WAUSAU, Wis. (June 13) – Travis Volm’s quest for another Dave Lashua Memorial pure stocks win at State Park Speedway did not come through, but his night was still a success.
Driving cousin Alex Volm’s pure stock, Travis Volm raced up to third before exiting the race before the end of the Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks feature won by Brett Breitenfeldt of Wausau. Volm returned to race again later in the night, though, and won the 60-lap Auto Select Super Late Models pres. by C-Tech feature on what was also Agra Industries Night at the Rib Mountain quarter-mile.
Volm started on the outside pole and led all 60 laps of the super late model feature, including pulling away from Wausau’s Rayce Haase on the restart after a competition caution with 20 laps left. Volm picked up his first feature win of the season and his seventh super late model feature win in weekly racing at State Park.
Volm qualified seventh in the super late model field for the night, but in the feature outran polesitter Mark Mackesy of Wausau on the outside at the race’s start to take the early lead. He quickly pulled away from Chris Weinkauf of Merrill after a lap 3 restart and got out ahead of the field early until Haase chased him down by lap 20.
Haase followed Volm for the next 13 laps before giving a try for the lead on the outside on lap 34. Haase would drop back behind the leader by lap 36, though, and the two would hold those spots coming to the planned caution after 40 laps.
Defending State Park super late models champion Brock Heinrich of Wausau settled into third early in the race, while Justin Mondeik of Gleason and Wausau’s Jevin Guralski engaged in the most spirited battle on the track. Mondeik got by Guralski for fourth on lap 32, but Guralski got back to Mondeik and retook the position five laps later.
Haase had another chance at Volm on the lap 41 resumption, starting on the outside where his car has been strong at State Park, but Volm cleared Haase for first again on lap 42. Haase got back to Volm’s bumper on lap 50 but would get no closer, and Volm went on to win by four car lengths.
Heinrich finished third, while Mondeik came in fourth after contact with Guralski again on lap 55 that left Guralski and Jason Weinkauf of Merrill both smoking badly with sheet metal rubbing against fenders in the final laps. Weinkauf finished fifth with Guralski sixth.
Volm also raced in the Dave Lashua Memorial for the pure stocks, run for the eighth straight year in memory of a longtime SPS racer who passed away in 2017. Travis was racing in cousin Alex Volm’s No. 13 car, after Alex was sidelined after a non-racing hand injury during the week.
Breitenfeldt joined Travis (2017 and 2018) and Alex (2019, 2020 and 2021) as multi-time winners of the Lashua Memorial, winning the race for the second straight year. He made his way from the seventh starting spot into the top three by lap 5, and then waited while Dustin Ochodnicky of Ogema and Steve Schilling of Ringle raced side-by-side for the lead for the next five laps.
Schilling finally got free of Ochodnicky coming out of Turn 4 on lap 10, and it took Breitenfeldt less than a lap to take to the outside of Schilling. A feature winner at SPS earlier this season himself, Schilling did not relinquish the top spot easily, racing side-by-side until lap 15 when Breitenfeldt completed the pass on the outside.
Breitenfeldt led the rest of the way, though Dave Cabelka mounted a challenge in the final laps. Cabelka closed to within two car lengths by lap 20 and got near Breitenfeldt’s bumper in Turn 1 a couple times, but Breitenfeldt held on to win by a car length.
Nick Erickson Jr. of Mosinee came in third with Schilling fourth and Jeff Spatz of Wausau fifth. Joey Blaschka of Wausau and Spatz both won heat races.
Auto Select Super Late Models pres. by C-Tech
Fast Qualifier: Justin Mondeik, Gleason, 13.663 sec.
First Heat: 1. Travis Volm, Wausau; 2. Mark Mackesy, Wausau; 3. Jason Weinkauf, Merrill; 4. Chris Weinkauf, Merrill
Second Heat: 1. Rayce Haase, Wausau; 2. Jevin Guralski, Wausau; 3. Brock Heinrich, Wausau; 4. Mondeik
Feature: 1. Volm; 2. Haase; 3. Heinrich; 4. Mondeik; 5. J. Weinkauf; 6. J. Guralski; 7. C. Weinkauf; 8. Mackesy
Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks
Fast Qualifier: Nick Erickson Jr., Mosinee, 15.484 sec.
First Heat: 1. Joey Blaschka, Wausau; 2. Kyle Kluetz, Schofield; 3. Steve Schilling, Ringle; 4. Tim Nawrocki, Wausau; 5. Dustin Ochodnicky, Ogema
Second Heat: 1. Jeff Spatz, Wausau; 2. Dave Cabelka, Wausau; 3. Travis Volm, Wausau; 4. Erickson; 5. Brett Breitenfeldt, Wausau
Feature: 1. B. Breitenfeldt; 2. Cabelka; 3. Erickson; 4. Schilling; 5. Spatz; 6. Kluetz; 7. Blaschka; 8. Ochodnicky; 9. Volm
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