Dells Raceway Park
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An ASA sanctioned track
Jason Weinkauf scores Super Late Model Feature win Becky Grabarski claims her first career Feature win.
(Saturday, May 5, 2007)-- With weather conditions, better suited for a fall high school football game than racing, four Dells Raceway Park divisions took to the track on a cold, cloudy and very windy first Saturday of May.
Despite the less than ideal weather, the racers turned out to race and for the third straight week put on a fantastic show. With the night's top three divisions all starting at least 19 cars in each of their respective Features, DRP fans were once again treated to plenty of door-to-door action.
Three of the night's Feature winners, Jason Weinkauf (SLM), Mark Hohl (SS), and Terry Lafleur (Bandits), made return trips to Victory Lane. Becky Grabarski won the Pure Stock Feature by leading her brother, Ron Grabarski, to the checkers to collect her first-ever Feature win.
Week three pays off for Weinkauf.
Entering the third week of racing at the ASA sanctioned Dells Raceway Park; Merrill's Jason Weinkauf sat fourth in the Leo's Super Late Model points chase, trailing division leader Andrew Morrissey by just nine markers.
Qualifying mid-pack, Weinkauf (1999 Dells Rookie of the Year) started the 60-lap Feature on the outside of the second row beside Rockton, Illinois' Dan Lensing. La Crosse's Jim Carlson had the Pole, with Don "Thunder" Turner sitting on the outside of the front row.
Fast Qualifier, Mike Gunderson started from the outside of the fifth row, with DeForest's Andrew Morrissey, who won the division's first two Features of 2007, starting sixth. Dash winner, Tom Lichtfeld sat on the inside of row three.
As Carlson brought the 19-car starting grid to green, it was La Crosse's other front row starter who got the better first lap, taking the point by the time the field returned to the start-finish line. With Turner out front, Carlson would give way to Weinkauf on lap two, for the second spot.
Lap seven saw Weinkauf move to the lead, showing Turner, Lensing, Carlson and Iowa's Ken Reiser the fast line around DRP. By lap 17 Lensing had eclipsed Turner and moved into second, some five-car lengths behind Weinkauf.
With the 60-lap Feature going caution free and Weinkauf putting cars a lap down just 19 circuits into the race, the battle became one for second place. Lap 23 saw Reiser get past Lensing and take over second place with Montello's Jeff Kendall closing fast.
The mid-way point showed Weinkauf pacing Reiser, Kendall, Lensing and Morrissey. Ten laps later, it was Todd Stapleman and Morrissey, chasing Weinkauf, Reiser and Kendall.
With eight laps to go, it was Kendall and Reiser battling door-to-door for second. Two laps later Kendall had the spot. With two to go, Reiser had it back by a bumper. As the crowd enjoyed the battle being waged between Reiser and Kendall, so did race leader Weinkauf as he took full advantage and put his Red and White No. 76 into DRP's Victory Lane for the first time in 2007.
Reiser would ultimately claim second place, with Kendall posting his second straight top-three finish, ahead of Stapleman and Morrissey. Rounding out the top 10 was Lensing, Turner, Carlson, Lichtfeld (Portage) and Baraboo's Kevin Brescia.
"It feels great to finally get back in Victory Lane here at the Dells," said Weinkauf, who last won at the Dells in 2004. "I saw Kenny [Reiser] closing on me, but was actually able to pull away a little bit. We didn't want to see any cautions. Everyone drove clean and the lap cars gave us plenty of room. When I saw Kenny and Jeff [Kendall} running side-by-side, I knew we were going to be alright. It's hard to run side-by-side here and still keep up to the leader."
Leo's Super Late Models
May 5, 2007
60-Lap Feature: Weinkauf, Reiser, Kendall, Stapleman, Morrissey, Lensing, Turner, Carlson, Lichtfeld, Brescia, Gawronski, Gunderson, Raupp, Patnode, Tomlinson, Schotten, Bill, Niles, Trapp; Quick
Qualifier: Gunderson 13.623; Dash: Lichtfeld, Kendall, Stapleman, Reiser, Gunderson, Morrissey.
Leo's Super Late Models
Top 10As of 05.05.07
1 2R Kenny Reiser 89
2 00K Jeff Kendall 87
3 39M Andrew Morrissey 85
4 76W Jason Weinkauf 81
5 8B Kevin Brescia 62
6 75L Tom Lichtfeld 61
7 77S Todd Stapleman 57
8 48C Jim Carlson 56
9 7T Don Turner 53
10 29R John Raupp 52
Hohl survives caution-filled Feature
Baraboo's Mark Hohl led the last 33 laps of the 40-lap O'Brion Agency Super Stock Feature, despite six restarts in the caution filled race. The win was Hohl's 14th career Dells Feature and his first since 2005.
Starting on the inside of the second row, Hohl was running second when Friendship's Terry Knupp got sideways out of turn one and slid into the inside concrete barrier. Knupp went to the back of the 20-car field for the restart.
Taking full advantage of the restart, Hohl took over the lead from Pole sitter John Zuch (Baraboo) and led the field for the next dozen laps, before Knupp and his No. 81 went around on the backstretch, bringing out the race's second caution for the single-car spin.
Catching perhaps the night's biggest break on the restart, was Wisconsin Dells' Jim Bates who while running second to Hohl spun his car around in turn one. Actually Bates caught two breaks. No one hit his car and the failed restart, meant he got his spot back.
Four more cautions would quickly follow, as Knupp spun at the start-finish line on lap 24. One lap after the restart, while battling for the sixth spot, Mauston's Travis Hancock and Tomah's Corey Jankowski tangled with Hancock going around out of two.
It marked the second week in a row that the week-one Feature winner saw his No. 62 sent to the rear of the field. The restart would see Hancock and Wisconsin Dells Tracy Seidler loop in front of the grandstands, as head DRP flagman, Pat Barrett continued to work his upper body and once again waved off a restart.
Jankowski, who was earlier penalized for a weight issue and made to start at the rear of the field, took the fifth spot from New Lisbon's Dave Trute one lap later as Hohl led Bates, Lyndon Station's Daron Fish, and Friendship's Brian Warner with 14 laps to go.
Just two laps later, five cars tangled out of turn four, including Hancock, Seidler, Sparta's John Olson, Paul Seidler and Jankowski (who lost most of his front end) to bring out the race's last yellow.
Week two Feature winner, Tomah's Thayran Rezin did his best to avoid another caution (with seven laps left) saving his No. 63 after getting really loose out of turn two, in a battle to claim a top-five spot. In the end, Rezin followed Hohl, Bates, Fish, and Trute to the line.
"I didn't really want to see all them cautions," said Mark Hohl from Victory Lane. "It seemed like it took forever. Sitting out front, the race takes forever with all those cautions."
O'Brion Agency Super Stocks
May 5, 2007
40-Lap Feature: Hohl, Bates, Fish, Trute, Rezin, Pfister, Schultz, Muller, Luck, Jankowski, Olson, T Seidler, Hakala, Swanson, Hancock, Warner, Zuch, Knupp, Devito, K Seidler; Quick Qualifier: Trute 14.839;
Dash: Bates, Olson, Fish, Warner, Trute, Hancock.
O'Brion Agency Super Stocks
Top 10 As of 05.05.07
1 2T Dave Trute 104
2 31J Corey Jankowski 89
3 37F Daron Fish 81
4 2W Brian Warner 76
5 31S Dale Schultz 72
6 62H Travis Hancock 71
7 12L Scott Luck 66
8 85H Mark Hohl 65
9 41O John Olson 61
10 21S Phil Smith 59
High School teacher gives her class something to talk aboutGrand Marsh's Becky Grabarski, did something she had never done in her first three years of racing - she won a Feature.
Having followed her younger brother, Ron, into racing, the Adams-Friendship High School agriculture teacher recently took some heat in the classroom from a group of her students who teased her about letting Ron get past her in the April 28th DRP Feature.
Starting on the inside of the third row for the Hillsboro Equipment Pure Stock Feature, Becky Grabarski took over the lead from Pole sitter, Dick Breunig (Sauk City) on lap seven of the 30-lap Feature. The race's mid-way point had Becky Grabarski enjoying a three-car-length lead over Breunig, Ron Grabarski (Grand Marsh), Pardeeville's Dennis Stilson and Dash winner, Leo Schultz (Mauston).
The night's first caution would come out on lap 20 for a single-car spin, as Adam Johnson (Grand Marsh) went around in turn four. The failed restart saw Johnson and Reedsburg's Brandon Adams make contact in turns three and four, reshaping Adam's front bumper and knocking off one of Johnson's tires.
One lap later, then points leader Mike Lichtfeld spun in turn one and into the path of Lyndon Station's Mike Tavenner. The two hit front bumper-to-bumper, becoming snagged on each other. After a long delay the two were separated and both returned at the rear of the field.
The restart wiped out Becky's advantage, as she led her brother and Leo Schultz to the green flag. Nine laps now stood between Becky and her first career Feature win. Riding in second, her brother was no wingman. He too had never won a feature.
"I wasn't blocking for her," said Ron Grabarski on his sister's first Feature win. "If I could have, I would have gotten around her."
He didn't, Becky held him off, and collected the win. Ron Grabarski had to settle for second, with Schultz bringing home third. Last week's Feature winner, Steve Lichtfeld came across fourth with Prairie du Sac's Brad Luck finishing fifth.
"This took a while. It was a really good race," said Becky Grabarski from Victory Lane. "I knew Ron would get there eventually. I left him plenty of room on the outside, if he wanted to go around."
On the strength of his second-pace finishes in the Dash and Feature, Ron Grabarski now sits at the top of the division's point race.
Hillsboro Equipment Pure Stocks
May 5, 2007
30-Lap Feature: B Grabarski, R Grabarski, Schultz, S Lichtfeld, Luck, Stilson, Gilding, Cook, Fassett, M Lichtfeld, Schreiber, Arendsee, Breunig, Christianson, Ladika, Tavenner, Johnson, Hammond, Adams; Quick
Qualifier: Lichtfeld 16.309; Dash: Schultz, R Grabarski, M Lichtfeld, Luck, B Grabarski, Gilding.
Hillsboro Equipment Pure Stocks
Top 10 As of 05.05.07
1 07G Ron Grabarski 92
2 67L Brad Luck 83
3 44L Mike Lichtfeld 79
4 32L Steve Lichtfeld 70
5 13G Becky Grabarski 66
6 48S Leo Schultz 63
7 7S Dennis Stilson 59
8 8F Don Fassett 58
9 15G Kevin Gilding 49
10 24A Glen Arendsee 46
Worth the trip, as Terry Lafleur gets the sweep Already a strong DRP car in 2007, La Crosse's Terry Lafleur got the week-three sweep, winning both the Two Rivers Signs Bandit Qualifier and then from the Pole, the 15-lap caution-free Feature.
Despite plenty of mid-race pressure from week two points leader, Chad Rhinehart, Lafleur would prove too strong and pull away for his first Feature win of 2007. The 2004 Dells division champ, Lafleur flirted with quitting before the season began, but just could not get racing out of his system and returned to the new Dells Raceway Park.
A fan of DRP's new race format, Lafleur enjoyed starting on the Pole, after first winning the qualifier. "It's a lot different than we use to do it. They use to invert the field the other way. This saves a lot on the car."
Two Rivers Signs Bandits
May 5, 2007
15-Lap Feature: Lafleur, Rhinehart, Armstrong, Boehm, Gray, Sauey, Wurster, Rupp; Qualifier: Lafleur, Rhinehart, Boehm, Armstrong, Gray, Rupp, Sauey, Wurster, Zimmerman.
Two Rivers Signs Bandits
Top 10 As of 05.05.07
1 18R Chad Rhinehart 47
2 9L Terry Lafleur 46
3 24S Clifton Sauey 37
4 29A Bob Armstrong 36
5 31W Aaron Wurster 34
6 28G Cody Gray 32
7 14B Wally Boehm 30
8 22R Jo Rupp 24
9 11Z Danny Zahn Jr 23
10 7W Kyle Watters 23