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Mueller's Late Race Pass
Nets Him His First Victory of the Season
in the Al Schill Jr. Memorial!
By Dan Margetta |
May 16,
2004; Slinger, WI - A savvy late race
move propelled Brad Mueller from third to first and sent him on his way to his first
feature win of the season in a thrilling Al Schill Jr. Memorial 60-lap late model main
event Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
While Dave Feiler and Eric Fransen battled for the lead on lap 40, Mueller used
the outside and shot around both drivers to take the top spot exiting turn two en route to
the victory. “Why would you want to lift?,” Mueller played to the crowd
afterwards while describing the pass for the lead. “I make my living here on the
outside and I saw Eric (Fransen) was checking up for Dave (Feiler) a little bit because
his car was going away and I wanted to get around him on the top. I could roll my car
through the middle of the corner like Jack the Bear and I loved it!”
“It means nothing more to me to win Al Schill Jr. night again,” Mueller
continued as he paid tribute the late driver for whom the race was named. “There’s
only one person who deserves to win this race more, and that’s Al Schill Sr. because
he deserves to win this for the little guy.”
Dave Teske led the opening laps as Travis Dassow and Feiler raced for second ahead of Rich
Loch and David Prunty. Feiler used the outside to grab second place on lap five just
before Loch’s car experienced a mechanical problem, turning him into Prunty’s
path and sending both cars careening into the wall as the caution flag waved. Teske led
Feiler on the restart as Dassow did a fantastic job fending off Fransen and Mueller for
third. By lap 20, the outside groove came in and Fransen, Mueller, and fast qualifier
Austin Konetski used it to freight-train Dassow back to sixth while Feiler remained glued
to Teskes’s bumper at the front of the field.
Feiler looked to outside numerous times in an effort to take the lead but Teske remained
tough on the inside and held off the charges until lap 25 when Feiler finally was able to
power by. Still using the outside lane, Fransen, Mueller, and Konetski were also able to
move around Teske ten laps later and began to track down the leader. Feiler’s car
began to slide around in the inside lane and he began to lose ground to those chasing him.
Fransen took a run at the top spot in turn two on lap 40 and when a slight nudge made
Feiler’s car twitch, Mueller simply drove around both of them on the outside and into
the lead. Konetski also took advantage of the situation and raced by Feiler for third,
falling in line directly behind Mueller and Fransen. Once out front, Mueller would not be
denied as he drove to a three car-length victory over Fransen and Konetski. Feiler
finished fourth and Teske wrapped up a solid run with a fifth place finish. Dennis Prunty
was sixth while Dassow completed the race with an impressive seventh place finish. Andrew
Morrissey, Conrad Morgan, and Mike Strupp rounded out the top ten.
Fred Winn drove to victory in the 30-lap late model semi-feature while Ed Grober edged a
hard charging Al Schill Sr. for the final transfer spot into the main event. Chad Barker
and Randy Schuler rounded out the top five. David Prunty won the 7-lap fast dash and
Austin Konetski blistered the speedway at 11.297 seconds to pace qualifying.
The Midwest Sportsman 25-lap feature also provided plenty of excitement as Gary LaMonte
edged James Swan for the win by less than a car-length.
Jimmie Evans and Mike Graczkowski led the field to the green with Graczkowski pulling into
the lead in the early laps. Jason Taghikhani, Pat McIntee, and LaMonte held down the
second through fifth positions by lap five as James Swan, Jeremy Miller, and Josh Bauer
all were within striking distance of the leaders. A series of spins near the half-way mark
brought out the caution flag with Graczkowski leading Taghikhani and Lamonte. As racing
resumed, the field swarmed behind Graczkowski and he fell back as Taghikhani and LaMonte
battled for the lead which LaMonte finally claimed by lap 20. LaMonte still had his work
cut out for him in the final five laps, however as both Swan and Miller were slicing their
way toward the front. Swan caught LaMonte in the closing laps and made a bid for the win
on the final lap but his inside charge came up just short at the checkered flag as LaMonte
powered ahead on the outside to score the win. Miller finished third ahead of Graczkowski
in fourth and Josh Bauer in fifth.
Pat McIntee was the winner of the fast dash and Swan set fast time at 12.557 seconds.
Steve Schulz’s season continued on the upswing as he scored a wire-to-wire win in the
30-lap Midwest Modified feature.
Schulz used the inside lane to power his way to the lead at the start as Rick Ottman and
Jason Feyereisen raced for second with Feyereisen using the outside to take the position
by lap five. Dan Miller and Wes Biswell occupied the fourth and fifth spots as Schultz
continued to lead. A bit of bumper tag amongst the front runners allowed Schulz,
Feyereisen, and Miller to gain a sizeable advantage over the rest of the field by lap
seven as further back, Dale Prunty and Jeff Holtz caught Biswell and Ottman to battle for
the top five. With Schulz comfortably out front, Miller went to work on Feyereisen for
second and after several laps of racing alongside him, took the position by lap 21. The
field strung out over the final laps and as Schulz began to catch lapped traffic, Miller
and Feyereisen slowly began to reel him in while Prunty, Biswell, and Holtz were also
closing behind the top three. Miller’s bid for the victory ended however, just five
laps from the finish when he dropped out with mechanical problems. While Feyereisen was
able to close in on Schulz, he was unable to overtake him and Schulz drove under the
checkered flag as the winner. Prunty charged forward to finish third while Biswell and
Holtz completed the top five.
Feyereisen visited victory lane earlier in the evening when he captured the win in the
fast dash and Prunty was the fastest qualifier after turning a lap in at 12.179 seconds.
Les Weidenhoeft held off Mark Kissinger to win the 12-lap Thunderstocks feature. Joe
DeStefano Jr. finished third ahead of P.J. Cain and Josh Fischer. Jake Vanoskey and Robin
Van Hoff Jr. scored wins in Slinger Bee races and Jack Sutherland won the Spectator
Elimination races in his Mitsubishi. Scott Goetzke closed the night with a win in the
Figure 8 event.
For Complete results from the
RACESTAT computer CLICK HERE
BOB FISH PONTIAC-BUICK-GMC PRESENTS
THE ALAN KULWICKI MEMORIAL AT THE SLINGER SUPER SPEEDWAY!
Slinger, Wis., (Special) -
The Slinger Super Speedway pays tribute to the 1992 NASCAR Cup Champion this Sunday night
May 23 as Bob Fish Pontiac-Buick-GMC presents the 12th Annual Alan Kulwicki Memorial.
The evening, highlighted by a 65-lap late model feature 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. As an added bonus the Midwest Sportsman Championship Series will be
competing.
Spectator gates open at 4:45 PM with time trials at 5:15 PM and racing 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 Sunday night racing action runs through September 19, 2004, and
recently announced promotions include the Outlaw Monster Truck Show, Meet the Drivers on
selected dates. For more information contact the speedway’s office at 262.644.5921 or
visit their web site at slingersuperspeedway.com
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
including track signage and billboards contact the Public Relations Department at (262)
628-7929. |
