MUELLER WINS BOB FISH LABOR DAY SPECIAL 100!!!
By Dan Margetta

(Slinger, WI) Sept. 2 —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.

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.

Scott Ascher and David McCardle Jr. led the field to the green flag, but it was the inside lane that marched forward with Ascher claiming the top spot and Rob Braun moving into second while McCardle struggled for grip on the outside. While Ascher led over Braun, Chris Blawat raced into third place, bringing Corey Funk, Chris Ratajczyk, and Reynolds along with him. Reynolds then took to the high line and used it to pick off cars one by one until he occupied the third spot by lap 12. Reynolds then tracked down the top two, setting up a strong three-car battle for the lead as the event neared the halfway mark. Braun was able to work his way around Ascher for the lead on lap 17, opening the door for Reynolds to edge forward to battle with Ascher for second. Reynolds secured the second spot on lap 20 and three laps later, dove inside Braun to take the lead with Ascher in their tire tracks. As the top three approached lapped traffic on lap 25, Ascher’s car clipped a lapped machine, tearing the side door off his car and the debris produced the first caution flag of the event just five laps from the finish.  Reynolds was tough on the restart and he launched into a solid lead while Ratajczyk went to work on Braun for second with Corey Funk and Steve Apel right behind them. Reynolds drove under the checkered flag to take the victory while Ratajczyk was able to hold off Braun to finish second. Funk secured the fourth spot at the stripe while Apel crossed the line in fifth.

Earlier in the evening, Corey Funk scored his first win of the season, holding off all challenges to win the limited late model fast dash while Reynolds paced the qualifying session at 12.238 seconds.

John Janssen made his trip to the Slinger Super Speedway worthwhile as he charged to the win in an eventful 30-lap Midwest Sportsman feature.

Chris Beine led at the green flag as Janssen moved into the second slot ahead of Kevin Moenck, Danny Church Jr., and Scott Shambeau. Janssen charged to the lead on lap five while Moenck worked the outside to advance into second place by lap eight. Mark Kissinger and Dennis Vinohradsky tangled in turn two to bring out the caution flag with Janssen leading Moenck and Pat McIntee. As racing resumed, Moenck had his car working on the top-side and he took the top spot as Janssen battled on the inside. Moenck and Janssen fought door to door for the lead and they swapped the point until Janssen took control on lap 16. Moenck left the track shortly thereafter with problems as Church, Scott Shambeau, Jay Shambeau, and McIntee all raced by. The final laps were chaotic as Church and McIntee made contact with a lapped car, slowing their progress while other cars spun down the backstretch. Through it all, the race remained under the green flag and Janssen took the checkered flag for the victory followed by Scott Shambeau and Jay Shambeau. Church finished a strong fourth and Kenny Joosten charged ahead in the late going to finish fifth.

Bobby Giers edged Kenny Joosten to win an exciting Midwest Sportsman fast dash as Giers finished without his front end, which was stuck in the rear bumper of Joosten’s car. Dave Thomas was the fastest qualifier at 12.759 seconds.

Al Stippich took the lead on the second lap of the Thunderstocks feature event and never looked back, en route to the victory over Ryan Gutknecht and Aaron Cain. Seth Lootans and Bill Johnson rounded out the top five finishers. Lootans was the fastest qualifier in the Thunderstocks division at 13.729 seconds. Stephanie Losiniecki swept the competition in the Slinger Bees action, winning the 16-lap feature event and also setting fast time in the division at 16.351 seconds. Zach Durham finished second in the feature followed by Ken Schraufnagel, Jason Hennes, and Michael St. Martin. Ken Endlich was the winner of the Speedway Guest Car event and Joe DeStefano Sr. won the Spectator Eliminator races in his Honda Civic. Scott Goetzke took top honors in the Figure 8 race to close out the evening. 

Event: Bob Fish Pontiac Buick GMC Labor Day Special   Date: Sept.  2, 2007