From the first night of the season, Mike Heidmann has led the way in the Snap-on Mini Mods point standings all summer at State Park Speedway.
Despite his consistency, the Edgar driver hadn’t won a feature since opening night back in May, but that changed as Heidmann won the 25-lap mini mods feature Friday night.
Heidmann used superior handling in the corners to take the top spot from Gary Garand on lap 9 and slowly pulling away from Garand, who was strong on the straightaways. Heidmann led the rest of the race, taking first by three car lengths over hard-charging Tim Hintz, who was making his first appearance at the track this season.
“I’ve got to hand it to those guys in the pits,” said Heidmann in Brickner Family Auto Group Victory Lane after the race. “We weren’t sure what to do with the setup but they called it and they won it for me tonight.”
Shawn Kemnetz’s decision to race at State Park Speedway for the Larry Detjens Memorial proved to be a fruitful one. The Hancock driver’s first trip to State Park this season was a success as he won the 25-lap Motors Service & Supply Mini Stocks main event.
Kemnetz started on the pole and led all 25 laps, besting a busy 18-car field in the feature, the division’s largest car count this season. He held the point throughout with heavy jockeying for position behind him and withstood stout challenges on the outside from Kyle Check on a pair of restarts, the second coming with just six laps left.
“It’s definitely good, it’s our first one of the year,” said Kemnetz. “We’ve only raced here I think four times, so this is definitely one for the books for sure.
“My dad said first thing is always protect the bottom here, if you get up top you might get freight-trained. So I was staying down low and it worked out well.”
Kemnetz scored his first-ever feature win at the track. Former division champion Jerry Brickner-who raced a super late model last year-made his season debut and appeared to finish third in the feature. The cars of Check broke the division’s breakout time, though, and finished at the end of the lead lap in 14th, with Kevin Tessmer moving up to second in the final tally, while Brickner ended up 15th.
Jevin Guralski also faced some stiff competition in the Mighty Bandoleros class but worked through traffic to win the feature again, his second in the division’s two trips to the track so far this season.
The 10-year old Guralski came from the back of the nine-car field and emerged from a bunched seven-car group that broke away and put on a show while trading positions. Guralski passed Robbie Rucks on the inside on lap 10 and drove away in the final laps, with Karter Stark taking second.
The Larry Detjens Memorial continues Saturday night with a full slate of racing action including six divisions of racing. The headline event is the Northcentral Technical College Truck Driving School 100 super late model feature, and also on hand will be the Budweiser Fabiano Brothers Limited Late Models, Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks, mini mods, mini stocks and Bandoleros. Fred Mueller Qualifying begins at 5 p.m., with racing starting at 6:30 p.m.
Results
Snap-on Mini Mods
Fast Qualifier: Dave Meyer, West Allis, 15.909 sec.
Heat: Tim Hintz, Nekoosa; Gary Garand, Weston; John Lietz, Mosinee; Greg Blount, Marathon; Mike Heidmann, Edgar
Feature: Heidmann; Hintz; Garand; Blount; Lietz; Meyer; Dale Louze, Mosinee; James Storey, Burlington
Motors Service & Supply Mini Stocks
Fast Qualifier: Nick Schmidt, Watertown, 16.801 sec.
First Heat: Karley Kemnetz, Hancock; Brian Duranceau, Tomahawk; Kendra Baumann, Wausau; Rick Duerr, Kellner; Jimmy B. Lee, Merrill; Evan Pingel, Ringle
Second Heat: Ashley Schoone, Tomahawk; Shawn Kemnetz, Hancock; Amanda Rowe, Mosinee; Tom Lecher, Wausau; Matt Gajewski, Wausau; Randy Zieglmeier, Wausau
Third Heat: Kyle Check, Shantytown; Schmidt; Kevin Tessmer, Wausau; Jerry Brickner, Wausau; Kole Ferge, Wausau; Brett Breitenfeldt, Wausau; Nathan Steif, Wausau
Feature: S. Kemnetz; Tessmer; Ferge; Breitenfeldt; Schmidt; Steif; Lecher; Zieglmeier; Gajewski; Duerr; K. Kemnetz; Duranceau; Baumann; Check; Brickner; Pingel; Rowe; Lee
Mighty Bandoleros
Fast Qualifier: Jevin Guralski, Wausau, 16.261 sec.
First Heat: Robbie Rucks, Deerfield; Anna Malouf, Rhinelander; Emma Hunstiger, Jefferson; Keagen Benz, Wausau
Second Heat: Laney Osborne, Janesville; Guralski; Karter Stark, Marshall; Michael Guderski, Markesan; Alex Hartwig, Portage
Feature: Guralski; Stark; Hartwig; Rucks; Malouf; Guderski; Osborne; Benz; Hunstiger