|
Charter Raceway Park - Looking At The 2007 Season
May 3, 2007
Dennis Thompson
The excitement level couldn’t be any higher at Charter Raceway Park. The
schedule for the season offers a variety of racing from the regular race
divisions to the outside organizations coming in to put on shows, including
the World of Outlaw Late Models and the World of Outlaw Sprints. With the
track championships in all five regular divisions coming down to the final
A-Mains of the season in 2006, the competition is expected to be even stronger
this season. Charter Raceway Park also has a good line up of activities for
the fans, children and adults alike, in addition to other special events and
promotions.
The five regular divisions in action are the Johnsonville Brats Modifieds,
Grand Nationals, Dodge Central Credit Union Stocks, Gibbsville Cheese INEX
Legends/Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series and Wally’s Auto Dirt
Devils.
Craig Priewe of Beaver Dam claimed the 2006 track championship in the
Johnsonville Brats Modified Division by 14 points over Frank Firari of Lowell.
Russ Reinwald of Iron Ridge finished third in the standings followed by the
2004 & 2005 track champion, Jay Schraufnagel of Beaver Dam. Larry Zirbel
of Iron Ridge rounded out the top five. With the uncertainty going into
the season of Priewe returning on a regular basis, the other four drivers in
the top five are sure to be contenders for the championship this season as
well. Eddie Lemay Jr. of Milwaukee, who finished sixth in points, is always a
force to watch. 2006 Rookie of the Year, Aaron Rake of Beaver Dam, finished
seventh in points and is expected to be a strong runner. Also returning to
action and sure to be a factor is the 2002 and 2003 track champion, Tim
Lemirande of Verona.
In the Grand National Division, Roger Lee of Wind Lake captured the final
A-Main of the 2006 season. The win enabled Lee to edge out 2005 Champ Don
Sorce Jr. of West Allis by 3 points for the track championship. Tommy Moore of
Muskego finished third in the final standings ahead of Steve Seitz of Beaver
Dam and Brian Gerber of Waupun. With all five drivers returning, the battle
for the championship should be just as intense this season. Finishing in the
top ten last season and looking to move up are Nick Schumacher of Eagle, Andy
Bolstad of Montello, Will Schumacher of Hartford, Curt Beek of Waupun and Eric
Grunst of Beaver Dam.
The 2006 championship in the Dodge Central Credit Union Stocks Division was
settled on the final lap of the 20-lap A-Main. Chuck Hummelmeier of Friesland
beat Don Vander Galien of Wautoma to the line to record his sixth win of the
season and earn the championship by a mere one point over Vander Galien. Matt
Bedker of Beaver Dam had a strong season picking up two A-Main wins along the
way to finish third. 2005 Dirt Devil Champion, Jon Schultz of Waunakee,
finished an impressive fourth in his rookie season in the stocks. Dan Troyan
of Menomonie Falls rounded out the top five. Hummelmeier is not returning for
the 2006 season assuring that there will be a new champion. Among the
newcomers to the division that could be strong runners are 2006 Dirt Devils
Champion Roger Frank of Beaver Dam and Andrew Araco of New Berlin, who
finished ninth in points in the dirt devils division in 2006.
The competition in the Gibbsville Cheese INEX Legends/Wisconsin Legends Racing
Dirt Series in 2006 was intense all season long. When it was all said and
done, it was Eric Barth of Sauk City claiming his third track championship.
His other titles came in 2000 and 2004. Joel Wyttenbach of Sauk City, track
champion in 2005, finished a close second in the title chase at only 5 points
back. Brad Weber of Rolling Prairie, an experienced midget driver, quickly
adapted to the legend cars and finished a strong third in the final standings.
Joey Johnson of Hartford ran consistently well all season long to finish
fourth. Phil Van Tatenhove of Gibbsville was fifth. The top five finishers of
2006 will have a strong contingent of drivers ready to challenge for the top
spots. Greg Hartlaub of Sheboygan Falls and 2002 champ Kevin Brill of Oostburg
are always tough competitors. Other challenges could come from Bethany
Wyttenbach of Plain who captured a Pro Division Regional Qualifier event last
August in Wheatland, MO and 2006 Rookie of the Year Mike Mueller of Waupun.
Loren Zuhlke Jr. of Beaver Dam finished tenth in points and is a consistent
runner.
In the action-packed Wally’s Auto Dirt Devils Division, Roger Frank of
Beaver Dam captured his first track championship on the final night of the
2006 season. Frank has moved to the stocks division. Aaron Stolp of West Allis
was in the running for the championship right to the end. Jeremy Schwoch of
Horicon, who finished third in points, is also moving to the stocks division.
Eddie Lemay III of Milwaukee finished fourth in the standings and will be a
strong contender for the championship this season. Tim Shepard of Beaver Dam
wound up fifth in the standings last season and should be in the thick of the
battle all season long. The division is sure to have plenty excitement this
season with the mix of some of the more experienced drivers and the addition
of several newcomers.
The schedule for the 2007 season at Charter Raceway Park is spiced with a
number of special events.
The World of Outlaw late models are slated for May 12 in a show that will also
feature the Johnsonville Brats Modifieds.
A special three race High-Speed Holiday Series featuring the MSA Sprints,
Grand Nationals and Illinois Mini-Sprints will take place on May 28, July 3
and September 3. Al Schlafer won the only MSA event held last season. Kirk
Boers took the win in the mini-sprints. In addition to their regular payout,
the Grand National drivers will be competing for a $1000.00 Contingency Payout
for the top ten in this Holiday Series Point Fund.
The IRA Outlaw Sprints and the Badger Midgets will team up for events
scheduled on June 2 and July 14. Todd Hepfner drove to victory in two of the
three IRA events in 2006. Mike Reinke took the other win. The IRA Outlaw
Sprints will also run on September 1 along with the Johnsonville Brats
Modifieds. Brad Kuhn of Avon, IN claimed two of the four Badger Midget events
last season. Kuhn is the 2006 Badger Midget Champion and has won the National
Midget Driver of the Year title the last two years. The other two Badger
Midget events were won by Aaron Fiscus of Sun Prairie and Danny Stratton of
Riverside, CA.
The World of Outlaw Sprints will return for a big two-day show slated for
Friday August 3 and Saturday August 4. The Gibbsville Cheese INEX Legends will
also be in action for both days. Jac Haudenschild charged to the win in the
WOO event last season. The front runners in the WOO standings so far this year
are Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana, Daryn Pittman, Craig Dollansky and Danny
Lasoski. The IRA Outlaw Sprints are expected to have a contingent of drivers
participating as well in the two-day event.
Other events on the schedule include the Slam at the Dam program set for
Sunday afternoon June 3. The program plans to have five divisions competing in
the contact required races. Divisions are divided into compacts, mid-size
cars, full size cars, trucks/vans full size and mini-trucks/vans. The Midwest
Enduro and Small Car Series will close out the season on September 23.
For more information on the 2007 season at Charter Raceway Park, details on
special events, Charter High-Speed Card Membership information and more, log
onto www.wismotorsports.net.
|
|
|
