Meyerhoffer Gets First Win In Ritter Technologies-Parker Store 75! By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); July 20, 2008 - Mike Meyerhofer turned back all challenges to score his first career late model feature victory in the Ritter Technologies-Parker Store 75 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“We just had a real good car tonight and for a minute there I really didn’t know if we were going to do it, “ an excited Meyerfhofer explained after surviving a late restart with a determined Dennis Prunty and Jeremy Lepak breathing down his tailpipe to score the win. “But it turned out good and it’s just great to be here, it really is.”

Photo Highlights

Mike Meyerhofer Jr. (#37) scored his first career Super Late Model feature victory by topping the Ritter Technologies-Parker Store 75. Al Schill (#14) and Scott Schoeni (#31) battle for second place ih the Super Late Model feature, early in the contest. Dennis Prunty (#42) and Dale Prunty (#17) did battle for position in the Super Late Model main event. Mike Egan (#89) topped the Super Late Model dash. Ron Ragan (#00) scored a victory in the Super Late Model semi-feature. Jeremy Lepak (#40) set the fastest lap in qualifying for the Super Late Models. Chris Ratajczyk (#21) led the Limited Late Model feature from green to checkered to score the win. Dave McCradle (#57) won the Limited Late Model dash. Steve Schulz (#45) set fast time and won the Midwest Modified feature contest. Jeff Holtz (#3) claimed the Midwest Sportsman feature victory. The fast qualifying lap in the Midwest Sportsman division was turned in by Dave Thomas. Al Stippich (#66) netted the Thunderstocks feature win. A late race pass by Ken Schraufnagel (#29) would give him the victory in the Slinger Bee feature.

Meyerhofer launched into the lead from the outside groove at the drop of the green flag over Scott Schoeni, Al Schill, and Tommy Pecaro while Dennis Prunty and Mike Egan battled for fifth. Schill worked his way around Schoeni for second on lap eight just before the first caution flag waved when Pecaro spun entering turn one and skated backwards along the wall. Schill lined up on the outside groove for the restart and was quick on the button to charge by Meyerhofer for the lead as racing resumed. With Schill maintaining a slight lead over Meyerhofer, Prunty raced his way into third while Egan advanced to fourth. Meyerhofer remained determined in the inside lane and eventually edged to the inside of Schill to retake the lead on lap 15.

With Schill caught in the outside groove, Prunty was able to move past to take over second as Dale Prunty, Jeremy Lepak, and Lowell Bennett also used the inside track to gain the third through fifth slots respectively. Meyerhofer began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 33 as Dennis Prunty began to stalk him, slowly erasing the gap between them with Dale Prunty and Lepak trying to reel in the top two. Meyerhofer bobbled off turn two on lap 41, allowing Dennis Prunty, Dale Prunty, and Lepak to close in as the top four raced nose to tail.

 Dale Prunty made a move on Dennis Prunty for second on lap 48 and as the brothers battled for second, Meyerhofer was able to scoot away. Dennis Prunty fended off the challenges of his brother by lap 51 and as Dale Prunty began to fade back, Lepak and Lowell Bennett went around him and into second and third. Meyerhofer held to the inside line as the laps clicked away as Dennis Prunty gradually began to move in once again. With just three laps to go, Kelsey Bauer spun and made hard contact with the turn one wall to draw the caution flag and set up a dash to the checkered flag.

With Meyerhofer occupying the inside and Dennis Prunty on the outside, the restart was aborted twice as each driver tried to get the jump on the other and while the end result was push and shove type contact among the lead cars, there were no spins, only a stern warning from the flagman. Racing finally resumed on the third attempt and Meyerhofer was able to outdistance Prunty into turn one while Lepak stuck the nose of his car to the inside in an effort to take over second place. Lepak took command of second a lap later as Meyerhofer led the field under the white flag. With the field racing for the win, fluid began leaking for a car back in the pack causing several cars behind the leaders to spin, bringing out the caution flag. Because the leaders had already received the white flag, the event was ended under the caution flag with Meyerhofer scoring the win over Lepak and Dennis Prunty. Bennett finished fourth and Dale Prunty was fifth. David Prunty and Mike Egan were sixth and seventh while Nick Schumacher, Scott Schoeni, and Dan Jung rounded out the top ten.

Ron Ragan took top honors in the 12-lap late model semi-feature over Kelsey Bauer and Jerry Eckhardt. John Pellman and George Olson completed the top five finishers. Mike Egan won the late model fast dash and Jeremy Lepak was the fastest qualifier at 11.478 seconds.

Chris Ratajczyk captured the victory in the 35-lap limited late model main event, leading flag to flag to take the win over Steve Apel and Scott Ascher.

Jake Vanoskey and Ratajczyk led the field to the green flag and Ratajczyk jumped to the lead over Vanoskey and Steve Apel. Scott Ascher raced his way into fourth place on lap three and Apel took over second on lap six. One lap later, Ascher moved into third bringing Dave McCardle along with him and into fourth. With Ratajczyk maintaining the lead, Apel and Ascher tried to track him down while Jon Reynolds Jr. sliced his way forward to enter the top five. Ratajczyk was unchallenged en route to the victory while Apel took the checkered flag in second place. Ascher finished third followed by McCardle and Reynolds Jr. Jon Ovadal Jr. crossed the finish line in sixth place ahead of Jake Vanoskey and Rob Braun. Chris Blawat and Trevor Dassow were ninth and tenth respectively.

Dave McCardle won the limited late model fast dash and Jon Reynolds Jr. set fast time for the division with a lap of 12.289 seconds.

Jeff Holtz charged to the victory in the 30-lap Midwest Sportsman feature, taking the checkered flag ahead of Mike Graczkowski and Kenny Joosten.

Holtz used his outside front row starting position to gain the lead on the opening lap as Mike Graczkowski edge by Bobby Giers for second. As Holtz led over Graczkowski, Kenny Joosten began to pressure Giers for third place with Dave Thomas racing close behind. On lap five, hard racing between Joosten and Thomas resulted in both cars sliding sideways in turn four but both drivers saved their cars and continued on as Holtz continued to lead over Graczkowski and Giers. As the event neared the halfway mark, Holtz was able to stretch his lead as Graczkowksi’s car kicked loose off turn two, allowing Joosten to close in for a battle over second. Holtz drove the final laps flawlessly and took the checkered flag first to score the win. Graczkowski was able to hold off Joosten for second while Bobby Giers and Dave Thomas were fourth and fifth.

Holtz also was the winner of the Midwest Sportsman fast dash while Dave Thomas toured the speedway in 12.726 seconds and was the Midwest Sportsman fastest qualifier.

Steve Schulz took the lead on lap six and went on to win the 25-lap Midwest Modified main event.

Joey Bentfield and Ron Schmitt paced the field at the start and Schmitt led the opening laps. Schulz began from the sixth starting position and went to the outside to gain positions, using the high side to move into second place by lap five. One lap later, Schulz was able to work his way around Schmitt for the lead using the outside lane. Behind Schulz and Schmidt, Joey Bentfield and Joel Houpt battled for position ahead of John Kruschel and Justin Okruhlica.

The torrid battle between Bentfield and Houpt resulted in Bentifled looping around in turn three on lap 21 to draw the caution flag, sending both drivers to the rear of the field for the restart. As racing resumed, Schulz led over Schmitt and Kruschel. On the final lap, Okruhlica’s car spun in turn four producing another yellow flag as John Henning’s car slid into the stalled car of Okruhlica. Because the incident occurred after the leaders had received the white flag, the event was completed under yellow with Schulz scoring the win over Schmitt. Kruschel finished third while Bentfield and Matt Pate rounded out the top five.

Ron Schmitt was the victor in the Midwest Modified fast dash and Steve Schulz set fast time at 12.555 seconds.

Al Stippich celebrated his birthday with a win in the 18-lap Thunderstock main event over Aaron Cain and John Daley.

Jake Larson led the beginning three laps before Bernie Leonard worked the inside lane to take command of the race on lap four. Leonard set the pace over the next seven laps as John Daley moved into second place while Al Stippich and Aaron Cain charged their way to the front after starting deep in the field. By lap eleven, Leonard held the inside lane with Daley alongside in the high groove while Stippich and Cain raced side by side directly behind them.

With Stippich on his rear bumper, Daley shot into the lead on lap 12 as Stippich took over second place directly behind him while Cain and Leonard raced for third. Once clear of traffic, Stippich again took to the high side and used the upper lane to get the advantage on Daley to take the lead on lap 14 as Cain moved in to challenge for second. Two laps later, Cain was in second place and tried to track down Stippich for the lead. Stippich was not to be challenged however and he raced to the checkered flag for the win, leaving Cain to settle for second. Daley finished in third place ahead of Ryan Farrell and Bernie Leonard. Stippich also was the fastest qualifier at 13.601 seconds.

Ken Schraufnagel used the high groove to take the lead on lap 14 and went on to win the 18-lap Slinger Bees feature over Erik Long and Matt Klenz. Tom Berens and Andy Welter rounded out the top five. Erik Long was the fastest qualifier in the Slinger Bees division. Brian Palen was the winner of the Speedway Guest Car race and Sean Friedeck won the Spectator Eliminator races in his Corvette. Justin Poenitsch closed out the night by scoring his second win of the season in the Figure 8 event.

Old Wisconsin Smokehouse 60 - Free Old Wisconsin Snack Sticks

(Slinger, WI); Special -  Sunday Night July 27th, it’s the Old Wisconsin Smokehouse 60. See a 60 lap Late Model Feature along with the Limited Late Model, Slinger Bee’s, Thunderstock, Figure 8, Midwest Sportsman, Speedway Guest Cars and One-on-One spectator eliminator races. Old Wisconsin will be giving out FREE snack sticks and other goodies too! Gates open at 3:45, qualifying at 4:15, and racing at 6 pm.


Every racer knows there’s only one way to spice up the action on the track. So, get on over to your local grocery store for the all-natural spices of Old Wisconsin Sausage, the official sausage of Slinger Speedway. And let the better flavor of Old Wisconsin drive you all the way to victory lane. Check out Old Wisconsin on line at: www.oldwisconsin.com

Don’t forget our NEW 6 pm Start Time!

There are select advertising and sponsorship opportunities as well as company and group outings available for the 2008 season. For more information, contact the speedway’s PR and Marketing at: 262-370-0440, slingerspeedway1@aol.com, or visit our web site at: www.slingersuperspeedway.com.