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Bennett back in victory lane lane in Hartman Well Drilling & Pumps 65 at
Slinger Super Speedway!
By Weyer / Margetta |
August
5, 2001; Slinger, WI - Current point leader and defending
track champion Lowell Bennett got to the front of the field early on and captured his
third late model feature win of the season in front of a fast closing Al Schill in the
Michael Hartman Well Drilling & Pumps 65 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
“I just tried to get out front and cruise, what a week for Bennett Racing,”
exclaimed an excited Bennett from victory lane. “These other guys are tough, Albert
(Schill) and the Pruntys (David & Dennis), they definitely make me earn my keeps
here,” continued Bennett who extended his point lead in the battle for the track
championship over Schill with the win.
Dennis Prunty started on the pole and shot out to pace the field for
the opening laps as Florian Wisinski, Chris Ratajczyk, Bennett, and Cindy Peterson ran
side by side for position behind him. While Prunty ran alone out front, Bennett was able
to poke his way to the outside of Ratajczyk and Wisinski to take second on lap 19 as Eric
Fransen, Conrad Morgan, and Brad Mueller joined the lead group. Bennett caught Prunty on
lap 25 and used an inside pass to take the lead while Fransen, Morgan, and Mueller worked
their way to take the third through fifth spots.
Bennett led at the halfway mark and collected the $100 Mac Tools Halfway Bonus as Morgan,
Mueller, and Fransen began to work on Prunty for second. Fransen experienced mechanical
problems on lap 36 and headed to the pit area while Morgan eventually made his way around
Prunty for second on lap 42. Fred Winn’s incident with the turn three wall brought
out the caution flag. During the slow-down, Morgan relinquished his second position when
he developed mechanical problems and retired to the pit area.
Bennett led on the restart over Prunty and Mueller who found themselves embroiled in a
battle for position with Schill who had charged through the field from the 21st and final
starting slot. Schill stood by and watched as Mueller pressured Prunty on both the high
and low sides for second, having momentarily gained the position on lap 47 before spinning
in the second turn as the result of some hard racing between the two to bring out the
caution flag.
Schill lined up for the restart in second place as two lapped cars provided a buffer
between himself and the leader, Bennett. As the race resumed, Bennett took off to a
substantial lead as Schill dispatched the lapped machines a few circuits later. With clear
traffic in front of him, Schill was able to gradually close in on Bennett but could not
get close enough to mount a challenge as Bennett scored his third feature win of the
season. Dennis Prunty held off his brother David in a close finish for the fourth spot and
Ratajczyk completed a strong run with a season-best fifth place finish.
In other late model action, Pete Wiedmeyer held off Joe Gross and Wes Biswell to win the
30-lap semi-feature and Scott Schoeni won the 12-lap consi. Bennett was the top finisher
in the fast dash and David Prunty led late model qualifying with a lap at 11.707 seconds.
Jeff Holtz continued to set the Midwest modified division on fire as he won his eighth
30-lap feature of the year after nearly destroying his car in an accident during the dash
earlier in the evening.
After completely tearing off the back end of the car in that incident, Holtz’s crew,
with help from many crew members from other modified teams, worked feverishly and used the
rear end of his brother, Brian’s modified to repair his car in time to start the
feature.
Pole-sitter Dan Miller led the opening laps of the event as Andy Evraets, Alan Keppert,
and Kevin Kenealy followed close behind while Dan Jung and Holtz began to move through the
field. Keppert and Evraets made slight contact on the backstretch and Keppert’s
throttle appeared to stick as he crashed hard into the wall in turn four to bring out the
red flag. Keppert appeared alert and was talking with safety officials following the crash
but he was transported to a local hospital by ambulance for precautionary reasons.
Miller maintained his lead on the restart as Jung and Holtz raced by Kenealy and Evraets
to claim second and third. Holtz used a lapped car to pick Jung on lap 13 and move into
second place as Miller continued to lead. Two laps later, Holtz found his way around
Miller to lead the event at its halfway point. The caution flag appeared again on lap 16
when fast qualifier Dale Prunty and Lenny Gallenberg III tangled in turn two. Once out
front on the restart, Holtz pulled away to a sizeable advantage and raced to his eighth
feature win of the season. Miller held off Jung to finish second as Kenealy and Evraets
rounded out the top five.
In other Midwest modified action, Keppert was the winner of the dash and Prunty’s lap
of 12.539 seconds made him the night’s fastest qualifier.
Todd Gehring won his first Slinger stinger feature in a race that was shortened to 12 laps
due to time constraints by holding off Roger Schmid and Pat McIntee at the finish. Jason
Feyereisen and Jimmie Evans were fourth and fifth respectively.
Feyereisen and Kurt Brown each won Slinger stinger heat races earlier in the evening and
McIntee was the fastest qualifier at 13.485 seconds.
Shane Becker won a wild 12 car Figure 8 event that featured numerous lead changes in the
course of ten laps and the tandem of Mark and Ken Fogel won a Team Cruiser race.
The team of Mark and Dan Jung appeared to win the second Team Cruiser race
but were later disqualified after failing post-race technical inspection. Kyle Hartman
drove to an impressive win in the Speedway Guest car event and Rick Schaefer topped the
Spectator Elimination races in his 1990 Pontiac Firebird. Larry Lacoun of Milwaukee won
the AAL Fan Challenge of $100.
For Complete
results from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE
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76 Racing
presents Fan Appreciation night at Slinger Super Speedway!
By Weyer / Margetta |
Special; Slinger, WI - This Sunday night, August 12th, 76 Racing
presents Fan Appreciation Night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
The evening will be highlighted by a 65 lap late model feature and will also include a
full racing program in the Late Models, Midwest Modifieds, Slinger Stingers, Team
Cruisers, Figure 8’s, Speedway Guest Cars and Spectator races. The Super Mini-Cups
will also be in action as they will make a special appearance at the track.
As part of the Fan Appreciation Night celebration there will be free beer and soda
available for fans after the races and the first 300 adults will receive a free Slinger
Speedway cap when they enter the spectator gate. Slinger Super Speedway will also have
other special giveaways for the fans throughout the night.
Spectator gates open at 4: 45 p.m. for the Sunday event with time trials at 5:15 p.m. and
racing scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The Slinger Super Speedway is located ¼ mile West of
Highway 41 on Highway 144 in Slinger. For more information on upcoming events and race
programs, call the track office during normal business hours Monday through Friday 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. at (262) 644-5921 at www.slingersuperspeedway.com |
