Dan Lewis Photography | danlewisphoto.netEWSC Photo Gallery by Dan Lewis

by J. Tienor
Friday, May 11th, Manitowoc, WI. - Greenbush Trading Post made the nights events possible. With carnations to the first 100 Moms in the stands and the Jr Fan Club enjoying festivities, the warm weather a welcome respite after the rain of the week prior. Another smooth, fast track greeted the racers during the feature events making for some fantastic racing.

Don Schumacher (Oconomowoc) and Dan Schumacher (Milwaukee) made up a father/son front row for the Grand National Main Event. Heat winners Matt Jackson (Sheboygan) and Steven Ruh (Elkhart Lake) started 5th & 6th after the fans rolled a 6 position invert. Feature winner Ryan Minster (Sheboygan) started from the 11th spot. Don grabbed the early lead, with Dan and Brad Lubach (Kiel) battling for second, Jackson and Kevin Naidl (Reedsville) making quick moves forward. Larry Zirbel (Iron Ridge) dropped out on Lap 2, still battling the mechanical woes of last week. Dan and Lubach continued to battle for 2nd, with Jackson on their heels. Lubach and Jackson finally overhauled Don on Lap 7, one lap later Jackson got around Lubach for the lead. Lap 9 brought the first yellow for Travis Groelle spinning out on the back stretch. Top 5 at the restart were Jackson, Lubach, Dan Schumacher, Naidl, and Don Schumacher. Two laps later the caution flew again as Chris Gilson (Elkhart Lake) stuffed his car into the guardrail, done for the evening. The race went back green with Jackson still out in front, Lubach and Naidl hot on his tail. Lap 15 produced the final yellow, as Groelle had issues on the back stretch, his second caution of the night, relegating him to a spectator for the final 5 laps. Jackson led the final 5 laps taking home the checkered, Lubach, Naidl, Ruh, Minster, Don & Dan Schumacher, Donny Kulow (Plymouth), Mark Kuhfuss (Sheboygan) and Brad Juckem (Chilton) rounding out the top 10. The biggest mover was Minster picking up 6 spots and Kuhfuss grabbing 5.

Newcomer David Gauger (Two Rivers) and Josh McDonald (Hilbert) made up the front row as the Street Stock Main rolled to the track. Bradley Ruh (Elkhart Lake) started shotgun on the field after his win last week. Gauger took the lead at the green, followed by McDonald and Tim Mueller (New Holstein). McDonald grabbed the lead on Lap 2 with Jeremy Hebel (Two Rivers) and Ruh charging through the pack. Hebel and Ruh caught the leader on Lap 5, with Hebel pulling into the lead on Lap 6. Midway the order was Hebel, Ruh, McDonald, Mueller, and Douglas Engleking (Menominee Falls). A lap later Hebel began to fade with overheating issues, allowing Ruh to capture the lead. Engleking pulled into 2nd at Lap 13, dropping Mueller to 3rd. Ruh cruised across the line for win #2 on the year, Engleking, Mueller, McDonald, Jeff Bender (Plymouth), Gauger, Boomer, and Hebel rounded out the field. Ruh picked up 7 positions in the win.

Dan Lewis Photography | danlewisphoto.netPhoto Gallery by Dan Lewis

by J. Tienor
Friday, May 4th, Manitowoc, WI. - After several days of downpours, competitors and fans alike were anxious for action on opening night. Several hours of track preparation resulted in some furious racing across all divisions. Many thanks to all who made the trip to make the night a huge success.

GRAND NATIONALS
With heat winners Matt Jackson (Sheboygan) and Brad Juckem (Chilton) starting deeper in the field due to the invert, Larry Zirbel and Steven Weber led the feature field to the track. Zirbel was still suffering mechanical issues and dropped to the rear before the start, moving Steven Ruh to the front row. Ruh hooked up right from the green and jumped out to the early lead followed by Weber, Don Schumacher, Dan Schumacher, and Ryan Minster (Sheboygan). With Ruh setting a fast pace, position changed rapidly behind him as drivers battled for their turns to chase him down. After 5 laps it was Ruh, Don, Minster, Dan, and Weber in the top 5. On Lap 6 Ken Glander headed to the pits with mechanical issues, followed at Lap 10 by Travis Grolle with overheating issues. At the halfway point it was still Ruh in charge, with Minster, Don, Dan and Juckem close behind, with Minster pressuring Ruh as ruh was attempting to lap Paul Perronne. Minster blew past Ruh and took the lead for good on Lap 14, taking advantage of Ruh getting caught behind Perronne, who received the black flag on Lap 16. At the finish it was Minster, Ruh, Dan Schumacher, Don Schumacher, Mark Kuhfuss, Juckem, Weber, Jackson, Zirber, and Groelle.

HEAT 1 - 1, Matt Jackson. 2, Ryan Minster. 3, Daniel Schulmacher. 4, Steven Weber. 5, Paul Perronne. 6, Ken Glander.
HEAT 2 - 1, Brad Juckem. 2, Don Schumacher. 3, Steven Ruh. 4, Larry Zirbel. 5, Mark Kuhfuss. 6, Travis Groelle.
FEATURE - 1, Ryan Minster. 2, Steven Ruh. 3, Daniel Schulmacher. 4, Don Schumacher. 5, Mark Kuhfuss. 6, Brad Juckem. 7, Steven Weber. 8, Matt Jackson. 9, Larry Zirbel. 10, Travis Groelle. 11, Ken Glander. 12, Paul Perronne. (DNS).

STREET STOCKS
Jerry Brickner and Jeff Bender led the crew of Street Stocks to their 12 Lap Main Event. Bender moved into the lead on Lap 1, followed by Bradley Ruh and Tom Mueller. On Lap 3 Ruh would claim the lead and start to stretch it out. Matt McDonald moved up to second on Lap 4, getting around Bender. At the halfway point it was Ruh, Bender, Hebel, Brickner, and McDonald who was backsliding after some on track contact, and headed to pits. Bender followed a couple laps later with a flat tire. At the checkers it was Ruh, Brickner, Hebel, Mueller, Bender, and McDonald.

by J. Tienor
Fighting off another round of storms, the track preparation crew worked in another track to get the first night of the Labor Day Show in the books. Some furious racing brought a few incidents, but a good show for the hearty fans in the stands.

by J. Tienor
On the second night of racing hosted by the Manitowoc County Fair, a breezy, warm evening greeted racing fans as they entered the stands on EWSC's A&W Night at the Fair. After the storms the prior evening, the track crew did some great work getting the racing surface back in shape for a great show.

by John Tienor
A unbearably hot day turned into a wonderful evening for a rescheduled Lakeside Pepsi Night at the Races, and welcoming Pennelopy's Pizza of Chilton as a new nightly sponsor.

by John Tienor
With a huge crowd and pits overflowing with cars and drivers, Hales Corners Reunion Night and The George Scheffler Memorial were set to go off with a bang.