Mueller Wins Bob Fish Labor Day Special 100!
By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); September 2, 2007 - Brad Mueller drove to his second feature victory of the season in the Bob Fish Pontiac Buick GMC Labor Day Special 100-lap late model main event Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“Wow!” Mueller exclaimed upon exiting his car in Victory Lane. “It has been a long time and I’m very, very happy.”

Mueller led a total of 88 laps after using the outside lane to take the lead from Al Schill on lap 12, and then maintained his advantage over Lowell Bennett as the laps wound down.

“I was holding back a little bit after we got a pretty good car-length lead,” Mueller continued. “I kind of idled back a little bit because I’ve been known to fry the right rear tire off these things, so I thought I would play it safe and well, it worked out tonight.”

Tommy Pecaro paced the beginning laps with Schill using the inside to move into second place while Mike Strupp claimed third over Mueller and Race McComb. The car of Jacob Goede looped around in turn two after racing hard for a spot in the top ten on lap four, drawing the caution flag as the field slowed abruptly to avoid the incident. Several cars left the track for repairs and all were able to return with the exception of fast qualifier Nick Schumacher who retired from the event after sustaining damage in the wreck.  [Dale Prunty got caught up in the wreck.  He left the track and tried to return after changing the flat tire, but left the track quickly realizing that there was more broke in the front end then he thought.]

Pecaro chose the inside line for the restart, leaving the outside to Schill which he used to his advantage to rocket into the lead as racing resumed. Mueller also used the top lane to work is way into third place while Bennett, Strupp, and Eric Fransen followed behind him. By lap nine, Mueller had pulled alongside Pecaro for second, once again working the outside lane, and as the two cars exited turn four side by side, Pecaro’s car broke loose and he spun to the infield as the race remained under the green flag. Once into second, it took just three laps for Mueller to track down Schill and make the move for the lead, taking to the outside to make the pass on lap 12. Bennett was on the march as well and he too used the top lane to race his way into second place on lap 16, leaving Schill to battle with Strupp, Fransen, and David Prunty.

The remainder of the race ran caution-free despite numerous single car spins as Mueller maintained about a half straightaway advantage over Bennett, who appeared to be able to close slightly once the leaders were free of lapped traffic. Behind the leaders, Strupp was able to power his way into third place, a spot he was able to keep despite suffering a momentarily setback when his car appeared to slow suddenly on the backstretch near lap 70 before regaining momentum and continuing on.

Mueller ran a steady pace in the late stages and raced to the win as Bennett was unable to seriously challenge for the lead, taking the checkered flag in second place. Strupp wrapped up a very strong run with a solid third place finish while John Mueller parlayed a late race charge into a fourth place result. David Prunty took the checkered flag in fifth place, ahead of Fransen and Matt Kocourek. Conrad Morgan came home with an eighth place finish ahead of Tony Strupp, who was ninth, and Jacob Goede recovered from the early spin to post a tenth place finish in his Slinger debut.

Collin Bamke won the 30-lap late model semi-feature over Fred Winn and Mike Egan while Brian Johnson Jr. and Randy Schuler were fourth and fifth respectively. Jerry Eckhardt took top honors in the 15-lap late model consi over Larry Epright and Ron Ragan while George Olson and Kelsey Bauer rounded out the top five. Brad Mueller was the winner of the late model fast dash and Nick Schumacher was the fastest qualifier at 11.493 seconds.

Jon Reynolds Jr. charged forward from deep in the field to win the 30-lap limited late model feature.
 

David Prunty Wins Transport Services 60 & Schill Takes Race of Champions! By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); August 26, 2007 - ....Mike Strupp was the winner of the 30-lap late model semi-feature over Florian Wisinski and Dale Prunty. Eddie May and Collin Bamke rounded out the top five. Nick Schumacher won the late model fast dash and Brad Mueller was the fastest qualifier after lapping the speedway in 11.445 seconds.

KENSETH CAPTURES WIN AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE
By: Kevin Ramsell

Sunday, August 26, 2007 (West Allis, WI) – Matt Kenseth made his return visit to The Milwaukee Mile a successful one as he held off 36 other competitors to win the Wisconsin All-Star 50 with Matt Kenseth event. It was Kenseth’s first win at America’s Legendary Oval.

Earlier in the day, Kenseth qualified his Pathfinder Chassis prepared Ford Fusion to a new track record of 29.241 seconds (123.114 mph) that was set last year by Nate Haseleu, who set the mark at 29.260 seconds (123.035 mph). A total of 38 cars took qualified for the main event.

The top eight in qualifying were inverted for the start. Chris Weinkauf and Dean Cornelius led the field to Tom Powell’s green flag. At the break, it was Cornelius pacing the field.

Kenseth, who started eighth quickly worked his way to the front and was up to second place by lap 8. Cornelius jumped out to almost a half a straightaway lead over Kenseth.

Kenseth was slowly gaining on Cornelius, but lap traffic allowed Kenseth to catch Cornelius. The two raced side-by-side for the lead as the halfway signal was given at the start finish line. As the two went into turn one, Kenseth took the lead on the inside of Cornelius and began to pull away. A crowd of over 14,000 erupted in cheers as Kenseth cruised down the backstretch.

Kenseth would go on to a near five second victory over Cornelius and take home his first ever win at The Milwaukee Mile. Dan Fredrickson made a late race pass to get around Jesse Saunders for third. Jeremy Lepak rounded out the top five.

Defending champion, Nate Haseleu was sixth with Steve Carlson in seventh. Steve Holzhausen finished eighth and Josh Bauer was ninth. Brian Johnson Jr. rounded out the top-ten.

“It was fun to come here and race with the guys I used to race a lot with like Steve Carlson and Steve Holzhausen,” Kenseth stated in victory lane after the race.

“We know he was coming, we kind of were expecting him to come,” Cornelius stated after the race. “Once he caught me, I knew we were racing for second, we couldn’t hang on to what he had. We will take this home as a win.”

Lepak Edges Prunty to Win The Pepsi Challenge 80 Presented by Russ Darrow Toyota!
By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); August 12, 2007 - Jeremy Lepak out-dueled David Prunty in a thriller Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway to win the Pepsi Challenge 80 presented by Russ Darrow Toyota by a car length.

“I had to work pretty hard for that one,” Lepak told an excited crowd following the event. “It was real exciting there and I’m glad we put on a good show for the fans as he (Prunty) made it interesting.”

Steven Schulz battled Fred Winn for the lead at the green flag before Winn used the outside to gain the top spot on lap two. Mike also moved forward, taking over the second spot by lap ten while David Prunty followed in third, just ahead of Dale Prunty and Schulz. David Prunty was able to work his way into second by lap 14, just before a spin by Nick Schumacher in turn two produced the first caution flag. Winn was able to maintain the lead on the restart but three laps later, Prunty was able to track him down, passing him to take the lead and opening the door for Egan to grab second.

As Prunty began to extend his lead, Lepak methodically picked his way through the field, entering the top five by lap 20. Utilizing his car’s ability to turn well on the inside exiting the corners, Lepak used the lower groove to race into third place by lap 30 before charging around Egan for second on lap 32. The leaders approached lapped traffic and Lepak began to cut into Prunty’s advantage while Egan battled with Matt Kocourek over third. A spin by Race McComb in turn two on lap 49 brought out the yellow flag and bunched up the field for the restart with Prunty choosing the inside lane, leaving Lepak to line up alongside on the high lane.

Prunty was on the mark for the restart and kept the lead while Lepak made serious challenges for the top spot in the high groove, moving alongside, but not able to clear Prunty’s car as they exited the corners. On lap 51, Lepak finally made the move stick and he edged by to take the lead while Kocourek advanced into third place and Nick Schumacher began to charge ahead and into the top five. Lepak was unable to shake Prunty as the defending track champion remained in his tire tracks when a tangle between Winn and Egan in turn four brought out the caution flag for the final time on lap 60.

The final 20 laps produced some of the best racing of the season as Prunty used the inside lane while Lepak worked the top as they battled for the lead. The two remained close together for the final laps with Prunty able to pull up to Lepak’s rear quarter panel only to have Lepak ease ahead with a better run off the corners. On the final lap, Lepak was able to maintain his advantage, taking the win with Prunty nearly alongside at his rear bumper. Schumacher recovered from the earlier spin to impressively come home with a third place finish while Kocourek and Dale Prunty rounded out the top five. Al Schill took the checkered flag in sixth place ahead of Mike Strupp and Gary LaMonte while Nick Hammer and Race McComb completed the top ten finishers.

Tommy Hromadka captured the win in the 30-lap late model semi-feature over Mike Meyerhofer who edged Brad Bennett in a photo finish for the final transfer spot into the main event. Joe DeStefano Jr. and Jerry Eckhardt were fourth and fifth respectively. Matt Kocourek was the winner of the late model fast dash and Nick Schumacher was the fastest qualifier at 11.458 seconds.

Bennett Drives to the Win in PPC 75!
By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); July 29, 2007 - Despite losing his power steering early in the event, Lowell Bennett bested Dale Prunty to win the Professional Plumbing Contractors 75-lap late model feature Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“I got about halfway through and I radioed the guys that we lost power steering,” an exhausted Bennett told the crowd from Victory Lane. “I really had to manhandle it tonight.”

John Mueller and Dale Prunty led the field to the green flag and Prunty used the upper groove to grab the early lead while Bennett battled with Mueller for second. Mueller worked the inside to take sole possession of second on lap eight as Al Schill and Gary LaMonte moved up to challenge Bennett for third. Nick Schumacher sliced his way from deep in the field to fifth place by lap 14 as Prunty continued to lead. Schumacher’s charge forward came to an end a lap later when something appeared to break on the right rear of his car as he entered turn one, sending him sideways. LaMonte ramped Schumacher’s sliding car in turn two and ended up head on into the Styrofoam barriers positioned against the wall at the exit of turn two. The incident also collected the car of Randy Schuler as the yellow flag appeared.

Mueller was quick on the button on the restart and he charged from the outside lane to pass Prunty for the top spot while Nick Hammer also launched forward on the outside to challenge Bennett for third. Hammer’s outside run lasted for ten laps but eventually the groove didn’t hold and he fell back as Bennett, Schill, David Prunty, and Matt Kocourek all were able to make their way around by lap 30. Dale Prunty began to hook up on the outside and he tracked Mueller down, using the upper lane to retake the lead from Mueller on lap 36. Bennett was also able to use the top side to move into second place a few laps later, leaving Mueller to battle with Schill, Prunty, and Kocourek.

Bennett continued to make up ground using the outside, tracking down Prunty by lap 40 and once again taking to the high side to grab the lead on lap 44. The race was slowed under the caution flag again on lap 47 when Steven Schulz developed problems in turn four and ended up against the wall. Bennett maintained his lead on the restart over Prunty while Schill slid into third place ahead of Mueller and Kocourek. Kocourek made numerous attempts to take fourth, edging his nose to the inside of Mueller only to find the opening closed on him while David Prunty closed in. On lap 56, Kocourek was able to muscle to the inside of Mueller while Prunty went to the outside and they entered the corner in a daring three-wide situation. All three drivers maneuvered their way through the corner without incident but as they entered turn one, hard racing between Prunty and Kocourek resulted in both cars becoming tangled together to draw the caution flag.

Bennett led Dale Prunty on the restart, leaving Schill to battle Mueller, Josh Bauer, and Hammer for third. On lap 58, the aggressive battle between Schill and Mueller slowed both cars in turn two, allowing Bauer and Hammer to rapidly close. This time, Mueller, Bauer, and Hammer entered the third turn three-wide and Hammer came out on the short end of the deal, climbing the wall and riding it on his side before landing back down on all four wheels with the yellow flag waving for a fourth time.

As racing resumed, Bennett once again was able to keep his lead over Prunty as Mueller and Bauer tussled over third place just ahead of Schill, Eric Fransen, and Fred Winn. With the power steering failing in his car, Bennett managed to wrestle his car around the speedway for the final laps, holding off Prunty to take the checkered flag for the win. Bauer managed to work is way around Mueller to finish third while Mueller held off Eric Fransen to secure fourth place. Winn finished a strong sixth while Schill and Kocourek crossed the finish line in seventh and eighth place respectively. Rich Loch and Conrad Morgan rounded out the top ten. Bennett’s victory coupled with David Prunty’s problems allowed Bennett to close to within 13 points of Prunty in the battle for the track championship.

Rich Loch raced to the win in the 30-lap late model semi-feature to transfer into the main event along with second place finisher Randy Schuler. Mike Meyerhofer finished third ahead of Chris Carlson and Jon Ovadal Jr. Nick Hammer won the late model fast dash and Nick Schumacher was the fastest qualifier at 11.549 seconds.
 

Bauer Wins Ritter Parker Store 75!
By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); July 22, 2007 - Josh Bauer drove to his first victory of the season, leading flag to flag in the Ritter Parker Store 75-lap late model feature Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“This was a long time coming,” an excited Bauer stated from Victory Lane. “It’s almost a year to the date to the last feature win and the way we’ve been struggling this year, this just feels good.”

Bauer gunned to the lead from the outside of the front row and never looked back, leading every lap of the caution-free event.

“I don’t think we would have lasted if there had been a caution because it started getting really loose there at the end,” Bauer continued.

Donavan Morgan shared the front row with Bauer at the start and quickly fell into second place while Nick Schumacher, Dale Prunty, and Race Mc Comb followed. Bauer began to stretch his lead over Morgan as Schumacher and Prunty battled for third while McComb maintained the fifth spot. Mike Egan and Gary LaMonte put on the best battle on the speedway over the sixth spot with Egan eventually taking the position using the inside lane. Tommy Pecaro looped his car in turn two on lap 25 but the race remained under the green as he was able to continue with Bauer still leading over Morgan.

As Bauer and Morgan weaved their way through lapped traffic, Dale Prunty was able to work his way around Schumacher for third by lap 40. Behind the leaders, Lowell Bennett, David Prunty, and Al Schill looked to move forward after starting deep in the field but neither was able to make much progress, running just inside the top ten. Bauer kept his machine out front the entire distance and drove to his first win of the season while Morgan ran a steady race to finish a strong second. Dale Prunty also remained solid the entire race and crossed the finish line in third place while Schumacher took the checkered flag in fourth. Race McComb wrapped up his strongest run of the season with a respectable fifth place finish ahead of Mike Strupp and Lowell Bennett. Nick Hammer, Al Schill, and Gary LaMonte rounded out the top ten finishers.

Tommy Hromadka held off Mike Meyerhofer to win the 30-lap late model semi-feature while Scott Schoeni, Joe DeStefano Jr., and Brady Bennett finished in third through fifth respectively. Mike Egan took home the win in the late model fast dash and Mike Strupp was the fastest qualifier at 11.489 seconds.
 

Bennett Achieves Legendary Status With Fourth Miller Lite Nationals Title!
By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI); July 17, 2007 - Lowell Bennett survived a wild Miller Lite Nationals Tuesday night at the Slinger Super Speedway capturing his fourth victory in the 250-lap late model special to join legendary racers Dick Trickle and Joe Shear as the only three drivers to accomplish the feat.

“It’s an honor to included in that crowd (with Trickle and Shear),” an extremely happy Bennett stated from Victory Lane after leading 171 laps en route to a 4.8 second victory over Jeremy Lepak and Brad Mueller. “It doesn’t get much better and it was an awesome night.”

The toughest challenge Bennett faced all night was just making the feature field as he was forced to race his way into the line-up by winning the qualifying race after just missing the cut in time trials.

“We were real disappointed at missing the show early, “ Bennett continued, “But boy…what a race car. That thing was just fun.”

J.R. Norris and Kelly Bires paced the 24-car field to the green flag and Norris quickly jumped to the lead from the outside lane while Bires battled with Brad Mueller, Matt Kocourek, and Jeremy Lepak. NASCAR Nextel Cup star Kyle Busch used the outside lane to rocket his way from his twelfth starting position to fifth by lap four just before the caution flag waved when the hood on Conrad Morgan’s car flew up and Steve Carlson spun to avoid his slowing machine. Norris chose the outside lane for the restart and the move proved costly as Mueller timed the restart perfectly and took over the point using the inside lane, bringing Kocourek along with him into second. A lap later, the yellow was displayed again for an incident involving Todd Stapleman in turn one as Mueller led followed by Kocourek, Norris, Busch, and Lepak.

As racing resumed, Busch was on the move again, swiping by Norris for third as Kocourek challenged Mueller for the lead. Mueller and Kocourek battled alongside each other for the top spot while farther back, NASCAR Nextel Cup star Matt Kenseth moved into the top ten. Kocourek managed to edge Mueller to lead lap 16 while Tony Strupp slid wide through turn three and in the ensuing gridlock Josh Bauer, Al Schill, and Rich Bickle spun around to draw the caution flag. Once again Mueller timed the restart and shot ahead of Kocourek for the lead while Lepak and Busch fought over third before Busch claimed the spot on lap 19. With Mueller out front, Busch ducked inside of Kocourek a lap later to claim second place leaving Lepak to race with Kocourek and Dennis Prunty for third. Once into second, Busch quickly tracked down Mueller and worked his way by to take the lead on lap 24 while Kenseth continued to move forward and into seventh. A multi-car spin in turn one produced yet another caution flag on lap 33 and during the slowdown, Kenseth’s bid to defend his 2006 Nationals title was derailed as he exited the event with an oil line issue.

“It lost all its oil, and so the engine needs to be checked out anyway,” Kenseth said. “We could have got it fixed and got out there maybe 20 minutes later, but to be 80 laps down and take a chance is kind of dumb. These motors are too expensive to do that.”

Mueller was once again quick on the button on the restart and he retook the lead from Busch and Lepak moved into second a few laps later as Busch’s car became loose in the corners. The handling continued to go away on Busch’s machine and he exited the speedway with tire issues.

“We had a flat left rear, left front and right front,” Busch said. “Just running over stuff, I guess. Nobody else is having a problem but us.”

“This thing was just bad fast, but you’ve got to finish,” Busch continued. “I got the lead and I was running 70%.”

Mueller continued to pace the event over Lepak while Eric Fransen and Tony Strupp advanced forward into third and fourth respectively as Bennett worked his way into the top five. The yellow flag was unfurled again on lap 46 when Norris slowed suddenly after having rear suspension problems. Mueller and Lepak raced hard for the lead as racing resumed and Lepak took the lead on lap 49 just before another slowdown occurred on lap 50 when Dick Trickle looped around in turn three after contact with Busch.

Lepak maintained his lead on the restart as Fransen moved into second ahead of Bennett and Strupp as Mueller became caught on the outside and fell back in line in fifth. With Lepak out front, Bennett was able to slip by Fransen for second on lap 69 and gradually began to track his way toward the lead. By lap 75, Bennett was within striking distance of the lead and four laps later, he moved alongside Lepak, taking command of the race on lap 80.

Bennett began to pull away from the field while Strupp charged into second place as Trickle left the speedway with mechanical problems on lap 106. With the halfway point in sight, Fransen began to lose ground as both Mueller and Matt Kocourek passed by and into fourth and fifth place respectively.

As the field paused for a mandatory ten-minute break at the halfway mark, Bennett led Strupp, and Lepak while Mueller and Kocourek were fourth and fifth.

The second half belonged to Bennett as he extended his lead as racing resumed while Strupp and Lepak tried to close the gap between themselves and the leader. Behind the top three, Mueller held down fourth as Kocourek and Schill raced for the fifth slot.

The make up of the race changed drastically on lap 176 as Dennis Prunty spun in turn four and nosed his car into the fronstretch wall, sending up a plume of smoke. In the midst of the thick smoke, Strupp looped his car around in an attempt to avoid Prunty and was immediately met nose-to-nose by Lepak’s car. The damage to Strupp’s machine was enough to retire him from the race, but Lepak was able to rejoin the event despite heavy damage to the front of this car.

Bennett maintained the lead over Mueller and Schill as racing resumed while Kocourek was

forced to deal with Lepak, who wheeled his damaged car into a battle over fourth. By lap 190, Lepak worked is way around Kocourek and four laps later, he edged past Schill for third as Bennett extended his lead over Mueller. On lap 202, Lepak raced is way around Mueller for second and began to close the distance to Bennett for the lead. Bennett’s lead proved to be too much however, and he drove to a 4.8 second victory over Lepak and Mueller. Kocourek finished with a strong fourth place result and Conrad Morgan ran solid all night to cross the stripe in fifth place, the final car on the lead lap. Schill fell back in the late stages and finished in sixth place ahead of NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series driver Erik Darnell who turned in his best Nationals performance in seventh place. Defending track champion David Prunty took the checkered flag in eighth place while Kelly Bires was ninth, the final car running at the finish. Fred Winn finished in the tenth position.

Tommy Pecaro was the winner of the 35-lap late model semi-feature over Race McComb and James Swan. Chris Wimmer and Randy Schuler rounded out the top five. Bennett took the win in the 30-lap late model qualifying race over David Prunty, Josh Bauer, and Todd Stapleman as all four transferred their way into the main event. Kyle Busch blistered the speedway in 11.400 seconds and was the fastest qualifier among the 45 late model entries.
 

     Schill Victorious In 60th Anniversary Special presented by Goemans Rapid Mart!!
     By John Wiedemann

(Slinger, WI); July 15, 2007 - Al Schill chased down leader Lowell Bennett to win the Goemans Rapid Mart 75 at Slinger Super Speedway Sunday night. With under ten laps to go in the race, the Slinger veteran made his move and went on to capture his second win of the season on a night celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the speedway.

Taking the lead on the opening lap of the Goemans Rapid Mart 75, Lowell Bennett looked to have the contest in hand as the race ran without a caution flag. As Bennett ran at the front, Al Schill methodically picked off spots, moving into second with twenty laps on the scoreboard. Lapped traffic came into play and Schill moved closer and closer to Bennett until, with ten laps left in the race, Schill was on Bennett’s bumper. When Bennett opened the door in turn one, Schill took advantage and grabbed the lead. Bennett held on to second, followed by Fred Winn. David Prunty charged through the pack to finish fourth with Dale Prunty coming home fifth and Dennis Prunty in sixth.

“I didn’t think I was gonna get there but, I kept seeing Lowell get bigger and bigger and that’s a good sign,” explained Schill. “But, it wasn’t happening for a long time. He was getting looser and looser and I needed the laps that I had left to get him.”