BLAWAT NETS SECOND FEATURE WIN OF THE SEASON AT SLINGER!

By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., June 19—For the second time in three weeks Chris Blawat found himself in victory lane at the Slinger Super Speedway after the 60-lap super late model feature Sunday night.

“That car was awesome, it’s the kind of car you dream of driving, “ Blawat told the crowd afterward, “We’re having a good year here and we’ll take it.”
Grant Griesbach and Steve Apel paced the field to the green flag and Apel quickly jumped to the early lead from the outside leaving Griesbach to battle alongside Nick Wagner for second with Chris Blawat and Alex Prunty directly behind them. As Apel began to inch away, Wagner eventually took over the second spot with an outside pass on Griesbach and Blawat followed a few laps later, making a similar move on the high side to move into third. Prunty also worked his way around Griesbach and into fourth while Rob Braun began to challenge the top five as well. Apel maintained his lead while Blawat tracked down Wagner and slipped by on the inside for second just before the first caution flag waved on lap 13 when Duke Long and Mitch McGrath tangled in turn one. Apel chose the outside lane for the restart and as the green flag waved, Blawat was able to stay alongside his door through the turn from the inside groove and was able to wrestle the lead away on lap 15. Apel slid back in line behind Blawat in second while Alex Prunty charged by Wagner on the outside for third. Prunty then tracked down Apel for second and made numerous attempts to maneuver to the inside after Apel’s car washed slightly off the turns. Prunty nudged his way alongside off turn two on lap 33 but Apel held him tight from the outside and would not allow Prunty to complete the pass. On lap 36 Prunty once again dove to the inside of Apel entering turn one but as he exited turn two, the upward momentum from Prunty’s car combined with Apel turning left to line up the backstretch made for a tight squeeze off the corner and the back end of Prunty’s car looped around and he slid down the backstretch as the caution flag waved for the second time. Blawat chose the inside lane for the restart and Apel hung tough from the outside as he barely led the first lap back under green but Blawat was strong as well and he reclaimed the top spot a lap later. Behind the top two, Rob Braun moved into third place as Nick Wagner washed high through turns three and four before eventually looping around to draw the third caution flag on lap 38. Once again Blawat took to the bottom for the restart and Apel again was able to challenge from the top side as racing resumed. Apel again paced the first two laps back under green and just as before Blawat gradually worked the low side to reclaim the lead on lap 39. Rob Braun and Brad Keith began to battle over the third spot while James Swan and Ryan DeStefano joined the top five. Braun prevailed in the battle for third and then tracked down Apel for second, working him over until he was able to race by on the inside. Once into second, Braun began to slice into Blawat’s lead as the laps began to click away. Suddenly with three laps to go, Braun dropped his car to the apron and came to a halt in the infield, leaving Blawat with a sizeable lead over Apel and Brad Keith. Blawat charged to his second feature victory in three weeks as Apel finished in the runner up slot for the second consecutive week. Brad Keith finished a strong third while Ryan DeStefano and James Swan rounded out the top five. Fred Winn finished in sixth place and Grant Griesbach was seventh. Lowell Bennett crossed the finish line in eighth place while Travis Dassow and Tim Lampman completed the top ten.

Lowell Bennett, John DeAngelis Jr., and Steve Apel all were super late model heat race winners and Travis Dassow was the fastest qualifier after circling the speedway in 11.295 seconds.

Kyle Chwala captured his first career late model feature victory in the 40-lap main event.

Al Stippich and Ryan Gutknecht led the field to the green flag and Stippich used the inside line to take the early lead over Gutknecht while Tyler James and Kyle Chwala raced for third with Mike Meyerhofer, Ryan Farrell, Mike Held, and Jordan DeVoy close behind. Chwala first tried the outside lane then dove to the inside a few laps later to take second place from Gutknecht while the rest of the frontrunners remained side by side behind them. Chwala then tracked down Stippich and pressured him heavily for the lead as a spin by Zach Braun in turn four produced the caution flag on lap 23. Stippich chose the inside lane for the restart with Chwala moving to the outside and as racing resumed, Chwala was able to keep even with Stippich as they decided the top spot racing door to door. Stippich had a difficult time keeping his car down off the turns which allowed Chwala to prevail from the outside to take the lead on lap 26 as Ryan Farrell advanced into third just ahead of Gutknecht. With Chwala continuing to lead, Farrell went to work on Stippich for second having his numerous inside looks thwarted when Stippich closed the door entering the turns. After repeated warnings from the flagman toward Stippich to maintain his lane, Farrell eventually wrestled his way by Stippich and into second as Jordan DeVoy tried to follow Farrell’s lead from third. DeVoy also peeked to the inside of Stippich for the position and when Stippich defended the maneuver by closing the door again he drew the black flag from the flagman. As the laps wound down, Kyle Chwala would not be denied as he drove to his first career late model feature victory while Ryan Farrell completed his best run of the season with a second place finish. Jordan DeVoy finished in third place ahead of Mike Held and Ryan Gutknecht in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Jack Stern and Kyle Chwala each won late model heat races and Mike Held was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 12.293 seconds.

Andy Welter had to fend off the challenges of Paul Wagner to win the 35-lap Area Sportsman feature.

Wendt set the pace from the drop of the green flag but was challenged heavily by Wagner who never left his rear bumper throughout the event. Wagner dogged Welter for all 35 laps but could never find a way around as Welter drove to the feature win. Scott Hoeft advanced through the field to finish in third place while Jacob Schraufnagel and Brad Hetzel rounded out the top five. Ken Au and Paul Wagner each recorded Area Sportsman heat race victories while Scott Hoeft set fast time for the division by touring the soeedway in 13.098 seconds.

Tom Berens held off Nick Schmidt to win the 25-lap Slinger Bees feature. Steve Zoromski took the checkered flag in third place but later was deemed to not pass post race technical inspection while Rick Schaefer and Heather Stark rounded out the top five. Slinger Bee heat races were won by Gerald Lyon, Paul Reagles, and Nick Schmidt while Tom Berens topped the qualifying charts with a lap of 14.518 seconds.

Brian Baldyga won the 20-lap American Super Cup feature over Amanda Bohn and Tony Rendina. Greg Davis finished fourth and Brandon Mennicke finished in fifth place. American Super Cup heat races were won by Tony Rendina and Preston Stoecker while Brian Baldyga was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 15.383 seconds.

Dave Siehndel won the Spectator Eliminator races in his Chevy Camaro and Scott Goetzke closed the evening by winning the Figure 8 event.