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Support for Easton Winling, unpredictable finishes highlight O’Reilly Auto Parts Night at Escanaba Motor Speedway

ESCANABA — O’Reilly Auto Parts Night at the Escanaba Motor Speedway brought fans an action-packed night of racing, with close racing and exciting finishes.

More important than the racing, though, was what happened off the track as racers and fans showed their support for Riverside Auto Group Youth Micro Sprint driver Easton Winling with a ‘Fill the Helmet’ fundraiser during intermission. Nearly $4,000 was raised.

Winling was seriously injured in a crash during his heat race June 7 at the Speedway. In the days after, tracks, drivers, and members of the racing communities from all over the country showed their support for Winling who returned home from the hospital Sunday night where he will continue his road to recovery.

For the second straight week, the Bink’s Coca-Cola Sport Modified feature saw heartbreak for Escanaba’s Kyle Johnson who led from pole for the first 13 of the race’s 15 lap distance. As Johnson entered turn one with two laps remaining, he lost the back end of his car and spun into the infield and out of harm's way, allowing for the track to remain green.

Behind Johnson as he spun were Matt Valiquette (Rapid River) and Evin Gagne (Escanaba)
In second and third. As Valiquette checked up, Gagne shot to the inside and emerged out of turn two with the lead.

Gagne held on to win his first ever feature race in a Sport Modified at the Escanaba Motor Speedway, sweeping both his heat and the feature race. Valiquette finished second while Brad Seppanen (Gladstone) charged his way to a third place finish.

Heartbreak continued in the next feature of the night which belonged to the Bichler Concrete and Gravel Unified Street Stocks where, again, the dominant driver did not cross the line first.
Rock’s Karter Koth led from the pole until the final corner of the feature as Brayden Lundquist (Bark River) made a move to the outside. As the two rocketed into turn three, Koth’s car slid up the track then looped around into turn four as Lundquist took the lead and the win.

Behind the victorious Lundquist were Paul Wagner (Gladstone) in second and Tony Begovac (Escanaba) in third.

Escanaba’s Drake Degnan captured his first feature win of the season in the Super Modified main event ahead of father Scott Degnan in third and Gunner Hansen (Ogantz, MI) in second. For the Degnan family, it will surely be a Father’s Day they will remember for a long time.

In the Exhibition Vintage Modified feature it was Abi Yelle (Sands, MI) finishing first ahead of Charles Peterson (Rapid River) and Ron Anderson.

The three micro sprint classes kicked of their action with a win from Escanaba’s Tanner Rae while Wyatt Ammel (Gladstone) held off Amelia Hart (Gwinn) in a heated duel for second place.
The Sportsman Micro Sprint feature got off to a rocky start with a pileup just a handful of laps into the race. Of the 11 cars that started the race, seven of them were collected in one or another in the crash which started when Gladstone’ Kristy Karl got knocked sideways out of turn four and everyone scrambled behind her. Karl recovered for a fourth place finish.

Up front, Chase Richer (Escanaba) took the win — making up nine spots in the race — ahead of Braxton Lundquist (Bark River) and Tannar Hansen (Ogantz, MI).

The 600 Micro Sprint feature concluded with a green-white-checkered shootout with Cornell’s Ethan Manninen holding off Logan Getzloff (Wilson, MI) and Bentley Richer (Escanaba) in the mad scramble for the checkered flag.

The Island Resort and Casino Sport Compacts closed the night’s action as Brian VanDrese (Cornell) took the win ahead of a pair of Lantagnes with Dominick Lantagne (Bark River) in second and Maci Lantagne (Riverland, MI) in third.

The Escanaba Motor Speedway takes a break next weekend before the Sixth Annual Christian Groleau Memorial Race on June 28.

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