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SCHILL AND PRUNTY SPLIT FEATURE WINS IN MILLER LITE TWIN 75’S
SLINGER SEASON OPENER!!!
By Dan
Margetta |
(Slinger,
WI) April 23, 2006 - Al Schill began the 2006 season with
a bang by driving to a convincing win in the opening 75-lap late
model feature and David Prunty simply dominated the second event
during the Miller Lite Twin 75’s Season Opener at the Slinger Super
Speedway Sunday afternoon.
“I may have gotten lucky there when the outside groove didn’t go,”
the 61-year old Schill exclaimed afterwards. “We took our 1997 car
and had it redone for this season…just replaced the body and a few
crooked pieces. I can hardly imagine it myself but it looks like we
may having something for them this year.”
Rich Loch and Nick Schumacher led the field of the first feature to
the green and Schumacher sprinted to the early lead as Josh Bauer,
Travis Dassow, and Rich Bickle quickly filled the inside groove,
leaving Loch hung out up top. On lap nine, Loch’s car began to slip
off the corner and he made hard side-to-side contact with Bickle
while exiting turn four as the field remained under the green flag.
The impact was enough to damage Bickle’s machine severely enough
that he was forced to retire from the event as Schumacher continued
to maintain his lead over Dassow, Bauer, and Schill who had worked
his way into the top five after starting from the sixth row. Further
back, Jeremy Lepak along with Dennis and David Prunty began to
maneuver their way toward the front, entering the top ten just
before the first caution flag waved on lap 21 for a tangle involving
Matt Kocourek, Brad Mueller, and Colin Bamke in turn three.
Schill went to work on the restart, positioning himself to the
inside of Bauer and taking the third spot by lap 25 while Schumacher
continued to hold off Dassow for the lead. Two laps later, Schill
once again used the inside to snag second place from Dassow and then
used the same move entering turn three on lap 31 to move around
Schumacher for the lead. Behind the lead trio, David Prunty began to
look to the inside of Lepak in a battle over the fourth spot, which
culminated in the second caution flag of the race when Lepak spun in
turn two after contact between the two cars. Schill once again edged
out front on the restart while Dassow dove to the inside of
Schumacher in an attempt to take second. Dassow’s effort paid off on
lap 37 as he was able to take the spot, dropping Schumacher to third
ahead of Dennis Prunty and Tony Strupp.
With Schill continuing to lead, Prunty began to close in on Dassow
and Schumacher while Dave Feiler advanced into the top five by lap
38 just before the field was slowed for a third time following a
spin by Gary LaMonte in turn three. It was business as usual on the
restart for Schill as he edged ahead of the field, leaving Dassow,
Schumacher and Prunty to battle for second place. Dassow’s car
skidded up the track in turn four on lap 44 after receiving a slight
tap in the bumper and both Schumacher and Prunty were pass by into
second and third place respectively. With Schill comfortably out
front, Prunty began to pressure Schumacher for second place, taking
the position with a bump-and-run type move on lap 61. Once into
second, Prunty tried to track down Schill but was unable to close in
as Schill took the checkered flag for the win with Prunty having to
settle for second. Schumacher finished in third place while Dassow
and Feiler rounded out the top five finishers. Loch finished in
sixth place ahead of Lowell Bennett, visiting NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series driver Erik Darnell, Jeremy Lepak, and Randy Schuler.
David Prunty dominated the second 75-lap late model feature, leading
every lap en route to the commanding victory.
“It was a goal of ours to lead all those laps, “Prunty stated from
Victory Lane, referring to the lap-leading bonus he collected
courtesy of T & M Landscaping. “This car is good but it’s not
perfect yet…just wait until next week.”
Prunty and Nathan Haseleu occupied the front row at the start as
Prunty and Brad Mueller used the outside lane to pull ahead, leaving
Haseleu to battle with Gary LaMonte, Tony Strupp, Matt Kocourek, and
Lowell Bennett for third. The handling on Haseleu’s machine began to
fade and he slipped back, eventually leaving the track for
adjustments on lap 14 while Prunty and Mueller hooked up to pull
away from the field. The first caution flag appeared on lap 17 when
Dennis Prunty rode the turn one wall, hitting hard enough to launch
the car on two wheels before having it land back down on all four
tires.
As racing resumed, David Prunty and Mueller maintained their lead
while LaMonte, Kocourek, and Strupp ran side-by-side for third as
Bennett, Jeremy Lepak, Al Schill, and Rich Bickle followed close
behind. Kocourek moved to the inside of LaMonte to grab third place
on lap 25 just prior to the second yellow flag of the event which
flew on lap 31 following a spin by Strupp in turn two while battling
for fifth place. Prunty pulled away on the restart while Kocourek
began to pressure Mueller for second as Schill and Bickle worked
their way forward in the waning laps. A late caution on lap 65 for a
spin by Mark Bitzan set up a ten lap run toward the finish, but no
one had anything for Prunty as he steadily drove to the win ahead of
Mueller who held off Kocourek for second. Schill finished in fourth
place ahead of Bennett and Bickle. Gary LaMonte completed a strong
run with a seventh place finish while Jeremy Lepak, Dave Feiler, and
Rich Loch rounded out the top ten.
Mike Egan won the 30-lap late model semi-feature over John Mueller
and Tommy Pecaro while Jamie Wallace and Scott Schoeni finished in
fourth and fifth place respectively. Pete Weidmeyer was the winner
of the 15-lap late model consi, taking the checkered flag ahead of
Ed Grober and Jerry Eckhardt. Mike DeKuester finished in fourth
place and Bill Shavlik was fifth. Dennis Prunty edged Rich Bickle by
less than a car length to win the late model fast dash and Brad
Mueller topped the 43-car late model field in qualifying to set fast
time at 11.384 seconds.
James Swan made a late charge to take the lead with five laps to go
and went on to win the 40-lap Midwest Sportsman feature over Dave
Obermeyer and Pat McIntee.
Dean Olla led the opening laps as Jeff Holtz took to the high groove
to put pressure on the leader as Obermeyer closed in on the lead
duo. With Holtz still looking to the outside to get around Olla,
Obermeyer dove to the low side off turn two on lap 11, pulling off
an impressive move that resulted in him taking the lead entering
turn three. Once out front, Obermeyer began to pull away as Rob
Braun advanced into second place while further back, Swan steadily
made his way toward the front, bringing McIntee along with him.
Looking for his first Slinger feature win, Obermeyer maintained his
advantage as Braun began to close slightly as Swan and McIntee
continued to charge and close the gap between themselves and the
leaders. Debris on the speedway and mechanical issues on Mark
Kissinger’s car brought out the caution flag on lap 29 with
Obermeyer leading Braun, Swan, McIntee, and Holtz.
On the
restart, Swan was quick on the button and he immediately dove to the
inside of Braun to wrestle away second place as Obermeyer remained
out front. With the laps winding down, Swan stalked Obermeyer,
eventually closing to his rear bumper with less than ten laps to go.
With five laps to go, Obermeyer swung wide in the corner and Swan
was able to make the pass for the lead as the yellow flag flew a lap
later when Braun looped his car in turn two. Obermeyer made a valid
attempt to challenge for the win over the final laps, but Swan was
too strong and he charged to the win. Obermeyer finished in second
place ahead of McIntee, Mike Graczkowski, and Dave Thomas, who
earlier set fast time with a lap of 12.525 seconds.
Dale Prunty raced to the win in the 35-lap Midwest Modified feature.
Terry Helmbrecht and Bill Tandetzke led the field to the green and
Helmbrecht edged out front while Tandetzke battled for second with
John Kruschel. A quick caution flag appeared on lap two when Joey
Bentfield spun in turn three and as racing resumed, Tandetzke looked
to the outside of Helmbrecht for the lead as Prunty moved up into
third place followed closely by Ron Schmitt and Steve Huelsbeck.
Tandetzke used the outside to take the top spot on lap nine,
bringing Prunty with him and into second place.
A lap
later, Prunty also used the high side to race around Tandetzke to
take command of the race as Steve Schulz stalled on lap 11 to bring
out the caution flag. Back under green, Prunty pulled away while
Schmitt and Tandetzke fought for second place. On lap 13, Tandetzke
drifted high exiting turn two while Schmitt was looking to the
outside to pass and Tandetzke spun down the backstretch, putting the
field under yellow for a third time. As racing resumed, the closest
racing was for second on back as Prunty had a healthy lead while
Schmitt tried to hold off Kruschel and Huelsbeck. Kruschel and
Huelsbeck ran side-by-side for the third spot and the hard racing
between them cut down a tire on Huelsbeck’s car, sending him hard
into the wall in turn one on lap 15. Prunty led Schmitt and Jason
Feyereisen on the restart and those three moved ahead of the rest of
the field during the closing laps. Prunty held off Schmitt to take
the win while Feyereisen finished a close third. James Poleske
crossed the finish line in fourth place while early leader Terry
Helmbrecht finished in fifth. Earlier, Huelsbeck turned in a
qualifying lap of 12.233 seconds to become the afternoon’s fastest
qualifier.
For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer
CLICK HERE
Old
Wisconsin Smoke House 60 - Sunday Afternoon
50,000 Penny Drop for kids 11 and
under
(Slinger, WI) Sunday Afternoon
April 30th - Old Wisconsin presents The Old Wisconsin Smokehouse 60
Late Model Race along with a Full Racing Program that includes
Midwest Modified, Midwest Sportsman, Complete Car Care Slinger Bees,
Figure Eights, Port A John Speedway Guest Cars, One on One
Spectators, and Limited Late Models. Don't forget to stop by the
concession stand for a handcrafted Old Wisconsin brat, hot dog or
polish sausage.
Plus: Slinger Speedway will cover the front stretch with 50,000
pennies for kids 11 and under to gather up during intermission!
Remember we are racing Sunday afternoon April 30th, general
Admission Gates Open at Noon, Time Trials at 1:00 and Racing Starts
at 2:00 pm. Night racing starts May 7th.
There are select advertising and sponsorship opportunities as well
as company and group hospitality outings available for the 2006
season. For more information, contact the speedway at: 262-370-0440,
the track office at: 262-644-5921 or our web site at:
www.slingersuperspeedway.com.
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