It was a festive and fast-paced night Aug. 2 at Shawano Speedway as fans were treated to Halloween fun and fierce racing competition under the lights. With the IMCA modifieds racing for a $1,000 top prize, and children and adults showing off creative costumes during the annual trick-or-treat in the pits, the evening delivered something for everyone.
In the late models feature, Andy Karl jumped to the early lead from the outside front row, fending off charges from Tommy Rindt and Jayden Schmidt. Schmidt quickly made his way past Rindt and began chasing down Karl, cutting into the lead until a slip in turn 2 allowed Karl to reestablish control. Karl held on for the victory, followed by Schmidt in second and Rindt rounding out the podium.
Karl also won the heat race.
The IMCA sport mods event was filled with drama, as Tim Jorgenson surged from the second row to lead most of the race. A lap 15 caution, however, bunched the field and brought Rindt, Dustin Wudstrack, Braxton Ambrosius and Michael Springborn into contention.
Rindt made a daring move on the restart to grab the lead, but Jorgensen battled back with a last-lap pass in turns 1 and 2 to secure the win. Wudstrack finished second, Kaleb Slezewski took third and Forrest Crenin came in fourth. Rindt, caught up in a final-lap incident, was relegated to the back.
Jorgenson won the first sport modifieds heat race, and Slezewski won the second heat.
Known for intensity, the IMCA stock cars didn’t disappoint — despite a caution-filled opening five laps. Once the race settled, Travis Spalding took command before Devin Snellenberger, fresh off a win last week, charged to the front. A late-race caution set up a thrilling green-white-checkered finish.
Snellenberger held strong for the win, followed by Aaron Stolp in second and Kyle Frederick, who came from the back to finish third. Mark Eswein placed fourth.
Heat winners were Elliott Michonski, of Marion, and Dan Michonski, also of Marion.
In the marquee IMCA modified event, Mike Schmidt led early from the pole with Jordan Bartz on his outside. But all eyes were on Lucas Lamberies, who started seventh and quickly worked his way through the field, powering into a commanding lead. Lamberies picked up his second consecutive feature win, leaving Jayden Schmidt to finish runner-up, Kevin Feck in third and Mike Schmidt in fourth.
Lamberies won his fifth feature race of the season. In his 12 starts, he has 11 finishes in the top five.
Mike Schmidt won the first heat race, and Lamberies won the second heat.
The night concluded with the Mighty 4’s division, but action was halted early when Andrew Yeager made hard contact with the turn 2 wall. Safety crews responded promptly, and although Yeager was sore, he is expected to recover fully. He was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
As the event had not reached the halfway mark, no official winner was awarded.
