June
30, 2002; Slinger, WI - John Zimmerman ended an eight-year
drought Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway when he earned a hard fought victory
over three-time track champion Lowell Bennett in the Wolf Paving Firecracker
The win was Zimmerman's first late model feature victory at the
track since "I don't know what to say, we wrecked this thing real bad upside down
here in the season opener and since then we've just struggled and struggled, " stated
Zimmerman referring to an early May accident that severely damaged his car and sidelined
him for a few weeks. "I can't believe this, I just can't believe this,"
remarked Zimmerman again as he accepted the winner's Zimmerman started the event from the outside of the front row and used the outside groove along with Jamie Wallace to race around Dave Teske for the lead. The field was quickly slowed under caution on lap three when Chris Ratajczyk spun and as the race restarted, Zimmerman, Wallace, and Teske pulled away from the side-by-side battle over fourth place between Bennett and Conrad Morgan. The front three began to string out and held nearly a half lap advantage over Bennett and Morgan who continued to dispute fourth when the caution appeared again on lap 27 for a solo spin by Donavan Morgan. Bennett passed Teske for third when the green flag was waved as Zimmerman maintained his lead over Wallace. With Bennett closing in on Wallace for second, Eric Fransen moved up to overtake Morgan in fourth. Bennett caught Wallace on lap 43 and used to inside lane to take the position two laps later as Zimmerman led at the halfway mark. As the leaders worked lapped traffic, Fransen was able to get by Wallace for third while Teske dropped from contention with mechnical problems, leaving Rich Loch to challenge Morgan for fifth. Mike Egan's smoking car produced the third caution with Zimmerman leading over Bennett, Fransen, Wallace, and Loch. Zimmerman had the benefit of John Mueller's lapped car between himself and Bennett for the restart and he was able to open up a slight advantage over the defending track champion. Two laps later, Fransen tangled with Mueller's lapped car and hit the front stretch wall in an incident that also involved Florian Wisinski and Austin Konetski. Bennett made his bid for the lead on the restart as he dove to the inside of Zimmerman in a strong attempt to take over the top spot. Every time Bennett pulled alongside Zimmerman while entering the turns, Zimmerman would battle back on the outside and keep the lead exiting the corners. With much of the attention focused on the battle for the lead, Loch quietly took third away from the fading Wallace who fell out of the top five when David Prunty and Al Schill moved into fourth and fifth respectively. Loch quickly closed the gap between himself and the leaders, setting up a
three car race for the win with Bennett still trying to pass Zimmerman on the inside.
Zimmerman, who routinely runs strong on the outside, was able to turn back
Bennett's final challenge on the last lap and took the checkered flag for the win by a
half-car length. Loch was close behind in Dennis Prunty won the 30-lap semi-feature and the 18-lap consolation race was captured by Lance Bjorklund. Morgan won the dash and Fransen was the fastest qualifier at 11.744 seconds. Dan Jung won the 30-lap Midwest modified feature for his second win of the season. Ron Schmitt led the first five laps over Jung, Andy Evraets, Mike Graczkowski, and Ed Grober. Jung made his way around Schmitt to take the lead by lap ten as Dale Prunty took over third place just ahead of Evraets and Graczkowski. Prunty never made a serious challenge for the lead however, as he headed to the pits a few laps later, the victim of an apparent rear end gear problem. Wes Biswell and Jeff Holtz entered the top five by lap 15 and five laps later, the two found themselves in second and third behind the leader, Jung. Biswell and Holtz couldn't get close enough to challenge over the final ten laps and Jung took the win. Graczkowski was fourth and Larry Reihbrandt was fifth. Evraets won the Midwest modified dash and Holtz turned the fastest lap in qualifying at 12.608 seconds. Jason Feyereisen scored a convincing win in the 20-lap Slinger stinger feature. James Littrell led the first lap after starting from the pole and Feyereisen pushed his way by on the inside to take over the top spot on lap two. Dave Obermeyer also got around Littrell to grab second with Todd Gehring and Scott Shambeau holding down fourth and fifth. Obermeyer faded back by lap five as Gehring, Littrell, and Shambeau all moved by with Feyereisen comfortably in the lead. Paul Wagner and Pat McIntee raced up from back in the field to enter the top five just past the halfway mark, with Wagner running second and McIntee holding down fourth place. Wagner and McIntee soon took over second and third by lap 15 but could not catch Feyereisen who led the final laps to take a convincing victory. Wagner crossed the line in second place but was later disqualified after failing post-race inspection. McIntee was third followed by Shambeau and Littrell. Wagner was the winner of the dash and McIntee was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 13.568 seconds. Joe Mueller and David Berndt won the team cruiser race and the Figure 8 event was captured by Terry Van Roy. Joe DeStefano Sr. won the spectator elimination races and Bob Koenings scored the win in the Port-A-John speedway guest cars. For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE Miller Lite Twin 75's - Wednesday Night July 3rd! Special; Slinger, WI - The Miller Lite Twin 75's, originally slated to open the season at the Slinger Super Speedway before being rained out in April, will be held on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two 75-lap late model features, along with racing action in the Midwest Modifieds and Slinger Stingers, will highlight the event. Gates open at noon with time trials at 4:45 and racing to begin at 7pm. Advance tickets for the Miller Lite Twin 75's Rescheduled Opener are available at Pioneer Plaza located at Highway's 41 & 145 in Richfield and at the track office. Fans purchasing advance tickets can save $2.00 off the regular admission price. Children ages 9 and under will be admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Current NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series star Rich Bickle, a two-time Slinger Speedway track Champion with over 230 career short track main event victories, and American Speed Association standout Scott Hansen will be on hand to take on defending Slinger Track Champion Lowell Bennett, and six time track Champion, Conrad Morgan, Brad Mueller, Al Schill and other hot shoes in the 75-lap late model features. The Rain date for the July 3rd event will be on Thursday Afternoon July 4th with events to start at 2 in the afternoon. The Slinger Super Speedway is located a ¼ mile west of Hwy 41 on Hwy 144 in Slinger. For more information call the track office during normal business hours at 262 644-5921 or check out the track website at www.slingersuperspeedway.com. |
