Twenty-three drivers in the Formula III division made qualifying runs Friday in what was a snowglobe of an atmosphere at the famed World Championship Derby Complex (WCDC) in Eagle River, Wisc.

The No. 29 Polaris of Joey Burch (No. 29, Mount Pleasant, Mich), second place finisher a year ago at Eagle River, took to the track second on the day and set fast time early with a 35.569. That time held strong as past champions Matt Goede (35.788) and Blaine Stephenson (36.368) each gave it a go, but couldn’t top Burch.

Many drivers looked to be battling handling problems both into and out of the tight hairpin turns at WCDC, however later in the morning, defending champion Zach Dewald turned a 17.90 first lap which was only one of a handful of laps under 18 seconds. He followed it up by posting a two-lap time of 35.68 which put him second fastest on the field, behind Burch.

Goede’s time of 35.788 was third fastest on the day followed by the No. 221 of Reed Klinger (Athens, Wisc.) who posted a 35.913. Rounding out the top five was No. 54 Ryan McCaig (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) who’s time was 36.193.

Qualifying times will come into play when looking at the last chance qualifying (LCQ) race set for Sunday morning. Should a driver be unable to battle through the heat races, the drivers that will make the 10 sled LCQ will be based on qualifying times.

Qualifying Times
1 – No. 29, Joey Burch (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) – 35.569
2 – No. 57, Zach Dewald (Au Gres, Mich.) – 35.686
3 – No. 28, Matt Goede (New Germany, Minn.) – 35.778
4 – No. 221, Reed Klinger (Athens, Wisc.) – 35.913
5 – No. 54, Ryan McCaig (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) – 36.193
6 – No. 6, Gavin Peterson (Chisago City, Minn.) – 36.250
7 – No. 102, Blaine Stephenson (Hutchinson, Minn.) – 36.368
8 – No. 23, Dakota Harris (Morley, Mich.) – 36.396
9 – No. 111, Tanner Foss (Middleriver, Minn) – 36.542
10 – No. 220, Gunnar Sterne (Hampshire, Ill.) – 36.756
11 – No. 04 – Luke Olson (Ishpeming, Mich.) – 37.362
12 – No. 85 X, Tavish Perry (Eagle River, Wisc.) – 37.364
13 – No. 326, Dustin Schwandt (Fox Lake, Wisc.) – 37.375
14 – No. 2, Tyler Towne (Traverse City, Mich.) – 37.584
15 – No. 22S, Andy Shoemaker (Pinconning, Mich.) – 37.585
16 – No. 16, Preston DeShano (Auburn, Mich.) – 38.334
17 – No. 61, Ezra Graumann (Medford, Wisc.) – 38.751
19 – No. 33T, Tyler Foster (Fairgrove, Mich.) – 38.923
20 – No. 22X, Ryan Spencer (Flushing, Mich.) – 38.932
21 – No. 128, Jordan Siebold (Kewaunee, Wisc.) – 39.645
22 – No. 38, Coulton Laaksonen (Dafter, Mich.) – 46.420
23 – No. 43, Chris Holly (Freeland, Mich.) – NO TIME