PLOVER, WI – A very special Larry Detjens Memorial has come and gone for Gabe Sommers Racing. As it was the final ASA Midwest Tour event at State Park Speedway, we feel it’s only appropriate to take a dive into our last weekend at the historic ¼ mile bullring that so many of us have been blessed to call “home”.
Headlining day two of “Detjens Fest” is the Larry Detjens Memorial 125, a fast paced and abrasive race that tests the limits and skills of all drivers that attempt to navigate the nooks and crannies of State Park Speedway. Twenty six cars would roll through the gates to take on the stars and cars of the ASA Midwest Tour. Practice would open up the floodgates for the field, piling onto the speedway in quick succession to lay down laps. Gabe would be without normal crew chief Travis Sauter for this event, as Travis Sauter had prior obligations to attend to. Opening practice would go off without a hitch, and the No. 15 found itself sitting tenth on the time charts after running just six laps. Some changes were made to the platform in the quick turnaround before the second and final round of practice. This time around, Gabe would make multiple runs in the half hour long session, turning thirty laps on his way to securing a third place spot on the leaderboard.
Qualifying was next up on the docket, and everyone’s eyes were on the prize. It was the final chance to grab an all important quick time at State Park Speedway. Gabe would time in with a 13.758 second lap, good enough to secure a fifth place spot on the time charts, and less than .02 off of second place. It was a very tight field from top to bottom, which suggested a great battle would ensue for the trophy later in the night. Heat races quickly followed qualifying, with Sommers slotted into the “Odd Heat” due to his qualifying result. The No. 15 rolled off from fourth and made its way up to the back bumper of the lead pair during the ten lap sprint, ultimately settling for third with a clean nose.
Overall, a happy driver came back to the pits with positive notes on how to improve the car for the 125 lap feature. Sommers would take the green from the edge of the top ten, with plenty of work ahead of him in tight quarters. A couple of quick cautions slowed the field off the jump, but by lap 25/125 the field had strung themselves out enough to show who carried the speed and momentum needed to move forward. At the same time, Gabe had appeared inside the top five for the first time all race, picking his way through a jumble of cars before finding clean track ahead of him. Another forty laps of green flag race would pass before Gabe was able to successfully take over the next spot in line, now just one spot away from the podium. With lapped traffic now blanketing the racing surface, Sommers added another notch to his belt by picking up the third spot in the midst of a log jam with just over fifty laps left to go. Laps continued to wind down, and the handle slowly began to fade on the No. 15 Ford. On lap 108/125, Gabe slid back a spot to fourth place, where he would ride out the storm all the way to the checkered flag.
Although not a win, the Sommers crew was grateful to run so well in the final edition of the Larry Detjens Memorial. Gabe and the entire GSR crew were massive fans of the track and its unique characteristics, and will miss its presence on the ASA Midwest Tour schedule in 2025. For now, we look forward to a true crown jewel event in the Midwest, the Gandrud Auto Group 250 at the Wisconsin International Raceway. Head on out to Kaukauna on Tuesday August 6 for what will be an absolutely electric race, or tune in on TrackTV.com!