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Meyerhoffer Gets
First Win In Ritter Technologies-Parker Store 75!
By Dan Margetta
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(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.”
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.
RITTER
TECHNOLOGIES-PARKER STORE 75
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LATE MODEL FEATURE -75 LAPS |
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|
1. |
Mike Meyerhofer (Burlington) |
15. |
Kelsey Bauer (Sheboygan Falls) |
2. |
Jeremy Lepak (Wausau) |
16. |
Brad Dahmer (Sheboygan Falls) |
3. |
Dennis Prunty (Lomira) |
17. |
Ron Ragan (Hartford) |
4. |
Lowell Bennett (Neenah) |
18. |
Tommy Hromadka (Brookfield) |
5. |
Dale Prunty (Allenton) |
19. |
Tommy Pecaro (Markesan) |
6. |
David Prunty (Brownsville) |
20. |
Mike Strupp (Theresa) |
7. |
Mike Egan (Slinger) |
21. |
|
8. |
Nick Schumacher (Hartford) |
22. |
|
9. |
Scott Schoeni (Slinger) |
23. |
|
10. |
Dan Jung (Iron Ridge) |
24. |
|
11. |
Randy Schuler (Mequon) |
25. |
|
12. |
Al Schill (Franklin) |
26. |
|
13. |
Chris Carlson (South Milwaukee)
|
27. |
|
14. |
Jeff Way (Burlington) |
28. |
|
|
LATE MODEL SEMI-FEATURE 12-LAPS |
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|
1. |
Ron Ragan (Hartford) |
4. |
John Pellmann (Wauwatosa) |
2. |
Kelsey Bauer (Sheboygan Falls) |
5. |
George Olson (Brookfield) |
3. |
Jerry Eckhardt (Johnson Creek) |
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|
LATE MODEL FAST DASH WINNER- Mike
Egan (Slinger) |
LATE MODEL FASTEST
QUALIFIER-Jeremy Lepak (Wausau) 11.478 seconds |
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LIMITED LATE MODEL FEATURE
35-LAPS |
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|
1. |
Chris Ratajczyk (West Bend) |
4. |
Dave McCardle (Menomonee Falls) |
2. |
Steve Apel (Colgate) |
5. |
Jon Reynolds Jr. (Roscoe, IL) |
3. |
Scott Ascher (Sussex) |
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LIMITED LATE MODEL FAST DASH
WINNER-Dave McCardle (Menomonee Falls) |
LIMITED LATE MODEL FASTEST
QUALIFIER-Jon Reynolds Jr. (Roscoe, IL) |
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MIDWEST SPORTSMAN FEATURE 30-LAPS |
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1. |
Jeff Holtz (Muskego) |
4. |
Bobby Giers (Wonder Lake, IL) |
2. |
Mike Graczkowski (Jackson) |
5. |
Dave Thomas (Franklin) |
3. |
Kenny Joosten (Wonder Lake, IL) |
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MIDWEST SPORTSMAN FAST DASH
WINNER-Jeff Holtz (Muskego) |
MIDWEST SPORTSMAN FASTEST
QUALIFIER-Dave Thomas (Franklin) 12.726 seconds |
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MIDWEST MODIFIED FEATURE 25-LAPS |
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1. |
Steve Schulz (Menomonee Falls) |
4. |
Joey Bentfield (Waukesha) |
2. |
Ron Schmitt (Jackson) |
5. |
Matt Pate (Menomonee Falls) |
3. |
John Kruschel (Sussex) |
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MIDWEST MODIFIED FAST DASH
WINNER- Ron Schmitt (Jackson) |
MIDWEST MODIFIED FASTEST
QUALIFIER-Steven Schulz (Menomonee Falls) 12.555 seconds |
|
THUNDERSTOCK FEATURE - 18 LAPS |
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|
1. |
Al Stippich (West Bend) |
4. |
Ryan Farrell (East Troy) |
2. |
Aaron Cain (Slinger) |
5. |
Bernie Leonard (Antioch, IL) |
3. |
John Daley (West Bend) |
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THUNDERSTOCK FASTEST QUALIFIER-Al
Stippich (West Bend) 13.601 seconds |
|
SLINGER BEES RACE 1 - 18 LAPS |
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1. |
Ken Schraufnagel (Slinger) |
4. |
Tom Berens (Slinger) |
2. |
Erik Long (Brookfield) |
5. |
Andy Welter (Slinger) |
3. |
Matt Klenz (West Bend) |
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SLINGER BEES FASTEST
QUALIFIER-Erik Long (Brookfield) 15.666 seconds |
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SPEEDWAY GUEST CAR RACE
WINNER-Brian Palen |
SPECTATOR ELIMINATOR WINNER-Sean
Friedeck (Waukesha) |
FIGURE 8 WINNER-Justin Poenitsch
(Kewaskum) |
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