WAUSAU, Wis. (June 25) – George Seliger made a slick move to get to the front for the second straight week, while Alex Volm and Kyle Check saw their fast cars come through with feature wins for the first time this season at State Park Speedway Thursday night.
Seliger won his second straight feature and track-leading third feature of the season in the Snap-on Mini Mods. Volm earned his first Advance Auto Parts Pure Stock main this season, while Check also was a first-time feature winner this year in the Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks. Volm and Check also both won Dave Lashua Memorial features for the second straight year.
Just as he did a week earlier, Seliger again took advantage of another driver’s slight misstep to get to the front. Leader Noah Gajewski slipped up in turns three and four on lap 13, briefly shooting up the track, and Seliger pounced to move past him and take the lead.
The Wausau driver would quickly pull away from there and finished a straightaway ahead of second-place Kevin Tessmer of Wausau in the 20-lap race. The three-time mini mods champion from 2016-18 became the first driver at the track this season to win three feature races.
Greg Blount finished third in the feature for his fifth top-three finish of the season. Gajewski settled for fourth after leading five laps during a side-by-side duel with early pacesetter John Lietz, who led the race’s first six laps but came in sixth.
Volm opened the evening setting fast time in the pure stocks for the fourth time in five weeks, and he closed it holding off Brian Schramm in yet another exciting race in a pure stock division that has been filled with them this year.
Volm took the lead from Kolton Guralski on lap 13 of the 25-lap feature, just one lap after Guralski had finally wrestled first away from early leader Brian Plisch. Volm would pull out to a six car-length lead and appeared in shape to cruise to the win until Schramm made a late charge.
The two-time defending pure stock champion suddenly sliced Volm’s lead to nothing with five laps to go, getting to the leader’s bumper. Schramm would try outside and inside against Volm, who said his car got loose at the end of the race, but he had just enough left to stave off Schramm and win by 1 1/2 car lengths at the finish.
Like Volm, Check has been strong this year in qualifying, setting fast time twice in the mini stock class. Often fighting traffic deep in the field, though, he had one top-three finish in four features before Thursday.
The Shantytown driver slipped inside Amanda Rowe for the lead on lap 5 of the 25-lap feature, and he would lead the rest of the way despite a number of capable cars behind him. Garret Strachota was only a few car lengths back most of the race and within striking distance, but Check continued to run smooth laps and navigated lapped traffic late for his second career feature win.
Steve Clark won the mini stock semi-feature, passing Brad Lecher late in the 15-lap race. Clark also added a win in the drivers bike race, part of Kids Night festivities which included bike races for kids up to 12 years of age.
Racing is back again next Thursday with another full racing program including the Auto Select Super Late Models, pure stocks, mini mods and mini stocks, plus fireworks at the conclusion of the evening. Fred Mueller Qualifying will begin at 6 p.m. and racing will follow at 7 p.m.
Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks
Fast Qualifier: Alex Volm, Mosinee, 15.221 sec.
First Heat: 1. Brian Plisch, Athens; 2. Kolton Guralski, Wausau; 3. Kole Ferge, Schofield; 4. Brandon Knoblock, Wausau; 5. Sierra Alexander, Three Lakes
Second Heat: 1. Jeff Spatz, Wausau; 2. Nick Grish, Wausau; 3. A. Volm; 4. Mitch Stankowski, Wausau; 5. Brian Schramm, Wausau
Feature: 1. A. Volm; 2. Schramm; 3. Stankowski; 4. Guralski; 5. K. Ferge; 6. Spatz; 7. Plisch; 8. Knoblock; 9. Grish; 10. Alexander
Snap-on Mini Mods
Fast Qualifier: Greg Blount, Marathon, 15.494 sec.
First Heat: 1. John Lietz, Mosinee; 2. Jim Lietz, Mosinee; 3. Shawn Kemnetz, Hancock; 4. Nate Call, Weston
Second Heat: 1. Gary Garand, Weston; 2. Blount; 3. George Seliger, Wausau; 4. Noah Gajewski, Marathon; 5. Kevin Tessmer, Wausau
Feature: 1. Seliger; 2. Tessmer; 3. Blount; 4. N. Gajewski; 5. Garand; 6. John Lietz; 7. Call; 8. Jim Lietz; 9. S. Kemnetz
Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks
Fast Time: Tyler Custer, Stratford, 16.648 sec.
First Heat: 1. Ashley Schoone, Gleason; 2. Steve Clark, Kronenwetter; 3. Makayla Last, Wausau; 4. Daniel Lashua, Wausau; 5. Clayton Phillips, Marathon; 6. Steve Koepke, Edgar; 7. Kendra Baumann, Wausau
Second Heat: 1. Chad Ferge, Weston; 2. Evan Pingel, Ringle; 3. Kyle Check, Shantytown; 4. Brad Lecher, Wausau; 5. Amanda Rowe, Mosinee; 6. Zach Budleski, Wausau; 7. Chris Boykins, Wausau
Third Heat: 1. Tom Lecher, Wausau; 2. Custer; 3. Garret Strachota, Wausau; 4. Ronnie Osborne, Fitchburg; 5. Eric Breitenfeldt, Wausau; 6. Karley Kemnetz, Hancock; 7. Jason Hopinka, Kronenwetter
Semi-Feature: 1. Clark; 2. B. Lecher; 3. Schoone; 4. Phillips; 5. Koepke; 6. Last; 7. Lashua
Feature: 1. Check; 2. Strachota; 3. Custer; 4. C. Ferge; 5. E. Breitenfeldt; 6. T. Lecher; 7. Osborne; 8. Pingel; 9. Clark; 10. Budleski; 11. K. Kemnetz; 12. Rowe; 13. B. Lecher; 14. Hopinka
Bike Races
Age 4 & under: 1. Natalie Bergo; 2. Bentley Seliger; 3. Jackson Stankowski
Age 5-6: 1. Lincoln Hader; 2. Drew Hoepner; 3. Ellie Smith
Age 7-9: 1. Drake Volm; 2. Logan Haase; 3. Grayson Feldmann
Age 10-12: 1. Mateo Romano; 2. Mitchel Block; 3. Rhys Tessmer
Drivers race: 1. Steve Clark; 2. Jim Lietz; 3. Kolton Guralski