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Horses, as in every driver — regardless of division — is trying to get extra horsepower and miles per hour out of their race car as the points races heat up at tracks throughout the region.
Whether it’s at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, Dells Raceway Park, Golden Sands Speedway in Plover or Tri-Oval Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., this is the time of the year when drivers start points racing. In other words, they know exactly where they are in the points standings as well as where the three or four drivers ahead and behind them are.
If I pass this guy, I pick up a couple of extra points and can move up a spot in the standings. For other drivers, it’s an all-out type of attitude because they have no where to go in the points but down.
So stay tuned, it’s crunch time at the track. And we’re not talking about bent metal.
CARLSON 9TH: West Salem’s Steve Carlson, who picked up his fifth Kwik Trip Late Model feature win of the season last week at the Fairgrounds Speedway, is ninth in this week’s Whelen All-American Series national points chase.
Carlson has 654 points, two points behind eighth-place Jamey Caudill of Southern National Speedway. Carlson, however, has the best points per race average (46.7) of any driver in the top 15. Points leader Woody Pikat, for example, has a points per race average of 39.1, but has 20 races completed to just 14 for Carlson.
CARLSON’S AVERAGE: Carlson, who took over the Kwik Trip Late Model points lead from teammate Kevin Nuttleman on Week 10 (June 16), has built a 45-point lead over Nuttleman with five weeks remaining in the regular season. The amazing part is that Carlson’s average finish in the feature is 2.36. Nuttleman’s average finish is 5.20.
HOLZHAUSEN WINS: Bangor’s Steve Holzhausen has come oh-so-close to winning several Wisconsin Challenge Series races over the years. On July 27, Holzhausen changed that.
Holzhausen grabbed the checkered flag in the McCain Foods Sands 100 at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wis., in a race that went green to checkered — yes, 100 laps without a caution. It was the first time in 56 Wisconsin Challenge Series races where there were no yellow flags.
Holzhausen was able to beat Kenny Richards and two-time WCS champion Mark Eswein across the line.
TOUGH RIDE: Sparta’s Tim Schendel was at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis last week for the Power Stroke Diesel 200 — a Craftsman Truck Series race — when he ran into some tough luck. Schendel started in the 34th spot, and finished 35th after a problem with the truck’s fuel pump knocked him out on Lap 30 of the 201-lap event. Schendel earned $7,750 for his effort.
Overall, Schendel has attempted to run in four Craftsman Truck Series races since 2004, and has made the field three times. His best finish is 22nd in Milwaukee in 2004. He has earned $23,705 while running 276 laps in the Craftsman Truck Series.
CAN’T CATCH ME: West Salem’s Danny Gilster, the runaway leader in the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division, has earned the fast qualifying time nine times this season in 16 race events. The last time Gilster did not earn the fast qualifying tme was June 9. He was second that night.
Overall, Gilster has four wins and 10 top-five finishes in 16 starts. He has not finished out of the top 10 all season.
BURGESS’ DROUGHT: Fall Creek, Wis., driver Andy Burgess has been a top driver in the Kwik Trip Late Model Division at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway for the last five years. What’s surprising, however, is that Burgess has not officially won a Late Model feature in more than a year. His last trip to Victory Lane was July 29, 2006, making it the longest span he has gone without a win in his career.
Burgess did win a Late Model feature on April 28, but was later disqualified in a post-race inspection when his car was determined to be 1/8 of an inch too low.
DELLS RACEWAY PARK: La Crosse’s Don “Thunder” Turner finished fifth in the Super Late Model 50-lap feature July 28 at Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Turner is fifth in the Super Late Model points with 245, 55 behind fourth-place Tom Lichtfield.
La Crosse’s Jim Carlson is sixth in the points standings with 229.
Prairie du Chien’s Mike Ehde is third in the Limited Late Model points with 316, three behind second-place Rich Schumann Jr. Speaking of Ehde, the veteran driver is in third place in the Big 8 Series points with 292. He trails Ricky Bilderback (346) and Jeremy Miller (358). The Big 8 Series is a traveling series featuring eight different tracks in the Midwest.
Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
