Shawano Speedway on Saturday honored legends Jerry “Medina” Smith and Cubby Lamberies as the newest members of the historic half-mile’s Hall of Fame.
On the track, Brett Swedberg scored his first win of the season in the Late Model feature, outdueling Tim Rothe, who led most of the race.
Travis VanStraten (IMCA Stock Car) won his fifth feature, and Josh Slewinski (Mighty Four) secured his third win of the year, leading from wire to wire.
Dancin’ Lance Arneson (IMCA Modified) and Jordan Bartz (IMCA Sport Mod) each won their second features of the year.
Late Models
Michael Stangl took off from his outside front row starting position and took the lead at the start of the Late Model feature. Rothe used the inside line to gain an advantage over Stangl and take the lead on the eighth lap of the race. At the half way point of the 20-lap race, rookie Kurt Moeller had passed Stangle to move into second and Swedberg had begun to pressure Stangl for third. The following lap though saw Moeller pull to pit lane with mechanical problems. On lap 12, Swedberg raced his way into second and began the arduous task of hunting down Rothe, who had built a comfortable lead.
Each ensuing lap saw Swedberg get closer to Rothe. The pair ran side by side on lap 19 with Rothe leading by a bumper at the start-finish line. Swedberg overtook Rothe entering turn one for the final time and held the advantage heading down the back stretch. Rothe got into the wall and spun, bringing out the yellow flag. Being that the leader had taken the white flag before the yellow came out, the race was scored complete. Swedberg picked up his first win of the year.
Tom Naeyeart had his best finish of the season, coming home in second. Troy Springborn took third. Ron Berna and Doug Blashe completed the top five.
IMCA Modifieds
The IMCA Modified feature saw 2011 rookie of the year Derek Kozak take the lead on lap one. As the race went on, Kozak continued to look strong and held the lead until lap nine when Eddie Muenster took over the lead. On lap 10, it was Muenster leading, Kozak in second and Troy Jerovetz running third.
Muenster, Jerovet and Arneson made it a three-way battle for the lead by lap 15. On lap 16 Arneson went around the outside of both Muenster and Jerovetz to take the lead. During the final laps of the race, Arneson ran his car right next to the wall through the turns while Jerovetz tried to catch him down low. Arneson, who started ninth, went on to win his second race of the season. Tenth-place starter Jerovetz held on to finish second. Muenster was third.
IMCA Stock Cars
Chris Loewenhagen led the first seven laps before VanStraten made a pass for the lead. VanStraten quickly pulled away while Loewenhagen and Gary Kasperek battled for second. On lap 15 Kasperek passed Loewenhagen to move to the runner-up spot. VanStraten was virtually untouchable in winning his fifth feature of the year. Kasperek had his best finish of the season in second. Loewenhagen also had his best showing, crossing the line in third.
IMCA Sport Mods
Third-generation racer Brock Saunders took the lead to start the IMCA Sport Mod feature. By lap five of the race, Saunders began to get pressure from Lucas Lamberies and Bartz. Lamberies, who was sporting a throwback body in honor of his Grandfather Cubby, who was inducted into the track’s Hall of Fame at intermission, was looking for his third win in a row.
With Saunders leading, Lamberies and Bartz battled side by side for second. On lap 12, Bartz went to the inside of Saunders as Lamberies went to the outside of Saunders, with Bartz coming out with the lead. Though Lamberies pressured Bartz for the remainder of the race, Bartz went on to win her second feature of the season. Lamberies had to settle for second. Joey Taycher passed Saunders to finish third.
Mighty Fours
Slewinski led wire to wire on the way to his third feature win of the season. Kasey Gross finished second. Matt Hatterman finished third.
This week
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will compete at the Shawano Speedway on Tuesday along with IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Mods. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.
Racing will continue at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with the 10th annual Bud Lynn Memorial night.
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