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Round & Around
with Fay Hendricks
Slinger Awards
Slinger Speedway is the little quarter-mile that could. Escalating costs have
brought more than several to close their doors over the decades, yet
Slinger‘s Sunday night racing remains a steadfast tradition among racers and
fans since 1948. Wayne Erickson was still a racer when his company was chosen
by then-owner Rollie Heder to pave the tiny dirt oval, sculpting the high
banks for the first time. It was after leasing the track that Erickson found
his new niche, taking over the title to the property in 1974. Since then,
Erickson has brought something new or improved every year to date.
The inaugural Slinger Nationals came in 1980, bringing nationally-known racers
to compete for Erickson’s generous purse. Mark Martin set the new track
record for speed that year, Bobby Allison became a regular visitor to
Slinger’s big race events, and a long list of racing’s superstars paid
visits to the tiny oval. Local racers like Alan Kulwicki, Matt Kenseth, Ted
Musgrave, Dick Trickle, Richie Bickle Jr., and Robbie Reiser honed their
skills here before moving to NASCAR. Jimmy Fennig was one of several who
turned wrenches for local racers before he, too, moved to the major leagues.
Today’s legends have personal contracts that prevent them from racing
elsewhere, but still the Sunday tradition prevails.
This year’s awards banquet proved that point when more than one driver
praised his rivals and stated they would return for more of the same. A trio
of competitors have been racing Slinger’s steep banks as long as Erickson
has been in charge, prompting the new Ironman Award. Thirteen late model
championships are represented by Al Schill and Conrad Morgan during that time,
and perennial budget racer Jerry Eckhardt told the audience he will be
finishing his very first new car soon. Morgan also earned the Hard Luck award
after being sidelined much of the season with an injury. He assured us he
would also return for another season .
Brad Mueller took his third late model title in as many years, remarking,
“That’s quite an accomplishment with the quality of drivers at Slinger. To
do it without winning a race or leading a lap, it’s really an honor to be
here.” Mueller will debut a new car when the season opener comes in April,
since former sportsman champion Gary Lamonte purchased the championship late
model recently. Losing the title by 89 points to the number 89 car,
second-place David Prunty said, “With six wins this year, I’m not bitter.
This is the first year we had fun”.
Sportsman champion James Swan also took home the hardware for the six-race
series held at Slinger and Lake Geneva during 2005. Swan told the audience,
“It’s a childhood dream of mine to race Slinger Speedway. I’ve probably
done everything I wanted now.” Thanking his former car owner and fellow
competitor, Kenny Joosten, Swan declared he would be driving a car from Adam
Berge and concentrate on the Midwest Championship Series in 2006. “I’ll
still be here”, Swan told your scribe later, “but not every week”.
The modified title was the third in a row for Dale Prunty. “I’m still
nervous after two times up here”, declared Prunty from the podium. Later
Prunty told your scribe he was returning to defend his title rather than move
to the late model fold. Perhaps he will be forced to go through the agony of
public speaking for the fourth time, but we think it will be worth it.
Spearheaded by veteran racer Andy Wendt and his cohorts, there was a series of
races in the limited late model class last year. Chris Ratajczyk earned the
first championship after putting his Slinger late model on the back burner,
and had fun doing so. This second-generation racer told of his plans to
return, as well as competing in an ASA late model with fellow racers Brad
Mueller and Dennis Prunty. Wendt had no sooner told yours truly of not being
able to retire from racing yet, since his cars had not been bought. Within
minutes, a Slinger competitor came along and made an offer Wendt couldn’t
refuse, giving him more time to devote to his sixth family business,
newly-purchased tavern.
The Figure 8 championship was earned by Donald Van Camp Jr. for the first time
in the division that has been in existence since 1981. In Slinger’s
entry-level divisions, the Thunderstock title went to Eric Schuetz, and the
Slinger Bees had Ryan Zielski earn the championship.
Drawings for door prizes punctuated the evening’s program, ending with
drawings for new car bodies. When late model rookie of the year, Nick
Schumacher, accepted his prize, he ended his speech with, “Remember two
things: Number one, become a member of Slinger Speedway. Number two, To finish
first, first you must finish”. This bit of wisdom is due to the 2003 season
when Schumacher had amassed the most points in the sportsman division, but
failed to sign up for the track membership and thus was not eligible for the
title.
After the awards were all handed out and pictures taken, the comedy of Billy
Elmer had the audience laughing instead of leaving, followed by music and
karaoke while the crowd enjoyed visiting with their peers. Thanks to Wayne and
Sandy Erickson and the efforts of PR director Todd Thelen for the memorable
evening. It won’t be long before Slinger’s 58th year of racing begins.
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