Strupp
Claims Second Win of Season! June 14, 1998; Slinger, WI - Tony Strupp (West Bend) won the 1998 Race for Life Sunday night, June 14th, at the Slinger Super Speedway. Strupp, who started on the pole, was in the lead for the majority of the race but was never able to pull away from a strong pack of runner-up cars. Lowell Bennett (Neenah), who moved into second after an early caution on lap 3, made repeated attempts to pass the eventual winner until he would give up the spot on while working lap 53. Conrad Morgan (Wales) was able to motor around Bennett and take over the spot to try his hand at getting around the three time late model track champion. Morgan would never seriously challenge Strupp for the win as he held on for the second spot over the last 7 circuits of the 60 lap main event. Bennett and Brad Mueller (Random Lake) battled for the third spot with Bennett claiming it at the drop of the checkered. Mueller would be followed by David Prunty (Lomira) in the top five. Earlier in the contest Mueller was able to move up into the third spot, getting under Morgan by the aid of a good restart as the final caution flag flew on lap 33. Mueller, the winner of last Sunday night’s feature, would later be shuffled back as the top four raced in close quarters the entire evening. Strupp was in an early race battle with Al Schill (Franklin) until Schill got together with Cindy Peterson (Butler) in turn three to bring out the first caution on lap 3. On the restart, Lowell Bennett (Neenah) pulled to the inside and the two would race side by side until Strupp pulled ahead on lap seven. Bennett would make another challenge for the lead on lap nine, again looking inside of Strupp, until Strupp would take the lead for good working lap sixteen. Strupp would lead all but one lap, after coming off 2 strong third place showings in the Miller Liter Nationals and would collect the Mac Tools Half-Way Challenge. Jeff Kendall (Montello) dominated the semi feature en route to the checkered in the 30 lap event. Following Kendall, was Mike Egan (Slinger) who moved from his fifth starting position to finish second as the pair would each earn spots in the feature. The race was for third place as Jerry Eckhardt (Watertown) and Toby Rott (Slinger) took the white flag side by side and Rott was able to edge ahead across the finish line. Fifth place went to Burton Brown (Neenah). Dave Teske (Menomonee Falls) took top honors in the late model consi race. Strupp made a habit of visiting victory lane as he also won the Bumper to Bumper trophy dash and Mueller was fast qualifier with a lap of 11.737 seconds on the World’s Fastest 1/4 Mile Oval. Fran Prestay (Twin Lakes) worked his way through traffic from his fifth row starting position to capture the Midwest Modified feature. Prestay had moved into the top five by the half-way point of the 30 lap event and had his eyes set on race leader Jeff Holmgren Jr. (East Troy). Prestay moved into a side by side battle for second with Florian Wisinski (Greenfield) on lap 22 and was able to complete the pass on lap 24. Rounding out the top five behind Prestay was Holmgren, Wisinski, Brian Holtz (Franklin), and Roger Wittal (East Troy). Wisinski set fast time in the Midwest Modified division with a lap of 12.455 seconds and Holmgren won the Eldorado Trailers Sales Trophy Dash. Peter Wiedmeyer (West Bend) was top finisher in the Slinger Stinger feature. Wiedmeyer waited patiently in the second position behind Dan Miller (Sussex) for the proper time to make his pass for the lead. That opportunity came in turn three working lap 17. Miller was able to hold on for the second position. Rounding out the top five was Scott Ascher (Sussex) in third, Bill Shavlik (West Bend) in fourth, and John Wandrey (Allenton) in fifth. Paul Wagner (West Bend) and Todd Brauneis (West Allis) each won their respective heat races. Fast qualifier in the Slinger Stinger division was Dale Prunty (Allenton) who turned a lap of 13.598 seconds. The 10 lap Figure 8 feature was won by Steve Schuldt (Sussex) as he outlasted the other nine competitors in the field. In other racing action, the Team Cruiser race was won by Joe Destefano Sr. and Joe Destefano Jr.. Robert Theall took the checkered in the Speedway Guest Cars. Tom Elsinger (West Bend) won the Spectator Elimination Race with his 1985 Corvette. Intermission was highlighted by a DJ Celebrity race in the Allison Legacy Cars. Heat winners were Lew Turner from WBWI (West Bend) and Fred Brennen from WZTR (Fond du Lac). The feature winner was track announcer Todd Behling from LTN radio who was able to hold off a late charge by Jim Tretow of the Racing Round-Up Show. The track would like to thank Johnny “Cha Cha” Corrao, Jack Kossow and everyone from the Allison Legacy Cars for all their help and supply of cars used for the DJ Celebrity races, the area celebrities that participated and anyone we’ve missed, all of which helped in making the 1998 Race for Life a success. Results Summary LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH - 60 LAPS
FAST QUALIFIER - Brad Mueller (Random Lake) - 11.737 seconds SEMI FEATURE FINISH 30 LAPS
CONSI FINISH 15 LAPS
MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH - 30 LAPS
FAST QUALIFIER - Florian Wisinski (Greenfield) - 12.455 seconds SLINGER STINGER FEATURE FINISH 18 LAPS
FAST QUALIFIER - Dale Prunty (Allenton) - 13.598 seconds FIGURE 8 WINNER - Steve Schuldt (Sussex) - 10 laps TEAM CRUISERS - Joe Destefano Sr./Joe Destefano Jr. - 8 laps SPEEDWAY GUEST CARS - Robert Theall SPECTATOR RACE - Tom Elsinger (West Bend) DJ CELEBRITY RACE - |