By Jordan Kuehne – Ryan Carlson’s comeback was already complete – he had successfully returned to racing after a devastating wreck left him with a broken back and questioning his future in the sport. Tonight, Carlson put the proverbial cherry on top of his giant ice cream sundae, winning in front of his hometown fans at the Rockford Speedway in the same race that ended his season one year ago. Jumping out front when the green flag waved on the ASALMS North ‘All-Star 100’, the local driver had the car to beat until the last 15 laps when wily veteran Eddie Hoffman lived up to his nickname, showing how ‘Fast’ he was when he closed up to Carlson’s bumper and looked for the win. Carlson’s home track advantage no doubt played a role as he held Hoffman in his rearview mirror and beat him to the checkers by less than a car length in a great finish...the ASA Late Model Series North Division ‘All-Star 100’, got off to a fast start as local driver Ryan Carlson jumped out front and into the early lead. Pulling double duty on the evening, Carlson had a three car-length cushion over ‘Fast’ Eddie Hoffman when the caution flew courtesy of a solo spin by Seth Moody on the backstretch.
 
With eight laps in the books, Carlson cruised to a comfortable margin on the restart as Hoffman steadied himself in second. 14-year-old Erik Jones pursued the veteran in third as fast qualifier Jesse Saunders eyed the top three.
 
Saunders aggressively asserted himself as a factor challenging Jones on the inside only to have the door slammed shut. Two laps later, Saunders’ second effort paid off as Jones loosened up exiting turn four forcing the young gun to slow it down as Saunders blew by and took third. Defending National Short Track Champion Josh Nelms toppled Anthony Danta for fifth as he worked his way into the top five with a quarter of the race completed.
 
Six laps later, a wild ride around the turn four ... 31 laps tallied.
 
On the ensuing restart, Hoffman didn’t let Carlson get away, keeping him within shouting distance as Saunders began to set up a pass for the second spot. As Saunders worked on Hoffman, the leader began to slowly edge away out front.
 
With 53 circuits remaining, Nelms’ bid for a repeat of his historic National Short Track Championship last fall came to a stunning close when his machine broke coming out of turn two and snapped his back end around before spinning him into the infield. Carlson dashed back to the lead on the restart as ‘Fast’ Eddie tried to keep pace behind him.
 
With the laps ticking off and the leaders pacing themselves up front, the best battle on the track was for sixth as Anthony Danta and Trevor Dassow dueled. Dassow threw his car into turn two a notch too hard causing the young gun to slip up and costing him a spot as he gathered it back up. Up front, Carlson began to build a solid margin as Hoffman did the same to Saunders in third.
 
As the race entered the closing stages, ‘Fast’ Eddie turned up the heat on Carlson, chipping away at his cushion until it was down to a single car length with 22 laps to go. Hoffman had found his groove and was about to make his move with 20 circuits remaining when the proceedings came to a halt for the fourth time on the evening after 16-year-old Jared Marks and Dassow made contact and spun in tandem in turn four. While the race was under caution, Mike Beyer sacrificed his fifth place position and exited to the pits after he ran out of fuel on the frontstretch.
 
Immediately after the race went back to green, Marks’ wounded machine came to a sudden stop on the backstretch and brought out the yellow setting up a 19-lap shootout to the finish. Marks returned to the show at the rear just in time for the green flag as Carlson calmly drove back to the lead ahead of Hoffman.
 
As Carlson broke away from the field, the second place Hoffman fell into the clutches of Saunders who eyed the spot and a late race charge. Hoffman hustled away from Saunders as his car began to hit its stride, slowly tracking down the leader and shaving time off the gap to Carlson’s car.
 
With five laps to go, Hoffman had cut down the lead to less than a car length, setting up a potential late race move for the win as he peeked on the inside and waited for a chance to pounce. That chance never came as Carlson managed to barely keep enough space between a charging Hoffman and himself, never presenting ‘Fast’ Eddie with the opportunity to get alongside him and work his way by him.
 
While Hoffman nipped at Carlson’s heels over the final five laps, he simply ran out of time as the local hero’s knowledge of the high banks proved invaluable. The wire-to-wire win helped round out a great evening for Kar Korner as Carlson responded in the same race that ended his season in devastating fashion just one year earlier.
 
“I think he is a whole lot smarter than I am,” an emotional Carlson admitted in the winner’s circle after accepting his trophy and wrapping the traditional Rockford Speedway champion’s wreath around his neck. “He stayed back, saved his tires, and here I was literally driving the wheels off my car. If there would have been five more laps, he would have gotten me. I was just holding on for dear life there at the end.”
 
Carlson was surrounded by family and friends as he celebrated his amazing comeback, one year after a spectacular wreck left the local driver to face devastating injuries, mired in a neck brace for months after he shattered his vertebrae in the late race crash that sent his car through the billboards in turn four.
 
“I’ve helped a lot of guys out of the way here,” stated an understanding Hoffman after the race. “And we had a shot to move Ryan out of the way with the excuse that we were a hair faster. We had some laps to think about it but I wasn’t going to knock him out of the way or wreck him. First would have been nice but it wasn’t worth wrecking (Ryan). He ran a good race and deserved it.”
 
Hoffman garnered a stellar second place effort while fast qualifier Jesse Saunders came home in third...
 
Chad Stevens jumped out front in the early stages of the 30-lap headliner for the Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models. Young gun Tanner Whitten quickly maneuvered into second as he set his sights on the Madison International Speedway regular and the top spot.
 
Points leader Tim Sargent wasted no time moving up from his fifth-place starting position into third before targeting Whitten and the bridesmaid’s spot. Sargent zoomed by Whitten and immediately closed up to Stevens’ back bumper, working his way into the lead in a swift four laps.
 
Veteran Tom Gille returned to the high banks of the Rockford Speedway in style, collecting second from Whitten as he delved deep on the low line. Whitten dropped another spot to his teammate and mentor, Ryan Carlson, who took away third as the halfway point came and went.
 
The first caution flew with 12 circuits remaining for a pileup in turn one involving ‘Driver X’, fast qualifier Jon Reynolds Jr, as well as Kyle Shear who spun to avoid him and ended up making contact. Reynolds Jr. exited to the pits for repairs while Shear regained his spot in the field because he was spinning to avoid the incident.
 
On the ensuing restart, Carlson mashed the gas on the bottom groove to charge into second and shut the door on Gille as Sargent slowly built a cushion up front. Gille wasn’t going to give up on second that easy though, fighting back to Carlson’s back bumper and peeking on the inside as Whitten joined the fray to make it a three-car battle.
 
As the race wound down into the closing stages, Mikie Breiner took a solo trip through the spin cycle in turn three and caused the back end of the field to stack up as Nick Shutkas and Dave Edwards spun to avoid and were allowed to take their spots back.
 
The restart was short-lived as one lap later a charging Jerry Gille made contact with Kyle Shear sending Shear hard into the outside retaining wall. Shear rode the barrier for well over 20 feet until careening back onto the track in front of a helpless Tanner Whitten who smashed into Shear’s mangled machine. Both drivers walked away unharmed but their races were over, victims of unfortunate circumstances that cost them top five runs. Gille was sent to the rear of the field for his involvement in the melee as four laps remained in Sargent’s quest for victory lane.
 
Sargent surged ahead of the field on the final restart and hit his marks over the final four circuits to collect his third feature victory of the season, padding his points lead to a comfortable 45 markers.
 
...Carlson rounded off a great night with a stellar second place run before jumping into his ASA car and winning. Tom Gille’s return warranted his hard-earned third while Eddie May found his way up to fourth. Chad Stevens’ return to the high banks was rewarded with a top five as he finished off the top five in fifth...(what position did he get? - JD)
 
Racing action returns to the Rockford Speedway this Wednesday for Tebala Shrine Night. Another Wild Wednesday will feature a full slate of racing including the Mtn Dew RoadRunners Super Summer Series, Crap Scrapper Hornets, Winged Women on Wheels, National Figure 8 League, Spectacular Drags, INEX Legends, INEX Bandoleros, Allison Legends and the Yellowbook Hornet Challenge Creeper Race...
 
ASA Late Models 'All-Star 100' -- 1. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 2. Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton; 3. Jesse Saunders, New Garus, Wis...7. Robbie Pyle, Columbus, Ohio; 8. Trevor Dassow, West Bend, Wis...13 cars
 
NASCAR Late Models A-Main 01 -- 1. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 2. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 3. Tom Gille, Winnebago; 4. Eddie May, Crystal Lake; 5. Chad Stevens, Orfordville, Wis; 6. Dave Edwards, Salem, Wis; 7. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 8. Mikie Breiner, Johnburg; 9. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Rockford; 10. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 11. Nick Shutkas, Loves Park; 12. Steve Erickson, Jr, Machesney Park; 13. Michael Cooter, Machesney Park; 14. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale; 15. Tanner Whitten, Congerville; 16. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 17. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 18. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 19. Timothy Slater, Hampshire; 20. Joe Darnell, Machesney Park; 21. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, Wis; 22. Brandon Eash, Rockford; 23. Mark Hartline, Gilberts.
 
Time Trial -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Rockford; 2. Mike Lloyd, Davis (JAMRs - JD)
 
Trophy Dash 01 -- 1. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 2. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 3. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 4. Eddie May, Crystal Lake; 5. Tanner Whitten, Congerville; 6. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Rockford.