Slinger Speedway Banquet Honors the Best of 2001! By Lanae Weyer

January 26, 2002; Slinger, WI -  An all time record crowd was on hand Saturday night January 26th to honor The 2001 Slinger Super Speedway Champion, Lowell Bennett, and a host of other award-winning competitors at The Washington County Fair Park in West Bend.

Awards Banquet Photo Highlights

Recieving thier awards for outstanding performances this group of drivers spent alot of time in the spotlight in 2001.  From the left are: Lowell Bennett, the 2001 Slinger Super Speedway Late Model track champion. Al Schill Sr., who finished runner-up in the final Late Model standings.   Donavan Morgan, the third place finisher in the Late Model standings, and Jeff Holtz, the 2001 Slinger Super Speedway Midwest Modified champion.

Bennett captured his second consecutive and third overall Late Model Track Championship. Win’s included the Mother’s Day 60, the AAL Jim Fischer Agency Firecracker 85, the Michael Hartman Well Drilling and Pumps 65, the Johnsonville Foods 65 and Round three of the Coca Cola Classic. He finished in the Top five 21 times and won 6 trophy dashes. He set three fast times and also won the overall Coca-Cola Triple Crown Classic title. He battled Al Schill throughout the season for the championship and clinched the Track Title on the final night of racing by only seven points.

Photo Highlights

Lowell Bennett (#2) had his championship winning ride on hand at the banquet.

Schill claimed the second place honors by having one of his best seasons. He won the Enders Corporation 75, the Ritter Parker Store 70, The Coca-Cola Triple Crown Classic round 2, Pioneer Plaza 65, the Five Star 70, and the Port-A-John 100. He also slated 19 Top five finishes and two trophy dash wins. Al’s efforts also include a second place in the overall Coca-Cola Triple Crown Classic standings.

Donavan Morgan’s third place title included a popular win in the 77-lap Al’s Auto Salvage/Champion Chicken/Pro Power Al Schill Jr. Memorial along with the 76 Racing Gas 60 victory. Morgan scored 14 Top five finishes and three trophy dash wins THAT enabled him to jump up four places from his 2000 performance.

Brad Mueller won three features in 2001, which included The Miller Lite/ Fox 6 Season Opener 66-lap event, the 50 lap Coca-Cola Triple Crown Classic Round 1, and the Behling Race of Champions. He continued to run near the head of the pack with 13 Top 5 finishes and led the division by setting fast time on eight nights. He ended the 2001 season in fourth place in the point standings.

Conrad Morgan rounded out the top five by taking the checkered flag first in one of the Miller Lite Twin 75’s AND the Wolf Paving 65. Conrad Morgan ran into bad luck mid-season, but rebounded by racing to 11 Top five finishes, one trophy dash, and set one fast time to end the season.

David Prunty respectably took sixth place honors, overall followed by Rich Loch who won the best crew award. Cindy Peterson won the eighth place title while Charlie Thon, and Eric Fransen rounded out the top ten.

The Slinger Super Speedway Late Model Rookie of the year honors went to Dennis Prunty, who dominated the Modified Division in 2000. Pete Wiedmeyer won the Late Model Hard Luck award.

In the Midwest modified division Jeff Holtz scored top honors among Holtzes accomplishments, 10 feature wins, two time fast qualifier, and 15 top five finishes in feature events. Claiming second was Jeff ‘s older brother Brian Holtz, while Dan Jung took the third spot and also was awarded the 2001 Rookie of The Year. Dan Miller, and Larry Reihbrandt rounded out the top five. The team of Ed Grober took the best crew award.

Paul Wagner proved to be the champion in the Slinger Stinger division where he scored seven feature wins, and finished in the top five 12 times. Second place finisher Pat McIntee was also honored for having the best crew in his division. Third place finish went to Roger Schmid, while Joe DeStefano Sr. took the fourth spot. Jason Feyereisen took the fifth spot and was also awarded the Slinger Stinger Rookie of the Year.

Mark Ritger was crowned his sixth track championship title at The Slinger Super Speedway, with this years being his fourth in a row.

A fine catered buffet dinner from C & R Catering followed by live music from Under Control rounded out the evening.

Special thanks to the miller brewing company and W.O.W Distributing, The Coca Cola Bottling Co., Bob Fish, E.H. Wolf, Fox 6, Al’s Auto Salvage, Champion Chicken, Pro Power, Enders, Wolf Paving, The Parker Store, Ritter Technologies LLC, AAL Jim Fischer Agency, Pioneer Plaza, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Michael Hartman Well Drilling & Pumps, 76 Racing Gas, Johnsonville, Port A John, Behling Racing Equipment, Post Printing, Hoosier, and the many other sponsors for their support of the 2001 season and the awards banquet.