 DARNELL DOMINATES RECORD SETTING WCS SEASON OPENER AT DELLS MOTOR
SPEEDWAY!
WISCONSIN DELLS, WI. (April 10, 2004) -- On a very cool evening in South Central Wisconsin, Dells Motor Speedway
opened it's gates to present the season opening event for the Wisconsin Challenge Series.
A series record 55 cars attempted qualification runs for the show, to
earn a starting berth in the 24 car starting grid, and fans were treated to an amazing
show.
Defending WCS champion, Erik Darnell, of Beach Park, IL would
slice through the field and secure the lead position from local hotshoe Frank Kreyer
during the opening third of the event, and then turn in a dominating performance in a 100
feature contest that was slowed for cautions just two times. Darnell's victory in
the race added to his series win total, giving the youthful competitor a total of five
victories in the series, giving him cushion atop the all-time WCS leader board.
Darnell would sprint to the checkered almost a quarter-lap ahead
of a hard fought battle to the wire between Kreyer, and the fast qualifier of the evening
Jeremy Lepak. Lepak, a contender for the NASCAR Midwest Series rookie title last
season, bested the field in qualifying, as the final of the 55 competitors to make a
qualifying attempt. He then charged through the pack and came up short in a spirited
duel with Kreyer over the closing laps, settling for a third place performance after a
thrilling run.
The 100 lap main event saw the front row of the
contest begin with two Dells Motor Speedway regulars occupying the front row.
Former two time track champion, and all-time WCS Series point
leader Ken Reiser and Kreyer would square off at the drop of the green flag.
Kreyer, using the outside line would sprint ahead of Reiser for
the initial lead. Dells Motor Speedway's multi-time Super Stock champion, Kenny Richards
made an impressive WCS debut, making the show and running a strong third in the early
stages of the race, while veteran racer Don Turner and multi-time Wisconsin International
Raceway champion Terry Baldry, occupied the top five positions during the opening rounds
of the contest.
Kreyer slowly began to stretch his lead on Reiser, who in turn
was successfully defending the second spot from the challenges of Kenny Richards.
Meanwhile further back in the field, both Darnell and Lepak began
to work third way forward. Tim Shendel, winner of of the prestigious Oktoberfest
NASCAR Midwest Series race last October, advanced into the top five by lap ten, with
Darnell and Lepak in tow.
At lap 20 the leaderboard saw Kreyer, Reiser, Kenny Richards,
Turner and Darnell occupying the top five spots. Kreyer now slowly began to move
away from Reiser, who was busy trying to fend off the challenges of Kenny Richards who was
applying pressure and looking for a way to advance. On lap 22, Darnell swept past
Turner to secure the fourth position. Richards was next to fall to Darnell's charge
as Darnell worked the outside lane to grab the third spot on the next circuit. On
lap 25 Darnell vaulted into the second spot, with a successful pass of Reiser.
Making moves which mirrored Darnell, Lepak was also expertly
working the outside line, vaulting past both Turner and Richards before to take the fourth
position.
Out front Kreyer's lead began to shrink with each passing lap as
Darnell closed up on his rear bumper to challenge for the top spot. On lap 30, Darnell
ducked to the inside of Kreyer entering turn one, and wiggled past for the top spot.
At the same moment, Lepak began to work the outside line on Reiser in effort
to wrestle away the third position. Lepak was able to secure the third position on
lap 31. As the lead trio began to catch lapped traffic for the first time in the contest.
The first caution appeared on lap 32, when defending Madison
International Speedway champion Dave Feiler found himself headed the wrong direction on
lap 32, bringing the first slowdown of the event.
The caution would appear again moments later when Eddie Hoffman
spun coming off turn two.
As the event approached the midway point Darnell was comfortably
out front, while Kreyer and Lepak fought for the runner-up spot, with Lepak testing both
the high and low lines in an effort to advance. Turner had moved into the fourth
sport and Strap now found himself in fifth as the race began to wind down.
Darnell again began to encounter lapped traffic as the race
closed within 30 laps of the finish, allowing both Kreyer and Lepak to close within a
dozen car lengths. Further pack Strap has successfully worked past Turner to secure
the fourth position.
The blistering pace continued as Darnell would weave in and out
of lapped traffic while extending his lead, as the fight for second became a three way
battle with Kreyer continuing to maintain the position over Lepak and Strupp. Fifth
also became an issue a Turner worked to keep Shendel in his rear view mirror with ten laps
remaining in the contest.
The positions among the leaders would remain the same over the
final laps, with Darnell taking the win by a dozen car lengths. Kreyer would edge
out Lepak for the runner-up spot by a single car length, with Strupp following acrossed
the stripe on Lepak's rear bumper in fourth. Turner capped off a strong performance
by reaching the finish line in fifth.
Rounding out the top ten finishers were Shendel, Baldry,
defending NASCAR Midwest Series champion Steve Carlson, Andrew Morrissey and defending
Golden Sands Speedway champion Mark Eswein, who had earlier secured a victory in one of
the qualifying races.
22 of the 24 starters were still on the track at the checkered,
and 14 were on the lead lap at the finish.
With a huge field of cars in the pits each qualifying race played
a significant role in filling out the starting grid. In the first qualifying race, which
saw 20 starters take the green flag, it was Eswein managing to keep Carlson in his tire
tracks taking a hard fought win. Carlson and Chris Weinkauf would earn the second
and third positions, with all three of the top finishers advancing to the main event.
Kurt Guralski and M.G. Gajewski completed the top five in the contest.
In the second qualifying race, which started 19 cars, Eddie
Hoffman, dominated the contest, winning the race by nearly a quarter-lap after working by
Scott Broughton early in the event. Broughton driving a smooth race would hold onto
the second spot the remaining distance, with Jeff Van Oudenhoven claiming the third and
final transfer position. Andy Tomlinson and Jason Weinkauf completed the top five
finishers.
The balance of the 24 car starting grin was completed with the
next fastest qualifier for the contest being added. This originally would have been
defending Dells Motor Speedway champion Jeff Kendall, who had turned in the 17th fastest
lap of the day, but a blown engine in his qualifier, turned the spot over to Jeff Richards
who had turned in the 18th fastest qualifying lap. Richards would make the most of
his feature start advancing the most positions in the race, finishing in 11th on the lead
lap.
The final spot in the field was set with a WCS provisional,
earned by Jason Weinkauf. Weinkauf also made the most o his feature start running
solidly to a 13th place finish.
For those drivers not making the main event, a
"Semi-Feature" contest was held for the first time in WCS history. The
event was added by speedway management a couple weeks prior to the show, when the large
turnout of cars was anticipated.
The race proved to be especially exciting for the fans, as the 40
lap contest saw a hard fought battle for the top spot throughout the event. Though the
race did not count toward WCS points, the prize money only race proved to be very popular
among the competitors. Coming away with the victory was Jeff Weinfurter, who managed
to fend off M.G. Gajewski and former WCS champion Gary Back for the victory. Andy
Tomlinson and Kurt Guralski completed the top five finishers in the event, which saw the
top five runners cross the line nose to tail.
The next event on the Wisconsin Challenge Series schedule for the
2004 season is the Spring Fling 100 to be held Sunday Afternoon April 25th at the Columbus
151 Speedway.
Last year this event saw an impressive
field of nearly 40 Super Late Model participate in the contest, as the semi-banked
quarter-mile paved oval. The race was won by Darnell, who used his win in the race
to begin his quest for a successful 2003 WCS title chase.
Once again a solid showing of Super Late
Models is expected as well as the area Late Model cars Columbus 151 and Jefferson.
The Spring Fling activities are set to get
underway with practice at 10:00 a.m., while qualifying is schedule for Noon. The
first race is to get the green flag at 2:00 p.m.
In addition to the Super Late Models, fans
will witness Street Stock, Hobby Stock, Backup Car and 4 cylinder Bandit racing
action. The Street Stock, Hobby Stock and Bandit division cars must
comply with the rules for Columbus and Jefferson Speedway. For information call
(608) 233-0002.
In addition fans will be treated to and
exciting show of Back-up racing, a very unique class to the Columbus 1251 Speedway, where
the participants race backwards around the racetrack.
Adult admission for the show is a fan
friendly $12.
On the Saturday afternoon, April 24th,
prior to the big event on Sunday, the track will host an open practice from noon to 6
p.m.. Concessions will be available and the practice sessions are free to the
public. Free overnight camping is also available.
151 Speedway is located between Columbus
and Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on Kraus Road, near the intersection of Highway 151 and County
Trunk V. The exit onto County V is 111. For additional information
please call (920) 582-4093 or check out the Columbus 151 Speedway website at www.racingonline.com/columbus151.
Information on the Wisconsin Challenge Series is available online at www.wisconsinchallenge.com
For
complete RACESTAT Computer Results Click Here
Spring Thaw 100 -
Results
Dells Motor Speedway - April 10, 2004
100 Lap Feature: 1.)
Erik Darnell, Beach Park, IL; 2.) frank Kreyer, Pardeeville; 3.) Jeremy Lepak, Wausau; 4.)
Tony Strupp, West Bend; 5.) Don Turner, LaCrosse; 6.) Tim Shendel, Sparta; 7.) Terry
Baldry, Omro; 8.) Steve Carlson, West Salem; 9.) Andrew Morrissey, Deforest; 10.) Mark
Eswein Wisconsin Rapids; 11.) Jeff Richards, Montello; 12.) Dan Fredrickson, Elko, MN;
13.) Jason Weinkauf, Merrill 14.) Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton, IL; 15.) Jeff Van Oudenhoven,
Kimberly; 16.) Chris Weinkauf, Merrill; 17.) Pete Vandermolen, Oshkosh; 18.) Kenny Reiser,
Waukon, IA; 19.) Kevin Brescia, Baraboo; 20.) Kenny Richards, Montello; 21.) Brian Johnson
Jr., Roscoe, IL; 22.) Terry Van Roy, Darboy; 23.) Dave Feiler, Sun Prairie; 24.) Scott
Broughton, Stoughton
First 30 Lap Qualifier: 1.)
Eswein; 2.) S. Carlson; 3.) C. Weinkauf; 4.) Kurt Guralski, Wausau; 5.) M.G. Gajewski,
Wausau; 6.) John Knaus, Rockford; 7.) Jesse Haase, Wausau; 8.) Jim Carlson, LaCrosse; 9.)
Tom Gee Jr., Sobieski; 10.) Dean LaPointe, Marshfield.
Second 30 Lap Qualifier: 1.)
Hoffman; 2.) Broughton; 3.) Van Oudenhoven; 4.) Andy Tomlinson, Poynette; 5.) J. Weinkauf,
Merrill; 6.) Rory Melbinger, Marshfield; 7.) Jeff Weinfurter, Wisconsin Rapids; 8.) Steve
Rubeck, Kirkland, IL; 9.) John Zimmerman, Markesan; 10.) Kirby Kurth, Wisconsin Rapids.
40 Lap B-Feature: 1.)
Weinfurter; 2.) Gajewski; 3.) Back; 4.) Tomlinson; 5.) Guralski; 6.) Kurth; 7.) Haase; 8.)
Melbinger; 9.) Knaus; 10.) LaPointe; 11.) J. Carlson; 12.) Dean Schultz, Juneau; 13.) Pete
Kempf, Nekoosa; 14.) Gee Jr., 15.) Jeff Falbe, Beaver Dam |
