8/21/2019
Wilmot Raceway Saturday, August 17 Results & Summary
(Wilmot, Wis.)--The Bandit 4-Cylinder Stock Car 2019 Wilmot Raceway Season Champion will be crowned Saturday, August 24 as part of the Tommy Homan Memorial Street Stock Special along with Family Night.
The Bandit Championship may come down to a sidelined defending champion as Milwaukee's Tony Barron had his car destroyed in a feature crash August 16 of the Fair. Salem's Ryan Johnson, who was second by 8 points heading into August 16, had mechanical woes but plans to be in action for the point finale. Barron has said he is done for the season. With the sportsmanship shown by many of the Bandit drivers, Barron could still show up with a car making the title chase more interesting.
Street stocks, AutoMeter Wisconsin WingLess Sprints, Modifieds and Lightning Sprints are part of the five division program.
Grandstands open at 5:00 p.m. with on track activity getting underway about 6:00 p.m. and racing slated for 6:45 p.m.
The Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association (IRA) return to their original home track Friday, August 30 in an all sprint car program featuring the Tony Stewart Sprint Car Challenge.
Stewart, a NASCAR and Indy Racing League champion along with numerous titles and sprint car feature wins, has never competed at Wilmot in a winged outlaw sprint car. Stewart will be taking on the IRA stars in a battle for the Tony Stewart Sprint Car Challenge with the Bill Klein Tribute award and a spot on the IRA Founders Trophy sponsored by the Southeastern Wisconsin Racing Hall of Fame all on the line.
The Founders award recognizes Ray Toft, Whitey Harris and the late Junior Dodd who originally put the IRA organization together 52 years ago. Bill Klein, the original president of the club who passed away earlier this summer, is being remembered in having the feature race run in his memory.
AutoMeter Wisconsin WingLess Sprints and IRA Lightning Sprints are on the August 30 program as well.
Hartford's Bill Balog scored his fourth Roger Iles Tribute 36-lap Feature victory Saturday, August 17 to close out the Kenosha County Fair racing action at Wilmot Raceway.
"The car was actually easier to drive in the feature after the adjustments we made then it was during the heat race," said Balog, 8-time IRA champion of the victory before a standing room only crowd coming at the original birthplace of the IRA in Wilmot. "Winning the Roger Iles Tribute is special. I thank Ken Iles(Roger's son) for all he has done with this race. I am looking forward to being back(August 30)."
"A lot of people here don't know who Roger Iles was or his involvement with the IRA," said second place finisher Scotty Nietzel of Beaver Dam. "The Founders Night and Bill Klein Tribute is a great way to remember who started this. If you're going to finish second, doing that to Bill Balog isn't such a bad thing."
"I found something right at the end and went for it," said third place finisher Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove. "The car stuck and we were able to go from fifth to a podium finish. Looking forward to being back August 30."
Nietzel jumped into the lead of the 36-lap main holding the point until Balog worked up from his fifth starting spot as the front runners began encountering traffic. Ironically, equaling the number on his car, Balog took the lead with 17 laps remaining going on to sife his way through the backmarkers taking the checkered flag by a straightaway. Nietzel was second. Schmidt third. Sheboygan's Scotty Thiel fourth. Brandon Wimmer of Jonesboro, Indiana fifth.
Trevor's Chris Dodd topped the 20-lap 2nd Annual Bill Grogan Memorial AutoMeter Wisconsin WingLess Sprint feature.
"I was wondering if it was ever going to end," said Dodd, Wilmot's WingLess point leader following his second win of the season. "Bill Grogan was a special person and to win this race means a lot. I thank all of the sponsors who added money to the purse and especially Allen 'Taters" Hafford who put it all together."
Numerous cautions kept the WingLess main from getting much rhythm until the final seven circuits which went non-stop. On the restart seven laps from the finish, Zach Raidart of Antioch, IL appeared to lose power periodically with Dodd shooting to the high side to take the lead. The final caution period which came when Ryan Zielski collided with Greg Olsen as the two battled for the lead following a previous yellow at the mid-way point.
Dodd was followed at the finish by Jimmy Sivia of Winthrop Harbor, IL second.
Allen Hafford of Beach Park, IL took third charging through the field from 17th starting spot which he earned by virtue of winning the first "B" Main to make the feature. Raidart held on for fourth. Derek Crane of Waukegan, IL fifth.
C.J. Maleug of Johnsburg, IL led green flag to checkered in the non-stop 20-lap Lightning Sprint feature. "I saw Mark(Heinert) stick his front end inside me a couple times toward the end, so I just stood on it," Maleug remarked following his third Wilmot feature win of the season. "Going non-stop with all of the traffic made it tricky, but it's a great win before this huge crowd."
Heinert, of Waukesha, took second. Third place Ion Stear of Hebron, IL caught visiting fourth place Tom Brown of Ceresco, Nebraska on the final turn. Sun Prairie's Kevin Douglas was fifth.
Article Credit: Michael H. Babicz