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Egan Wins Five Corners Dodge/Charcoal Grill 75
By Dan Margetta
Slinger, WI-Sept. 11—Mike Egan held off Brad Mueller and Dave Feiler in a
wild three-car finish for his second victory of the year in the Five Corners
Dodge/Charcoal Grill 75-lap late model feature Sunday night at the Slinger
Super Speedway.
“I’m starting to like this,” Egan proclaimed after scoring his second
victory in three weeks, this time with his mirrors full of Slinger veterans
Mueller and Feiler. “These guys are the greatest racers in the state and
everyone that has supported me has been waiting for over 20 years for this to
happen.”
Austin Konetski and Dennis Prunty paced the field at the start and Prunty,
Egan, and Nick Schumacher all charged in the upper groove to grab the first
three positions in the opening laps. An early tangle between Chad Barker and
Scott Schoeni in turn one put the field under caution on lap three. Prunty led
on the restart and maintained command of the race for the first five laps
before Egan took the top spot with an aggressive inside move on lap six.
Schumacher also took advantage of Prunty being caught on the outside and moved
into second place while behind them Konetski, John Mueller, and Conrad Morgan
battled within the top five. David Prunty entered the event with an outside
shot at the track championship and he began to advance through the field, but
his chances took a sour turn on lap nine when he looped his car in turn four
to bring out the second caution flag.
Egan led on the restart, but Schumacher had his car hooked up on the inside
and he began to put the pressure on, taking numerous looks to the inside.
Schumacher was finally able to find room on the inside and he raced around
Egan for the lead by lap 15 while Brad Mueller and Feiler worked traffic to
find themselves in fifth and sixth just behind Dennis Prunty and John Mueller.
Schumacher began to ease ahead as the rest of the top five ran nose to tail to
try to track him down. The complexion of the race changed drastically on lap
28 through a series of events that began with a spin by Tommy Pecaro in turn
four. Robert Maynor also spun his machine in an effort to avoid the incident
that occurred directly in front of the leaders and Schumacher found himself
with nowhere to go and he piled into Maynor’s car.
The incident forced Schumacher to retire from the race and Egan assumed the
lead for the restart with Dennis Prunty, John Mueller, Brad Mueller, and
Feiler holding down the rest of the top five spots. Egan began to pull away on
the restart as John Mueller battled Prunty for second. Prunty’s car washed
wide in turn four on lap 34 and as he saved his car in the outside lane, John
Mueller was forced to slow to avoid hitting him, allowing both Brad Mueller
and Feiler to race by on the inside. Brad Mueller and Feiler then began to
slowly reel in Egan as John Mueller dove to the inside of Prunty to try to
take the fourth spot. With Egan’s lead shrinking, John Mueller and Prunty
continued to race alongside each other until lap 45 when Prunty skated high
again, losing several positions but keeping his car out of the fence. Mueller
and Feiler closed the gap by lap 60 and were right on Egan’s tail for the
closing laps. Mueller took to the topside and Feiler held the inside lane as
they both looked for a way around Egan who could feel the pressure from both
grooves. Egan was able to hold off the challenges and raced to the win while
Mueller nipped Feiler at the line for second. John Mueller wrapped up another
strong run with a fourth place finish while Ken Wills also ran a solid race to
finish fifth.
Mueller’s second place finish was enough to earn him his third straight
track championship in the late model division.
“That was a blast,” Mueller told the crowd after the race. “It’s quite
an accomplishment (winning three championships in a row) and I’ve got the
most consistent pit crew in the world.”
Scott Schoeni won the 30-lap late model semi-feature over Chad Barker and
Randy Schuler. Mike Strupp and Mark Bitzan rounded out the top five. Nick
Schumacher was the winner of the fast dash and Brad Mueller blistered
qualifying, circling the speedway in 11.365 seconds.
Brad Keith took top honors in the 30-lap Midwest Sportsman feature event after
working his way through the field and then holding off Dave Thomas and James
Swan at the finish.
David Pichler and Mike Borchardt started from the front row while Dave Thomas
took to the outside lane to move up from his fourth starting position into the
lead by lap three. Pichler settled into second place while Scott Ascher
advanced forward to take over third place by lap ten. Ascher began pressure
Pichler for second while Thomas extended his lead. Ascher’s move forward
came to an end on lap 16 when he broke loose and socked the wall while looking
under Pichler entering turn three to produce the first caution flag. Thomas
continued to lead as racing resumed while farther back Brad Keith and James
Swan used the outside lane to slice their way forward and into third and
fourth place respectively. Keith and Swan were also able to get around Pichler
a lap later for second place just before the yellow flag flew again when Tony
Sancinati and Ascher looped around in turn three. Thomas kept the lead on the
restart but Keith and Swan wouldn’t let him get away as they held the inside
lane and stayed directly in Thomas’ tire tracks. Keith finally was able to
edge his way into the lead on lap 21 as Thomas fell into a battle over second
with Swan while Pat McIntee and Mike Graczkowski disputed the fourth and fifth
positions. A final caution flag appeared on lap 24 after Mike Borchardt spun
around in turn four but Keith was up to the challenge and he led the final six
laps to score the victory. Thomas finished in second place while Swan, McIntee,
and Graczkowski completed the top five finishers.
Collin Bamke claimed the win in the fast dash and Keith also set fast time on
the night following his qualifying lap of 12.666 seconds.
Ron Schmitt ran off with the victory in the 25-lap Midwest Modified feature
after surviving a green-white-checkered finish and crossing the stripe ahead
of Steve Huelsbeck and Wes Biswell.
Eddie Bentfield and Bill Tandetzke led the field to the green and Tandetzke
used the outer groove to take the lead at the completion of lap one. Schmitt,
who started fourth, also took to the outside and raced into second place on
lap two. A lap later, Schmitt blasted his way by Tandetzke and into the lead
while farther back, Biswell and Huelsbeck began to work their way forward.
Huelsbeck and Biswell worked their way through the field and occupied the
second and third places respectively by lap 15 as Schmitt continued to lead.
Tandetzke held down the fourth spot and was fending off Dale Prunty for the
position as the first caution flag flew on lap 17 when Brad Smith spun his car
on the frontstretch. Schmitt continued to show the way on the restart as
Prunty and Jason Feyereisen continued to work on Tandetzke for the fourth
spot. The final caution flag flew with two laps to go as Terry Helmbrecht and
Bentfield tangled in turn three to set up the green-white-checkered finish.
Schmitt held his own over the final two laps and raced to the win over
Huelsbeck and Biswell as both Feyereisen and Prunty were able to pass
Tandetzke over the final laps to finish fourth and fifth respectively.
Prunty’s fifth place finish wrapped up the 2005 Slinger Track Championship
in the Midwest Modified division.
Huelsbeck won the fast dash earlier in the evening and Prunty led qualifying
with a lap of 12.293 seconds.
Chris Ratajczyk won the 40-lap Limited Late Model feature and with the
victory, claimed the overall series championship.
Kris Kelly led the beginning laps after the event was forced to start a second
time when the field became bunched up and Tyler James bounced off the
frontstretch wall. While Kelly maintained his lead, Jeff Steenbergen, Kyle
Jarlesberg, Dylan Schuyler, and Mike Held occupied the rest of the top five
slots as Ratajczyk began to move forward through the field. By lap three,
Ratajczyk was in the top five and worked his way into fourth place by lap five
when the only caution flag of the race flew when Jim Syvrud, Tony Koepke, Chad
Reimer, and Chris Blawat tangled in turn two. Kelly led on the restart over
Steenbergen and Schuyler as Ratajczyk once again was on the move, pressuring
the top three. Ratajczyk methodically worked his way forward as he took the
lead from Kelly while Steenbergen entered the fray to battle Kelly for second.
Steenbergen as able to complete the pass and over the closing laps began to
gradually close on Ratajczyk for the lead. With two laps to go, Steenbergen
was right on Ratajczyk’s bumper but his efforts fell short when he washed
out wide in turn two, losing second place in the process to Kelly. Ratajczyk
drove to the victory ahead of Kelly while Steenbergen settled for a third
place finish. Schuyler finished in fourth place and Jarlesberg crossed the
stripe in fifth place.
Ratajczyk also claimed the win in the fast dash and Scott Nottestad paced time
trials after qualifying in at 12.510 seconds.
Eric Schuetz took the win in the 12-lap Thunderstocks feature while Ryan
DeStefano and Paul Berndt finished second and third respectively. Bob Gigstead
and Mark Kissinger rounded out the top five. Aaron Cain was declared the
Thunderstock division track champion.
Tanya Manke and Jake Vanoskey each claimed victories in the Slinger Bees races
and Ken Schulz won the Port-A-John Speedway Guest Car event. Carl Trapp topped
the Spectator Elimination races in his 1972 Chevy Nova and Shane Becker closed
the evening with a win in the Figure 8 race. Donald Van Camp was the 2005
Figure 8 Track Champion and Matt Elsinger was the winner of the Coca-Cola Kids
Club Grand Prize Drawing for the Slinger Speedway replica go-cart.
Event: Salute to Military Night Date: September 11,
2005
Late Model Feature 75-laps
1. Mike Egan (Slinger) 15.
Tommy Pecaro (Janesville)
2. Brad Mueller (Random Lake) 16. Austin Konetski (Janesville)
3. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie) 17. Nick Schumacher (Hartford)
4. John Mueller (Hubertus) 18. Robert Maynor (Colgate)
5. Ken Wills (Milwaukee) 19. Dave Teske
(Sussex)
6. Conrad Morgan (Waukesha) 20. Chad Barker (Hubertus)
7. Rich Loch (Muskego)
8. Al Schill (Franklin)
9. Fred Winn (Sussex)
10. Lowell Bennett (Neenah)
11. David Prunty (Brownsville)
12. Dennis Prunty (Lomira)
13. Donavan Morgan (Oconomowoc)
14. Scott Schoeni (Slinger)
Late Model Semi Feature- 30 laps
1. Scott Schoeni (Slinger) 4. Mike Strupp (Theresa)
2. Chad Barker (Hubertus) 5. Mark Bitzan
(Menomonee Falls)
3. Randy Schuler (Mequon)
Late Model Fast Dash- Nick Schumacher (Hartford)
Late Model Fast Time- Brad Mueller (Random Lake) 11.365 seconds
Midwest Modified Feature 25 laps
1. Ron Schmitt (Jackson) 4. Jason
Feyereisen (Random Lake)
2. Steve Huelsbeck (Milwaukee) 5. Dale Prunty (Allenton)
3. Wes Biswell (Sussex)
Midwest Modified Fast Dash- Steve Huelsbeck (Milwaukee)
Midwest Modified Fast Time- Dale Prunty (Allenton) 12.293 seconds
Midwest Sportsman Feature 30 laps
1. Brad Keith (West Bend) 4. Pat McIntee (West
Bend)
2. Dave Thomas (Franklin) 5. Mike Graczkowski
(Jackson)
3. James Swan (Lake Geneva)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Dash- Collin Bamke (Slinger)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Time- Brad Keith (West Bend) 12.666 seconds
Limited Late Model Feature 40 laps
1. Chris Ratajczyk (West Bend) 4. Dylan Schuyler (Dousman)
2. Kris Kelly (Norway, MI) 5. Kyle
Jarlesberg (Cambridge)
3. Jeff Steenbergen (Waupun)
Limited Late Model Fast Dash- Chris Ratajczyk (West Bend)
Limited Late Model Fast Time- Scott Nottestad (Cambridge) 12.510
seconds
Thunderstocks Feature 12 laps
1. Eric Schuetz (West Bend) 4. Bob Gigstead
(Kewaskum)
2. Ryan DeStefano (Colgate) 5. Mark Kissinger
(West Bend)
3. Paul Berndt (Jackson)
Slinger Bees Heat #1 8 laps
1. Tanya Manke (Hartland) 4. Travis
Buchholz (Hartland)
2. Tom Berens (Slinger)
5. Justin Poenitsch (Kewaskum)
3. Shawn Friedeck (Waukesha)
Slinger Bees Heat #2 8 laps
1. Jake Vanoskey (Hartford) 4. Andrew Gollnick
(Cedarburg)
2. Katie Kraus (Hartland) 5. Ken
Schraufnagel (Slinger)
3. Desi Weidenhoeft (Jackson)
Port-A-John Speedway Guest Cars Winner- Ken Schultz (Hartford)
Spectator Eliminator Winner- Carl Trapp
Figure 8 Winner- Shane Becker (Iron Ridge)
2005 Final Point Standings
Late Model Division: 1. Brad Mueller (Random Lake) 1170 2. David Prunty
(Brownsville) 1081; 3. Lowell Bennett (Neenah) 1019; 4. Dave Feiler (Sun
Prairie) 943; 5. Austin Konetski (Janesville, WI) 841; 6. John Mueller
(Hubertus) 824; 7. Dennis Prunty (Lomira) 816; 8. Nick Schumacher (Germantown)
792; 9. Mike Egan (Slinger) 785; 10. Al Schill (Franklin) 644; 11. Travis
Dassow (West Bend) 602; 12. Rich Loch (Franklin) 595; 13. Fred Winn (Sussex)
594; 14. Ken Wills (Milwaukee) 594; 15. Scott Schoeni (Slinger) 568; 16. Randy
Schuler (Mequon) 530; 17. Mark Bitzan (Menomonee Falls) 517; 18. Robert Maynor
(Colgate) 512; 19. Donavan Morgan (Oconomowoc) 415; 20. Tommy Hromadka
(Brookfield) 410.
Midwest Modified Division: 1. Dale Prunty (Allenton) 1839; 2. Ron
Schmitt (Jackson) 1811; 3. Steven Schulz (Menomonee Falls) 1779; 4. Steve
Huelsbeck (Milwaukee) 1702; 5. Jason Feyereisen (Randon Lake) 1500; 6. Wes
Biswell (Sussex) 1440; 7. David McCardle (Menomonee Falls) 1072; 8. Russ Grade
(Hartland) 937; 9. Joe Houpt (Mequon) 910; 10. Russ Moberly (West Bend) 736.
Midwest Sportsman Division: 1. James Swan (Lake Geneva) 1383; 2. Brad
Keith (West Bend) 1190; 3. Collin Bamke (Slinger) 1064; 4. Gary LaMonte (West
Allis) 950; 5. Dave Thomas (Franklin) 838; 6. Pat McIntee (West Bend) 828; 7.
Jay Schambeau (Hubertus) 759; 8. Mike Graczkowski (Jackson) 752; 9. Scott
Schambeau (Milwaukee) 625; 10. Gary Tisler (Reedsville) 614.
Figure 8: 1. Donald Van Camp Jr. (Seymour) 1395; 2. Scott Goetzke
(Iron Ridge) 1300; 3. Shane Becker (Iron Ridge) 1255; 4. Willy Van Camp
(Appleton) 945; 5. Paul Williams (Hartford) 900.
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