April 27, 2003; Slinger, WI - Brad Mueller and Dave Feiler split victories in the Miller Lite Twin 75-lap features Sunday afternoon at the Slinger Super Speedway while Mueller’s combined finishes of first and fifth respectively gave him the overall win in the season-opening event.
Mueller’s combination of good horsepower and a smooth handling car enabled him to maneuver his way toward the front from a ninth starting position in the first 75-lap feature, taking the lead for good on lap 62. Once out front, Mueller held the top spot for the final 13 laps and held off Slinger veteran Tony Strupp for the victory. It’s the first time out with a new car and it was excellent, “ Mueller said, “Right off of (turn) four and right off of (turn) two, the car was phenomenal…I did all my passing on the bottom.” The opening Miller Lite Twin 75 was the first feature event held on the Slinger Super Speedway’s newly ground surface and the usual Slinger front-runners took their turns at the head of the field. Eric Fransen raced around early leader Dan Mills on lap two and paced the beginning circuits as Conrad Morgan and Lowell Bennett raced into second and third, leaving Mills to battle with Mueller and a fast-running Scott Schoeni for the fourth spot. Caution flags slowed the early-going as visiting NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series driver Rich Bickle had his day end on lap three as he skidded along the backstretch wall after making contact with David Prunty in turn two. “Today’s events were unfortunate, especially since this was the best car that we’ve had here in four years,” said Bickle afterwards. Once racing resumed Fransen, Morgan, and Bennett settled into the top three positions with Schoeni and Mueller close behind. Bennett pressured Morgan for second place and took the position on lap 15, leaving Morgan caught on the outside and opening the door for Schoeni and Mueller to move up. The inside groove was the preferred line around the speedway and Bennett nosed inside of Fransen to take the lead on lap 31. Schoeni found himself out of the inside line on lap 45 as Mueller raced into third, bringing along Tony Strupp, who had moved forward from his twelfth starting position. Mueller’s car handled to near perfection on the inside of the speedway and he quickly closed in on Fransen to take second by lap 55. Seven laps later, Mueller was behind Bennett and was once again able to turn his car under the defending track champion and move alongside on lap 62. When Bennett’s car washed to the outside in turn two, Mueller claimed the lead and never looked back en route to victory in the first Miller Lite 75-lap feature. Strupp came on strong in the closing laps and moved to Mueller’s rear bumper over the final 10 laps as the leaders encountered lapped traffic but was unable to mount a challenge and took the checkered flag in second place. Bennett followed in third as fast-qualifier Rich Loch and Fransen rounded out the top five. Feiler, who has won numerous championships at other tracks in the state, was racing at Slinger Super Speedway for the first time in a late model and he capitalized on the experience by capturing the win in the second 75-lap feature. Feiler started fourth and quickly grabbed second place at the drop of the green flag while Schoeni continued his strong run of the day by leading the first 31 laps. Feiler remained in Schoeni’s tire tracks and edged his way into the lead by lap 35 as Schoeni’s car became loose in the corners. Once out front, Feiler pulled away to a sizeable advantage as Bennett and Strupp battled their way forward and into a scuffle for second place with David Prunty. Bennett and Strupp occupied the second and third positions by lap 50 and set their sights on tracking down Feiler for the lead. While Bennett and Strupp were able to close slightly on Feiler, it appeared they would run out of laps to catch him until an incident involving Schoeni in turn three brought out the caution flag on lap 73, setting up a green-white-checkered two lap finish. Feiler was up to the challenge on the restart and held off Bennett and Strupp by about two car lengths to score the victory. “This place is incredible, “stated Feiler from victory lane. “I’ve got to thank Rich Bickle for his advice on the spring set-ups, those adjustments were just what we needed.” Loch duplicated his finish in the first feature, with a fourth place finish and Mueller worked his way up to fifth place at the checkered flag. Mueller’s finish of first and fifth in the events, gave him the overall Miller Lite Season Opener title above Feiler and Bennett. Strupp and Loch were fourth and fifth respectively in the overall standings. The Midwest Sportsman division debuted with a 40-lap feature that was full of fireworks before Nick Schumacher came home with the win. Schumacher led from the start and battled Pat McIntee for the top spot while Bill Prietzel and James Swan challenged Dennis Norton Jr. and Josh Bauer for positions close behind. Schumacher turned back challenges for the lead from McIntee before finding himself holding off Prietzel as the laps wound down. Prietzel moved alongside Schumacher and the two raced side-by-side to the white flag with Bauer and Norton right on their bumpers. The much anticipated battle to the finish dissolved soon thereafter as Rick Corso hit the wall in turn three and rolled over on the white flag lap, bringing the race to a halt under a red flag. Track rules state that in the event a yellow or red flag appears on the final lap, scoring is reverted to the last completed lap and the race is scored as complete. Therefore, Schumacher was scored as the winner of the race over Prietzel, Bauer, Norton Jr., and McIntee. For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE
Slinger, WI (Spl.) – This Sunday night, May 4th,
bring the whole family out to Slinger Super Speedway for the regular season opener and a
50,000 penny drop for kids 11 and under. On-track activities at the world’s fastest
quarter mile oval will consist of competition in the speedway’s seven divisions,
including Late Models, Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modifieds, Team Cruisers, Slinger
Bees, Figure 8’s, Port A John Speedway Guest Cars, Spectator Eliminators and the new
Midwest Sportsman division. The 50,000 penny drop for kids, which is held during speedway
intermission activities, will afford children ages 11 and under the opportunity to collect
up to $500.00 in pennies. |
