(Racing Every Saturday Night)
Race Results
May 29, 1999
By Rob Ristesund
A thrilling late model stock car feature capped an exciting evening of racing action Saturday night at Lake County Speedway.
Larry Dixon set the pace for the first three laps of the fifteen lap event before his ill-handling machine clipped the turn two wall, bringing out the caution. Todd Sterzinger took over the point on the restart and was fighting off Curt Bauman two laps later when Bauman spun, triggering the caution once again. When the race resumed, it was Sterzinger still holding the point while Brad Wollman was masterfully working his way through the field from his fifth row starting spot, eventually wrestling the lead from Sterzinger with four laps to go, with the rest of the field close behind continuously running two and three wide. Just when it looked as if Wollman had his second feature win of the year in the bag, the handle disappeared on the potent yellow #9 and it was Sterzinger getting a second chance at the lead and making the most of the opportunity as he along with the rest of the field motored past a helpless Wollman. It was a lead that this time Sterzinger would hold to the finish, taking the checkered two car-lengths ahead of a wild five-car battle for second. When the dust settled it was Dale Furby taking runner-up honors just edging Don Bickett, Bruce Bortnem and Perry Tschetter.
The Pam Oil/Valvoline/AC Delco/Lewis Drug/Pepsi sprint feature also had an unexpected finish. Veteran Mike Ellingson shot from his front row starting spot into the lead at the start of the twelve lap event and for all practical purposes the race appeared to be his as he kept his car stuck to the bottom groove of the track, which appeared to be the fastest way around the high-banked 3/8 mile oval. But as the laps in the non-stop event counted down, it was Tim Martens moving in on Ellingson, and on the final lap Martens went to the high side to power past Ellingson in the second turn to take the lead and the win. Ellingson settled for second at the finish while Kim Muntefering, Brad Nelson and Chuck McGillivray rounded out the top five.
The Nordstrom’s Sportsman “A” feature saw a driver take his first win ever in the the class as Darren Duffy outran the field to take the win. Duffy took the point on the second circuit of the twelve lap event and was never headed as he drove a flawless race. Al Barnhart held the second spot for most of the event before surrendering the position to Mike Husman with just over a lap to go, and that was the way they would finish with Rick Goth and Jeff Coster taking fourth and fifth, respectively.
The hobby stock feature was a wild event that saw another driver lose the lead late in the race. Jeff Ellingson was running strong and leading the field on a restart with two laps to go when he slowed with mechanical problems, allowing Kevin Konda by for the lead and eventually the win. Doug Van Liere came all the way from a sixth row start to take second ahead of Tim Dann and Josh Schmidt.
The team of Willmott and Insley scored their first win of the year as they outran the field to take the front-wheel drive win. Second went to Harmon and Ludwig followed by point-leaders Schmidt and Grayson.
360 Sprint Cars
PAM OIL/VALVOLINE/AC DELCO HEAT #1: 1. Kim Muntefering, Mitchell; 2. Tim Martens, Harrisburg; 3. Chuck McGillivray, Madison; 4. Brad Nelson, Brookings
LEWIS DRUG/PEPSI HEAT #2: 1. Mike Ellingson, Dell Rapids; 2. Gary Johnson, Madison; 3. Brian Baker, Rock Rapids, Iowa; 4. Doug Martens, Wentworth
FEATURE: 1. Martens; 2. Ellingson; 3. Muntefering; 4. Nelson; 5. McGillivray; 6. Johnson; 7. Baker; 8. Martens
Late Model Stock Cars
FIRST HEAT: 1. Larry Dixon, Ramona; 2. Dale Furby, Sioux Falls; 3. Curt Bauman, Brookings; 4. Don Bickett, Ramona
SECOND HEAT: 1. Bruce Bortnem, Brookings; 2. Scott Freet, Madison; 3. Brad Wollman, Bridgewater
FEATURE: 1. Todd Sterzinger, Colman; 2. Furby; 3. Bickett; 4. Bortnem; 5. Perry Tschetter, Bridgewater; 6. Gus Clark; Sioux Falls 7. Rob Anderson, Chester; 8. Freet; 9. Wollman; 10.Bauman; 11. Dixon
Nordstrom's Sportsman
FIRST HEAT: 1. Jeff Coster, Sioux Falls; 2. Mike Husman, Madison; 3. J.J. Zebell, Parker
SECOND HEAT: 1. Matt Steuerwald, Madison; 2. Bob Dafoe, Sioux Falls; 3. Al Barnhart, Madison;
THIRD HEAT: 1. Ryan Nelson, Madison; 2. Darin Duffy, Dell Rapids; 3. Rick Goth, Madison
FOURTH HEAT: 1. Richard Holbrook, Sioux Falls; 2. Jeff Wittrock, Sioux Falls; 3. Jeff Hertel, Parker
FIRST B FEATURE: 1. Matt Ayres, Parker; 2. Chris Ellingson, Madison; 3. Jerry Herndon, Madison; 4. Russ Englund, Hartford
SECOND B FEATURE: 1. Russ Peterson, Sioux Falls; 2. Todd Holter, Humboldt; 3. Gary Gonyo, Madison
A FEATURE: 1. Duffy; 2. Husman; 3. Barnhart; 4. Goth; 5. Coster; 6. Hertel; 7. Steuerwald; 8. Ayres; 9. Wittrock; 10. Peterson; 11. Holbrook; 12. Dafoe; 13. Zebell; 14. Nelson
I.M.C.A Hobby Stocks
FIRST HEAT: 1. Jeff Hoogendorn, Rock Rapids, Iowa; 2. Andy Ullom, Madison; 3. Doug Van Liere, Madison; 4. Dan Doyle, Flandreau
SECOND HEAT: 1. Kevin Konda, Marion; 2. Rick Wibeto, Sioux Falls; 3. Jeff Ellingson, Madison; 4. Justin Selken, Hartford
THIRD HEAT: 1. Curt Ottoson, Madison; 2. Tim Dann, Lennox; 3. Josh Schmidt; Marion; 4. Mark Janke, Madison
FEATURE: 1. Konda; 2. Van Liere; 3. Dann; 4. Schmidt; 5. Dale Tomes, Dell Rapids; 6. Ryan Bickett, Ramona; 7. Ellingson; 8. Ullom; 9. Ottoson; 10. Jeff Beck, Winfred; 11. Janke; 12. Doyle; 13. Hoogendorn; 14. Wibeto; 15. Jason Armstrong, Flandreau; 16. Justin Selken, Hartford
Front Wheel Drives
FIRST HEAT: 1. Sampson/Tieszen, Canistota; 2. Anderson/Michelke, Madison; 3. Herlyn/Nelson, Marion
SECOND HEAT: 1. Willmott/Insley, White; 2. Rose/Dafoe, Sioux Falls; 3. Schmidt/Grayson, Brookings
THIRD HEAT: 1. Lavin/Grayson, Brookings; 2. Olson/Gluhm, Madison; 3. Harmon/Ludwig, Canton
B FEATURE: 1. Larson/Ryan, Madison; 2. Scholl/Paugh,Madison; 3. Boatwright/Kunkel, Hartford; 4. Fedeler/Tooker, Nunda; 5. Schmidt/Dann, Dell Rapids
A FEATURE: 1. Willmott/Insley; 2. Harmon/Ludwig; 3. Schmidt/Grayson; 4. Sampson/Tieszen; 5. Anderson/Michelke; 6. Rose/Dafoe; 7. Larson/Ryan