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Final Lap Move Nets Mock The Win
June 8, 2002
Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway
Beaver Dam, WI
By Craig Seaver
It was Wichinski's Cruises and Trips at the Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway as the IRA Outlaw Sprints came to town. A capacity crowd was on hand for the annual Rick Schmidt Memorial race. Rick Schmidt was a long time racer and supporter of the IRA and was instrumental in getting the IRA to come to the Fairgrounds Speedway. 23 laps and $2300 bucks would go to the driver able to tame the big half-mile. Early on it was apparent that Travis Whitney would be hard to beat by setting quick time at 16.653 seconds.
The IMCA Modifieds got the first call to run their feature and they set the tone for the night as the entire field was two, three and four wide. Jay Schraufnagel emerged from the pack as the leader while the rest of the field ran side by side. Schraufnagel separated himself from John Schultz and the rest as the laps went on. A caution on lap 13 would negate the full straightaway lead. On the restart though Scott Lewis moved into second and did not allow Schraufnagel to move away. Dave Schoenberger, running well lately, moved into third but was unable to track down the leaders. Jay Schraufnagel would take the win a couple car length's ahead of Lewis.
Track conditions were perfect as the groove was wide, smooth and fast for the sprint car feature. Jim Melis set the pace early before Scott Neitzel tracked him down at the halfway mark. Using the low line, Neitzel put some distance between himself and Travis Whitney and the fading Melis. By lap 16 the leader started to encounter lap traffic and was slowed enough to allow Whitney to close onto his rear. The leaders set a dizzying pace as they went around and under lap traffic at will. Kim Mock would also benefit from the lap traffic by catching and moving to the outside of Whitney for second. Oblivious to the two running side by side behind him, Neitzel continued to lead until lap 21 when a caution came out. Neitzel would continue to lead on the restart but as the white flag flew Neitzel went to protect the outside allowing Mock to dive underneath. It was an incredible move as Mock came from several car lengths back to make a banzai move for first. Mocks car would stay under him though and the two raced side by side down the backstretch and into the final turn. Mock would beat the defending race winner Neitzel and Whitney to pick up the win. Afterward Mock would state that he really only had one trophy displayed in his house and that was his Frank Filskov Memorial race trophy. Now he would have two with the addition of his Rick Schmidt Memorial race trophy.
Steve Frees and Mike Czarapata ran side by side for the opening laps of the IMCA Stock feature as the rest of the field bounced off one another. By lap 5 Jeremy Christians assumed the lead while Brandon Czarapata and Roger Johnson dueled for second. Czarapata and Johnson could not track down the leader and were forced to settle for second and third respectively. Christians would score his third straight win at the speedway.
Next week is regular night of racing at the track with the promotions committee putting on their annual Schools Out Celebration. Kids who bring in their report cards will receive a free bag of popcorn and there will also be other activities with prizes being given to the youth and their families.
RACE SUMMARY
IRA Sprints
Feature: 1) Kim Mock; 2) Scott Neitzel; 3) Travis Whitney; 4) Todd Hepfner; 5) John Haeni; 6)Jim Melis; 7) Mike Stefka; 8) Paul Ptasienski; 9) Wayne Modjeski; 10) Dave Enders
Heat Winners: Kim Mock, Joe Symoens, Jim Melis
B-Main Winner: Travis Whitney
Fast Time: Travis Whitney, 16.653 seconds
IMCA Modified
Feature: 1) Jay Schraufnagel, Beaver Dam; 2) Scott Lewis, Waukau; 3) Dave Schoenberger, Beaver Dam; 4) Casey Koch, Beaver Dam; 5) John Schultz, Oshkosh; 6) Dennis Haldeman, Janesville; 7) Rob Olson, Lake Villa, Ill; 8) Sammy Strasser, Beaver Dam; 9) Jamie Schmidt, Seymour; 10) Kelly Brown, Randolph
First Heat: 1) Rob Olson; 2) Dave Schoenberger; 3) Kelly Brown
Second Heat: 1) Scott Lewis; 2) Casey Koch, Beaver Dam; 3) Dan Musbach, Grafton
Third Heat: 1) Jay Schraufnagel; 2) Dennis Schultz, Oshkosh; 3) Dennis Haldeman
IMCA Stock
Feature: 1) Jeremy Christians, Horicon; 2) Brandon Czarapata, Pulaski; 3) Roger Johnson, Saukville; 4) Jerry Schaalma, Juneau; 5) Mike Czarapata, Pulaski; 6) Steve Frees, Fond du Lac; 7) Bob Mann, Juneau; 8) Jeff Owens, Randolph; 9) Kevin Rank, Ripon; 10) Scott Erdmann, Juneau
First Heat: 1)John Stanton, Reeseville; 2) Jeff Owens; 3) Steve Frees
Second Heat: 1) Jeremy Christians; 2) Brandon Czarapata; 3) Roger Johnson
Point Standings as of June 8th, 2002
Shell Travel Mart IMCA Modified Point Standings
POS CAR# DRIVER POINTS
1 8 Dennis Haldemann 143
2 87 Casey Koch 143
3 37 John Schultz 136
4 16 Dave Schoenberger 133
5 10s Jay Schraufnagel 131
6 6L Scott Lewis 126
7 7 Todd Ascherien 122
8 44 Kelly Brown 120
9 03v Andy Voigt 118
10 77p Michelle Ploeckelman 104
11 3m Dan Musbach 101
12 16k Kory Koltz 99
13 95 Rob Olson 98
14 34 Nick Woods 92
15 24s Sammy Strasser 89
16 39 Dennis Schultz 81
17 6d Ed Devall 74
18 67m Scott Magsamen 72
19 27 Darren Otto 68
20 142 Jamie Schmidt 66
21 03t Lee Tibbitts 61
22 78p Robert Ploechelmann 60
23 77 Craig Wheeler 57
24 00 Dave "Lightning" Hatton 50
25 98g Tim Gardiner 49
26 15g David Grenlund 42
27 15 Al Strobel 40
28 9p Craig Priewe 39
29 42 Kevin Kleinschmidt 33
30 4t Kurt TerBeest 31
31 2r Larry Romprey 31
32 56 Dave Kroening 27
33 10g Carl Geier 21
34 93 Larry Zirbel 15
35 63w Michael Wankowski 11
36 11x Steve Boelter 11
95.3 WXRO IMCA Stock Car Point Standings
POS CAR# DRIVER POINTS
1 99 Jeremy Christians 153
2 33c Brandon Czarapata 148
3 20 Jeff Owens 145
4 33e Roger Johnson 140
5 27 John Stanton 135
6 22 Scott Erdmann 134
7 19 Bob Mann 134
8 30 Rob Schmid 132
9 18 Thomas Boerson 127
10 26 Jerry Schaalma 127
11 43 Mike Czarapata 125
12 15 Dave Voigt 120
13 8r Kevin Rank 117
14 2 Curt Beek 116
15 81 Lonnie Smith 77
16 7 Steve Frees 67
17 01 Troy Jerovetz 54
18 18r Todd Rohde 47
19 0 Kerry Douglas 28
20 199 Tracy Thrun 25
Power Web Connect DCRA Pure Stock Point Standings
POS CAR# DRIVER POINTS
1 50 Steve Seitz 115
2 7 Randy Schimmel 107
3 75 Nate Schepp 107
4 5 Jason Behring 106
5 2 Doug Brabant 99
6 69 Nathan Hodgson 97
7 6 Ed Coulter 69
8 25 Jim Steger 68
9 78 Darrell Bittner 37
10 94 Craig Lepple 36
11 49 Brent Lepple 34
Power Web Connect IMCA Hobby Stock Point Standings
POS CAR# DRIVER POINTS
1 75 Tony Sclei 66
2 5 Jimmy Scanlon 63
3 3c Gary Clough 62
4 1 Jason Jarogoske 33
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