CRESCO SPEEDWAY SEASON OPENER KICKS OFF WITH WALCH, SCHMITT, KUNKLE, ANDERSON, HOVDEN WINNING
by: Jeff Nun

CRESCO, Iowa (April 23) -- The 2006 USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series season opened at the Cresco (Iowa) Speedway this past Sunday and a good crowd witnessed some great racing action with a couple new drivers making their first appearance to victory lane, and a couple drivers that visited the winners circle on a couple of occasions last season.

Two new classes were brought into the Cresco Speedway this season with the USRA Hobby Stock class and the USRA B-Mods. These are two very popular classes that are expected to grow throughout the season. The Hobby Stock class from 2005 has been changed to the Outlaw Hobbies and fans will still be treated to some great USRA Stock Car and USRA Modified battles in 2006.

The racing action kicked off with a great racetrack to start the season and fans were treated to some three- and even four-wide racing throughout the evening.

The USRA Hobby Stocks kicked off the racing action and Chris Hovden led drivers through the first lap before Mitch Hovden took the top spot on lap 2. Brandon Hare worked his way up to second and tangled with Hovden, sending both drivers to the rear of the field after the caution. Hovden worked his way back through the field and regained the lead back on lap 10 of the 12-lap feature en route to the victory. Hare battled his way back to the runner-up spot. Rounding out the top five were Chris Hovden, Bernie Adams and David Lickteig.

The USRA B-Mods were next to the track for their feature race. Jimmy Broszeit grabbed the lead on lap 1 with Junior Boyer and battling side by side for the lead during the next five laps. Boyer snagged the top spot on lap 2 and held onto the spot until lap 10 when Brian Kunkle garnered the lead coming out of turn 4. From there, Kunkle pulled away for the win with a great battle going on for second between Boyer, Broszeit and Shane Panos. Boyd Halverson round out the top 5.

The local Outlaw Hobby class were next up on the Cresco clay. Dillon Anderson used his front row starting spot to his advantage and led all 12 laps en route to the win. Anderson, however, had to earn his win as hard-charging Josh Ludeking and Ben Moudry battled each lap for the top spot. Ludeking and Moudry diced for the final 10 laps. As Moudry would pull to the inside, Ludeking would throw the block on. Finally on lap 10, the two drivers got together, ending Moudry’s evening and sending Ludeking to the back of the field. On the restart, Anderson remained out front with Patty Fosaaen moving into the second spot. Fosaaen took a look to the inside of Anderson on the final circuit, but had to settle with a second-place finish. Rounding out the top five were Ludeking, Austin Curtin and Carissa Wagner.

The class that continually puts on some of the best racing took to the track next for the first USRA Stock Car main event of the 2006 season. Scott Bauer, who will be a regular fixture at Cresco in 2006, captured the win in his heat, as did defending track champion Tom Schmitt. In the main event, Schmitt showed he is ready to defend his crown as he used just four laps from his fifth-place start on the grid to get to the front and cruise on to the victory. The racing behind Schmitt, however, was very exciting as drivers battled three wide on several occasions. Brian Gjere took the runner-up spot from Shay Curtin on lap 8 and held that position until the final lap when Bauer snagged the spot at the line. Gjere finished third, with Tory Reicks and Jason Schlangen running side by side for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Budweiser will once again sponsor the Bud Back Row Challenge. This will give drivers the chance to start at the tail for an extra $500. This will go up $100 each time a driver take the challenge.

Darrin Walch was about as impressive as a driver has looked at the Cresco Speedway in the USRA Modified class. In the heat race, Walch used a late caution to take the win away from Kevin Pittman, while Michael Darnall picked up the first heat race. Walch started the feature from the outside of the front row and led all 20 laps en route to the win. A late caution bunched the field up and Pittman, who started fifth, thought that might be the break he needed. Walch would have none of that on this night though, and cruised to a five-car-length victory. Pittman finished second, with Alan Mondus, Todd Hansen and Darnall rounding out the top 5.

Gates will open at 4 p.m., with hot laps at 6:15 and racing at 6:30 for all Fast Family Fun Sunday events at the Cresco Speedway. General admission adult tickets are $9, Juniors (13-18) & Seniors (62+) are $7, with kids 12 and under admitted FREE each night.

The Cresco Speedway is located 0.2 miles north of SR 9 on SW 7th (at the Howard County Fairgrounds). For more information call the track hotline at (563) 547-4996.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series
Season Opener
Cresco Speedway, Cresco, Iowa
Sunday, April 23, 2006

Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses.

USRA HOBBY STOCKS

Heat:
1. 15 - Mitch Hovden -- Decorah, IA (1)
2. 85 - Jesse Holzer -- Calmar, IA (3)
3. 101 - Bernie Adams -- Stacyville, IA (5)
4. 56h - Brandon Hare -- Elma, IA (8)
5. 70 - Chris Hovden -- Cresco, IA (6)
6. 38 - Nick Schwebach -- Caledonia, MN (2)
7. 83 - David Lickteig -- Cresco, IA (7)
8. 7k - Andy Stinson -- Ridgeway, IA (9)
9. 72 - Kyle Buxengard -- Spring Grove, MN (4)

"A" Feature:
1. 15 - Mitch Hovden -- Decorah, IA (5)
2. 56h - Brandon Hare -- Elma, IA (3)
3. 70 - Chris Hovden -- Cresco, IA (2)
4. 101 - Bernie Adams -- Stacyville, IA (6)
5. 83 - David Lickteig -- Cresco, IA (7)
6. 38 - Nick Schwebach -- Caledonia, MN (4)
7. 72 - Kyle Buxengard -- Spring Grove, MN (9)
8. 7k - Andy Stinson -- Ridgeway, IA (8)
9. 85 - Jesse Holzer -- Calmar, IA (1)

USRA B-MODIFIEDS

Heat:
1. 20 - Brian Kunkle -- Oelwein, IA (6)
2. 58 - Shane Panos -- Decorah, IA (4)
3. 42 - Junior Boyer -- Calmar, IA (1)
4. 88x - Jimmy Broszeit -- Postville, IA (8)
5. 82 - Chris Fretheim -- Decorah, IA (3)
6. 17 - Boyd Halverson -- Decorah, IA (2)
7. 75 - Josh Sherbon -- Cedar Falls, IA (7)
8. 47j - Jeremy LaPlant -- Elgin, IA (5)

"A" Feature:
1. 20 - Brian Kunkle -- Oelwein, IA (4)
2. 42 - Junior Boyer -- Calmar, IA (2)
3. 88x - Jimmy Broszeit -- Postville, IA (1)
4. 58 - Shane Panos -- Decorah, IA (3)
5. 17 - Boyd Halverson -- Decorah, IA (6)
6. 82 - Chris Fretheim -- Decorah, IA (5)
7. 75 - Josh Sherbon -- Cedar Falls, IA (7)
8. 47j - Jeremy LaPlant -- Elgin, IA (8)

OUTLAW HOBBIES

Heat #1:
1. 85 - Ben Moudry -- Protivin, IA (5)
2. 81 - Josh Ludeking -- Decorah, IA (4)
3. 17 - Jason Niedert -- Fairbanks, IA (1)
4. 48 - Steven Christopher -- Decorah, IA (2)
5. 22x - Jeremy Schaufenbuel -- New Hampton, IA (3)

Heat #2:
1. 9 - Patty Fosaaen -- Waukon, IA (2)
2. 40 - Austin Curtin -- Waukon, IA (4)
3. 44 - Dillon Anderson -- Decorah, IA (5)
4. 41 - Carissa Wagner -- Monona, IA (3)
5. 83b - Brady Halverson -- Ridgeway, IA (1)

"A" Feature:
1. 44 - Dillon Anderson -- Decorah, IA (2)
2. 9 - Patty Fosaaen -- Waukon, IA (6)
3. 81 - Josh Ludeking -- Decorah, IA (1)
4. 40 - Austin Curtin -- Waukon, IA (4)
5. 41 - Carissa Wagner -- Monona, IA (8)
6. 83b - Brady Halverson -- Ridgeway, IA (9)
7. 48 - Steven Christopher -- Decorah, IA (7)
8. 85 - Ben Moudry -- Protivin, IA (3)
9. 17 - Jason Niedert -- Fairbanks, IA (5)
10. 22x - Jeremy Schaufenbuel -- New Hampton, IA (10)

USRA STOCK CARS

Heat #1:
1. 29 - Scott Bauer -- Riceville, IA (2)
2. 97 - Lynn Panos -- Protivin, IA (3)
3. 27t - Tory Reicks -- Waucoma, IA (1)
4. 27 - Jason Schlangen -- Cresco, IA (5)
5. 62 - Kevin Bidne -- Decorah, IA (6)
6. 69 - Jake Ludeking -- Decorah, IA (4)
7. 99j - Jay Graves -- Decorah, IA (7)
8. 12 - Shawn Bangs -- Canton, MN (8)

Heat #2:
1. 18 - Tom Schmitt -- Independence, IA (1)
2. 23 - Brian Gjere -- Mabel, MN (5)
3. 40 - Shay Curtin -- Waukon, IA (4)
4. 20 - Gary Rotenberger -- Calmar, IA (7)
5. 36 - Tony Severson -- Preston, MN (2)
6. 41 - Darin Balk -- Waucoma, IA (3)
7. 27 - Shawn Peter -- Mabel, MN (6)

"A" Feature:
1. 18 - Tom Schmitt -- Independence, IA (5)
2. 29 - Scott Bauer -- Riceville, IA (3)
3. 23 - Brian Gjere -- Mabel, MN (1)
4. 27t - Tory Reicks -- Waucoma, IA (7)
5. 27 - Jason Schlangen -- Cresco, IA (4)
6. 97 - Lynn Panos -- Protivin, IA (8)
7. 12 - Shawn Bangs -- Canton, MN (14)
8. 69 - Jake Ludeking -- Decorah, IA (9)
9. 40 - Shay Curtin -- Waukon, IA (2)
10. 20 - Gary Rotenberger -- Calmar, IA (15)
11. 62 - Kevin Bidne -- Decorah, IA (6)
12. 41 - Darin Balk -- Waucoma, IA (12)
13. 99j - Jay Graves -- Decorah, IA (10)
14. 36 - Tony Severson -- Preston, MN (11)
15. 27 - Shawn Peter -- Mabel, MN (13)

USRA MODIFIEDS

Heat #1:
1. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (6)
2. 26p - Kevin Pittman -- Waterloo, IA (3)
3. 10 - Todd Hanson -- Clear Lake, IA (2)
4. 88t - Terry Timmerman (5)
5. 11 - Kerry Ledebuhr -- Winona, MN (7)
6. 55 - Larry Gene Hall -- Rochester, MN (1)
7. 35 - Ron Konkel -- Caledonia, MN (4)

Heat #2:
1. 7m - Michael Darnall -- West Union, IA (5)
2. 55m - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (1)
3. 93 - Craig Haupt -- Sumner, IA (6)
4. 75 - Garry Hall -- Rochester, MN (4)
5. 90 - Chuck Stanton -- New Hampton, IA (2)
6. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (7)
7. 2 - Joey Schaefer (3)

"A" Feature:
1. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (2)
2. 26p - Kevin Pittman -- Waterloo, IA (5)
3. 55m - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (1)
4. 10 - Todd Hanson -- Clear Lake, IA (3)
5. 7m - Michael Darnall -- West Union, IA (4)
6. 88t - Terry Timmerman (7)
7. 11 - Kerry Ledebuhr -- Winona, MN (8)
8. 93 - Craig Haupt -- Sumner, IA (9)
9. 75 - Garry Hall -- Rochester, MN (6)
10. 55 - Larry Gene Hall -- Rochester, MN (10)
11. 2 - Joey Schaefer (14)
12. 90 - Chuck Stanton -- New Hampton, IA (11)
13. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (12)
14. 35 - Ron Konkel -- Caledonia, MN (13)