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The 10-time Kwik Trip Late Model track champion at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway would like to wheel his No. 4 car into Victory Lane, but he’s right where he typically is this time of year — on top of the heap.
Nuttleman’s lead got a little smaller as teammate Steve Carlson shaved seven points off it Saturday night by earning fast time, then grabbing his third feature win of the season. But Nuttleman, who started in the ninth position, was able to work his way up to third in the feature, therefore maintaining the top spot in the points.
“I didn’t think I had a chance to get Andy (Burgess),” said Nuttleman, who took third place away from Burgess on the last lap. “He got loose and I was able to drive around him just enough. That was pretty big. It’s all about being patient and finishing.”
Nuttleman, who has 97 career Late Model wins, would love to get Nos. 98, 99 and 100 this season, but winning the championship is what it is all about. And that certainly won’t be easy with the hottest guy at the track, Steve Carlson, running the way he is.
“Steve’s really fast right now,” Nuttleman said. “We’re going to keep working on this car and making it better.”
FIRST FOR EMILY SUE: Emily Sue Steck is making history at the Fairgrounds Speedway in her rookie season in the Kwik Trip Late Model Division. Track officials said that when Steck earned the fast qualifying time last week, she became the first woman to do so in the 21-year history of the Late Model Division.
Steck continued with her impressive season Saturday night, turning the fourth-fastest lap, and finishing sixth in the 25-lap feature. The Holmen, Wis., driver is running away with the rookie of the year chase. Steck has 263 points — which is seventh overall — and is 91 points ahead of the next rookie, Matthew Henderson.
SPORTSMAN ROOKIE: Troy Maier, who was involved in a scary seven-car wreck last week that sent his car skidding along the top of the wall, said he would be back this week. Maier certainly was back, and he held his lead in the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division rookie chase.
Maier has 165 points after seven weeks, which leaves him in 18th place overall, and 29 points ahead of the next closest rookie, Justin Berg, who is in 22nd place overall.
T-STOX ROOKIE: The tightest rookie battle is in the United Auto Supply Thunderstox Division as Keith Larson is in 13th place with 391 points, which is just nine points ahead of Steve Rusch, who is 15th overall.
OUCH: Mike Carlson, a second-year Late Model driver from West Salem, Wis., had a tough Week 7 of the season. Mike Carlson was involved in a two-car accident on Lap 5 of the feature, and wound spinning and hitting the outside wall in Turn 3. Mike Carlson’s car suffered extensive rear-end damage, as well as damage to the right front.
MR. SPEED: Steve Carlson, a nine-time touring series champion who is making a serious run at a La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway track championship, earned six points during the Kwik Trip Late Model qualifying session. Carlson turned a lap of 19.877 seconds, or an average speed of 98.783 mph.
Carlson’s teammate, Nuttleman, had the second-fastest lap at 19.974 mph, or 98.303 mph. Nuttleman earned five points for his qualifying effort. Bangor, Wis., veteran Steve Holzhausen, who has come on strong in recent weeks, had the third-best time at 20.001. There were 25 drivers who ran qualifying laps in the Late Model Division Saturday night.
TOP SPORTSMAN: Jes Tenner of Melrose, Wis., topped a field of 29 cars which ran qualifying laps in the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division. Tenner stopped the clock at 22.060 seconds, or an average speed of 89.007 mph around the five-eighth’s mile oval asphalt track. Aaron Hass had the second fastest lap at 22.146 seconds, or 88.667 mph.
CAR COUNT: With 32 United Auto Supply Thunderstox Division drivers, 29 Sportsman and 25 Late Model, the total field for Week 7 of the 21-week regular season was 86.
Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403 or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
