 |
Prunty Scores Second Win
of The Season in the Lighthouse Lanes 60! |
July
27, 2003; Slinger, WI - David Prunty
led flag to flag en route to his second late model feature win of the season Sunday night
at the Slinger Super Speedway as he held off Lowell Bennett for the victory in the
Lighthouse Lanes Entertainment Center 60.
Prunty spent most of the race watching drivers battle for second place in his
rear view mirror but later explained to the crowd that changes the crew made to the car
gave him enough to hold off a fast-closing Bennett at the finish.
“We were really loose qualifying and the crew went kind of nuts to change the whole
front suspension around,” stated an elated Prunty from victory lane. “Give us a
couple more weeks and we’ll have this new car figured out.”
The race got off to a rather rocky start as an unusual incident in hot laps between Dennis
Prunty and Dave Teske left their cars damaged and eliminated Ryan Mathews and Mark Bitzan
before the green flag flew. Once underway, however, the race ran caution-free as Prunty
outdistanced fellow front row starter Larry Los to claim the lead.
With Prunty out front, Los dropped into second place just ahead of John Mueller while
Bennett passed Fred Winn to advance to fourth by lap five. Bennett then went to work on
Mueller for third, taking to the high groove to complete the pass on lap six as Conrad
Morgan, Rich Loch, and Al Schill worked their way through the field and into the top six.
Bennett continued to move forward and took over second place on lap 15 as Los began to
fade as Loch, Schill, Morgan, and Brad Mueller all raced by. The top five stabilized in
the mid-stages and Prunty led at halfway to claim the Badgerland Motorsports Halfway
Challenge.
Bennett was able to close to Prunty’s rear bumper during the later stages as Schill
and Loch began to battle fiercely for third. After racing alongside each other for several
laps, Schill muscled his way around Loch for third place and the top four contested the
final laps nose-to-tail. Prunty took the checkered flag first with Bennett at his tailpipe
while Schill edged Loch for third. Brad Mueller finished fifth.
Lyle Messinger held off Scott Schoeni to win the 30-lap late model semi-feature as Randy
Schuler, Jerry Eckhardt, and Tommy Hromadka rounded out the top five. Al Schill set fast
time with an 11.386 second lap while Lowell Bennett won the eight lap fast dash.
Dale Prunty fended off Wes Biswell to capture the win in the 30-lap Eldorado Trailer Sales
Midwest Modified feature.
Jason Feyereisen and Biswell started from the front row and at the drop of the green,
Feyereisen led the opening lap before Biswell took over the top spot on the next circuit.
Biswell began to open up his lead over Feyereisen while Prunty became locked in a
multi-car battle with Ken Wills and Larry Reighbrandt for third. By lap nine, Prunty was
able to overtake Feyereisen for second place and set his sights on Biswell who continued
to enjoy a commanding lead. Rick Ottman, Dan Miller, and Jeff Holtz soon joined the
cluster of cars disputing third place as Prunty began to close in on Biswell for the lead.
Prunty caught Biswell on lap 17 and was actually able to pull alongside just as the
caution flag flew when Dan Miller spun on the frontstretch. During the slowdown, Holtz was
determined to have had a hand in the incident and he joined Miller at the tail of the
field while Biswell was scored as the leader for the restart.
Prunty immediately jumped to the outside lane as racing resumed and once again pulled
alongside Biswell for the lead. While Biswell and Prunty raced side-by-side, Ottman broke
away from the pack in third and quickly closed on the lead duo. Prunty established himself
as the leader on lap 23 as Biswell remained in his tire tracks while Ottman continued to
close in a hurry. Ottman made it a three car race for the lead over the final five laps
but neither he nor Biswell had anything left for Prunty who held off both drivers and
scored the win. Biswell finished a close second followed by Ottman while Steve Schultz and
Paul Wagner completed the top five finishers.
In other Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modified action, Jeff Holtz won the fast dash and
Prunty set fast time at 12.194 seconds.
Bobby Gutknecht won the 25-lap Midwest Sportsman feature in a rough and tumble battle with
rookie Collin Bamke and Nick Schumacher.
Sporadic contact throughout the field at the start, produced an early yellow flag, causing
a complete restart and once racing resumed, Bamke immediately drove out to the lead.
Driving his strongest race to date, Bamke led a majority of the race as Gutknecht, Scott
Ascher, and Nick Schumacher all worked their way toward the front. Gutknecht had second
place by the halfway point with Ascher and Schumacher directly behind him as Bamke
maintained his advantage at the head of the pack. Bamke’s car began to kick loose off
the corners and his lead was erased when difficulties with a lapped car allowed Gutknecht,
Ascher, and Schumacher to catch up. Gutknecht took to the high side with two laps to go
and made his way around Bamke for the lead with Schumacher running a very close third.
Bamke would not give up and made a hard charge to the inside in turn one on the final lap,
actually making incidental contact with Gutknecht as the leaders raced out of turn two.
The hard racing didn’t phase Gutknecht who was able to use the outside groove to edge
Bamke for the win at the stripe. Schumacher was a very close third just ahead of Ascher
who finished fourth. Jason Taghikhani concluded a consistent race and finished fifth.
Schumacher won the fast dash and Dave Thomas was the fastest qualifier when he toured the
speedway in 12.737 seconds.
The Slinger Bee features were won by Aaron Cain and Shawn Gavin respectively. Paul Berndt
and Art Hahn won the Team Cruiser event, while Shane Becker made his way around the eight
to win the figure 8 eight division. Gail Tradewell won the Port A John Speedway Guest car
race as Rob Meyers of Hartford won the Spectator race in his 85 Monte Carlo.
For Complete results
from the RACESTAT computer CLICK
HERE
Rides for Kids in Race Cars at
Slinger Super Speedway!
Slinger, WI (Spl.) – This Sunday night, Michael Hartman Well Drilling
& Pumps presents a 65 lap Late Model feature and a full night of racing action at the
Slinger Super Speedway. The night will be highlighted by two popular speedway promotions,
including rides for kids in race cars at intermission and free seat cushions to the first
adults through the door.
The event’s sponsor Michael Hartman Well Drilling & Pumps, located in North Lake,
is also a sponsor of several competitors in the Slinger Late Model division including Brad
Hartman, Dan Jung and Toby Rott.
Sunday night racing action at Slinger Super Speedway continues through September 21st. In
2003, Children 11 & under receive free admission to the track when accompanied by an
adult. Adults may purchase advance discount tickets to Slinger events at B & S Liquor
in Hartford, Pioneer Plaza in Richfield and at Lighthouse Entertainment Center in West
Bend. |
