By: Betty Glynn
La Salle, IL – Mike Provenzano, of Marseilles, scored his first Late Model victory at La Salle Speedway Saturday night with a full moon hiding behind the clouds. The former Kankakee Motor Speedway track champion had been absent from the Illinois Valley track until the new rules for division brought him back to his old stomping ground. His season opener win launched the 2009 points chase.
The Late Models format includes a number draw for the heat position, along with a passing points system which determines the dash and feature grid. The top six passing point’s earners duke it out in the Rhyne Competition Engines sponsored dash event to decide the top six starting spots of the main event.
Jason Jaggers and Roger Markham earned the front row starting positions in front of Provenzano and Ed Williams Sr. A pair of former track champions, Roger Markham and Keith Piano, rolled into the third row. Just after the start line it was Jaggers pulling away from Provenzano with Ralph, Roger, Mike Glynn and Piano.
Jaggers and Provenzano quickly started to distance themselves from the other sixteen contenders while brothers Ralph and Roger battled for third. During the eighth lap of the circuit, Provenzano pulled up next to Jaggers for a shot at the lead. His first attempt was successful and he managed to pull ahead by a nose length before the next lap was scored. Glynn was catching Ralph from a low line and made his pass during the beginning of Lap 12 but a caution halted any chance of side by side racing between the two. The final single file restart returned the field to the previous lap standings.
From then on the twenty five lap feature event was mostly uneventful with too much distance between the first and second place cars for any real action up front. Glynn’s low line run was not enough for a powerful highside charge by Ralph.
Provenzano didn’t have to protect his lead as he flew solo to the checkers ahead of Jaggers, Ralph, Glynn, Rich Bell, Piano, Aaron Schmitt, Busch, Ed Williams Jr., John Piccatto, Jim Loomis, Ed Williams Sr., Roger Markham, John Small, Jeff Small, Wagner, Knutti, and Travis Mahoney.
Jaggers secured his pole with the dash win while Roger Markham, Provenzano and Ed Williams Sr. crossed the finish line behind him. Provenzano was uncontested in the first heat race with Ralph Markham, who came from the tail of the grid, finishing in second. Roger Markham and Piccatto crossed third and fourth. Ed Williams Sr. won the second heat from the front row outside over Piano, Glynn and Jaggers.
Reigning Open Wheel Modified track champ Vince Cooper started his twenty lap feature event in the same place as Provenzano on the grid and finished in much the same order. Cooper was unstoppable from the end of the second lap on. He took command from pole sitter Brad Stewart to lead by more than a quarter of the track’s distance at times.
During the early laps, Cooper was all alone while Joe Adam, Matthew Grimerger, Jason Anderson and Dale Lueth gave chase. Several cautions during their main brought the action back into a single file format but without hesitation Cooper flew his machine on a solo mission.
Ninth place starter Nathan Balensiefen charged his way to the front by Lap 11. With four laps unscored a side by side challenge between second place runner Adam and Grimerger ended in Grimerger’s favor.
Cooper cruised to an easy win over Grimerger, Adam, Balensiefen, Tom Knippenberg, Lueth, Justin McCoy, Travis Kohler, Mike Marden and Mark Vervynk.
Cooper won heat number one over McCoy, Adam, and Marden. Brad Stewart won the second in front of Grimerger, Lueth and Anderson.
Steve Lewis swept the Street Stock division winning both his heat and feature races. Lewis carried the field of seventeen flag to flag for the fifteen lap main event. Rick Koltveit ran a strong second finishing in front of Jimmy Partipilo, Randy Lucas, Alex Clubb, Gary Schmitt, David McKinney, Matt Ramer, Roger Rickels, Darryl Matthews, Jay Mesarchik, Mark Gradert, and Steve Schwemlein.
Jeff Semmens won the first heat finishing in front of Koltveit, Partipilo, and Lucas. The Street Stock’s last heat race might have been led by the full moon affect. A six car pile up betweens turns one and two ended with Nick Sell leaving the clay oval on a stretcher and quite a few cars done for the night. Sell spent the night in ICU with a concussion but was released the next day. During the final lap, Lewis made a last minute pass and a quick slide in front of Alex Clubb to steal the win. Marty Gradert and Mesarchik topped off the top four.
A fight to the finish ended with Phil Burdette putting forth a dramatic finish en route to victory circle for the Hornet division. Nick Clubb ended the event in second over Mike Morrow, #0, Asa Robart, Larson, Brown, Seitz, Legner, Alm, DJ Kilanowski, and Breitbarth.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 06/06/09
Late Models – 18 Cars
Rhyne Competition Engines Dash: Jason Jaggers, Roger Markham, Mike Provezano, Ed Williams Sr.
Heat One: Mike Provezano, Ralph Markham, Roger Markham, John Piccatto
Heat Two: Ed Williams Sr., Keith Piano, Mike Glynn, Jason Jaggers
Feature: 1. Mike Provezano, 2. Jason Jaggers, 3. Ralph Markham, 4. Mike Glynn, 5. Rich Bell, 6. Keith Piano, 7. Aaron Schmitt, 8. Busch, 9. Ed Williams Jr., 10. John Piccatto, 11. Jim Loomis, 12. Ed Williams Sr., 13. Roger Markham, 14. John Small, 15. Jeff Small, 16. Wagner, 17. Knutti, 18. Travis Mahoney
UMP Modifieds – 16 Cars
Heat One: Vince Cooper, Justin McCoy, Joe Adam, Mike Marden
Heat Two: Brad Stewart, Matthew Grimerger, Dale Lueth, Jason Anderson
Feature: 1. Vince Cooper, 2. Matthew Grimerger, 3. Joe Adam, 4. Nathan Balensiefen, 5. Tom Knippenberg, 6. Dale Lueth, 7. Justin McCoy, 8. Travis Kohler, 9. Mike Marden, 10. Mark Vervynk, 11. Don Cole, 12. Brad Carrington, 13. Brad Stewart, 14. Paul Smith, 15. Jason Bahrs, 16. Jason Anderson
UMP Street Stocks – 23 Cars
Heat One: Jeff Semmons, Rick Koltveit, Jimmy Partipilo, Randy Lucas
Heat Two: Steve Lewis, Alex Clubb, Marty Gradert, Jay Mesarchik
Feature: 1. Steve Lewis, 2. Rick Koltveit, 3. Jimmy Partipilo, 4. Randy Lucas, 5. Alex Clubb, 6. Gary Schmitt, 7. David McKinney, 8. Matt Ramer, 9. Roger Rickels, 10. Darryl Matthews, 11. Jay Mesarchik, 12. Mark Gradert, 13. Steve Schwemlein, 14. Matt Hughes, 15. Jeff Semmens, 16. Justin Rutledge, 17. Danny Deutsch
UMP Hornets – 21 Cars
Heat One: Mark Sutton, Jamie Deford, Phil Burdette, Mike Morrow
Heat Two: Harold Reiter, #51, Nick Clubb, Chad Williams
Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Nick Clubb, 3. Mike Morrow, 4. #0, 5. Asa Robart, 6. Larson, 7. Brown, 8. Seitz, 9. Legner, 10. Alm, 11. DJ Kilanowski, 12. Breitbarth, 13. Cain, 14. Deford, 15. Mark Sutton, 16. #51, 17. Reiter, 18. Williams
La Salle, IL – Mike Provenzano, of Marseilles, scored his first Late Model victory at La Salle Speedway Saturday night with a full moon hiding behind the clouds. The former Kankakee Motor Speedway track champion had been absent from the Illinois Valley track until the new rules for division brought him back to his old stomping ground. His season opener win launched the 2009 points chase.
The Late Models format includes a number draw for the heat position, along with a passing points system which determines the dash and feature grid. The top six passing point’s earners duke it out in the Rhyne Competition Engines sponsored dash event to decide the top six starting spots of the main event.
Jason Jaggers and Roger Markham earned the front row starting positions in front of Provenzano and Ed Williams Sr. A pair of former track champions, Roger Markham and Keith Piano, rolled into the third row. Just after the start line it was Jaggers pulling away from Provenzano with Ralph, Roger, Mike Glynn and Piano.
Jaggers and Provenzano quickly started to distance themselves from the other sixteen contenders while brothers Ralph and Roger battled for third. During the eighth lap of the circuit, Provenzano pulled up next to Jaggers for a shot at the lead. His first attempt was successful and he managed to pull ahead by a nose length before the next lap was scored. Glynn was catching Ralph from a low line and made his pass during the beginning of Lap 12 but a caution halted any chance of side by side racing between the two. The final single file restart returned the field to the previous lap standings.
From then on the twenty five lap feature event was mostly uneventful with too much distance between the first and second place cars for any real action up front. Glynn’s low line run was not enough for a powerful highside charge by Ralph.
Provenzano didn’t have to protect his lead as he flew solo to the checkers ahead of Jaggers, Ralph, Glynn, Rich Bell, Piano, Aaron Schmitt, Busch, Ed Williams Jr., John Piccatto, Jim Loomis, Ed Williams Sr., Roger Markham, John Small, Jeff Small, Wagner, Knutti, and Travis Mahoney.
Jaggers secured his pole with the dash win while Roger Markham, Provenzano and Ed Williams Sr. crossed the finish line behind him. Provenzano was uncontested in the first heat race with Ralph Markham, who came from the tail of the grid, finishing in second. Roger Markham and Piccatto crossed third and fourth. Ed Williams Sr. won the second heat from the front row outside over Piano, Glynn and Jaggers.
Reigning Open Wheel Modified track champ Vince Cooper started his twenty lap feature event in the same place as Provenzano on the grid and finished in much the same order. Cooper was unstoppable from the end of the second lap on. He took command from pole sitter Brad Stewart to lead by more than a quarter of the track’s distance at times.
During the early laps, Cooper was all alone while Joe Adam, Matthew Grimerger, Jason Anderson and Dale Lueth gave chase. Several cautions during their main brought the action back into a single file format but without hesitation Cooper flew his machine on a solo mission.
Ninth place starter Nathan Balensiefen charged his way to the front by Lap 11. With four laps unscored a side by side challenge between second place runner Adam and Grimerger ended in Grimerger’s favor.
Cooper cruised to an easy win over Grimerger, Adam, Balensiefen, Tom Knippenberg, Lueth, Justin McCoy, Travis Kohler, Mike Marden and Mark Vervynk.
Cooper won heat number one over McCoy, Adam, and Marden. Brad Stewart won the second in front of Grimerger, Lueth and Anderson.
Steve Lewis swept the Street Stock division winning both his heat and feature races. Lewis carried the field of seventeen flag to flag for the fifteen lap main event. Rick Koltveit ran a strong second finishing in front of Jimmy Partipilo, Randy Lucas, Alex Clubb, Gary Schmitt, David McKinney, Matt Ramer, Roger Rickels, Darryl Matthews, Jay Mesarchik, Mark Gradert, and Steve Schwemlein.
Jeff Semmens won the first heat finishing in front of Koltveit, Partipilo, and Lucas. The Street Stock’s last heat race might have been led by the full moon affect. A six car pile up betweens turns one and two ended with Nick Sell leaving the clay oval on a stretcher and quite a few cars done for the night. Sell spent the night in ICU with a concussion but was released the next day. During the final lap, Lewis made a last minute pass and a quick slide in front of Alex Clubb to steal the win. Marty Gradert and Mesarchik topped off the top four.
A fight to the finish ended with Phil Burdette putting forth a dramatic finish en route to victory circle for the Hornet division. Nick Clubb ended the event in second over Mike Morrow, #0, Asa Robart, Larson, Brown, Seitz, Legner, Alm, DJ Kilanowski, and Breitbarth.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 06/06/09
Late Models – 18 Cars
Rhyne Competition Engines Dash: Jason Jaggers, Roger Markham, Mike Provezano, Ed Williams Sr.
Heat One: Mike Provezano, Ralph Markham, Roger Markham, John Piccatto
Heat Two: Ed Williams Sr., Keith Piano, Mike Glynn, Jason Jaggers
Feature: 1. Mike Provezano, 2. Jason Jaggers, 3. Ralph Markham, 4. Mike Glynn, 5. Rich Bell, 6. Keith Piano, 7. Aaron Schmitt, 8. Busch, 9. Ed Williams Jr., 10. John Piccatto, 11. Jim Loomis, 12. Ed Williams Sr., 13. Roger Markham, 14. John Small, 15. Jeff Small, 16. Wagner, 17. Knutti, 18. Travis Mahoney
UMP Modifieds – 16 Cars
Heat One: Vince Cooper, Justin McCoy, Joe Adam, Mike Marden
Heat Two: Brad Stewart, Matthew Grimerger, Dale Lueth, Jason Anderson
Feature: 1. Vince Cooper, 2. Matthew Grimerger, 3. Joe Adam, 4. Nathan Balensiefen, 5. Tom Knippenberg, 6. Dale Lueth, 7. Justin McCoy, 8. Travis Kohler, 9. Mike Marden, 10. Mark Vervynk, 11. Don Cole, 12. Brad Carrington, 13. Brad Stewart, 14. Paul Smith, 15. Jason Bahrs, 16. Jason Anderson
UMP Street Stocks – 23 Cars
Heat One: Jeff Semmons, Rick Koltveit, Jimmy Partipilo, Randy Lucas
Heat Two: Steve Lewis, Alex Clubb, Marty Gradert, Jay Mesarchik
Feature: 1. Steve Lewis, 2. Rick Koltveit, 3. Jimmy Partipilo, 4. Randy Lucas, 5. Alex Clubb, 6. Gary Schmitt, 7. David McKinney, 8. Matt Ramer, 9. Roger Rickels, 10. Darryl Matthews, 11. Jay Mesarchik, 12. Mark Gradert, 13. Steve Schwemlein, 14. Matt Hughes, 15. Jeff Semmens, 16. Justin Rutledge, 17. Danny Deutsch
UMP Hornets – 21 Cars
Heat One: Mark Sutton, Jamie Deford, Phil Burdette, Mike Morrow
Heat Two: Harold Reiter, #51, Nick Clubb, Chad Williams
Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Nick Clubb, 3. Mike Morrow, 4. #0, 5. Asa Robart, 6. Larson, 7. Brown, 8. Seitz, 9. Legner, 10. Alm, 11. DJ Kilanowski, 12. Breitbarth, 13. Cain, 14. Deford, 15. Mark Sutton, 16. #51, 17. Reiter, 18. Williams
