Scott Owen, Special to the Leader
Two new drivers added their respective names to an already impressive list of feature winners Saturday night at Shawano Speedway.
Weekly racing has been held at the track since 1963, and I would venture to say that nearly every racer to smash the loud pedal at the historic half-mile has had a goal of winning at least one feature race. Saturday, Jordan Barkholtz and Brad Wedde secured their first career feature wins at the track, while Mitch Stankowski won his first career Modified feature.
For Stankowski, it was sweet redemption after leading the previous week’s feature on lap 14 before being overtaken by perennial front-runner Jerry Wilinski. Stankowski, an affable second-generation racer from Wausau, made the move to the IMCA Modified class a season ago after running in the IMCA Stock Car class.
Stankowki’s father, Lester, raced on the ultra-competitive paved ovals of central Wisconsin in the 1960s and 1970s, while Stankowski’s brother-in-law, M.G. Gajewski, is a top pavement Late Model racer. So Stankowski definitely comes from a racing family, but he is the first one to have success on dirt.
Mighty Four pilot Brad Wedde, of Clintonville, has come through the ranks of ice racing and enduros and often times has to battle his cousin Calvin Stueck on the track. Wedde sits atop the point standings with a 7-point edge over his cousin.
IMCA Sport Mod racer Jordan Barkholtz, of Hortonville, made his debut at the track in 2010 and has been a consistent front-runner ever since. In 2012 Barkholtz finished second in the point standings to Tracy Wassenberg. Last season Barkholtz was forced to miss a number of nights after a nasty wreck caused irreparable damage to his car. This season Barkholtz rolled out a fresh Banshee chassis built by IMCA Modified racer Marcus Yarie. Barkholtz had to fend off Wassenberg to gain his first victory.
Interestingly enough, Stankowski is also racing a Banshee chassis this season.
Aside from the first-time winners last week, the bad luck continues for Brett Swedberg. Swedberg has been in position to finish at or near the front of every Late Model feature this year, but has yet to finish a feature at Shawano due to mechanical issues.
On the flip side, Marion racer Doug Blashe has experienced a renaissance of sorts this season. Blashe scored the feature win last week after Swedberg dropped out of the race. He also has a third- and an eighth-place finish at Shawano as well as a win at Luxemburg Speedway already this season.
It’s shaping up to be a great summer. Who will be the next to win their first?
See you at the speedway.