The AFS Badger Midgets returned to the Eagle River Speedway this past weekend for the mid-summer special and put on a show for the many fans in attendance. On top of the badger midget feature to highlight the night, the street stock and 600 micro sprint classes raced for a little extra cash in their feature races.

Sun Prairie’s Brandon Waelti came out on top in the special feature of the night, as he raced past Jake Dohner on lap 17 of 30 of the badger midget race and remained the top car for the final 13 circuits. Dohner ran his pole position early on, holding a four-car length cushion over the first five laps. Waelti worked from sixth all the way to second by lap 12 and chiseled away at the gap between him and Dohner over the next handful of laps before taking the lead and holding on from there.

In other racing action, Bark River, Michigan’s Brayden Lundquist jumped out in front on a late restart in the street stock feature and returned home with an extra $500 as the top finisher. Hometown driver Ben Pitlik cashed in a $250 payday with his second-place finish.
Ethan Manninen, of Cornell, Mich., snagged the lead on a lap two restart and cruised to his third 600 micro sprint victory at the speedway this season. He also left with some extra cash, winning $200.

Keagan Jensen, of Escanaba, Mich., and the field in the 300 micro sprint semipro feature, battled a red flag during the contest, but Jensen came out of it victorious in his first visit to the track. In the 300 pro feature, Tomahawk’s Blake Wilke went wire-to-wire in a caution-free race for his second feature win this summer.

Merrill’s Matt Eder captured the Dairlyland Vintage feature race.

Racing continued this past Tuesday, which was the second and final IMCA fast-shaft qualifying race. It was also the rescheduled Christmas in July promo at the track.

Race recap- July 18

Badger Midget feature
Brandon Waelti, Sun Prairie; Jake Dohner, Edgerton; Cody Weisensel, Sun Prairie.

Street stock feature
Brayden Lundquist, Bark River, MI; Ben Pitlik, Eagle River; Hope Eisel, Rhinelander.

600 micro sprint feature
Ethan Manninen, Cornell, Mich.; Blake Joslin, Rhinelander; Jace Murray, Jacksonville, Fla.

300 micro sprint feature

Dairyland Vintage Feature
Matt Eder, Merrill; Brian Witberler, Merrill; Dale Williams, Merrill.

Looking ahead

The track will remain busy for the remainder of the summer with some top-notch racing and fun promos for all. After last week’s Badger Midget Special Saturday night, the track organizers move full steam ahead with some regular racing weekends ahead of the largest paying race in track history, which is set for Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 10-11.

This past week’s race was the second IMCA Fast Shaft Qualifying race held at the third-mile track. Tigerton’s Wyatt Block captured the first event back in June. The track will then prepare for its biggest payout race, the Rumble at the River, which will payout $10,250 to the top feature driver in the B-Modified race on Aug. 11. The two-day event is expected to reel in top talent from the region, who will all fight for that top $10,000 prize.

The track updated racers last week to pre-enter for the race before Thursday, July 30, to save $50. Entries after July 30 will be $200 instead of $150. Rumble at the River qualifying will take place Monday, Aug. 10, with the main event B-Mod feature set for Tuesday, Aug. 11. A test and tune and pre-tech are scheduled for that race on Sunday, Aug. 9. After that, there are just three more events in the racing season, with the annual backpack giveaway set for Tuesday, Aug. 18, and the season points championship scheduled Tuesday, Aug. 25. The season finale is Saturday, Sept. 5.