Barker Scores Slinger First in Mid-State Equipment 60! By Dan Margetta

May 2, 2004; Slinger, WI - Chad Barker launched into the lead at the start and no one could catch him as he nailed down his first Slinger late model feature victory in the Mid-State Equipment 60 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“We completely rebuilt our cars this winter and I’ve never driven cars this fast in my life,” beamed a noticeably excited Barker from victory lane as he credited his crew for his sudden success.

Photo Highlights

Chad Barker (#68) scored his first career Late Model feature victory here at Slinger Super Speedway by capturing the Mid-State Equipment 60. Donavan Morgan (#99) works past Brad Hartman (#82) on his way to a second place finish during the Late Model feature contest. Randy Schuler (#72) captured the Late Model semi-feature and transferred to the main event. Dave Feiler (#93) a multi-time champion at other area tracks, is adapting well to Slinger.  He won the Late Model dash this week. Defending track champion Brad Mueller (#89) scored fast qualifying honors for the second straight week. Wes Biswell (#23) was victorious in Midwest Modified feature action at Slinger Super Speedway on opening day. Dale Prunty (#17) and Wes Biswell (#23) thrilled the fans with this hard fought battle for the lead during the Midwest Modified feature. Dale Prunty (#17) captured the Midwest Modified Eldorado Trailer Sales Trophy dash. Jeff Holtz turned in quick time honors for the Midwest Modifieds this week. Jeremy Miller (#5) was victorious in the Midwest Sportsman feature contest. Bobby Gutknecht (#10) put his sharp looking Midwest Sportsman in victory lane after winning the dash. Josh Bauer bested a solid showing of Midwest Sportsman cars in qualifying for the days activities.

As Barker pulled into the early lead, Donavan Morgan and Brad Hartman staged a torrid door-handle to door-handle battle for second place as neither driver could gain enough advantage off the corners to edge ahead. The hard racing for second place allowed Barker to stretch his lead to nearly half a track by lap 15 as the rest of the field fought for position behind the leaders. Morgan finally claimed second place to on lap 20 when Hartman bobbled slightly off turn two which also allowed Jamie Wallace to slip by for third place. While Morgan and Wallace tried to cut into Barker’s lead, Hartman found himself trying to fend off Conrad Morgan, Eric Fransen, and Brad Mueller to keep fourth place. Hartman ran the inside lane and held his own until just after lap 30 when the three veterans behind him took to the outside to get by when Hartman was unable to get back on the throttle as quickly as the others exiting the corners.

As the rest of the top five battled for spots behind him, Barker kept up his lead, as he sliced through traffic and continually placed lapped cars between himself and those chasing him. Morgan and Wallace were able to close the gap slightly but could not erase Barker’s advantage and as the laps wound down it became apparent they were not going to catch him without the help of a caution flag. That scenario never occurred as the event ran incident-free and Barker charged to the checkered flag to score his first career Slinger late model feature victory. Morgan crossed the finish line ahead of Wallace while Fransen made a late-race inside move to snag fourth place from Conrad Morgan who finished fifth. Brad Mueller was sixth and Lowell Bennett was seventh while Hartman, Dave Teske, and David Prunty completed the top ten finishers.

Randy Schuler won the 30-lap late model semi-feature and transferred to the main event along with Chris Ratajczyk who finished second. Scott Schoeni took the checkered flag in third ahead of Dennis Prunty and Fred Winn. Area standout Dave Feiler served notice to the Slinger regulars that he’ll be a force to contend with this season as he drove to victory in the late model dash and Brad Mueller set fast time for the second week in a row with a lap of 11.389 seconds.

Jeremy Miller held off a hard charging Gary LaMonte to take the win in the 25-lap Midwest Sportsman feature.

Dave Obermeyer led the opening few laps as the yellow flag flew early on lap two when Colin Bamke found himself facing the wrong way in turn two near the front of the field as cars scattered to avoid the incident. Obermeyer continued to lead on the restart but his time at the head of the pack was limited as he looped around in turn two on lap six to draw another caution flag. During the slow-down, James Swan left the track to fix a dangling fender on his car and upon his return to the track, had to line up for the restart at the back of the field.

Kenny Joosten led the pack as the race restarted but Miller got a great run and quickly closed in to challenge for the lead. Miller took over the lead on lap eight as Joosten faded back, allowing Brad Keith, LaMonte, and Mike Graczkowski to get by. Miller began to stretch his lead while LaMonte worked the inside to eventually get around Keith for second on lap 11. LaMonte tried to reel in Miller for the lead over the next several laps and he got his chance when another caution flag appeared on lap 19 when three-wide racing between Jay Shambeau, Todd Gehring, and Swan pinballed Gehring’s car into the turn one wall.

LaMonte closed to Miller’s rear bumper several times over the final six laps but couldn’t get any closer as Miller raced to the win with LaMonte in his tire tracks. Graczkowski crossed the line in third place while Keith finished a strong run with a fourth place finish. Swan fought his way through the field to come home in fifth place at the checkered flag.

Bobby Gutknecht raced to the win in the fast dash while Josh Bauer was the fastest qualifier after turning in a lap at 12.545 seconds.

Wes Biswell got his 2004 season off to a good start as he drove to a thrilling victory over defending champion Dale Prunty in the 30-lap Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modified feature.

Ron Schmitt raced into the top spot at the start as Prunty immediately drove into second place from his outside second row starting position. Fast qualifier Jeff Holtz, Biswell, and Jason Feyereisen raced hard for third place directly behind the top two drivers. Schmitt remained out front for the first four laps before Prunty was able to use the outside to maneuver around on lap five. Holtz was also on his own march toward the front and grabbed second place from Schmitt by lap ten while Prunty continued to show the way. Schmitt’s strong early run ended on lap 11 when he dropped out with mechanical problems. Holtz caught Prunty a few laps later and made numerous challenges for the lead using the inside groove, but Prunty was able to race tough on the outside and maintained the lead at the line. Prunty and Holtz were once again side-by-side for the lead when the caution flag flew on lap 19 for a spin by Paul Treuthardt in turn three.

Holtz’s planned challenge for the lead came to a halt one lap after the restart as he slowed on the frontstretch with mechanical problems, allowing Biswell to charge by into second. Prunty’s strategy of using the high groove began to wear out in the final laps and Biswell was able to catch the defending champion by driving in the inside groove. Biswell caught Prunty with five laps to go and made the pass on the inside, but Prunty refused to give up and quickly dove to the inside groove, directly in Biswell’s tire tracks. Prunty was unable to make a challenge as Biswell drove away to the win. Feyereisen finished a strong third while Dan Miller and Russ Moberly completed good runs by rounding out the top five.

Prunty scored the win in the fast dash and Holtz set the fastest qualifying time at 12.210 seconds.

Joe DeStefano Sr. edged Rick Bruskewicz and Joe DeStefano Jr. to claim the win in the opening Thunderstocks 20-lap feature. Paul Berndt and Eric Schutz completed the top five.

Shawn Gavin and Bob Losiniecki each raced to victories in the Slinger Bees heats which provided plenty of excitement and Scott Goetzke was the winner of the Figure 8 event. Jim Bentzler drove his Oldsmobile Cutlass to the win in the Spectator Eliminator races.

Jay Gindt of West Bend was the winner of the Mid-State Equipment kids pedal tractor races.

For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE

SLINGER SUPER SPEEDWAY PRESENTS MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL

Slinger, Wis., (May 2, 2004) —The Slinger Super Speedway welcomes all mothers and their families to attend the 2004 Mother’s Day Special scheduled for this Sunday night, May 9th, at the World’s Fastest ¼ Mile Oval.

The evening will consist of a full racing program in the Late Model, Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modifieds, Midwest Sportsman, the new Thunderstocks, Figure 8’s, Spectator Races, Slinger Bees, and Port A John Speedway Guest Cars. The Feature event will consist of a 60 Lap Late model feature, and there will be free seat cushions to the first fans through the door while supplies last. Mothers will receive a dollar off their admission when accompanied by a child. Gates open at 4:45 with time trials at 5:15 and racing at 7pm.

The Slinger Super Speedway Sunday night racing action, runs through September 19, 2004. Fans may test their driving ability in 2004 by renting one of the Port A John Speedway Guest Cars, which are still available on selected nights. contact the speedway’s office at 262.644.5921 for further information or visit their web-site at www.slingersuperspeedway.com.

Spectator gates open at 4:45 PM with time trials at 5:15 PM and racing for the Mid-State Equipment Regular Season Opener begins at 7PM. The Slinger Super Speedway is located ¼ mile west of Hwy 41 on Hwy 144 in Slinger. For more information, call the track office at (262) 644-5921.

The Slinger Super Speedway is proud to announce the addition of the brand new Turn One VIP Suite, which is available for sponsorship parties for groups up to 50 people on certain Sunday nights during the season. For availability and other sponsorship opportunities contact the Public Relations Department at (262) 628-7929.