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Schultz Holds Off Swan To Win Mid-American Feature At WIR
by Keith Vercauteren
(Kaukauna, WI) June 22, 2006 -- George Schultz of Bristol, WI fought off a
late race charge by points leader James Swan of Lake Geneva, WI to claim the
victory in the 35-lap Mid-American Stock Car Series feature at Wisconsin
International Raceway Saturday night during the second event of the 35th
Annual Red, White and Blue State Championships.
Rookie leader Jake Finney of Sycamore, IL jumped in front of veteran Scott
Null of Lake Mills, WI to take the early lead. On lap 7, Ken Smart of
Oconomowoc, WI slowed coming out of turn two, causing a bit of a traffic jam
and allowing Schultz to steal several spots to sneak into third. Schultz
then moved past Null two laps later to advance to the second position.
Finney continued to lead as Schultz moved up to his rear bumper, taking a hard
look towards the inside on lap 11. Unable to complete the pass, Schultz
took to the tough outer groove on lap 14 and made an outside pass for the lead
on the backstretch on lap 15. Bobby Gutknecht of Oak Creek, WI followed
through on the outside of Finney to move into second, with Swan and Bill
Prietzel of Richfield, WI joining the freight train into third and fourth
respectively.
On lap 18, Swan, who had set fast time in qualifying, passed Gutknecht to take
over second, setting up the battle between Schultz and Swan for the win. The
tables had been turned since the Red Race on June 19th, when Swan held back
the challenges of Schultz to take the win. In the White Race, it was to
be Shultz on the point with Swan looking for a way around.
As the leaders began encountering lapped traffic on lap 22, Swan pulled within
striking distance of Schultz. Swan looked high and low, but Schultz maintained
his line and kept the lead. Meanwhile, Prietzel raced past Gutknecht on lap 25
to grab the third position.
The only caution came out on lap 28, when Lyle Nowak of Wausau, WI spun in
turn one and collected Jeff Tisler of Reedsville, WI, and Crystal Koenig of
Denmark, WI while Jim Thorson of Sugar Grove, IL spun to avoid.
Tisler was unable to continue.
On the restart, Schultz continued to set the pace as Swan kept the pressure
on. Swan, however, soon had his hands full as three-time and defending
series champion Prietzel tried to take away second. As the white flag
flew, Prietzel looked to the outside of Swan giving Schultz some breathing
room on the final lap. Coming out of turn four, Swan took one last shot
at taking the lead from Schultz by charging to the inside, but came a car
length short as they took the checkers. Prietzel followed close in
third, with Gutknecht and Finney rounding out the top five.
"It was great to finally get one here, " Schultz told announcer Matt
Panure after his victory. "James (Swan) and I are good
friends. We race each other really hard and clean and that's what it's
all about."
10-lap heat races were won by Don Wood of Denmark, WI and Gutknecht.
16-year old driver Maxwell Schultz of Reedsville, WI took perhaps the wildest
ride of his young racing career when he flipped and skidded on his roof after
hitting the backstretch wall while leading the second heat. He was
uninjured in the accident.
Swan zipped around the half-mile, d-shaped oval in 20.973 seconds to become
the top qualifier of the evening.
The Mid-American Stock Car Series will return to WIR on August 19th for the
conclusion of the three-race Red, White and Blue Series. The Blue race will
present the 35-lap feature which awards the Vercauteren Memorial traveling
trophy. The next stop for the Mid-Am cars and stars will be at the Golden
Sands Speedway in Plover, WI on August 11th. For more information, visit
the series website at www.midamericanracing.com.
35-lap feature: 1. George Schultz, Bristol, WI 2. James
Swan, Lake Geneva, WI 3. Bill Prietzel, Richfield, WI 4.
Bobby Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI 5. Jake Finney, Sycamore, IL 6. Ken
Smart, Oconomowoc, WI 7. Scott Null, Lake Mills, WI 8. Jim
Thorson, Sugar Grove, IL 9. Elliot Marquardt, Merrill, WI 10. Don
Wood, Denmark, WI 11. Lyle Nowak, Wausau, WI 12. Pat McIntee, West
Bend, WI 13. Crystal Koenig, Denmark, WI 14. David
Verhagen, Green Bay, WI 15. Andy Casavant, Two Rivers, WI
16. Jimmy Wilson, Appleton, WI 17. Tim Schmitt, Muskego, WI
18. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, WI 19. Jeff Tisler, Reedsville,
WI 20. Brett Bauer, Appleton, WI 21. Jeremy Spoonmore,
Somonauk, IL 22. Dave Obermeyer, Allenton, WI 23. Tony
Habeck, Black Creek, WI
10 lap heats:
First: 1. Wood 2. Obermeyer 3. Swan 4.
Schmitt 5. Bauer 6. Spoonmore 7. Kulka 8. Tisler
9. Finney 10. Casavant 11. Verhagen 12. Wilson
Second: 1. Gutknecht 2. Smart 3.
Thorson 4. Marquardt 5. Nowak 6. Koenig 7.
McIntee 8. Prietzel 9. Null 10. G. Schultz 11. Maxwell
Schultz, Reedsville, WI
Fast time: Swan (20.973 seconds)
Mid-American Stock Car Series Points as of 7-22-2006
Pos. Car # Driver Hometown Total
1. 97 James Swan, Lake Geneva, WI 893
2. 44 George Schultz, Bristol, WI 876
3. 32 Lyle Nowak, Wausau, WI 781
4. 10 Bobby Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI 748
5. 28 Jake Finney ®, Sycamore, IL 713
6. 62 Scott Null, Lake Mills, WI 698
7. 5 Bill Prietzel, Richfield, WI 683
8. 99 Jim Thorson, Sugar Grove, IL 667
9. 29 Tony Habeck, Black Creek, WI 530
10. 93 Dave Obermeyer ®, Allenton, WI 526
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