(Racing Every Saturday Night)
Race Results
September 18, 1999
By Rob Ristesund
A beautiful evening for mid-September provided the backdrop for the annual Lake County Nationals, the final night of racing of the year at Lake County Speedway. With the rule book thrown out for the evening’s action for all cars except the hobby stocks, many of the full-bodied cars sported sprint car wings and various air foils, along with larger tires and engine modifications not normally allowed.
In the 360 sprint feature, Lee Goos, Jr. appeared to have the field covered when he rocketed from his front row starting spot into the lead at the start of the twelve lap event. Chad Meyer quickly came from the second row to capture the second spot but was no challenge for the leader as Goos opened a lead of a quarter of a lap at the halfway point. But while Goos maintained that advantage in the final stages of the race, his car slowed down the backstretch just prior to taking the white flag, with a drive shaft laying on the track evidence that his fine run was finished for the night. The restart saw Meyer inheriting the lead with Chuck McGillivray right behind, and just as they had finished the night before in Rock Rapids, that was the way they would finish with Meyer taking the win five car lengths ahead of McGillivray. Dave Ekern came across the finish line third followed by Mike Ellingson and Kim Muntefering.
After struggling much of the second half of the season at the track, the late model stock car feature gave Dale Furby reason to celebrate as he took the win. Rob Anderson took the early lead in the fifteen lap event with Furby right behind as the pair hugged the inside line of the high-banked 3/8 mile oval. But it was Rick Vander Weide, in his first appearance at the track this year, who found a faster way around the track as he blew past the leaders on the outside on lap five. Soon after that Furby moved to the higher line and ran down Vander Weide, eventually sliding under him with two laps to go to take the lead and going on to the win. Vander Weide held on to take second while Duane Bowden, another first-timer at the track, edged Anderson and Brad Wollman in the battle for third.
Russ Peterson grabbed the lead from Russ Englund on lap three and went on to win the fifteen-lap sportsmen feature. Peterson took the checkered five car lengths ahead Englund, who fought off Virgil Thiewes for the runner-up spot. Chris Ellingson and Moose Schuldt rounded out the top five.
Season point champion Dale Tomes snatched the lead from race-long leader Jeff Beck with two laps to and went on to win the hobby stock feature. Tim Dann recovered from a flat tire early in the race to take second ahead of Beck, Dean Dunkelberger and Nick Grad.
The only car in the two-driver front-wheel drives to sport a wing belonged to the feature-winning car of Harmon and Ludwig of Canton. Point champions Schmidt and Grayson out-battled Boatwright and Carnicle to take second.
360 Sprint Cars
FIRST HEAT: 1. Lee Goos, Sioux Falls; 2. Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls; 3. Chuck McGillivray, Madison; 4. Steve Haman, Egan.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Mike Ellingson, Dell Rapids; 2. Kim Muntefering, Mitchell; 3. Dave Ekern, Flandreau; 4. Brad Nelson, Brookings.
FEATURE: 1. Meyer; 2. McGillivray; 3. Ekern; 4. Ellingson; 5. Muntefering; 6. Nelson; 7. Haman; 8. Kory Rawstern, Wentworth; 9. Goos.
Late Model Stock Cars
FIRST HEAT: 1. Rob Anderson, Chester; 2. Dale Furby, Sioux Falls; 3. Don Bickett, Ramona; 4. Rick Eich, Colman; 5. Curt Bauman, Brookings.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Rick Vander Weide, Sioux Falls; 2. Todd Sterzinger, Colman; 3. Brad Wollman, Bridgewater.
FEATURE: 1. Furby; 2. Vander Weide; 3. Duane Bowden, Hartford; 4. Anderson; 5. Wollman; 6. Sterzinger; 7. Scott Freet, Madison; 8. Eich; 9. Bauman; 10. Ross Dixon, Ramona; 11. Bickett.
Nordstrom's Sportsman
FIRST HEAT: 1. Russ Peterson, Sioux Falls; 2. Matt Steuerwald, Madison; 3. Ryan Nelson, Madison, 4. Ryan Bickett, Ramona.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Virgil Thiewes, Goodwin; 2. Jeff Hertel, Parker; 3. Matt Ayres, Parker; 4. Moose Schuldt, Sioux Falls.
THIRD HEAT: 1. Tony Callies, Wentworth; 2. Steve Brown, Winner; 3. Jeff Coster, Sioux Falls; 4. Russ Englund, Hartford.
FEATURE: 1. Peterson; 2. Englund; 3. Thiewes; 4. Chris Ellingson; 5. Schuldt; 6. Nelson; 7. Brown; 8. Doug Van Liere, Madison; 9. Hertel; 10. Callies; 11. Bickett; 12. Steuerwald; 13. Don Brady, Sioux Falls.
I.M.C.A Hobby Stocks
FIRST HEAT: 1. Curt Ottoson, Madison; 2. Nick Grad, Madison; 3. Dean Dunkelberger, Hartford; 4. Ryan Van Emmerick, Salem.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Jeff Beck, Winfred; 2. Tim Dann, Lennox; 3. Dale Tomes, Dell Rapids; 4. Andy Ullom, Madison; 5. Jeff Foster, Madison.
FEATURE: 1. Tomes; 2. Dann; 3. Beck; 4. Dunkelberger; 5. Grad; 6. Van Emmerick; 7. Ullom; 8. Foster; 9. Ottoson.
Front Wheel Drives
FIRST HEAT: 1. Boatwright/Carnicle, Hartford; 2. Schmidt/Grayson, Brookings; 3. Schneider/Miles, Colman; 4. Gross/Holzapfel, Hartford; 5. Huber/Huber.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Harmon/Ludwig, Canton; 2. Tieszen/White, Canistota; 3. Schoenrock/Olson; 4. Ludwig/Ludwig, Canton; 5. Tooker/Fedeler, Nunda.
FEATURE: 1. Harmon/Ludwig; 2. Schmidt/Grayson; 3. Boatwright/Carnicle; 4. Tooker/Fedeler; 5. Fuller/Parish, Sioux Falls; 6. Schoenrock/Olson; 7. Schneider/Miles.