The finish to the WISSOTA Late Model feature Saturday night at Shawano Speedway will be one that will be talked about for awhile.
For those of you who were not there to witness it, here is what happened. Justin Hirt took the lead at the drop of the green flag with Nick Anvelink and Troy Springborn in pursuit. Anvelink caught Hirt a couple of times during the race, but Hirt maintained his lead. Springborn also caught Anvelink a couple times, but couldn’t make the pass.
On the last lap, Anvelink tried making an inside pass on Hirt in corner one, but couldn’t make the pass. Anvelink again went to the inside of Hirt entering corner three. This time Anvelink got by Hirt and slid up the track in front of Hirt. Hirt battled back and ducked underneath Anvelink in an effort to retake the lead. This allowed Springborn to close the gap on the top two cars.
All three drivers raced to the checkered flag, with Anvelink on the outside, Hirt in the middle and Springborn on the inside. Anvelink edged out Hirt by inches at the line to take the win, while Hirt edged out Springborn by inches to finish second.
With modern technology, someone who taped the race from the stands posted it on YouTube. If you want to watch the race on YouTube, go to my Full Throttle Blog on www.waupacanow.com for the link.
There are times when two cars will cross the finish line at virtually the same time, but it isn’t too often three cars will cross the finish line at virtually the same time. It was one of the most spectacular Late Model finishes I have seen at Shawano Speedway. And credit has to go to the three drivers for racing clean the whole time and not beating and banging on each other while racing that close.
Ron Berna’s quest for his eighth track championship at Shawano Speedway took a huge hit when he retired from the WISSOTA Late Model feature after racing only a few laps.
Berna was actually doing double duty Saturday night, also racing an IMCA Modified. He had a top 10 finish in the IMCA Modified feature.
Paul Parker lost a few points in the WISSOTA Late Model feature after he tagged the wall late in the race. There was damage to the rear of his car, and the spoiler was almost completely off the car. He was in fifth place when it happened and fell back a few spots when the handling of the car went away.
Tim Jorgenson won the IMCA Modified feature.
The Minchoski brothers – Dan and Nate – continue to finish in the top five in the IMCA Stock Car features. Neither of them won, though, as Mitch Stankowski had that honor.
Joel Bennett remained perfect in the FASTRAK Late Model division, winning both the heat race and the feature.
Tracy Wassenberg is proving to be the driver to beat in the IMCA Northern SportMod division. He won another feature, and did it in convincing fashion.