 |
Mueller Sails to a victory
in the Keith’s Marina 85! |
June
29, 2003; Slinger, WI - Brad Mueller
bested Al Schill by less than a car length in an exciting door-to-door finish to win the
Keith’s Marina 85-lap late model feature Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
Mueller, who took command of the race for good on lap 30, survived a ten-lap dash
for the victory with Schill following the event’s sixth caution flag on lap 75. With
Schill breathing down his tailpipe, Mueller slipped in turn two with five laps to go and
opened the door to the inside lane which Schill promptly took advantage of, pulling
alongside as both drivers raced down the backstretch. The two Slinger veterans completed
the final laps side-by-side with Mueller clinging to the top groove and Schill charging on
the bottom. Exiting turn four on the final lap, Mueller was able to power ahead at the
finish line and take the win with Schill alongside his door.
“I sure didn’t need that caution,” Mueller stated afterwards. “I saw
him coming and slipped up a bit in the corner and he was underneath me and Al Schill is a
heck of a guy for running me as clean as he did.”
Conrad Morgan paced the opening laps after jumping into the lead over Mike Egan and Jeremy
Lepak. The yellow flag flew early as on lap four Rich Loch spun in turn three and Lyle
Messinger, attempting to avoid the incident, bounced off another car and launched into the
turn four wall hard. Messinger was not seriously injured in the accident and the field
lined up for the restart with Morgan leading Egan, Lepak, Dennis Prunty, and Mueller. The
top three remained static through another caution slow-down for a spin by Fred Winn on lap
nine before Mueller started his march toward the front by taking third from Lepak on the
following lap. The lead Morgan and Egan had built up on the rest of the drivers was wiped
out on lap 12 when Ryan Mathews backed into the turn four wall, drawing another caution.
Morgan once again pulled away to a four-car length advantage as racing resumed while
Mueller pressured Egan for second. While Mueller raced with Egan, Schill entered the top
five and by lap 20 he had raced around Lepak to grab the fourth position. With Schill
solidly in third place, Mueller worked his way by Egan and began to track down Morgan.
Mueller caught Morgan on lap 30 and made the pass for the lead while further back, Eric
Fransen and Lowell Bennett took over fourth and fifth.
Mueller held the top spot at the halfway point and collected the Badgerland Motorsports
Halfway
Challenge as Morgan tried to fend off challenges from Schill, Fransen, Bennett, and David
Prunty for second place. Schill was the first to get by Morgan as he took over second on
lap 45 and Fransen and Bennett followed suit a few laps later, dropping Morgan back to
fifth. The complexion of the race changed again on lap 59 when Chris Ratajczyk and Dan
Mills tangled in turn four and John Mueller also spun trying to avoid Mills’ stalled
car. As J. Mueller’s car came to a stop, Fransen had nowhere to go and crashed into
it. Bennett also could not avoid the incident and he was caught up in the chain reaction
deal as his car ended up underneath Fransen’s.
As racing resumed, Mueller and Schill held onto the top two spots as Prunty, Egan, and
Loch completed the top five. A final caution for debris on lap 75, set up the thrilling
side-by-side finish between Mueller and Schill with Mueller taking the win. Prunty
rebounded from some bad luck last week with a solid third place finish ahead of Egan and
Loch.
Mueller’s victory also netted him $200 extra from Crazy Kate’s Spicy Pickles and
$100 extra from N & S Towing.
In other late model action, Dennis Prunty won the fast Dash as Eric Fransen set the
fastest time with an 11.352 second lap. Dan Mills won the 30-lap semi-feature over Lyle
Messinger and Mike McCabe won the consolation race.
Rick Ottman turned back all challenges en route to a flag to flag win in the 30-lap
Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modified 30-lap feature.
Ottman’s first challenge came from Ron Schmitt during the opening laps as both
drivers raced wheel to wheel for the top spot with Ottman edging Schmitt at the line upon
the completion of each lap. Ottman held the inside and that proved to be the preferred
line as he took sole possession of the lead on lap five while Steve Schultz moved up to
challenge Schmitt for second. Dale Prunty and Wes Biswell were lurking directly behind
Schultz and Schmitt and soon all four drivers were embroiled in the race for second place
as Ottman began to ease away from the field. The hard racing for second left Schmitt out
to dry on the outside and he faded back when Schultz, Biswell, and Prunty all drove by as
the event neared the halfway point.
Debris in turn one produced the lone caution flag of the race on lap 22, bunching up the
field and allowing Schultz, Biswell, and Prunty to close in on Ottman. Biswell wasted no
time on the restart and dove to the inside of Schultz to muscle his way into second place.
While Biswell was making his move into second, Ottman was racing away from the field,
leaving Biswell and Schultz to battle with Prunty for the runner-up spot. Once clear of
traffic, Biswell was unable to catch Ottman and he raced to the win. Biswell finished
second while Schultz was able to get around Prunty for third. Ken Wills also was able to
advance ahead in the closing laps and he captured fourth place, forcing Prunty to settle
for fifth
Ottman also collected $100 for his win courtesy of Ralph’s Auto Body.
Dan Miller set fast time with a 12.143 second lap while Dale Prunty won the eight lap fast
dash.
Josh Bauer brought home the victory in the 25-lap Midwest Sportsman Series feature.
Brad Keith charged into the lead at the start over Gregg Herrmann, Bauer, and Scott
Ascher. Keith paced the event until lap ten when Bauer overtook him for the top spot while
Jake Ryan closed in to battle with Ascher and Keith for second. Ascher claimed sole
possession of second place by lap 15 while Ryan moved into third ahead of Keith. Ascher
closed within striking distance of Keith and on the final lap, made a bid for the win but
came up short when his car washed out wide in the corner. Ryan took advantage of that and
snuck by to get second place at the finish line, forcing Ascher to settle for third. Nick
Schumacher finished fourth while Keith completed a strong run with a fifth place finish.
Bauer’s victory was worth an extra $100 from Keith’s Marina, the evening’s
sponsor.
In other Midwest Sportsman action Nick Schumacher won the fast dash and Josh Bauer set a
fast time with a12.573 second lap.
Colin Bamke won the Slinger Bee race over Dave Berndt and Shaun Gavin. Team Cruiser heat
wins were recorded by P.J. and Lindsey Cain and the team of Mark Fogel and Eric Schmitz.
Shane Becker was the winner of the Figure 8 race and the Speedway Guest Car event was won
by Fred Cook. Aaron Cain won the Spectator Elimination races in his Dodge Stealth.
For Complete results
from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE
More Than Millwork Presents the
Pioneer Plaza Mid-Season Championships at Slinger!
Slinger, WI (Spl.) – This Sunday night, new track
sponsor More Than Millwork partners up with Pioneer Plaza to present the 2003 Mid-Season
Championships at Slinger Super Speedway. The night will be highlighted by a 65-lap Late
Model feature and a full night of racing in all divisions including the Eldorado Trailer
Sales Midwest Modifieds, Slinger Bees, Team Cruisers, Figure 8’s, Port A John
Speedway Guest Cars, Spectator Eliminators at the new Midwest Sportsman division.
More Than Millwork, now located behind Uptown Chevrolet in Slinger, joins the Slinger
Super Speedway family of sponsors, although their involvement in motorsports began with
their support of Late Model driver Brad Mueller and Midwest Sportsman driver Colin Bamke.
More Than Millwork offers windows, doors, cabinets and more and will be having a grand
re-opening celebration on September 20, 2003.
The presenting sponsor of the night is long-time track supporter Pioneer Plaza, located
off exit 145 on Highway 41 in Richfield. Pioneer Plaza is also your stop for Slinger Super
Speedway discounted event tickets.
Regular Sunday night racing action at Slinger Super Speedway runs through September 21,
2003. In addition, the track will host the 24th Annual Miller Lite Nationals on Tuesday
night, July 22nd. The show will feature NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers Matt Kenseth and
Kurt Busch. Advance tickets are available for purchase by calling the speedway’s box
office at 262.644.5921. |
