Stapleman reaches Victory Lane
With a new paint scheme, a strong No 77 drives to first Feature win of 07.
August 11, 2007-- He's been close a number of times and strong enough to win on more than one occasion, but Plainfield's Todd Stapleman, a charter boat Captain by trade knows like so many other drivers at DRP - that wins at the Dells don't come easy. For Stapleman, the often part-time driver, his turn to win and shake hands in Victory Lane came Saturday night as the division sponsor, Leo's Upper Dells Bar played host to the season's largest field of racers for a regular night of points racing.
In total 89 cars competed in five divisions, as DRP put on a terrific night of racing sandwiched between morning thunderstorms and severe weather that returned to hit the Juneau County area at the conclusion of the race program. With dark skies moving in and threatening the fate of the 50-lap Super Late Model Feature, Stapleman put on his own show, matched only by the approaching lightning to the distant north.
After finishing third in the Fast Heat, Stapleman lined up for the Feature on the inside of row three. Starting directly in front of him, was La Crosse's Don 'Thunder' Turner, the winner of the Fast Heat. Sitting beside Stapleman was Portage's Tom Lichtfeld. Greg Ruffalo (Plainfield) sat on the Pole, with Mauston's Larry Schotten sitting beside him. Points leader, Jeff Kendall started on the inside of row five, with the division's winningest driver (five at DRP and five at MIS), Andrew Morrissey lined up behind Kendall. Michael Gunderson, who won the first Heat, started next to Morrissey.
Grabbing the lap-one lead, Ruffalo gave way to Turner and Stapleman on lap two. A lap-four caution for a single car spin lined the field back up with Turner leading Stapleman, Ruffalo, Lichtfeld, and Schotten. The second five included Baraboo's Jeff Brescia, Kendall, Morrissey, La Crosse's 'Luvable' Jim Carlson, and Markesan's John Zimmerman. The race would go seven laps before Reedsburg's John Raupp and Waterford's Jeff Storm went around in turn two, without any contact or damage. The restart would show Kendall and Morrissey now in fifth and sixth. Also moving forward was Iowa's Ken Reiser, who moved up to ninth.
Lap 12 saw Kendall and Morrissey move into fourth and fifth, as Ruffalo moved back. A dozen laps later saw Gunderson and Reedsburg's Matt Gawronski go around in turn two. The restart showed a top five of Stapleman, Turner, Lichtfeld, Kendall, and Morrissey. Reiser was now sixth.
Lap 33 saw Kendall go around as he entered turn two, the result of Morrissey getting pushed into Kendall. As Kendall spun around facing the field, Morrissey avoided nose-to-nose contact. Unfortunately cars further back were not able to check up as fast and several came together. Suffering the worst damage was Gunderson and Carlson, who's No. 48 was hooked up by Blystones and carried back to the pits. Gunderson was able to continue less most of the sheet metal on the right side of the No. 4. Kendall and Morrissey were sent to the rear. Reiser moved up to fourth, with Brescia starting fifth.
Raupp would bring out another caution on lap 35, for a spin out of turn four. The restart had Stapleman showing Turner, Lichtfeld, Reiser, Brescia, and Zimmerman the way. The top six would finish the race without any changes as Stapleman posted his first Feature win of 2007, in his newly repainted brown and gold No. 77. "Boy this feels good. We have had three seconds this year here," said Todd Stapleman. "We didn't get it done in qualifying, but we had a good starting position. The car was there."
Leo's Upper Dells Bar Super Late Models
Leo's Upper Dells Bar Night
August 11, 2007
50-Lap Feature: Stapleman, Turner, Tom Lichtfeld, Reiser, Brescia, Zimmerman, Schotten, Storm, Kempf, Morrissey, Kendall, Gawronski, Ruffalo, Patnode, Gunderson, Raupp, Carlson, Seidler; Fast Heat: Turner, Carlson, Stapleman, Kempf, Brescia, Reiser, Kendall, Morrissey, Lichtfeld; Heat 1: Gunderson, Schotten, Raupp, Ruffalo, Storm, Zimmerman, Gawronski, Patnode, Seidler; Fast Qualifier: Pete Kempf 13.538 sec.
Byrne gets first career Late Model win Burlington teenager powers to win.
August 11, 2007-- With 24 Schulz Automotive Limited Lates showing up for Leo's Upper Dells Bar Night, DRP fans were treated to three eight-car heats, a R.A.C.E.S. B-Feature, and a 35-lap main event that saw two teenagers finish in the top three. This division just continues to shine at the Dells, offering the season's largest car counts and always exciting door-to-door action. The first of three Heat wins went to John Sojer (Gurnee Illinois), with Keith Tolf (Union Grove) and Matthew Byrne (Burlington) taking Heat 2 and the Fast Heat respectively. Holmen's Andy Niles won the B-Feature, to advance into the 35-lap main.
Lining up for the Feature, Reedsburg's James Kruschke III sat on the Pole, along side of Prairie du Chien's Mike Ehde. Sojer started on the inside of row 10, with Niles directly in front of him. Tolf sat in front of Niles. Bryne had the inside of row four. Fast qualifier Ross Kenseth started tenth, beside another Pathfinder house car piloted by Cambridge's Jason Schuler. Division points leader, Eric Klawitter started in front of Kenseth. With Kruschke quickly jumping to the point, Portage's Rocky Breezer followed into second. The first green-flag run was short lived, as Klawitter and Poynette's Jim Syvrud tangled in turns three and four on lap three. Syvrud managed to keep his mangled car in the race, but Klawitter's night was over.
Two laps after the restart, Sun Prairie's Jason Dunn brought out the yellow for his turn three spin on lap five. Lap eight saw Lodi's Nick Nolden into the pits as his hood resembled an accordion that offered a limited line of sight. Lap 14 saw Dane's Kurt Clapper go around in turn three as the yellow waved again. Lap 20 saw Tomah's Donnie Fowler and Niles spin in turns three and four. With neither receiving any damage, they both went to the rear for the restart that showed Kruschke still leading Breezer followed by Portage's Rich Schumann Jr., Byrne, and Ehde. Just flying after the restart, Byrne needed just one lap to vault past Schumann and Breezer, quickly putting three car lengths between Breezer and himself as he looked to chase down Klawitter. By lap 24, the 17-year-old Burlington high school student was even with Kruschke.
Also now beginning his charge forward was 14-year-old Ross Kenseth. By lap 27, Kenseth was up to third, looking to chase down Kruschke over the final eight laps. While he would cut the distance between himself and the No. 20 car, Kenseth would not close the gap enough to challenge for the second spot. As Byrne checked out for the win, Schuler surged forward to record a top five, finishing behind Kenseth. Breezer followed in fifth. "This feels great! We have had fast times here week after week. We finally stepped up our program and had everything work right for us this week. It's just awesome," said the Byrne between signing fan autograph's in DRP's Victory Lane after posting his first ever career Late Model Feature win.
Schulz Automotive Limited Late Models
Presented by Leo's Upper Dells Bar
August 11, 2007
35-Lap Feature: Byrne, Kruschke, Kenseth, Schuler, Breezer, Schumann, Ehde, Sanden, Soenksen, Clapper, Fowler, Niles, Sojer, Dunn, Sauter, Syvrud, Nolden, Tolf, Klawitter; R.A.C.E.S.' B-Feature: Niles, Soenksen, Potter, Fritz Sr., Fossum, Gray, Sojer; Fast Heat: Byrne, Breezer, Schumann, Sanden, Schuler, Nolden, Klawitter, Kenseth; Heat 1: Sojer, Niles, Fossum, Gray, Potter, Fritz Sr., Soenksen; Heat 2: Tolf, Sauter, Dunn, Kruschke, Fowler, Ehde, Syvrud, Clapper; Fast Qualifier: Ross Kenseth 14.353 sec.
Warner survives photo finish to take Feature Bates blown motor sets up win.
August 11, 2007-- On the heels of his Fast Heat win, Friendship's Brian Warner lined up for the O'Brion Agency Super Stock 30-lap Feature on the outside of the third row. By lap five he was chasing Wisconsin Dells' Diamond Jim Bates and Baraboo's Phil Smith as Mark Hohl (Baraboo) ran in Warner's mirror.
The front four had settled into a run, as Tomah's Corey Jankowski once again ventured into the outside grove and began charging up through the field from his row-six starting spot. By lap 17 Jankowski was challenging Hohl for the fourth spot and had just moved past the Baraboo driver, when Bates' No. 34 went up in smoke entering turn three.
Unable to see or avoid Bates, Jankowski made hard contact with the No. 34. The blown motor ended Bates' run and the collision sent Jankowski into the pits, ending his as well. Smith looked to inherit the lead, but before the race went back to green, the front-right tire on the No. 21 went down, sending Smith off the track and into the upper pits for a tire change.
As a pair of Blystone wreckers worked in tandem to carry Bates car up to the upper pits, Smith returned to the rear of the field for the restart.
Warner, who ultimately inherited the lead, led the field to the checkers over the last 12 laps, picking up his second career Super Stock Feature after holding off a determined Travis Hancock over the race's last couple of laps.
"Without people helping me out, I wouldn't be here. It is always a struggle financially and we were running on some real old tires tonight - I mean really old," said Warner after the win. " Jim [Bates] blew his motor and Phil [Smith] had a tire go down. I kind of got lucky. I thought I was going to follow Phil for the rest of the night, but I got lucky. You got to get a little luck."
Smith would soldier back to a top-10 finish. Jankowski would finish 13th, but not lose any ground in the points chase, as New Lisbon's David Trute lost power in the Fast Heat and scratched from the Feature. Jankowski leads Trute, 488 to 463.
Wisconsin Dells' Curtis Pfister, who started on the Pole in the first Heat held off Smith for the win, during a final three-lap battle between the two No. 21s.
O'Brion Agency Super Stocks
Presented by Leo's Upper Dells Bar
August 11, 2007
30-Lap Feature: Warner, Hancock, Hohl, Schultz, Olson, Hakula, Swanson, Muller, Smith, Zuch, Pfister, Luck, Jankowski, Bates, DeVito; Fast Heat: Warner, Jankowski, Olson, Hancock, Hohl, Swanson, Schultz, Trute; Heat 1: Pfister, Smith, Zuch, Bates, Hakala, Muller, Luck, DeVito; Fast Qualifier: Dave Trute 14.884 sec.
Fassett collects second Feature Dells' driver leads all 20 laps from the Pole.
August 11, 2007-- For the second time this season, Wisconsin Dells' Don Fassett has won a Hillsboro Equipment Pure Stock Feature at the Dells Raceway Park. Starting on the Pole after winning Heat 1, Fassett quickly took the point and led Columbus' Leonard Raupp for the entire race. Raupp lined up on the outside of row one after earlier winning the Fast Heat. The two ran one-two for the entire 20 laps. Sauk Prairie's Kevin Gilding finished a close third. Further back Prairie du Sac's Brad Luck won the battle for fourth, with Steve and Mike Lichtfeld coming home in front of Mauston's Leo Schultz.
The race saw a single caution for a lap-five single car spin in turn one after Harold Brunk put his Buick into the grass. A single-car spin by Jamie Dunn (Sun Prairie) was the lone caution in the division's pair of 10-lap Heats. "A lot of hard work has gone into these wins. We need to get the car more consistent. My crew guys are a big part of this, they really worked hard to get us here," said Fassett after his second double win night of 2007. On the strength of his sixth-place finish and fast time, Portage's Mike Lichtfeld has now trimmed Ron Grabarski's point lead down to single digits. The Grand Marsh Mechanic now leads the Country Plumber by just nine markers.
Hillsboro Equipment Pure Stocks
Presented by Leo's Upper Dells Bar
August 11, 2007
20-Lap Feature: Fassett, Raupp, Gilding, Luck, Steve Lichtfeld, Mike Lichtfeld, Schultz, Becky Grabarski, Ron Grabarski, Stilson, Schreiber, Ladika, Tavenner, Arendsee, Christianson, Dunn, Cook, Brunk; Fast Heat: Raupp, Gilding, Becky Grabarski, Steve Lichtfeld, Luck, Stilson, Ron Grabarski, Schultz, Mike Lichtfeld, Schreiber; Heat 1: Fassett, Christianson, Tavenner, Cook, Arendsee, Dunn, Stuchlak, Brunk; Fast Qualifier: Mike Lichtfeld 16.240 sec.
Armstrong gets fifth Feature
Onalaska driver thrilled to end Lafleur's streak.
August 11, 2007-- Entering into Saturday's racing at the Dells Raceway Park, Onalaska's Bob Armstrong had one thought on his mind - stopping Terry Lafleur's three-race winning streak. "I won four in-a-row in 2005 to set the Bandit Dells' record, so if I wanted to win one race, this was the one to end Terry's streak," said Armstrong from DRP's Victory Lane.
For Armstrong, who posted his fifth Feature win of 2007, the win was a rebound of sorts as he looked to struggle in a search for speed in the six-car Fast Heat after earlier setting fast time as 12 Two Rivers Signs Bandits qualified.
Following a lap-five debris caution the field lined up for the restart, erasing the handicap start allowed to the slower cars. All Armstrong, Lafleur (Onalaska) and current division points leader, Chad Rhinehart (Adams) needed was three-quarters of a lap to bolt to the front and then race to the checkers.
Also staying in the mix and ultimately battling for the third spot was Mauston's Wally Boehm and newcomer Tom Berens (Slinger).
"I was pushing in the Heat. I changed some air pressure and that helped in the Feature," said Armstrong. "I'd also just like to say that I really appreciated the four cars that came over from Slinger tonight. They were good racers and I'd like to see them come back."
The division ran a pair of six-car Heat races, with Colgate's Jared Apel winning Heat 1 as Rhinehart recorded the Fast Heat win.
Rhinehart continues as the division's points leader, currently holding a 29-point edge over Lafleur.
Two Rivers Signs Bandits
Presented by Leo's Upper Dells Bar
August 11, 2007
15-Lap Feature: Armstrong, Lafleur, Rhinehart, Berens, Boehm, Losiniecki, Knupp, Wurster, Corallini, Kolpien, Apel, Sauey; Fast Heat: Rhinehart, Losiniecki, Boehm, Lafleur, Armstrong, Berens; Heat 1: Apel, Knupp, Wurster, Kolpien, Corallini, Sauey; Fast Qualifier: Bob Armstrong 17.574 sec.
The latest DRP news, results and standings can be found at www.dellsracewaypark.com
Do you have a Birthday Coming Up? Maybe a group outing, family reunion, or a company get together to plan. Consider having DRP host your next event. Contact DRP's Event Coordinator, Julia Luther for more information on how DRP can help make your upcoming events extra special. You can call Julia at the track office (608 253-7223), Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Coming on Saturday, August 18: Pepsi Night. Grand National Vintage Feature, LLM, SS, PS, & Bandits.
The Dells Raceway Park is an American Speed Association (ASA) sanctioned track.