2010lasalle

Track Promoter
Joe Izzo
Office Non-Race Days (815) 223-6939
photos by Dan Simpson, the La Salle Speedway track photographer....click on thumbnails to enlarge

"Brandon Maciejewski (99) works the inside of Roger Rickels (59) and Mike Hughes (24) to win the UMP Street Stock Special event."

"Ray Bollinger (77) uses the low line to grab the lead from Eric Bruce (2) at La Salle Speedway."

Maciejewski a true speed racer

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Brandon Maciejewski didn’t fare so well in the Street Stock heat race pulling off the track and out of competition early. But the La Salle Speedway Fan Appreciation Night’s attendees got what they paid for and then some for the main event due in part to Maciejewski’s determination and perseverance.

Current point’s leader Roger Rickels and Mike McKinney earned the front row starting spots ahead of Jamie Balensiefen and Tim Provenzano for the feature grid. As the green flag dropped, it was clearly going to be one of the best races of the season for the speedsters. Rickels and McKinney started their racey battle for the point during Lap 5 with McKinney edging in front by a nose until caution collapsed the pace.

For three laps, McKinney worked hard at finding a groove to make the pass again but spun at the turn four tire relinquishing his top running spot. For the restart, it was Rickels, then fifth place starter Mike Hughes, Balensiefen, Steve Lewis, Kevin Snowberger, Wayne Hoffman and the hard charging Maciejewski. Maciejewski had already moved up from nineteenth into the seventh place running position.

On the twelfth circuit, Maciejewski forced a three wide battle for fourth until a yellow brought them back to a single file restart. The pack being nose to tail proved to be an opportunity for him as he quickly moved into third.

Rickels and Hughes were running side by side lap after lap with Rickels continuing to hold the point. A Lap 18 caution stopped their battle after Balensiefen left the track with smoke trailing.

One lap later, as Rickels and Hughes were door to door, Maciejewski took his power to the low side for a trio dance down the back stretch. After a little contact, it was Maciejewski running like Speed Racer taking control. Hughes maintained his run up high on the track but Maciejewski took over and pulled away for the final laps.

Hughes earned his impressive runner up finish ahead of Rickels. McKinney stayed heavy on the gas to finish with a strong fourth place after his restart at the tail of the eighth lap. Lewis crossed in fifth over Jake Miller, Aaron Near, Provenzano, Hoffman, Keith Lucas, and John Hogue.

Maciejewski was fast qualifier. Rickels and McKinney each won their heat races.

Twenty three UMP Late Models signed in for action with the points battle tight between Lil’ John Provenzano and his son Mike. Coming into the evening, Lil John held the lead by twenty points but after the strong performance by his son there might be a mere six points separating the pair. Four race nights are remaining for the chase with crowns on the line in nearly all the divisions.

For the Late Models, Mike Provenzano got the ball rolling with a qualifying time of 13.165 to earn the pole of the fast heat. The pole was a great place for him to start as he quickly jumped to the lead. He scored the win over an impressive run by Keith Piano. Rich Bell beat Mike Glynn at the line for third.

Pole sitter, John Piccatto, hit head first into the concrete barrier of turn three ending his run up front of the second heat contest. Jon Small went on to outpower his brother Jeff to win the heat. Jimmy Partipilo claimed third over Scott Schoener. Travis Mahoney took advantage of his front row inside start to claim the final heat race. Finishing behind the young gun was Ed Williams Sr., Aaron Schmidt and Todd Alexander.

Mike Provenzano rolled into the pole for the feature grid with Piano on the outside. Bell and Glynn were in row two ahead of Bill Weistart Jr. and Jason Jaggers. Mike Provenzano shot out quick with Bell falling in behind him. Bell quickly chose a high line to run with Mike down lower.

Mike wasted little time pulling away from the pack. Bell was holding on to a steady second place while Lil’ John and Piano were battling for third. By Lap 10, Mike was running the lowest line of the turns to pull away from the field. He looked unstoppable until a caution during Lap 22 positioned the pack directly behind him.

After the flagman signaled the green, Bell shot off to the outside rim and stole the lead. Mike Provenzano took second while his father Lil’ John managed to work his way into a third place finish after starting seventh. Jason Jaggers was third in front of Piano, Weistart, Glynn, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Mahoney, Aaron Schmidt, Ed Williams Sr., and Jim Partipilo.

The UMP Modified division boasted a stacked field with over 26 drivers showing up ready for action. Eric Bruce traveled the fastest lap and won the first heat race over Dale Lueth, Phil Line and Ray Bollinger. Nathan Balensiefen won heat two in front of Derrick Doerr, Tim Loomis, and Geno Hewitt. Former track champion Vince Cooper took home the checkers of the final heat race ahead of Jamie Lomax, Don Cole and Zack Odewalt.

Bruce and Lueth started the main on the front row and put on a great showing running the highside like a roller coaster ride. The two raced as far up the track as their right side tires would allow. Bruce held the point until Bollinger powered hard on the bottom of the track to steal the lead during the ninth lap out.

Bollinger, a former regular at La Salle, made a valiant return to the winners circle. Bruce took second in front of Balensiefen, Cooper, Lueth, Tom Duncan, Lomax, Steven Brooks, Phil Line, Travis Kohler, Charlie Harmon, Kevin Thompson and Tom Knippenberg.

Nineteen UMP 4 Cylinder Hornet cars were in attendance. JR Brown one of the division dominators held the point with Phil Burdette running in second. There have been many races where Burdette was runner up to Brown but it wasn’t happening again. Burdette powered up heavy on the gas to capture the victory stopping Brown’s winning streak.

Brown was runner up over Jerry Legner, DJ Kilanowski, Buddy Boyd, Gabe Schrader, Andrew Schwarko, Rick Zifko, Mark Sutton, and Bryce Garnhart.

Legner and Mudro won the heat races.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 7/17/10

UMP Late Models 23 Cars

Qualifying: Mike Provenzano 13.165

Heat 1: Mike Provenzano, Keith Piano, Rich Bell, Mike Glynn

Heat 2: Jon Small, Jeff Small, Jimmy Partipilo, Scott Schoener

Heat 3: Travis Mahoney, Ed Williams Sr., Aaron Schmidt, Todd Alexander

Feature: Rich Bell, Mike Provenzano, Lil’ John Provenzano, Jason Jaggers, Keith Piano, Billy Weistart Jr., Mike Glynn, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Travis Mahoney, Aaron Schmidt, Ed Williams Sr., Jimmy Partipilo, Joe Fratt, Todd Alexander, Jim Hagedorn, Lake Knutti, Eric Rebholz, Ed Williams Jr., Scott Langer

UMP Moldifieds 26 Cars

Qualifying: Eric Bruce 14.739

Heat 1: Eric Bruce, Dlae Lueth, Phil Line, Ray Bollinger

Heat 2: Nathan Balensiefen, Derrick Doerr, Tim Loomis, Geno Hewitt

Heat 3: Vince Cooper, Jamie Lomax, Don Cole, Jack Odewalt

Feature: Ray Bollinger, Eric Bruce, Nathan Balensiefen, Vince Cooper, Dale Lueth, Tom Duncan, Jamie Lomax, Steven Brooks, Phil Line, Travis Kohler, Charlie Harmon, Kevin Thompson, Tom Knippenberg, Don Cole, Tim Loomis, Matt Gremminger, Geno Hewitt, AJ Dixon, Zack Odewalt, Derrick Doerr

UMP Street Stock Special 20 Cars

Qualifying: Brandon Maciejewski 15.732

Heat 1: Roger Rickels, Jamie Balensiefen, Mike Hughes, Kevin Snowberger

Heat 2: Mike McKinney, Tim Provenzano, Justin Hamm, Aaron Near

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Mike Hughes, Roger Rickels, Mike McKinney, Steve Lewis, Jake Miller, Aaron Near, Tim Provenzano, Wayne Hoffman, Keith Lucas, John Hogue, Randy Lucas, Kevin Snowberger, Nick Sell, Justin Hamm, Jamie Balensiefen, Ande Bivens, Scott Schoener, Matt Henrichs

UMP 4 Cylinder Hornets 19 Cars

Heat 1: Jerry Legner, Shannon Mudro, Cory Jo West, Mark Sutton

Heat 2: JR Brown, Phil Burdette, Rick Zifko, DJ Kilanowski

Feature: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Jerry Legner, DJ Kilanowski, Buddy Boyd, Gabe Schrader, Andrew Schwarko, Rick Zifko, Mark Sutton, Bryce Garnhart, Asa Robart, Aaron Sutton, Dustin Forbes, Shannon Mudro, Cory Jo West, Butch Helfrich, Johsn Trahan, Josh Garnhart

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Maciejewski Rickels and Hughes Battle 7 17 10.jpg

Bollinger works the low side of Bruce 7 17 10.jpg

Photos submitted by Dan Simpson official track photographer.

"Kasey Kahne standing on the left in victory circle with Joey Saldana and crew after winning the $10,000 World of Outlaws Sprint Car event at La Salle July 8th."

"WoO Sprint Cars take center stage before a near capacity crowd at La Salle Speedway after a 6 year absence from the schedule."

"Joey Saldana (9) and Paul McMahan (91) are team mates and big competitors as they race for the lead in La Salle Speedway's July 8th WoO Sprint Car Series race."

"Kenny Wallace celebrates his victory with his crew after winning the UMP Modified feature at La Salle Speedway."

Kasey Kahne picks La Salle from You Tube videos; Saldana is King of the bullring

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Thursday was a night to remember at La Salle Speedway for Sprint Car enthusiasts and fans of Kasey Kahne. The mild mannered star of NASCAR was front and center for every minute of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series return to the Illinois Valley’s largest outdoor arena. Absent for just over six years, the fans came out in full force to show their undying support of the Greatest Show on Dirt.

Not only did fans get to rub elbows with the stars they were treated to a pyrotechnic show throughout the night along with some impressively fast speeds by the best Sprint Car talent in the country going nose to nose with a lot at stake.

To kick the evening off, Kahne took the microphone front and center in the grandstands to answer questions that members of the crowd had for him. One young fan stepped forward asking the star about a job.

“Does Kasey Kahne Racing have internships,” Breanna asked. Kahne’s response came out after a short pause while the crowd got a chuckle. “I don’t know, you will have to ask my sister she is in the trailer.”

It was apparent by most of his answers that family is a huge part of his racing endeavors. Throughout the night he mentioned his cousins, a brother and his sister all a part of his program who had a role either with one of his teams or working behind the scenes. A true ‘family affair’ for a racer who started out in dirt and tries to give back to his roots as much as he can. Kahne not only co-promoted the venue topper he is also the car owner for two of the WoO Sprint teams in attendance and fighting for the WoO points title.

Thirty eight year old racer Joey Saldana of Indiana drives the Budweiser #9, much like his boss Kahne, and ended his impressive run from a sixth place start into the victory circle. As the current WoO points leader, he had much to prove to this full house while his boss was watching intently.

“Hoping one of our cars can race well tonight,” Kahne told the crowd early.

Indeed not only did one race well, they both did and it just so happened to be against each other. Saldana took over the point during Lap 21 but not without a fight from team mate Paul McMahan who led the first 21 laps.

Twenty six racers from across the United States checked in for the big event. At least 15 states were represented with racers hailing from as far away as Texas, California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

Qualifying, heat races, the dash and the last chance showdown determined the field of twenty five. Pole sitter and fast time holder Jac Haudenschild was fast and furious but his wild ride down the back stretch during the twelfth lap proved too much as he tumbled in horrific fashion hitting the concrete barrier during his end over end crash. Sad considering he was not only fastest qualifier with a time of 10.712 but posted the fastest racing lap as well with a quick lap of 12.018.

Before the next lap could be scored, Sammy Swindell and Chad Kemenah made contact and again rides were flipping down the back stretch bringing out another red. Luckily all three drivers were able to exit their machines on their own. After the second vicious crash, teams were allowed to come out onto the track to make adjustments or refuel. It was a site not normally seen at the Speedway as crew members ran with their equipment to their respective drivers. After a restart of Lap 18, Saldana flew under McMahan but didn’t have enough power to over take him.

Following yet another restart, Saldana powered hard to pass him for the first and final time after a side by side battle that brought the huge crowd to their feet with a roar echoing loud. Prior to the main event, Saldana told the crowd he knew the racing would be good.

“Only been here a few times and never seen the track like this,” Saldana said. “It’s going to be pretty exciting.”

While the pair was battling at the helm, a hard charging Steve Kinser was making some noise as he worked up the pack from fifteenth into third. Kinser is the only La Salle two time WoO winner. Donny Schatz started eighth and managed to move forward into the fourth place run.

At the checkers, Saldana earned $10,000 for his A Main victory. The final finish order along with their starting spot and pay for the night are as follows: 1) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$10,000] 2) 91-Paul McMahan[1] [$5,500] 3) 11-Steve Kinser[15] [$3,200] 4) 15-Donny Schatz[8] [$2,800] 5) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] [$2,500] 6) 83-Tim Kaeding[18] [$2,300] 7) 7S-Jason Sides[13] [$2,200] 8) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$2,100] 9) 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] [$2,050] 10) 6-Danny Lasoski[9] [$2,000] 11) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman[12] [$1,500] 12) 17B-Bill Balog[22] [$1,200] 13) 10-Ricky Logan[11] [$1,100] 14) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[17] [$1,050] 15) 1M-Jim Moughan[24] [$1,000] 16) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[19] [$900] 17) 4X-Toni Lutar[21] [$800] 18) 2B-Ben Gregg[23] [$800] 19) 7-Craig Dollansky[5] [$800] 20) 1X-Randy Hannagan[10] [$800] 21) 1-Sammy Swindell[14] [$800] 22) 63-Chad Kemenah[16] [$800] 23) R19-Jac Haudenschild[2] [$800] 24) 22-Brian Ellenberger[20] [$800]

Jason Meyers finished eighth in the A Main but scored big with enough points to claim the Budweiser Crown championship. He also took home the first heat race victory over Saldana, Haudenschild, Wolfe, Sides and Kemenah.

Heat two victor was Schatz over Hannagan, Kraig Kinser, Swindell, Pittman and Hafertepe Jr. McMahan won the final heat in front of Lasoski, Dollansky, Kaeding, Steve Kinser and Brian Ellenberger.

During a pre-race one on one interview, I asked Kahne how he came to choose La Salle Speedway for his final leg of the Bud Showdown. He acknowledged he had never been to the track let alone raced on it but he had seen the action via the web which helped play a role in his decision.

“Well, it’s (Speedway) close to Chicago and I heard good things about it,” Kahne said. “I also watched the races posted on You Tube and really thought the racing was exciting it helped me decide to come here.”

When asked what he will do whenever he is no longer a NASCAR racer he answered without hesitation.

“I will probably race more,” Kahne told while laughing. “I really enjoy racing and I know I will race more.”

Another professional driver who still has a passion for dirt was not only in attendance but gave it his all in the UMP Modified class. Kenny Wallace aka the Herminator was more like a dominator winning both the heat and feature events in style. He was unstoppable in the feature event claiming victory over some stout competition.

Fourteen Modified’s competed with Jay Ledford winning the first heat race while Mike Spatola took second over Jeff Curl and Nathan Balensiefen. Wallace staked claim to the second win after a strong battle with Dale Lueth. Phil Line finished third in front of Ray Bollinger.

Wallace shot out of the blocks quick in their main event and was unstoppable carrying the field flag to flag from his outside front row start. Ledford took home second place with Curl, Bollinger, Lueth, Balensiefen, Line and Eric Bruce after him.

Like Kahne, Wallace has some deep roots and friends in dirt track racing and recognizes the importance of supporting the sport they started out in.

“Want to thank all you fans. We are here to help you guys,” Wallace told the crowd. “I could have been at my own track tonight in Macon but we came here to support Kasey, Tony (Stewart) and all you fans.”

Stewart owns the car driven by Steve Kinser who is also an icon in the sprint car world.

Saturday night the Speedway does not have any scheduled races but on July 17^th Fan Appreciation Night returns with a $5 adult admission.

Scoreboard Results

Qualifying

1) R19-Jac Haudenschild 10.712 2) 11K-Kraig Kinser 10.722 3) 91-Paul McMahan 10.775 4) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 10.783 5) 15-Donny Schatz 10.792 6) 7-Craig Dollansky 10.818 7) 14-Jason Meyers 10.877 8) 1X-Randy Hannagan 10.927 9) 10-Ricky Logan 10.954 10) 9-Joey Saldana 10.977 11) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman 10.980 12) 6-Danny Lasoski 10.984 13) 7S-Jason Sides 10.986 14) 1-Sammy Swindell 11.000 15) 11-Steve Kinser 11.007 16) 63-Chad Kemenah 11.010 17) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 11.028 18) 83-Tim Kaeding 11.031 19) 2B-Ben Gregg 11.042 20) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski 11.203 21) 22-Brian Ellenberger 11.216 22) 1M-Jim Moughan 11.272 23) 4X-Toni Lutar 11.303 24) 84-Ben Wagoner 11.463 25) 4K-Kris Spritz 11.489 26) 17B-Bill Balog -.---

Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 14-Jason Meyers[2] 2) 9-Joey Saldana[1] 3) R19-Jac Haudenschild[4] 4) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] 5) 7S-Jason Sides[5] 6) 63-Chad Kemenah[6] 7) 1M-Jim Moughan[8] 8) 2B-Ben Gregg[7] 9) 4K-Kris Spritz[9]

Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 15-Donny Schatz[3] 2) 1X-Randy Hannagan[2] 3) 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] 4) 1-Sammy Swindell[5] 5) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman[1] 6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[6] 7) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[7] 8) 4X-Toni Lutar[8] 9) 17B-Bill Balog[9]

Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 91-Paul McMahan[4] 2) 6-Danny Lasoski[1] 3) 7-Craig Dollansky[3] 4) 83-Tim Kaeding[6] 5) 11-Steve Kinser[5] 6) 22-Brian Ellenberger[7] 7) 84-Ben Wagoner[8] 8) 10-Ricky Logan[2]

Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)

1) 91-Paul McMahan[2] 2) R19-Jac Haudenschild[4] 3) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[1] 4) 11K-Kraig Kinser[3] 5) 7-Craig Dollansky[6] 6) 9-Joey Saldana[9] 7) 14-Jason Meyers[7] 8) 15-Donny Schatz[5] 9) 6-Danny Lasoski[10] 10) 1X-Randy Hannagan[8]

B-main (10 laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 10-Ricky Logan[1] [] 2) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[3] [] 3) 4X-Toni Lutar[5] [] 4) 17B-Bill Balog[8] [] 5) 2B-Ben Gregg[2] [] 6) 1M-Jim Moughan[4] [] 7) 4K-Kris Spritz[7] [$200] 8) 84-Ben Wagoner[6] [$180]

A-main (35 laps) - Starting Position [#]

1) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$10,000] 2) 91-Paul McMahan[1] [$5,500] 3) 11-Steve Kinser[15] [$3,200] 4) 15-Donny Schatz[8] [$2,800] 5) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] [$2,500] 6) 83-Tim Kaeding[18] [$2,300] 7) 7S-Jason Sides[13] [$2,200] 8) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$2,100] 9) 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] [$2,050] 10) 6-Danny Lasoski[9] [$2,000] 11) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman[12] [$1,500] 12) 17B-Bill Balog[22] [$1,200] 13) 10-Ricky Logan[11] [$1,100] 14) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[17] [$1,050] 15) 1M-Jim Moughan[24] [$1,000] 16) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[19] [$900] 17) 4X-Toni Lutar[21] [$800] 18) 2B-Ben Gregg[23] [$800] 19) 7-Craig Dollansky[5] [$800] 20) 1X-Randy Hannagan[10] [$800] 21) 1-Sammy Swindell[14] [$800] 22) 63-Chad Kemenah[16] [$800] 23) R19-Jac Haudenschild[2] [$800] 24) 22-Brian Ellenberger[20] [$800]

Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-21, Joey Saldana 22-35

KSE Hard Charger Award: Steve Kinser

Penske Power Position Award: Toni Lutar

Chizmark-Larson Hard Luck Award: Brian Ellenberger

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Photos attached submitted by official track photographer Dan Simpson.

"Lil' John Provenzano (58) still knows best as he schools son Mike (M27) on Saturday night at La Salle Speedway. The pair are now in a battle for the track championship in Lil' John's final year of racing."

"Mike McKinney (96M) and Brandon Maciejewski (99) battle until Mike's contact with a lapped ride ended his run."

Father knows best; Lil’ John scores again

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Two time La Salle Speedway track champion, John Provenzano, led all twenty five laps to claim the UMP Late Model feature victory over his son Mike. The younger Provenzano is the defending track champion but father still knows best.

The forty year veteran took over the points lead from his son last Saturday night and just keeps staying a step ahead of him. From last weeks efforts he was fourteen points ahead and tallied another 6 point advantage.

To start the night off right, Lil’ John traveled the fasted qualifying lap with a time of 13.518 over Mike’s 13.662.

Next up, Lil’ John lined up for the division’s first heat on the inside of Mike and shot to a quick lead. He was unstoppable all the way to the line leaving Mike second in front of Keith Piano and Rich Bell. Ed Williams Jr. rallied to pull away from the pack in the second heat beating Aaron Schmidt, Tim Loomis and Lake Knutti.

Lil’ John and Mike were again positioned side by side on the front row of the grid for the main event. Piano and Bell took their positions behind the pair. Fifteen of the seventeen cars who signed in were race ready for the green signal. Lil’ John shot to an early lead with Mike staying close on his bumper. The duo ran nose to tail in the same groove on the inside trek.

During the first lap, Mike Glynn hit the brakes to avoid two cars searching for their racing lines and killed the engine in between turns three and four. It didn’t take Lil’ John long to put his power plant on the lowest line to set the pace again. Mike was running right on his tail leaving Piano and Bell to vie for the third place running position with Scott Schmitt and Bill Weistart Jr. battling for fifth.

Contact between the nose of Mike’s ride and the tail of Lil’ John’s nearly sent his dad sideways. The pair continued to make a challenge for the bottom line when a lapped ride held his ground where they wanted to run. With two laps remaining, Lil’ John helped Lake Knutti out of the way and brought out a caution for the ten cars still competing.

The showdown between father and son proved to be father claiming the win. Mike took home the second in front of Bell, Schmitt, Piano, Weistart, Jeff Small, Knutti and Schmidt.

Nathan Balensiefen came out on top for every event in the UMP Modified division. First up, he qualified the fastest lap with a time of 14.925. He then took the checkers of the first heat solo, from the pole, ahead of Brad Stewart, Phil Line, and Travis Kohler. Vince Cooper flew to victory lane solo also from the pole over Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam and Jeramie Johnson. JD Lomax won the final heat leading flag to flag from the front row inside over Tim Loomis, Don Cole and Allen Line.

Twenty Modifieds made the call for their feature race with Balensiefen as the polesitter next to Stewart. He took an early lead sailing through the circuits without any close competition. The real race was from second on back.

Lap after lap, the front runners of Stewart, Dale Lueth, Lomax and Cooper diced it up changing their running order often as they battled three and four wide at times. Lueth and Travis Kohler were the brave challengers taking their power to the high line while everyone else stayed down the track. Their powerful run up top seemed to be paying dividends as they moved their way into the runner up positions. A very exciting race was happening way behind the leader until contact was made between Lueth and Kohler leaving Kohler stopped on the track.

Balensiefen was brought back to the field leading Phil Line, Lueth and Lomax for the final restart. Lueth chose to run back at the top and nearly took second away from Line. Lomax finished fourth over Cooper, Stewart, Harmon, Joe Adam, Steve Brooks, and Derrick Doerr.

Brandon Maciejewski continued his winning ways in the Street Stock division. He has proved he is a force to reckon with staking claim on the trophy might just be his new past time.

Saturday night he started front row outside of another young racer, Mike McKinney. They raced side by side to start the events main feature. McKinney managed to race his way up to the door of Maciejewski several times until colliding with a lapped ride. The contact extinguished his chances at victory and sent him pitside for a new tire.

Maciejewski took the win over Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Randy Lucas, Steve Lewis, Aaron Near, McKinney, Nick Sell, Steve Schweimlein and Ande Bivens.

McKinney took the first heat challenge ahead of Provenzano, Balensiefen, and Mike Hughes. Maciejewski scored heat two in front of Rickels, Sell, and Lucas.

JR Brown has been making a name for himself in the 4 Cylinder Hornet class this season. He has managed to come out on top as the checkers fall for the third week in a row. He followed Phil Burdette for nearly the entire race until creating a side by side battle in the front.

The leaders were running at full throttle when Brown made contact with the leader sending him into a near spin. Brown then stole the head of the pack status claiming the trophy. Burdette collected second over Jerry Legner, Andrew Schwarko, Aaron Sutton, Brandon Mallery, Marqus Hoover, Aaron Sutton, #11B, Cory Jo West, Rick Wagner, Josh Trahan, and DJ Kilanowski.

Burdette beat Brown in their only heat. Wagner got third over Legner.

This coming Thursday night, the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will return to the Speedway after a six year hiatus. Nascar star Kasey Kahne will be co-promoting the Showdown of the Bud Crown venue topper. The Modifieds will also be running.

The July 8^th event will kick off with Kahne meeting fans who purchased advance tickets, which are $29 for adults and $9 for children. Adult tickets increase to $35 on the day of the show. Tickets can be purchased by going to www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets or by phone during regular business hours at 704-795-7223.

The weekly racing program will return on July 17^th with the $5 Fan Appreciation Night.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results

UMP Late Models – 17 Cars

Qualifying: John Provenzano 13.518

Heat #1: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Provenzano, Keith Piano, Rich Bell

Heat #2: Ed Williams Jr., Aaron Schmidt, Tim Loomis, Lake Knutti

Feature: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Provenzano, Rich Bell, Scott Schmitt, Keith Piano, Bill Weistart Jr., Jeff Small, Lake Knutti, Aaron Schmidt, Travis Mahoney, Mike Glynn, Matt Ramer, Randy Manos, John Piccatto, Ed Williams Jr.

UMP Modifieds – 20 Cars

Qualifying: Nathan Balensiefen 14.925

Heat #1: Nathan Balensiefen, Brad Stewart, Phil Line, Travis Kohler

Heat #2: Vince Cooper, Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam, Jeramie Johnson

Heat #3: JD Lomax, Tim Loomis, Don Cole, Allen Line

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Phil Line, Dale Lueth, JD Lomax, Vince Cooper, Brad Stewart, Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam, Steve Brooks, Derrick Doerr, Jeramie Johnson, Allen Line, Travis Kohler, Tim Loomis, Don Cole, Geno Hewitt, Matthew Gremminger, Scott Hauge, Ken Fischer, Daniel Carson

UMP Street Stocks – 19 Cars

Heat #1: Mike McKinney, Tim Provenzano, Jamie Balensiefen, Mike Hughes

Heat #2: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Nick Sell, Randy Lucas

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Randy Lucas, Steve Lewis, Aaron Near, Mike McKinney, Nick Sell, Steve Schwemlein, Ande Bivens, Matt Hinrichs, Mike McQuilke, Matt Ramer, Alex Thomas, Chris Kilpatrick, John Houge

UMP Hornets – 11 Cars

Heat #1: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Rick Wagner, Jerry Legner

Feature: JR Brown, Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, Andrew Schwarko, Aaron Sutton, Brandon Mallery, Marqus Hoorer, Aaron Sutton, #11B, Cory Jo West, Rick Wagner, Josh Trahan, DJ Kilanowski

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Lil John and Mike battle July 3 2010.jpg

McKinney and Majiewski July 3.jpg

La Salle, IL – The superstitions about the moon's affect has existed for centuries. Whenever a full moon is glowing in the night sky, the lunar effect is blamed for all that goes awry. Everyone knows it's not safe to go out on a bright moonlit night (despite the good lighting) for fear of werewolves, or, even worse. Well that is how the story goes anyway.

The full moon illuminated the high banks of the La Salle Speedway Saturday night and left many wondering if that was cause to a crazy night at the races. With recent rains most of us have noticed the soil is saturated and the rain has no where left to go leaving massive puddles in areas we don’t normally see filled. Things are no different with the clay oval. As track preparers worked the surface the moisture was coming back up to the top creating a challenge for those who were trying to prep the speed arena. After a delayed start, it seemed as though things just were all out of whack in nearly every division.

Due to the delay, the Late Model and Modified qualifying had to be replaced with heat positions based on the draw system and the feature lineup determined straight up by the heat finishes.

Rich Bell started the first heat contest on the front row and wasted little time leaving the competition in the dust. Lil’ John Provenzano scored second ahead of Joe Fratt and Keith Piano. Wisconsin driver Bret Sievert also started on the front row outside and pulled away from the competition to win the second heat. Bill Rezutek took second in front of Bill Weistart Jr. and Mike Provenzano.

Bell’s victory earned him the coveted feature pole position next to Sievert. Behind the pair, was last week’s winner Lil’ John Provenzano and then Rezutek. Sievert shot to the lead early with Bell on his tail. It was a rocky start with several cautions slowing the action from the get go. During Lap 5, the corner between turns one and two played host to a six car pile up.

At the restart, Bell was put in the lead and started to pull away from the competition evening taking the action three wide as he lapped rides in the rear of the field. Sievert and Lil’ John found themselves side by side with Sievert always able to keep his nose in second.

Bell won the twenty five lapper with Sievert continuing in a strong second ahead of Mike Provenzano who beat his father Lil’ John to the line for third. Mike Glynn charged his way into the fifth place finish from a fourteenth start on the grid. Keith Piano finished sixth ahead of Rezutek, Mark Larson, John Piccatto and Randy Manos.

Twenty four Modified drivers signed in but either the full moon was to blame or it was just a bad night for the class. The corner between turns one and two seemed cursed as lap after lap cars spun in the corner bringing the caution flag out more than green.

The scoreboard was inoperable due to being struck several times by the recent bad storms so counting the laps during the Modified feature was a challenge to say the least. It didn’t seem as though the field of twenty four could travel more than one lap under the fast pace they are capable of without a stopped ride somewhere on the high banks. That somewhere was almost always in the corner of turns one and two. The event turned into a marathon of sorts taking around thirty five minutes until track officials called the event before all scheduled laps could be scored. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem as though there were even ten laps in the books when they dropped the checkers.

Vince Cooper took the victory for the second week in a row in solo action. He was out front without contest leaving Phil Line in the runner up position with AJ May, Kevin Thompson, Tim Loomis, Dale Lueth, Steve Brooks, Dale Manson, Matt Gremminger, Derrick Doerr and Jeramie Johnson crossing the line after him.

Line won the first heat over Marty Thompson, Kevin Thompson and Tom Knippenberg. Cooper claimed the second heat without another ride close by beating Justin McCoy, Loomis and Brad Stewart. Justin Munson won the final heat race ahead of a hard fought battle between May and Lueth who were side by side at the line. May narrowly held the second spot followed by Lueth and Brooks.

Brandon Maciejewski dominated the Street Stock division claiming both their heat and feature races. His ability to avoid contact and sail thru lapped traffic enabled him to pull away from the competition in their feature event.

Like the Mods the corner of turns one and two was continuously hosting a stalled machine. Seventeen started but only eight were still rolling at the conclusion.

Rickels took home second from a third place start over Randy Lucas, Mike McKinney, Orin Naramora, Steve Schwemlein, Wayne Huffman and Ande Bivens.

Maciejewski beat Rickels to the line for the first heat with Kevin Snowberger taking third in front of Huffman. Jake Miller won the second preliminary race in front of Steve Lewis and Mike Hughes.

Twelve cars were on tap for the 4 Cylinder Hornets. The best feature racing of the night may have come from this class of drivers. With action on the track more than yellows it was a nice ending to a long night.

Phil Burdette took the pole with JR Brown on the outside. By the third lap, Burdette looked strong leading but fell off the pace and out of competition. Two laps later, a four wide battle for the point was underway between Jerry Legner, Brown, DJ Kilanowski and Rick Wagner. Legner won that battle but Brown was still knocking on his door.

With two laps to go, Brown stole the lead as the leaders raced hard with lapped traffic in front of them. Legner took second ahead of Wagner, Kilanowski, Rick Zifko, DenisPollak, Dustin Forbes and #13R.

Burdette beat Kilanowski to the line for the first heat win while Josh Trahan took third over Forbes. Brown claimed the second heat with Legner, Zifko and Wagner behind him.

The evenings feature winners also claimed their heat contests in every division.

Next Saturday night, the La Salle Speedway will host their annual spectacular fireworks display for the Fourth of July along with the regular racing program.

Feature: Rich Bell, Bret Sievert, Mike Provenzano, John Provenzano, Mike Glynn, Keith Piano, Bill Rezutek, Mark Larson, John Piccatto, Randy Manos, Bill Weistart Jr., Joe Fratt, Jon Small, Todd Alexander, Ed Williams Jr., Aaron Schmidt, Jeff Small, Travis Mahoney

Feature: Vince Cooper, Phil Line, AJ May, Kevin Thompson, Tim Loomis, Dale Lueth, Steve Brooks, Dale Manson, Matt Gremminger, Derrick Doerr, Jeramie Johnson, Mike Marden, Ken Fischer, Brad Stewart, Tom Knippenberg, Justin Manson, Scott Hauge, Geno Hewitt, Don Cole, Chadd Gray, Marty Thompson, AJ Dixon, Justin McCoy, Joe Adam

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Randy Lucas, Mike McKinney, Orin Naramoca, Steve Schwemlein, Wayne Huffman, Ande Bivens, Tim Provenzano, Duane Peterson, Mike Hughes, Nick Sell, Wesley Elkins, Steve Lewis, John Hogue, Kevin Snowberger, Jake Miller

Feature: JR Brown, Jerry Legner, Rick Wagner, DJ Kilanowski, Rick Zifko, Dennis Pollak, Dustin Forbes, 13R, Aaron Sutton, Josh Trahan, Asa Robart, Phil Burdette

Lil’ John is top Dad; Brown claims special for 18^th Anniversary of La Salle Speedway

La Salle, IL – Lil’ John Provenzano has been racing for forty years. Saturday night the experience and knowledge he has gained led him to victory lane for his last Father’s Day weekend race. The Jeff Perry Fan Appreciation Night marked the eighteenth anniversary of the Izzo ownership of La Salle Speedway.

On May 29^th, Lil’ John had made a mistake with tires that cost him the feature win to his son Mike but that would not be the case this time.

John took his favored starting position on the pole next Rich Bell with Keith Piano and Bill Weistart Jr. behind the duo. It didn’t take long for Bell, to take the point. A great battle was underway between Lil’ John and Bell as soon as the green flag dropped. Unfortunately, the early laps were caution plagued but once the action stayed green, it was door to door competition. The leaders battled back and forth with Bell giving all he had.

“I knew he (Bell) was going to overheat his tires,” John Provenzano told. “I did that a couple of weeks ago when I was racing Mike (Provenzano) for the lead. So I knew it was going to happen.”

By Lap 7, John charged his way back into the lead leaving Bell to fend off Piano and Scott Schmitt. John started pulling away from the fast pack with Piano second over Schmitt. Glynn and Bell drove a couple of circuits side by side. With about seven laps to go, Eric Rebholz dove deep into the infield but decided to return to action in between turns three and four. Unfortunately, he entered into a path of action that was already three wide. His slower machine didn’t stand a chance as he was bounced between them as they flew through the corner.

Contact was made with him and Bell first but the contact with Schmitt and Weistart stopped the action. The yellow forced some of the front runners to the tail of the lead lap for the single file restart.

Once the flagman dropped the green, it was John Provenzano leading the way with Piano in second. Glynn’s ride seemed to be coming alive during the last part of the race after a sixth place start. He looked good in the turns but didn’t have enough to take over second on the backstretch. With two laps remaining, Glynn stole the runner up spot in his hunt for the lead.

Lil’ John captured the victory over Glynn, Piano, Mike Provenzano, Bell, John Piccatto, Schmitt, Travis Mahoney, Weistart, Joe Fratt, and Aaron Schmidt.

At the end of the season, John is putting away his helmet and retiring from a hobby that has spanned over four decades. But in typical Lil’ John style he is putting forth his every effort to finish strong. Going into the night, he was just four points behind son Mike but with his winning ways he took over the points lead.

“Finishing second to Lil’ John is not a bad place to be,” Glynn said. “My car was coming on but quite honestly beating him isn’t easy on your best night.”

John also won his heat contest over Bell, Piano and Weistart. Todd Alexander took home the second heat victory ahead of Joe Fratt, Mahoney, and Jeff Small. Rebholz claimed heat three with Matt Ramer, Nick Fratt and Schmidt crossing the line after him.

Seventeen 4 Cylinder Hornet drivers rolled onto the high banks for their 25-lapper special. A first lap wreck left many rides out of contention. By the fifth lap out, JR Brown had charged his way to the front from a sixth place start.

At times the Princeton driver was pulling away from Phil Burdette and Nick Clubb while Rick Zifko and Jon Scott were racing each other side by side for fourth.

As the leaders rounded the last turn, it was Brown without a challenger as Nick Clubb narrowly stole the second place finish at the line. Burdette collected third in front of Andrew Schwarko, Marcus Hoover, and Josh Trahan. Zifko was sending smoke from his ride during the final laps but managed to finish seventh over Aaron Sutton and Jon Scott.

Modified standout Vince Cooper gave his dad a special birthday and early Father’s Day present by winning his heat and feature events while adding to his current points lead.

Cooper and Dale Lueth took the front row of the grid over Phil Line and Nathan Balensiefen for their main event.

Once the flag dropped, it was Cooper and Lueth side by side with Lueth taking a higher line. By the end of the third lap, Balensiefen had managed to move into second.

Cooper outran the field on the inside trek until the checkers. His effort sent him to victory lane for a birthday celebration with his father Larry.

Balensiefen finished second with Phil Line third ahead of Lueth, Travis Kohler, Brad Stewart, Justin McCoy, Joe Adam, Tim Loomis, Shawn Scripter, Geno Hewitt, Mike Marden and Allen Line.

Cooper’s heat win was in front of Lueth, Phil Line and Balensiefen. Stewart took the second heat checker with Chad Osterhoff, Loomis and Hewitt trailing. Charlie Harmon beat Scripter, Tom Knippenberg and Marden.

Steve Lewis swept the Street Stock division events for the evening. He won his heat contest in front of Brandon Maciejewski, Jamie Balensiefen and Nick Sell. Mike Hughes won the second heat ahead of Roger Rickels, Randy Lucas and Jay Mesarchik.

Lewis started on the point with Hughes next to him for their main event. After several restarts Hughes and Lewis were side by side when Hughes had to leave the field with a flat tire.

Lewis checked out to win over his nineteen competitors. Balensiefen took second ahead of Kevin Snowberger, Rickels, Jake Miller, Lucas, Mike McKinney, Sell and Tim Provenzano.

“Saturday night was the anniversary of our eighteenth year at La Salle,” owner Kerry Izzo acknowledged during an interview on Sunday. “I have to say I have really enjoyed watching our drivers evolve through the years. So many of them have been with us since we opened our doors and now their children are racing as well It truly is a family sport.”

Feature: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Glynn, Keith Piano, Mike Provenzano, Rich Bell, John Piccatto, Scott Schmitt, Travis Mahoney, Billy Weistart, Joe Fratt, Aaron Schmidt, Todd Alexander, Randy Manos, Eric Rebholz, Matt Ramer, Nick Fratt, Jeff Small, Jim Partipilo, Scott Langer, Jon Small, Lake Knutti

Feature: Vince Cooper, Nathan Balensiefen, Phil Line, Dale Lueth, Travis Kohler, Brad Stewart, Justin McCoy, Joe Adam, Tim Loomis, Shawn Scripter, Geno Hewitt, Mike Marden, Allen Line, Tom Knippenberg, Don Cole, Ken Fischer, DJ Werkmeister, Charlie Harmon, Chad Osterhoff, Scott Hauge, AJ Dixon

Feature: Steve Lewis, Jamie Balensiefen, Kevin Snowberger, Roger Rickels, Jake Miller, Randy Lucas, Mike McKinney, Nick Sell, Tim Provenzano, Jay Mesarchik, Mike Hughes, Andy Biven, Justin Hamms, Steve Schwemlein, Matt Hinrich, Chris Kilpatrick, Tom Alexander, Danny Allen, John Hogue, Brandon Maciejewski

Feature: JR Brown, Nick Clubb, Phil Burdette, Andrew Schwarko, Marcus Hoover, Josh Tranan, Rick Zifko, Aaron Sutton, John Scott, Brandon Mallery, Jerry Legner, Paul Smith, DJ Kilanowski, Eric Grouch, Harold Reiter, Shannon Mudro, Cameron Poci

Mike Provenzano uses dads bag of tricks in showdown; Balensiefen sweeps the Mods

La Salle, IL – Saturday night at La Salle Speedway it was a father and son duel. Veteran racer Lil’ John Provenzano has been a familiar sight on dirt tracks for forty years. His son on the other hand may not have raced as many years but he has been there watching his father since he was very little. Mike Provenzano has obviously been taking notes on his fathers driving style.

Twenty-four UMP Late Models took their spots on the starting grid with Keith Piano and Lil’ John on the front row ahead of Rich Bell and Mike Provenzano. Scott Schmitt and John Piccatto were partners in the third row.

Once the green flag dropped, Lil’ John fired up to the point but a caution for Nick Fratt slowed the pace. During the first lap, another yellow was thrown after Schmitt skimmed the infield tire of turn three sending his ride into the wrong direction. Lake Knutti had nowhere to go but slid slightly into him.

Schmitt went to the tail of the pack but it wasn’t long before he was powering his way back into a top ten run. Due to several cautions in the rear of the field, the battle up front was not able to get rolling into the half way marker of the race when Mike Provenzano took the outside line of his dad putting the pressure on.

They battled side by side until Mike stole the lead during the eleventh circuit. Piano and Bell were too far back to make a challenge. The Provenzano patriarch was not giving in so easily. He took his machine to the outside line but just didn’t have enough to make it around his son.

A caution during Lap 14 brought the entire field back to a single file restart with Mike leading Lil’ John, Bell, Piano, Jimmy Partipilo, Schmitt and Piccatto. Once the flagman signaled green, it was the beginning of an exciting battle for the lead. For the next five laps, Lil’ John worked hard to bring his ride into a nose to nose battle taking back the point at the end of Lap 21.

Lapped traffic was the biggest player when Lil’ John got caught up behind slower traffic and Mike knew just where to power into the lead. With two laps left the younger Provenzano grabbed the helm for the final time leaving his father as the runner up.

“I know his (Lil’ John) tricks, Mike Provenzano admitted after the race. “I learned from the best.”

Bell took home third place while a side by side battle of Piano and Schmitt was still going for the last lap all the way to the line. Piano placed fourth in front of Schmitt, Partipilo, Piccatto, Matt Ramer, Ed Williams Jr., Aaron Schmidt, Joe Fratt, Jon Small, Travis Mahoney, Don Knippenberg, and Eric Rebholz.

Piano qualified the quickest lap with a time of 13.262. He also went on to win the fastest heat over Lil’ John, Bell and Mike Provenzano. Randy Manos won the second heat contest with Rebholz, Todd Alexander and Gary Hunt crossing the line after him. Schmidt took the third heat victory with Joe Fratt, Justin Rutledge and Lake Knutti in tow.

Nathan Balensiefen was at the top of his game and swept the twenty two UMP Modifieds. First up he traveled the fastest lap with a time of 14.585 over Travis Kohler’s quickest time of 14.773.

After passing Kohler during the fifth lap of the heat, Balensiefen powered away to the checkers. Vince Cooper stole second in the final lap ahead of Kohler and Dale Lueth. Phil Line flew solo to win the second preliminary race with Brad Stewart, Steven Brooks and Kevin Thompson behind him. Tom Knippenberg beat Tim Loomis, Mike Marden and Don Cole for the third and final heat.

Before the first lap could be recorded, second place starter Vince Cooper was off the pace and left the field. A caution of two cars in the tail stuck together like glue kept the infield officials and tow truck workers busy trying to pry them apart.

Once the action was well underway, it was Balensiefen pulling away from the pack leaving Lueth to fend off Stewart. During Lap 13, it was quite apparent that the fastest machine on the highbanks was driven by Balensiefen and he was unstoppable.

Balensiefen led the twenty lap main event flag to flag to return to victory lane. Line took second ahead of Stewart, Brooks, Kohler, Lueth, Joe Adam, Knippenberg, Derrick Doerr, Justin McCoy and Thompson.

A first lap caution in the UMP Street Stock feature event could have been made even worse after the field stayed heavy on the gas and racing long after the yellow light was illuminated for Justin Hamm. Hamm’s start didn’t go as planned when he found himself hanging upside down in his flipped over ride.

Last weeks winner, Brandon Maciejewski, was leading the pack with Mike Hughes in a lower line when he went too high and tagged the outside retaining wall. His journey to the top of the track cost him four running positions. Hughes led for a couple of laps until Roger Rickels took command.

Rickels won without a close competitor while Hughes had to fight for second against Maciejewski. Hughes managed to put his nose across the line second with Maciejewski third over Mike McKinney, Rick Koltveit, Nick Sell, Randy Lucas, and Kevin Snowberger.

Snowberger won the first heat race over Kolveit, Steve Lewis, and Sell. Maciejewski beat Hughes, Rickels, and McKinney in the second heat.

Allen Provenzano took the UMP Hornet division with a double play. He won both his heat and their main event. Starting on the pole of the feature he quickly moved into a strong lead with JR Brown trailing over Phil Burdette.

By Lap 8, Brown was putting on the pressure as they rounded the turn three corner. Brown moved into the lead but not before there was contact between the leaders. Provenzano put on a slick move to steal back the lead.

Brown finished second ahead of Burdette, Rick Zifko, Jerry Legner, John Provenzano, Freddy Thatcher, Shannon Mudro, Asa Robart and Andy Schwarko.

Feature: Mike Provenzano, Lil’ John Provenzano, Rich Bell, Keith Piano, Scott Schmitt, Jim Partipilo, John Piccatto, Matt Ramer, Ed Williams Jr., Aaron Schmidt, Joe Fratt, Jon Small, Travis Mahoney, Don Knippenberg, Eric Rebholz, Mike Locke, Lake Knutti, Jeff Small, Todd Alexander, Randy Manos, Gary Hunt, Nick Fratt, Mike Glynn, Scott Langer

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Phil Line, Brad Stewart, Steven Brooks, Travis Kohler, Dale Lueth, Joe Adam, Tom Knippenberg, Derrick Doerr, Justin McCoy, Kevin Thompson, Mike Marden, Tim Loomis, Jeramie Johnson, Don Cole, Allen Line, Wally Forsythe, Geno Hewitt, DJ Werkmeister, Vince Cooper, Paul Smith

Feature: Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Brandon Maciejewski, Mike McKinney, Rick Koltveit, Nick Sell, Randy Lucas, Kevin Snowberger, #02, Ande Bivens, Matt Ramer, John Hogue, Donny Allen, Jay Mesarchik, Danny Deutsch, Tim Provenzano, Steve Lewis, Jake Miller, Justin Hamm

Feature: Allen Provenzano, JR Brown, Phil Burdette, Rick Zifko, Jerry Legner, John Provenzano, Freddy Thatcher, Shannon Mudro, Asa Robart, Andy Schwarko

La Salle, IL – Scott Bloomquist is undeniably one of the most successful veterans in dirt track racing. When his famous number 0 machine arrives sporting his mantra “No Weak Links” it is without a doubt that the crowd will be filled with cheers and jeers for one of the most successful dirt track racers ever. Saturday night the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series Spring Shootout at La Salle Speedway was no different. As soon as the nose of his racecar rolled onto the high banks from the pit area, the record breaking crowd turned up the volume for the forty-six year old Tennessean.

Forty eight drivers signed in for the 50 lapper that topped the venue but only one winner would take home the larger than life trophy and the $10,000 payday. That winner would turn out to be none other than one driving his self manufactured chassis who had to deny his own teammate a fourth straight victory.

Bloomquist started the A Main on the outside of pole sitter Mark Burgtorf. He wasted little time after the green was thrown to set the pace for the field of 25 of the best racers in the country. Doug Drown and Mike Marlar were in row two ahead of defending track champion Mike Provenzano and Ray Cook.

Third place starter, Drown worked the low side until passing Burgtorf after a side by side battle during the ninth circuit. Two laps later, Bloomquist was already deep in lapped traffic leaving Drown to dodge them with him if he wanted to keep him in his sights. During Lap 18, Drown made his way up to the door of Bloomquist but didn’t have enough in his power plant to pass him.

The first caution came at the half way marker for Dale McDowell whose ride was facing the wall. For the restart, it was Bloomquist out front of the double file cars of Drown and Owens. The restart gave Owens the opportunity he needed to seek out the leader. By Lap 28, Bloomquist was outdistancing the competition but it didn’t take long for Owens to close the gap.

During Lap 32, Owens brought some major excitement when he hunted high and low to challenge his teammate. Three laps later he put his nose under the leader but unfortunately caution stole the “O Show”.

Owens was his worst nightmare as he moved from a seventh place start up to the drivers door of Bloomquist’s ride for numerous laps. With a mere six laps unscored, trouble in turn four shut him out again. Bloomquist is a master at his game not only when the green is flying but all the time.

“Under caution I drove around slow enough to keep the tires warm because I knew he (Owens) had a little harder tire on the left rear,” Bloomquist told during an interview at victory circle.

Bloomquist tamed the high banks with his victory and replaced Owens as the current series points leader.

Eleventh starting Earl Pearson Jr. was up and coming and positioned third for the final restart. He worked and worked until taking Owens on the final lap from the inside trek.

Matt Miller was fast and furious working his way up the pack from eighteenth to a fourth place finish in front of Drown, Dennis Erb Jr who started sixteenth, Don O’Neal, Cook, Tim Isenberg, John Blankenship, Jason Feger, Bub McCool, Burgtorf, Brad Neet, Chris Wall, Dan Schlieper, McDowell, Steve Casebolt, Eric Well and Marlar. Drivers Ryan Unzicker, Kevin Weaver, Jason Hughes, Mark Voigt and Provenzano did not finish.

As Bloomquist strolled through the pit area post race with his dog leading the way he was still sporting a smile from ear to ear. No sign of a hard fought battle from one of the best in the business.

“Pretty intense, wasn’t it,” he was quick to add before being asked about the victory. “I knew he was there because I saw his nose a couple of times.”

With the record breaking crowds and high car counts the evening was extended a little longer than track officials had hoped but one thing for certain the crowd got their moneys worth with great racing all night long.

“We want to thank Scott Bloomquist and Lucas Oil. We hope you enjoyed the 48 absolutely great Late Models here tonight,” track owner Kerry Izzo told the crowd. She repeated what her daughter Kerrianne had just proclaimed over the loud speaker. “We want to thank you all for coming.”

As the crowd dispersed the chattered turned back to “Bloomer” as so many have nicknamed him. Love him or not he knows how to the get the job done and proved it at LaSalle.

Burgtorf traveled the fastest qualifying lap with a time of 13.243. He also went on to win the first heat contest without a challenge. Finishing second was local talent Mike Provenzano, Hughes, and Unzicker. Drown won the second heat from the pole beating out Owens, Pearson, and Voigt. The third heat contest didn’t get off to such a great start for Jeep Van Wormer. Before a lap could be scored he found his ride on its lid off of the second turn. The heat winner was Bloomquist from the pole uncontested over Cook, Isenberg, and Blankenship. The final heat winner was Marlar in front of Feger, McDowell, and Erb. The A Consi was won by McCool over Wall and Weaver. The B Consi winner was Miller in front of O’Neal and Neat.

Winnings: Bloomquist $10,000, Pearson $5,000, Owens, $3,000, Miller $2,500, Drown $2,000, Erb $1,500, O’Neal $1,400, Cook $1,300, Isenberg $1,200, Blankenship $1,100, Feger $1,000, McCool $950, Burgtorf $900, Neat $875, Wall $850, Schlieper $825, McDowell $800, Casebolt $775, Wells $750, Marlar $700.

Twenty nine UMP Modifieds signed up for action with a field of twenty one for the main event. Former track champion Vince Cooper started the main as the pole sitter next to Nathan Balensiefen ahead of Milo Veloz and Jeff Larson.

Cooper turned up the speed and shot off to a fast lead over Veloz until Lap 6. Veloz run ended when something broke in the front end stopping his ride in the path of Joe Adam. The contact ended their chance at a finish.

Larson moved into the runner up position and a quest for the lead. By Lap 10, only twelve cars were still in action. Larson was digging hard looking for the point. Six laps later he made his way to the helm.

Cooper finished second over Mike Spatola, Phil Line, Brad Stewart, Steven Brooks, Charlie Harmon, Travis Kohler, Dale Lueth, AJ Dixon, Brock Baughmon and Nathan Balensiefen.

Brandon Maciejewski continued his winning ways claiming the UMP Street Stock victory. Roger Rickels took a strong second in front of Steve Lewis, Randy Lucas, and Mike Hughes. Only five of the thirteen rides were still in the race at the checkers.

Real men drive pink in the UMP Hornet division. Racer JR Brown won the feature in his pink ride over Phil Burdette, #0, Asa Robart, Jerry Legner, Matt McCarty, Rickey Kay, Shannon Mudro and Freddie Thatcher.

Heat #1: 1) Mark Burgtorf 2) Mike Porvenzano 3) Jason Hughes 4) Ryan Unzicker 5) Jason McBride 6) Kevin Weaver 7) Allen Christy 8) Michael Walker 9) Kerry Hanson 10) Randy Manos Jr 11) Will Vaught 12) Dan Schlieper
Heat #2: 1) Doug Drown 2) Jimmy Owens 3) Earl Pearson Jr. 4) Mark Voigt 5) Bub McCool 6) Rich Bell 7) Chris Wall 8) Bret Sievert 9) Gary Hunt 10) Gary Schalmo 11) John Murphy 12) John Provenzano
Heat #3: 1) Scott Bloomquist 2) Ray Cook 3) Tim Isenbberg 4) John Blakenship 5) Matt Miller 6) Brad Neat 7) Don O’Neal 8) Steve Casebolt 9) Frank Heckanast Jr. 10) Jeff Larson 11) Brian Birkhofer 12) Jeep VanWormer

Heat #4: 1) Mike Marlar 2) Jason Feger 3) Dale McDowell 4) Dennis Erb Jr. 5) Mike Collins 6) Brian Shirley 7) Tyler Reddick 8) Jimmy Mars 9) Jason Jaggers 10) Eric Wells 11) Shanon Babb
A Consi: 1) Bub McCool 2) Chris Wall 3) Kevin Weaver 4) Rich Bell 5) Jason McBride 6) Mike Murphy 7)Randy Manos
B Consi: 1) Matt Miller 2) Don O’Neal 3) Brad Neat 4) Steve Casebolt 5) Mike Collins 6) Brian Shirley 7) Eric Wells 8) Tyler Reddick 9) Jeff Larson 10) Jason Jaggers 11) Frank Heckenast Jr 12) Shannon Babb
Spring Shootout – 50 Laps $10,000

1) Scott Bloomquist 2) Earl Pearson Jr 3) Jimmy Owens 4) Matt Miller 5) Doug Drown 6) Dennis Erb Jr 7) Don O'Neal 8) Ray Cook 9) Tim Isenberg 10) John Blankenship 11) Jason Feger 12) Bub McCool 13) Mark Burgtorf 14) Brad Neat 15) Chris Wall 16) Dan Schlieper 17) Dale Mc Dowell 18) Steve Casebolt 19) Eric Wells 20) Mike Marlar 21) Ryan Unzicker 22) Kevin Weaver 23) Jason Hughes 24) Mark Voigt 25) Mike Provenzano

Heat #2: 1) Nathan Balensiefen 2) Mike Spatola 3) Shawn Scripter 4) Matt Gremminger

Semi Feature: 1) Joe Adam 2) Tim Loomis 3) Dale Lueth 4) Charlie Harmon 5) AJ Dixon 6) Tom Knippenberg 7) Ryan Kortge

Feature: 1) Jeff Larson 2) Vince Cooper 3) Mike Spatola 4) Phil Line 5) Brad Stewart 6) Steve Brooks 7) Charlie Harmon 8) Travis Kohler 9) Dale Lueth 10) AJ Dixon 11) Brock Baughman 12) Nathan Balensiefen 13) Allen Line 14) Matt Gremminger 15) Milo Veloz 16) Joe Adam 17) Justin McCoy 18) Tim Loomis 19) Matt Goulden 20) Shawn Scripter 21) Jereamie Johnson

Heat #2: 1) Jamie Balensiefen 2) Brandon Maciejewski 3) Mike Hughes 4) Roger Rickels

Feature: 1) Brandon Maciejewski 2) Roger Rickels 3) Steve Lewis 4) Randy Lucas 5) Mike Hughes 6) Nick Sell 7) Jamie Balensiefen 8) Mike McKinney 9) Rick Koltveit 10) Kevin Snowberger 11) Jake Miller 12) John Hogue 13) Tony Provenzano Jr.

Feature: 1) JR Brown 2) Phil Burdette 3) #0 4) Asa Robart 5) Jerry Legner 6) Matt McCarty 7) Rickey Kay 8) Shannon Mudro 9) Freddie Thatcher 10) John Provenzano 11) Harold Reiter 12) Andrew Sharwarski 13) Josh Larson 14) Rick Wagner

La Salle, IL – Tonica’s Scott Schmitt had a good thing going on the low side of the high banks at La Salle Speedway Saturday night. His ability to dodge trouble and use the inside line to work his way through the field earned him his first feature victory of 2010.

Twenty-eight racers signed in for the UMP Late Model action with a field of twenty making the main event. Ryan Unzicker and Keith Piano were positioned at the front of the line up grid with defending points champion Mike Provenzano and Schmitt in row two. Rich Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano rolled up in the third row. Without a doubt this was going to be an exciting feature race.

Proven to be the fastest two cars were Unzicker holding the pole next to Piano but the speedsters didn’t get an opportunity to strut their stuff for even a whole lap. Coming off the second turn, contact with Mike Provenzano and Unzicker stole the opportunity for a potentially great race between the top six contenders. Unzicker and Provenzano’s tangle sent a domino effect rippling through the front runners. Unzicker and Piano suffered the most damage retiring both rides by the end of the first lap.

With the two out, Mike Provenzano took over the pole with Schmitt as his front row partner ahead of Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano. Mike Provenzano was quick to take the lead but Schmitt was already looking for his opportunity for the point by the end of the second lap. A side by side battle was short lived between the pair after Schmitt cruised around the leader coming off turn two in the second lap.

Schmitt never had a challenge for the lead as he traveled under lapped traffic and away from the competition. The battle for second place was left between Mike Provenzano, Bell and Lil’ John Provenzano. It didn’t take the veteran racer Lil’ John long to find his niche and pull away for a strong runner up finish.

Schmitt’s solo journey boasted a great deal of real estate between him and second place. Schmitt’s consistent effort sent him to victory circle with Lil’ John claiming the runner up position ahead of Bell, and Mike Provenzano. Jimmy Partipilo started the twenty-five lapper in ninth on the grid but managed to work his way up the pack for a fifth place finish in front of Kyle Madison, Randy Manos, Matt Schultz, Jon Small, and Jimmy Dehm.

Unzicker scored the fast heat victory with Piano close in second. Mike Provenzano collected third over Schmitt. Ed Williams Jr. won the second heat contest ahead of Small, Travis Mahoney and Brian Locke. Dehm took the checkers in the third heat ahead of Manos, Aaron Schmidt and Schultz. Eric Rebholz won the semi-feature race.

Thirty-five UMP Modified drivers were in attendance for their division. Rusty Griffaw took home the first heat race win ahead of Vince Cooper, McKay Wenger and Dale Lueth. Robert Pohlman Jr. claimed the second heat win ahead of Matt Gremmenger, Mike Spatola and Darcy Wey. Nathan Balensiefen looked like a rocket ship as he powerfully took the third heat race checkers away from Joe Adam with Shawn Scriptor and Jeremy Johnson crossing the line behind him. Justin McCoy won the final heat over Matt Barker, Darrell Lowe and Allen Line. Mike Porth won the semi feature event.

Griffaw and Cooper were at the top of the starting grid ahead of Wenger and Lueth followed by AJ Dixon and Brad Stewart. It took a couple of tries to get a pace rolling but once the pack did it was all Griffaw controlling the field. At times he led with more than a half a track distance between him and his fellow competitors.

There wasn’t much of a race for the lead with Griffaw sailing his way around the oval. The contest was not in the front but there was action with a few rides moving up the field. One such ride was driven by Pohlman who journeyed his way from tenth place into the fourth place running position with five laps un-scored.

Griffaw finished the race uncontested with Wenger holding on to second place in front of Cooper, Pohlman, Balensiefen, Stewart, Spatola, Lueth, Phil Line, McCoy, and Adam.

Young gun Brandon Maciejewski stole the show during the events he raced in the UMP Street Stock class. He came out strong winning his heat in front of Nick Sell, Matt Ramer and Nick Clubb. Steve Lewis drove fast and furious to win the second preliminary race over Jake Miller, Timmy Provenzano, and Jeff Siemmens. Rick Koltveit won the final heat over Terri Simmons, Jamie Balensiefen and Randy Lucas. Eric Gaus won the consi race.

Maciejewski was an unstoppable force in the fifteen lap feature event. He carried the torch like an Olympic champion. Lewis claimed second ahead of Koltveit, Sell, Balensiefen, Mike Hughes, Siemmens, Roger Rickels, Ramer, Laura Jackinowski, #6, Eric Gaus, and John Houge.

Sixteen UMP 4 Cylinders showed up race ready. Phil Burdette kicked off the night with a heat race win in front of Jerry Legner, Asa Robart, Freddie Thatcher. Rick Zifko won the other heat over Alan Provenzano, Anna Cain and Shannon Mudro.

Anna Caine put on a Lightning McQueen style performance after she drove up the retaining wall’s concrete surface bouncing back onto the softer clay without missing a beat. She managed to keep her nose heading in the right direction and racing.

Burdette was all alone from the fourth lap scored. He managed to hold on to a generous lead until the checkered flag was dropped. Robart took home second for the second week in a row. Zifko finished third infor of Jerry Legner who beat Thatcher, Andrew Sharwarko, and Rick Wagner.

Next Saturday night, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series will make a grand return to the track for the $10,000 to win Spring Shootout. In addition to the Late Model class, the UMP Modifieds, UMP Street Stocks and UMP 4 Cylinders will be competing as well.

Feature: 1. Scott Schmitt, 2. John Provenzano, 3. Rich Bell, 4. Mike Provenzano, 5. Jimmy Partipilo, 6. Kyle Madison, 7. Randy Manos, 8. Matt Schultz, 9. Ed Williams Jr., 10. Steve Pastva, 11. Aaron Schmidt, 12. Jon Small, 13. Jimmy Dehm, 14. Jeff Small, 15. Travis Mahoney, 16. Eric Rebholz, 17. Brian Lock, 18. Ryan Unzicker, 19. Keith Piano

Semi Feature: Mike Porth, Jeremy Johnson, Dave Porth, Travis Kohler, Darcy Wey, DJ Werkmeister, Tom Knippenberg, Geno Hewitt, Allen Line, David Wagner

Feature: 1. Rusty Griffaw, 2. McKay Wenger, 3. Vince Cooper, 4. Robert Pohlman Jr., 5. Nathan Balensiefen, 6. Brad Stewart, 7. Mike Spatola, 8. Dale Lueth, 9. Phil Line, 10. Justin McCoy, 11. Joe Adam, 12. Matthew Gremmenger, 13. Steven Brooks, 14. Matt Barker, 15. Shawn Scripter, 16. Mike Porth, 17. Jeremy Johnson, 18. Darrell Lowe, 19. AJ Dixon, 20. Derick Doerr

Semi Feature: Eric Gaus, Roger Rickels, Alex Clubb, Tony Provenzano, Ande Bivens, Jackinowski, Ben Gallentine

Feature: 1. Brandon Maciejewski, 2. Steve Lewis, 3. Rick Koltveit, 4. Nick Sell, 5. Jamie Balensiefen, 6. #24, 7. Jeff Siemmens, 8. Roger Rickels, 9. Matt Ramer, 10. Laura Jackinowski, 11. #6, 12. Eric Gaus, 13. John Houge, 14. #01, 15. Dave McKinney, 16. Terri Simmons, 17. Nick Clubb, 18. Jake Miller, 19. Tim Provenzano, 20. Randy Lucas

Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Asa Robart, 3. Rick Zifko, 4. Jerry Legner, 5. Freddie Thatcher, 6. Andrew Sharwarko, 7. Rick Wagner, 8. John Provenzano, 9. Anna Cain, 10. Harold Reiter, 11. Shannon Mudro, 12. Chuck Johnson, 13. Alan Provenzano, 14. Aaron Sutton, 15. Josh Larson

La Salle’s defending champ beats father to sweep Late Model’s; Street’s and Hornet’s go caution free

La Salle, IL – Mike Provenzano ended last season with the coveted UMP Late Model track championship crown after posting a stellar season at La Salle Speedway. Saturday night, the racing returned to the Illinois Valley’s speed arena with Mike ready to rumble.

He started his evening off right by outdistancing the competition to win the first heat race of the 2010 racing season. Rich Bell took second finishing in front of Scott Schmitt and John Piccatto. Billy Weistart Jr. took command of the second heat race when the green flag dropped. Weistart crossed the finish line a half of a lap ahead of Jimmy Partipilo, Todd Alexander and Eric Rebholz. Unfortunately, Weistart forgot to cross the mandatory scaling area immediately after the race forfeiting the favored dash and feature starting positions.

Keith Piano held back Lil’ John Provenzano to score the final heat contest. Ryan Dauber and Ed Williams Sr. crossed the line behind them. The Late Model dash was a father and son showdown til the very end. Mike Provenzano and his father Lil’ John started side by side on the front row and battled back and forth with Bell and Piano on their tail. Mike took home the trophy, followed by Bell who snuck into second, Lil’ John and Piano.

Just before the twenty-one Late’s could hit the track for their main event, Mother Nature decided to moisten the sky. As rain drops sprinkled on May Day over the area, the drivers tried to keep the track race ready. Once the drops stopped, the racers turned on the horsepower. The sound of high powered engines didn’t last long as a tangle between Piano and Partipilo on the back stretch ended with heavy damage to the new ride of Piano. This was just the first complete restart of what became far too many for a division of this caliber. They struggled repeatedly to score the first lap.

Front row starters, Mike Provenzano and Bell set the pace with Lil’ John and Todd Alexander on the second row ahead of Schmitt and Partipilo for the third double file start. Shortly after green, trouble mounted between Bell and Schmitt leaving Schmitt’s machine headed the wrong way. The pair were sent to the tail where not long after another caution was signaled. This time Bell left the competition and headed pitside.

With only fifteen cars left in the very beginning of actual scored laps, Mike Provenzano was running low with his father challenging his every move. Without a scoreboard, it was difficult to know how many laps were actually in the books due to all the cautions but it appeared by the eighth lap that it was a Provenzano show up front leaving the competition to battle for third.

During the final laps, Mike Provenzano worked thru the lapped field with Lil’ John finding his own route. At the completion, Mike Provenzano beat the 40 year veteran racer to the line. Schmitt was right there with the pair after he had moved up the pack to finish an impressive third place. Former Street Stock standout Partipilo scored fourth ahead of Dauber, Ed Williams Sr., Piccatto, Alexander, Rebholz, Travis Mahoney, Gary Schalmo and Ed Williams Jr. as the only other finishers.

Nathan Balensiefen flew to a solo victory during the first UMP Modified heat contest. He beat Kevin Thompson, Darryl Lowe and Scott Hauge. Joe Adam and Vince Cooper put on a great showing during the second preliminary event with a side by side battle and a little contact. Adam took the checkers as Cooper traveled the last two laps with a flat tire. Travis Kohler took third ahead of Tim Loomis. AJ Dixon went from the last row to claim the checkers in the final heat. Phil line took second followed by Shawn Scripter and Matt Gremminger.

During the final lap of the dash race, Line was leading with Adam going to challenge the leader when Adam lost control collecting Dixon and Balensiefen. Balensiefen ended his night flipped upside down in turn four. Line earned the win over Cooper, Thompson and Adam.

Due to their dash efforts, Line and Cooper got the front row of the feature grid ahead of Thompson, Adam and Lowe. Cooper headed quickly to the outside after green but Line was not giving up. The duo put on a challenge for the lead lap after lap with Line always coming out ahead by the start/finish line.

Line’s impressive driving style earned him the first feature of the season in front of Cooper, Kohler, Thompson, Justin McCoy, DJ Werkmeister, Gremminger, Steve Brooks, Knippenburg and Lowe.

Fifteen UMP Street Stocks signed in for action on Saturday. From the first lap of the first heat they put on an impressive showing for the fans. Roger Rickels and Rick Koltveit battled in an exciting challenge for the point. Rickels took the win with Koltveit, Matt Ramer and Jamie Balensiefen behind him. Dave McKinney took home the second heat over Steve Lewis, Randy Lucas and Nick Sell.

The Street’s put forth a great performance in their main event. Twelve competitors made the call and raced an impressive caution free first feature.

McKinney was smooth sailing from the first lap to the final one collecting the victory. Koltveit was not close enough to challenge for the lead but had a fight of his own to hold off Rickels for the runner up spot. He managed to pull it off with Lewis fourth ahead of Lucas, Provenzano, Scott Hauge, Miller, Sell, Ramer, Jackinaust, and Himichs.

Fifteen UMP 4-Cylinder Hornets showed up for the first night of racing. Asa Robart held off Phil Burdette, #15, and Jerry Legner to score heat one. Allen Provenzano beat Rick Zifko, Harry Reiter and Fred Thatcher in the second heat.

Allen Provenzano started the main front row outside and wasted little time taking the point. He was unstoppable flying solo in the caution free event. Robart earned second while Burdette, Zifko, Reiter, Legner, #04, Mark Sutton, Robert Houtz, and #26 crossed the line to complete the ten cars.

Feature: 1. Mike Provenzano, 2. John Provenzano, 3. Scott Schmitt, 4. Jimmy Partipilo, 5. Ryan Dauber, 6. Ed Williams Sr., 7. John Piccatto, 8. Todd Alexander, 9. Eric Rebholz, 10. Travis Mahoney, 11. Gary Schalmo, 12. Ed Wiliams Jr., 13. Mike Marler, 14. Billy Weistart Jr., 15. Lake Knutti, 16. Brian Lock, 17. Rich Bell, 18. Dave Patva, 19. Manos, 20. Keith Piano, 21. Aaron Schmidt

Feature: 1. Phil Line, 2.Vince Cooper, 3. Travis Kohler, 4. Kevin Thompson, 5. Justin McCoy, 6. DJ Werkmeister, 7. Matt Gremminger 8. Steven Brooks, 9. Knippenburg, 10. Darryl Lowe, 11. Vacha, 12. Line, 13. Shawn Scripter, 14. Brad Stewart, 15. Joe Adam, 16. Tim Loomis, 17. Scott Hauge

Feature: 1. Dave McKinney, 2. Rick Koltevit, 3. Roger Rickels, 4. Steve Lewis, 5. Randy Lucas, 6. Tim Provenzano, 7. Scott Hauge, 8. Miller, 9. Nick Sell, 10. Matt Ramer, 11. Jackinaust, 12. Himichs

Feature: 1. Allen Provenzano, 2. Asa Robart, 3. Phil Burdette, 4. Rick Zifko, 5. Harry Reiter, 6. Jerry Legner, 7. #04, 8. Mark Sutton, 9. Robert Houtz, 10. #26

Let’s Go Racing; La Salle Speedway thrilled Kasey Kahne chooses them

By: Betty Glynn

In just two days, the Illinois Valley area will echo with a familiar sound on Saturday nights. The rumble of sheer horsepower will fill the air while the lights illuminate the sky off of Route 6. To a race fans delight it is a sign of the much anticipated racing season and in the Terminators famous line “Hasta la vista, baby” to winter.

The La Salle Speedway has become a Saturday date night for racing enthusiasts with competitive dirt track racing to satisfy their weekly craving. The 2010 schedule is sure to be full of something for everyone with even more diversity added this season.

May Day will mark the season’s opener for the weekly divisions of Late Model, Modified, Street Stock and 4-Cylinder Hornet racers. Divisional rules and regulations can be located on the La Salle Speedway website www.lasallespeedway.com.

The regular weekly program will run nearly every Saturday night until August 28^th.

According to track owner, Kerry Izzo, everything has remained the same with some exciting additions to the schedule and their focus on promoting a family environment. “We want to continue to promote family fun. Children 11 and under are still free on our regular events,” Izzo said. “Racing is a family sport with generations participating and enjoying the competition, we want to keep it that way.”

The Speedway has been able to keep the regular general admission the same price while adding three special priced nights spread throughout the season. “We have three Fan Appreciation Nights scheduled with the $5 General Admission along with prizes and giveaways.”

On May 22^nd, the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Spring Shootout will launch the first big event with a $10,000.00 payday on the line. The best in dirt track racing have been known to light up the high banks of La Salle with flag to flag excitement. Touring drivers historically rave about the ultra racy ¼ mile clay oval at the Illinois Valley speed arena.

Information about the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model series can be found on their website at www.lucasdirt.com.

Thursday, June 10^th will be the 410 Non-Wing Sprint Event sponsored by Nimee Auto Sales.

The biggest surprise of the season’s schedule has to be the return of the famous World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series on Thursday, July 8^th. Their absence from the roster since 2004 was missed by the large fan base of local WoO fans. The biggest thrill of all is that the event at La Salle is the final showdown for Bud Crown presented by Budweiser.

Kasey Kahne’s Showdown for the Bud Crown World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will bring their favorite drivers back to town. With Kasey Kahne in the house, it will more than likely bring out more stars who will be in the area for the NASCAR events being held at Chicagoland Speedway.

“Having the WoO Sprint Car Series back is outstanding,” Izzo expressed. “Having Kasey Kahne choose us out of all the tracks is a thrill. I know La Salle has been one of the favorites of the WoO drivers. We expect many of the NASCAR drivers to be in attendance since they will be in Joliet that weekend.”

Kahne talked of the upcoming event in a recent press release. “Everything at LaSalle Speedway happens so fast on the track that there’s no doubt it will be an exciting night and a great place to wrap up the Showdown for the Bud Crown,” Kahne said. “Each stop in the Bud Crown series features a different kind of track, from high-banked Bulls Gap to big Sedalia and the LaSalle bullring. It’s a good test for everybody.”

Drivers who are at the top of their series points chase are only separated by 30 points. They include the last winner at La Salle Danny Lasoski who took the checkers in 2004. Currently topping the points, is Steve Kinser who was victorious in both 1999 & 1994. Brad Sweet, Paul McMahan, and Jason Myers are also at the top of the chase.

Reserved seating tickets are already available for purchase on their website and can be purchased in advance at: www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets.

This Saturday’s kick off will boast top local talent who are geared up for another season of competitive dirt track racing.
La Salle Speedway Pit Gates open at 4:30pm, Grandstand open at 5:00pm with Racing starting at 7:30pm. For regular weekly shows pricing as follows: Adults $10, Children 11 and under free, Skybox seating $12 with Pit Passes costing $25.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series