Sport Mod drivers Bradley Seppanen (22) and Chris Olson (121) raced side by side during a heat race at Escanaba Speedway on June 15, 2024. (Adam Hinch / Daily Press)
ESCANABA — When the hustle and bustle of the Monster Truck Throwdown at the UP State Fairgrounds died down, it was Escanaba Speedway’s turn to give fans a race.
In the Sportsman Micro Sprint, Griffin Iverson proved that a one-lap lead is enough. He got off to a strong start after a caution restart and used it to take his back-to-back wins. Iverson started from sixth on the grid, but a late caution opened up a chance for him to win for the second time. “That felt really good.” Iverson said. “I restarted on the outside, but the road conditions were good so I was able to finish.” Chase Richer fought his way from eighth on the grid to finish second, Macy Degnan took third, Braxton Lundquist, who also won his heat race, took fourth, Christy Karl took fifth, and Ethan Juhola won the other heat race.
In Sport Compact, Tombo Wazeleski won four races to claim his fourth victory of the season. “We are progressing well.” Waseleski said. “The track was a bit rough tonight but the crowd reaction was amazing. I always feel better starting from the back. It’s more challenging and I feel like I’m getting better every time.” Dominique Lantagne fought back to take second place, with Andrew Vandres coming in third. Tanner Olson and Dylan Ranabile rounded out the top five. Garrett Greenfield was the heat race winner.
Kevin Rustila returned to victory lane once again with a win in the Exhibition Vintage class, with Derek LeBresch in second and Abi Yell in third, with Ron Anderson and Chris Broders rounding out the top five.
In the Supermodifieds, Scott Degnan won the race, Jesse DeNorm finished second and won his heat race, Bradley Seppanen took third, Drake Degnan took fourth and Avi Jelle took fifth.
In the Youth Micro Sprints, Finn Bauer returned from a week off and picked up right where he left off in his last race, winning his heat and the feature sprint, with Wyatt Amell in second and Carson Wagner and Lila Wagner rounding out the four-car race.
In the 600 sprint, Chase Richer won his second race of the season. Ethan Manninen ran strongly to take second place, Logan Getzloff took third, and Paul Hosking and Braden Lundquist rounded out the top five.
The Sport Mod feature was won by Bradley Viot, with Evin Gagne taking second and winning his heat race, Doug Belongia Jr. taking third, and Bradley Seppanen and Matt Maki IV rounding out the top five. Frank Gasperini and Ronny Dalgaard also won heats on the night.
Street Stock had an action-packed finish as Jason Pilon made a late surge to win his heat and then the main race. Eric Matheson took second and Cody Turner took third, with Jeremy Sebeck and Jason Peacock rounding out the top five. Quentin Johnson also won his heat.
Escanaba Speedway will resume racing on Saturday at 6pm for Christian Groleau Memorial Night.
