(Racing Every Friday Night)
By Rob Ristesund
Three drivers scored their first feature wins of the season in racing action Friday night at Rapid Speedway. The only feature winner of the evening who had previously visited victory lane this year was veteran Butch Hanssen, who over-powered the field to win the Pam Oil/Valvoline/AC Delco/Lewis Drug/Pepsi 360 sprint feature. Hanssen got off to a rough start in the fifteen lap event as he slid off the track on the first lap placing him last in the thirteen car field. With Hanssen tagging the field in the early going, it was last week’s feature winner, Randy Droescher, setting the pace on a track that was super fast as a result of some “watering” from Mother Nature earlier in the day. Following a caution on the fourth circuit when the cars of Shawn Van Wyhe and Brent Vonk tangled, it was Steve Ballanger snatching the lead from Droescher on the restart. After riding the rim of the 3/8 mile oval to get to first, Ballanger moved to the bottom of the track while Hanssen was still clinging to the top of the track in an all out charge to the front. It took Hanssen just eight laps in all to go from last to first, as he shot by Ballanger with six laps to go. Hanssen immediately opened a sizable lead over Ballanger, taking the win by a quarter of a lap at the finish. Droescher hung on to take third while Gordy Vogelaar and Chad Meyer rounded out the top five.
Darrin Korthals’ season thus far has been plagued mostly with bad luck, but for one night, anyway, the misfortune was nowhere to be found as the hometown driver outran the late model stock car field to take his first feature win of the year. Korthals built a huge lead early in the event and maintained it until a caution bunched the field with two laps to go and then held off David Mulder to take the win by two car lengths at the checkered. Pat Connell took third followed by Terry Dieren and Mike Noteboom.
Jesse Akkerman is another driver that has had plenty of misfortune this season but like Korthals, Akkerman was able to get it all together for one race as he topped the field in the sportsman feature. Akkerman’s effort was much like Korthals’ in that he built a huge lead only to lose it to a restart late in the race. After a caution with three laps to go, point leader Chad Overgaard got by the second place car of Jeff Wittrock and immediately challenged Akkerman for the lead, but it was Akkerman fending off the challenge to take the win by a car length. Wittrock hung on to take third ahead of Jason DeBoer Russ Peterson.
Denton Potter wasn’t as fortunate as the previous two feature winners as a late race caution not only wiped out his lead but saw him lose the lead itself as Mark Maasdam got by him on the restart to take the lead and eventually the win. Maasdam’s margin of victory, his first ever at the track, was two car lengths over Potter at the finish with third going to point leader Steve Folkens followed by Heath Warntjes and David Bosma.
SPRINT CARS
PAM OIL/VALVOLINE/AC DELCO HEAT: 1. Steve Ballanger, Harrisburg; 2. Shawn Van Wyhe, Lester; 3. Gary Johnson, Madison; 4. Tom Platt, Ashton; 5. Brian Baker, Rock Rapids.
LEWIS DRUG/PEPSI HEAT: 1. Brent Vande Weerd, Rock Rapids; 2. Randy Droescher, Larchwood; 3. Butch Hanssen, Sioux Falls; 4. Gordy Vogelaar, Worthington; 5. Chuck McGillivray, Madison.
FEATURE: 1. Hanssen; 2. Ballanger; 3. Droescher; 4. Vogelaar; 5. Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls; 6. Johnson; 7. McGillivray; 8. Vande Weerd; 9. Platt; 10. Baker; 11. Steve Haman, Egan; 12. Van Wyhe; 13. Brent Vonk, Hudson.
LATE MODEL STOCK CARS
FIRST HEAT: 1. Darrin Korthals, Rock Rapids; 2. Dale Furby, Sioux Falls; 3. Pat Connell, Sioux Falls; 4. Mike Grevengoed, Hull; 5. Mike Noteboom, Orange City.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Wayne Kruger, Steen; 2. Rick Vander Weide, Sioux Falls; 3. Terry Dieren, Brandon; 4. Gus Clark, Sioux Falls; 5. David Mulder, Doon.
FEATURE: 1. Korthals; 2. Furby; 3. Connell; 4. Dieren; 5. Noteboom; 6. Kruger; 7. Furby; 8. Grevengoed; 9. Moose Schuldt, Sioux Falls; 10. Pete Kracht, Steen; 11. Vander Weide; 12. Clark; 13. Bob Dafoe, Sioux Falls; 14. Gary Bockorny, Sioux Falls.
SPORTSMAN
FIRST HEAT: 1. Perry Klosterbuer, Rock Rapids; 2. Jeff Wittrock, Sioux Falls; 3. Jason DeBoer, Sioux Center; 4. Russ Peterson, Sioux Falls; 5. Chris Bott, Sioux Falls.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Jesse Akkerman, Luverne; 2. Mark Henry, Rock Rapids; 3. Jeff Hertel, Parker; 4. Chad Overgaard, Luverne; 5. Chris Ellingson, Madison.
FEATURE: 1. Akkerman; 2. Overgaard; 3. Wittrock; 4. DeBoer; 5. Peterson; 6. Henry; 7. Rick Goth, Madison; 8. Greg Roemen, Ellsworth; 9. Bott; 10. Ellingson; 11. Hertel; 12. Klosterbuer.
I.M.C.A. HOBBY STOCKS
FIRST HEAT: 1. Robert Norem, Ocheydan; 2. Mark Vanden Top, Rock Rapids; 3. Larry Kracht, Magnolia; 4. Marlo DeJager, Doon; 5. Doug Brinkhaus, Doon.
SECOND HEAT: 1. Denton Potter, Larchwood; 2. Shawn Jurrens, Little Rock; 3. Steve Folkens, Lester; 4. Mark Maasdam, Orange City; 5. David Bosma, Allendorf.
THIRD HEAT: 1. Ken Roemen, Rock Rapids; 2. Jeff Hoogendorn, Rock Rapids; 3. Paul Korthals, George; 4. Heath Warntjes, Boyden.
FEATURE: 1. Maasdam; 2. Potter; 3. Folkens; 4. Warntjes; 5. Bosma; 6. Norem; 7. Hoogendorn; 8. Randy Vander Weide, Sioux Center; 9. Korthals; 10. Craig Smith, Sioux Falls; 11. Tammy Kracht, Steen; 12. Jurrens; 13. Vanden Top; 14. Larry Kracht; 15. Roemen; 16. DeJager; 17. Brinkhaus.