WAUSAU, Wis. (July 22) – The 2020 Larry Detjens Memorial started a magical stretch for Eric Breitenfeldt two years ago, and the first night of the 2022 Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway showed that run isn’t over yet.
Breitenfeldt picked up his third feature win of the season in the Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks, taking the 20-lap main to cap the first night of the 42nd annual Detjens Memorial. The Wausau driver won on Detjens weekend for the second time in three years and claimed the feature for the third time in the last four race nights at State Park this year.
Breitenfeldt received the break he needed midway through the race, when a spin by Brad Lecher on lap 10 broke up the early stalemate between front row starters Joey Blaschka and Amanda Rowe. The two raced side-by-side for the first nine laps until Rowe took a slight lead just before the caution, but Blaschka chose to start behind Rowe on the restart, allowing Breitenfeldt to move up to the front row for a battle of No. 14s.
Breitenfeldt needed less than a lap to clear Rowe for the lead, and he would quickly check out on the field. He went on to win by a straightaway over Garret Strachota, with Rowe finishing third, Ashley Schoone fourth and Blaschka taking fifth.
The night kept Breitenfeldt and Strachota little more than a hair apart in the point standings, with Strachota one point ahead on the season as he goes for his third SPS mini stocks title while Breitenfeldt looks to repeat as champion in the class.
Ayrton Brockhouse’s quest for a first-ever feature win at State Park Speedway was completed Friday night, but not in the class where most of his racing at the track has taken place.
A regular in the Bandolero class the past three years and points leader in the class entering the night, the Shakopee, Minn., 12-year old concentrated instead on his Legends car for the evening and came away with his first feature win at State Park, winning the 20-lap feature.
Brockhouse was part of a swarm of cars that came from the back to the front quickly in the race’s early laps. He eventually took the lead on the outside of his father Tim Brockhouse on lap 9 and held off fellow Minnesota driver Colin Stocker in the later laps in the second appearance of the cars at State Park this season.
The Legends feature got off on the wrong foot with an uneven start at the front where third row inside starter Russ Weiler of Marshfield took the lead by the second turn. The mess came to a culmination at the end of the first lap as Michele Kreyer spun on the front stretch, Andrew Borntreger was collected and Tyler Ledbetter took the hardest hit, spinning nose into the cars and the outside wall and briefly getting airborne. All three drivers walked away but were done for the night.
Defending SPS Bandoleros champion Cohen Henze returned to Brickner Family Auto Group Victory Lane for the first time this year, winning an eventful 15-lap feature.
Henze took the lead from Paxton Benz of Wausau on lap 13 and went on to win with Lincoln Cain of Slinger coming in second and Jayden Johnson of Ixonia finishing third. Henze completed a charge from the tenth starting spot and from fourth with three laps remaining.
Henze was running in that position on the initial attempt at lap 13 under green when leader Penn Sauter spun between turns 3 and 4 after contact from Alex Hartwig. Both cars were sent to the back, giving Benz the lead and Henze second place. Henze chose to start in the second row behind Benz for the restart, but he still found an opening to make his move on the backstretch soon on the first lap back to green, taking the lead inside Benz and then surviving one more caution flag a lap later to win a last two-lap shootout.
The Detjens Memorial continues Saturday with a full schedule highlighted by the ARCA Midwest Tour Super Late Models and a 125-lap feature. Mini stocks, Bandoleros, Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks and Snap-on Mini Mods are also on hand, with Fred Mueller Qualifying beginning at 4:45 p.m. and racing starting at 6 p.m.
Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks
Fast Qualifier: Carson Phillips, Edgerton, 16.702 sec.
First Heat: 1. Kendra Baumann, Wausau; 2. Clayton Phillips, Marathon; 3. Justin Boykins, Wisconsin Rapids; 4. Jeremy Whitman, Milwaukee; 5. Randy Zieglmeier, Wausau; 6. Levi Wiesman, Merrill
Second Heat: 1. Zack Rogers, Wausau; 2. Luke Mikula, Wausau; 3. Amanda Rowe, Mosinee; 4. Tyler Muller, Sun Prairie; 5. Brad Lecher, Wausau; 6. Joey Blaschka, Wausau
Third Heat: 1. Ashley Schoone, Gleason; 2. Garret Strachota, Wausau; 3. Eric Breitenfeldt, Wausau; 4. Zach Budleski, Wausau; 5. Mark Schoone, Gleason; 6. Carson Phillips; 7. Tom Lecher, Wausau
Semi-Feature: 1. Rogers; 2. Boykins; 3. Baumann; 4. Zieglmeier; 5. Whitman; 6. Clayton Phillips; 7. Wiesman
Feature: 1. Breitenfeldt; 2. Strachota; 3. Rowe; 4. A. Schoone; 5. Blaschka; 6. Budleski; 7. Carson Phillips; 8. Mikula; 9. Muller; 10. Rogers; 11. T. Lecher; 12. B. Lecher; 13. Boykins; 14. M. Schoone
Bandoleros
Fast Qualifier: Alex Hartwig, Portage, 16.022 sec.
First Heat: 1. Mason Oleson, Mosinee; 2. Cole Kurth, Wisconsin Rapids; 3. Casie Brabant, Marshall; 4. Ace Oldenhoff, Lake Mills; 5. Mason Obermeyer, Union Grove; 6. M. Obermeyer, Union Grove, 7. Chris Flynn, Farmington, Minn.
Second Heat: 1. Axel Oldenhoff, Lake Mills; 2. Lincoln Johnson, Ixonia; 3. Bentley Thompson, West Salem; 4. Riley Smith, Cambridge; 5. Laci Stargardt, Neillsville; 6. Collin Murphy, Janesville; 7. Ayden Brockhouse, Shakopee, Minn.; 8. Harley Johnson, Ixonia
Third Heat: 1. Hartwig; 2. Cohen Henze, Juda; 3. Jayden Johnson, Ixonia; 4. Penn Sauter, DeForest; 5. Paxton Benz, Wausau; 6. Lincoln Cain, Slinger; 7. Danny Mann, Elko, Minn.; 8. Oliver Weinkauf, Merrill
Semi-Feature: 1. L. Johnson; 2. Ayden Brockhouse; 3. Mason Obermeyer; 4. Murphy; 5. Oleson; 6. Kurth; 7. Brabant; 8. Ace Oldenhoff; 9. Markus Obermeyer; 10. Flynn; 11. H. Johnson
Feature: 1. Henze; 2. Cain; 3. J. Johnson; 4. Mann; 5. Hartwig; 6. Axel Oldenhoff; 7. Sauter; 8. Thompson; 9. Stargardt; 10. L. Johnson; 11. Benz; 12. Smith; 13. Ayden Brockhouse; 14. Weinkauf
Legends
Fast Qualifier: Ayrton Brockhouse, Shakopee, Minn., 15.394 sec.
First Heat: 1. Andrew Borntreger, Elroy; 2. Russ Weiler, Marshfield; 3. Rose Borntreger, Elroy; 4. Michele Kreyer, Wisconsin Dells; 5. Justin Kimball, Prior Lake, Minn.
Second Heat: 1. Tyler Ledbetter, Stillwater, Minn.; 2. Colin Stocker, Farmington, Minn.; 3. Ayrton Brockhouse; 4. Tim Brockhouse, Shakopee, Minn.; 5. Levon Van Der Geest, Merrill; 6. Elliot Weiler, Marshfield
Feature: 1. Ayrton Brockhouse; 2. Stocker; 3. Van Der Geest; 4. E. Weiler; 5. T. Brockhouse; 6. R. Borntreger; 7. R. Weiler; 8. Gage Schmidt, Elk River, Minn.; 9. Kimball; 10. Kreyer; 11. A. Borntreger; 12. Ledbetter