June 3, 2001; Slinger, WI - Brad Mueller and Charlie Thon each captured victories in the twin 50 lap late model features that made up Round One of the Coca-Cola Triple Crown Classic presented by Mobil Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway. Mueller finally found his way back to Victory Lane as he fought an ill handling car to claim his first feature win of the season in the opening 50 lap late model feature.
“We’ve had a really tough time this year, “ Mueller
exclaimed after holding off Conrad Morgan to post the victory. “The car began to go
away on me Dave Teske raced to the lead at the start of the event while Charlie Thon, Rich Loch, Al Schill, Morgan, and Mueller scrapped for second through sixth. Teske edged out to a four car-length lead by lap seven when the first caution flag appeared as Todd Thelen and Mike Egan tangled and hit the wall on the backstretch. Teske continued to hold the point on the restart while David Prunty moved up to join the snarl of cars fighting for second place. Prunty made his way up to fourth place by lap 20 just behind Thon as Mueller worked his way to second with Teske still holding a sizable advantage. Contact between Prunty and Thon one lap later produced the second caution flag and sent both drivers to the rear of the field. Teske led Mueller, C. Morgan, Loch, and Donavan Morgan to the restart but this time at the front of the field was short-lived as Mueller was quick on the button and muscled his way to the inside as the green appeared. Mueller took over the lead after slight contact with Teske who was shuffled to fourth place when C. Morgan and Loch followed Mueller by. Mueller led at the halfway point to claim the $100 Mac Tools Bonus. Mueller led from there and despite fighting an ill handling car, was able to hold off C. Morgan to take the victory. Schill raced his way backup to third place as Lowell Bennett and Loch rounded out the top five. Mueller’s win proved to be lucky for fan Brian Burgardt who won $100 in the AAL Fan Challenge. Thon began the nightcap on the outside of the front row and immediately shot out into the lead at the start of the event. Thon was able to pull away to a ten car length advantage as the hard close quarters racing among the cars from second place on back stacked up the field numerous times without causing a caution. While Thon continued to lead, John Zimmerman, Florian Wisinski, and David Prunty raced each other for second through fourth. Thon led at the halfway point but his lead was erased a short time later when David Teske and Donavan Morgan spun in turn three to bring out the caution on lap 34. Thon kept the lead on the restart as Wisinski moved alongside Zimmerman for second. Zimmerman ran strong on the outside of the speedway and was able to hold off Wisinski but their side by side battle enabled Thon to stretch out his lead. Thon had things go his way for the rest of the event and drove to his second feature win of the season. Zimmerman held off Wisinski for second while Prunty and Al Schill rounded out the top five. Afterwards, Thon told the crowd that, much like the first event, handling played a part in his victory. “My car was way too tight in the first race, “ Thon stated, “But my crew worked hard and made it almost perfect for this one.” The Coca-Cola Triple Crown consists of points earned in both events and after the first round, Mueller leads the Series points by nine over Conrad Morgan. Schill is third while Thon and Zimmerman make up the top five in the Coke Series points. Jeff Holtz won his second 30-lap Midwest modified feature event of the season by holding off a determined Dale Prunty and Chris Petersen. Pole-sitter Kevin Kenealy led the opening laps while Holtz charged from his third starting spot to challenge for the lead by the fourth lap. Holtz was able to pull alongside on the outside as both cars exited turn two on lap five but when Kenealy’s car drifted outward, Holtz ran out of real estate and his car kicked sideways. Holtz did a brilliant job of keeping his car out of the wall and was able to keep going but the jam up behind collected numerous cars including Russ Grade who hit the turn three wall, bringing out the caution. Kenealy was placed at the rear of the field for his involvement in the incident which handed the lead to Holtz for the restart. With Holtz leading, Prunty and Petersen sliced through traffic to move into second and third place respectively. Prunty had the fastest car on the track but appeared to not have enough time to make up the distance between himself and Holtz until a lap 21 caution for an incident involving Mike Held and Paul Treuthardt erased Holtz’s advantage. Holtz was able to withstand the charges of both Prunty and Petersen over the remaining nine laps and held on to take the win. Steve Lurvey finished fourth while Brian Holtz moved up to finish fifth. Jay Bleskan raced to his first ever Slinger stinger feature victory in a wild 18 lap event. Jimmie Evans led the first three laps before Roger Schmid powered by on the outside on lap four as the field ran in a tight pack. Schmid held the point until lap 14 when Bleskan used the inside line to move by and into the lead. On the final lap with Bleskan leading, Schmid became tangled with fast qualifier Bill Shavlik and ended up spinning into the infield. Shavlik rodeup on the backstretch wall and was able to make it to the checkered flag to finish third behind Bleksan and Paul Wagner. Pat McIntee and Nathan Fick rounded out the top five. Willie Van Camp won the Figure 8 event and Team Cruiser race wins were
recorded by Pat McComb and Brian Rosine and Randy Mohr and Steve Clark. Mark Apel won the
Speedway Guest car race and Tom Elsinger topped the Spectator For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE
Special; Slinger, WI - The Miss Slinger Speedway Pageant, presented by Enders Corporation and Design 2 Construct, is on tap for the Slinger Super Speedway Sunday, June 10. A 75 lap late model feature highlights the card which includes a full racing program in all seven divisions and the popular Miss Slinger Speedway Swimwear Pagaent at Intermission. Free Slinger Speedway T-Shirts will be given to the first 300 adults that enter through the spectator gates. In addition to earning the title of Miss Slinger Speedway 2001, the winner of the swimwear pageant will also receive $400 which will be awarded once the season’s duties have been completed in full. Ladies interested in entering the Miss Slinger Speedway Swimwear Pageant can sign up at the track on Sunday. Contestants must be at least 18 years old, with photo ID for the proof and be available for Sunday and Wednesday Nights April through September. Spectator gates open at 4:45 p.m. with time trials at 5:15 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. A 75 lap late model feature is slated for the speedway Wednesday, June 13 when Miller Lite presents the Rusty Wallace Special. NASCAR Winston Cup driver Rusty Wallace will be in attendance to spend time with season ticket holders in the VIP pavilion and to start the main event. Late models, Midwest Modifieds, Slinger stinger street stocks, Figure8’s, speedway guest cars, and team cruisers are also on the racing agenda with championship points to be awarded. For more information or to obtain a season pass call (262) 644-5921 during regular business hours. The track’s web address is www.slingersuperspeedway.com. |
