BRAD MUELLER CAPTURES SLINGER TUNDRA SERIES SEASON FINALE

By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., Sept. 8—Brad Mueller charged to the lead following a lap 51 restart and held off a closing Dennis Prunty to win the Tundra Super Late Model Series 75-lap season finale Sunday afternoon at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“This car was awesome today, “Mueller said from victory lane, “I have to thank my crew as they worked really hard this week.”

“This has been a dream come true, “Mueller continued, “I won my dirt race last night (at Plymouth) and then to win to win at Slinger Speedway on Sunday, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

“This car was awesome today, “Mueller said from victory lane, “I have to thank my crew as they worked really hard this week.”

Billy Mohn and Dale Prunty brought the field to the green flag and the two swapped paint and the lead as they battled through the opening laps before Prunty was able to edge ahead from the outside. Behind the lead duo, James Swan, Travis Dassow, Paige Decker, and Jeff Holtz raced hard for position. The inside lane was the place to be early and Mohn and Decker found that out as they began to fade from the outside as Swan, Dassow, and Holtz all raced by. Brad Mueller, Dennis Prunty, Steve Apel, and Austin Luedtke also used the inside to advance forward as Dale Prunty continued to lead over Swan. Swan caught up to Prunty’s rear bumper and began to pressure him for the lead, peeking to the inside off the corners on numerous occasions. Eventually Swan was able to duck to the inside of Prunty off turn four to draw even with him as they raced through turns one and two and then use lapped traffic as a pick entering turn three to take the command of the race. While the leaders battled, Holtz, Mueller, Apel, and Dennis Prunty all were able to close the gap and lined up directly behind the top two. The first caution flag waved on lap 45 when Frank Kreyer spun in turn three while racing with Travis Dassow. Swan maintained the lead on the restart while Holtz used the lane cone to line up alongside as the field completed two laps before the yellow flag appeared again when Matt Pyburn spun into the turn one wall. This time the outside lane wasn’t as kind to Holtz and when racing resumed, Mueller, Apel, and Dennis Prunty all charged by in the lower groove as Swan continued to lead. Holtz continued to fall back in the upper groove as Austin Luedtke and Conrad Morgan went by and when Dale Prunty attempted to find a way around, both he and Holtz spun against the turn three wall, drawing the third caution flag on lap 51. Mueller also chose the outside lane for the restart and he used a strong run off turn four to challenge Swan for the lead, pulling even as they entered turn one. Mueller maintained the momentum through the turn and upon exiting turn two, was able to edge ahead and drop down in front of Swan before they entered turn three to take the lead. Dennis Prunty followed Mueller in the outside lane and as he battled Swan for second, Mueller began to gradually ease away out front. Prunty and Swan raced side by side for several laps with Apel racing directly behind them as Mueller continued to pull away. Prunty was able to finally wrestle second away from Swan and began to close slightly on Mueller for the lead as the laps wound down. However, Mueller’s lead was too much to overcome and he drove under the checkered flag for the victory ahead of Prunty who finished a strong second. Swan crossed the finish line in third while Apel and Luedtke rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.

Braison Bennett won the super late model Waterhouse non-qualifiers race over Steve Lichtfeld and Claire Decker while super late model qualifying race wins were recorded by Dalton Zehr and Davey Pennel. Randy Schuler won the super late model Gong Show race over Curt Tillman as they transferred to the main event while Brad Mueller was the winner of the fast dash. Steve Apel was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 11.479 seconds.

Mike Lichtfeld scored his fifth main event win of the season in the 40-lap late model feature while Ryan DeStefano finished second to win the late model track championship.

Al Stippich and Justin Poenitsch led the field to the green flag and Stippich took the early lead as Poenitsch went way wide in turn two, allowing Adam Peschek to move into second. Poenitsch found himself on the outside of a three wide situation with John DeAngelis and Dan Church but all three sorted things out and the race remained under green. While Stippich led over Peschek, Church took to the outside lane to battle DeAngelis for third, taking the spot within a few laps. Church suddenly became the leader of the race when on lap five contact between Peschek and Stippich while racing for the lead, sent Stippich’s car spinning in turn four, relegating both drivers to the rear of the field for the restart. Church led over DeAngelis as racing resumed while Jerry Mueller battled with Ryan Miles over third with Mike Lichtfeld, Ryan DeStefano, and Alex Prunty close behind. Lichtfeld, DeStefano, and Prunty all worked their way forward over the next several laps with Lichtfeld closing on Church for the lead as the race hit the halfway point. Lichtfeld was able to edge Church for the lead at the stripe on lap 23 just before the caution waved for a spin by Tyler Schley. Once out front, Lichtfeld maintained the lead as DeStefano and Prunty advanced to second and third respectively. Lichtfeld drove to his fifth feature victory of the season as DeStefano finished second to claim the track championship. Prunty took the checkered flag in third with Ryan Miles and Dan Church completing the top five.

Ricky Heinan and Dan Church each recorded late model heat race wins and Alex Prunty was the fastest qualifier after turning in a lap at 12.620 seconds.

Kody Hubred raced to his sixth feature win of the season in the 30-lap Area Sportsman main event while teammate Kyle Chwala finished second and claimed the 2013 track championship. Brad Hetzel took the checkered flag in third while Bill Prietzel challenged for the lead late before having to settle in fourth at the finish. Nick Egan crossed the stripe in fifth.

Ken Schraufnagel won the first Area Sportsman heat race over Joe Shelby and Kody Hubred won the second heat race over Chad Smith. Bill Prietzel was the fastest qualifier for the division.

Mike Borchardt held off Brad Keith to win the 35-lap Midwest Sportsman feature for his first main event victory of the season. Jeff Holtz finished in third place while his brother Brian Holtz finished fourth. Jack Stern rounded out the top five finishers in fifth. Despite encountering problems early in the race, Kenny Joosten completed the event which was enough to claim the track championship for 2013.

Jay Shambeau and Scott Shambeau each recorded Midwest Sportsman heat race victories while Jack Stern was the fastest qualifier.

Steve Dickson returned from a few weeks absence due to an off-track injury and drove to the feature win in the 25-lap Slinger Bees main event. Brandon Tackes finished a close second while Dale Kiley-Schaefer was third. Zachary Clarke and Paul Reagles rounded out the top five finishers. Nick Schmidt was crowned the 2013 track champion.

Nicole Mueller and T.J. Graczkowski were the Slinger Bee heat race winners along with Ally Pennel. Dave Lembke won the Slinger Bee semi-feature over Misty Benn and Steve Dickson was the fastest qualifier for the division.

Earl Hoth won the American Super Cups 20-lap feature over Brian Baldyga and Ken Jones. Baldyga and Hoth also won their American Super Cup heat races. Al Roberts was the winner of the Spectator Eliminator event and Joe Mueller drove to his sixth Figure 8 feature win of the season. Scott Goetzke was the Figure 8 track champion.