Matt Maki IV celebrates in victory lane after feature win at the Yooper Fall Classic at Escanaba Speedway on Sept. 16, 2023.

ESCANABA — Mother nature held off the rain for a great night of racing at the Yooper Fall Classic at Escanaba Speedway on Saturday.

There were 102 cars registered for action, the highest car count of the 2023 season and 28 sport mods made the trip to race for the $2,023 to win feature.

The sport mods ran double heats with the top 12 in passing points advancing to the main event and the top four from each B-feature also transferring to the 20-lap A-main.

Rapid River’s Matt Maki IV took home the feature win. Second place went to Chris Budzban of Luxemburg, Wi. and third place went to Timothy Warner of Malone, Wi. “This one is near the top of the list,” Maki said. “We worked really hard to get to this point. Lots of help from the guys at Ultimate Race Cars they help us get out there every week. I also need to thank my family and sponsors, Team Chevrolet, Key Reality Delta County, Black Creek Cattle Co. and so many more for all the support throughout the season.

The exhibition vintage modifieds put on a good show for the fans with Derek LeBresh From Saint Jacques, Mi. picking up the the sweep winning both the feature and his heat race. Second place went to Dale Herring of Berlin, Wi. and Kevin Lustila of Germfask, Mi. came in third. “This is a non competitive class, Dave Broeders said. “We separated from the guys that wanted competion. We are doing this for the love of the sport. In our class the driver gets in free we receive no points or pay. We want to keep these old cars around for people to enjoy.” The group also races at Norway and Sands Speedways.

The vintage modified class saw Jesse Denome of Escanaba pick up the feature win. Second place went to Gunnar Hansen of Ogantz, Mi. and Clayton Peterson of Rapid River came in third.

The street stock division had Garrett Geyer from Brussels, Wi. pick up the win. second spot went to Shanon Guelette of Luxemberg, Wi. and third place went to Neil Aaberg of Escanaba.

The sportsman sprints had Griffin Iverson of Escanaba come away with the feature win. Braxton Lundquist of Bark River took home second place as well as the heat win and Qwentin Johnsen also of Bark River coming in third. “It felt amazing out there,” Iverson said. “The heat was pretty rough but the feature race was nice and smooth.”

The 600cc sprints Class had Logan Getzloff of Wilson, Mi. take home the feature win. Second place went to Chase Richer of Escanaba and third place went to Kevin Warm also of Escanaba. Warm was also the credited with the heat win in the race. “We had our lows this season,” Getzloff said. “We finished the year strong with two wins. The track started out rough but the track crew did a great job of working on it and making it awesome for the features.”

The youth micro sprints had Tanner Rae of Escanaba come away with a sweep of heat and feature wins. Second place went to Finn Bower of Bark River and Third place went to Amelia Hart of Gwinn who also won in heat race action. Wyatt Ammel and Abbie Lantagne transferred from the B-main.

The sport compacts divison had Tombo Waselesky of Harvey, Mi. come away with the heat and feature wins. Second place went to Elliot Corrigan of Escanaba who also picked up a heat win and third place to Jeremy Czarapata of Krakow Wi.

Rounding out the action the ls stock cars had Cole Hagwell of Harvey come away with the feature win. Second Place went to Zach Yelle also of Harvey and Tony Nayback came in third.