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BENNETT SHADES SCHILL IN A THRILLER TO WIN THE BERRES BROTHERS
70!!
By
Dan Margetta |
(Slinger,
WI) June 25, 2006 - Lowell Bennett and Al Schill put on a
performance for the history books Sunday night at the Slinger Super
Speedway during the Berres Brothers Coffee Roasters 70 before
Bennett emerged with the victory in a photo finish.
“Thank God for Sunday nights, this was a lot of fun,” an obviously
excited Bennett told the crowd after edging Schill by about six
inches for the win. “My hat’s off to Al Schill, “ Bennett continued,
“Both of us have raced a lot of laps here and he’s a phenomenal
driver. We just had a ball here tonight.”
Bennett led the opening laps over Gary LaMonte as Mike Egan, Travis
Dassow, Nick Schumacher, and David Prunty all raced for the third
position. Prunty experienced mechanical issues which caused him to
slow on lap ten and in the effort to avoid his slowing car, Mike
Strupp made contact with the car in front of him and spun. Dennis
Prunty then slid into Strupp’s stalled car as the caution flag waved
with Bennett leading LaMonte, Egan, Dassow, and Schumacher. With the
field lined up in double-file formation for the restart, Bennett
worked the inside to continue to lead over LaMonte as Schumacher
also used the inside to advance to third place by lap 20, bringing
Jeremy Lepak forward with him.
The second caution flag of the event flew on lap 36 when Tommy
Pecaro looped his machine in turn two with Bennett still leading
over LaMonte, Schumacher, Lepak, and Colin Bamke who maneuvered his
way to fifth. Schumacher used the low lane on the restart to edge to
the inside of LaMonte for second place while Bamke charged on the
outside to pull alongside Lepak and he used the high side to move
forward until he clipped the backstretch wall on lap 39 and spun
backwards into the turn three concrete necessitating another caution
flag.
Schill had sliced his way forward prior to the yellow flag and lined
up in fourth for the restart, just behind LaMonte while Bennett
continued to pace the field over Schumacher. Schill used a strong
run on the outside as racing resumed to build enough momentum to
pull ahead of LaMonte and then ease to the inside of Schumacher to
take second. Schill then remained glued to Bennett’s bumper and
looked to the inside in a bid for the lead just past the 50-lap
mark. The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic just as Schill
pulled alongside Bennett and both drivers raced door to door for the
lead. Neither Bennett nor Schill lifted as they passed the lapped
cars, leaving barely enough room to fit a dime between their cars
but never touching in a classic battle for the top spot.
The race was slowed for a final time on lap 60 when LaMonte appeared
to have some mechanical issues and his car stoved the turn one wall
extremely hard. The incident set up a ten lap shootout for the win
and Schill chose the inside lane for the restart, leaving Bennett to
line up in the outside lane. Both Bennett and Schill were on the
mark for the restart and they resumed their side-by-side tussle for
the lead. Bennett was able to draw ahead slightly off the corners,
but Schill made up ground in the center of the turns and they stayed
together for the final ten laps. Schill managed to get a strong run
off turn four on the final lap and he made an inside charge as the
two headed for the checkered flag. At the stripe, Bennett barely
nipped Schill for the win with a margin of victory of about six
inches. Lepak took the checkered flag in third place right behind
the lead duo and just ahead of Schumacher who finished fourth. Fred
Winn turned in another steady and consistent run for a fine fifth
place result. Travis Dassow was sixth and Mike Egan finished in
seventh place. Josh Bauer, David Prunty, and Dave Teske rounded out
the top ten.
John Mueller took home top honors in the 30-lap late model
semi-feature over Tommy Pecaro and Randy Schuler. Mark Bitzan
finished fourth ahead of Jim Schmittinger. Matt Raudabaugh won the
12-lap late model consi over Shawn Roethle and Jim Jesoshek. Gregg
Pawelski and Bill Shavlik rounded out the top five. Nick Schumacher
was the winner of the late model fast dash and Ken Wills blistered
the speedway in 11.343 seconds to set fast time.
Jay Shambeau charged to the win in the 40-lap Midwest Sportsman
Series feature, holding off Jeff Holtz at the finish.
Shambeau used the outer groove to take the lead at the start while
Gary Tisler, Ryan Zielski, and Holtz followed. A spin by Corey Funk
in turn two produced the caution flag on lap six with Shambeau
leading Tisler, Zielski, Bobby Giers, and Holtz. Shambeau and Tisler
battled door to door as racing resumed and they disputed the lead
for the next 15 laps as neither could gain enough advantage to take
sole possession of the top spot. Finally Shambeau was able to break
away leaving Tisler to fight for second with Zielski, Holtz, Giers,
Brad Keith, and Mike Graczkowski. As the group approached lapped
traffic, they scattered to get around the slower machines and
Zielski chased his car up the track in turn two after contact from
behind, leaving Graczkowski with nowhere to go but the turn two
wall. Zielski spun exiting the corner as well and the race was
slowed under the yellow flag with Shambeau leading Tisler, Holtz,
and Giers. Shambeau chose the outside lane for the restart and used
the groove to keep the lead as the green flag waved. Tisler found
himself trapped in the inside lane as Holtz used the high side to
take second place on lap 25. Shambeau steadily drove the final laps
and he took the checkered flag for his first feature victory of the
season. Holtz crossed the stripe for a strong second place finish
ahead of Giers who came home in third place. Pat McIntee charged
late in the event to grab fourth place at the checkered while Brad
Keith was fifth.
Bobby Giers won the Midwest Sportsman fast dash and Mike Graczkowski
was the fastest qualifier at 12.672 seconds.
Jefferson Speedway standout Jon Ovadahl Jr. visited the Slinger
Super Speedway and left with the hardware in the 30-lap limited late
model feature.
Jeff Steenbergen grabbed the early lead over Tyler James and Kris
Kelly while Andy Wendt, Dave McCardle, and Nick Schumacher jockeyed
for spots behind them. Steenbergen was able to scoot away from the
field on lap ten when James became momentarily crossed up in turn
two, allowing Kelly and Wendt to close in. Kelly was able to get to
the inside of James on lap 15 to take second place and Wendt
followed suit a few laps later to take third. Three laps later,
Schumacher also tried to get an inside run on James and as the two
entered turn three, their cars touched and James spun. Chris
Ratajczyk and Eric Fransen were unable to avoid the incident and
they collided as the caution flag flew.
On the restart, Steenbergen spun the tires while accelerating to the
green and Kelly took over the top spot from the outside. Behind the
lead duo, Ovadahl was slicing his way forward, pulling behind Wendt
and into fourth by lap 20. On lap 24, Ovadahl muscled his way by
Wendt and into third and one lap later another caution waved as
Jason Deppe spun down the frontstretch. In a surprising move, Kelly
chose the outside lane for the restart, allowing Steenbergen the
inside line with Ovadahl behind him. Kelly was unable to clear
Steenbergen on the restart and they raced alongside each other with
Ovadahl nipping on Steenbergen’s heels in third place. As the three
raced to the white flag, Ovadahl ran Steenbergen hard into turn
three and was able to work his way to the inside. With Ovadahl
edging to the inside of Steenbergen, Kelly found himself out of room
on the top side and he fell to third as Ovadahl completed the pass
entering turn one on the final circuit. Ovadahl was able to turn
back any challenges from Steenbergen and he drove to the win,
leaving Steenbergen to settle for a second place finish. Andy Wendt
took the checkered flag in third followed by Kelly and Scott
Nottestad.
Nick Schmacher was the winner of the limited late model fast dash
and Eric Fransen was the fastest qualifier of the night after
turning in a lap of 12.336 seconds.
Steve Huelsbeck used the outside lane to take the lead late in the
event en route to victory in the 20-lap Midwest Modified feature.
Joe Houpt paced the beginning circuits while John Kruschell and Wes
Biswell settled into second and third respectively. Houpt and
Kruschell battled side-by-side for the lead over the first ten laps
while Biswell ran directly behind them, looking for a way to get by.
On lap eleven, Kruschell had to check up slightly in turn four as
Biswell and Huelsbeck took advantage of the situation and took over
second and third respectively. A lap later, Biswell also used the
outside to take command of the race and Huelsbeck worked his way
into second place. Huelsbeck then was able to move to the outside of
Biswell and gradually began to edge ahead as Biswell’s car appeared
to skate slightly off the corners. Huelsbeck took the top spot with
two laps to go but couldn’t shake Biswell who continued to work the
inside. On the final lap, Huelsbeck pushed up a bit in the final
corner, opening the door for Biswell to make a final challenge that
came up just short at the stripe as Huelsbeck took the win. Biswell
finished a close second while Dale Prunty worked his way up from the
back to come home in third place. Ron Schmitt was fourth and Jason
Feyereisen was fifth.
Earlier, Schmitt won the Midwest Modified fast dash and Feyereisen
was the fastest qualifier at 12.297 seconds.
Shawn Gavin and Roman Blank each came away with wins in the Slinger
Bees events and Randy Gray won the Port-A-John Speedway Guest Car
race. Willie Van Camp closed the night with a win in the Figure 8
event.
For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer
CLICK HERE
Huge Fireworks Show
(Slinger, WI) June 25, 2006 –
Sunday Night July 2nd Keith’s Marina Firecracker 85! HUGE Fireworks
Display! 85 lap Late Model Feature along with our regular Sunday
program that includes Midwest Modified, Midwest Sportsman, Complete
Car Care Slinger Bees, Figure Eights, Port A John Speedway Guest
Cars and the Spectator Eliminators. Plus Thunderstocks! Gates open
at 4:45, Qualifying at 5:15, and Racing at 7:00. Rain date Monday
night July 3rd.
Keith’s Marina is located on Highway 33 West in West Bend. Stop in
and check out their Huge indoor showrooms. Keith’s Marina sells
Bayliner, Maxum, Monark, Smoker Craft, Sylvan, and Trophy Boats.
Powering Keith’s Marina Boats are Mercury engines, number one on the
water. Along with selling quality boats, motors and equipment
Keith’s Marina has certified technicians ready to take care of your
needs. Give Tim Keith a call at: 262-334-9389 or check out the
Keith’s Marina website at: www.keithsmarina.com.
There are select advertising and sponsorship opportunities as well
as company and group
outings available for the 2006 season. For more information, contact
the speedway’s public relations department at: 262-370-0440, the
track office at: 262-644-5921 or visit our web site at:
www.slingersuperspeedway.com.
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