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Baldry Dominates WCS Season Finale At Marshfield
Marshfield Super Speedway
MARSHFIELD, WI. (September 11, 2004) - In an event which was slowed just one
time for a brief red flag, early in the contest. The 80 lap season
championship feature for the Wisconsin Challenge Series, was one which saw
almost complete domination of the contest by 11-time Wisconsin International
Raceway champion Terry Baldry of Omro, Wisconsin. Baldry, who has been a
regular competitor in WCS competition behind the wheel of Maynard Motorsports
owned machines, slipped past local Marhsfield Speedway hotshoe Ben Pettis for
the lead and then proceeded to dominate the final half of the contest.
His margin of victory over Adam Royle of Farmington, MN, was nearly a
half-lap. While Baldry was celebrating his first career WCS victory,
Mark Eswein of Wisconsin Rapids, was able to lay claim to his second career
Wisconsin Challenge Series championship. Eswein, won the title during
the inaugural season of the series in 2001, and was able to repeat this
season, becoming the first driver to have won more than a single title since
the series inception. Eswein would finish a conservative 14th during the
program, but it was more than enough to edge point runner-up Royle, for the
title.
A huge field of 47 cars would turn out to attempt to qualify for the season's
final event for the series, and in doing so it established a record for the
series at Marshfield Speedway. Previously the WCS competitor
participation mark was established at 39 cars. On the year the series
averaged over 40 cars per show, three times exceeding over 45 entries.
Overall it was the fifth highest number of participants at a WCS race.
The all-time mark was established this season at Dells Motor Speedway during
the opening show when 54 cars appeared.
After qualifications had concluded, and the invert determined by random draw,
the 2004 Marshfield Super Speedway champion, Jeff Weinfurter sat on the
pole. To his outside younger charge Ben Pettis, another Marshfield
Speedway regular who was making his first career Wisconsin Challenge Series
start. At the drop of the green flag Weinfurter shot into the initial lead,
but Pettis who preferred the outside line began to pressure Weinfurter for the
top spot, following closely behind.
On several occasions during the opening rounds Pettis would draw alongside
Weinfurter, only to have Weinfurter pull ahead in the turns, using the low
groove. Jason Weinkauf would establish himself in the third
slot and Baldry would secure fourth. Chris Weinkauf, Jason's older
brother found himself in the fifth slot after five laps were in the books.
While many side by side battles were taking place throughout the field as
everyone jockeyed for position, much of the attention focused on the battle
for the lead as Weinfurter and Pettis continued to run wheel to wheel,
debating the lead position.
Weinfurter officially pace the first eight laps, with Pettis edging ahead to
lead the next three circuits. The top spot switched hands again with
Weinfurter getting the advantage on lap 13, when Pettis went wide in turn
four. Weinfurter would pace the next five circuits before Pettis
would rally back on the outside and retake the top spot on lap 19. This
time Pettis was able to position himself firmly in the top sot, while
Weinfurter now had to fend off the challenges of Jason Weinkauf.
On the next lap the only slowdown of the contest took place after contact
between Elliott Weiler, and former Marshfield Super Speedway champion Judd
Brandl made contact. Weiler would good off course on the backstretch and
climb the embankment. A red flag was thrown as Weiler was a bit dazed
and needed some assistance from his machine.
Once it was confirmed Weiler was okay the track was cleared and racing resumed
after a 8 minute delay. Pettis again took command of the contest with
Weinfurter resuming his challenge for the top spot. Baldry meanwhile
began to show the speed of his machine as he worked under Jason Weinkauf for
the third spot on lap 24. Six laps later Baldry was able to maneuver by
Weinfurter for the second position and he then began to close on Pettis who
still set the pace of the event.
Pettis continued to work the outside line, but Baldry found the speed he
needed to work by on the inside on lap 37. At the halfway point it was Baldry,
Pettis, Weinfurter, Jason Weinkauf, Adam Royle, Chris Weinkauf, fast qualifier
Charlie Menard and Ryan Mathews holding down the top eight positions.
On the very next lap, Weinfurter began to slow, and after losing positions
very quickly, headed to the pit area. His car, developed ignition trouble
dropping him from the contest while running third. This elevated Jason
Weinkauf to the position.
As Baldry pulled away, the battle for second began to heat up as Pettis, Jason
Weinkauf and Royle began to contest the position. Weinkauf worked under
Pettis for the spot on lap 55, with Royle dropping Pettis another position
three laps later. Over the closing stages of the race Pettis would slow
lose momentum with handling problems after a strong showing throughout much of
the early portions of the contest, but would still finish a solid 10th in his
first WCS effort.
With 20 laps to go Baldry began to encounter his first lapped traffic, which
he negotiated with ease, while continuing to build his lead which was now at a
full straight-away. Baldry's efforts to enhance that lead were further
favored when Jason Weinkauf and Royal began a duel for the second spot.
Royle, who won at Marshfield during the series' most recent appearance at the
half-mile oval, worked under Weinkauf for the runner-up spot with 13 laps to
go in the contest.
By now however Baldry had established a lead which was nearing a half-lap, and
without any cautions to slow his pace Baldry would take the win
comfortably. Royle, would scoot acrossed the line in second with
six car lengths on Jason Weinkauf who earned the third position. Menard,
who won a pair of WCS events this season would move past Chris Weinkauf on the
closing stages of the race to grab fourth, while Chris would settle for fifth.
Mathews, Nathan Haseleu, Brian Back, Steve Holzhausen and Pettis would
complete the top ten.
Earlier in the day, both qualifying races were claimed by competitors from the
LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. In the first contest Adam Dengenhardt who
was making his WCS debut was able to fend off the challenges of newly crowned
WCS champion Eswein for the victory. Keith Bohmsach would hold off
Marshfield Speedway 2004 point runner-up Dean LaPointe to claim the final
transfer spot. Ken Reiser, who had established a series record 28
consecutive feature stars would finish fifth, missing the main event for the
first time in WCS history. Reiser did however make a strong comeback in
the contest after having to go to the tail of the field after and accident
between he and M.G. Gajewski early in the race.
The second qualifying contest was won by standout performer Steve Holzhausen,
wheeling a car owned by Pete Kempf. Holzhausen would also advance the
most positions during the feature race eventually finishing ninth in the big
show. Elliott Weiler would finish second in the qualifier, with
John Zimmerman edging Kurt Guralski for the third and final transfer spot.
With the season now concluded plans for the Wisconsin Challenge Series banquet
are underway and will be announced in the next week. The 2005 series
opener, which will begin the fifth season for the series is set to take place
on Saturday Afternoon, April 9th, at Dells Motor Speedway.
The complete 2005 series schedule will be announced in November.
Information on the Wisconsin Challenge Series can be found at www.wisconsinchallenge.com
A field of 20 CWMSA 4-Cylinders took to the big half-mile for their
championship feature. Keith Kemnetz led the first five laps of the
feature. Paul Berg grabbed the lead for the next five until point leader
Keith Wirtz passed for the lead. Fast timer Jeremiah Strauss quickly
came to the front and ran third with JJ Flick and Steve Hauser fourth and
fifth. Just after Wirtz received the white flag, his engine blew, ending
the race and placing him at the rear of the finish for bringing out the
caution. Berg won, Strauss second, Hauser third, Kevin Eckes fourth and
Flick fifth. Wirtz was able to hold onto the points lead and win his
third 4-Cylinder Track Championship here.
The team of Dan Szymkowiak and Ryan Pionek won the 2-Man Cruiser race.
Josh Boyer and Dustin Clark took second and Amber Osowski and Gary Wierzba
third. The 2-Man Cruiser Points Championship was won by Boyer &
Clark.
Next weekend is The Fourth Annual Fall Spectacular.
Friday night’s racing includes Twin 20 Lap Qualifying Super Late Model
Races, Super Stocks, 4-Cylinders, 1-Man Cruisers and IMCA Oldtimers. Pit
Gates open at 1 p.m., Grandstand Gates open at 4 p.m., Time Trials at 5 p.m.
and racing 6:30. Adult grandstand admission is $10.00, Students ages
10-15 $5.00, and under ten free.
Saturday’s racing includes a 78 Lap Super Late Model feature, Limited Late
Models, Street Stocks, Mini-Cups and IMCA Oldtimers. Pit gate opens at
10 a.m., grandstand gates open at 2 p.m., time trials at 3 p.m. and racing at
5 p.m. Adult grandstand admission is $12.00, Students ages 10-15 $5.00,
and under ten is free.
Raindate is Sunday, time trials at noon and racing 1:30.
Summary
Wisconsin Challenge Series SUPER LATE MODEL Division
* * * QUALIFYING RESULTS * * *
PlceCar # Driver Home Town Model Fast
1 17M MENARD, CHARLIE EAU CLAIRE CHEVY 17.682
2 87H HASELEU, NATHAN MARSHALL - - - 17.853
3 21M MATHEWS, RYAN - - - - - - 17.879
4 40L LEPAK, JEREMY WAUSAU DODGE 17.917
5 89R ROYLE, ADAM - - - - - - 17.927
Last Chance Race 1
Place Start Car # Driver Event Home Town Model
1 3 03D DEGENHARDT, ADAM LAST1 COON VALLEY - - -
2 4 20E ESWEIN, MARK LAST1 - - - - - -
3 6 24X BOHMSACH, KEITH LAST1 WI RAPIDS PONTIAC
4 7 15L LAPOINTE, DEAN LAST1 MARSHFIELD FORD
5 5 2R REISER, KEN LAST1 - - - - - -
6 12 12M MACKESY, MARK LAST1 - - - - - -
7 2 07B BROWN, BURTON LAST1 - - - - - -
8 10 62B BACK, GREG LAST1 VESPER FORD
9 1 22G GAJEWSKI, M.G. LAST1 - - - - - -
10 11 8T TOTZKE, JOHN JR LAST1 WISCONSIN RAPIDS MONTE CARL
Last Chance Race 2
1 0 95K KEMPF, PETE LAST2 NEKOOSA FORD
2 7 01W WEILER, ELLIOTT (R) LAST2 MARSHFIELD MONTE CARL
3 2 44Z ZIMMERMAN, JOHN LAST2 - - - - - -
4 1 1G GURALSKI, CURT LAST2 - - - - - -
5 3 5S SAUTER, JIM JR. LAST2 NECEDAH CHEVY
6 6 7T TURNER, DON LAST2 - - - - - -
7 5 38J JOHNSON, BRIAN LAST2 - - - - - -
8 15 3D WILDES, BRAD LAST2 TOMAH - - -
9 9 96H HARREL, CAL LAST2 KAUKAUNA - - -
10 8 17W WISZ, ERIC LAST2 MOSINEE CHEVY
WCS 80 Lap Feature
Place Start Car # Driver Event Home Town Model
1 4 96B BALDRY, TERRY 80LAP - - - - - -
2 7 89R ROYLE, ADAM 80LAP - - - - - -
3 3 76W WEINKAUF, JASON 80LAP - - - - - -
4 11 17M MENARD, CHARLIE 80LAP EAU CLAIRE CHEVY
5 5 75W WEINKAUF, CHRIS 80LAP - - - - - -
6 9 21M MATHEWS, RYAN 80LAP - - - - - -
7 10 87H HASELEU, NATHAN 80LAP MARSHALL - - -
8 15 61B BACK, BRIAN 80LAP VESPER CAMARO
9 0 95H HOLZHAUSEN, STEVE 80LAP - - - - - -
10 2 22P PETTIS, BEN 80LAP EAU CLAIRE FORD
CWMSA 4-CYLINDER Division
* * * QUALIFYING RESULTS * * *
PlceCar # Driver Home Town Model Fast
1 0W WIRTZ, KEITH RUDOLPH MUSTANG 21.920
* * * HEATS RESULTS * * *
Place Start Car # Driver Event Home Town Model
1 3 02B BARTHEN, ROB HEAT1 EAU CLAIRE PINTO
2 8 22G GASCOIGNE, SCOTT HEAT1 CHIPPEWA FALLS DODGE
3 10 15A ADAMS, DOUG HEAT1 WAUSAU NISSAN
4 6 17E ELMHORST, DON HEAT1 - - - - - -
5 2 88E ELMHORST, WAYNE HEAT1 NEILLSVILLE DODGE
1 10 0W WIRTZ, KEITH HEAT2 RUDOLPH MUSTANG
2 6 12H HAUSER, STEVE HEAT2 GILMAN DODGE
3 9 79S STRAUSS, JEREMIAH HEAT2 NEILLSVILLE DODGE
4 2 4Z ECKES, ADAM HEAT2 AUBURNDALE SATURN
5 7 01B BERG, PAUL HEAT2 EAU CLAIRE FORD
* * * FEATURE RESULTS * * *
Place Start Car # Driver Event Home Town Model
1 10 01B BERG, PAUL FEAT EAU CLAIRE FORD
2 14 79S STRAUSS, JEREMIAH FEAT NEILLSVILLE DODGE
3 9 12H HAUSER, STEVE FEAT GILMAN DODGE
4 11 3Z ECKES, KEVIN SR FEAT AUBURNDALE SATURN
5 8 9F FLICK, JJFEAT WI RAPIDS FORD
6 2 37K KEMNETZ, KEITH FEAT HANCOCK FORD
7 7 73D DUNOW, DON FEAT BOYD MUSTANG
8 4 45S SCHLOUGH, ERIN FEAT GREENWOOD FORD
9 5 4Z ECKES, ADAM FEAT AUBURNDALE SATURN
10 6 43B BRANDL, RICKY FEAT MILADOREDODGE
2-Man Cruiser
* * * FEATURE RESULTS * * *
Place Start Car # Driver Event Home Town Model
1 0 17 SZYMOKOWIAK/PIONEKFEAT1 STEVENS POINT - - -
2 0 5 BOYER/CLARK FEAT1 - - - - - -
3 0 22 WIERZBA/WIERZBAFEAT1 - - - - - -
4 0 29 SZYMKOWIAK/WISINSKIFEAT1 - - - - - -
5 0 00 MORCZENSKI/MORCZENSKFEAT1 - - - - - -
6 0 5H HEGGEBO/HOEPERFEAT1 - - - - - -
7 0 05 KOPLIEN/ZOPFIFEAT1 - - - - - -
Points Standings
CARQUEST SUPER LATE Division Final Track Points
Place Car No Driver's Name Points
1 3W WEINFURTER, JEFF 785
2 15L LAPOINTE, DEAN 765
3 27B BRANDL, JUDD 731
4 61B BACK, BRIAN 714
5 22P PETTIS, BEN 702
6 14G GREGORICH, EUGENE JR 694
7 01W WEILER, ELLIOTT (R) 562
8 2B BELL, JOSH 526
9 107.5 GRESS, DAREK (R) 486
10 8T TOTZKE, JOHN JR 485
CARQUEST SUPER STOCK Division Final Track Points
Place Car No Driver's Name Points
1 01L LAESSIG, CALE 950
2 1H HINTZ, TIM 887
3 04Z ZVOLENA, TRAVIS (R) 721
4 6R RAYKOWSKI, MATT 692
5 28S SCHULTZ, LARRY 681
6 44S SCHOLL, CHAD 594
7 74S STANLEY, BRUCE 583
8 78H HAVLICEK, SCOTT 523
9 37H HETZEL, RICK 498
10 4E EMMERICH, RANDY 439
CWMSA 4-CYLINDER Division Final Track Points
Place Car No Driver's Name Points
1 0W WIRTZ, KEITH 689
2 3Z ECKES, KEVIN SR 669
3 01B BERG, PAUL 632
4 79S STRAUSS, JEREMIAH 567
5 12H HAUSER, STEVE 560
6 9F FLICK, JJ534
7 4Z ECKES, ADAM 489
8 45S SCHLOUGH, ERIN 467
9 73D DUNOW, DON 408
10 88E ELMHORST, WAYNE 407
1-MAN CRUISER Division Final Track Points
Place Car No Driver's Name Points
1 01D DICKMAN, PAT 623
2 7C COURNOYER, MATT 592
3 Z2S SUDDUTH, SAM 586
4 31K KNAUF, DAVID 552
5 33M MEYER, CODY 527
6 43M MOORE, JUSTIN 480
7 03L LARSH, LARRY 371
8 69D DENNY, MIKE 333
9 77E ERDMAN, STEVE 270
10 34B FUCHS, BRIAN 66
2-Man Cruiser Division Final Track Points
Place Car No Driver's Name Points
1 5 BOYER/CLARK 250
2 17 SZYMOKOWIAK/PIONEK246
3 5H HEGGEBO/HOEPER154
4 22 WIERZBA/WIERZBA94
5 05 KOPLIEN/ZOPFI83
6 02 DICKMAN/ZOPFI75
7 03 LARSH/BECKER 62
8 54 DAVIS/MILLER 48
9 MOO KUNDINGER/KUNDINGER25
10 55 DODSON/HALL 24
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