Grant Gilbert, 17, of Hortonville, Wis., captured the Wisconsin Sport Trucks feature event at Norway Speedway. (Lia Olson photo)

Three major sanctioning bodies were involved for the Don Anderson Memorial Race that included Norway Speedway and its regular competitors, the Wisconsin Sport Trucks, the Central Upper Peninsula Series, and the Escanaba Speedway Super Modifieds sponsored by Anderson Auto & RV Sales.

In the Coca-Cola Late Model division, points leader Joey Pontbriand continued his dominance, winning the feature for the third week in a row. He also took fast time with 14.648.

Scott Stanchina finished second and also won the fast dash. He was followed by Cory Cootware and Joey Stankowicz.

While Pontbriand seems to have a lock on his second championship in a row, the points battle that is shaping up to be dramatic is the one for the runner-up spot between Stanchina, Cootware and Stankowicz. All three are separated by a mere 16 points.

Finishing fifth was second-year driver Parker Summerfield with his best career finish. However, in his excitement he failed to cross the scales, and was relegated to last. Fifth then went to Kaden Kostichka from Green Bay. The heat winner was Niagara’s John Ostermann, getting around a stubborn rookie driver, Payton Linder of Niagara, for the win.

In the Auto Value Super Stocks, Dean Bellmore of Hermansville won his fourth feature of the season. He was followed by Marquette’s Jesse Hendrickson, rookie driver Andy Secrist, Nick Anderson, and rookie driver Tim Pollard.

Pontbriand was the fast qualifier at 15.734. Marquette’s Bode Johnson took first in the heat race. Secrist won the fast dash.

In the 141 Auto Sportsman division the points lead has changed for the fourth time this season as BJ Schoneck and Travis Hulsizer keep battling mechanical problems. Now a mere point separates the two. However, this has also allowed Todd Schmidt, Jon Maenpaa, Nick Kroehler, and Troy LaFave to come within striking distance of their first championship with three weeks to go. In the feature event, LaFave took first for his third win. He also also took the first heat. Second in the feature was Hulsizer, followed by Jordan Massicotte and Maenpaa, who took the second heat, and Schmidt. Fast qualifier was Schmidt at 18.111.

In the Whelen Fab 4 division, Faithorn’s Trever Cronick took first in the feature and was also fast qualifier at 17.498. He was followed by Cody Gunville, Brent Ayotte and Eli Whittkopf. In the first heat race, Chase Nerat took first. In the second heat, Quinnesec’s Ashlyn Van Den Heuvel won her first race of the season.

In the Wisconsin Sport Trucks, 17-year-old Grant Gilbert of Hortonville, Wis., got the first feature win of his career and also won the second heat. It was an exciting win for the young speedster as he defeated his car owner and his uncle, Tom Gee, who finished second to him in the heat and the feature. Mason Calmes placed third and took fast time at 16.704.

In Spectator Eliminators, eight cars competed with Jim Chartre and Austin Randolph making it to the final round with Chartre taking the win. However, he doesn’t run for championships anymore, so Randolph advances to the championship round in his blue VW Golf which was tuned to 400hp. The Championship Round of 8 for the Dickinson County Fair has been set and all the drivers have committed to running. This is an exceptionally strong and equal field.

The Central Upper Peninsula championships were also decided Friday Night. Evan Hawley of Marquette, who won Rookie of the Year in 2024 at Norway Speedway, was the CUP champion in the Late Model division. Jeremy Yelle returned to the Speedway to win his first CUP championship feature event and series in the Super Stocks. Marquette’s Jesse Hendrickson finished second in series points, and Bode Johnson was third. In the CUP 4-cylinder division Shawn Harry won his first feature and the CUP Series championship. Marquette’s Bernard Penegor also won his first Series championship between the two tracks in the street 4-cylinder division.

The division that possibly stole the show Friday night were the Super Modifieds based out of Escanaba Speedway. The winged open-wheeled power looked right at home on the asphalt even when they were engineered for dirt. Fan favorite Drake Degnan was the surprise winner in the 20-lap main event. Scott Degnan was second and Jesse Denome third. Abi Yelle, pulling double duty in her Coca-Cola Late Model, had an impressive four place, followed by Paul Hosking.

Scott Degnan won the Triple Crown championship over Jesse Denome by three points. This comes as no surprise as he was a standout in the late model division in the mid-2000s.

Tonight is another huge event as Norway Speedway hosts the Jerry Schneider Memorial Race that will be bringing in some of the top drivers in Wisconsin, including racing legend Lowell Bennett and Norway Speedway Hall of Famer Mike Reichenberger. It is the Fast 5 Stage 4 and the event is powered by Auto Value Parts stores.

Aug. 8 summaries:

Coca-Cola Late Models: Qualifying: Joey Pontbriand 14.648. Fast Dash: 1st Scott Stanchina, 2nd Joey Stankowicz. Heat 1: 1st John Ostermann, 2nd Abi Yelle. Feature 1: 1st Joey Pontbriand, 2nd Scott Stanchina, 3rd Cory Cootware, 4th Joey Stankowicz, 5th Kaden Kostichka, 6th Devon Wilcox, 7th Alyssa Larson, 8th John Ostermann, 9th Payton Linder, 10th Bruce White, 11th Abi Yelle, 12th Evan Hawley, 13th Mike Lantagne.

Auto Value Super Stocks: Qualifying: Joey Pontbriand 15.734 Fast Dash: 1st Andy Secrist, 2nd Nick Anderson. Heat 1: 1st Bode Johnson, 2nd Izayah Reed. Feature: 1st Dean Bellmore, 2nd Jesse Hendrickson, 3rd Andy Secrist, 4th Nick Anderson, 5th Tim Pollard, 6th Zach Hanson, 7th Bode Johnson, 8th Joe Ostermann, 9th Izayah Reed, 10th Kevin Peterson, 11th Payton Linder, 12th Joey Pontbriand, 13th Greg Anderson.

141 Auto Sportsman: Qualifying: Todd Schmidt 18.111. Heat 1: 1st Troy LaFave, 2nd Travis Hulsizer. Heat 2: 1st Jon Maenpaa, 2nd Hayden McFarland. Feature: 1st Troy LaFave, 2nd Travis Hulsizer, 3rd Jordan Massicotte, 4th Jon Maenpaa, 5th Todd Schmidt, 6th Darren Peterson, 7th Hayden McFarland, 8th Paul Holton, 9th Emily Vincent, 10th Nick Kroehler, 11th Carol Graves, 12th BJ Schoneck, 13th Scotty Dalgren. 14th Jeff Nooyen.

Whelen Fab 4: Qualifying: Trever Cronick 17.498. Heat 1: 1st Chase Nerat, 2nd Jake VanHese. Heat 2: 1st Ashlyn Van Den Heuvel, 2nd Jeremy Czarapata. Feature: 1st Trever Cronick, 2nd Cody Gunville, 3rd Brent Ayotte, 4th Eli Whittkopf, 5th #802, 6th Jeremy Czarapata, 7th Andy Street, 8th Ashlyn Van Den Heuvel, 9th #22, 10th Nathan Cotterman, 11th #32, 12th Bristol Dugree, 13th Anna Deiter.

Wisconsin Sport Trucks: Qualifying: Mason Calmes 16.704. Heat 1: 1st Owen Voight, 2nd Jesse Smith. Heat 2: 1st Grant Gilbert, 2nd Tom Gee. Feature: 1st Grant Gilbert, 2nd Tom Gee, 3rd Mason Calmes, 4th Aiden Zwiers, 5th Owen Voight, 6th Cadyn Liedke, 7th Jeremy Lange, 8th Beth Craig, 9th #44, 10th #84, 11th Jesse Smith.

Super Modifieds-Triple Crown: 1st Scott Degnan, 2nd Jesse Denome, 3rd Drake Degnan, 4th Paul Hosking, 5th Abi Yelle, 6th Coletan Pepin, 7th Rick Ness, 8th Gunnar Hanson.