|
Championship Night at the 141 Speedway
Francis Creek, WI.
September 14, 2002
by Dan Deicher
Every effort was made to get in championship night at the 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, Wisconsin Saturday night, but Mother Nature once again squared off against track Owner, Matt Rowe, and this time Mother Nature won. After rainfall dampened racing efforts for a couple of hours, the championship races between the Papa John's Mid American's and 141 Speedway Super Stocks could not be held, which meant that whomever was leading in the points categories for each division, was crowned champ. So enough of the sappy stuff.
The 2002 141 Speedway Papa John's Mid American Champion is De Pere, Wisconsin's Michael Rahn and the 2002 Mid-Am Rookie of the Year went to Travis Groelle of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The 2002 141 Speedway Super Stock Champions is Andy Casavant of Two Rivers, Wisconsin and the 2002 Super Stock Rookie of the Year is Paul Rabas of Maribel, Wisconsin.
Rahn's race to the championship was based on consistency in 2002 as he compiled 9 top 5 finishes and 3 top 10's with no feature wins in 12 races. Rahn, in the #96 Chevy Monte Carlo, also won one heat race this year along with being the fast qualifier once. Rahn proved to be one of the fastest cars in the Mid-Am's this year as he also posted 4 second place quick times. Rahn beat his closest competitor in the points race, Steve Bricker of the Haese/Bricker, by 51 points and "The Branch Flash" Greg Herrmann by 87 points. As for Rookie of the Year, 18 year old Travis Groelle, the year was not as spectacular.....but it sure got better. Groelle, started out the year placing in the top ten three times out of five races, but for the next 5 weeks, Groelle would see 10th as his best finish. At that time, a For Sale sign went out on his car, and one wondered what the future would hold for the teen driver. That was all put to rest towards the end of the season as Groelle would see three consecutive top five finishes, two of those near feature wins. What are Groelle's plans for 2003? He says for now his plans are undecided. Groelle has raced at the 141 Speedway four years now...3 seasons in a hobby stock and one year in a his current # B3 Dodge Avenger Mid-Am car. He also finished 7th in the points standings.
Staying consitent was also the story for Super Stock Champ, Andy Casavant in 2002. In 16 races this year, he finished 13 times in the top 5 and pulled down one feature win back in June. Casavant, # 25 Chevy Monte Carlo, also had one of the fastest cars on the track, with 6 fast times and nine times in the top ten. He beat out the team of Erol Berry/ Greg Haese by 17 points and Jessie Gracyalny by only 83 points. As for Rookie of Year Paul Rabas, 15 races may of not been enough for him as his last 4 races saw top ten finishes, two in the top five. On the season, Rabas, # 77 Chevy Lumina, enjoyed 10 top 5 finishes and 1 feature win. He too was in a fast ride, as he qualified 12 times in the top 10. Rabas finished the 2002 season in fourth place in the points race.
Next weekend, the champions will be crowned in the Hobby Stock and Mini-Stock divisions. Crystal Koenig, is trying to enter the 2003 Super Stock division as the Hobby Stock champ and Mat Vanelzen has almost wrapped up the Mini-Stock title. September 21st also brings the 5th Annual Charter Communications Street Stock Super Nationals to the 141 Speedway along with Powder Puff and Mechanic races. The pits will open at 2pm, qualifying will get underway at 4:30 adn the green flag drops on racing action at 6pm. For those that hold tickets to tonight's cancelled races, they will be good several ways. You can use them for next weekend's program or you can get $7 off of the $10 advance ticket price or $7 off of the $12 day of show price for the September 28th "Mayhem Night of Thrills and Spills", featuring School Bus races, Monster Trucks and races featuring the Double-O and 2nd across the line and also the Burnout contest, Rollover contest and spin to win race. The rain checks may also be used for entry into the Creepy Classic Compact Car Enduro being held on October, 26th.
For more information, check out the track's website at www.141speedway.com
E-mail
us with your comments.
|
|
