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Prunty Finally Breaks
Through to Win Johnsonville Foods 65!
By Dan Margetta |
August
15, 2004; Slinger, WI - David Prunty
turned back a determined Brad Mueller to chalk up his first late model feature victory of
the season in the Johnsonville Foods 65 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
Prunty led the entire race but
spent most of the time with the nose of Mueller’s Pontiac tucked squarely in his
mirrors until the defending track champion washed high in turn two with three laps to go,
enabling Prunty to drive to the victory.
“I’ve been missing some crew guys this year and I really have to thank the
couple of guys I’ve got,” Prunty said after explaining how he’s had to
piece together a pit crew to remain competitive this year. “The motor is really tired
but we’ve got the chassis working really good now. It just took a year to get it
right.”
Prunty and Conrad Morgan led the fastest late model feature field of the season (it took a
qualifying lap of under 11.5 seconds to get in) to the green flag with Prunty getting the
jump into turn one to lead the inside line cars of Morgan, Dave Teske, Mueller, and
Donavan Morgan. A quick caution flag for debris on lap four didn’t deter Prunty as he
maintained his lead once racing resumed as further back Austin Konetski, Lowell Bennett,
Dave Feiler, and Eric Fransen jockeyed for positions inside the top ten. Feiler had his
car turning well off the corners and he rooted his way up to the sixth position before his
night turned sour when he spun in turn one on lap 29 to produce the second caution flag.
Prunty led Morgan and Mueller on the restart and eased ahead as they raced side by side
for second while Fransen, Bennett, and Teske staged their own duel over the fourth spot.
Mueller worked his way around Morgan for second on lap 35 and began to chase down Prunty
who was encountering lapped traffic. Mueller steadily erased the gap between himself and
Prunty and seemed prepared to strike for the lead when the final caution flag flew on lap
49 after Feiler and Ed Grober tangled in turn one.
Prunty was unable to shake Mueller as the green flag flew as the defending track champion
made numerous attempts to edge to the inside. As Prunty and Mueller disputed the lead,
Bennett caught Morgan in the waning laps and those two also staged a side by side battle
for third. Mueller raced in Prunty’s tire tracks and made a serious bid for the lead
with three laps to go, but he couldn’t make the move stick and his car washed up the
speedway as Prunty gained a slight advantage. That was all Prunty needed to wrap up the
victory as Mueller could only close to his rear bumper at the finish while Bennett edged
Morgan for third. Teske ran a strong race to finish fifth while Fransen crossed the finish
line in sixth. Al Schill started 17th and raced his way to a seventh place finish while
Donavan Morgan, John Mueller, and Chad Barker rounded out the top ten.
Mike Strupp won the 30-lap late model semi-feature and transferred into the main event
along with Ken Wills who finished second. Mark Bitzan finished third followed by Dennis
Prunty and Lyle Messinger in fourth and fifth respectively. Brad Mueller won the dash and
Feiler turned in the quickest qualifying lap of the season to date after circling the
speedway in 11.294 seconds.
Dave Thomas nailed down his first feature win of the season as he took top honors in the
30-lap Midwest Sportsman feature.
Thomas began the race from the outside of the front row and took command of the event at
the start over Jay Shambeau, Johnny Carrao, and Colin Bamke. Thomas stretched out his lead
over Shambeau and Carrao as Bamke, Pat McIntee, and Brad Keith followed close behind. Gary
LaMonte, James Swan, and Josh Bauer began to slice their way toward the front and were
just outside the top five when the yellow flag flew on lap ten for Gregg Pawelski’s
mechanical problems.
Thomas was able to open up his lead on the restart as the everyone behind him began to
race each other for position in a tight pack. Bamke maneuvered his way around Shambeau and
into second place on lap 16 while Carrao and McIntee became momentarily entangled and slid
towards the turn two wall, opening the door for Swan and LaMonte to pass by and grab
fourth and fifth. Once in second place, Bamke rapidly made up the deficit between himself
and Thomas while Swan was closing in on the lead duo at an even faster rate. The top three
were nearly nose-to-tail with two laps to go and on the final lap, Swan made a charge on
Bamke for second as he ducked to the inside exiting turn four. Bamke turned back
Swan’s charge to keep second, but in doing so, was unable to pressure Thomas who
crossed the finish line for his first feature win of the season. LaMonte took the
checkered flag in fourth place while Shambeau completed the top five finishers.
Brad Keith scored the win in the Midwest Sportsman fast dash and Josh Bauer was the
fastest qualifier with a time of 12.518 seconds.
The limited late models made a special appearance at the Slinger Super Speedway and Mike
Beyer captured the win in the 30-lap feature.
A.J. Miller led the opening laps as Beyer used the inside to work on Gerry Junget for
second while Jon Reynolds and Mike Held raced close behind for fourth. Beyer was able to
dispatch Junget for second place on lap ten and five laps later Held also got around
Junget to grab third. Beyer and Held closed rapidly on Miller who was struggling with the
handling on his car and on lap 18, Beyer ducked to the inside to snag the lead. Held
followed to take second place a lap later, leaving Miller to battle with Reynolds for
third. Jim Jarlesberg started deep in the field and steadily worked his way into the top
five as the event remained under the green flag despite spins by Dylan Schuyler and Kyle
Jarelsberg. Beyer was able to keep Held at bay over the final laps and raced to the win
while Reynolds was able to pass Miller late in the event to finish third. Miller came home
in fourth place and Jim Jarlesberg finished in fifth.
Kyle Jarlesberg won the fast dash and Jim Jarlesberg led qualifying with a lap of 12.586
seconds.
Dale Prunty charged from the back of the field and executed a late race pass of Jeff Holtz
to drive to victory in the 25-lap Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modified feature.
Ron Schmitt led the opening laps as a tightly bunched field of cars that included Holtz,
Roger Schmid, Russ Moberly, and Dan Miller raced intensely for track position behind the
leader. Schmid momentarily broke loose in turn four on lap three and was slightly tagged
by cars behind him, sending him spinning on the frontstretch. As the rest of the field
tried to avoid the incident, Dan Miller and Steve Schulz were turned into the wall and the
race was slowed under the caution flag.
Holtz was able to get a run on Schmitt on the restart and immediately went to the outside
to challenge for the lead. Holtz made the outside work on lap five and took command of the
race while further back, Wes Biswell, Jason Feyereisen, and Prunty were working their way
toward the front. As Holtz led comfortably, Schmitt began to fade on the inside and fell
back to fifth by the halfway mark as Biswell, Feyereisen, and Prunty advanced to the
second through fourth spots respectively. Prunty was really hooked up in the later stages
of the race and he quickly dispatched Biswell for second and began to gain ground on Holtz
for the lead. With five laps to go, Prunty caught Holtz and took to the outside to attempt
a pass. Holtz held tough on the inside for a few laps but eventually was no match for
Prunty who took the lead with three laps to go. It was smooth sailing from there for
Prunty and he scored the win over Holtz and Biswell. Feyereisen finished fourth and
Schmitt was fifth.
Earlier in the evening, Holtz was victorious in the Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest
Modified dash and Prunty set fast time at 12.235 seconds.
Ryan Zielski and Robin Van Hoff each won Slinger Bees races while Mark Kissinger won the
Thunderstocks feature over Doug Pasbrig and Joe DeStefano Jr. Bill Ostovich won the
Port-A-John Speedway Guest car event and Justin Kraft drove his Nissan to the win in the
Spectator Elimination races. Scott Goetzke won the Figure 8 race to close out the evening.
For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE
Coca-Cola & Open Pantry Fan Appreciation Night
along with the Re-Scheduled Bob Fish Pontiac, Buick, GMC Alan Kulwicki Memorial this
Sunday at the Slinger Super Speedway!
By Lanae Weyer
Special; Slinger, WI - This Sunday Night
August 22nd it’s Coca-Cola & Open Pantry Fan Appreciation Night along with the
Re-Scheduled Bob Fish Pontiac, Buick, GMC Alan Kulwicki Memorial at the Slinger Super
Speedway.
The evening will be highlighted by twin 50 lap late model features and a full night of
racing in all divisions including the Eldorado Trailer Sales Midwest Modifieds, Slinger
Bees, Thunderstocks, Figure 8’s, Port A John Speedway Guest Cars, Spectator
Eliminators, Midwest Sportsman.
Kids 11 and under will have
a chance to participate in the Kids Coca-Cola 500 big wheel races and one lucky child will
win a bike. Kids 11 and under will be admitted free for the nights events.
The Alan Kulwicki Memorial is a prestigious event held in honor of the 1992 NASCAR Winston
Cup Champion Alan Kulwicki who won the Slinger track championship in 1977 and 1978.This
race has traditionally drawn many of the top late model drivers in the Midwest. Past
winners have included six-time track champion Conrad Morgan, Eric Fransen, Tony Strupp,
Defending Track Champion Brad Mueller, and current NASCAR Cup Champion Matt Kenseth.
To date there have been ten different winners in the 11 year history of the event with
Eric Fransen being the only two time winner.
To show appreciation toward the fans there will be free giveaways all through the evening
along with free beer and soda after the racing events while supplies last.
Entry forms are now available at the track office for the Spectator 200 Enduro for street-
type cars and the Compact 100 Special for compact and 4 cylinder cars that will be held on
September 19th. Interested novice drivers may call 262 644 5921 for more information.
Regular Sunday night racing action at Slinger Super Speedway runs through September 19,
2004. Spectator gates open at 4:45 p.m. with time trials at 5:15 p.m. and racing scheduled
to begin at 7 p.m. The Slinger Super Speedway is located ¼ mile West of Highway 41 on
Highway 144 in Slinger. For availability and other sponsorship opportunities including
discounted track billboards contact the Public Relations Department at (262) 628-7929.
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