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Among those drivers who looked especially strong in heat race action were Danny Richards and Hunter VanGilder in the Street Stocks, Terran Spacek and Tommy Richards in the Super Stocks, John Kaanta and Chad Mahder in the Late Models, Shane Halopka in the Modifieds, and Jay Richardson and Dave Baxter in the Mid Mods.

Racing was completed before 9:30 pm so that left plenty of time for the pits party. It was perplexing to me that the first Super Stock heat was green, white, checkered after the third caution, given that it was before 8 p.m. With passing points in play, those two extra laps might have made a real difference if they were allowed to play out.

Saturday, September 21

I awoke Saturday to falling rain and thunder. I am not sure just how much they had in Menomonie, but it was fairly substantial and enough to force them to go into “attack mode” to get the feature races completed for the annual Punky Manor Challenge of Champions.

While the pit area was a sea of mud, all day work on the race track made for fine racing action on Saturday night.

The track raced just a bit different than it normally does due to the extra moisture in it. It certainly held speed all night, with the fast line seemingly moving around from race to race. It made things just a bit more interesting.

Prior to the show beginning, the Red Cedar Speedway board of directors held their annual Hall of Fame ceremonies. The event this year was a family affair. John, Marilyn, Chris and Jimmy Mars were all inducted into the speedway Hall of Fame. This was a nice touch and well received by the crowd on hand.

I also learned that John was part of the original group who got the track up and running. While I was aware of his extensive involvement with Jimmy and Chris’ careers, I didn't realize that he was one of the founders. Congratulations to all four of them for their support of the speedway over the years.

While all the features are big events, the Late Models hold sway as this is a Late Model special first and foremost. The other classes were added on as the years went by. This race was started to honor Punky Manor, a Late Model racer.

I was a bit disappointed that there seemed to be no special mention or attention given for this part of the program. Perhaps we missed it, but there is usually a statement read from the family at least.

However, when the green flag dropped, the racers went at it in fierce competition, as they normally would, for the prestigious race. It turned out to be a great night for Chad Mahder. He started on the pole and led all 40 laps to take the honors. No one else really provided any challenge during the race.

He was running the high side of the track, but not right up against the wall. And he was fast, straight and true as he kept the field at a distance.

They nearly went nonstop for all 40 laps until a late yellow set up a three-lap sprint to the finish. For much of the race, it was Dave Flynn, Jake Redetzke and Sam Mars in a group racing for second. That late yellow messed things up some, however.

Ashley Anderson, who has been the driver to beat here all year, made a late surge and was able to race up into third at the finish. Everyone was so fast on the heavy track that advancing positions was a tough prospect on Saturday. Mars was shuffled back on that late finish out of the top five, with Jesse Glenz grabbing the spot ahead of him. With a break last year due to the rainout, this makes it two straight for Mahder at the Punky, quite an accomplishment. I believe he plans to run the Red Clay next weekend and perhaps wrap up the season with some more open motor action.

For wild action, the Modified feature probably held the edge on Saturday. That event was a crazy one, marked by yellow flags galore and plenty of spins, crashes and broken equipment.

A.J. Diemel led the majority of the race and took the checkered flag, but he had his big hands full throughout the race, as several other drivers gave him grief. In fact, after Diemel took the early lead with pressure from Michael Truscott and Shane Halopka, Halopka made a pass on lap eight to take over the top spot. Diemel picked up the pace and returned the favor two laps later.

Diemel was officially scored the leader the rest of the way, but it was anything but easy. Halopka continued to press him, while fourth-row starter Kevin Adams became a player as well. Kaden Blaeser was also on the move and at various times, each put heavy heat on the leader.

Adams had the biggest chance late in the race. After a multitude of yellow flags, he attempted several crossover maneuvers that while entertaining and daring, never quite got the job done. But it fired up the crowd, for sure.

However, Adams’ strategy of running his car into the wall and then turning when it rebounded off the concrete eventually caught up with him. The car finally slowed with seven laps to go.

There was one more driver who still had a challenge though, as Darrell Nelson had moved from 18th into second. In the last few laps, he also tried to get past Diemel. Nelson came close but once again, Diemel fought off the challenges as he drove on to a hard-earned victory. Truscott hung in there to finish third.

Terran Spacek led from start to finish to take the Super Stock feature win. He had plenty of challenges from Ron Mahder in the early going, as the yellow was a frequent visitor to this race as well. Tommy Richards, Andrew Davis and Tom Karis were top-five runners in the first half of the race while everyone continued to chase Spacek.

Mahder's big run ended with just five laps to go when he slowed, and another late yellow triggered a two-lap dash.

Spacek held off the late surge from Alex Myers, who found the top side to be fast. He used the yellows to work his way to the front after starting in row nine. He got by Richards following that last yellow. If the race would have been a few laps longer, who knows what might have happened? As it was, Spacek held on for the win.

Two yellows in the first two laps slowed the Midwest Modified feature but other than that, they ran green to checkers in a very quick race. Jay Richardson took the early lead but after the second yellow, Brandon Jensen moved into second and looked to be his most viable challenger.

I was surprised when it was not Jensen, but Derek Haas who powered by Richardson following that second yellow and pulled into the lead.

Once in front, he drove away from the field and was never really challenged the rest of the way as he took the win. Jensen and Richardson chased him, but Haas showed a lot of speed as he drove away from the field for the win. Rarely seen at Red Cedar, he certainly had the fast line on Saturday night.

The Street Stock feature had quite the conclusion. An official ruling had to be made, and no doubt, upset more than a few folks. Hunter VanGilder took the early lead as he got the jump on Danny Richards, with Richards and Andrew Hanson chasing VanGilder during the opening laps. Hanson and Kolby Kiehl slipped past Hanson before the halfway point of the race, with Hanson closing and looking for an opening.

Richards slowed with a rare mechanical failure, which bunched the field again with 13 laps complete. VanGilder showed his best speed at this time and managed to put some distance on Hanson, with the race looking to reach its conclusion.

The yellow waved again with just five laps to go. VanGilder, likely due to the heavy surface, had torn a quarter panel loose on the right side of his car, which fell off onto the track, triggering a debris yellow.

Track officials tagged VanGilder for the yellow flag, with the lost quarter panel the cause of the caution flag. The official explanation from the speedway’s track report is VanGilder was charged with the caution for losing a part on the speedway without contact.

This call left me scratching my head in wonderment and I’ll leave it at that.

VanGilder wasn't pleased with the call and he chose to pit rather than go to the back.

Hanson took advantage of the situation as he was awarded the lead and then held off Kiehl to take the win, with Gunnar Watkins, Connor Franson and Zach Manley completing the top five.

Racing was completed just past 10 p.m., marking the last racing events at the track in 2024. They do have a club-sponsored demo derby planned with more information on their website.

A good crowd was on hand for the finale, with a nice pot of more than $1200 went to the winner of the 50/50.

Thanks to all the track and club officials for their help over the course of the 2024 racing season, a season marked by plenty of bad weather for this track. Hopefully, 2025 will be much kinder to them. Special thanks to Joe “The Claw” Chaplin, Jr. for helping me stay hydrated.