9/17/2017
Luxy Raceway
Final Checkered Flag Falls on 2017 Season at Luxemburg Speedway
(Luxemburg, WI) Six divisions did battle over Friday and Saturday to see who would be called the Wisconsin Fall Nationals Champs at Luxemburg Speedway. Shawn Kilgore showed everyone he was top dog as he drove from his 12th starting position to the lead on the way to his victory in the Modifieds.
Eric Arneson topped the Stockcars while other winners included: Todd Wiese (Sportmods) Paul Diefenthaler (Street Stocks) Steven Wirtz (Grand Nationals) and Shaun Bangart (Sport Compacts.)
Tyler Hackett jumped out front using his pole position and brought along James Tejon for the ride. The duo would stay up front by themselves even through a couple early cautions. Shawn Kilgore started in the 12th position and quickly came shooting through the field. Once he got to fifth, a caution set him up on the outside and he shot to third almost immediately. Kilgore jumped around Tebon for second and eyed the leader. Hackett was able to fend off Kilgore until lap 13 but the former champ was too much. Kilgore made the race winning pass and pulled away over the final 12 laps to pick up the Modified Feature win by a near straightaway advantage. Tebon charged late and finished second ahead of Hackett. Hunter Parsons finished fourth in his first career start in the Modifieds. Jason Czarapata won his B Main race and started 16th on the field. He made his way up to fifth on the final lap.
Eric Arneson was awarded the pole position by virtue of the #4 card picked. Arneson took the full advantage of this and picked up the Stockcar win. The win didn’t go without heavy pressure from Kyle Frederick. Frederick would try every lane around the 1/3 for all 25 laps but could never make a pass that could stick. Arneson would lead through the cautions and stay as cool as the other side of the pillow. Arneson would have to fend off both Frederick and Shawn Havel late but was able to do so like a veteran. Arneson picked up the win in front of both Frederick and Havel. John Heinz finished fourth with Billy Lemieux sliding into the fifth spot.
Cody Rass was Captain of the Sportmod Vessel early on with heavy pressure coming from Randy Lemieux Jr. Rass led the opening circuits with Lemieux showing speed everywhere on the 1/3 mile. The yellow flag flew on lap three and Lemieux just waited for the green flag to get ready to roll. Lemieux roared into the lead but unfortunately for him he brought along Todd Wiese. Wiese made quick work of Lemieux and worked the speedway to perfection. Wiese went unchallenged the rest of the way and when the checkered flag came flying he had built a half a track lead. Lemieux finished second with Kyle Raddant third. Justin Green came home fourth. Sawyer Haese started 16th and crossed the line fifth.
Dan Van Pay started the Street Stock race in third and by the end of the first lap he was the leader. Van Pay set the pace through a couple of early cautions. 2017 Track Champion, Paul Diefenthaler quickly came forward and found himself in second by lap five. Diefenthaler would haunt Van Pay for the next 15 laps and try different moves to get around Van Pay. Diefenthaler got around Van Pay on lap 16. Van Pay kept his nose to the ground and regained the lead on lap 20. Diefenthaler moved around a little bit and found incredible bite off turn two to grab the lead for good on lap 21. A final caution would group the field with three laps remaining. Diefenthaler pulled away with the win. Mike Carter would make his way around Van Pay to finish second. Pole Sitter Corey Wagner finished fourth ahead of Jesse Krahn.
Steven Wirtz started up front and never looked back in the Grand National Feature. Wirtz pulled away and dominated the main event but had to hit his marks late in the win. Aaron Stolp and Matt Yancey charged over the final 15 laps to get to the leader but were never able to get close enough to make a move. Wirtz picked up the win. Stolp won the race long duel with Yancey for second. Kodi Wirtz was the fourth-place finisher with Mark Fieber fifth.
Shaun Bangart was happy the Sport Compact Main Event was also a 25-lap event. He started 15th on the field and methodically moved up through the field. Bangart would reach Brian Johnson on lap 17 and grab the top spot. He would lead the final eight circuits to win the event. Johnson grabbed second place pay with Mitch Meier, Calvin Stueck and Brian Watzka rounding out the top five.
Go to Luxemburg Speedway.com for all track information in the off-season. Stay up to date by following Luxemburg Speedway on Facebook.
Modified Feature- 1. Shawn Kilgore 2. James Lee Tebon 3. Tyler Hackett 4. Hunter Parsons 5. Jason Czarapata
B Main- 1. Czarapata
Stockcar Feature- 1. Eric Arneson 2. Kyle Frederick 3. Shawn Havel 4. John Heinz 5. Billy Lemieux
B Main #1 1. Robert Waechter Sr
#2 1. Aaron Karcz
Sportmod Feature- 1. Todd Wiese 2. Randy Lemieux Jr 3. Kyle Raddant 4. Justin Green 5. Sawyer Haese
B Main- 1. Haese
Street Stock Feature- 1. Paul Diefenthaler 2. Mike Carter 3. Dan Van Pay 4. Corey Wagner 5. Jesse Krahn
B Main #1 1. Lexii Ashcraft
#2 1. Clint Evans
Non-Qualifier Feature- 1. Jason Jensen
Grand National Feature- 1. Steven Wirtz 2. Aaron Stolp 3. Matt Yancey 4. Kodi Wirtz 5. Mark Fieber
Sport Compact Feature- 1. Shaun Bangart 2. Brian Johnson 3. Mitch Meier 4. Calvin Stueck 5. Brian Watzka
B Main- 1. Brandon Goeser
Article Credit: Greg Aregoni
Submitted By: Ashley Stevens