Race Reports and other random thoughts
by Stan Meissner
May 27, 2013
Forest Lake, Minnesota
Saint Croix Valley Raceway Tabor Memorial and Cedar Lake Pack The Track May 24 & 25, 2013
For UMSS results and race reports visit the UMSS website at http://www.umsprints.com/
For Cedar Lake Speedway results and race reports visit their website at http://www.cedarlakespeedway.com/
View the complete photo gallery for each night at http://www.gotomn.com/gotomn-photo-gallery.htm
So far this has been an unusual season. It's almost June and I only have three races under my belt but would have had twice as many if the weather had cooperated. Two of those nights of racing took place at the Saint Croix Valley Raceway on May 24 and the Cedar Lake Speedway on May 25. The question that I heard several times at CLS was "why aren't you up at Rice Lake watching the Sprint Cars?" I can understand why people would ask that question seeing as I have been an outspoken advocate for more Sprint Car racing in our area for the past fifteen years. I spent the night at CLS covering photo duties and will be doing that several times this season. Fortunately I am able to follow all the UMSS action that I missed by watching the Mark Meeks Video. Check out Mark's website at http://www.meeksvideo.com/
Speaking of video, when I announced that I'd be writing up my racing experiences here on the MDTR blog I mentioned that I'd post some video clips. You know the old saying about biting off a little more than one can chew. That old saying applies to me posting video. I still plan on doing that several times this season for some of the big specials. It hasn't worked out so far this season but I'll be posting a few clips from time to time so watch for those.
I got to know Dave Tabor and would chat with him whenever I got a chance. When Dave's health went downhill it upset me for a couple of reasons. First and foremost I considered Dave a friend. Secondly, Dave was the same age as me and his circumstances reminded me of my own mortality. Dave loved Sprint Car racing, I think it must have been comforting for him to be at the track. I wouldn't say that Dave and I were close friends but like I said, we would chat at the track and email back and forth once in a while. It was difficult to lose somebody that was close in age like that and had been so happy and vibrant up until he became ill. That's why the Tabor Memorial is a must see event on my schedule.
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| The tradition lives on |
The racing was pretty spectacular and Dave would have been proud to know that his name is associated with an event that attracted 27 winged UMSS Sprints.
It was good to see Joseph Kouba back driving a race car after sitting out last season due to health issues.
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| Joseph Kouba at SCVR |
Likewise Jenni Eriksen looked fast but ended up slamming one of the tractor tires and had to get checked out at the local hospital. Jenni came back to race the next night at Rice Lake.
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| Jenni Eriksen at SCVR |
Tony Norem is sporting a familiar number this year. Norem is using the number B1st, a number that brought him a lot of success during the time he was racing weekly at Knoxville in the 360 division.
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| Tony Norem SCVR |
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| Tight action at SCVR |
Katrina Sautbine won her first UMSS TSCS A Main on May 24 at SCVR. This comes just a few short weeks since we last saw her own car go up in flames at Elko. There is a lot of talent in the TSCS ranks and she came close to nabbing one a couple times last year. I think we'll see her win a few more before the end of the season.
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| UMSS TSC Feature winner Katrina Sautbine |
Mike Mueller has made the switch from Midwest Modifieds to a UMSS Traditional Sprint. Mike's car sports the #87, his dad Herb's tribute to the Wilke's #87 (my 2nd cousin) who raced from the early 60's through 1976. Herb Mueller used to hang around the Wilke's garage so he got the racing bug from the same source as I did. Mike is too young to remember the #87 so he has done a few tweaks to the number in order to make it his own.
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| Mike Mueller #87 UMSS TSC |
The next night I went to the Cedar Lake Speedway for their pack the track night. The area had received heavy rain in the days leading up to the race that produced a bit of a challenge staying ahead of the track. I think that by the end of the night they were starting to get a handle on things and the racing was pretty good. Hopefully the rains won't be as frequent as they're predicting for this week as next Saturday will be their Triple, a big event for the Speedway. They had a pretty good crowd for Pack The Track in spite of the cooler than normal temperatures. In spite of having to do some extra work on the track the show moved along quickly and I was back in Forest Lake by 10:30pm.
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| Things got a little crazy at times last Saturday night |
I mentioned Herb Mueller's connection to the #87 a couple of paragraphs ago. Another connection to the #87 is Jerry Hanson's Hornet ride. Jerry would be my 2nd cousin once removed, another one who was introduced to the sport by Wilke Racing.
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| Jerry Hanson at the Cedar Lake Speedway |
Andy Jones has returned to Modified racing after spending a couple seasons trying his luck with the Sprint Cars. Andy finished 3rd in the Cedar Lake Modified Feature and won at NCS the next night. I got an opportunity to talk to his dad Dennis for a little while. They had just returned from a funeral up in Thunder Bay so both were operating on a shortage of sleep. Dennis is another person who has been dealing with some health issues and he looks like he's doing much better. I don't think anybody could have had a more difficult season than these guys had last year and they looked to be enjoying themselves back in their old familiar surroundings.
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| Andy Jones May 25 at the Cedar Lake Speedway |
Mark Froehlich won the Midwest Modified Feature at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Pack the Track night. Mark was joined by his proud smiling daughter in victory lane.
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| Midwest Modified victory lane celebration |
Forest Lake racer Mike Loomis won the Pro Stock Feature at CLS on Saturday May 24. I don't have any hard facts to back this up but I would guess that Forest Lake is home to a huge number of trophies. We've got a lot of winning drivers living up here in this little town.
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| Pro Stock Feature winner Mike Loomis |
Darrel Nelson won the Cedar Lake Modified Feature. Nelson was hooked up and took off from the rest of the field early in the race but his pursuers closed the gap late in the race.
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| Modified winner Darrel Nelson |
Well, that pretty much sums up my Memorial Day weekend racing. I had a great time chasing races two nights in a row but the only downside is that I'm sore because I'm not used to being on my feet that long. I'm off work for the entire Memorial Day week and had planned on doing some outside painting but now it looks like the whole week is going to be rainy. My plans are to attend the IRA Sprints at SCVR on Friday May 31 and the Triple at Cedar Lake on June 1. We'll be keeping an eye on the weather and hoping for the best.
See you at the races! I'll be wearing my mud shoes.
