Figure 8 Champion: 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1990 Slinger Speedway Focus Group Member Scottie and 75 other Slinger Speedway Champions will assemble for a group picture tomorrow at 1:30 by the flagstand at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino Season Opener! What have you been up to since you stopped racing? I haven’t stopped! My duties have just changed from when …
10 Questions – Special Edition / 10 Reasons to Head to Slinger Today
10) TODAY is the Memorial Go-Kart Swap Meet and Wes Biswell Memorial Car Show at Kettle Moraine Bowl in Slinger from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Admission is FREE! Look for the Slinger Speedway “booth” for the first chance to purchase Bar Car driving opportunities! Regular Sunday –AND– Nationals tickets (Meet & Greets too!) will also be available for purchase (cash or …
10 Questions With….Paul “Frogy” Forgach Longtime Sponsor of Slinger Racers
How did you get into racing? I’ve always been a gearhead, always had fast street cars and rode Harleys. I used to hang out at Great Lakes Dragaway, Hales Corners and the Kaukauna drag strip. In 1980 I moved here and started going to Slinger. I watched everyone from Trickle to Bickle….Bobby Allison…Rusty Wallace…Kenseth when he was a little kid. …
10 Questions With….Tom Blawat Father, Crew Member, and Spotter of Chris Blawat and the CJ Painting #26 Super Late Model
How did you get into racing? My mother said the first word I ever said was “car” – not “mom” or “dad”. I’ve been interested in racing my entire life. I raced at Hales Corners the first year they had the Hales Whales, and then sportsman for eight years. In ‘87 or ‘88 I stopped racing; it got to be …
10 Questions With….Janet “Blondie” Hafemann Slinger Super Speedway Back Gate Manager
Stop and see Janet today at the 2019 Orientation (10-noon) and Registration (Noon-4) in the Pavilion at Slinger Super Speedway! How did you get into racing? Naturally that was through my hubby, Butchie [The “Lil Stinker” of dirt modified fame]. He was kind of on a break from racing when I met him, but we did go to racetracks and …
10 Questions With…Evan Hassler Driver of the #3 Schroeder Implement Slinger Bee
Check out Evan, and other young Slinger drivers, at the Young Racers Special at the Southeast WI Short Track Hall of Fame in Hartford tomorrow (3/24) from 10:00am to 2:00pm. $2 admission How did you get into racing? A couple of years ago, my brother [Jake, driver of the #6 late model] found a car on Craig’s List, showed it …
10 Questions With…Grant Griesbach Driver of the #17 Cobblestone Hotels Super Late Model
Kulwicki Driver Development Program, Class of 2019 Semi-Finalist How did you get into racing? When I was a little kid, I used to go to Slinger all the time, starting at the age of two or three. When I was five, I believe, Santa got me a go-kart for Christmas. We started locally in the Badger Kart Club and it …
10 Questions With….Emily Kraus Driver of the #87 GrinderVille Grinders & Pizza Kart in Memorial Go-Karts, Inc.
How did you get into racing? My dad owned a kart for the Del Camps [Dan and Sonya]; they carried the karts, Jared Deming and others raced it. I started from there, with Justin Poenitsch as my mentor. Talk about the Memorial Go-Kart (MGK) program. They have super cool events! The program remembers parents who have lost children. I can …
10 Questions With….Scott Apuli Crew Chief for Super Late Model #0 Ryan DeStefano
How did you get into racing? I’ve known Ryan since high school, we were friends. I was into cars and knew he raced at Slinger, so I went with him a couple times and thought, “This is pretty cool”. From there I started helping in the shop slowly(when I started, I pretty much only knew “righty tighty, lefty loosey”), but …
10 Questions With….The Figure 8 Division
How much will it cost to get involved? The cost of a figure 8 car really depends on a persons budget…cars can be built for 2,000$ or you can spend as much as 6-8000$. There is alot of used chassis for sale out there so alot of times you can find them pretty cheap for around 500-1000 $ complete minus …
10 Questions With….The Slinger Bees Division
How much will it cost to get involved? “My mom and dad bought my first car for $300. Once we replaced some of the bad parts, we had maybe $1000 into the car but it blew up and we later bought a car from Rick Schaefer. He won the night I blew my car up. Afterward, we walked over to …
10 Questions With….Zach Braun
(who recently turned 21!) Driver of the #30 Late Model Memorial Go-Kart Alumni & Volunteer How did you get into racing? I was in Cub Scouts and Mike Egan [super late model #89] did a presentation on Memorial Go-Karts. I was really into racing at the time; we went to the track every single weekend and I could hear the …
10 Questions with…Joel Laufer Retired Sportsman, Super Late Model, and Late Model Driver
2017 Inductee – Southeastern WI Short Track Hall of Fame Slinger Speedway Wall of Fame – Class of 2015 How did you get into racing? My brother, Al, built a car and he let me drive it. Once I drove it, I thought I better get into racing. I started in a Sportsman in 1972 and raced the last two …
10 Questions With….Miles “Mouse” Melius
2011 Inductee – Southeastern WI Short Track Hall of Fame Slinger Speedway Wall of Fame – Class of 2014 (Special thanks to Gene Schwister for his assistance!) Stop at the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame in Hartford today from 10:00 to 2:00 to join Miles “Mouse” Melius’ 95th Birthday Celebration! Why did you get into racing? I was …
10 Questions With….The Team Cruisers Division
Why is the Team Cruiser division returning to Slinger Super Speedway in 2019? “There are a couple of reasons to bring back the Team Cruisers. Number one is demand, and if everyone that says they want to build and race in the division does it, we will have a good-sized field of cars right out of the box. The second …
10 Questions With….Brian Stanczyk (“stan-check”) Driver of the #23 Painting Pros “Mullet Power” Slinger Bee
Why did you get into racing? Two years ago I was sitting at home, my daughter had moved out, and there was money falling out of the cupboards. I decided I need to find a girlfriend or buy a racecar. The racecar seemed like it would have fewer problems. Who is your favorite NASCAR (or other pro) driver? I’ve always …
10 Questions With….Bill Shavlik Driver of the #0 Figure 8
Why did you get into racing? I started with a Demo Derby and an Enduro, both at Slinger in the late 80’s. That made me want to buy a racecar! The first one was a Stinger (in 1994 or 95). I bought it on a Saturday from Birdie Shong, and bought a trailer on Sunday morning. That night I took …
10 Questions with…Mark Ritger Driver of the 1X Figure 8
(See end of article for the full list of divisions raced) Slinger Speedway Wall of Fame – Class of 2017 How did you get into racing? My dad starting taking me to the races in 1968 at Cedarburg Firemen’s Park every Wednesday night. Before I knew it, Dad and I were going to races at least two times a week …
“Where Are They Now” Version 10 Questions With….Austin Konetski Driver of the #13 Super Late Model (2003-2005)
Why did you stop racing? My last year was 2005, when Kevin Laatsch at Pathfinder, where I worked, was selling his business. I knew I was not going anywhere in racing, and could not move up the ladder on my own. It was time to start working on my own future, so I moved to North Carolina. What have you …
10 Questions With….Jay Kalbus Driver of the #27 Sportsman
How did you get into racing? I was taken to the track by my father when I was young, so I’ve always wanted to race something. I started as a kid in snowmobiles, then go-karts, and motocross. At Slinger, I started with Enduros in the 80’s, then Figure 8’s a little. I also raced The Futures when they used to …
10 Questions with…Willie “The Rabbit” Goeden, who recently turned 80 years old!
(with special guest appearances by his wife, Jeanne) Retired Driver of the #72 modified, #1 modified, and #72 late model 2007 Inductee – Southeastern WI Short Track Hall of Fame Slinger Speedway Wall of Fame – Class of 2017 How did you get into racing? I went to Slinger and saw Billy Chitwood in a Corvette, doing jumps – I …
10 Questions With….Garrett Konrath Driver of the #9 Slinger Bee
How did you get into racing? I started watching racing when I was really young, as far back as I can remember. But I really didn’t get into it until I started helping Zach Braun [#30] with his late model, and spotting for him. Two years after that, I bought my own car. In 2017, I ran two races at …
“Where Are They Now” Version 10 Questions With….Jason Taghikhani Driver of the #41 Slinger Stinger (2002) and Sportsman (2003-2005)
What have you been up to since leaving racing? Since I left racing, I packed up and moved to Florida, got a job in engineering to pay off all the racing debt I collected, got married and we had a boy a couple months ago. I spend most of my time out on the ocean keeping the grouper and snapper …
10 Questions With….Jerry Eckhardt Driver of the #61 Super Late Model and #61 Late Model Owner of the #66 Late Model
CONGRATULATIONS to Jerry Eckhardt, who will be inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame tonight! Why did you get into racing? Because I’m crazy, I guess! I never knew my real dad, but in later years I learned that he had a Ford dealership and also raced, so I guess it’s in my blood. I was always …
10 Questions With….Todd Behling Slinger Super Speedway Announcer
CONGRATULATIONS to Todd Behling, who will be inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame next Saturday! How did you get into racing? I was actually a fan and never raced, but basically dreamed up a radio program overnight, and explained to WAUK what I wanted to do. They said I could do it as long as I …
10 Questions With….Alex Prunty Driver of the #11 Super Late Model 2018 Slinger Super Speedway Super Late Model Champion!
How did you get into racing? Well, I grew up in the garage watching my three uncles (David, Dale, and Dennis) running mods and super lates. I was constantly working in the garage with my dad, and from there I just kind of really started to enjoy everything about racing! I don’t really know anything else, because my life always …
10 Questions With….Brandon Tackes Driver of the #24 Super Beez 2018 Slinger Super Speedway Super Beez Champion!
How did you get into racing? My dad smashed his regular street car, he was rear-ended. We bought it back from the insurance company and turned it into a Bee. What do you like about Slinger Super Speedway? That it’s really fast, and that the banking is so great that you don’t even need to get on the brake. It’s …
10 Questions With….Shaun Scheel Driver of the #8 Late Model 2018 Slinger Super Speedway Late Model Champion!
How did you get into racing? When I was growing up, around 8-10 years old, I watched my uncle, Dale Smith, race at Madison in the Late Model division. I just always followed him, and when I was 13, it was brought to my attention that I could start stock car racing too. That’s how it all began. My dad …
10 Questions with…Brady Held Driver of the #04 Slinger Bee
2018 Slinger Super Speedway Bees Champion! How did you get into racing? Twenty-six years ago, my mom and dad met at Slinger Speedway, so it’s kind of in my blood! My mom actually bought me my first racecar while my dad was Up North (he said it was “a very bad investment”). Last year was my first year and I …
10 Questions With….Dennis Prunty Driver of the #42 Super Late Model
Every week we’ve asked the featured person which Slinger Super Speedway driver they respect the most. Tallying up the answers, there was a tie between Brad Mueller and Dennis Prunty, so they are the subjects for the final two “10 Questions” of the season (watch for special editions during the off-season). Brad Mueller’s answers were posted yesterday. Why did you …
10 Questions With….Brad Mueller Driver of the #89 Super Late Model
Every week we’ve asked the featured person which Slinger Super Speedway driver they respect the most. Tallying up the answers, there was a tie between Brad Mueller and Dennis Prunty, so they are the subjects for the final two “10 Questions” of the season (watch for special editions during the off-season). Dennis Prunty’s answers will be posted tomorrow. Why did …
10 Questions With….Ryan Gutknecht Driver of the #01 Midwest Sportsman and #01 Late Model
Why did you get into racing? Growing up, racing was all I knew. My uncle [Bobby] raced at Hales Corners when I was a kid, and every Saturday I was in the stands with my family. I always knew it was something I wanted to do. My whole family is involved in it and all of our longtime friends are …