SPRING VALLEY – John Kaanta is no stranger to Victory Lane, especially when it comes to the Wissota Late Model Challenge series.
The veteran driver from Elk Mound, Wis., has won the series four times.
Saturday, he showed some patience, passing pole-sitter Mike Prochnow on lap 29 of the 40-lap Challenge Series feature race. Kaanta then pulled away for his first Challenge Series victory of this season and 22nd of his career.
"I was trying to save some edges on the tires and that's what eventually helped me get by him," Kaanta said.
Kaanta started third, moved into second place on lap two and was never far behind Prochnow. He finally passed Prochnow by sliding up above him coming out of Turn 2 with 11 laps to go.
ADVERTISEMENT
Kaanta earned $3,000 for the victory. Prochnow finished second and Zack Johnson finished third.
• USRA MODIFIEDS: Brandon Davis started fifth and needed half the race to take over the top spot, but once he took the lead, there was no catching him. Davis led the final 12 laps of the 25-lap feature and won by nearly half of a lap.
The win was Davis' fourth of the season at Deer Creek and 11th overall this summer. The victory also gives Davis 38 career wins at Deer Creek, in just six-plus years of racing at the track. To put that in perspective, Bob Timm is the track's all-time wins leader, with 51. He has raced at Deer Creek since 1996.
Former Deer Creek track champion Jason Cummins won the make-up feature from June 22, a race that was rained out. Cummins was by far the dominant car on the track, winning by nearly half of a lap. The driver from New Richland routinely was running four-tenths of a second faster than his closest competitors and won by more than six seconds.
Cummins, who earned $1,000 for the victory, said he has scaled back his program to one night of racing per week this summer.
"There was lots of traction on the track," he said, "and it seemed to suit the car. I'm just happy to be back in Victory Lane. It's been a bit of a struggle, but we haven't been racing a lot either."
• WISSOTA STREET STOCKS: Danny Hanson and Mike Blowers put on the race of the night over the final eight laps of the 18-lap feature. Hanson and Blowers raced door-to-door for nearly the entire second half of the race and never touched. They traded the lead four times over the final six laps, but Hanson edged Blowers by .058 of a second at the checkers.
"It was an awesome show for the fans, I hope," Hanson said. "I don't know how many laps it was, but it felt like it would never end. I wasn't sure I could hold him off."
ADVERTISEMENT
• WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS: Jeff Brauer led 18 of the 20 laps, despite the race being halted four times due to cautions, to earn his third feature win of the season at Deer Creek and 31st career win at the track. He's now tied with Brad Waits for the sixth-most feature wins ever at the track. Brauer has won 22 times in the Super Stocks class.
• WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIEDS: Cory Crapser took advantage of a late-race caution, passing leader Jared Boumeester on a restart with four laps to go and pulling away for the feature victory. Boumeester finished second.
• USRA B-MODIFIEDS: Jacob Bleess won his second feature of the season at Deer Creek, outlasting the field as six cautions broke up the 18-lap race. Bleess slid past Kylie Kath in Turns 3 and 4 on lap four and led the rest of the way.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
WISSOTA LATE MODEL CHALLENGE SERIES
Feature – 1. John Kaanta, 2. Mike Prochnow, 3. Zack Johnson, 4. Jake Redetzke, 5. Lance Matthees, 6. Nate Beyenhof, 7. Adam Hensel, 8. Justin Sass, 9. Nick Beyenhof, 10. Robby Bunkelman.
Heat winners– Mike Prochnow, Lance Matthees, John Kaanta.
USRA MODIFIEDS
ADVERTISEMENT
A Main – 1. Brandon Davis, 2. Tommy Myer, 3. Lucas Schott, 4. Jason Cummins, 5. Mike Sorensen, 6. Josh Angst, 7. Steve Wetzstein, 8. Dan Bohr, 9. Eric Dailey, 10. Darwyn Karau.
Heat winners– Wetzstein, Brad Waits, Greg Jensen, Schott.
Makeup feature (from June 22)– 1. Jason Cummins, 2. Dan Bohr, 3. Steve Wetzstein, 4. Brad Waits, 5. Tommy Myer, 6. Mike Sorensen, 7. Josh Angst, 8. Greg Jensen, 9. Mike Steensma, 10. Bob Timm.
WISSOTA SUPER STOCKS
Feature – 1. Jeff Brauer, 2. Tommy Richards, 3. Bill Clemens, 4. Kelly Anderson, 5. Brandon Duellman, 6. Dave Solum, 7. Josh Bartel, 8. Mike Fitzpatrick, 9. Ryan Henderson, 10. Rick Lisowski.
Heat winners– Richards, Brauer.
WISSOTA STREET STOCKS
Feature – 1. Danny Hanson, 2. Mike Blowers, 3. Kyle King, 4. Shaun Mann, 5. Fred Prudoehl, 6. Andrew Lokenvitz, 7. Danny Richards, 8. Noah Grinstead, 9. Kory Adams, 10. Bernie Adams.
ADVERTISEMENT
Heat winners– Blowers, Richards.
WISSOTA MIDWEST MODIFIEDS
Feature – 1. Cory Crapser, 2. Jared Boumeester, 3. Dustin Scott, 4. Greg Pfiefer Jr. , 5. Don Schaefer, 6. Jesse Hernandez, 7. Anthony Condit, 8. Bobby Saterdalen, 9. Casey Trom, 10. Ron Jablonske.
Heat winners– Scott, Boumeester.
USRA B-MODIFIEDS
A Main – 1. Jacob Bleess, 2. Cole Queensland, 3. Brian Mahlstadt, 4. Ben Moudry, 5. Erik Kanz, 6. Kadden Kath, 7. Cory Crapser, 8. Parker Hale, 9. Brandon Hare, 10. Brady Keefe.
B Main (top 4 transfer)– 1. Alex Williamson, 2. Dustin Sorensen, 3. Shaun Walski, 4. Steven Amundson.
Heat winners– Moudry, Mahlstadt, Crapser, Bleess.
