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Provinzino Tops OneMain WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series at Casino Speedway

By Tony Steuck

WATERTOWN, SD (June 5) - Jeff Provinzino stole the lead from Chad Mahder
in the closing laps to score the OneMain Financial WISSOTA Late Model
Challenge Series victory at Casino Speedway on Sunday night. Provinzino
methodically picked his way forward from the eighth position to claim
the Marilyn Olson Memorial victory, worth $2,071.

Lorin Johnson and Chris Serr each earned their first victory at the
speedway in 2016 during PolyDome Dirt Track Series action.

Mike Balcaen and Jeff Wildung paced the 27-car WISSOTA Late Model field
to the green flag of the 40-lap feature. Balcaen edged ahead to grab the
early lead with Wildung second. Jake Redetzke and Chad Becker battled
for third before Mahder raced by Becker on lap two. Redetzke moved ahead
of Wildung for second on lap three and Mahder claimed third on the sixth
circuit. Provinzino raced with 10th-starter A.J. Diemel for sixth before
the first caution dropped with six laps scored. Another caution fell one
lap later.

Balcaen maintained the lead on the low side of the speedway over
Redetzke and Mahder. Becker picked off Wildung for fourth on lap 10 and
Provinzino claimed fifth on lap 12. The caution flag waved on lap 16 for
debris. Mahder grabbed second on the next lap before the caution fell again.

Redetzke moved back to second after the restart and pressured Balcaen
while Mahder jumped to the high groove and began to find his momentum.
Mahder caught fire at the midway point and blasted around Redetzke for
second on lap 22. Mahder continued to charge forward; he was at
Balcaen's corner panel on lap 23 and was nearly even at the line on lap
24, but the caution waved and slowed Mahder's progress.

Balcaen raced out to the lead when the race resumed while Mahder jumped
back to the high side and mounted another attempt. Provinzino crept into
fourth and Diemel moved by Becker for fifth shortly after the restart.

After a few laps, Mahder once again threatened to steal the top spot. He
raced around the cushion and was nearly even with Balcaen on lap 27
before he secured the top spot and led lap 28. Redetzke jumped to the
cushion and pressured Balcaen while Provinzino and Diemel fought for fourth.

Mahder slipped away from the pack and caught the tail of the field on
lap 33. He made quick work of the first group, but tagged the wall in
turn one with six laps to go, which caused minor spoiler damage to the
rear of his car. While Balcaen slipped through traffic and attempted to
track down the leader, Redetzke, Provinzino and Diemel were locked in a
battle for third among the slower cars. Balcaen's strong run ended on
lap 36 when he slowed to a stop at the end of the front stretch. The
yellow flag waved and Balcaen retired from the event.

Four laps remained when Mahder led the field to the restart. He remained
in the low groove while Provinzino and Redetzke raced for second behind
him. Mahder slipped off the bottom in turn two on lap 38 and Provinzino
shot to his inside down the backstretch. Provinzino led the field to
complete the lap before one final caution waved with 38 circuits scored.

Provinzino led the field to green while Mahder loaded up for one more
charge on the cushion. Mahder's final effort on the final lap fell short
when he tagged the turn three wall and lost second at the line.
Provinzino picked up the victory, his first at Casino Speedway since
2012. Redetzke finished second with Mahder third, Becker fourth and
Diemel fifth. Dave McDonald started 16th and finished sixth ahead of
Curt Gelling, Steve Laursen, 17th-starter Cole Schill and Matt Gilbertson.

Pat Doar, Provinzino and Becker each picked up a heat race win.

Doug Jenner started on the pole of the 20-lap WISSOTA Midwest Modified
feature and fought off Les Schoon to lead the opening lap. Schoon
charged back and narrowly led lap two before Jenner secured the spot on
lap three. Tony Konold tested Schoon for second while Johnson raced with
Mike Nichols for fourth. Johnson, who started sixth, took over the spot
and moved up to race with Konold for third while Scott Hansen charged
from ninth to join the mix for the top five. Jenner was still under
heavy fire when the first caution waved with four laps scored.

Schoon continued to challenge for the lead while Hansen, Johnson and
Konold raced three wide for third. Schoon looked to the inside to steal
the lead from Jenner, but the caution flag fell again with nine laps
scored. Two more fell at the halfway mark.

Jenner restarted with the lead, but Johnson, who restarted in third,
raced around the outside of the speedway and stole the top spot. Schoon
continued to pressure Jenner before he claimed the spot on lap 14.
Konold and Nichols both maneuvered around Jenner on lap 15 and D.J.
Tesch and Hansen picked up spots on lap 16.

Johnson opened a straightaway lead by the time he took the checkered
flag, his first at the speedway since 2013. Schoon finished second ahead
of Konold, Nichols and Tesch.

Hansen, Scott Harrington and Tesch notched the heat race wins.

Serr raced to the lead from the pole at the start of the 20-lap WISSOTA
Street Stock main event. Landan Davis pressured Joe Engels for second
while eighth and ninth starters Keith Tourville and Jordan Tollakson
charged through the pack. Tourville raced by Engels into third on lap
four and Tollakson followed him through. Tollakson and Tourville battled
hard for position before the first caution on lap four. Andy Rossow was
turned sideways on the frontstretch and rolled side over side - nearly
one complete time - before a slow roll back onto his roof. He was uninjured.

Serr led the field to the restart and Tourville battled with Davis for
second. Tollakson fought his way forward and moved by Tourville on lap
seven then Davis on lap nine. The caution flag fell for a final time
with nine laps scored.

Tourville raced to third when the race restarted while Tollakson made a
bid for the lead. Tollakson looked to the inside of Serr on lap 13, but
the door was slammed. Tollakson tried the high side on lap 16, but could
not find the room there either. Tourville tried to take second away from
Tollakson out of corner four, but the two made contact; Tollakson pulled
to the infield with a flat tire while Tourville slipped to fourth.

Serr drove away for his first win at the speedway in nearly two years.
Dustan Davis, who started sixth, finished second with Landan Davis third
and Tourville fourth. Tyler Lamb advanced from the 11th position to edge
Wade Tirrel at the line for fifth.

Dustan Davis, Tirrel and Serr collected the heat wins.

Casino Speedway returns to action on Sunday, June 12 with a regular
program. The green flag waves at 6:30 p.m.

SUMMARY

WISSOTA Late Models:

Feature - Jeff Provinzino, Jake Redetzke, Chad Mahder, Chad Becker, A.J.
Diemel, Dave McDonald, Curt Gelling, Steve Laursen, Cole Schill, Matt
Gilbertson, Lance Matthees, Dusty Peterson, Jeff Massingill, Blake
Swenson, Trevor Anderson, Josh Skorczewski, Mike Jager, Rich Thomas,
Mike Stadel, Jeff Wildung, Mike Balcaen, Pat Doar, Trevor Walsh, Matt
Smith, David Smith, Scott Olson, Scott Ward

Heat 1 - Doar, Laursen, Mahder, Peterson, McDonald, Massingill,
Anderson, Walsh, Swenson, Ward

Heat 2 - Provinzino, Balcaen, Redetzke, Wildung, Gilbertson, Stadel,
Jager, Thomas, Kent Arment

Heat 3 - Becker, Skorczewski, Matthees, Gelling, Diemel, Schill, D.
Smith, M. Smith, Olson

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds:

Feature - Lorin Johnson, Les Schoon, Tony Konold, Mike Nichols, D.J.
Tesch, Scott Hansen, Scott Harrington, Tony Croninger, Doug Jenner, Tim
Waba, Grant Lukonen, Jason Dargatz, Kenny Mayer, Dave McGuire, Jason
Marko, Troy Randall, Mike Winter, Cole DeJong, Mike Rohwedder, Zach LaQua

Heat 1 - Hansen, Schoon, Marko, LaQua, Mayer, Lukonen, McGuire

Heat 2 - Harrington, Johnson, Nichols, Croninger, Winter, Hope Swenson,
Randall

Heat 3 - Tesch, Konold, Jenner, Rohwedder, DeJong, Waba, Dargatz

WISSOTA Street Stocks:

Feature - Chris Serr, Dustan Davis, Landan Davis, Keith Tourville, Tyler
Lamb, Wade Tirrel, Kyle Dykhoff, Al Schmidt, Tyler McFarland, Domenik
Mahlen, Marty Tirrel, Logan Pearson, Jordan Tollakson, Joe Engels, Maria
Broksieck, Andy Rossow, Dylan Arndt

Heat 1 - D. Davis, Broksieck, Engels, M. Tirrel, Pearson, Dykhoff

Heat 2 - W. Tirrel, Tourville, Rossow, Lamb, McFarland, Mahlen

Heat 3 - Serr, Tollakson, L. Davis, Schmidt, Arndt

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