Super Late Model Feature Winner Brad “JJ” MuellerBy Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., Sept. 2—Following one of the zaniest super late model features of the season, Brad Mueller found himself back in victory lane Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway for the first time in four years as he passed Rich Bickle for the lead and then held off a hard charging Rob Braun to win the Russ Darrow 100.
“You folks have no clue how good it feels to win at Slinger Speedway,” a joyous Mueller told the crowd after capturing his first Slinger victory since August of 2008, “I could see Rich (Bickle) was backing up the corners and getting a little bit snug and I had to make a run on the outside because that #98 car (Braun) was coming.”
“I tried to put the pressure on Brad (Mueller), “ Braun stated after finishing a strong second and falling just short of his first career super late model feature win, “I just got a little tight there at the end.”
Super Late Model Feature Winner Brad “JJ” MuellerBy Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., Sept. 2—Following one of the zaniest super late model features of the season, Brad Mueller found himself back in victory lane Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway for the first time in four years as he passed Rich Bickle for the lead and then held off a hard charging Rob Braun to win the Russ Darrow 100.
“You folks have no clue how good it feels to win at Slinger Speedway,” a joyous Mueller told the crowd after capturing his first Slinger victory since August of 2008, “I could see Rich (Bickle) was backing up the corners and getting a little bit snug and I had to make a run on the outside because that #98 car (Braun) was coming.”
“I tried to put the pressure on Brad (Mueller), “ Braun stated after finishing a strong second and falling just short of his first career super late model feature win, “I just got a little tight there at the end.”
Supers Wreck #9 Lampman, #16 Apel, #42 Prunty, #5 Franzen, #2 BennettJamie Wallace charged into the lead on the opening lap from the outside of the front row while pole-sitter Conrad Morgan followed as the field quickly fell under the caution flag as Jake Vankoskey’s car spun into the infield entering turn three. Wallace and Morgan essentially swapped positions for the restart and Morgan wasted no time in using the outside groove to claim the lead off turn two while Ryan DeStefano and Tim Lampman battled side by side for third just ahead of Mike Egan, Dennis Prunty, Rich Bickle, and Brad Mueller. While Wallace tracked Morgan for the lead, the inside line prevailed behind them as Lampman claimed the third spot from the inside and bringing Egan along with him as well as DeStefano and Prunty faded slightly on the outside. Egan used an inside pass to capture third from Lampman a lap later as Mueller and Jeff Holtz looked on while Bickle and DeStefano raced alongside each other behind them. Contact between Bickle and DeStefano in the middle of turns three and four sent DeStefano’s car on an adventure in turn four as he first washed high on the speedway before swinging across the track to the apron as he regained control. The minor altercation left debris on the speedway and the caution flag waved for a second time on lap seven with Morgan leading Wallace, Lampman, Egan, and Mueller. This time Morgan chose the inside lane for the restart and he was able to maintain the lead as racing resumed while Wallace tried to hang in there from the outside with Lampman and Egan side by side for third. A lap later Lampman looped around in between turns three and four causing Jeff Holtz to take evasive action on the high side while Mueller nudged his way past Lampman’s spinning car on the inside. Lampman’s car spun up the speedway directly in the path of Steve Apel who slowed suddenly to avoid him while Al Schill who was racing right behind Apel was unable to slow and his car rode over the ride side of Apel’s machine and into the wall. Dennis Prunty then spun sideways to avoid the melee as Eric Fransen, James Swan, and Randy Schuler all piled in with no place to go. Schill, Fransen, and Swan were unable to continue while Apel spent several laps in the pit area as the crew worked to repair the damage. Morgan led Wallace and Egan for the restart with Holtz, Bickle, and Mueller next in line and as the green flag waved, Morgan maintained the lead while Egan ducked to the inside of Wallace for second. Holtz also used the inside to claim third a lap later and after a few more circuits, Bickle and Mueller also worked their way around Wallace and into fourth and fifth respectively. Egan chased down Morgan for the lead and while attempting to ease his nose to the inside of Morgan’s left rear fender on lap 17, contact between the two sent Morgan’s car spinning around in turn three to produce another caution flag. Egan was relegated to the rear of the field for his involvement in the incident and during the slowdown, Holtz and Prunty left the speedway to have work done on their cars leaving Bickle with the lead over Mueller, Wallace, and Jerry Eckhardt.
Ken Schrafnagel Thunderstock Feature WinnerA lap after racing resumed, an incident near the back of the field sent Holtz and Fred Winn hard into the backstretch wall nose first with Morgan, Prunty, Lowell Bennett, and Jake Vanoskey all receiving damage. Holtz and Winn were through for the evening while Prunty left the track for repairs that took several laps to accomplish. Prunty returned to the event many laps down and along with Apel who also lost several laps from the earlier incident, the top two championship contenders enter the final weekend of competition tied for the lead in the point standings. Bickle held onto the lead from the inside lane as racing resumed despite a serious challenge from Mueller in the outside lane while Wallace and Eckert found themselves having to defend their positions against Rob Braun who suddenly began to close from fifth. While Bickle and Mueller raced nose to tail out front, Braun was the man on the move, first dispatching both Eckhardt and Wallace to gain third and then drawing to Mueller’s rear bumper a few laps later. The top three ran single file for several laps before Mueller took a few looks to the outside of Bickle for the lead while Braun tried to work to the inside of Mueller for second. On lap 56, Braun was able to edge his way around Mueller for second but the caution flag waved before the lap could be completed for a tangle involving Brad Keith and Tim Lampman off turn four. With the green flag waving again, Bickle, Mueller, and Braun went back to their single file formation out front while Mike Egan advanced to fourth place just ahead of Eckhardt in fifth. Mueller seemed to get tired of following Bickle and he moved to the outside lane, pulling alongside Bickle for the lead with Braun charging from the inside right behind Bickle and Egan following directly behind Braun. Bickle and Mueller spent the next several circuits racing door to door for the top spot before Bickle’s car suddenly slowed off turn four on lap 69, allowing Mueller to charge into the lead ahead of Braun and Egan. Braun wouldn’t let Mueller get away and made many serious challenges to Mueller’s inside, briefly taking the lead for a moment on lap 73 but once again the caution flag waved before the lap was completed for a spin by Brad Keith in turn four. Braun continued his challenges for the lead as racing resumed, handing out a few taps to Mueller’s rear bumper to let him know he was there. Mueller was up to the challenge however and he held off the challenges to score the victory, leaving Braun to settle for a strong second place showing. Mike Egan finished third while Lowell Bennett and Conrad Morgan both battled back through the field from earlier setbacks to finish in fourth and fifth place respectively. Jerry Eckhardt completed his strongest run of the season in sixth place while Jamie Wallace finished seventh and Mike Graczkowski was eighth. Jake Vanoskey and Dave McCardle completed the top ten finishers.
Eddie May Late Model Feature WinnerFred Winn won the 35-lap super late model semi-feature over Jake Vanoskey and Mike Held. Jon Reyonlds Jr. and Tommy Hromadka rounded out the top five. Rich Bickle was the winner of the super late model fast dash while Rob Braun scored his first career super late model fast qualifier award with a lap of 11.424 seconds.
Eddie May made the trip from Illinois to the Slinger high banks and it paid off with a victory in the 35-lap late model feature over Ryan DeStefano and Alex Prunty.
Nick Wendt and Mark Kissinger paced the field to the green flag and they raced side by side for the lead in the opening laps before Wendt prevailed from the inside. Adam Peschek tried to take advantage of the opening to the inside of Kissinger but as they battled for the second spot, contact between the cars sent Kissinger spinning around off turn four to produce the caution flag. Both Peschek and Kissinger restarted the race from the rear of the field as Wendt led over Eddie May, Justin Poenitsch, and Al Stippich. Wendt and May raced door to door for the lead as racing resumed and several laps later, May’s persistence on the outside paid off as he cleared Wendt for the lead. Once out front, May began to stretch his advantage while Wendt was forced to defend second from both Poenitsch and Stippich who both raced directly behind Wendt. The caution flag appeared on lap 19 when Pat McIntee had problems and rode along the frontstretch wall with May leading over Wendt and Poenitsch. May once again showed the way as racing resumed over Wendt while Ryan DeStefano, Alex Prunty, and John DeAngelis all caught up to the leaders. Poenitsch spun off turn four while trying to turn back a challenge from DeStefano to produce the caution flag on lap 24 with May leading over DeStefano, Prunty, DeAngelis, and Dan Church. May was up to the task in the closing laps and he fended off all challengers to capture the victory over DeStefano and Prunty while DeAngelis and Church finished in fourth and fifth respectively.
Jack Stern First Career Midwest Sporrtsman Feaure WinDan Church was the winner of the late model fast dash while Nick Wendt won the first late model heat race over Adam Peschek and Eddie May. Brad Norgard took top honors in the second late model heat race over Pat McIntee and Tim Lange. Alex Prunty was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 12.370 seconds.
Jack Stern edged James Swan in a thrilling green, white, checkered finish to score his first career Midwest Sportsman feature victory in the 30-lap main event.
Carl Benn paced the opening laps while Stern battled with Chris Beine for second with Jack Stern, Eric Lingford, Ryan Farrell, James Swan, and Brian Holtz all racing intensely for third. Farrell and Lingford rubbed doors in turn one which sent Farrell’s car skidding out of shape momentarily allowing Holtz and Swan to get by while Benn continued to lead over Stern, Beine and Lingford. Several laps later, Beine’s car slowed off turn four while running in third and he retired from the event as Holtz and Swan used the inside lane to work around Lingford with Benn still out front with Stern trailing him. Stern drove to the outside lane and pulled alongside Benn in a battle for the lead as Holtz, Swan, and Farrell all began to close on the leaders. After many laps of side by side racing for the lead, Stern finally prevailed and drove into the lead. With just two laps to go, Benn’s car swung wide off turn four and as he, Swan, Holtz, and Farrell charged toward turn one, Farrell’s and Holtz’s cars made contact and Holtz spun around to draw a caution flag and set up a two lap dash for the victory with Stern leading over Swan. Stern chose the inside lane for the restart and while Swan made a valiant effort from the outside groove, it wasn’t enough to unseat Stern who drove under the checkered flag to edge Swan for his first career feature victory. Swan settled for a close second while Benn finished a strong third just head of Lingford and Farrell in fourth and fifth respectively.
Steve Dickson Slinger Bee Feature WinnerEric Lingford won the Midwest Sportsman fast dash and the heat race win was recorded by Jimmy Wilson over Dustin Krebs and Chris Ratajczk. Ryan Farrell topped qualifying in the Midwest Sportsman division with a lap of 12.877 seconds.
Ken Schraufnagel led only the final lap as he edged Brad Hetzel in a green, white, checkered finish to win the 18-lap Thunderstock main event. Hetzel finished a close second despite leading every lap of the event but the final one while Joe Shelby was third and John Daley and Joe Mueller rounded out the top five. Tyler Schley won the Thunderstock fast dash and Nick Egan won the eight lap heat race, holding off Joe Mueller, Rick Schaefer, and Josh Fehrman in the process. John Daley was the fastest qualifier after turning in a lap of 13.574 seconds.
Rick Bruskiewicz #17 Figure 8 Opening CeremoniesBrandon Tackes edged Steven Dickson in a close finish to the 22-lap Slinger Bee feature. Nick Schmidt finished third while Jay Orr and Grant Griesbach were fourth and fifth respectively. Grant Griesbach won the Slinger Bee fast dash and heat race wins were recorded by Jay Orr and Russ Davison. Steven Dickson was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 15.042 seconds.
Luke Hilgendorf was the winner of the Spectator Eliminator races in his Suburu WRX while Scott Goetzke won the Figure 8 race that was stopped a lap short when a collision in the X between Russ Lorbiecki and Shane Becker resulted in Becker’s car rolling over. Niether of the drivers were injured in the incident.
Next Sunday Afternoon is the final race of the season at Slinger Speedway. Points battles don’t get any tighter than the Super Late Models. Dennis Prunty and Steve Apel are tied for the top spot going into the final event this Sunday September 9th. Gates open at Noon with opening ceremonies at 2:00 pm and racing to follow.