With just two point nights remaining at Luxemburg Speedway each division’s point leaders sought to build on their leads to try and ice away a championship on Flanigan DistributingBusch Light night. Four of the five feature winners tonight were also the points leaders heading into the evening’s events.
The Village Kitchen IMCA Modifieds point leader headed into the night was Josh Long and he rolled off the starting grid in 8th place looking to expand his lead over second place driver, Brad Theys, who was starting directly in front of him in sixth. While the points leaders were starting further back in the field the last two feature winners, Russ Reinwald and Josh Lambert, found themselves starting second and third. Reinwald and Lambert wasted no time in moving to the top spots when pole sitter, Joel Crowbridge, and fourth place starter, James Tebon, got tangled together going into corner number two on the opening lap. Crowbridge and Tebon pushed each other up the track and the field went by as the duo were able to continue at the back of the pack. At the front Reinwald took off while setting a blistering pace as his lead increased with each circuit. Meanwhile tenth place starter Lucas Lamberies moved into fourth with eyes on more as he picked off the third place car of Greg Gretz and the second place car of Josh Lambert on consecutive laps. Gretz and Lambert did not go quietly into the night as they mounted a comeback to go three wide with Lamberies for second place. Lamberies found the grip to hold on to the spot and eventually cleared both cars and set his sights on reeling in the race leader who was now a half lap ahead. Lamberies faced pressure from Gretz on the inside on the closing laps but held on to second, Gretz nabbed third, points leader Josh Long gained one point over fifth place finisher Brad Theys. Reinwald notched another dominating victory and a case of Busch Light for his efforts.
The IMCA Stock Cars have put on thrilling feature events all season and tonight was no exception. John Heinz wasted no time in jumping from his fourth place starting spot to take the lead on the opening lap. The Virlee Gunworks Caution lights quickly fired off to bunch the field back up as Heinz led Eric Malfroid, Derek Moede, Dave Budzban, and Hot Rod Snellenberger back to the green. Moede jumped into second while Snellenberger, Malfroid, and Shawn Havel battled three wide for third place. While the action up front was fast and furious point leader, Mike Coel, managed to work his way into contention and looked to have the car to beat as he was able to work the high and low lines equally well. Coel picked off Hot Rod on the inside to take third then immediately went to work on the high side to swipe second from Moede. Sticking up top Coel pressured Heinz for the lead as laps were winding down. After a heated fight Coel emerged on the last lap to take the lead for good and pad his points lead with a fourth feature win for the season. Heinz crossed the line in second, Moede third, Snellenberger fourth, and Tom Brumlic mounted a charge from shotgun on the field to claim a hard fought fifth.
The IMCA Northern Sport Mods started their night with Troy DeGrave leading the opening lap from the outside of the front row. He faced immediate pressure from Chris Budzban who took the lead on the second lap. An early caution for a Mackenzie Simonar spin bunched the field back up as Budzo led DeGrave, Doug Mauer, Vince Engebregtsen, and Sawyer Haese back to green. On the restart Engebregtsen jumped to third and applied pressure to DeGrave in second on the outside. Just past halfway Engebregtsen completed the pass for second and proceeded to set up shop running down the leader. As laps wound down Engebregtsen was able to complete the pass for the lead and hold on to pad his points lead with a fourth trip to the Cobbler Shop victory lane this season. Budzo continued his hot streak at local tracks with a second place finish, DeGrave came home third, Todd Wiese powered to fourth from tenth, and Dennis Miesler rounded out the top five.
Dave DeGrave entered the night with a 7 point lead over Marcus Moede in the Street Stocks. The two found themselves sitting side by side in the third row to start the feature and sparks were sure to fly. Dave Gauger led the opening lap from his outside front row starting spot but DeGrave stole the leader spot on the second lap while Moede found himself in a dogfight with Travis Zirbel for third. That battle got heated in turn four when contact between the two sent Moede spinning and drew a caution. While DeGrave lead the field back to green Moede was faced with a lot of fast cars to overcome when he was sent to the back along with Zirbel. Gauger, Brandon Peterson, and Chad Naze staged a fierce battle for second when the green flew again with Gauger sliding high in four allowing Peterson to take the spot working the low side. Billy Bowden would also get by to take third a few laps later. A late caution for Kyle Dimmick bunched the field up one last time. DeGrave led Peterson, Bowden, Gauger, and a hard charing Moede back to the green flag. Gauger and Peterson staged a brief, but fierce, battle for second with Gauger coming out on top. On the restart Moede found the high side to be working well for his car and managed to run that line to get past Gauger but did not have time to run down the race leader. DeGrave picked up one valuable championship point with his sixth feature win of the season. Moede would have to be content with a hard found second, Gauger finished third, Bowden fourth, and Peterson filled out the top five.
The Sport Compact class has seen Calvin Stueck look almost invincible week in and week out. He entered the night with a 39 point lead over Missy Clark and a track leading six feature wins on the season. His goal was to increase both those numbers before the night was through. Stueck wasted no time by powering to the lead on the opening lap with Clark settling into second while Jason Dondlinger found himself sitting in third. Clark would pressure Stueck on the low side but never had enough to complete a pass for the lead. When the checkers flew Stueck had a 40 point advantage and notched his seventh win of the year. Clark came home second and Dondlinger third.
Thank you to all the drivers, fans, and sponsors that have made this year possible. You won’t want to miss next week’s edition of Friday Night Thunder as we will crown our champions for the 2019 season!
VILLAGE KITCHEN IMCA MODIFIED 20 LAP FEATURE: Russ Reinwald, Beaver Dam; Lucas Lamberies, Clintonville; Greg Gretz, Kewaunee; Josh Long, Little Suamico; Brad Theys, Suamico
HEAT 1) Theys; James Tebon, Algoma; Mark Joski, Denmark
HEAT 2) Reinwald; Josh Lambert, Casco; Jeremy Jacobs, Luxemburg
IMCA STOCK CAR 20 LAP FEATURE: Mike Coel, Pulaski; John Heinz, Green Bay; Derek Moede, New Franken; Rod Snellenberger, Pulaski; Tom Brumlic, Denmark
HEAT 1) Heinz; Snellenberger; Mike Carter, Greenleaf
HEAT 2) Eric Malfroid, Luxemburg; Moede; Coel
IMCA NORTHERN SPORT MOD 20 LAP FEATURE: Vince Engebregtsen, Algoma; Chris Budzban, Luxemburg; Troy DeGrave; Todd Wiese, Algoma; Dennis Miesler, Luxemburg
HEAT 1) Doug Mauer, Green Bay; Engebregtsen; Miesler
HEAT 2) DeGrave; Budzban; Shawn Umentum, Green Bay
STREET STOCK 20 LAP FEATURE: Dave DeGrave, Luxemburg; Marcus Moede, Algoma; Dave Gauger, Brillion; Billy Bowden, Escanaba, MI.; Brandon Peterson, Sturgeon Bay
HEAT 1) Moede; Bowden; Travis Zirbel, Green Bay
HEAT 2) DeGrave; Gauger; Joe Johnson, De Pere
SPORT COMPACT 15 LAP FEATURE: Calvin Stueck, Clintonville; Missy Clark, Luxemburg; Jason Dondlinger, Mishicot
HEAT 1) Stueck; Clark; Dondlinger
