SLM Feature Winner Dave Fieler in Victory
Lane (Speed Graphics Photos)By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., June 12—Dave Feiler passed Steve Apel with 23 laps to go and held on to win his second feature victory of the season in the US Army Reunion Night 70-lap super late model main event Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
“Steve (Apel) was guarding the bottom a little bit but when he was coming off the corner, he was letting it go all the way to the wall,” Feiler stated describing the winning pass afterwards, “He’s a great racer and I backed off and let him collect himself and he held onto it and I just set him up coming out of turn two.”
“The guys gave me a good car again, it just wasn’t the car to win, “Apel said following his second runner-up finish in as many weeks. “He (Feiler) definitely had the better car tonight.”
SLM Feature Winner Dave Fieler in Victory
Lane (Speed Graphics Photos)By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., June 12—Dave Feiler passed Steve Apel with 23 laps to go and held on to win his second feature victory of the season in the US Army Reunion Night 70-lap super late model main event Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
“Steve (Apel) was guarding the bottom a little bit but when he was coming off the corner, he was letting it go all the way to the wall,” Feiler stated describing the winning pass afterwards, “He’s a great racer and I backed off and let him collect himself and he held onto it and I just set him up coming out of turn two.”
“The guys gave me a good car again, it just wasn’t the car to win, “Apel said following his second runner-up finish in as many weeks. “He (Feiler) definitely had the better car tonight.”
Reunion Night Cars and StarsJosh Wallace and Fred Winn made up the first row at the start as the field quickly went under the yellow flag after the first lap was completed when an accordion-like stack-up through the field in turn four resulted in Jerry Eckhardt’s left front fender becoming dislodged and falling into the racing groove. On the restart, Wallace and Winn quickly fell in line, occupying the top two spots just ahead of Jon Reynolds Jr. and Conrad Morgan. Behind the top four, Steve Apel, Tommy Hromadka, Dennis Prunty, Jeremy Lepak and Dave Feiler all raced hard for the fifth spot. Morgan, Apel, and Prunty ran nose to tail on the inside line and eventually opened up a way around Reynolds in third a few laps later, dropping him to a battle for sixth with Feiler and Lepak. Morgan and his followers continued to run well on the inside and all three moved around Winn for second a few laps later as Wallace remained out front. Feiler and Lepak also worked well in the low lane and both passed Reynolds for position as well.
Reunion Night Cars and StarsWhile Morgan and Apel began to track down Wallace for the lead, Feiler and Lepak caught Prunty in fourth as Feiler took to the high lane and pulled alongside Prunty. Prunty battled tough on the inside and the two raced intensely alongside each other as further ahead Morgan ducked to the inside of Wallace in a bid for the lead. Morgan grabbed the lead and Apel followed suite on the inside for second as Prunty, Feiler, and Lepak continued to dispute the fourth position. Feiler edged ahead of Prunty for the spot with Lepak racing directly in Prunty’s tire tracks as the caution flag waved on lap 28 when Fred Winn’s car spun down the frontstretch while racing for positon with Mike Egan. Morgan chose the inside for the restart but Apel was on his game, charging into the lead from the outside as racing resumed. With Apel out front, Morgan settled into second ahead of Feiler but a few laps later, Feiler was able to turn under Morgan exiting turn two, taking the spot after two laps of side by side racing. Once by Morgan, Feiler began to narrow the gap to Apel as Lepak began to challenge Morgan over third. As Feiler closed to Apel’s rear bumper, Morgan and Lepak raced intensely for third with the two making side contact on the straight-aways. Lepak eventually prevailed and secured third while Feiler applied the pressure to Apel for the lead. On lap 46, Feiler tapped Apel’s left rear corner in turn four, momentarily breaking Apel’s car sideways but he wisely hesitated and allowed Apel to regain control before making another bid on the inside exiting turn two. This time Feiler completed the pass before reaching turn three to take command of the event on lap 48.
Frank Smith in the #1 SportsmanBehind the lead duo, Morgan remained glued to Lepak’s tire tracks for third as Dennis Prunty maintained fifth place. Prunty’s race came to an end on lap 57 as he exited the speedway with mechanical problems as Feiler and Apel began to approach lapped traffic. The complexion of the race changed dramatically on lap 64 as Apel’s car scraped along the frontstretch wall and slid to a stop in turn one. Apel’s car was then drilled in the left rear by Lepak as Morgan spun around to avoid the incident. Lepak’s car sustained front end damage and was retired from the event while Apel retained his second spot after officials determined he spun to avoid something. As the field circled under caution, third and fourth place contenders Morgan and Reynolds ran into each other while scuffing their tires and both left the speedway with significant damage. When the dust settled, Feiler led Apel, Josh Wallace, and Rob Braun for the restart while Mike Egan and Lowell Bennett held down fifth and sixth respectively. As racing resumed, Feiler could not be caught and he led the final laps to score the victory over Apel. Josh Wallace finished a strong third while Rob Braun turned in his best performance of the year with a fourth place result. Mike Egan took the checkered flag in fifth ahead of Lowell Bennett and Chris Blawat while Tommy Hromadka, Jerry Eckhardt, and Randy Schuler rounded out the top ten.
Willie Goeden in the #1 ModifiedMark Kissinger took top honors in the 30-lap super late model semi-feature, crossing the finish line ahead of Brad Dahmer and Jerry Eckhardt. Tommy Pecaro and Randy Schuler finished fourth and fifth respectively. Conrad Morgan won the super late model fast dash and Dave Feiler was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 11.373 seconds.
Dan Jung made his first trip to the Slinger Speedway a successful one as he drove to the victory in the 35-lap late model feature after taking the lead late in the event.
Kissinger and Dahmer battle in
the SLM semi, Kissinger took the win.Alex Prunty and Jerry Mueller led the field to the green flag with Mueller getting the early charge to the lead from the outside leaving Prunty to fend for second place with Pat McIntee, Ryan DeStefano and Dan Jung. Prunty was able to get to the gas off the corners sooner than Mueller and the resulting contact with Mueller’s bumper sent Prunty’s car sideways on lap ten, allowing McIntee and Jung to race by. Prunty regained control and settled into fourth just ahead of DeStefano and Wayne Freimund while McIntee and Jung quickly closed on Mueller for the lead. McIntee made a bid for the top spot a few laps later but couldn’t make the pass which allowed Jung to edge alongside on the inside lane, taking the spot when McIntee’s car slightly slid wide exiting turn two. Prunty took advantage of McIntee becoming caught on the outside and he shot by on the inside into third as Jung pressured Mueller out front. After a few looks to the inside, Jung tried the high groove and pulled even with Mueller as Prunty closed in on the lead duo. The caution flag appeared on lap 24 when Dave McCardle spun down the backstretch after contact with Jake Vanoskey. As the green flag waved, Jung powered by Mueller for the lead on the high side with Prunty holding onto third while Freimund and DeStefano raced their way into fourth and fifth respectively. Once out front, Jung drove the final laps unchallenged as he drove to the win over Mueller and Prunty while Freimund and DeStefano completed the top five finishers. Earlier, DeStefano was the winner of the late model fast dash and Dan Jung set fast time with a lap of 12.466 seconds.
After finishing second last week, James Swan returned to his winning ways as he topped the 35-lap Midwest sportsman feature, leading the final eight laps.
Brian Holtz led the opening laps over Jack Stern while Swan battled with Ryan Farrell for third just ahead of Dan Church and Andy Haver. The top five remained steady for a few laps before Haver’s machine looped around in turn four while racing over fifth with Scott Shambeau. The race remained under green as Haver righted his car and continued on despite losing a lap in the ordeal. Holtz held a comfortable lead as Swan moved into second with an outside pass on Stern with Church and Farrell close behind. Swan began to cut into Holtz’s lead as some rough rumblings could be heard coming from under the hood of the Holtz machine. Swan swept by Holtz for the lead as Holtz’s car began to falter while Church and Farrell battled Stern for second as Holtz dropped from contention. A few laps later, Church cut a left rear tire and nearly took Farrell toward the backstretch wall before both drivers made tremendous saves as Farrell continued on while Church pulled to the infield. Swan drove to the victory over Stern while Farrell recovered to finish third. Brett Widdis and Chris Storey each ran a strong feature and finished fourth and fifth respectively. Earlier, Brian Holtz won the Midwest sportsman fast dash and Andy Haver was the fastest qualifier at 12.637 seconds.
Bennett and Blawat battle in the
SLM Feature.Rick Schaefer won the 20-lap Thunderstock feature after last lap contact between the leaders resulted in a wild finish.
Tyler Schley and Ken Schraufnagel battled door to door for the lead in the beginning laps before Schley was able to edge ahead, leaving Schraufnagel to race with Schaefer, John Daley, and Andy Welter for second. Schaefer and Daley were able to make their way around Schraufnagel for second and third as Carl Benn and Adam Peschek joined the lead battle. Benn’s car became extremely loose in the corners and he looped around in front of Peschek in turn two as the race remained green with Schley continuing to lead over Daley, Schaefer, and Schraufnagel. Daley began to track down Schley for the lead as Andy Welter advanced forward, working his way around Schraufnagel into fourth. Daley was in Schley’s tire tracks as they raced to the white flag and when Schley’s car kicked loose off the corner, Daley made contact with Schley’s left rear which spun Schley’s car around. Daley received the black flag instead of the checkered flag and Schaefer was declared the winner. Andy Welter finished second while Adam Peschek, Ken Schraufnagel, and Gerald Kulas Jr. rounded out the top five. Andy Welter also won the Thunderstock fast dash and Adam Peschek was the fastest qualifier after lapping the speedway in 13.637 seconds.
Karl Gebhard #12 takes the low side in
the Slinger Bee FeatureBraison Bennett won the 18-lap Slinger Bee feature over Brittiny Helmers and Nick Wagner. Marty Tackes finished fourth and Dustin Ostberg was fifth. Dustin Ostberg also was the winner of the Slinger Bee fast dash while Nick Wagner set fast time at 15.354 seconds. Scott Sauer was the winner of the Westbury Bank Speedway Guest Car race and Peter Brice won the Spectator Eliminator event in his Scion. Willie Van Camp won the Figure 8 race to close out the evening.
