Brian Weinfurter in victory lane (Jeff Blaser and Blaser Photography).  

By Brandon Aschenbrenner

Friday night was fan appreciation night- and fans responded by packing the house at Golden Sands Speedway. Many first time fans showed up as well to enjoy some great racing on the high banked 1/3 mile. 

The Super Stocks started off the night and Matt Raykowski (6) regained his throne on top of the qualifying sheet. The heat races saw Brad Scholze (87) and Marv Flick (90) pick up the checkered flags. In the feature, it was Brad Scholze who looked strong early. A caution came out when contact between Kade Hamin (62) and Marv Flick (90) cased those cars to spin in turns 1 and 2 and bunched up the field behind them including Phil Malouf (32) who was 2nd in points and Matt Raykowski, who was 3rd in points and the fast timer. Brian Weinfurter, the point leader, was also involved, but was able to continue the race without making repairs. Weinfurter restarted 6th and motored his way through the field picking up the feature win. Matt Pyburn (71) took 2nd, Scholze 3rd, Bryan Langreck (12) 4th and Rachel Kallas (70) who was celebrating her birthday, getting a top 5. With the win and the troubles for the other top 3 drivers in points, Brian Weinfurter has an 83 point advantage. One driver can only gain a maximum of 80 points in one night, so Weinfurter will be the 2014 Champion. 

Jeff Blaser and Blaser Photography

The Element Mobile Super Late Models were next out and Mike Egan (44) took fast time honors. In heat racing action, Corey Jankowski (31) Matt Pyburn (71) and Eugene Gregorich Jr. (14) all grabbed wins. In the B main last chance race, the top 2 advanced. Those two were Jeff Weinfurter (3) and Chad Devine (54). Devine survived after getting hit hard in the back end by visitor Braison Bennett (2) after a car spun in front of those drivers. In the A-Main, Gregorich and Frank Nitzke (18) 2nd and 1st respectfully in the standings, started on the front row. It would be a show between these two drivers down to the finish. Gregorich got the lead on the start and held on dealing with lap traffic and dying tires to pick up the victory. Nitzke took 2nd, Natalie Decker (04) 3rd, Mike Egan and Rene Scheinoha (5) 4th and 5th. Gregorich, after getting his car repaired after a hard crash at Marshfield a few weeks ago, closed in on the point lead. Nitzke now holds the
slim 11 point advantage. Mike Egan sits 3rd in the standings 34 out of the lead and Natalie Decker is 37 points out in 4th. 

In the Rock 94.7 Pure Stock division Jake Capek (81) beat out Kyle Genett (16X) by 3 one-thousandths of a second for fast time. Ethan Elgersma (12) and Dan Weinfurter (4) got the heat wins. The feature saw Kyle Genett jump towards the front early on. He went on to pick up the victory. Weinfurter took 2nd, Karl Genett (16K) and Scott Ciesielski (72) finished 3rd and 4th after a tough battle and Hunter Cramer (66) picked up 5th. Capek suffered a flat tire late and stayed on the track for the final 4 laps finishing 9th on the night. That helped Kyle Genett increase his points lead to 43 now over Jake going into championship night. 

The 4-Cylinder Stock class had another crazy night. George Seliger (06) started off where he left off the night before at State Park Speedway and took fast time. Nikki Coulthurst (17) and Kelly Sankey (88) won the heat races. The feature was interesting if nothing else. It was again 3 wide racing action throughout the pack. Sankey and Cheri Kurth (07) tangled coming out of turn 2, but no caution was thrown. Then later, Dillon Mackesy (93), the point leader coming in, had a rear tire break away from the car ending his night. It was Seliger though motoring his way through to pick up the feature win. Eric Robinson (2) took 2nd, Jarrod Dolph (2), Mike Wegner (20) and Kelly Sankey rounded out the top 5. With Mackesy’s DNF, Sankey jumped back into the point lead and now holds a 14 point advantage going into the final night.

The cruiser division was back in action as well tonight. The cars with 2 drivers had a good fight for the win right down to the checkered flag between Kuhn and Mancil (126) and Wheelock and Kalata (73). Wheelock and Kalata used the high line on the final lap to capture the checkers. Kuhn and Mancil ended up 2nd and Poeschel and Fourness took home 3rd. With the win, Wheelock and Kalata vaulted to the point lead and is tied with Poeschel and Fourness. Carlson and Carlson (5.0) sits 3rd 2 points out of the lead. Their championship will be decided at the Eve of Devastation on Saturday September 13th. 

The final regular season event at Golden Sands Speedway is Friday, August 29th. It’s the Season Championship Night! The Race Idol Contest will also be taking place. Join us for the Super Stocks, Element Mobile Super Late Models, Rock 94.7 Pure Stocks and the 4-Cylinder Stocks. Gates open at 4:30, Qualifying at 6:30 and Racing at 7:45.