Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, July 04, 2008
Carlson makes it a Late Model clean sweep
WEST SALEM, Wis. — Steve Carlson was red-hot in 2007, doing what no other driver in the history of the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway had ever done — he won a national short-track championship.
He was the undisputed king of short-track racing.
Carlson knew matching that type of season was next to impossible, and he told folks so. That, however,
doesn’t mean the burning desire to win races — and championships — is no longer a part of the West Salem, Wis., man’s mission. Quite the contrary.
Carlson was a man on a mission during a Thursday-night version of the Fairgrounds Speedway race program as he recorded a clean sweep. Carlson was the fast qualifier in the Kwik Trip Late Model Division, then went out and won his heat race in daring fashion. If that wasn’t enough, he sliced and diced his way through the 25-car Late Model feature field and won that race, too.
Not a bad night for a guy who is still the driver to beat.
“We were just so good last year. How do you top that when you set the (bar) up here,” said Carlson, reaching way above his head. “It is so hard to top that.”
Dutch Mill Trucking teammate Kevin Nuttleman, who has two feature wins of his own this year, couldn’t top Carlson. Nuttleman finished second, while Brent Kirchner — who led the first 16 laps — finished third. Rounding out the top five were Todd Korish and Shawn Pfaff.
“I had to drive the wheels off the thing just to finish second,” Nuttleman said. “In the middle of the corners, it was all over. I don’t know how many different lines I tried. It had to be as many as I had under my hat.”
Carlson had the right line, and is quickly proving that his 2008 season could be one to remember, too. In fact, if you throw last year out of the equation, this year’s performance has been pretty darn impressive. Carlson’s win Thursday night was his second feature win of the Fairgrounds Speedway season, and keeps him atop the points standings.
Throw in the fact that he is also the Late Model points leader at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (he’s won three of four features there), and he beat three Sprint Cup stars and the best short-track racers in the Midwest in a race at Madison International Speedway last week, and yes, this is a year to remember for Carlson, too.
“That Madison race, in addition to the Cup guys, you throw in who was there and that makes it even more impressive. The best short-track guys in the Midwest were there,” said Carlson, who earned $10,500 for his win at Madison. “I’ve run three touring (ASA Midwest Tour) races, and have two seconds and a fifth. So yeah, I’m happy with this year.”
Carlson piloted a rocket ship Thursday night as a Fairgrounds Speedway crowd estimated at 1,800 looked on. He challenged Jeff Baker in a heat race, but wasn’t able to get by him until the last turn of the last lap when he stuck his car to the outside groove like a fly on flypaper. He edged Baker by a few feet.
In the feature, there was little doubt he had the fastest car, and once he caught Kirchner, it took him just two laps to get by him.
“We touched in Turn 2,” said Carlson, pointing to the missing paint in the right rear corner of his No. 66 car. “We made contact and the nose on Brent’s car got pushed in a bit. After I got by him, I felt pretty good.”
SPORTSMAN: Brandon Berg of North Bend, Wis., topped Sparta’s Larry Bolster to win the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division feature race. Jes Tenner of Melrose finished third, while Nick Clements, the points leader entering the night, finished fourth. Rounding out the top five was West Salem’s Jimmy Gilster.
THUNDERSTOX: Steve Owen of West Salem won the United Auto Supply Thunderstox feature, while Brad Wartham of Sparta, Wis., took second. Tim Steinhoff finished third. Chris Weber of Cashton, Wis., and Keith Larson of La Crosse finished second and third, respectively, but were later disqualified in a post-race inspection when track technical officials ruled their cars had illegal camber (angle of the front tires).
Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
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