LICHTFELD WINS KING OF THE HIGHBANKS AT SLINGER

By Dan Margetta
Slinger, Wis., July 7—Mike Lichtfeld held on following a green-white-checkered finish to capture top honors in the King of the Highbanks 50-lap late model feature Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

Lichtfeld grabbed the top spot following a lap 13 caution flag for a spin off turn two by Brittiny Helmers from early leader Jerry Eckhardt and remained firmly in command throughout the event. However just after taking the white flag, the caution flag waved following another spin off turn four and since half the field did not cross the line for the final lap, a green-white-checkered finish was set up. Lichtfeld was more than up to the task once racing resumed and he quickly established himself as the leader while Braison Bennett and Alex Prunty battled over second. Lichtfeld drove under the checkered flag for the win while Prunty edged Bennett for second while Jerry Eckhardt and Ryan DeStefano rounded out the top five finishers.

“I was kind of under the impression if I took the white flag, the race was over,” Lichtfeld stated from victory lane, “But then we had a little two lap shootout and I saw Bennett coming and if I wasn’t sweating enough already, I started sweating bullets then. I’m glad we were able to bring it home with the win.”

Jack Stern debuted in his late model ride and promptly drove the machine to a pair of victories in the late model fast dash and the late model fast heat. Lichtfeld finished second in the fast heat and Dan Church was third while Ryan DeStefano and Justin Poenitsch finished fourth and fifth respectively. Kyle Smith, another relative newcomer to the Slinger Speedway, drove to the win in the first late model heat race, holding off Braison Bennett for the win. Jerry Eckhardt was third followed by Al Stippich and Mark Kissinger. Alex Prunty was the fastest qualifier after he toured the highbanks in 12.577 seconds.

Kyle Chwala made another trip to victory lane this season after scoring a convincing win in the 40-lap Area Sportsman main event.

Joe Shelby led the opening two laps before Nick Egan was able to power by and take the top spot. Egan began to stretch his lead while Chwala worked his way through the field to second place by lap eight. Chwala gradually reeled in Egan as the distance between himself and the leader began to shrink with each passing lap until lap 14 when Egan looped around exiting turn two, allowing Chwala to charge by for the lead. The race remained green and behind the leader, Steven Sauer and Kody Hubred also sliced their way forward into second and third. Chwala’s lead was insurmountable however and he drove to the victory while Sauer held off Hubred for second at the finish. Mark Deporter took the checkered flag in fourth to cap off a strong run while early leader Shelby finished fifth.

Mark Deporter was the winner of the Area Sportsman fast dash and Kyle Chwala captured the victory in the Area Sportsman heat race. Joe Shelby finished second in the heat race ahead of Steven Sauer, Mark Deporter, and Nick Egan. Steven Sauer set fast time for the division with a lap of 13.337 seconds.

Kyle Stark took command of the 35-lap Slinger Bee feature when leader Steve Dickson suffered a flat tire on lap 27, and drove to victory over defending track champion Nick Schmidt. Dale Kiley-Schaefer led laps early in the event and drove to a solid third place finish while Jacob Schraufnagel and Justin Thomas were fourth and fifth respectively. In post race tech inspections Starks car was found to be illegal and he was disqualified.

Kyle Stark also claimed top honors in the Singer Bee fast dash and the Slinger Bee fast heat race. Nick Schmidt was second in the heat race followed by Steve Dickson, Brian Hillringhouse, and Brandon Tackes. Jayden Buckley scored her first ever Slinger Speedway victory in the first Slinger Bee heat race, taking the lead from Kevin Bush in the final laps and driving to the win. Bush finished second and Nicole Mueller was third. Dave Wickstrum finished fourth and Josh Fisher was fifth. Dale Kiley-Schaefer won the second Slinger Bee heat race over Jacob Schraufnagel and Marty Tackes. Brandon Berens and Justin Thomas rounded out the top five finishers. Brandon Tackes was the fastest qualifier after turning in a lap of 15.056 seconds.

Joe Mueller capped off the evening by scoring a thrilling victory in the Figure 8 event that was extended to 15 laps. Ron Schmitt held the lead for most of the event, but on the final lap, his car suffered damage when it was clipped in the back by the truck of Russ Lorbiecki in the “X”, allowing Mueller and Rick Bruskiewicz to charge by and battle for the lead. Mueller held off Bruskiewicz at the line to score the victory after starting the event last.