FENHAUS SCORES CONVINCING WIN AT SLINGER
Luke Fenhaus secured a dominant win in the Progress Manufacturing Independence Day 100 at Slinger Speedway on Sunday night, leading from lap 38 ahead of Alex and Dennis Prunty. Feature victories also went to Ryan Gutknecht, Jason Uttech, Bobby Frisch and Ryan Lovald as they prepare for Nationals.
Slinger, Wis., July 5—Luke Fenhaus took the lead from Dennis Prunty on the 38th lap and drove to a convincing win in the Progress Manufacturing Independence Day 100-lap Incredible Bank Super Late Model feature Sunday night at the Slinger Speedway.
After taking the top spot, Fenhaus turned back challenges from Alex Prunty before pulling away to the victory as Alex Prunty and Dennis Prunty rounded out the podium finishers in second and third respectively.
“We did a lot of work on this thing and we were good early on in practice but we just kept tuning on this thing, “Fenhaus told the large crowd from victory lane, “I didn’t feel like it was comfortable enough to win the Slinger Nationals next week so we went to work at it and I liked how it ended off.”
“It was a good race overall, a good run and a good clean night to get ready for the Nationals next week, “ Alex Prunty said after his runner-up finish, “I just sliding the right rear tire about halfway through the race and Luke (Fenhaus) was checked out and gone.”
“After the last time we raced here in the super late model, the right rear tire came apart so we set my car up super tight, “Third place finisher Dennis Prunty stated after leading several laps early on, “And it showed and I was tight all night but the tire stayed together so everything is going good.”
Steve Apel edged point leader Gabe Sommers to nail down the fourth position at the checkered flag, leaving Sommers to settle for fifth. Grant Griesbach finished in the sixth position ahead of Brad Mueller in seventh and Jesse Bernhagen in eighth. Casey Johnson and Mitchell Haver completed the top ten finishers in ninth and tenth respectively.
Super Late Model heat race victories were recorded by Rich Loch and Brad Mueller while Alex Prunty won the fast dash. Gabe Sommers put down a qualifying lap time of 11.130 to take fast qualifier honors on the evening.
An off-track fireworks show provided the opening act to the on-track variety as Ryan Gutknecht won the action-packed 50-lap Uptown Motor Cars Late Model feature that feature all kinds of action in the final laps. Jakob Hassler and Rick Redig-Tackman staged a fierce battle for the lead in the closing laps before Hassler was issued a black flag for blocking, leaving Redig-Tackman to duel with Tom Berens for the win. On the final lap Berens and Redig-Tackman got together in turns three and four, sending both cars sliding sideways which allowed third running Ryan Gutknecht to slip by off the final turn to capture the victory. Tom Berens managed to hang on for second as Redig-Tackman crossed the finish line in third place. Zach Prunty finished fourth and Evan Hassler was fifth. Jon Reynolds Jr. held off Tyler Schley for sixth while T.J. Graczkowski, Merek Pankow, and Jacob Vanoskey finished eighth, ninth, and tenth. Jacob Vanoskey and Jon Reynolds Jr. were the winners of the Late Model heat races while Zach Prunty was the fastest qualifier with a qualifying time of 12.0202 seconds.
Jason Uttech was the winner of the $1,000 to win Solutionzllc Badger State Four Banger Shootout for the Outdoor Dock and Lift Super Beez main event. Uttech took the lead with two laps to go when Karter Stark’s car sputtered and went on to hold off Phil Malouf and Matt Berger for the victory. Shawn Kemnetz and Nick Schmidt finished in fourth and fifth respectively. Tim Anderson took the checkered flag in sixth followed by Josh Willhite in seventh and Mitchell Strobel in eighth. Merek Pankow and Misty Benn completed the top ten finishers. Nick Schmidt won the Super Beez semi-feature over Marty Tackes, Misty Benn, and Al Strobel. Super Beez heat race victories were recorded by Nick Schmidt, Dylan Lemberger, and George Sparkman. Jason Uttech was the fastest qualifier with a lap time of 13.321 seconds.
Bobby Frisch won the 25-lap 189 Customs Crown Vic feature over Scott “Chico” Reidner and Matthew Rose. Todd Beier and Elliot Rehm rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively. Ethan Degner was the winner of the Crown Vic heat race.
Ryan Lovald closed out the evening with a win in the Figure 8 main event over Shane Becker and Rick Bruskiewicz. Bill Shavlik was fourth and Russ Lorbiecki was fifth.
