Red Cedar Speedway Fetes Drivers; Plans Made For 2008

By Ed Reichert and Rick Hagen

Menomonie WI, November 3 – The Red Cedar Speedway, operated by the Red Cedar Racing Association, completed the 2007 season Saturday at the Stout Ale House in Menomonie. The annual meeting was held Saturday afternoon and the awards banquet was held during the evening.

The annual meeting featured the election of officers for the 2008 racing season, a financial report on the state of the association and a discussion about possible rule changes that will be presented at the WISSOTA annual meeting. There was a great deal of input from Red Cedar members, and a common message will be carried by Red Cedar officials to the WISSOTA meeting next week in St. Cloud MN.

Three people were added to the Red Cedar Speedway Board of Directors. Newly elected to the Board were Kerry Hanson and Randy Smeltzer while Rick Hagen was elected to the position of Director of Marketing. Hagen replaces Mike Holzhueter who recently resigned from that position to focus on family commitments. The three outgoing Board members were recognized for their years of service to the racing association.

Other Board members re-elected to positions were Carla Prochnow-secretary/treasurer and Jay Richardson-vice president. Continuing to serve on the Board for one more year will be Randy Buss, Karl Kolek and Larry Thomas.

The evening portion of the day long festivities began with a social hour followed by dinner and the awards ceremony. Awards were given to the top ten in points in all six divisions that raced at Red Cedar along with special awards for Sportsmanship, Rookies of the Year and Hard Charger awards.

Topping the WISSOTA Late Model division in points was Chad Mahder. Following him were Kerry Hanson, Mike Prochnow, Mike Goodremote, Rick Hanestad, Ashley Anderson, Duane Mahder, Scott Gilberts, Jake Redetzke and Cory Mahder.

The WISSOTA Modified champion was Brent Prochnow who was chased by Mike Anderson, Craig Thatcher, Rich Lofthus, Ross Prochnow, Todd Siddons, Mark Hessler, Craig Brightbill, Jay Richardson and Don Brightbill.

The WISSOTA Super Stock point champ was Steve Thomas with Shawn Huse, Aaron Wilson, Mike Keller, Jesse Redetzke, Tom Karis, Steve Burns, Joe Rhead, Steve Hallquist and Bernie Christianson completing the top ten.

Taking his first point title at Red Cedar in the WISSOTA  Midwest Modifieds was Mark Hanson. He was trailed by Jim Bourn, Shane Halopka, Mark Gerth, Justin Supri, Ron Hoffman, Brad Hudson, Bryan Hessler, Ronnie Rihn and Travis Hallquist.

Dominating the WISSOTA Street Stock points was Keith Tourville who was chased by Clark Swartz, Bobby Kaufman Jr, Ajay Christianson, Mike Truscott, Ron Hanestad, Mike Conrad, Bob Wood, Roger Conrad and Matt Wolfe.

The Pure Stock point titlist was Tommy Richards who was pursued by Jeremy Dahl, Chris Wert, Nate Szymoniak, Mike Harshman, Bill Hughes, Nick Field, Leon Hoyt, Randy Smeltzer and Mike Liphardt.

The Sportsmanship awards, as voted on by their fellow drivers, were presented to Mike Prochnow, Jay Richardson, Steve Thomas and Jeremy Dahl.

The Rookie of the Year awards went to: Cory Mahder-Late Model, Bryan Nayes-Modified, Joe Rhead-Super Stock, Ron Hoffman-Midwest Modified, Bobby Kaufman Jr-Street Stock and Chris Wert-Pure Stock.

The Hard Charger award goes to the driver in each class that advanced the most positions in feature racing action over the course of the year. Receiving Miller Lite jackets were Ashley Anderson, Brent Prochnow, Shawn Huse, Shane Halopka, Keith Tourville and Tommy Richards.

The speedway would like to thank the many local businesses that donated door prizes that were distributed to the attendees at the banquet.

President Randy Buss concluded the evening by presenting a synopsis of the 2007 racing season. Buss also announced that the WISSOTA Street Stocks have been dropped from the racing program for the 2008 season. The Red Cedar 2008 opener is tentatively slated for April 11^th .  Watch the Red Cedar Speedway website, www.redcedarracing.com for updates on the schedule and other pertinent information as the 2008 season approaches.