WEST SALEM, Wis. — While the Dutch Mill Trucking team of Steve Carlson, Kevin Nuttleman and Emily Sue Steck continues to make its presence known at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway each week, there are a number of other single-car teams that are making some noise.

Take Brent Kirchner’s team, for example.
The veteran driver from La Crosse won a Kwik Trip Late Model feature race on May 24, and has been consistently running near the front all season. Saturday night, Kirchner came charging up through the field and finished second to Nuttleman in the 25-lap main event. It was the third consecutive week in which Kirchner grabbed the runner-up spot.

“I had a three-year-old car, and sold it over the winter. I had this 10-year-old car, and I told the guys I wanted to run that car this season. I said, ‘Let’s go have some fun and see if we are up to the challenge.’”

So far, Kirchner and his team have been up to the challenge and then some. Kirchner is a solid fourth in the Late Model points race, and has been a threat to win every night out. And all of this is happening in a car that almost didn’t see the track this season.

“We kind of pieced it together over the winter,” Kirchner said. “I like working with older stuff and seeing if we can get it to work. It’s turned out to be a pretty good car.”

And with five weeks of the Late Model season left, Kirchner could find himself pushing for a top three spot in the points. With three second-place performances, two fourths and a fifth, he’s a good bet to be there right to the end. The Late Model regular season ends on Aug. 30 with two 50-lap feature races.

FINALLY BACK IN VICTORY LANE: Bangor’s Kevin Nuttleman won two

Kwik Trip Late Model features in May, but hasn’t won since. Until Saturday night, that is.

Nuttleman earned his first feature win since May 31 when he was able to move up to the front from his third-row starting spot, then hold off Brad Powell, then Brent Kirchner for the win.

INGLETT BREAKS THROUGH: La Crosse’s Matt Inglett picked a good time to win his first North Country Contractors Sportsman Division feature race of the season, With an extra $500 going to the winner courtesy of John Pettibone, Inglett was able to beat Jerimy Wagner across the line. Pettibone donated the money in memory of his son, Darus, a former Sportsman Division driver who was killed in a car accident in March.

Dan Linehan finished in third place, while Jes Tenner and Larry Bolster, Jr., rounded out the top five.

THUNDERSTOX FEATURE: Andy Moore of Tomah, Wis., won the first of two United Auto Supply Thunderstox feature races held Saturday night. It was Moore’s second feature win of the season. The race was a makeup for last week’s feature that was rained out. Harley Jankowski finished second, while Wayne Smith finished third. Well, he did on the track, but he didn’t get to keep the third-place finish as track technical officials ruled his car did not meet minimum weight requirements.

Smith’s troubles were not over, however, as he won the second feature race, but was disqualified once again. That allowed the second-place finisher on the track, Adam Moore, to move up and claim the win. It was the first feature win of the season for Adam Moore, who is the brother of Andy Moore.

Daniel Neary finished second, while Jake Krueger and Bill Inglett finished third and fourth, respectively.

HORNET FRENZY: Jason Stark won the first of two Features Sports Bar & Grill Hornets features. Stark beat Kim Strom across the line, but Strom was later disqualified for illegal camber (the angle of the front tires), leaving second place to Jeff Heaney.

Heath Weissenberger won the second Hornets feature, while Matt Moore took second.

HE SAID IT: Brad Powell, a regular in the Late Model field from 1995 to 2003, has raced a handful of times in each of the past several seasons. When asked about Steve Carlson’s dominance at the track the past two years, he had this to say: “Even the unbeatable are beatable.”

BANG, BANG? Rick Schermerhorn, who had the fast qualifying lap in the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division, never got a chance to see how fast he could go in the feature race. Schmerhorn’s car went bang with five laps left in a heat race. As Schermerhorn came barreling into Turns 3 and 4, smoke came pouring out from underneath from his silver No. 80 car. There were definitely fluids of some type on the track as safety officials had to pour rice hull ash on the asphalt before continuing to race.

WIN — AND — SPIN: Harley Jankowski won a United Auto Supply Thunderstox Division heat race, then took a double whammy when Charles Vian, Jr., and Jake Krueger sandwiched him after he crossed the finish line. The impact spun Jankowski, who didn’t appear too happy with his colleagues’ form of congratulating him, and spun his way back around and into Victory Lane.

SHE DID IT AGAIN: Holmen’s Emily Sue Steck, the only woman in the Kwik Trip Late Model field, was uncatchable Saturday night — at least during the qualifying session. Steck, a Winona State University student, turned a fast lap of 19.927 seconds, or an average speed of 98.535 mph around the five-eighth’s mile track. That was two ticks faster than Mike Carlson, who was second with a lap of 19.929 seconds (98.525 mph). It was the second time this season Steck has earned the fast time.

Steve Carlson, who has six fast times this season, had the third fastest lap on Saturday night (20.073 seconds, 97.818 mph).

SPORTSMAN SPEEDSTER: Rick Schermerhorn of Coon Valley, Wis., earned the fastest qualifying time in the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division when he stopped the clock at 22.133 seconds, or an average speed of 88.174 mph. It was the first fast time of the season for Schermerhorn, and it ended a five-week streak of fast times by Randy Humfeld. Humfeld had the fourth-best time of 31-car field (22.275 seconds, 88.148 mph).

West Salem’s Jimmy Gilster had the second-fastest time at 22.180 seconds, or 88.526 mph.

Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com

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