Apr 29, 20232 min read

Stemler Goes Wire-to-Wire for Winston Speedway Opener Win

Updated: Apr 29, 2023

Rothbury, MI (Friday, April 28, 2023) - The 2023 season is now officially underway at Winston Speedway in Rothbury, MI. Kicking off with a special $1,000 to win special for Street Stocks plus the first race of the season for Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, and IMCA Modifieds.

Pro Late Models were the first division of the night with Muskegon, Michigan's Scott Wenell continuing his dominating night. After winning the heat race, Wenell jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. A big moment came just before the midway point of the race when Corey Ausra's car jumped sideways in turn three directly in front of Kyle Wright's No.5 machine. Wright drove directly into the side of Ausra, collecting Justyn Clark and Zach Swarts in the process. Clark and Swartz were able to continue, however, Ausra and Wright were forced to the sidelines.

In the Super Late Model division, 18 cars were on the property for opening night, with Travis Stemler and Tom Dusen leading the field to the green flag. At the drop, Stemler jumped out to the early and commanding lead. Behind him, the battles throughout the field were close throughout the duration of the 30 lap main event. Brandon Thirlby and Eric Spangler kept a heated battle for the second spot for most of the event. Jeff Reay was the hard charger of the night coming from 16th to finish 6th.

IMCA Modifieds had a tough time getting going on Friday night. After three attempts to get the race started, the field was "disciplined" to single-file starts for the remainder of the night. Once the field got moving, Brenten Deyoung proved he was one to beat jumping out to the lead on the opening lap. It wasn't long until Mitchell Hunt began challenging for the top spot from the sixth spot. Deyoung held on for the win over Hunt, Austin Wonch came from 13th to finish third, Blake Edmonds from 14th to finish fifth, and Chad May the hard charger going from 23rd to 8th.

Finally, the Street Stock Special paying $1000 to win say a fantastic battle for the top spot. Robbie Sternberg grabbed the top spot right away and looked to be on the fast track to an easy win. That was until Bill Brandt, Jr threw his name into the contendor's hat. As Brandt was running down Sternberg, Mike Lynn's No. 96 came to life running down Sternberg and Brandt. Coming off turn four, it appeared that Lynn and Brandt made contact which ultimately resulted in Brandt spinning going into turn number 1. The final restart with just under 10 laps to go gave Lynn the chance to get Sternberg figured out, and that's what he did going on to collect the win ahead of Sterneberg, Mike Vandermark, Jr, Roger Brooks, and Travis Haynes.

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