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Thunder Rolls Through Oshkosh
By Cresta Buss
In what turned out to be a perfect Labor Day, the Powercom Speedzone filled
the air with the rumble of race cars on the track. The volume was raised a bit
as a large crowd was treated to a great combination of classes. The Bumper to
Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint series joined forces with the UMP/WISSOTA Late Models
and the American Auto Stocks for a great late afternoon of racing.
The American Auto Sales Stock feature would start the main events and show why
they have been such a quality class all year long. Side by side action started
at the drop of the green as Gary Neau and Mark Schultz paced the field, Neau
would grab the early lead then lose it to Schultz. Schultz would begin to
build a slight lead over the field until a caution for the expired engine of
Alan Long would pack things back together. Schultz would continue to lead at
the restart but that lead would vanish when the 70 car slid high and slammed
the wall on the back stretch. One man’s misfortune is another man’s
fortune. Gary Neau would be the beneficiary of the crash and move into the
lead position with Jerry Kope tracking him. Neau’s lead would not last long
as this year’s track champion would take the lead on the back stretch. Not
finished yet, Neau would streak past Kope on the back stretch. Jim Williams
would follow Neau past Kope and move into the second position. Neau, Kope, and
Williams would continue to battle with Neau leading until lap 19. On lap 19
Neau would slide up the track and allow Kope to slip to the inside position.
On a great last lap battle, Kope would slide past to take the checkered flag.
Neau, Williams, Jeff Jahnke, and Tim Montonati would complete the top five.
The UMP/WISSOTA Late Models would role on to the track for the second feature
event of the evening. The Scott Construction GRT of Troy Springborn was ready
to put on a show and as the green flag flew, so did he. Springborn would jump
out to a commanding lead and begin to quickly leave the field. The fans would
turn to the battle for third as Springborn began to leave the field. Greg
Dhein, M.J. McBride, Chris Carlson, M.J. Hintz and Luke Roffers would battle
hard for third behind Scott Cramer. McBride would take the position briefly
before Carlson wrestled it away. Carlson would be the man on the move sliding
past Cramer for the second position behind Springborn. Caution would fly
as the 42 of Terry Casey would spin in turn 1. With the field back on the tail
of Springborn, the fans would move to the edge of their seats as the stage was
set for a battle between Springborn and Carlson, the winner of the last Late
Model special in Oshkosh. But Springborn rose to the challenge and jumped back
to a commanding lead on the restart. In some battles late in the race, Roffers
and Parker would get by Cramer for third and fourth respectively. The top five
would finish with Springborn leading Carlson, Roffers, Parker, and Cramer.
The Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaws would compete in the final feature at
Powercom Speedzone in 2003. The green flag filled the air above the flag stand
and Steve Meyer jumped out to the early lead. Scott Uttech would come up to
challenge for the lead but Meyer was up to the challenge and held the lead.
The man on the move would be the 21 car of John Haeni, as he overtook second
from Uttech and then grabbed the lead from Meyer. Behind the
battle up front, Troy Hepfner and Mike Reinke would seize the chance and grab
third and fourth respectively. Caution would fly on lap 12 as the car of
Jim Melie would come to a stop on the track. Haeni would lead the pack to the
restart and jump back out to the lead he had held in the early stages of the
race. The 28, 85 and 60 cars would go three wide in their battle through turn
2 with the 28 of Todd Hepfner grabbing the spot. Hepfner would move up to
second and begin to track down Haeni and Reinke, who had grabbed the lead.
Haeni pulled up to challenge Reinke on lap 18 and took the lead from it down
the back stretch. Hepfner would follow the lead of Haeni and slide past Reinke
as well for second. Check out www.irasprints.com
for the complete results of the race.
UMP/WISSOTA Late Models
A-Main (1-10) – Troy Springborn, Chris Carlson, Luke Roffers, Pete Parker,
Scott Cramer, M.J. Hintz, Greg Dhein, Nick Anvelink, Cody Grosskreutz, Dan
Sorce, M.J. McBride, Mark Weisnicht, Terry Casey, Doug Klemp, Joel Schmit, Tim
Bennett
Heat 1 –Chris Carlson, Heat 2 – M.J. McBride
American Auto Sales Stocks
A-Main (1-10) – Jerry Kope, Gary Neau, Jim Williams Jeff Jahnke, Tim
Montonati, All Derks, Ron Siekierke, Bob Kienast, Carl Buchanan, Pat Tanner,
David Madell, Jr. , Mike Rauchle, Brian Long, Trevor Schmidt, Mark Schultz,
Alan Long, Eric Hawkins
Heat 1 – Jim Williams, Heat 2 – Mark Schultz
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