By: Betty Glynn
La Salle, IL – Being behind the wheel of a racecar is a way of life for Marty Thompson of Mineral. Not only is he a weekend warrior on dirt, he is a multi track champ with a winning list that includes every division he competes.
Saturday night at La Salle Speedway the veteran racer competed in the UMP Modified’s and the Illinois Valley Cellular Street Stock special. The outcome was the same – another trophy times two.
First up was the qualifying of both cars, then the Modified heat. He didn’t earn the fastest timed laps but had positioned himself in good starting positions for both divisions.
The Street Stock feature topped the venue as twenty seven contenders registered for the event. Without preliminary races, drivers were lined up based on their qualifying times and four transfer positions from the consolation race.
The newly crowned divisional track champ, Rick Koltveit, and Alex Clubb were on the front row ahead of Thompson and Randy Lucas. Koltveit was quick to lead but fell back in the pack on lap three.
Immediately following, the field was under caution and Thompson was now the race leader. A position he didn’t let go of for the remaining twenty two laps.
Justin Rutledge was commanding second and even made his way close to the tail of Thompson on more then one lap while Clubb and Steve Lewis gave chase. The real action was with three of the semi feature transfers who were working their way up from last.
Brandon Maciejewski started seventeenth but he was certainly a force to reckon with. By the twelfth lap, he had already advanced six spots. At the same time, the last place grid starter, Jimmy Partipilo was moving up just as fast and furious.
When the checkers dropped, it was Thompson with the win over Rutledge.
Maciejewski, Koltveit, and Clubb were all racing nose to tail respectively at the finish. Nathan Balensiefen ended his night in sixth over Lewis, Partipilo, Jay Hamilton, Randy Lucas, Eric Whittington, and Nick Sell.
Koltveit scored the fastest qualifying lap of 15.785.
Thompson’s second act came when he rolled out for the twenty lap UMP Modified show. This time he was on the pole next to Dave Porth while Jason Hastings and Lance Dehm were in row two.
The front row contenders put on a show from the first corner of green flag racing. The pair flew side by side with a strong running Dehm on their tail.
Dehm tried to take the trio into a three wide battle but couldn’t find the room to slide in the middle.
The action was heating up when a car spun collecting two victims. Getting past the five lap mark was a challenge all its own. Once they managed to get past it, the green flag didn’t stay out long creating a painful beginning to what was building up to be a competitive showing.
With the restart of Lap 15, it was evident the group was struggling as only fifteen of the twenty one starters were still running. Two laps later, Porth had made his charge on the outside for a door to door run but caution again was signaled slowing his momentum. The showdown was not to be.
At the finish line, Thompson took the win over Porth, and Dehm. Casey Lappin started sixth on the grid but gave Dehm a run for third in his low line travel. He ended with a strong fourth place finish over Jason Hastings, Mike Garland, Kevin Hastings, Justin McCoy, Cory Gerdes, Joe Adam, Brian Carrington and Mark Novorolsky.
Thompson, Porth and Jason Hastings each won the heats. Garland posted the quickest time of 14.500.
Steve Oeder and Scott Schmitt hosted the front row of the Late Model feature in front of Jeff Hartzell and Ralph Markham.
Oeder quickly pulled ahead of Schmitt, Markham, Hartzell and Keith Piano.
Schmitt used every inch of the clay to hold Hartzell in third during the early laps until contact was made between the pair. Hartzell slid back in the pack. Schmitt continued to rule the second place running position until Markham found room to get around him with four laps to go.
Oeder drove away with the win without contest finishing ahead of Markham.
Schmitt crossed in third after holding back Piano who could not find enough room to pass. Glynn advanced the most positions moving up from tenth to a fifth place finish on his first return to the Speedway since leaving in the middle of July.
Eric Dauber moved up two positions from an eighth place start finishing over John Piccatto, Ed Williams, Hartzell and Loomis.
Loomis and Piano each won the heats. Schmitt held the fastest qualifier title.
The Hornet special got off to a rough start after a horrific flip ended the night of Tanner Phelps. In his first night of racing, the young rookie was hit hard in the wrong spot of his inside quarter panel as he exited the turn two corner. The powerful and unrelenting push sent him on an airborne journey he will not soon forget. Phelps was not injured in the incident.
DJ Werkmeister, the current divisional champ, won the feature marathon adding to his stellar season. Nearly half the field was missing by the time the checkers dropped.
Loren Westerhold tried everything to get a good run on DJ but ended in the runner up spot over Jimmy Ellison, Ryan Webster, Scott Powell, Mike Weaver, Jerry Legner, Nathan Lyday, Asa Robart, and Bubba Siwinski.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 08/25/07
Steel Block Late Models – 18 Cars
Qualifying: Scott Schmitt 13.744
Heat One: Jim Loomis, Jeff Hartzell, Scott Schmitt, John Piccatto Heat Two: Keith Piano, Steve Oeder, Ralph Markham, Eric Dauber
Feature: 1. Steve Oeder, 2. Ralph Markham, 3. Scott Schmitt, 4. Keith Piano, 5. Mike Glynn, 6. Eric Dauber, 7. John Piccatto, 8. Ed Williams, 9. Jeff Hartzell, 10. Jim Loomis, 11. Doug Newlin, 12. Brian Lock, 13. Dan Doherty, 14. Joe Jelinek, 15. Joe Fratt, 16. Ande Bivens, 17. Jeff Small, 18. Terry Knutti
UMP Modifieds 28 Cars
Qualifying: Mike Garland 14.500
Heat One: Marty Thompson, Lance Dehm, Kevin Hastings, Mike Garland Heat Two: Dave Porth, Jay Ledfred, Justin McCoy, Phil Line Heat Three: Jason Hastings, Casey Lappin, Matt Barker, Joe Adam Semi Feature: Results not provided
Feature: 1. Marty Thompson, 2. Dave Porth, 3. Lance Dehm, 4. Casey Lappin, 5. Jason Hastings, 6. Mike Garland, 7. Kevin Hastings, 8. Justin McCoy, 9.
Cory Gerdes, 10. Joe Adam, 11. Brian Carrington, 12. Mark Novorolsky, 13.
Matt Barker, 14. Travis Kohler, 15. Wally Forsythe, 16. Phil Line, 17. Ken Fischer, 18. Matt Cleary,19. Brian Lucas, 20. Mike Dyas, 21. Jay Ledfred
UMP Street Stocks 27 Cars
Qualifying: Rick Koltveit 15.785
Feature: 1. Marty Thompson, 2. Justin Rutledge, 3. Brandon Majewski, 4. Rick Koltveit, 5. Alex Clubb, 6. Nathan Balensiefen, 7. Steve Lewis, 8. Jimmy Partipilo, 9. Jay Hamilton, 10. Randy Lucas, 11. Eric Whittington, 12. Nick Sell, 13. Kevin Hoffman, 14. Mike Hughes, 15. Keith Lucas, 16. Mike Stewart, 17. Gary Schmitt, 18. John Peterson, 19. Jamie Balensiefen, 20. Jay Mesarchik
Hornets 27 Cars
Heat One: Brown, DJ Werkmeister, Jon Small, Matt McCarty Heat Two: Brian Webster, Scott Powell, Chad Williams, Phil Briddick Heat Three: Loren Westerhold, Tanner Phelps, Jamie DeFord, Jimmy Ellison Semi Feature: Nathan Lyday, Gabe Koncor, Phil Burdette, Dan Whittercomb, Nick Clubb, Don Slover, Travis Mahoney
Feature: 1. DJ Werkmeister, 2. Loren Westerhold, 3. Jimmy Ellison, 4. Ryan Webster, 5. Scott Powell, 6. Mike Weaver, 7. Jery Legner, 8. Nathan Lyday, 9. Asa Robart, 10. Bubba Swinski, 11. Gabe Koncor, 12. Tony Harlacher, 13.
Chad Williams, 14. Jon Small, 15. Jamie DeFord, 16. Mark Sutton, 17. Phil Briddick, 18. Matt McCarty, 19. Jr. Brown, 20. Tanner Phelps
La Salle, IL – Being behind the wheel of a racecar is a way of life for Marty Thompson of Mineral. Not only is he a weekend warrior on dirt, he is a multi track champ with a winning list that includes every division he competes.
Saturday night at La Salle Speedway the veteran racer competed in the UMP Modified’s and the Illinois Valley Cellular Street Stock special. The outcome was the same – another trophy times two.
First up was the qualifying of both cars, then the Modified heat. He didn’t earn the fastest timed laps but had positioned himself in good starting positions for both divisions.
The Street Stock feature topped the venue as twenty seven contenders registered for the event. Without preliminary races, drivers were lined up based on their qualifying times and four transfer positions from the consolation race.
The newly crowned divisional track champ, Rick Koltveit, and Alex Clubb were on the front row ahead of Thompson and Randy Lucas. Koltveit was quick to lead but fell back in the pack on lap three.
Immediately following, the field was under caution and Thompson was now the race leader. A position he didn’t let go of for the remaining twenty two laps.
Justin Rutledge was commanding second and even made his way close to the tail of Thompson on more then one lap while Clubb and Steve Lewis gave chase. The real action was with three of the semi feature transfers who were working their way up from last.
Brandon Maciejewski started seventeenth but he was certainly a force to reckon with. By the twelfth lap, he had already advanced six spots. At the same time, the last place grid starter, Jimmy Partipilo was moving up just as fast and furious.
When the checkers dropped, it was Thompson with the win over Rutledge.
Maciejewski, Koltveit, and Clubb were all racing nose to tail respectively at the finish. Nathan Balensiefen ended his night in sixth over Lewis, Partipilo, Jay Hamilton, Randy Lucas, Eric Whittington, and Nick Sell.
Koltveit scored the fastest qualifying lap of 15.785.
Thompson’s second act came when he rolled out for the twenty lap UMP Modified show. This time he was on the pole next to Dave Porth while Jason Hastings and Lance Dehm were in row two.
The front row contenders put on a show from the first corner of green flag racing. The pair flew side by side with a strong running Dehm on their tail.
Dehm tried to take the trio into a three wide battle but couldn’t find the room to slide in the middle.
The action was heating up when a car spun collecting two victims. Getting past the five lap mark was a challenge all its own. Once they managed to get past it, the green flag didn’t stay out long creating a painful beginning to what was building up to be a competitive showing.
With the restart of Lap 15, it was evident the group was struggling as only fifteen of the twenty one starters were still running. Two laps later, Porth had made his charge on the outside for a door to door run but caution again was signaled slowing his momentum. The showdown was not to be.
At the finish line, Thompson took the win over Porth, and Dehm. Casey Lappin started sixth on the grid but gave Dehm a run for third in his low line travel. He ended with a strong fourth place finish over Jason Hastings, Mike Garland, Kevin Hastings, Justin McCoy, Cory Gerdes, Joe Adam, Brian Carrington and Mark Novorolsky.
Thompson, Porth and Jason Hastings each won the heats. Garland posted the quickest time of 14.500.
Steve Oeder and Scott Schmitt hosted the front row of the Late Model feature in front of Jeff Hartzell and Ralph Markham.
Oeder quickly pulled ahead of Schmitt, Markham, Hartzell and Keith Piano.
Schmitt used every inch of the clay to hold Hartzell in third during the early laps until contact was made between the pair. Hartzell slid back in the pack. Schmitt continued to rule the second place running position until Markham found room to get around him with four laps to go.
Oeder drove away with the win without contest finishing ahead of Markham.
Schmitt crossed in third after holding back Piano who could not find enough room to pass. Glynn advanced the most positions moving up from tenth to a fifth place finish on his first return to the Speedway since leaving in the middle of July.
Eric Dauber moved up two positions from an eighth place start finishing over John Piccatto, Ed Williams, Hartzell and Loomis.
Loomis and Piano each won the heats. Schmitt held the fastest qualifier title.
The Hornet special got off to a rough start after a horrific flip ended the night of Tanner Phelps. In his first night of racing, the young rookie was hit hard in the wrong spot of his inside quarter panel as he exited the turn two corner. The powerful and unrelenting push sent him on an airborne journey he will not soon forget. Phelps was not injured in the incident.
DJ Werkmeister, the current divisional champ, won the feature marathon adding to his stellar season. Nearly half the field was missing by the time the checkers dropped.
Loren Westerhold tried everything to get a good run on DJ but ended in the runner up spot over Jimmy Ellison, Ryan Webster, Scott Powell, Mike Weaver, Jerry Legner, Nathan Lyday, Asa Robart, and Bubba Siwinski.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 08/25/07
Steel Block Late Models – 18 Cars
Qualifying: Scott Schmitt 13.744
Heat One: Jim Loomis, Jeff Hartzell, Scott Schmitt, John Piccatto Heat Two: Keith Piano, Steve Oeder, Ralph Markham, Eric Dauber
Feature: 1. Steve Oeder, 2. Ralph Markham, 3. Scott Schmitt, 4. Keith Piano, 5. Mike Glynn, 6. Eric Dauber, 7. John Piccatto, 8. Ed Williams, 9. Jeff Hartzell, 10. Jim Loomis, 11. Doug Newlin, 12. Brian Lock, 13. Dan Doherty, 14. Joe Jelinek, 15. Joe Fratt, 16. Ande Bivens, 17. Jeff Small, 18. Terry Knutti
UMP Modifieds 28 Cars
Qualifying: Mike Garland 14.500
Heat One: Marty Thompson, Lance Dehm, Kevin Hastings, Mike Garland Heat Two: Dave Porth, Jay Ledfred, Justin McCoy, Phil Line Heat Three: Jason Hastings, Casey Lappin, Matt Barker, Joe Adam Semi Feature: Results not provided
Feature: 1. Marty Thompson, 2. Dave Porth, 3. Lance Dehm, 4. Casey Lappin, 5. Jason Hastings, 6. Mike Garland, 7. Kevin Hastings, 8. Justin McCoy, 9.
Cory Gerdes, 10. Joe Adam, 11. Brian Carrington, 12. Mark Novorolsky, 13.
Matt Barker, 14. Travis Kohler, 15. Wally Forsythe, 16. Phil Line, 17. Ken Fischer, 18. Matt Cleary,19. Brian Lucas, 20. Mike Dyas, 21. Jay Ledfred
UMP Street Stocks 27 Cars
Qualifying: Rick Koltveit 15.785
Feature: 1. Marty Thompson, 2. Justin Rutledge, 3. Brandon Majewski, 4. Rick Koltveit, 5. Alex Clubb, 6. Nathan Balensiefen, 7. Steve Lewis, 8. Jimmy Partipilo, 9. Jay Hamilton, 10. Randy Lucas, 11. Eric Whittington, 12. Nick Sell, 13. Kevin Hoffman, 14. Mike Hughes, 15. Keith Lucas, 16. Mike Stewart, 17. Gary Schmitt, 18. John Peterson, 19. Jamie Balensiefen, 20. Jay Mesarchik
Hornets 27 Cars
Heat One: Brown, DJ Werkmeister, Jon Small, Matt McCarty Heat Two: Brian Webster, Scott Powell, Chad Williams, Phil Briddick Heat Three: Loren Westerhold, Tanner Phelps, Jamie DeFord, Jimmy Ellison Semi Feature: Nathan Lyday, Gabe Koncor, Phil Burdette, Dan Whittercomb, Nick Clubb, Don Slover, Travis Mahoney
Feature: 1. DJ Werkmeister, 2. Loren Westerhold, 3. Jimmy Ellison, 4. Ryan Webster, 5. Scott Powell, 6. Mike Weaver, 7. Jery Legner, 8. Nathan Lyday, 9. Asa Robart, 10. Bubba Swinski, 11. Gabe Koncor, 12. Tony Harlacher, 13.
Chad Williams, 14. Jon Small, 15. Jamie DeFord, 16. Mark Sutton, 17. Phil Briddick, 18. Matt McCarty, 19. Jr. Brown, 20. Tanner Phelps
