La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway: Five drivers looking to capitalize on Don Dionne Twin 25's with wins (2024)

WEST SALEM — The stakes can’t get much higher for a regular season night of racing at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.

The NASCAR Kwik Trip Late Models will run the inaugural Don Dionne Twin 25-lap features on Saturday night with the winner of each taking home $2,500.

Second-place drivers receive $1,000 and third-place finishers earn $500.

The event, coinciding with Bobcat of the Coulee Region Night, will honor the late Don Dionne. Dionne was a former competitor at the track who also worked for over a decade as the track’s pace car driver.

For top title contenders like Jacob Goede and Skylar Holzhausen, Saturday marks the final opportunity until Oktoberfest to influence the 14-point difference in the standings. For the rest of the field, it’s one last chance to put themselves in victory lane before the September break.

Nick Clements and Mike Carlson managed their inaugural victories of 2024 last week. Here’s five drivers with the best odds to find their first win of the season this weekend.

ADAM BENDZICK

The driver occupying third-place in the series standings nearly had his first win just last week before a leak forced him to retire. The salt in the wound for Bendzick was that the loss came with the son of recently passed Brian Huttner, a longtime sponsor of his, waving the green flag.

“That first one was a heartbreaker because I really wanted to win,” Bendzick said about the race last Saturday. “With about four laps to go under that caution, I started to get emotional in the car because I was like ‘We’re doing this.’ But fortune happens and we couldn’t do it.”

Bendzick finished 15th in the opening race, marking just the second time in two seasons he’s finished outside the top-10. From the rear of the field in the second feature, Bendzick recovered and finished third.

As the only driver who’s been able to consistently challenge Goede and Holzhausen, Bendzick has a chance to do more than just get the monkey off his back. A pair of great showings and a slip-up from his competition could open the door for him to be in the title conversation come Oktoberfest.

STEVE BACHMAN

After a series of mechanical woes throughout the season, July 27 looked to be Bachman’s night with a healthy lead in the opening feature race of the night. A caution with four laps remaining that allowed Jacob Goede to make a pass on the restart stomped out those hopes.

Bachman’s recorded at least one win in the Late Models during each of the last three years, but he’s been held out of victory lane in 2024. Then again, this comes in a year where Bachman’s admitted how difficult it’s been for the field to catch the top-two.

“Jacob gets around La Crosse really well,” Bachman said after a podium finish back on May 27. “His car rotates, and he has drive off like no other, so we have to work on that. He’s proven to be one of the best drivers to ever come to this racetrack, so to finish second to him is a big deal.

ADAM DEGENHARDT

The winner of the Late Models Dash series found many wins in preliminary races this season. Unfortunately, his speed hasn’t translated into a feature victory yet.

The driver from Coon Valley recorded a pair of runner-up finishes in the first five features of the year. Since then, he’s struggled to just one top-five finish and fallen to seventh in the point standings.

TOM LUETHE

Sure he’s only got two finishes inside the top-five this season, but Luethe’s improved speed and skill over the past season can’t be denied.

Luethe has qualified in the top-six three and collected a pair of heat race wins. On July 27, the 2022 rookie of the year found himself on the podium, finishing third to Bryan Wrolstad and Holzhausen. What could make the final night of the regular season any more memorable than an upset first-time feature win?

MICHAEL BEAMISH

Beamish’s 2024 was derailed in the season opener with mechanical issues. After nearly three months away from La Crosse, Beamish returned at last week’s double feature night to collect a seventh-place finish and a fifth-place finish.

While they might have lacked luck at the beginning of the year, they certainly came back with the pace to contend. Maybe their luck will turn around on Saturday to the tune of $2,500.

There’ll be plenty of opportunities for drivers in the other La Crosse divisions to collect wins. Sportsmen, Hornets, Street Stocks, Mini Vans and a pair of High School Racing Association features will all be part of Saturday’s lineup.