WAUSAU, Wis. (June 23) – A night honoring his grandpa could not have turned out much better for Jerry Brickner at State Park Speedway Thursday night.

Brickner won the highlight event in the first Jerome E. Brickner Memorial, taking the 60-lap Auto Select Super Late Model feature. The win was his first feature victory of the season and first in nearly five years in a super late model at the track.

Brickner took the lead for good on lap 36 with a strong run on the outside of Wausau’s Mark Mackesy on the race’s second and final restart. He would open up a big lead in the late stages and won his first super late model feature since returning to the class after running the Midwest Truck Series the past four years.

“Yeah, I haven’t won in a super late model for a long time,” said an admittedly nearly speechless Brickner in a post-race interview with track announcer Brandon Aschenbrenner. “To have it happen again on a night like this is just awesome.”

The Brickners have been a prominent family in Wausau and Central Wisconsin for many years, known by many for the Brickner auto dealerships. The Brickners also have been big supporters of local racing for decades, including sponsoring the late Larry Detjens, and a memorial race was established in honor of Jerry Brickner II after his death at 83 years of age in March.

Jerry Brickner IV didn’t appear to be a challenger for the win in the first half of the race. Starting on the outside of the second row in an 11-car field, he backed up to sixth when the inside line moved early and remained there the first 30 laps.

The fight initially appeared it would be one between Mackesy and Travis Volm of Wausau, who had a strong car for the second straight week and needed just seven laps to move into second behind polesitter Mackesy. Volm would ride behind Mackesy for the next 15 laps, then briefly challenged on the outside for the lead before settling back into second with a competition caution looming halfway through.

Three-time feature winner Justin Mondeik of Gleason also was in third lurking slightly behind the top two, but the race changed on lap 30 when Volm suddenly slowed in turn three just before the caution. His race would be finished due to engine overheating, and the lineup to restart the race provided more drama.

The top four cars including Mackesy, Mondeik, Rayce Haase and Noah Gajewski all chose the inside lane. That allowed fifth-place Brickner to move to the outside of the front row, and he would hang tough on the outside for the next five laps, leading lap 31 before Mackesy edged ahead on the next four laps.

Caution would come out again on lap 36 when Gajewski spun between turns one and two, and Mackesy and Brickner lined up on the front row again. This time it was Brickner getting a good jump at the green flag, and he would power ahead to clear Mackesy for the lead on the backstretch. Haase also challenged Mackesy on the outside for second before falling back on lap 39, the side-by-side battle allowing Brickner to sail away alone up front.

Brickner would go on to post a popular victory that included a big crowd of Brickner family and employees on hand. Mackesy would hold on to finish second while Jason Weinkauf of Merrill got by Mondeik in the final laps for third. Weinkauf hounded Mondeik over the final laps, getting to his bumper several times and finally nudging inside on lap 58 and making the pass a lap later.

Auto Select Super Late Models pres. by C-Tech

Fast Qualifier: Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, 13.977 sec.
First Heat: 1. M.G. Gajewski, Wausau; 2. Aaron Marthaler, Glenwood, Minn.; 3. Dillon Mackesy, Athens; 4. Mark Mackesy, Wausau; 5. Mike Cox Jr., Hazelhurst
Second Heat: 1. Rayce Haase, Wausau; 2. Jerry Brickner, Wausau; 3. Weinkauf; 4. Noah Gajewski, Marathon; 5. Justin Mondeik, Gleason; 6. Travis Volm, Wausau
Feature: 1. Brickner; 2. M. Mackesy; 3. Weinkauf; 4. Mondeik; 5. Haase; 6. D. Mackesy; 7. M.G. Gajewski; 8. Marthaler; 9. N. Gajewski; 10. T. Volm; 11. Cox

Butchie back in victory lane; Defending champs Seliger, Breitenfeldt add wins

WAUSAU, Wis. (June 23) – A veteran edged a youngster and two defending champions also added feature wins as part of the Jerome E. Brickner Memorial at State Park Speedway Thursday night.

The veteran Brian (Butchie) Schramm held off young Jevin Guralski in the 20-lap Advance Auto Parts Pure Stock main event in Thursday’s Brickner Memorial. Schramm snapped Mitch Stankowski’s string of three straight wins in the class and also earned a solid payday with his first feature win of the season.

Schramm took the lead from Brett Breitenfeldt on lap 8 after five laps of chasing the leader. The six-time track champion would not get away, though, as the 14-year old Guralski also quickly got by Breitenfeldt for second on lap 9.

Guralski spent the final 11 laps chasing and was within range, lurking 2-3 car lengths back most of the way. He would not get closer until the final lap, when he closed near Schramm’s bumper in turns 1 and 2 but got no closer.

The win carried a bonus of an extra $400 for Schramm when extra money was thrown into the pot before the feature. Brian and Michelle Lashua both added $50 each for the feature winner, and Brock Heinrich Racing then upped the ante with another $500 for the top three finishers, including $300 for the winner.

Stankowski finished third in the feature, caught in traffic in the early stages in the back of the field behind a side-by-side battle. Breitenfeldt came in fourth with Jeff Spatz fifth.

George Seliger of Wausau won his second straight feature in the Snap-on Mini Mods. The defending champion in the class again got to the front in a jiffy, leading the final 15 laps of the 20-lap feature.

Seliger started in the back of a 10-car field, but with a quick shuffle not long after the green flag dropped needed just over a lap to move into fourth place. He passed Josh Willhite for third on lap three, followed Chad Ferge into second after Ferge got by early leader Hunter Landwehr, and then passed Ferge on the inside on lap 6.

Seliger would actually receive a moderate challenge in the final laps, after a caution with nine laps to go after Willhite’s engine went up in a puff of smoke. Joe Kuehn moved into second behind Seliger on the lap 12 restart, and he was in striking distance in the closing laps, getting within three car lengths before finishing that far back in second.

Eric Breitenfeldt of Wausau won his second straight feature in the Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks this time taking care of business on the track. Breitenfeldt followed up a win last week after the original winner was disqualified after post-race inspection, this time taking the lead from Brian Duranceau on lap 5 and leading the rest of the way.

Breitenfeldt’s biggest challenge came on a lap 10 restart, with points leader Garret Strachota starting outside of him. Breitenfeldt took the lead and Ashley Schoone also followed to the inside of Strachota to begin a six-lap side-by-side race for second. Strachota finally won the battle but by then Breitenfeldt had built up nearly a straightaway lead and cruised to the victory.

Next week is a busy night at State Park Speedway that will include NASCAR Cup Series driver Erik Jones racing with the Auto Select Super Late Models. It also will be Kids Night including bicycle races for kids, and fireworks will top off the evening in the track’s final race before the 4th of July. Super late models, pure stocks, mini mods and mini stocks will race with qualifying beginning at 6 p.m. and racing to follow at 7:15 p.m.

Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks

Fast Qualifier: Jevin Guralski, Wausau, 15.225 sec.
Heat: 1. Brian Schramm, Wausau; 2. Mitch Stankowski, Wausau; 3. Guralski; 4. Brett Breitenfeldt, Wausau; 5. Jeff Spatz, Wausau; 6. Dave Cabelka, Wausau; 7. Alex Volm, Mosinee
Feature: 1. Schramm; 2. Guralski; 3. Stankowski; 4. B. Breitenfeldt; 5. Spatz; 6. Cabelka; 7. A. Volm

Snap-on Mini Mods

Fast Qualifier: George Seliger, Wausau, 15.772 sec.
First Heat: 1. Hunter Landwehr, Stratford; 2. Gary Garand, Weston; 3. Keagen Benz, Wausau; 4. Jim Lietz, Mosinee; 5. Brian Marquardt, Weston
Second Heat: 1. Chad Ferge, Wausau; 2. Josh Willhite, Wausau; 3. Joe Kuehn, Wausau; 4. Seliger; 5. John Lietz, Mosinee
Feature: 1. Seliger; 2. Kuehn; 3. Ferge; 4. Landwehr; 5. John Lietz; 6. Garand; 7. Jim Lietz; 8. Benz; 9. Marquardt; 10. Willhite

Rockstar Energy Drink Mini Stocks

Fast Qualifier: Tom Lecher, Wausau, 16.718 sec.
First Heat: 1. Joey Blaschka, Wausau; 2. Brian Duranceau, Tomahawk; 3. Max Manowski, Wausau; 4. Kendra Baumann, Wausau; 5. Willie Watts, Amherst
Second Heat: 1. Branden Sischo, Stratford; 2. Tyler Muller, Sun Prairie; 3. Luke Mikula, Wausau; 4. Amanda Rowe, Mosinee; 5. Brad Abt, Schofield
Third Heat: 1. Eric Breitenfeldt, Wausau; 2. Garret Strachota, Wausau; 3. Ashley Schoone, Gleason; 4. Zach Budleski, Wausau; 5. Lecher
Feature: 1. E. Breitenfeldt; 2. Strachota; 3. Schoone; 4. Lecher; 5. Budleski; 6. Rowe; 7. Muller; 8. Blaschka; 9. Mikula; 10. Manowski; 11. Watts; 12. Baumann; 13. Sischo; 14. Duranceau