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Schill And Prunty Split Feature Wins In Slinger Season Opener
By Dan Margetta
(Slinger, WI) April 23 - Al Schill began the 2006 season with a bang by
driving to a convincing win in the opening 75-lap late model feature and David
Prunty simply dominated the second event during the Miller Lite Twin 75's
Season Opener at the Slinger Super Speedway Sunday afternoon.
"I may have gotten lucky there when the outside groove didn't go,"
the 61-year old Schill exclaimed afterwards. "We took our 1997 car and
had it redone for this season, just replaced the body and a few crooked
pieces. I can hardly imagine it myself but it looks like we may having
something for them this year."
Rich Loch and Nick Schumacher led the field of the first feature to the green
and Schumacher sprinted to the early lead as Josh Bauer, Travis Dassow, and
Rich Bickle quickly filled the inside groove, leaving Loch hung out up top. On
lap nine, Loch's car began to slip off the corner and he made hard
side-to-side contact with Bickle while exiting turn four as the field remained
under the green flag. The impact was enough to damage Bickle's machine
severely enough that he was forced to retire from the event as Schumacher
continued to maintain his lead over Dassow, Bauer, and Schill who had worked
his way into the top five after starting from the sixth row. Further back,
Jeremy Lepak along with Dennis and David Prunty began to maneuver their way
toward the front, entering the top ten just before the first caution flag
waved on lap 21 for a tangle involving Matt Kocourek, Brad Mueller, and Colin
Bamke in turn three.
Schill went to work on the restart, positioning himself to the inside of Bauer
and taking the third spot by lap 25 while Schumacher continued to hold off
Dassow for the lead. Two laps later, Schill once again used the inside to snag
second place from Dassow and then used the same move entering turn three on
lap 31 to move around Schumacher for the lead. Behind the lead trio, David
Prunty began to look to the inside of Lepak in a battle over the fourth spot,
which culminated in the second caution flag of the race when Lepak spun in
turn two after contact between the two cars. Schill once again edged out front
on the restart while Dassow dove to the inside of Schumacher in an attempt to
take second. Dassow's effort paid off on lap 37 as he was able to take the
spot, dropping Schumacher to third ahead of Dennis Prunty and Tony Strupp.
With Schill continuing to lead, Prunty began to close in on Dassow and
Schumacher while Dave Feiler advanced into the top five by lap 38 just before
the field was slowed for a third time following a spin by Gary LaMonte in turn
three. It was business as usual on the restart for Schill as he edged ahead of
the field, leaving Dassow, Schumacher and Prunty to battle for second place.
Dassow's car skidded up the track in turn four on lap 44 after receiving a
slight tap in the bumper and both Schumacher and Prunty were pass by into
second and third place respectively. With Schill comfortably out front, Prunty
began to pressure Schumacher for second place, taking the position with a
bump-and-run type move on lap 61. Once into second, Prunty tried to track down
Schill but was unable to close in as Schill took the checkered flag for the
win with Prunty having to settle for second. Schumacher finished in third
place while Dassow and Feiler rounded out the top five finishers. Loch
finished in sixth place ahead of Lowell Bennett, visiting NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series driver Erik Darnell, Jeremy Lepak, and Randy Schuler.
David Prunty dominated the second 75-lap late model feature, leading every lap
en route to the commanding victory.
"It was a goal of ours to lead all those laps," Prunty stated from
Victory Lane, referring to the lap-leading bonus he collected courtesy of T
& M Landscaping. "This car is good but it's not perfect yet, just
wait until next week."
Prunty and Nathan Haseleu occupied the front row at the start as Prunty and
Brad Mueller used the outside lane to pull ahead, leaving Haseleu to battle
with Gary LaMonte, Tony Strupp, Matt Kocourek, and Lowell Bennett for third.
The handling on Haseleu's machine began to fade and he slipped back,
eventually leaving the track for adjustments on lap 14 while Prunty and
Mueller hooked up to pull away from the field. The first caution flag appeared
on lap 17 when Dennis Prunty rode the turn one wall, hitting hard enough to
launch the car on two wheels before having it land back down on all four
tires.
As racing resumed, David Prunty and Mueller maintained their lead while
LaMonte, Kocourek, and Strupp ran side-by-side for third as Bennett, Jeremy
Lepak, Al Schill, and Rich Bickle followed close behind. Kocourek moved to the
inside of LaMonte to grab third place on lap 25 just prior to the second
yellow flag of the event which flew on lap 31 following a spin by Strupp in
turn two while battling for fifth place. Prunty pulled away on the restart
while Kocourek began to pressure Mueller for second as Schill and Bickle
worked their way forward in the waning laps. A late caution on lap 65 for a
spin by Mark Bitzan set up a ten lap run toward the finish, but no one had
anything for Prunty as he steadily drove to the win ahead of Mueller who held
off Kocourek for second. Schill finished in fourth place ahead of Bennett and
Bickle. Gary LaMonte completed a strong run with a seventh place finish while
Jeremy Lepak, Dave Feiler, and Rich Loch rounded out the top ten.
Mike Egan won the 30-lap late model semi-feature over John Mueller and Tommy
Pecaro while Jamie Wallace and Scott Schoeni finished in fourth and fifth
place respectively. Pete Weidmeyer was the winner of the 15-lap late model
consi, taking the checkered flag ahead of Ed Grober and Jerry Eckhardt. Mike
DeKuester finished in fourth place and Bill Shavlik was fifth. Dennis Prunty
edged Rich Bickle by less than a car length to win the late model fast dash
and Brad Mueller topped the 43-car late model field in qualifying to set fast
time at 11.384 seconds.
James Swan made a late charge to take the lead with five laps to go and went
on to win the 40-lap Midwest Sportsman feature over Dave Obermeyer and Pat
McIntee.
Dean Olla led the opening laps as Jeff Holtz took to the high groove to put
pressure on the leader as Obermeyer closed in on the lead duo. With Holtz
still looking to the outside to get around Olla, Obermeyer dove to the low
side off turn two on lap 11, pulling off an impressive move that resulted in
him taking the lead entering turn three. Once out front, Obermeyer began to
pull away as Rob Braun advanced into second place while further back, Swan
steadily made his way toward the front, bringing McIntee along with him.
Looking for his first Slinger feature win, Obermeyer maintained his advantage
as Braun began to close slightly as Swan and McIntee continued to charge and
close the gap between themselves and the leaders. Debris on the speedway and
mechanical issues on Mark Kissinger's car brought out the caution flag on lap
29 with Obermeyer leading Braun, Swan, McIntee, and Holtz. On the restart,
Swan was quick on the button and he immediately dove to the inside of Braun to
wrestle away second place as Obermeyer remained out front. With the laps
winding down, Swan stalked Obermeyer, eventually closing to his rear bumper
with less than ten laps to go. With five laps to go, Obermeyer swung wide in
the corner and Swan was able to make the pass for the lead as the yellow flag
flew a lap later when Braun looped his car in turn two. Obermeyer made a valid
attempt to challenge for the win over the final laps, but Swan was too strong
and he charged to the win. Obermeyer finished in second place ahead of McIntee,
Mike Graczkowski, and Dave Thomas, who earlier set fast time with a lap of
12.525 seconds.
Dale Prunty raced to the win in the 35-lap Midwest Modified feature.
Terry Helmbrecht and Bill Tandetzke led the field to the green and Helmbrecht
edged out front while Tandetzke battled for second with John Kruschel. A quick
caution flag appeared on lap two when Joey Bentfield spun in turn three and as
racing resumed, Tandetzke looked to the outside of Helmbrecht for the lead as
Prunty moved up into third place followed closely by Ron Schmitt and Steve
Huelsbeck. Tandetzke used the outside to take the top spot on lap nine,
bringing Prunty with him and into second place. A lap later, Prunty also used
the high side to race around Tandetzke to take command of the race as Steve
Schulz stalled on lap 11 to bring out the caution flag. Back under green,
Prunty pulled away while Schmitt and Tandetzke fought for second place. On lap
13, Tandetzke drifted high exiting turn two while Schmitt was looking to the
outside to pass and Tandetzke spun down the backstretch, putting the field
under yellow for a third time. As racing resumed, the closest racing was for
second on back as Prunty had a healthy lead while Schmitt tried to hold off
Kruschel and Huelsbeck. Kruschel and Huelsbeck ran side-by-side for the third
spot and the hard racing between them cut down a tire on Huelsbeck's car,
sending him hard into the wall in turn one on lap 15. Prunty led Schmitt and
Jason Feyereisen on the restart and those three moved ahead of the rest of the
field during the closing laps. Prunty held off Schmitt to take the win while
Feyereisen finished a close third. James Poleske crossed the finish line in
fourth place while early leader Terry Helmbrecht finished in fifth. Earlier,
Huelsbeck turned in a qualifying lap of 12.233 seconds to become the afternoon's
fastest qualifier.
Event: Miller Lite Twin 75's Season Opener
Date: April 23, 2006
Late Model Feature #1 75-laps
1. Al Schill
(Franklin)
15. Tony Strupp (West Bend)
2. Dennis Prunty (Lomira)
16. David Prunty (Brownsville)
3. Nick Schumacher (Hartford) 17. Nathan
Haseleu (Pardeeville)
4. Travis Dassow (West Bend) 18.
Conrad Morgan (Waukesha)
5. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie) 19.
Dave Teske (Richfield)
6. Rich Loch
(Franklin)
20. Mark Bitzan (Menomonee Falls)
7. Lowell Bennett (Neenah)
21. Josh Bauer (Random Lake)
8. Erik Darnell (Beach Park, IL) 22. Colin Bamke
(Slinger)
9. Jeremy Lepak
(Plover) 23. Rich
Bickle (Edgerton)
10. Randy Schuler (Mequon)
11. Matt Kocourek (Franklin)
12. Chad Barker (Hubertus)
13. Gary LaMonte (West Allis)
14. Brad Mueller (Random Lake)
Late Model Feature #2 75-laps
1. David Prunty (Brownsville) 15. Travis Dassow (West
Bend)
2. Brad Mueller (Random Lake) 16. Erik Darnell (Beach Park,
IL)
3. Matt Kocourek (Franklin) 17. Dave Teske
(Richfield)
4. Al Schill (Franklin)
18. Mark Bitzan (Menomonee Falls)
5. Lowell Bennett (Neenah) 19. Conrad
Morgan (Waukesha)
6. Rich Bickle (Edgerton) 20. Tony
Strupp (West Bend)
7. Gary LaMonte (West Allis) 21. Josh Bauer (Random
Lake)
8. Jeremy Lepak (Plover) 22.
Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville)
9. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie) 23. Dennis Prunty (Lomira)
10. Rich Loch (Franklin)
11. Colin Bamke (Slinger)
12. Nick Schumacher (Hartford)
13. Chad Barker (Hubertus)
14. Randy Schuler (Mequon)
Late Model Semi Feature- 30 laps
1. Mike Egan (Slinger) 4.
Jamie Wallace (Pell Lake)
2. John Mueller (Hubertus) 5. Scott Schoeni
(Slinger)
3. Tommy Pecaro (Markesan)
Late Model Consi. Feature- 15 lap
1. Pete Weidmeyer (West Bend) 4. Mike DeKeuster
(Franksville)
2. Ed Grober (Milwaukee)
5. Bill Shavlik (West Bend)
3. Jerry Eckhardt (Johnson Creek)
Late Model Fast Dash- Dennis Prunty (Lomira)
Late Model Fast Time- Brad Mueller (Random Lake) 11.384
seconds
Midwest Modified Feature 35 laps
1. Dale Prunty (Allenton) 4. James
Poleske (West Bend)
2. Ron Schmitt (Jackson) 5.
Terry Helmbrecht (Hartford)
3. Jason Feyereisen (Random Lake)
Midwest Modified Fast Time- Steve Huelsbeck (Milwaukee) 12.233
seconds
Midwest Sportsman Feature 40 laps
1. James Swan (Lake Geneva) 4. Mike Graczkowski
(Jackson)
2. Dave Obermeyer (Allenton) 5. Dave Thomas
(Franklin)
3. Pat McIntee (West Bend)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Time- Dave Thomas (Franklin) 12.525
seconds
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