Cedar Lake Speedway Media PR Photoby Greg Parent
With afternoon rain showers giving way to clearing skies and a brisk wind, the Cedar Lake Speedway was able to complete the final night of their double-header opening weekend on Saturday April 7. Putting the finishing touches on the earliest opening weekend in track history, NASCAR feature race victories went to Jimmy Mars in the Late Models, Joey Jensen making it two-for-two in the Modifieds, Dave Mass in the Pro Stocks, and Ryan Olson also doubling up with another win in the Midwest Mods. In the newest weekly division at the track, Brent Voeltz was victorious in the Hornet feature.

On what proved to be a fast track all night long, the NASCAR Midwest Modifieds brought 23 cars trackside for the first feature event of the evening. Polesitter Scott Splittstoesser sped to the early lead at the drop of the green, as cars battled for positions close behind him. Friday night feature winner and eighth starter Ryan Olson got by Josh Bazey on lap seven and quickly reeled in the leader. Two laps later it was Olson out front. Olson began to distance himself from the field, as the laps rolled by under the green. Just when it looked like the race might run nonstop, seventh running Jordan Hessler looped his car in turn four to set up a two lap dash to the checkers. This erased the comfortable lead Olson had built up, but "Flyin' Ryan" was up to the task and went on to claim his second feature win in as many nights. Splittstoesser, Bazey, Mitch Weiss, and Rob Weber followed in the top five. Rounding out the top ten finishers were 12th starter Jason Vandekamp, Jeffrey Lien Jr, Willy Thompson, Jason Schill, and Kyle Steffen.

The NASCAR Pro Stocks saw 15 starters make the call for their 20 lap feature, as Shawn Kammerud was scratched following his heat race. Jeff Heintz hammered the throttle when the green flag waved and grabbed the early lead from the pole. Several cars swapped positions behind Heintz, as the race stayed green. Six laps in, ninth starter Dave Mass had worked his way to second with Larry Fitzsimmons, Dan Gullikson and Mike Loomis in the hunt. Mass drove to the lead on lap eight while positions continued to change hands behind him. Contact between Gullikson and Heintz on lap 13 brought an end to the fine run Heintz had been having, as his car headed for the infield. The first caution flew with sixteen laps in when Friday night winner Adam Ayotte and Ryan Wiome got together on the front stretch. It was Mass, Loomis, Gullikson, Cory Davis and Wiome in the top five. With two to go, Fitzsimmons spun to bring out the final caution. Mass was able to hold off Gullikson for the victory over the final two lap shootout to the checkers. Loomis, Davis and Wiome completed the top five. Recovering from a blown engine on Friday night, Mike Weber rode home in sixth. Cody Campeau, Adam Ayotte, Marcus Simonson, and Donnie Lofdahl rounded out the top ten.

Cedar Lake Speedway Media PR Photoby Greg Parent
It was a night of firsts on Friday April 6 at the Cedar Lake Speedway, as the famed 3/8 mile western Wisconsin dirt oval kicked off its 54th season of racing on a clear and somewhat cool early spring evening. Records were set for the earliest start to a racing season ever in the history of the track, a new weekly division debuted and ran the first non-stop feature of the season, and a first-time winner emerged in the NASCAR Pro Stock division. When the final checkers waved in the NASCAR Late Model feature, it had indeed been a memorable and historic opening night on what turned out to be an entertaining evening of dirt track racing action.

Grabbing top honors on the first night of the scheduled double-header weekend were Chad Mahder in the NASCAR Late Models, Joey Jensen in the NASCAR Modifieds, Adam Ayotte with his inaugural victory in the NASCAR Pro Stocks, Ryan Olson in the NASCAR Midwest Modifieds and Jack Purcell with a record setting victory in the newest weekly division, the hornets.

For the first time ever at Cedar Lake Speedway, the hornets were racing on the weekly program. Twice before the hornets had been part of the Legendary 100, but they had never raced as a weekly division. Thirteen hornets were on hand with a couple of cars making some rather long tows of nearly four hours. The "new kids on the block" were the first feature on the track for the 2012 racing season, and they quickly became the first division to run nonstop in their 12 lap main event. The race featured three different leaders, as a group of four cars battled up front for a good share of the laps. Chris Tyke led the first two laps before giving way to Brent Voeltz. Voeltz narrowly hung on to the lead for the next five laps until Jack Purcell took over for the final five circuits. Following Purcell across the finish line were Voeltz, Kyle Stark, Todd Tacheny, and Tyke in the top five.

by Cedar Lake Speedway Media PR
As the new year draws near Cedar Lake Speedway is excited to release their 2012 event schedule. 2012 brings with it a few format changes and the addition of a new class. We are excited to welcome Hornets to our program for 2012. “The Hornets put on a great show, they are fun to watch and it provides an entry level class for new blood” noted owner Brad Both. The Hornet class has become very popular at other area tracks and we anticipate great car counts right away in 2012. A complete list of rules will be released very soon. Racing will begin at 6:00 each night and feature all 5 classes most nights. Please visit www.cedarlakespeedway.com often for updates.

by Kevin Kovac
Josh Richards finally has a victory in a crown-jewel dirt Late Model event on his resume.

The 23-year-old star’s breakthrough performance came on Saturday night in the 24th annual USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel at Cedar Lake Speedway, a three-eighths-mile oval that will forever be close to his heart.

“It hasn’t even sunk in yet,” Shinnston, W.Va.’s Richards said when asked to describe his emotions following a 100-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph worth $50,125. “This place has always been real special to me. Back in 2000 whenever Davey Johnson was driving for us (his father Mark’s Rocket Chassis house car) I remember coming here and watching the (USA Nationals). I was just in awe. I just fell in love with this track at a young age.

“To finally get (a crown-jewel win) – and here at Cedar Lake – it really means a lot.”

Richards, who witnessed his father’s familiar No. 1 reach Victory Lane in the 2000 USA Nationals with Johnson behind the wheel, returned his dad to the spotlight at Cedar Lake with a savvy performance. He spent more than half the distance chasing polesitter Jason Rauen of Farley, Iowa – a 31-year-old seeking a monumental upset win in his first-ever USA Nationals and WoO LMS starts – before diving underneath the upstart to grab the lead on lap 78.

The remainder of the distance served as a valedictory ride for Richards, who beat two-time USA Nationals winners Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, and Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., to the finish line despite driving a car that sported significant left-side body damage from a lap-65 tangle that nearly ended his bid. It was his fifth WoO LMS win of 2011 and the 33rd of his career.

Rauen, who led laps 1-77, settled for a fourth-place finish, nearly a half-lap behind Richards at the checkered flag. WoO LMS regular Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., completed the top five after starting 18th, nursing home a car that was hampered by an overheating engine caused by a hole in its radiator.

by Kevin Kovac
Jason Rauen of Farley, Iowa, surprised even himself with a clean sweep of Friday night’s qualifying program for the USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel at Cedar Lake Speedway.

by Kevin Kovac
Jimmy Mars has a pretty good idea what people will be talking about when he rolls into the pit area at Cedar Lake Speedway this weekend (Aug. 4-6) for the 24th annual USA Nationals presented by U.S. Steel.