By Mike Babicz
(Wilmot, Wis., Saturday, July 11, 2026)– Brown Deer’s John Fahl, in 37 years of racing struggled getting to victory lane when the AutoMeter Powered by Gandrud Performance Wisconsin WingLESS Sprints were a support class of the Larry Hillerud Memorial for the NOS Energy World of Outlaws Sprint Cars weekend at Wilmot Raceway on Saturday, July 11, 2026.
“We finally broke the World of Outlaws and Dirt Vision jinx,” said a jubilant 55-year-old Fahl after taking the victory in the 20-lap feature. “I know Allen (Hafford) runs strong and was sticking to the bottom. Finally I was able to get the run on him on the outside.”
“This is great to get the win on this special night before these packed stands,” said Fahl of his third Wisconsin WingLESS feature win of the season and second coming at Wilmot. “It’s even more special because my dad is here, a lot of family, and my main pit crew Austin Semmelmann’s mom was here for the first time. It makes it even more special.”
Hafford, of Beach Park, IL, took the initial lead following an aborted start to the main when several cars tangled in turn one and Salem’s George Gaertner III ended up on his side. Gaertner was not injured, but unable to make the restart.
Fahl kept working the high side, getting along side Hafford several times as the two battled for the top spot.
Five laps in, Fahl made the move stick coming out of turn two.
Clayton Rossmann of Wadsworth, IL, substituting behind the wheel of the Tristan Furseth Racing #57 entry, worked into second after battling with Hafford for several laps.
A caution for debris at the midway point closed the field behind Fahl. The veteran was able to pull away with no lapped traffic to contend with, scoring the win. Rossmann finished second. Hafford was a close third as was Elkhart Lake’s Preston Ruh fourth and Watertown’s Jordan Miklas fifth.
Bristol’s Chris Klemko scored the Behling Race Equipment Hard Charger honor finishing sixth, improving six spots from his 12th original spot in the field.
Ruh scored the win in the Fox Lake Harbor/All Star Performance 1st 8-lap heat. New Berlin’s Austin Hansen won the Five Star Race Car Bodies 2nd Heat. Silver Lake’s Ralph Johnson captured the Behling Race Equipment third heat.
Rossmann posted a :15.169 seconds clocking to top the Body Craft of Antioch, IL qualifying.
In the third fourth qualifying session, Nathan Crane of Waukegan, IL got airborne in turn three bringing out a red flag. Crane, who did communicate with safety personnel, was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Next up for the Wisconsin WingLESS Sprints is a doubleheader Saturday, July 25 at Cedar Lake Speedway in Somerset, Wis. and then Sunday, July 26 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. The next time they return to Wilmot Raceway is for a Thursday special on July 30, a program which includes the IRA Lightning Sprints.
Non Wing Crate Sprints
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 0-John Fahl[2]; 2. 57F-Clayton Rossmann[4]; 3. 38-Allen Hafford[1]; 4. 26R-Preston Ruh[6]; 5. 44J-Jordan Miklas[3]; 6. 70-Chris Klemko[12]; 7. 24-Eric Wilke[5]; 8. 54-Chance Ciskowski[9]; 9. 11S-Colin Sivia[10]; 10. 29J-Ralph Johnson[8]; 11. 52-Craig Lager[11]; 12. 29OG-Tom Eller[15]; 13. 14-Tim Cox[19]; 14. 50-Rusty Egan[20]; 15. 99J-Seth Johnson[14]; 16. 4-Jordan Paulsen[13]; 17. 22-Greg Alt[21]; 18. 11-Austin Hansen[7]; 19. 7-Trinity Uttech[17]; 20. 41-Dennis Spitz[23]; 21. 34-Kevin Hinich[18]; 22. (DNF) 4G-George Gaertner III[16]; 23. (DNS) 7D-Josh Davidson; 24. (DNS) 29JR-Nathan Crane
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 26R-Preston Ruh[2]; 2. 54-Chance Ciskowski[1]; 3. 57F-Clayton Rossmann[4]; 4. 4-Jordan Paulsen[6]; 5. 4G-George Gaertner III[7]; 6. 0-John Fahl[3]; 7. 50-Rusty Egan[5]; 8. (DNF) 41-Dennis Spitz[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Austin Hansen[2]; 2. 11S-Colin Sivia[1]; 3. 70-Chris Klemko[7]; 4. 38-Allen Hafford[3]; 5. 29OG-Tom Eller[6]; 6. 7-Trinity Uttech[5]; 7. (DNS) 14-Tim Cox; 8. (DNS) 29JR-Nathan Crane
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 29J-Ralph Johnson[2]; 2. 24-Eric Wilke[3]; 3. 52-Craig Lager[1]; 4. 44J-Jordan Miklas[4]; 5. 99J-Seth Johnson[5]; 6. 34-Kevin Hinich[6]; 7. 22-Greg Alt[8]; 8. (DNF) 7D-Josh Davidson[7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 57F-Clayton Rossmann, 15.169[6]; 2. 14-Tim Cox, 15.233[4]; 3. 44J-Jordan Miklas, 15.492[9]; 4. 0-John Fahl, 15.566[12]; 5. 38-Allen Hafford, 15.653[10]; 6. 24-Eric Wilke, 15.686[16]; 7. 26R-Preston Ruh, 15.688[13]; 8. 11-Austin Hansen, 15.783[5]; 9. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 15.788[3]; 10. 54-Chance Ciskowski, 15.846[17]; 11. 11S-Colin Sivia, 15.879[22]; 12. 52-Craig Lager, 15.904[21]; 13. 50-Rusty Egan, 15.931[14]; 14. 7-Trinity Uttech, 15.947[7]; 15. 99J-Seth Johnson, 16.068[1]; 16. 4-Jordan Paulsen, 16.076[8]; 17. 29OG-Tom Eller, 16.112[19]; 18. 34-Kevin Hinich, 16.189[15]; 19. 4G-George Gaertner III, 16.222[18]; 20. 70-Chris Klemko, 16.345[23]; 21. 7D-Josh Davidson, 16.399[11]; 22. 41-Dennis Spitz, 16.983[24]; 23. (DNF) 29JR-Nathan Crane[20]; 24. (DNS) 22-Greg Alt