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Mueller Back In Victory Lane After Eden Meat Market 65
By Dan Margetta
(Slinger, WI ) May 7 - Defending track champion Brad Mueller ended a long
losing streak in grand fashion by holding off Josh Bauer, David Prunty, and Al
Schill in a barn-burner to score his first late model feature win in over a
year in the Eden Meat Market 65 Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.
"Unbelievable," Mueller exclaimed from Victory Lane after taking the
lead from Bauer late in the race. "Josh (Bauer) ran a heck of a race and
I was just waiting to see if I could reel him in, but then we had a restart
there and I had all the confidence in this new car. To do this the second time
out in this racecar, I think we have something to reckon with here this
year."
Dave Teske led the early laps as Bauer settled into second place ahead of Gary
LaMonte, Rich Loch, and Tony Strupp. Teske stretched his lead over Bauer as
they broke away from the pack while Loch took over third place by lap 11.
Meanwhile, Mueller and David Prunty used the inside line to move forward and
into the top five by lap 20. With Teske continuing to lead over Bauer,
Mueller and Prunty went to work on Loch for third place, eventually moving
Loch back to fifth by lap 40. Bauer gradually caught Teske by lap 45 and used
the outside lane to move alongside in a battle for the top spot. Bauer and
Teske ran side-by-side over the next five laps and in doing so, allowed
Mueller to close in to make it a three-car battle up front. As the leaders
approached lapped traffic, the inside groove was not the place to be and Teske
found himself picked by a lapped car, allowing Bauer and Mueller to race by
and into first and second. Prunty and Loch also were able to pass Teske before
he was able to get outside and rejoin the leaders. Bauer's car began to kick
loose off the corners and Mueller edged closer, looking several times to the
outside before a Scott Schoeni spin on lap 58 bunched the field up under the
caution flag with seven laps to go.
With double-file restarts put in effect this season, Mueller found himself on
the high groove and used the lane to take advantage of Bauer's loose handling
conditions by positioning himself to Bauer's outside for the final laps. With
Mueller alongside, Bauer was unable to let his car run free exiting the turns
and lap after lap, Mueller edged slightly ahead before taking over the top
spot with three laps to go. Once out front, Mueller was able to turn back
Bauer's challenges to score the victory, his first in over a year. Bauer held
off Prunty for second by less than a car length and Schill finished in fourth,
a half car-length behind Prunty. Teske fought his way back to fifth place
ahead of Lowell Bennett and Rich Loch. Nick Schumacher, Ken Wills, and Colin
Bamke rounded out the top ten finishers.
Scott Schoeni won the 30-lap late model semi-feature over Fred Winn and Mike
McCabe. Tom Hromadka finished in fourth place and Mark
Bitzan was fifth. Tony Strupp was the winner of the fast dash and John Mueller
was the fastest qualifier of the evening after turning in a lap of 11.385
seconds.
Mike Graczkowski worked the outside groove and held off Brad Keith and Jeff
Holtz to win the Old Wisconsin Smokehouse 30-lap Midwest Sportsman
feature.
"One of the tricks we learned about getting around this track isn't about
motors or how much money you spend, it's about getting through these
turns," Graczkowski explained following the win. "Over the winter me
and the boys worked hard to get this car to do that and I'm happy that it paid
off, I'm pretty fired up right now!"
Dean Olla and Mike Borchardt led the field at the start with Olla immediately
jumping into the lead as Jeff Holtz edged ahead of Borchardt for second. Rob
Braun and Brad Keith filled their tire tracks in fourth and fifth place
respectively. The action came to a halt suddenly on lap two when fast
qualifier Dave Thomas took a wild upside-down ride along the backstretch to
bring out the red flag. Thomas' car ramped the backstretch wall exiting turn
two and turned over on its roof, sliding the length of the straightaway before
bouncing off the turn three wall and sliding to a stop upside-down in the
infield. Thomas emerged from the scary ordeal unhurt as Olla led Holtz and
Borchardt under the red flag.
As racing resumed, Holtz took to the outside and snagged the lead from Olla as
Graczkowski used his inside position on the double-file restart to work his
way around Keith and Braun. Graczkowski moved around Olla a few laps later as
Keith and Braun went to work on Borchardt. On lap seven Keith and Braun split
Borchardt in a momentarily three-wide move and began to track down Holtz and
Graczkowski for the top spots. Simultaneous spins by Corey Funk and Mark
Kissinger in turn three and James Swan and Jay Shambeau in turn two put the
field under the caution flag on lap eight. On the restart, Graczkowski moved
to the outside of Holtz and the two ran door-to-door over the next 11 laps
before Graczkowsi edged ahead on lap 19. As Grackzowski and Holtz battled for
the top spot, Keith closed in on the lead duo, moving directly behind them as
the laps began to dwindle. Graczkowski swung wide off turn four on lap 20 and
as he saved the car, Holtz was forced to check up slightly as Keith motored by
to take second place. Graczkowski drove smooth over the final laps and he took
the checkered flag ahead of Keith for the win. Holtz crossed the finish line
for a strong third place finish while Mike Borchardt and Rob Braun rounded out
the top five.
Scott Ascher was the winner of the Midwest Sportsman dash and Dave Thomas set
fast time with a lap of 12.598 seconds.
Joel Houpt charged to his first Slinger Midwest Modified feature win, holding
off Steve Huelsbeck and Dale Prunty at the finish of the 25-lap main
event.
Matt Pate paced the early going as Joey Bentfield, Bill Tandetzke, Ron
Schmitt, and Houpt all scrambled for positions behind him. Houpt made the most
forward progress as he advanced from his fifth starting position to take the
lead by lap ten while Huelsbeck also charged from deep in the field to take
second place while Pate battled with Jason Feyereisen and Schmitt for third
place. The race was slowed under the caution flag on lap 15 as the tussle for
third place ended with Pate, Feyereisen, and Schmitt tangled together against
the third turn wall. As racing resumed, Huelsbeck made several attempts to
pass Houpt for the lead, but Houpt would not be denied the victory and he held
on to take the checkered flag for the win. Huelsbeck finished in second ahead
of Dale Prunty and John Kruschel. Bill Tandetzke finished in fifth
place.
Houpt also picked up the win in the Midwest Modified fast dash and Feyereisen
set fast time at 12.388 seconds.
Rick Schaefer won the Thunderstocks feature over Shawn Hoeffler and Joe
DeStefano. Brad Jakes and Aaron Cain were fourth and fifth respectively. Tom
Berens raced to the win in the Slinger Bees event, crossing the finish line
ahead of Matt Schatz and Shawn Gavin. C.J. Corallini finished in fourth place
and Jason Hennes was fifth. Scott Goetzke closed out the evening with a
victory in the 10-lap Figure 8 event.
Event: Eden Meat Market/Old Wisconsin
65
Date: May 7, 2006
Late Model Feature 65-laps
1. Brad Mueller (Random Lake) 15. Conrad Morgan
(Waukesha)
2. Josh Bauer (Random Lake) 16. Ed Grober
(Milwaukee)
3. David Prunty (Brownsville) 17. Race McComb
(Hartford)
4. Al Schill (Franklin)
18. Jim Schmittinger (West Bend)
5. Dave Teske (Richfield) 19. Dennis
Prunty (Lomira)
6. Lowell Bennett (Neenah) 20. Gary
LaMonte (West Allis)
7. Rich Loch (Muskego)
21. Tony Strupp (West Bend)
8. Nick Schumacher (Slinger)
9. Ken Wills (Slinger)
10. Colin Bamke (Slinger)
11. Travis Dassow (West Bend)
12. Scott Schoeni (Slinger)
13. Fred Winn (Sussex)
14. John Mueller (Hubertus)
Late Model Semi Feature- 30 lap
1. Scott Schoeni (Slinger) 4. Tom Hromadka
(Brookfield)
2. Fred Winn (Sussex) 5. Mark
Bitzan (Menomonee Falls)
3. Mike McCabe (New Berlin)
Late Model Fast Dash- Tony Strupp (West Bend)
Late Model Fast Time- John Mueller (Hubertus) 11.385
seconds
Midwest Modified Feature 30 laps
1. Joel Houpt
(Mequon) 4. John
Krushell (Sussex)
2. Steve Huelsbeck (Milwaukee) 5. Bill Tandetzke
(Milwaukee)
3. Dale Prunty (Allenton)
Midwest Modified Fast Dash- Joel Houpt (Mequon)
Midwest Modified Fast Time- Jason Feyereisen (Random Lake)
12.388 seconds
Midwest Sportsman Feature 30 laps
1. Mike Graczkowski (Jackson) 4. Mike Borchardt
(Greenfield)
2. Brad Keith (West Bend) 5. Rob
Braun (Wales)
3. Jeff Holtz (Muskego)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Dash- Scott Ascher (Sussex)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Time- Dave Thomas (Franklin) 12.598
seconds
Thunderstocks Feature 15 laps
1. Rick Schaefer (Kewaskum) 4. Brad Jakes (Lannon)
2. Shawn Hoeffler (Slinger) 5. Aaron Cain (West Bend)
3. Joe DeStefano (Colgate)
Slinger Bees Heat #1 laps
1. Tom Berens (Slinger) 4. C.J. Corallini
(North Lake)
2. Matt Schatz (West Bend) 5. Jason Hennes
(Richfield)
3. Shawn Gavin (Jackson)
Figure 8 Winner- Scott Goetzke (Iron Ridge)
Late Model Point Standings
1.Brad Mueller Random Lake 82; 2. Josh Bauer Random Lake 72; 3. David Prunty
Brownsville; 4. Al Schill Franklin 53; 5. Dave Teske Richfield 46; 6. Lowell
Bennett Neenah 45; 7. Rich Loch Muskego 43; 8. Nick Schumacher Harford 40; 9.
Ken Wills Slinger 38; 10. Collin Bamke Slinger 36; 11. Travis Dassow West Bend
35; 12. Scott Schoeni Slinger 34; 13. Fred Winn Sussex 33; 14. John Mueller
Hubertus 33; 15. Conrad Morgan Wales 32; 16. Ed Grober Milwaukee 31; 17. Race
McComb Hartford 30; 18. Jim Schmittinger West Bend 30; Dennis Prunty Lomira
29; 20. Gary LaMonte West Allis 28; 21. Tony Strupp West Bend 28
Midwest Sportsman Point Standings
1. Mike Graczkowski Jackson 86; 2. Brad Keith West Bend 74; 3. Jeff Holtz
Muskego 63: 4. Mike Borchardt Greenfield 56; 5. Rob Braun Wales 49; 6. James
Swan Lake Geneva 46; 7. Scott Shambeau Milwaukee 45; 8. Ryan Zielski Slinger
41; 9. TroyWeich Fond du Lac 36; 10. DaveThomas Franklin35
Midwest Modified Point Standings
1. Joe Houpt Mequon 127; 2. Steve Huelsbeck Milwaukee 115; 3. Dale Prunty
Allenton 94; 4. John Kruschel Sussex 88; 5. Bill Tandetzke Milwaukee 76; 6.
James Poleske Oconomowoc 67; 7. Matt Pate Menomonee Falls 56; 8. Jason
Feyereisen Random Lake 48; 9. Ron Schmitt Jackson 45; 10. Joey Bentfield
Gerkes Corners 45
Figure 8 Point Standings
1. Scott Goetzke 100; 2. Donald VanCamp Jr. 80; 3. Willy VanCamp70; 4. Jeff
Wohlabe 65; 5. Paul Williams 60
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