Mullen wins 2nd straight IMCA Mod feature at Shawano Speedway

Week two of the racing season at the Shawano Speedway rolled onto the track with heavy jackets, stocking caps and blankets filling the grandstands as cold temperatures were the story of the night.

With other tracks having to cancel due to weather, the pit area was full of travelers and regulars for the night of racing. Hardy fans came out to see Jared Siefert, Luke Lemmens, Tyler Sobiescyk, Mike Mullen and Tanner Westphal pick up feature wins.

The IMCA Sport Mods led off feature action with Dylan Waldvogel and Sobiescyk on the front row. Sobiescyk wouldn’t let his great starting position go to waste as he stormed out to a commanding lead in the early part of the race.

Waldvogel was challenged and eventually passed by John Holtger, who got close to the Sobiescyk machine on a couple of occasions but was not able to make the pass.

Back in traffic, Jayden Schmidt made his way forward in a spirited battle with Jeffrey Teske and Max Oreskovich. Schmidt eventually grabbed the third spot with Teske finishing fourth.

The IMCA Mods ran second on the night and early on it looked like it would be the Eddie Muenster show. Muenster jumped out to a large lead on lap one and began to pull away as last week’s feature winner Mullen began moving forward along with Marcus Yarie.

Mullen and Yarie both started in the fifth row, and by lap seven, they were starting to reel in Muenster. Mullen got by the Muenster machine on lap eight, with Yarie grabbing second on lap nine. Lucas Lamberies followed suit and grabbed the third spot on lap 10.

Mechanical problems ended the night for Muenster, while Mullen was cruising to victory. Yarie held off Lamberies for second, with Johnny Whitman and Konnor Wilinski rounding out the top five.

The Late Model Division saw longtime driver Siefert and Justin Ritchie starting in the front row. Siefert capitalized on a great start to grab the top spot and began to pull away from the Ritchie machine. Ron Berna began to challenge Ritchie for the runner-up spot.

A lap seven caution slowed action. On the restart, Berna got past Ritchie and began to challenge Siefert for the lead. Siefert was up to the challenge and again started to extend his lead.

On lap 13, caution flew again and once again give Ritchie and Berna an opportunity to get to Siefert’s back bumper. Ritchie used this restart to retake the runner-up spot, with Nick Anvelink moving to third past Berna. Running an exceptionally smooth line, Siefert picked up the feature win with Ritchie, Anvelink and Berna in tow.

The IMCA Stock Cars continue to show why they are the most exciting class to watch every week at the speedway. Dan Michonski, coming off a miserable opening night, went to a backup car while his primary car was being repaired. Michonski started on the pole position in the feature event.

Michonski jumped to an early lead but soon was joined by Chucky Forstner and Eric Arneson in a battle for the top spot. Trent Nolan also joined the battle throughout the middle of the race. A caution took the Arneson machine out of contention a few laps later.

Meanwhile, Lemmens powered his way to the front and eventually wrestled away the top spot from Forstner in a great side-by-side battle. Lemmens, returning to the speedway for the first time in nine years, grabbed the checkered flag with Forstner finishing second. Travis Van Straten took third, with Nolan finishing fourth.

The Mighty 4 feature saw Westphal get past pole sitter Alexis Michonski in the opening laps to grab the top spot. Last week’s feature winner Brad Wedde moved into the runner-up spot on lap six, with William Hoefs grabbing the third spot.

Westphal cruised to victory with Wedde doing everything he could to get by. Lucas Hacker, racing for the first time this year, made an impressive run to the third spot, with Hoefs rounding out the top four.