YP.com 70 Feature Winner Steve Apel in Victory
Lane with AT&T The Real Yellow Pages
representatives (Speed Graphics Photos)By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., June 26—After taking the lead following a late-race restart, Steve Apel held off a hard charging Travis Dassow to win his second super late model feature of the season in the YP.Com 70 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
“That’s what everybody comes out here for…to watch awesome racing,” Apel told the crowd from victory lane, “Travis Dassow ran me clean and he could have moved me easily. I gave him the outside and tried to give him as much room as I could. I didn’t want to block him for the win, he had the outside and just didn’t have enough to get out there to get by.”
“Steve (Apel) did exactly what he had to do,” Dassow said after narrowly missing the win, “He knew I had a good car coming off the bottom and he put the car where he needed to be where I couldn’t get around him. We’ve got to work on the car a little bit, but this thing’s a rocketship.”
YP.com 70 Feature Winner Steve Apel in Victory
Lane with AT&T The Real Yellow Pages
representatives (Speed Graphics Photos)By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., June 26—After taking the lead following a late-race restart, Steve Apel held off a hard charging Travis Dassow to win his second super late model feature of the season in the YP.Com 70 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
“That’s what everybody comes out here for…to watch awesome racing,” Apel told the crowd from victory lane, “Travis Dassow ran me clean and he could have moved me easily. I gave him the outside and tried to give him as much room as I could. I didn’t want to block him for the win, he had the outside and just didn’t have enough to get out there to get by.”
“Steve (Apel) did exactly what he had to do,” Dassow said after narrowly missing the win, “He knew I had a good car coming off the bottom and he put the car where he needed to be where I couldn’t get around him. We’ve got to work on the car a little bit, but this thing’s a rocketship.”
Opening CeremoniesJamie Wallace and Dassow led the field to the green flag and after a first lap caution for a minor spin, Wallace raced to the early lead as Dassow struggled on the outside, falling in line in fifth place as Lowell Bennett, Rich Loch, and Apel all moved by on the inside. As Wallace paced the field, his car ran up the track exiting the turns, which left the door open to many challenges on the inside from Bennett with Loch racing close behind. Bennett was able to ease to Wallace’s inside on lap 15, completing the pass for the lead with Loch taking advantage of the situation to claim second. Behind the leaders, Dave Feiler and Jeremy Lepak were slicing their way forward, passing Apel by lap 20 and then Wallace a few circuits later to move into third and fourth respectively. Feiler’s car was especially hooked up well and he quickly caught and passed Loch for second place by lap 25 with Bennett continuing to show the way. Feiler’s march to the front persisted as he threaded his way alongside Bennett in a bid for the lead on lap 33 and the two raced side by side for the top spot until Feiler prevailed as they approached slower cars. While Bennett and Feiler disputed the lead, the battle for third place heated up as Lepak closed to challenge Loch for the position with Apel remaining within striking distance. The caution flag waved on lap 36 when Lepak and Loch tangled in turn three with Loch’s car spinning around to slow the field. Feiler led Bennett for the restart as Apel, Mike Egan, and Jon Reynolds moved up into the top five with Loch and Lepak relegated to the rear of the field. Feiler took off as racing resumed, pulling away with the lead as Apel raced alongside Bennett for second with Egan and Reynolds in double file formation behind them. Bennett and Egan each won their respective battles for second and fourth while Feiler’s lead on the field began to narrow. Rob Braun looked to enter the top five by challenging Reynolds on the inside and as they fought for the position, Braun’s car looped around in turn three to draw the caution flag on lap 56. As the field regrouped under caution, Feiler suddenly exited the speedway with what was later determined to be a broken left rear shock, relinquishing the lead to Bennett with Apel, Egan, and Dassow in tow for the restart.
Westbury Bank Speedway Guest Car WinnerApel got the jump from the outside as the race went back to green and he charged by Bennett for the lead with Dassow following on the high side for second, dropping Bennett to third. Dassow didn’t let Apel get away as he remained planted on Apel’s bumper, making numerous looks to the inside, slightly flexing Apel’s left rear quarter panel upon exiting turn two. Each time Apel was able to fend off the challenges as Bennett and Egan closed to make it a four car battle for win. On the final lap, Bennett pulled to the inside of Dassow, allowing Apel to surge ahead in the lead down the backstretch. Apel drove to the win while Dassow nipped Bennett at the stripe for second with Egan finishing a close fourth. Jeremy Lepak and Rich Loch rebounded from their earlier misfortunes to finish fifth and sixth respectively while Jeff Holtz, Jon Reynolds Jr., Jamie Wallace, and Rob Braun rounded out the top ten.
Figure 8 Feature Winner Willie VanCampChris Blawat won the 30-lap super late model semi-feature over Randy Schuler and Rob Braun. Mike Graczkowski and Tommy Hromadka were fourth and fifth respectively. Travis Dassow won the super late model fast dash and Dave Feiler set fast time with a lap of 11.518 seconds.
Michael Bilderback made his first trip to Slinger this season a successful one by driving to victory in the 30-lap late model main event.
Bilderback and Alex Prunty paced the field to the green and Bilderback quickly charged to the lead over Prunty and Jon DeAngelis. The top three raced nose to tail and began to click off laps while behind them, Dave McCardle, Pat McIntee, Wayne Freimund, and Jerry Mueller raced for position. Bilderback maintained his lead as the top three remained stable as Mueller and Freimund took to the outside to challenge McCardle and McIntee. Bilderback was never challenged as he drove to the victory over Prunty and DeAngelis who finished a strong second and third respectively. Freimund was able to work his way to fourth place at the finish ahead of Mueller who crossed the stripe in fifth. Michael Bilderback also won the late model fast dash while Pat McIntee was the fastest qualifier at 12.556 seconds.
Slinger Bee Feature Winner Braison BennettDan Church held off Ryan Farrell for his second feature win of the season in the 30-lap Midwest sportsman main event.
Jay Shambeau led the early laps over Church while Andy Haver and James Swan raced for third just ahead of Scott Shambeau and Ryan Farrell. Shambeau’s car worked well on the bottom which forced Church to look to the high side while Swan raced around Haver for third. The outside lane worked for Church as he drove to the lead, bringing Swan along with him into second as Farrell also used the top groove to challenge Haver over fourth. The caution flag flew on lap 14 when Shambeau looped his car in turn three with Church leading Swan, Farrell, and Haver. Church spun the tires on the restart which allowed Swan to race ahead for the lead from the outside. As Swan attempted to head to the inside entering turn one, his left rear fender made contact with Church’s right front which send Swan’s car spinning around into the infield. The race remained green as Swan rejoined the event with Church now leading over Farrell. The caution flag appeared again on lap 19 for a spin by Jack Stern who was battling for position with Brian Holtz. Church again held off Farrell’s challenges for the lead as the two raced door to door with Andy Haver and Scott Shambeau keeping them in sight from third and fourth. Farrell barely edged Church to lead lap 21 but then slid wide in turn two allowing Church to regain the top spot as Haver moved up to challenge for second. Farrell recovered and used the high side to fend off Haver and close to Church’s bumper for the lead. Farrell pressured Church for the lead with a few looks to the inside over the closing laps but each time Church was able to keep the top spot, charging to the checkered flag for the win. Farrell had to settle for second place while Andy Haver, Brian Holtz, and Scott Shambeau rounded out the top five. Dan Church also won the Midwest sportsman fast dash and Ryan Farrell turned a lap of 12.649 seconds to become the division’s fastest qualifier.
American Super Cup ActionCarl Benn captured his first career Thunderstock feature win in thrilling fashion in the 20-lap main event.
Nathan Fick led the opening laps as the raced side by side with Benn while Adam Peschek, Ken Scrhraufnagel, Al Stippich, and John Daley all fought for positions behind the lead duo. Benn eventually prevailed on the outside to take command of the race as Fick, Schraufnagel, and Stippich continued to battle. Schraufnagel and Stippich both got around Fick while Peschek, Daley, and Andy Welter joined the battle. As Benn began to stretch his lead, the front runners began to catch slower cars. While Daley and Peschek battled for fifth, they both caught the lapped cars, momentarily entering turn one three wide. In the effort to pass the lapped machine, Daley’s car kicked loose and made slight contact with Peschek’s car, sending it sliding up the track. As Peschek attempted to correct his car, it came back down the track in turn two where it clipped the rear of Daley’s machine. Peschek’s car took a hard right and plowed head on into the turn two wall, producing the caution flag. Benn led Schraufnagel, Stippich, and Daley for the restart and as racing resumed, Schraufnagel suddenly slowed, allowing Stippich and Daley to race by into second and third. Stippich looked both and high and low in a bid for the lead but each time, Benn was able to turn back the challenges. Stippich worked to the outside on the final lap to pull alongside Benn but it wasn’t enough and Benn charged to the checkered flag to score the win. Stippich finished second while John Daley was third ahead of Brad Hetzel and Andy Welter in fourth and fifth respectively. Ken Schraufnagel won the Thunderstock fast dash and Andy Welter set fast time at 13.550 seconds.
Carl Benn on his way to a Feature Win in the
ThunderstockBraison Bennett edged Dustin Ostberg to win the 18-lap Slinger Bee feature. Brandon Tackes finished third while Nick Wagner and Kyle Reidner rounded out the top five. Brittiny Helmers won the 10-lap Slinger Bee semi-feature over Karl Gebhard and Alexis Strobel. Erica Knutson was fourth and Zachary Clarke finished fifth. Kyle Reidner won the Slinger Bee fast dash and Nick Wagner set a new track record in qualifying with a lap of 15.310 seconds. Earl Hoth won the 20-lap American Super Cup feature over Ken Jones and Eric Gehrke. Jacob Van Wazer and Dan Weinfurter completed the top five finishers. American Super Cup heat wins were recorded by Andy Forster and Eric Gehrke while Earl Hoth was the fastest qualifier at 15.202 seconds. Kyle Brearton and Pete Schlosser won Speedway Guest car events while the Peter Breise won the Spectator Eliminator race in his Scion. Willy Van Camp won the Figure 8 race to close the evening.
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Westbury Bank's mascot Homer waves the green flag on the nickel drop.