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STANKOWSKI, ZDROIK & EISEL AMONG EAGLE RIVER SPEEDWAY OPENING NIGHT WINNERS
Posted on: Monday May 25, 2026
Wausau’s Mitch Stankowski scored the opening night IMCA stock car feature win at Eagle River Speedway May 24. (Castle Creations)
ATTENTION SPORTS/MOTORSPORTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STANKOWSKI, ZDROIK & EISEL SCORE EAGLE RIVER SPEEDWAY OPENING NIGHT MAINS
(EAGLE RIVER, WI) May 24 – Wausau’s Mitch Stankowski fired the opening salvo at the Eagle River Speedway lid-lifter, scoring the IMCA stock car feature win Sunday.
The race was originally scheduled to be run the night prior. However, steady drizzle during the heat races forced track officials to cancel the program and run the scheduled raindate on Sunday.
Stankowski fought off a hard-charging trio of Ryan Glembin, Rod Snellenberger and Mark Eswein to collect a hard-earned, IMCA stock car feature.
Hometown driver Trentin Bell led the opening four laps until Stankowski slipped underneath Bell for the lead on lap five. Bell and Stankowski put on a show for the crowd, swapping the lead with Stankowski committed to the lower groove, and Bell hanging out on the upper groove. After a caution on lap six for a stalled Dustin White machine, the pair resumed their scrum, with Glembin slipping into the runnerup spot at the contest’s halfway point.
With five laps remaining, Snellenberger joined the chase up front, stalking Glembin and taking Eswein on his tail along for the ride. Stankowski kept his cool with the fellow veterans, sticking with his line on the bottom of the oval to secure the win. Glembin hung on for second, followed by Snellenberger, Eswein and Bell rounding out the top five finishers.
Hometown driver Jason Zdroik scampered past another hometown driver, Jeff Thomas for the lead on lap 10 and cruised to victory in the 20-lap USRA late model main.
Zdroik started 3rd on the grid of the contest, and wrestled the second spot away from polesitter Dan Zelten of Three Lakes in the early going. Zdroik chased down Thomas, whittling away at his lead lap-by-lap. Zdroik kept the top spot during the second half of the race to secure the win. Thomas hung on for second, followed by Jim Zdroik, ’25 division rookie-of-the-year Chad Lederer and Jim Falls’ Jason McFadden.
Second-generation driver Hope Eisel led wire-to-wire, winning the DIrt Unified Street Stock feature at Eagle River Speedway May 24. (Castle Creations)
Hope Eisel led wire-to-wire and dodged a pair of caution periods to capture the street stock feature.
Eisel shot into the lead from her pole position in the 20-lap contest. The second-generation racer had begun to build up a comfortable margin, but that lead was wiped out on a lap three yellow, tightening up the field.
After an aborted restart, racing resumed, with veteran Danny Gracyalny slipping into the second position on the restart. Eisel was able to maintain a sizable enough distance between herself and Gracyalny for the balance of the contest. Eisel skillfully weaved through lapped traffic in the final circuits to score the win. Gracyalny took second place money at the pay window, followed by Jeremy Joslin, Jason Eisel who charged from 17th, and Nick Allard, who recovered from an early race spin to place fifth.
300 micro sprint features were captured by Ontonagon, Michigan’s Addison Dishaw (Pro) and hometown driver Myia Ewert (Semi-Pro).
Due to rain that fell after the USRA late model feature, the B modified, pure stock and Dairyland Vintage features were canceled.
Tuesday night racing resumes June 9 at 7:00. For more information check out the track’s Facebook page.
RACE SUMMARY
USRA LATE MODEL FEATURE – Jason Zdroik, Eagle River; Jeff Thomas, Eagle River; Jim Zdroik, Hartford; Chad Lederer, Conover; Jason McFadden, Jim Falls; Scott Swanson, Wausau; Todd Gorny, Eagle River; Patrick Kelley, Wyoming, MN; Dan Zelten, Three Lakes; Corbyn Wassenberg, Shawano (DNS)
HEAT – Thomas; Jim Zdroik
B MODIFIED FEATURE – RAINED OUT
HEATS 1) George Dalbeck, Wakefield, MI; Dustin White, Eagle River 2) Kory Joliff, Mass City, MI; Andy Fink, Minocqua 3) Owen Wilcox, Oconto Falls; Dustin Kangas, Phelps
IMCA STOCK CAR FEATURE – Mitch Stankowski, Wausau; Ryan Glembin, Eagle River; Rod Snellenberger, Pulaski; Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapids; John Heinz, Green Bay; Trentin Bell, Eagle River; Jason Zdroik, Eagle River; Keslie Richards, Montello; Wyler Haines, Eagle River; Jonathan Miller, Eagle River; Josh Joslin, Rhinelander; Jeff Bodendorfer, Waterford; Dustin White
HEATS 1) White; Jason Zdroik 2) Stankowski; Heinz
DIRT UNIFIED STREET STOCK FEATURE – Hope Eisel, Rhinelander; Danny Gracyalny, Greenville; Jeremy Joslin, Rhinelander; Nick Allard, Three Lakes; Blake Joslin, Rhinelander; Quentin Morrison, Eagle River; Kim Brown, Eagle River; Alexis Joslin, Rhinelander; Colten Klueckman, Wausau; Jason Gee Jr., Crandon; Josh Joslin, Rhinelander; Wyatt McIntire, Mass City, MI; Timothy Hunt, Eagle River; Lucas Zdroik, Eagle River; Caleb Miller, Eagle River; Jason Gee Sr., Argonne; Ryan Schuppler, Rhinelander (DNS)
HEATS 1) Gracyalny; Gee Sr. 2) Klueckman; Allard
PURE STOCK FEATURE – RAINED OUT
HEATS 1) Bobby Hommerding, Merrill; Chris Busche, Tomahawk 2) Cody Bauknecht, Crandon; Reginald Felzkowski, Prentice
300 MICRO SPRINT FEATURES Pro) Addison Dishaw, Ontonagon, MI; Carter Aho, Twin Lakes, MI; Bentley Seliger, Wausau; Blake Wilke, Tomahawk; Parker Ewert, Eagle River; Archer Peter, Manitowish Waters Semi-Pro) Myia Ewert, Eagle River; Graham Van Atta, Eagle River; Colton Glembin, Eagle River; Reed Joslin, Eagle River
HEATS 1) Seliger; Addison Dishaw 2) Myia Ewert; Van Atta
DAIRYLAND VINTAGE FEATURE –
HEAT – Brian Witberler, Bucktown; Matt Eder, Merrill