RWD Outlaw Studded Ben Michonski in the 10 and the 41 of Craig "Pugs" WildenbergBy: Randy Van Hoof
Week three of Tilleda Thunder On Ice turned out to one very frigid day as the temperatures barley broke the five degree mark. But as always the racing was very exciting and the hard-core fans that attended got their money’s worth from the thirty one drivers that were checked into the pits.

RWD Studded class was the first to take the green for their feature with the 07 of Mike Schmidt leading the way with Craig “Pugs” Wildenberg in the 41 on the outside and the 10 of Ben Michonski starting in the rear. By lap two the “Wiley” veteran Ben Michonski had worked his way to the front. Shimdt had a front right go flat and went to the pits to get it changed as the race was stopped. On the restart they were three wide going through turns three and four with Wildenberg coming out in the lead after lap five. Again Michonski found his way to the front and retook the lead on lap eight only to also get a flat and causing the race to be stopped again for him to change the flat. Wildenberg had the fuel pump freeze up but went to the pits and got it working again and restarted the race at the back. With two to go Schmidt and Michonski batted hard with Schmidt and his 07 coming out on top. As the field took the white Michonski was putting some pressure on the 07 and the pair made contact going through turns one and two and Schmidt ended up in the inside bank. The finishing order went back to the previous lap and Michonski was docked one spot for rough driving. Finishing order was Schmidt, Wildenberg and Michonski.

RWD Non-Studded 06 Tony Schwamer leads the 07 of Andrea Olson, the 9 of Travis Verg and the rest of the fieldUp next was the RWD Non-Studded Class with 18 cars starting this action packed race. David Rindt in his 39 leads the first two laps. On the start of lap three there was a lot of action and the 41 of Kasey Kolpack ends up in the bank on the inside of turn three. The 06 of Tony Schwamer takes the lead on the third lap. Tony Wudstrack in the 21 spins on lap four and ends up at the back but stays on the lead lap. With eighteen cars on the track at one time there was a ton of action, many spins but nothing serious enough to stop the race. As the race wore on, the Michonski brothers, Nate in the 33 and Dan in the 1 were working their way through traffic and on lap ten Nate would find his way to the front as Schwamer made a slip and was having a hard time with the lapped cars. On lap thirteen the 07 of Andrea Olson had a bumper bracket break and was sent to the pits for the dragging front bumper. The last lap would be no less spectacular as Dan Michonski, his brother Nate and Schwamer made it three wide coming out of turn four for the checkers. At the end it was N. Michonski, D. Michonski, Schwamer and Wudstrack the final four.

FWD Non-Studded Dusty Grall in the 6 and the 61 of John Babino dust off the 20 of Greg Gutt and the 1 of Jeff JolitzFinally the FWD Non-Studded feature took to the ice oval. Steve Kastning in the 18 and making his first start of the season leads the field to the green. John Babino in the 61 shows the way for the first four laps. Greg Gutt coming from the back and the current points leader worked his way through the six cars and to the front on lap four. The 1 of Jeff Jolitz followed Gutt to the front and found his way up to second place. After leaning on Gutt for a couple of laps Jolitz muscled his way to the point. On lap thirteen the cars of Gutt, Jolitz and the 6 of Dusty Grall had the fans on the edge of their seats as the trio ran three wide for the whole lap and Gutt coming out on top. Coming to the surrender flag Jolitz gets the preferred inside line going into one and takes the point back from Gutt. At the finish it was Jolitz, Grall, Gutt and the 82k of Carl King.

Racing will resume next Saturday at 1:00 and run through February with a “special” two day race tentatively scheduled for the 7th and 8th, ice permitting.

Thanks to this seasons sponsors: Herb’s Tigerton Lanes, Horne-ets Nest, Brady’s Septic Service, Satans Outcasts, S & W Plowing, Olson’s Rural Electric, Hwy. 29 Auto Parts, Mathew’s Supper Club, Auto Service Plus, American Marine & Motorsports Super Center and B & J Custom Graphics.

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RWD Studded feature winner Mike Schmidt
RWD Non-Studded feature winner Nate Michonski
FWD Non-Studded feature winner Jeff Jolitz