By: Betty Glynn
La Salle , IL – Saturday was a questionable day for outdoor activities in the Illinois Valley area. Mother Nature dumped a little extra moisture for much of the day until clearing the skies and letting a glimpse of the sun peak thru. With bleachers dampened and puddles growing, the decision to run was in the balance. Lucky for Ryan Unzicker the La Salle Speedway promoter decided to gamble on Mother Nature.
Twenty-four UMP Late Models entered the grounds to compete for the first of two Northern Allstars Late Model Series events in August. The first was Saturday night for a $2,000 30-lap main. With the USA Nationals this weekend some of the regular NALMS drivers were in the badger state. But one such follower chose to stay closer to home - a decision that he had to be happy with.
Group qualifying, three heat races and a semi feature set the Late Models starting grid.
For the first heat race, it was La Salle Speedways last week’s winner Mike Provenzano outpowering the pack from front row outside of Brett Sievert. Sievert scored the runner up spot ahead of Brandon Sheppard and Kevin Weaver.
The second heat race pole sitter, Frank Heckanast Jr., darted to the low line to pull away with the victory over Scott Schmitt, Ralph Markham and John Piccatto.
It took several complete restarts to get the third heat race underway. Contact was made several times from the second row as Ted Loomis tried to take the inside line away from Jason Jaggers at the start. The second such move sent Jaggers for a ride into the infield tires collecting Steve Sheppard Jr. as well. Unzicker cruised to the win finishing ahead of Bell , Loomis, Steve Sheppard Jr., and Jaggers.
The division’s consi was a survival of the fittest with only two cars still ready to cross the checkers at a racing pace. Jon Small won the event with Zack Busch second.
Twenty drivers rolled out for the thirty lap main event with Unzicker and front row partner Provenzano heading the field. Heckanast and Sievert were in row two with Schmitt and Bell hosting the third row. At 9:16pm the flagman dropped the green flag. Provenzano got a powerful run on Unzicker but the action was stopped possibly due to the start. The second time, Unzicker powered to the lead with Provenzano in close second ahead of Sievert.
By the sixth lap on the circuit, it was clear Unzicker had nailed his set up and would be tough to catch. He used the bottom groove to take cars a lap down. Heckanast was flying high solo over Sievert. Unzicker’s only side by side contests came as he battled lapped traffic who were racing for their own finishing positions. One such instance started during the twelfth lap when Roger Markham and Jaggers were side by side. Unzicker couldn’t get his nose completely under Roger Markham without the door being closed. Stuck lap after lap, Unzicker finally got between the duo after 8 laps.
Even held up in traffic didn’t cut away Unzicker’s lead. A caution with six laps remaining brought the field back together. It also gave twelfth place starter Steve Sheppard Jr. an opportunity to challenge son Brandon and Heckanast for second.
Unzicker sailed to his second win at La Salle this season. His first was on May 28th when he was crowned Monster of the Midwest also winning $2,000 for his efforts.
“Every time we come here it is a good thing,” Unzicker told the crowd. “Thanks to all the fans and Northern Allstars for coming out here tonight.”
Much like the springtime race, he used his pole position, car set up and talent to cruise back to victory lane.
Heckanast crossed the line second in front of Brandon Sheppard, Steve Sheppard, Weaver, Ralph Markham, Ted Loomis, Roger Markham, Jaggers, Bell , Schmitt, Busch and Ed Williams Sr.
Fifteen UMP Modifieds made the call for the feature race. It was a rough start for the Mods, after ten minutes the field had only one lap on the scoreboard. Once they were able to stay at competitive speeds it was Jason Bahrs in the lead over pole sitter Nathan Balensiefen. Vince Cooper was not far behind and able to bring his machine under a higher running Balensiefen for second.
By Lap 8, Cooper had brought his ride up to the leader for a challenge. They raced neck and neck until a caution brought a stop to their impressive door to door contest. At the restart of Lap10, it was Cooper moved to the helm over Bahrs, Balensiefen, Joe Adam, Travis Kohler and Dale Lueth.
Cooper eventually pulled away scoring the win over Bahrs, Balensiefen, Adam, Kohler, Lueth, AJ Dixon, Mike Marden, Tom Knippenberg, and Wally Forsythe.
Cooper and Balensiefen claimed victories in their heat events.
Jimmy Partipilo has dominated the UMP Street Stock class this season with last weeks winner Steve Lewis close by. Partipilo’s ability to work the highbanks has become a nightmare for the competition as there is no stopping the young gun from Elmhurst especially when he starts near the front.
Partipilo collected the feature win over Lewis, Mike Hughes, Brandon Maciejewski, David McKenny, Alex Clubb, Randy Lucas, Steve Schwemlein, Gary Schmitt, and Jake Miller.
Hughes won the first heat with Lewis second over Daryl Matthews, and Jamie Balensiefen. Partipilo outran his competitors for the second heat. Maciejewski took second ahead of McKenny and Roger Rickels.
Nineteen Hornets were ready for feature action. Cody Clubb and Phil Burdette were on the front row. Cody Clubb took the point early but it was close racing between him, Burdette, and Nick Clubb. Around the ninth lap, contact was made between Burdette and the leader which sent Cody off his pace and back into the pack.
As the leaders entered the final turn, Burdette and Nick Clubb were side by side until the checkers. Burdette narrowly won with Nick Clubb second then Jeff Seitz, Allen Provenzano, Jimmy Ellison, Chad Williams, Asa Robart, JR Brown, Jerry Legner and Rick Zifko.
Seitz and Nick Clubb won their heats.
The championships are coming down to the wire as there is only one points night remaining for the 2009 season. One of the tightest races is in the Late Model class where last weeks motor woes blew the competition out of the lead. Since this week will not count as a points race, Mike Provenzano leads Ralph Markham by twelve points. Markham is ahead of Mike Glynn by just as many.
The Hornet division is heavily contested going into next weeks Fan Appreciation night. Nick Clubb leads Rick Zifko by eight points. There is only a twenty point spread between fourth and first in the class.
The speedway’s Fourth of July celebration had been canceled due to rain so the August 8th Fan Appreciation Night, with a reduced general admission of $5, will light up the area skies their fireworks display.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 08/01/09
UMP NALMS Late Models – 24 Cars
Heat One: Mike Provenzano, Brett Sievert, Brandon Sheppard, Kevin Weaver
Heat Two: Frank Heckanast Jr., Scott Schmitt, Ralph Markham, John Piccatto
Heat Three: Ryan Unzicker, Rich Bell, Ted Loomis, Steve Sheppard
NALMS 30 Lap Feature: 1. Ryan Unzicker, 2. Frank Heckanast Jr., 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Steve Sheppard, 5. Kevin Weaver, 6. Ralph Markham, 7. Ted Loomis, 8. Roger Markham, 9. Jason Jaggers, 10. Rich Bell, 11. Scott Schmitt, 12. Zack Busch, 13. Ed Williams Sr., 14. Jon Small, 15. Jim Loomis, 16. John Piccatto, 17. Brett Sievert, 18. Mike Provenzano, 19. Jeff Small, 20. Greg Wagner
UMP Modifieds – 15 Cars
Heat One: Vince Cooper, Jason Bahrs, Mike Marden, Dale Lueth
Heat Two: Nathan Balensiefen, Justin McCoy, Tom Knippenberg, Travis Kohler
Feature: 1. Vince Cooper, 2. Jason Bahrs, 3. Nathan Balensiefen, 4. Joe Adam, 5. Travis Kohler, 6. Dale Lueth, 7. AJ Dixon, 8. Mike Marden, 9. Tom Knippenberg, 10. Wally Forsythe, 11. Brad Carrington, 12. Brad Stewart, 13. Don Cole, 14. Scott Hauge, 15. Justin McCoy
UMP Street Stocks – 17 Cars
Heat One: Mike Hughes, Steve Lewis, Daryl Matthews, Jamie Balensiefen
Heat Two: Jimmy Partipilo, Brandon Maciejewski, David McKenny, Roger Rickels
Feature: 1. Jimmy Partipilo, 2. Steve Lewis, 3. Mike Hughes, 4. Brandon Maciejewski, 5. David McKenny, 6. Alex Clubb, 7. Randy Lucas, 8. Steve Schwemlein, 9. Gary Schmitt, 10. Jake Miller, 11. Daryl Matthews, 12. Justin Hamm, 13. Roger Rickels, 14. Jamie Balensiefen, 15. Noah Faw, 16. Marqus Hoover, 17. Aaron Near
UMP Hornets – 19 Cars
Heat One: Jeff Seitz, Jimmy Ellison, Nick Clubb, Jamie Deford
Heat Two: Nick Clubb, Allen Provenzano, Phil Burdette, Josh Larson
Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Nick Clubb, 3. Jeff Seitz, 4. Allen Provenzano, 5. Jimmy Ellison, 6. Chad Williams, 7. Asa Robart, 8. JR Brown, 9. Jerry Legner, 10. Rick Zifko, 11. Rick Wagner, 12. Shannon Mudro, 13. Dan Widdecombe, 14. Cody Clubb, 15. Josh Larson, 16. Freddie Thatcher, 17. Andrew Shanwarko, 18. Jamie Deford, 19. Mark Sutton
La Salle , IL – Saturday was a questionable day for outdoor activities in the Illinois Valley area. Mother Nature dumped a little extra moisture for much of the day until clearing the skies and letting a glimpse of the sun peak thru. With bleachers dampened and puddles growing, the decision to run was in the balance. Lucky for Ryan Unzicker the La Salle Speedway promoter decided to gamble on Mother Nature.
Twenty-four UMP Late Models entered the grounds to compete for the first of two Northern Allstars Late Model Series events in August. The first was Saturday night for a $2,000 30-lap main. With the USA Nationals this weekend some of the regular NALMS drivers were in the badger state. But one such follower chose to stay closer to home - a decision that he had to be happy with.
Group qualifying, three heat races and a semi feature set the Late Models starting grid.
For the first heat race, it was La Salle Speedways last week’s winner Mike Provenzano outpowering the pack from front row outside of Brett Sievert. Sievert scored the runner up spot ahead of Brandon Sheppard and Kevin Weaver.
The second heat race pole sitter, Frank Heckanast Jr., darted to the low line to pull away with the victory over Scott Schmitt, Ralph Markham and John Piccatto.
It took several complete restarts to get the third heat race underway. Contact was made several times from the second row as Ted Loomis tried to take the inside line away from Jason Jaggers at the start. The second such move sent Jaggers for a ride into the infield tires collecting Steve Sheppard Jr. as well. Unzicker cruised to the win finishing ahead of Bell , Loomis, Steve Sheppard Jr., and Jaggers.
The division’s consi was a survival of the fittest with only two cars still ready to cross the checkers at a racing pace. Jon Small won the event with Zack Busch second.
Twenty drivers rolled out for the thirty lap main event with Unzicker and front row partner Provenzano heading the field. Heckanast and Sievert were in row two with Schmitt and Bell hosting the third row. At 9:16pm the flagman dropped the green flag. Provenzano got a powerful run on Unzicker but the action was stopped possibly due to the start. The second time, Unzicker powered to the lead with Provenzano in close second ahead of Sievert.
By the sixth lap on the circuit, it was clear Unzicker had nailed his set up and would be tough to catch. He used the bottom groove to take cars a lap down. Heckanast was flying high solo over Sievert. Unzicker’s only side by side contests came as he battled lapped traffic who were racing for their own finishing positions. One such instance started during the twelfth lap when Roger Markham and Jaggers were side by side. Unzicker couldn’t get his nose completely under Roger Markham without the door being closed. Stuck lap after lap, Unzicker finally got between the duo after 8 laps.
Even held up in traffic didn’t cut away Unzicker’s lead. A caution with six laps remaining brought the field back together. It also gave twelfth place starter Steve Sheppard Jr. an opportunity to challenge son Brandon and Heckanast for second.
Unzicker sailed to his second win at La Salle this season. His first was on May 28th when he was crowned Monster of the Midwest also winning $2,000 for his efforts.
“Every time we come here it is a good thing,” Unzicker told the crowd. “Thanks to all the fans and Northern Allstars for coming out here tonight.”
Much like the springtime race, he used his pole position, car set up and talent to cruise back to victory lane.
Heckanast crossed the line second in front of Brandon Sheppard, Steve Sheppard, Weaver, Ralph Markham, Ted Loomis, Roger Markham, Jaggers, Bell , Schmitt, Busch and Ed Williams Sr.
Fifteen UMP Modifieds made the call for the feature race. It was a rough start for the Mods, after ten minutes the field had only one lap on the scoreboard. Once they were able to stay at competitive speeds it was Jason Bahrs in the lead over pole sitter Nathan Balensiefen. Vince Cooper was not far behind and able to bring his machine under a higher running Balensiefen for second.
By Lap 8, Cooper had brought his ride up to the leader for a challenge. They raced neck and neck until a caution brought a stop to their impressive door to door contest. At the restart of Lap10, it was Cooper moved to the helm over Bahrs, Balensiefen, Joe Adam, Travis Kohler and Dale Lueth.
Cooper eventually pulled away scoring the win over Bahrs, Balensiefen, Adam, Kohler, Lueth, AJ Dixon, Mike Marden, Tom Knippenberg, and Wally Forsythe.
Cooper and Balensiefen claimed victories in their heat events.
Jimmy Partipilo has dominated the UMP Street Stock class this season with last weeks winner Steve Lewis close by. Partipilo’s ability to work the highbanks has become a nightmare for the competition as there is no stopping the young gun from Elmhurst especially when he starts near the front.
Partipilo collected the feature win over Lewis, Mike Hughes, Brandon Maciejewski, David McKenny, Alex Clubb, Randy Lucas, Steve Schwemlein, Gary Schmitt, and Jake Miller.
Hughes won the first heat with Lewis second over Daryl Matthews, and Jamie Balensiefen. Partipilo outran his competitors for the second heat. Maciejewski took second ahead of McKenny and Roger Rickels.
Nineteen Hornets were ready for feature action. Cody Clubb and Phil Burdette were on the front row. Cody Clubb took the point early but it was close racing between him, Burdette, and Nick Clubb. Around the ninth lap, contact was made between Burdette and the leader which sent Cody off his pace and back into the pack.
As the leaders entered the final turn, Burdette and Nick Clubb were side by side until the checkers. Burdette narrowly won with Nick Clubb second then Jeff Seitz, Allen Provenzano, Jimmy Ellison, Chad Williams, Asa Robart, JR Brown, Jerry Legner and Rick Zifko.
Seitz and Nick Clubb won their heats.
The championships are coming down to the wire as there is only one points night remaining for the 2009 season. One of the tightest races is in the Late Model class where last weeks motor woes blew the competition out of the lead. Since this week will not count as a points race, Mike Provenzano leads Ralph Markham by twelve points. Markham is ahead of Mike Glynn by just as many.
The Hornet division is heavily contested going into next weeks Fan Appreciation night. Nick Clubb leads Rick Zifko by eight points. There is only a twenty point spread between fourth and first in the class.
The speedway’s Fourth of July celebration had been canceled due to rain so the August 8th Fan Appreciation Night, with a reduced general admission of $5, will light up the area skies their fireworks display.
La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 08/01/09
UMP NALMS Late Models – 24 Cars
Heat One: Mike Provenzano, Brett Sievert, Brandon Sheppard, Kevin Weaver
Heat Two: Frank Heckanast Jr., Scott Schmitt, Ralph Markham, John Piccatto
Heat Three: Ryan Unzicker, Rich Bell, Ted Loomis, Steve Sheppard
NALMS 30 Lap Feature: 1. Ryan Unzicker, 2. Frank Heckanast Jr., 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Steve Sheppard, 5. Kevin Weaver, 6. Ralph Markham, 7. Ted Loomis, 8. Roger Markham, 9. Jason Jaggers, 10. Rich Bell, 11. Scott Schmitt, 12. Zack Busch, 13. Ed Williams Sr., 14. Jon Small, 15. Jim Loomis, 16. John Piccatto, 17. Brett Sievert, 18. Mike Provenzano, 19. Jeff Small, 20. Greg Wagner
UMP Modifieds – 15 Cars
Heat One: Vince Cooper, Jason Bahrs, Mike Marden, Dale Lueth
Heat Two: Nathan Balensiefen, Justin McCoy, Tom Knippenberg, Travis Kohler
Feature: 1. Vince Cooper, 2. Jason Bahrs, 3. Nathan Balensiefen, 4. Joe Adam, 5. Travis Kohler, 6. Dale Lueth, 7. AJ Dixon, 8. Mike Marden, 9. Tom Knippenberg, 10. Wally Forsythe, 11. Brad Carrington, 12. Brad Stewart, 13. Don Cole, 14. Scott Hauge, 15. Justin McCoy
UMP Street Stocks – 17 Cars
Heat One: Mike Hughes, Steve Lewis, Daryl Matthews, Jamie Balensiefen
Heat Two: Jimmy Partipilo, Brandon Maciejewski, David McKenny, Roger Rickels
Feature: 1. Jimmy Partipilo, 2. Steve Lewis, 3. Mike Hughes, 4. Brandon Maciejewski, 5. David McKenny, 6. Alex Clubb, 7. Randy Lucas, 8. Steve Schwemlein, 9. Gary Schmitt, 10. Jake Miller, 11. Daryl Matthews, 12. Justin Hamm, 13. Roger Rickels, 14. Jamie Balensiefen, 15. Noah Faw, 16. Marqus Hoover, 17. Aaron Near
UMP Hornets – 19 Cars
Heat One: Jeff Seitz, Jimmy Ellison, Nick Clubb, Jamie Deford
Heat Two: Nick Clubb, Allen Provenzano, Phil Burdette, Josh Larson
Feature: 1. Phil Burdette, 2. Nick Clubb, 3. Jeff Seitz, 4. Allen Provenzano, 5. Jimmy Ellison, 6. Chad Williams, 7. Asa Robart, 8. JR Brown, 9. Jerry Legner, 10. Rick Zifko, 11. Rick Wagner, 12. Shannon Mudro, 13. Dan Widdecombe, 14. Cody Clubb, 15. Josh Larson, 16. Freddie Thatcher, 17. Andrew Shanwarko, 18. Jamie Deford, 19. Mark Sutton
