June 19, 2004; Ashland, WI: -After winning the inaugural Bad River Lodge & Casino Modified Triple Header by capturing the third of the three features in 2002, Craig Thatcher did one better Saturday night at the ABC Raceway, by
garnering wins in the first and third A-mains. Thirty-seven modifieds registered for action of the season-high 120 cars in the pits area.

    Thatcher had to work much harder for the win in the 25-lap finale than he did in the 15-lap round 1, as it took nearly the entire run to find a way around a smooth-driving Dean Yrjanainen. But Thatcher caught a break when, after cooling his tires during a late caution, he dove low, bobbled out of a rut at the bottom of turn 3, and slipped up front of Yrjanainen, forcing the leader to check up and let Thatcher go by with three laps remaining. From there, Thatcher showed superior horsepower and walked off to a ten car-length win.

    Race 2 winner Dave Cain was strong all night and collected third-place honors, fending off strong challenges from fourth-place Joey Jensen and fifth-finishing Dann Olson.

    In mod feature 2, Cain also had his hands full with Yrjanainen, but he used the upper line to outrun Yrjanainen down the straights to his first-ever feature win in Ashland. Thatcher worked traffic to join the lead mix late but settled for third, while Jason Miller was strong in his fourth-place run over Jensen.

    In the first A-main, Thatcher worked his way around Cain and Jensen by lap 4 and disappeared into the night, only to see his nearly-straightaway lead erased with two laps to go by a four-car melee. But Thatcher held on and finished ahead of Cain, Jensen, Miller and Canadian visitor Michael Hinsperger.

    Thatcher's feature win total at Ashland is now at five, including two Red Clay Classic titles and three wins in Triple Header action.

    Super stocks were also on the night's card, and Ken Truscott, whose previous feature wins at the ABC came in 1993 and 2003, didn't wait ten years for his third one. Truscott led from the pole and had to beat back points leader John Copp's threats during the early portion of the 20-lapper, then swapped the lead with a hard-charging Darin Meierotto during the race¹s middle stages. But after a lap 7 restart Truscott gradually drew away from the field for the popular win. Meierotto finished solidly in second in the first appearance of 2004 for the defending champ, while Randy Spacek came on strong late to edge Copp and Ron Hmielewski for third.

    The six-cylinder A-main was a race-long battle between two former class champions, as Ron Swanson and Shawn McFadden exchanged the lead a couple of times early while pulling away from the pack to decide the win, slowed by only one mid-race caution. With two laps remaining McFadden made an inside move to take the lead, but Swanson returned the favor on the last lap when McFadden slipped slightly in turn four coming to the checkered flag, and
Swanson gained his first win since his championship season of 1995. Jim Anderson's solid third-place run was his best of the year to date, while Chuck Hawkinson bested Andy Grymala in the final laps for fourth.

    The pure stock feature was barely a lap old when Bruce Kalmon and Jim Eliason made hard contact while dueling for third, causing Kalmon to get sideways in front of the field and barrel-roll violently down the front straight. Kalmon was uninjured, and the race continued as a two-car battle between Al Rapp and Glenn Dammer, which became a three-car race when Cory Casari caught the leaders and overtook Dammer for second with three laps left. But Rapp held firm to the point and rode to his fourth career feature win here. Tim Carlson edged Kevin Truchon for fourth.

    On Saturday night, Little Caesar¹s Pizza will present Kids' Meet the Drivers Night at the ABC Raceway, with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7 pm. "Racenight Live" will air from 5-6 pm on WJJH, 96.7 & 102.3 FM, with track news and weather information. For more information, call (715) 682-4990 on race days.

Results

WISSOTA Modifieds
    Heat 1: Dean Yrjanainen, Lake Nebagamon; Jason Miller, Duluth, MN; Dave Cain, Corcoran, MN.
    Heat 2: Don Copp, Brule; Bill Byholm, Glidden; Luke Schilling, Granton.
    Heat 3: Craig Thatcher, Knapp; Joey Jensen, Maplewood, MN; Michael Hinsperger, Thunder Bay, Ont.
    Heat 4: Robby Bunkleman, Abbotsford; Paul Knauf, Marshfield; Tyler Hynnes, Thunder Bay, Ont.
    B-Feature 1: Scott Hudack, Ashland; Al Uotinen, Superior; Jerry Hartman, Marenisco, MI.
    B-Feature 2: Dave Baxter, Eau Claire; Chris Oertel, Marshfield; Bob Root, Washburn.
    Feature 1: Thatcher; Cain; Jensen; Miller; Hinsperger; Yrjanainen; Copp; Dann Olson, Braham, MN; Byholm; Hudack.
    Feature 2: Cain; Yrjanainen; Thatcher; Miller; Jensen; Olson; Byholm; Bunkleman; Hudack; Copp.
    Feature 3: Thatcher; Yrjanainen; Cain; Jensen; Olson; Bunkleman; Jeff Spacek, Phillips; Miller; Copp; Oertel.

WISSOTA Super Stocks
    Heat 1: Ken Truscott, Greenland, MI; Greg Alling, Dresser; Ryan Rivord, Superior.
    Heat 2: Rick Rivord, Superior; Darin Meierotto, Ashland; Destin Lorimor, Superior.
    Heat 3: Scott Lawrence, Superior; Shawn McFadden, Ashland; Ron Hmielewski, Washburn.
    Heat 4: Randy Spacek, Phillips; John Copp, Brule; Kenny Davis, Elk Mound.
    B-Feature: Joe Oliver, Superior; Dave Flynn, Superior; Don Koivisto, Saxon.
    Feature: Truscott; Meierotto; Spacek; Copp; Hmielewski; Ryan Rivord; Davis; Lawrence; Lorimor; Paul Erikson, Abbotsford.

Six-Cylinders
    Heat 1: Ron Swanson, Ashland; Jim Maki, Washburn; Jim Anderson, Mason.
    Heat 2: Steve Stuart, Ashland; Chuck Hawkinson, Mellen; Andy Grymala, Superior.
    Heat 3: Russ Weber, Bayfield; Pat Cook, Washburn; Justin Paulson, Ironwood, MI.
    B-Feature: Brent Brevak, Ashland; Steve Walston, Marengo; Steve Tesch, Prentice.
    Feature: Swanson; Shawn McFadden, Ashland;  Anderson; Hawkinson; Grymala; Paulson; Cook; Ken Tyykila, Iron River;
    Brevak; Dale Coddington, Hayward.

Pure Stocks
    Heat 1: Ricky Davis, Bruno, MN; Al Rapp, Duluth, MN; Tim Carlson, Superior.
    Heat 2: Glenn Dammer, Duluth, MN; Jim Eliason, Ashland; Bruce Kalmon, Ashland.
    Feature: Rapp; Cory Casari, Hurley; Dammer; Carlson; Kevin Truchon, Highbridge; Kevin Eder, Ashland; Paul Bertheaume,
    Ashland; Tom Morinville, Duluth, MN; Bridgett Pagels, Ashland; Davis.