By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., April 26—The record books will show Dennis Prunty led every lap in the Miller Lite 75-lap super late model season opening feature Sunday afternoon at the Slinger Super Speedway but the eventful race was anything but a cake walk for the 2012 track champion as he had to survive numerous incidents and turn back the challenges of Rob Braun en route to victory.
By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., April 26—The record books will show Dennis Prunty led every lap in the Miller Lite 75-lap super late model season opening feature Sunday afternoon at the Slinger Super Speedway but the eventful race was anything but a cake walk for the 2012 track champion as he had to survive numerous incidents and turn back the challenges of Rob Braun en route to victory.
Prunty bested pole sitter Tim Lampman at the drop of the green flag and immediately drove to the lead from his outside front row starting position while Braun went to work on Lampman for second with Chris Blawat, Gary LaMonte, Ryan DeStefano, and Dan Church all mixing it up for position behind them. On the second lap, LaMonte bobbled in between turns three and four and swung wildly toward the outside wall before saving the car and continuing on despite losing several positions. With Prunty maintaining his lead, a mid-pack dust up around lap 15 sent Blawat cutting across the infield and left a struggling Nick Wagner with a flat left rear tire as cars scrambled to avoid his slowed machine. Wagner was unable to steer the car off the racing surface and as he slid to a stop on the frontstetch to draw the caution flag, he was tagged by Travis Dassow, who had already committed to the high side to get by and was left with nowhere to go.
Prunty chose the outside lane for the restart, leaving Braun the inner groove and Braun made several attempts to take command of the event from the low side only to have Prunty power ahead off the corner and keep the lead. Behind the lead duo, Lampman, DeStefano, Church, and Mike Egan all raced in a tight pack for the third through sixth spots. Lowell Bennett and Steve Apel also joined that battle and within a few laps both used the outside lane to pass Egan just before Lampman’s race ended with engine problems on lap 28 and the fluid spewed from his car drew the race’s second caution flag.
Prunty again left Braun the inside lane for the restart and this time Braun kept even for the lead for a few laps before once again, Prunty eventually pulled ahead while DeStefano, Church, Bennett, and Apel were joined by Egan and Conrad Morgan in their fight for position. Morgan’s car suddenly snapped around in turn one on lap 40 and as the caution flag waved it was quickly determined a majority of the race track was coated in oil leaked from an unknown car. As Morgan was awarded his spot back due to the oil, Apel’s car was found to be the source of the fluid and he was taken off the track only to return later several laps down.
Following a massive clean-up, the race restarted with Prunty once again choosing the outside lane and as Braun charged into turn one from the inside, he slid in the oil dry and skated high up the track, saving the car as Lowell Bennett raced by into second. A half spin by Fred Winn in turn two on lap 42 slowed the event once again under caution with Prunty now leading over Bennett, Braun, Church, and Egan. Bennett took his shot from the inside as racing resumed but once again, Prunty was able to power ahead exiting the turns as Bennett soon became under attack from both Braun and Church for the second position. Bennett’s car appeared to swing wide off turn four as the field completed lap 45 and when the cars exited turn two, contact during the battle for second pushed Bennett’s car into the backstretch wall. As he slid off the fence towards turn three, Bennett’s car turned to the left and was struck hard on the left side by the car of Ryan DeStefano. The incident produced a red flag on the speedway as Bennett was tended to and later taken to the hospital for an apparent foot injury.
The final 30 laps were contested caution free as Braun made numerous charges from the inside lane but each time was unable to unseat Prunty from the top spot. Prunty pulled away in the later stages and drove under the checkered flag for the victory while Braun settled for second place with Conrad Morgan rebounding to finish third. Mike Egan and Rich Loch rounded out the top five finishers in fourth and fifth respectively. Brad Mueller finished a respectable sixth ahead of Josh Wallace and John DeAngelis while Steve Apel and Nick Wagner completed the top ten despite being many laps down at the finish.
Josh Wallace won the 30-lap super late model semi-feature over Brad Mueller and Conrad Morgan as they along with fourth place finisher Fred Winn all advanced to the main event. James Swan missed the cut by one spot and finished fifth. Super late model heat race wins were recorded by Josh Wallace, Lowell Bennett and Travis Dassow while Steve Apel was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 11.262 seconds.
Alex Prunty and Casey Johnson battled for the lead throughout the 40-lap late model feature before Prunty was able to edge ahead at the finish and record the victory.
Johnson led the opening laps over Ryan Zielski, Jordan DeVoy, Mike Held, and Prunty before the first caution flag waved when Zielski spun off turn four after contact from Held. As racing resumed, Johnson and Prunty traded the lead over the next several laps as both drivers used both the high and low grooves to work their way by one another while DeVoy occupied third ahead of Jerry Mueller and Brian Holtz. With close contact racing occurring through the field, a spin by Duke Long on lap 27 drew the second caution flag of the race with Prunty leading over Johnson and DeVoy. Prunty and Johnson resumed their lead battle on the restart with Prunty edging ahead just before the caution waved again two laps later when Corey Funk looped his car on the front straightaway. After another quick caution on lap 31, Prunty and Johnson picked up just where they left off and again battled hard for the lead. Prunty eventually prevailed while Wayne Freimund and Jerry Mueller went to war for the fourth position. Their battling allowed Mike Held to charge by while Prunty maintained his lead over Johnson and DeVoy. Prunty held off Johnson and drove to the victory while Johnson finished a close second just ahead of DeVoy who turned in an impressive performance by finishing third. Mike Held was fourth and Jerry Mueller edged Wayne Freimund for fifth.
Wayne Freimund won the 20-lap late model semi-feature over rookie Joe Bongiorno and Jack Stern. Tyler Schley and Jake Vanoskey rounded out the top five. Late model heat races were won by Jack Stern, Al Stippich, and Casey Johnson while Alex Prunty set a new track record in qualifying with a lap of 12.065 seconds.
Jason Thoma edged Bill Prietzel in a thrilling finish to the Area Sportsman 30-lap feature as the two raced under the checkered flag side by side.
Scott Hoeft paced the opening laps before getting crossed up in turn two on lap 19 and looping his car on the backstretch to draw a caution flag. Devin Schmidt took the lead for a lap from there before getting passed by Bill Prietzel on lap 20. Jason Thoma advanced through the field and challenged Priezel for the top spot and the two raced door to door for the lead in the closing laps. On the final lap with the pair side by side, Thoma edged Prietzel for the win in a photo finish while Adam Peschek finished third. Joe Shelby and Nick Egan rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.
Area Sportsman heat race wins were captured by Jay Kalbus and Andy Welter while Bill Prietzel set a new track record in qualifying with a lap of 12.868 seconds.
Tom Berens won the 25-lap Slinger Bees feature over Nick Schmidt and Dale Kiley-Schaefer. Jacob Schraufnagel took the checkered flag in fourth ahead of defending track champion Brandon Tackes in fifth.
EJ Waldron won the Slinger Bees semi-feature over Tristan Dorzok and Jared Deming. Jayden Buckley and Kevin Bush rounded out the top five. Slinger Bees heat races were won by EJ Waldron, Rick Schaefer, and Tom Berens while Jacob Schraufnagel set a new track record in qualifying with a lap of 14.670 seconds.
Scott Goetzke closed out the afternoon by winning the Figure 8 race with a last lap pass of Joe Mueller.