on the second night
 
By: Kevin Ramsell
WEST SALEM, WI (Friday, October 03, 2008) - Nathan Haseleu surprised himself as he was the overall winner in the second annual Dick Trickle "99" at the Oktoberfest Race Weekend.  His third place finish in the final segment gave him the win by two points over Jason Weinkauf. 
"It's a different type of race, and we won it, so I am happy and proud of that.  I'm kind of surprised because usually we are not that good here.  We weren't the fastest car but we were consistent," a surprised Haseleu stated in victory lane. 
 
Haseleu was proud to take the win in an event named after the racing legend, "What an honor, that guy has won all of those races.  I have watched him when I was a kid and watched him on TV and everything else.  It's really an honor to win a race named after him.  It's really cool."
 
The first segment started with the top-16 starting straight up from their qualifying times.  It was fast qualifier Brett Moffitt taking the lead from Nick Neville on the first lap. 
 
Frank Kreyer got on the inside of Moffitt going into turn three on lap 4 to take over the top spot.
 
Last year's winner Steve Holzhausen moved up to third from his fifth starting spot on lap 8 passing Neville for the position.  Jeremy Lepak followed Holzhausen and took over the fourth spot a lap later.
 
It became a three-car battle for the lead at the halfway mark as Moffitt began to challenge Kreyer for the top spot with Holzhausen right behind him.  Moffitt looked to the inside of Kreyer on lap 19 going down the backstretch, but Kreyer held on the position.  While the battle was going on, this allowed Lepak to join the top-three.
 
With five laps to go, Kreyer jumped out to a five-car length lead while Holzhausen got past Moffitt for the second spot.  Holzhausen began to chase down Kreyer. 
 
As the white flag flew in the first segment, Holzhausen looked to the inside of Kreyer going into turn one, but Kreyer was able to hold on to the lead and take the first segment win.
 
Jeremy Lepak got past Moffitt for third and Tim Schendel rounded out the top five.
 
It was a full invert for the second segment of the Dick Trickle "99" with Dean LaPointe and Nick Panitzke leading the field to the start.  LaPointe would get the jump while Panitzke battled with Andy Hanson for the second spot. 
 
But that changed on lap 4 as Panitzke and Hanson would get by LaPointe and pull away.
 
Panitzke and Hanson would go side-by-side for the top spot on lap 7.  The two would race side-by-side until Hanson would get by on lap 10 and take over the lead. 
 
Donny Reuvers would get on the inside of Panitzke on lap 14 and take over the second spot. 
 
Meanwhile, the top contenders in the first segment were in a tight battle near the back of the pack.  The top-five were behind some great side-by-side battles in front of them.
 
With 10 laps to go, Hanson had a huge lead over Reuvers with about the same distance back to Russ Blakeley in third. 
 
The caution flew with two laps to go when Nick Hammer spun coming off of turn two.  On the re-start, Hanson and Reuvers would breakaway from Blakeley.  On the last lap, Reuvers went to the inside of Hanson coming off of turn four but would come up short as Hanson would take the win.
 
Blakeley was third with Jason Schneider in fourth.  Don "Thunder" Turner was fifth.
 
Hanson spun a three to create an 11-car invert for the final segment.
 
Eddie Hoffman and Steve Carlson led the field to the start of the final segment with Hoffman getting the jump over the La Crosse Speedway champion.
 
Jacob Goede had the overall lead going in the final segment as he was one point ahead of Nathan Haseleu, Jeremy Lepak, and Steve Holzhausen. 
 
Goede would get past Haseleu for fourth on lap 33.  Up front, it was a classic battle as Carlson was all over the back bumper of Hoffman looking to get the lead.
 
Carlson would get on the inside Hoffman on lap 16 going into turn one and would take over the top spot.  Tim Rothe would follow Carlson and move into second. 
 
With 13 laps to go, Haseleu would get by Goede and take over the fourth spot.  Hoffman would get in between the two drivers.
 
With ten laps to go, Goede would get by Hoffman for fifth, but there was huge distance between him and Haseleu.
 
Up front, Carlson would hold on to a car length lead over Rothe with Jason Weinkauf up to third. 
 
The caution flew with five laps to go for a spin in turn four.  Carlson continued to lead on the re-start.  The fans were keeping a close eye on the battle for fourth as Haseleu was in fourth and Goede was fifth, tied in the overall standings.  The highest finish in the third segment was the tie-breaker.
 
Carlson would take the win as Tim Rothe appeared to have something break on the last lap allowing Jason Weinkauf to finish second and Haseleu in third.  Rothe crossed the line in fourth with Holzhausen in fifth.  Goede ended up sixth. 
 
With a total of 19 points, Haseleu captured the overall win and became the second ever winner of the Dick Trickle "99".
 
Fransen put his name in the history books as the first Stubby 49 ½ winner.
 
Rob Vanderloop got the lead as the field took the green on the backstretch for this unique semi-feature event.  Mark Lamoreaux would move into the second spot.
 
Vanderloop continued to lead with 10 ½ laps completed.  Eric Fransen was making a charge from his fifth starting position as he got by Matt Kocourek for third. 
 
Fransen would get on the inside of Lamoreaux going into turn one on lap 20 and take over the second spot and quickly pull away, setting his sites on Vanderloop.
 
With 15 laps to go, Fransen caught up to the back bumper of Vanderloop and the battle was on for the lead.  Fransen would go on the inside of Vanderloop in turns three and four to take over the top spot and quickly pull away. 
 
The caution flew on lap 36 when Brandon Hill and Eugene Gregorich Jr. got together in turns one and two, causing both to spin.
 
Fransen continued to lead with ten laps to go.  Behind him, Kocourek would get past Vanderloop to take over the second spot.
 
Kocourek would try to chase down Fransen but would come up short as Fransen wins the Stubby 49 ½.  Vanderloop held on to third with Bobby Wilberg coming home fourth.  Chris Weinkauf came home fifth.
 
Pyburn flew past a third generation driver to claim the Super Sportsmen feature.
 
John Olson was the early leader in the 25-lap Super Sportsmen feature. 
 
Third generation driver Collin Reffner made the move on the outside of Olson on lap 13 to take over the top spot.  Reffner started sixth.
 
Reffner continued to lead with eight laps to go when Adam Eckes spun coming off of turn two.
 
Reffner would pull away from the rest of the field on the re-start but the fans were keeping an eye on Pyburn moved to the outside and would go from fourth to second with five laps to go. 
 
Pyburn would quickly catch up to the back bumper of Reffner with four laps to go and it became a two-car battle for the win.  But that was delayed after the caution flew with three laps when Travis Hancock spun in turn two.
 
Pyburn, who broke the track record earlier in the day, would go on the outside of Reffner with two laps to go and take the lead.  A lap later, the caution would fly for Brad Muller's spin in turn one, causing a one-lap shootout.
 
Pyburn would pull away from Reffner on the last lap and cruise to the win.  Reffner would hold off a late challenge from Corey Jankowski for second.  Olson was fourth with Mike Lichtfeld rounding out the top five.
 
The Area Sportsmen feature saw a lot of passing as the fast qualifiers made it to the front as Dan Ryan took home the win.
 
Michael Millis jumped to the lead in the 25-lap Area Sportsmen feature in his Truck.  Millis had a comfortable lead until the caution flew on lap 10 for Adam Gallagher's spin coming off of turn two.
 
Millis continued to lead on the re-start with Jake Arneson and Jes Tenner right behind him in a three-car breakaway.
 
With ten laps to go, Millis continued to lead while fast qualifier Tony Leis, who started 14th, went to the outside and went from third to the lead in one lap.  Leis would pull away as Arneson and Tenner would get past Millis. 
 
Ryan also worked his way through the pack from his 13th starting position and would take over the second spot from Arneson with five laps to go. 
 
With four laps to go, Leis came off of turn two and started to slow down.  Ryan would go by him on the outside and easily take over the top spot.  Leis would retire from the event.
 
Ryan would cruise to the victory with a five-car length victory over Arneson.  Larry Bolster Jr. would finish third with Rob Mason in fourth.  Tenner would come home fifth.
 
It will be a busy day tomorrow as Super Saturday will be the theme for the third day of the 39th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend.  Qualifying begins at 12:20 pm with racing action getting underway at 4:00 pm. 
 
The American Speed Association Midwest Tour, ASA Late Model Series, Mid-American Series, and the Big 8 Series will be in action.
 
For more information, please visit the official site at www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com.
 
# Name Hometown Total
87 Nathan Haseleu Marshall, WI 8 + 8 + 3 = 19
76 Jason Weinkauf Merrill, WI 12 + 7 + 2 = 21
97 Steve Holzhausen Bangor, WI 2 + 14 + 5 = 21
72 Jacob Goede Shakopee, MN 9 + 6 + 6 = 21
40L Jeremy Lepak Edgar, WI 3 + 13 + 7 = 23
66 Steve Carlson West Salem, WI 13 + 10 + 1 = 24
56 Tim Rothe Appleton, WI 11 + 9 + 4 = 24
8 Eddie Hoffman Wheaton, IL 7 + 11 + 8 = 26
22B Russ Blakeley Whitewater, WI 14 + 3 + 9 = 26
15M Brett Moffitt Grimes, IA 4 + 15 + 10 = 29
7 Don "Thunder" Turner La Crosse, WI 16 + 5 + 12 = 33
99 Frank Kreyer Pardeeville, WI 1 + 22 + 11 = 34
41 Donny Reuvers Dundas, MN 19 + 2 + 13 = 34
11S Jason Schneider Lakeville, MN 15 + 4 + 15 = 34
08H Andy Hanson Ramsey, MN 21 + 1 + 14 = 36
21 Tim Schendel Sparta, WI 5 + 12 + 20 = 37
155 Nick Neville Mackinaw, IL 6 + 18 + 18 = 42
75 Blake Horstman Bangor, WI 10 + 16 + 19 = 45
43 Paul Paine Mound, MN 18 + 23 + 16 = 57
95 Derek Neville Mackinaw, IL 20 + 17 + 21 = 58
40 Nick Hammer Sun Prairie, WI 17 + 19 + 22 = 58
22 Nick Panitzke Sauk Centre, MN 22 + 21 + 17 = 60
15 Dean LaPointe Marshfield, WI 24 + 20 + 23 = 67
39 Andrew Morrissey DeForest, WI 23 + 24 + 24 = 71
 
Super Late Models
Coca-Cola Stubby 49½ (24 Cars) - 1.Eric Fransen, East Troy; Matt Kocourek, Franklin; Robb Vanderloop, Kaukauna; Bobby Wilberg, Beloit; Blake Horstman, Bangor; Mark Lamoreaux, Bloomington, Minn.; Thor Anderson, Bondurant, Iowa; Chad Walen, Prior Lake, Minn.; Doug Mahlik, Green Bay; Joe Johnson, Alexandria, Minn.
Qualifying -  1, Brett Moffitt, 19.100 seconds, 102.801 MPH; 2, Nick Neville, 19.136 secs,  102.608 MPH; 3, Frank Kreyer, 19.142 secs, 102.575 MPH; 4, Jeremy Lepak, 19.153 secs,  102.517 MPH;  5, Steve Holzhausen,19.159 secs,  102.484 MPH
Heat 1 - 1. Josh Vadnais; 2, Dean La Pointe; 3, Chris Weinkauf; 4, Thor Anderson; 5, Robb Vanderloop.
Heat 2 - 1. Steve Carlson; 2, Nick Hammer; 3, Eugene Gregorich Jr.; 4, Mark Lamoreaux; 5, Nick Schumacher
Heat 3 - 1. Andrew Morrissey; 2, Derk Neville; 3, Todd Kluever; 4, Gary La Monte; 5, Bobby Wilberg
Dick Trickle 99 segment 1 - 1. Frank Kreyer; 2, Steve Holzhausen; 3, Jeremy Lepak; 4, Brett Moffitt; 5, Tim Schendel
Dick Trickle 99 segment 2 - 1. Andy Hanson; 2, Donny Reuvers; 3, Nick Panitzke; 4, Nick Schumacher; 5, Don Turner
Dick Trickle 99 segment 3 - 1. Steve Carlson; 2, Jason Weinkauf; 3, Nathan Haseleu; 4, Tim Rothe; 5, Steve Holzhausen.
Dick Trickle 99 final results - 1. Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville; 2, Jason Weinkauf, Merrill; 3, Steve Holzhausen, Bangor; 4, Jacob Goede, Shakopee, Minn.; 5, Jeremy Lepak, Edgar; 6, Steve Carlson, West Salem; 7, Tim Rothe, Appleton; 8, Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton, Ill.; 9, Brett Moffitt, Grimes, Iowa; 10, Don Turner, La Crosse; 11, Frenk Kreyer, Wisconsin Dells; 12, Donny Reuvers, Dundas, Minn.; 13, Jason Schnieder; 14, Andy Hansen; 15, Tim Schendel, Sparta; 16, Nick Neville, Mackinaw, Ill.; 17, Blake Horstman, Bangor; 18, Andrew Morrissey, De Forest; 19, Paul Paine, Mound, Minn.; 20, Derek Neville, Mackinaw, Ill.; 21, Nick Hammer, Sun Prairie; 22, Nick Panitzke, Saul Centre, Minn.; 23, Dean La Pointe, Marshfield.
 
Area Sportsmen
Coca-Cola 25 Feature (27 Cars) - 1. Dan Ryan; Farmington, Minn.; Jake Arneson, Taylor; Larry Bolster Jr., Sparta; Brent Kane, Lansdale, Minn.; Jes Tenner, Melrose;, Jimmy Gilster, West Salem; Michael Millis; Greg Scheck, La Crosse; Chand Wehling, Stoddard; Rick Johnson, La Crosse.
Qualifying -  1, Tony Leis, Onalaska, 21.591 secs,  90.941 MPH; 2, Dan Ryan, Farmington, Minn., 21.878 secs,  89.748 MPH; 3 Brent Kane, Lansdale, Minn., 22.070 secs,  88.967 MPH; 4, Larry Bolster Jr., Sparta, 22.072 secs,  88.959 MPH; 5, Jes Tenner, Melrose, 22.079 secs,  88.931 MPH.
Qualifying Heat 1 - 1.Chris Cooley; 2, Joe Rinartz; 3, Rick Johnson; 4, Ed Guenther; 5, Dan Gilster
Qualifying Heat 2 - 1. Jason Dummer; 2, Nick Clements; 3, Justin Berg; 4, Derek Ludington; 5, Mark Challet
Odd Dash - 1. Brent Kane; 2, Jake Arneson; 3, Jes Tenner; 4, Jimmy Gilster; 5, Tony Leis.
Even Dash - 1. Jason Tohmah; 2, Larry Bolster Jr.; 3, Michael Millis; 4, Chand Wehling; 5, Greg Scheck.
 
Super Sportsmen
 
Coca-Cola 25 Feature (21 cars) - 1. Matt Pyburn, Wisconsin Rapids; Colin Reffner, Wisconsin Rapids; Corey Jankowski, Tomah; John Olson, Sparta; Rod Brewe, Menominie; Randy Humfeld, Chaseburg; Adam Degenhardt, Coon Valley; Scott Hamel, Wisconsin Rapids; Travis Hancock, Mauston.
Qualifying - 1, Matt Pyburn, Wisconsin Rapids, 20.985 secs, 93.567 MPH; 2, Travis Hancock, Mauston, 21.126 secs, 92.942 MPH; 3, Corey Jankowski, Tomah, 21.194 secs, 92.644          MPH; 4            Mike Lichtfeld, Pardeeville, 21.271 secs,  92.309 MPH; 5, Colin Reffner, Wisconsin Rapids, 21.358 secs,  91.933 MPH.
Qualifying Heat - 1. Adam Krzykowski; 2, Jason Tohmah; 3, Dale Schultz; 4, Adam Eckes; 5, Matt Ciesielski
Odd Dash - 1. Brett Wenzel; 2, Colin Reffner; 3, Travis Zvolena; 4, Randy Humfeld; 5, Scott Hamel
Even Dash - 1. Mike Lichtfeld; 2, Travis Hancock; 3, John Olson; 4, Rod Brewe; 5, Adam Degenhardt
The 39th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend will take place on Oktober 2-5, 2008 at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI.  For more information, please visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com.