Greg Chesley shocks Como Mods Series with a breakthrough win at Superior
Posted under Headlines, Press, Results by admin on July 30th, 2009
Heading into the third series event at Superior Speedway, Duluth, Mn driver Greg Chesley had yet to visit victory lane behind the wheel of his WISSOTA Modified. That would all change Wednesday night, however, when Chesley wheeled his #97 to the front scoring the biggest victory of his career in the process. Fans, pit crew members and drivers alike were greeted by sunny skies and terrific track conditions for the third leg of the 2009 Lake Country Chevrolet Dealers Como Modified Series.
Forty-two of the best Modifieds in the country signed in for battle at the steeply banked 3/8 mile oval located on the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Superior, WI. The drivers were divided into five sterling heat races with the top four drivers in each locking themselves into the night’s 30-lap, $1,000 to win main event.
Heat one was dominated by Knapp, WI hotshoe Craig Thatcher. After starting to the inside of the second row, Thatcher quickly moved to the top shelf disposing of Bob Broking and Dean Yrjanainen on his way to victory. Sixth starter Al Uotinen found the speedway to his liking as well as he moved up three positions to finish third. In the end it was Thatcher being joined in the top four by Broking, Uotinen and Nick Lavato.
Abbotsford, WI driver Robby Bunkelman pedaled his Sidebiter Chassis to victory in heat race two. Bunkelman started on the front row and was never seriously challenged during the duration of the event. Kelly Estey steadily worked his way forward picking up a very strong second place finish followed by Mike Anderson and Jason Miller. All four drivers locked themselves into the A-main with their top four efforts.
Heat number three featured a surprise winner in Carey Lepage. Lepage jumped behind the wheel of Jad Carlson’s #40 Modified and went on to score the victory in impressive fashion. The fastest car on the speedway, however, belonged to the #63 of Rick Kobs. After starting eighth, Kobs sliced and diced his way through the field finishing a very strong second behind Lepage. Lepage and Kobs were joined in the top four by Ryan Aho and Ricky Roche.
Jody Bellefeuille blasted off from his front row starting spot leading wire to wire picking up the victory in heat race four. Sixth starter Trent Follmer was on the move during the middle stages of the event as he used the outside of the speedway to move into second. The battle for the fourth and final transfer spot was a good one with Jayme Lautigar stealing the spot from Bill Byholm on the final lap. Bellefeuille, Follmer, Scott Hudack and Lautigar all qualified for the night’s feature event with their top four efforts.
The fifth and final heat race promised to be a good one with series point leader Darrell Nelson starting in the eighth and final spot. The action was hot and heavy up front with Chesley and Joey Jensen battling for the top spot. Jensen made the pass for the lead for good with two laps remaining scoring the win in the process. With two laps still up on the board, Nelson climbed the ladder in turn three and disposed of Shaun Kreyer for the third spot. Out front it was Jensen scoring the win ahead of Chesley, Nelson and Kreyer.
With all the heat races in the books, two Modified B-main’s were held with the top two finishers in each transferring on to the A-main. Dale Mathison and Jeff Hart transfered from B-main #1 while Bill Byholm and Jeff Broking slipped on their dancing shoes in B-main #2.
The RACEMN.com pole dash seen Deer Park, WI veteran Rick Kobs drive off into the night garnering the win and the pole position in the process. With Jody Bellefeuille finishing second, the front row was no established for the 30-lap A-main.
Goosebumps were felt by the capacity crowd as the 25-qualifiers aligned in a four-wide salute to the fans. Order was restored quickly there after as Kobs and Bellefeuille brought the field to the green flag. Kobs beat Bellefeuille to turn one and grabbed the lead as the field drag raced down the backstretch. Kobs found the high side of the speedway to his liking early on as he was scored the leader at the conclusion of the first lap. Two laps clicked off the board before seventh starter Trent Follmer moved into fourth. After drifting back a few spots early on, Kelly Estey began to make a charge on lap eight. Estey pedaled his #37 machine in the ditch with Robby Bunkelman up on the cushion. The two battled door to door until lap nine when Estey stole the position via the bottom groove in turn two. Estey continued his spirited march toward the front as He and Trent Follmer engaged in an entertaining battle for the fourth spot. Estey continued to run the bottom with Follmer up top. With just twelve laps in the books, Kobs had stretched his advantage to nearly a straightaway over second place running Chesley. Estey and Follmer danced side by side for the better part of four laps before Estey finally gained the advantage using the bottom groove in turn two on lap sixteen. Follmer retired pitside on lap eighteen which moved Bunkelman back into the top five while Kobs was bolted out front. Two more laps ran off without a hitch before Craig Thatcher expired a motor in turn one which would bunch up the field behind Kobs. With ten laps remaining it was Kobs, Chesley, Estey, Bunkelman and fifteenth starter Darrell Nelson all in the top five. The green flag dropped over the field once again as the front runners filed into turn one. Kobs blasted his #63 machine to the top of the speedway while Chesley chose the low line. Chesley was able to edge ahead of Kobs for the top spot as the field came around and completed a lap. The yellow flag waved once again, but the lap before had been scored which this time put Chesley out front all by himself. The field stacked up nose to tail once again as Chesley dictated the pace. When the green dropped this time, Bunkelman climbed the ladder in turn one and pulled even with Estey for the third spot as they drag raced down the backstretch. Bunkelman backed his machine into the cushion and blasted by Estey for the third spot as the field raced down the frontstretch. Bunkleman then made a nice move to the inside of Kobs to overtake him for the second spot while Chesley did his best to gain a small advantage out front. Bunkelman, however, immediately caught the backside of Chesley and quickly applied pressure. With two laps remaining, Bunkelman took a peak to the outside of Chesley as the entered turn three. Chesley held his line and blasted by down the frontstretch once again. On the final trip around Chesley made no mistakes and went on to score the most impressive feature win of his career. Bunkelman, who started eighth, looked very strong coming home second ahead of Estey, Kobs and Nelson. Hard charging efforts were found all over the speedway as well during the 30-lap A-main. Jason Miller moved from his 17th starting spot to finish sixth while Jayme Lautigar charged forward twelve positions from his row ten starting spot to finish seventh.
The Como Modified Series staff would like to thank all the fans, pit crew members, drivers and all other individuals that came out to make the third leg of the series a great success. We hope to see all of you this Saturday night, August 1st at the ABC Raceway in Ashland, WI. For more information regarding the Como Mod Series log onto the series’ website at www.comomodseries.com
