KAHLER CONQUERS SPRING CLASSIC!
2022-04-25
By: Russ Wheeler
Max Kahler turned in a nearly flawless performance at Rockford Speedway’s 45th Annual Spring Classic Saturday night.
The 19-year-old from Caledonia Illinois was the fastest car in practice and backed that up by setting the fastest time in Qualifying and then dominated the 88-lap season opening race for the Big 8 Late Model Series en route to his second career Series victory.
Kahler, who started in the tenth position, avoided some early race chaos, and pounced forward on a lap 2 restart, putting himself into position to jump to the race lead on the eighth lap. Over the course of the race’s final 80 laps, Kahler was able to outrun and outlast his competition while speeding to a first-place payday of $2,088.
Dale Nottestad, the 2021 Spring Classic winner, was right in the middle of the early race chaos that Kahler was able to avoid. Nottestad’s involvement in that accident sent him and several other cars to the tail of the field. Over the course of the race’s final 86 laps, Nottestad methodically marched from the rear of the field to a second-place finish.
Rockford Speedway regular Dennis Smith Jr turned in a solid run, earning third place. Two-time Series champion Casey Johnson came home fourth after getting past Jim Olson in the race’s final five laps. Olson hung on to fifth place ahead of Franc Beldowski, who finished sixth.
Stephen Scheel’s persistent performance at Spring Classic saw him advance from an 18th place starting spot to a seventh-place finish, earning himself a $100 bonus as the Powersource Racing Engines ‘Power Mover of the Race.’
The next event for the Big 8 Late Model Series is “Clash at the Downs VIII” at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids Iowa on Friday night June 3.
For more information on the Big 8 Late Model Series, please visit big8latemodels.com.
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Official Race Results |
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45th Annual Spring Classic |
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Saturday April 23 2022 |
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Rockford (IL) Speedway |
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Finish |
Car # |
Driver |
Hometown |
Laps |
|
1 |
17 |
Max Kahler |
Caledonia, IL |
88 |
|
2 |
2 |
Dale Nottestad |
Cambridge, WI |
88 |
|
3 |
O8 |
Dennis Smith Jr |
South Beloit, IL |
88 |
|
4 |
5 |
Casey Johnson |
Edgerton, WI |
88 |
|
5 |
24 |
Jim Olson |
Harvard, IL |
88 |
|
6 |
61 |
Franc Beldowski |
Rockford, IL |
88 |
|
7 |
4 |
Stephen Scheel |
Lake Mills, WI |
88 |
|
8 |
15 |
Will Rece |
Stoughton, WI |
88 |
|
9 |
49 |
Jerry Mueller |
Richfield, WI |
88 |
|
10 |
25 |
Willie Nelson |
Solon Mills, IL |
87 |
|
11 |
42 |
Adam Cartwright |
Rockford, IL |
87 |
|
12 |
7 |
Jerry Stafford |
South Beloit, IL |
86 |
|
13 |
75 |
Mike Beyer |
Machesney Park, IL |
85 |
|
14 |
6 |
Owin Giles |
New Market, MN |
73 |
|
15 |
36 |
Jayden Dahlberg |
South Beloit, IL |
56 |
|
16 |
13 |
Brandon Laing |
South Beloit, IL |
50 |
|
17 |
14 |
Austin Nason |
Roscoe, IL |
42 |
|
18 |
14K |
Kody King |
Clear Lake, IA |
42 |
|
19 |
X |
Jon Reynolds Jr |
Loves Park, IL |
33 |
|
20 |
2 |
Randy Sargent |
South Beloit, IL |
32 |
|
21 |
17 |
Mark Simonsen |
Crystal Lake, IL |
32 |
|
22 |
1 |
Josh Thiering |
South Beloit, IL |
19 |
|
23 |
93 |
John Beinlich |
Carol Stream, IL |
16 |
|
24 |
7 |
Mitch Haver |
West Bend, WI |
1 |
|
Fast Time: Kahler (13.641 seconds) |
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Prelim winners: Nottestad, Beyer, Rece, Stafford, Haver |
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Car Count: 28 Big 8 Late Models |
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(as of April 25 2022) |
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|
1 |
Max Kahler |
129 |
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|
2 |
Dale Nottestad |
107 |
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|
3 |
Dennis Smith Jr |
104 |
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|
4 |
Franc Beldowski |
97 |
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|
5 |
Casey Johnson |
92 |
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|
6 |
Jim Olson |
87 |
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|
7 |
Stephen Scheel |
84 |
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|
8 |
Will Rece |
81 |
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|
9 |
Jerry Mueller |
75 |
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|
10 |
Austin Nason |
72 |
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