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Bennett Finds Victory Lane In Culver's Of Jackson 60
By Dan Margetta
(Slinger, WI) May 13—There was no catching Lowell Bennett Sunday night at
the Slinger Super Speedway as he solidly charged to the win in the Culver’s
of Jackson 60-lap late model feature, taking the checkered flag ten car
lengths ahead of Collin Bamke.
“He (Bamke) had a good car there and I was watching him,” Bennett
explained from Victory Lane. “He was pretty strong for a long time,”
Bennett continued after scoring his first feature win of the season. “ But I
just kept going the way I was and when he faded a little bit, I knew I was
comfy.”
Nick Schumacher shot into the lead at the drop of the green flag from his
outside front row starting position as early on the top groove looked to be
the preferred line as both Conrad Morgan and Bennett used it to move into
second and third respectively. Behind the leaders, Bamke, David Prunty, and Al
Schill staged a duel of their own over the fifth spot while Fred Winn occupied
the fourth position. A mechanical issued on John Mueller’s car sent it
skidding up the banking and into the turn four wall to bring out the first
yellow flag of the race on lap 21.
Schumacher chose the inside line for the restart, leaving Bennett to take the
high line with Morgan, Winn, Bamke, Schill, and Prunty lined up double-file
behind them. As racing resumed, Bennett worked the top groove to edge ahead
slightly, leading the next few laps at the line with Schumacher remaining
tough alongside him down low. While Bennett and Schumacher disputed the lead,
Schill and Prunty battled aggressively over sixth and both cars got out of
shape exiting turn two and only a heads-up courtesy move by Prunty saved an
incident and the race remained green. The second caution flag appeared on lap
24 when an aggressive move sent Winn sliding around in turn one.
Bennett chose the upper lane for the restart and immediately charged ahead as
the green flag reappeared while Bamke also used the top side to take over
second, leaving Schumacher to race with Schill and Prunty for third. Bennett
extended his lead through the mid-stages of the race as Bamke attempted to
close. Schill’s race came to an end on lap 43 when he exited with mechanical
problems leaving Schumacher to contend with Prunty and Mike Egan for third.
Bamke was able to close slightly when the leaders caught lapped traffic, but
could never get close enough to seriously contend for the win as Bennett drove
to the checkered flag and the victory. Schumacher finished third while Prunty
and Egan rounded out the top five. Josh Bauer crossed the stripe in
sixth ahead of Conrad Morgan and fast qualifier Mike Strupp. Matt
Kocourek finished ninth and Matt Raudabaugh turned in a strong run to finish
tenth.
Randy Schuler won the 30-lap late model semi-feature over Scott Schoeni and
Chris Carlson. Jon Ovadal Jr. and Gary LaMonte were fourth and fifth
respectively. David Prunty won the late model fast dash and Mike Strupp
paced qualifying for the second consecutive week at 11.353 seconds.
Chris Blawat captured his first career feature victory by besting Jon Reynolds
Jr. for the win in a near photo finish in the 25-lap limited late model main
event.
Blawat took command of the event at the start over Tyler James and Jim
Schmittinger while Reynolds and David McCardle followed. Reynolds began to
slice his way forward, taking second place by the halfway mark while Blawat
continued to lead. Dan Jung and Chris Ratajczyk charged their way forward and
into the top five by the 20-lap mark as Reynolds began to close on Blawat.
With three laps to go, Reynolds moved to the outside and alongside Blawat,
leading briefly at the stripe. On the final lap, Blawat and Reynolds fought
side by side for the win with Blawat using the inside and Reynolds looking
stout on the top. In the final corner, Blawat leaned on Reynolds slightly and
it was just enough to give him a run to the checkered flag where he edged
Reynolds by less than a car length for the win. James completed a strong run
with a third place finish while Jung held off Ratajczyk for the fourth spot in
a hotly contested battle at the stripe.
Ryan DeStefano raced to the win in the limited late model fast dash and Dan
Jung was the fastest qualifier after turning in a lap of 12.274 seconds.
Scott Shambeau led flag to flag en route to the win in the 25-lap Midwest
Sportsman feature.
Shambeau used the outside lane to jump into the lead at the start while Bobby
Gutknecht and Jeff Holtz worked their way around Andrew Kulka and into
second and third. Pat McIntee and James Swan also began to weave their way
toward the front while Shambeau began to extend his lead. The top five
remained stagnant as the laps clicked away with Shambeau looking comfortable
out front. Shambeau’s lead evaporated on lap 10 when the caution appeared
for a Jake Vanosky spin in turn two. Shambeau once again shot into the lead as
racing resumed as the inside line began to edge forward with Holtz taking over
second place ahead of Swan and Dave Thomas. With Shambeau out front, Swan used
the outside line to get second place from Holtz on lap 22 while Thomas fought
to hold off Kenny Joosten in fourth. At the line, Shambeau took the checkered
flag first to score the win while Swan finished second ahead of Holtz and
Thomas. Joosten finished in the fifth position.
Kenny Joosten was the winner of the Midwest Sportsman fast dash and James Swan
set fast time with a lap of 12.618 seconds.
Seth Lootans took the lead from Ryan Gutknecht with five laps to go and went
on to win the 20-lap Thunderstock feature. Paul Konieczny finished second
while Gutknecht, Aaron Cain, and John Daley rounded out the top five.
Bob Losiniecki won the Slinger Bees feature by being in the right place at the
right time on the final lap. C.J. Corallini appeared to be on his way to
victory when a lapped car spun and collected him in turn four as he raced to
the checkered flag. Losiniecki avoided the incident and charged to the win
over Jared Apel while Corallini recovered to finish third. Brandon Wolf and
Bill Roska were fourth and fifth place respectively. Donald Van Camp closed
the night with a win in an exciting Figure 8 event that was slowed once by a
hard collision in the “X” between Justin Poenitsch and Robert St. George.
Neither driver was injured.
Event: Culver’s of Jackson 60
Date: May 13, 2007
Late Model Feature 60-laps
1. Lowell Bennett (Neenah) 15. Mike Meyerhofer
(Burlington)
2. Collin Bamke (Slinger) 16. Race McComb
(Hartford)
3. Nick Schumacher (Hartford) 17. Scott Schoeni (Slinger)
4. David Prunty (Brownsville) 18. Dale Prunty (Allenton)
5. Mike Egan (Slinger) 19. Al
Schill (Franklin)
6. Josh Bauer (Random Lake) 20. John Mueller
(Hubertus)
7. Conrad Morgan (Waukesha)
8. Mike Strupp (Theresa)
9. Matt Kocourek (Franklin)
10. Matt Raudabaugh (Menomonee Falls)
11. Fred Winn (Sussex)
12. Brad Keith (West Bend)
13. Nick Hammer (Sun Prairie)
14. Randy Schuler (Mequon)
Late Model Semi Feature- 30 laps
1. Randy Schuler (Mequon) 4. Jon Ovadal Jr.
(Watertown)
2. Scott Schoeni (Slinger) 5. Gary LaMonte (West
Allis)
3. Chris Carlson (Greenfield)
Late Model Fast Dash- David Prunty (Brownsville)
Late Model Fast Time- Mike Strupp (Theresa) 11.353 seconds
Midwest Sportsman Feature 25 laps
1. Scott Shambeau (Milwaukee) 4. Dave Thomas (Franklin)
2. James Swan (Lake Geneva) 5. Kenny Joosten (Wonder
Lake, IL)
3. Jeff Holtz (Muskego)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Dash- Kenny Joosten (Wonder Lake, IL)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Time- James Swan (Lake Geneva) 12.618
seconds
Limited Late Model Feature 25 laps
1. Chris Blawat
(Eagle)
4. Dan Jung (Hubertus)
2. Jon Reynolds Jr. (Rockford, IL) 5. Chris Ratajczyk (West Bend)
3. Tyler James (Oconomowoc)
Limited Late Model Fast Dash- Ryan DeStefano (Colgate)
Limited Late Model Fast Time- Dan Jung (Hubertus) 12.274
seconds
Thunderstocks Feature 20 laps
1. Seth Lootans (Kenosha) 4. Aaron Cain
(Slinger)
2. Paul Konieczny (Oconomowoc) 5. John Daley (West Bend)
3. Ryan Gutknecht (Oak Creek)
Thunderstock Fast Time- Dave Edwards (Salem) 13.961 seconds
Slinger Bees Feature 14 laps
1. Bob Losiniecki (Richfield) 4. Brandon Wolf (Hartford)
2. Jared Apel (Colgate) 5.
Bill Roska (Sussex)
3. C.J. Corallini (North Lake)
Slinger Bees Fast Time- Jared Apel (Colgate) 16.132 seconds
Figure 8 Winner- Donald Van Camp(Seymour)
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