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He not only made his car stick to the track like maple syrup on a pancake, he powered through the turn at more than 100 mph, then held off the competition to win season-opening race at the Fairgrounds Speedway before a crowd estimated at 2,300.
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Greg Oliver, flag man for ten years at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, waves the checkered flag to end a thunderstox on opening night Saturday.
PETER THOMSON photo
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Guess what? It wasn’t Steve Carlson, the defending track and Whelen All-American Series national short-track champion. It was his 20-year-old son, Mike, who showed race fans there is another Carlson to contend with this year.
“Before the race, I was so nervous. It’s the first night of the season and you want to get off to a good start,” said Mike Carlson of his first career Late Model victory. “Boy, he (J. Herbst) really gave me a good run for my money. He’s a good driver who has done well out here. It takes a good car, and some talent, to get by him.”
Once Mike Carlson got by Herbst and took the lead on Lap 19, his worries were far from over. His father was gaining steam right behind him, and moved into second place on Lap 20. With five laps remaining, would the national champ teach the son a lesson or two?
Not this time.
“I started in the sixth row and Mike started in the fifth, right ahead of me. He left me right away,” Steve Carlson said. “I was able to catch up when he was battling side-by-side with Herbst. Then he left me again. I tell you what, that takes a lot of confidence to be in second, then go to the top (groove) like he did. The motto at this track has been go high and die.”
Herbst wound up finishing in third place, while Sparta’s Shawn Pfaff had a strong run when he grabbed fourth place. Kevin Nuttleman, a 10-time track champion who enters the season with 99 career Late Model wins, rounded out the top five.
This night, however, belonged to the Carlsons. On his mother Carrie’s birthday, Mike joked before the races started that they would give her a present. One of the two, he said jokingly, would win. A betting man would have put their money on Steve, who won eight feature races a year ago. That wasn’t the case, however, and Mike was glad to be No. 1 in a one-two Carlson finish.
“I got a little squirrely coming out of (turn) 4 and had to settle down,” Mike Carlson said of his only mistake in the feature race. “I feel confident in this car. If I put it up high (groove) and it doesn’t stick, it hurts (to hit the wall). I don’t get too excited, but I am excited. Running against my dad, the national champion, if I didn’t do everything right he was going to get me. Oh yeah, I knew he was coming.“
Not this time. Not on the season opener. Not on a night where Carlson, in his rebuilt No. 50 car, the same car he flipped on the front stretch last year and hung upside down in as it caught fire, was simply too smooth and too fast.
“He had the fastest car last year. I hope I do this year,” Mike Carlson said.
SPORTSMAN: Jerimy Wagner was able to survive a big wreck in the North Country Contractors Sportsman Division feature race, then power his way to victory in the 15-lap feature race. Wagner, of Melrose, held off Troy Maier and Jimmy Gilster. Gilster salvaged what could have been a disasterous start as he had engine problems during practice. He was able to tear the motor down, fix it, and get back out and race.
Randy Humfeld finished fourth, while Nick Clements was fifth.
THUNDERSTOX: Jason Stark grabbed the checkered flag in the United Auto Supply Thunderstox feature race, beating Jason Bolster across the line. Andy Moore took third, while Matt Cleveland was fourth. The second of the Moore brothers, Adam Moore, rounded out the top five.
Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com
