|
DEFENDING
SERIES CHAMP HASELEU HALTS BAD LUCK WITH
MARSHFIELD WCS VICTORY!
MARSHFIELD, WI. (July 15, 2006)
- The mechanical gremlins which have
plagued defending Wisconsin Challenge
Champion Nathan Haseleu since the
beginning of the racing season were no
where to be found, as the hard charging
racer from Marshall, Wisconsin dominated
the later stages of the Earth Inc / V&H
Heavy Truck Marshfield 80, to score his
first WCS victory of the season.
The win was his sixth career WCS
checkered breaking a tie with 2003 WCS
series champion Erik Darnell, as both
had five event victories prior to this
evening's event.
To reach the finish line first Haseleu
would outrun a stellar field of 24
drivers after having taken the lead from
current WCS point leader Kenny Richards
of Montello as the field came back to
green after the second and final caution
of the contest which appeared just past
the halfway point. Haseleu then
set a blistering pace to best two-time
WCS champion Mark Eswein of Wisconsin
Rapids by nearly a full straightaway.
Richards would finish in the third
position.
Local favorite Tim Hintz
of Marshfield would find himself on the
pole of the 80 lap main event with
current WCS point runner-up Jeff Kendall
of Montello to is outside. 2002
Wisconsin Challenge Series champion Gary
Back of Vesper and current WCS point
leader Kenny Richards of Montello would
give chase from row two at the drop of
the green. With the field invert
determined by drawing, fast qualifier
Haseleu would find himself inside the
fifth row for the start of the contest.
Kendall would power
ahead of Hintz down the backstretch to
take the initial lad, with Richards
following suit to place himself in
second before the completion of lap two.
Kendall and Richards would then pull
away from Hintz who would slowly drift
backwards in the running order.
Richards, opting to run a lower line
than Kendall would use the groove to his
advantage the pair would wind up side by
side for the lead as lap four began, but
by the time the circuit was complete
Richards had become the new leader.
On lap seven, Back would
drop off pace while running in the top
five after suffering an engine failure.
The former winner of a WCS contest at
Marshfield would not see another victory
on this day.
Two-time series champion
Mark Eswein of Wisconsin Rapids would
work by Hintz for the third spot brining
Charlie Menard of Eau Clair with him to
fourth before reaching lap eight. Menard
continued his march forward working the
high lane past Eswein on the following
circuit to reach third.
The positions throughout
the pack continued to switch at a rapid
pace with drivers using both the low and
high lines in effort to gain an
advantage. Haseleu would crack the top
five for the first time on lap 11 as he
motored past Hintz.
Out front Richards was
able to keep Kendall in his rear-view
mirror, while Menard and Eswein closed
up making it a four car battle for the
top spot.
Kendall would drift to
the outside line on lap 16, allowing
Menard to squirt past for the second
spot, Eswein was able to follow reaching
third and dropping Kendall back to the
fourth position
Ben Pettis would come to
a halt in turn four forcing the first of
only two caution during the event on lap
17.
On the restart Richards
went back to pacing the contest with
Menard pressuring for the top spot.
Eswein continued in third, while Haseleu
for fourth before lap 20 began.
Menard meanwhile began
to seek a way past Richards ducking to
his inside on several occasions. Over
the next ten laps Menard continued to
apply the pressure but Richards was able
to repel the challenges. On lap 30
Haseleu would duck under Eswein for the
third spot and moments later performed a
similar move on Menard to rumble to
second.
The halfway point of the
event was reached with Richards,
Haseleu, Menard, Eswein and Adam Royle
another former winner of a WCS contest
at Marshfield holding down fifth. 21
cars were still on the lead lap at the
time.
On lap 44 Hintz would
slide off the track in turn two forcing
the final caution of the event.
Just prior to the caution Haseleu had
begun to work low on Richards but the
caution negated the passing attempt.
When action resumed
however Haseleu was quick to pounce,
immediately working to Richards' inside
down the backstretch. Haseleu
would make his car stick in the low
groove and powered ahead coming off turn
four for the lead as lap 45 began.
Menard was quick to follow Haseleu, also
squirting past Richards, to reach the
second spot.
In a swift move, Eswein
was able to drat past both Richards and
then Menard to place himself in second
on lap 46, as it appeared Menard began
to slow his pace. After being
shuffled to fourth Richard's was able to
regroup and get back to the low groove
which he used to his advantage to
reclaim third on lap 48.
While Haseleu began to
pull away with Eswein and Richards
giving chase, it became apparent that
Menard, who was running fourth was
encountering mechanical ills as his car
kept getting slower with each passing
lap. Royle would blast past for
fourth on lap 52, and Blake Horstman
made his way into the top five moments
later. Menard would then head to the pit
area ending a solid run.
With less than 22 laps
to go, Eugene Gregorich Jr., who won
last the WCS contest at Marshfield last
fall pulled from the contest after
having working into the top ten.
With each passing lap
Haseleu would pull further and further
ahead of the field, having gained a full
straightaway advantage as the final ten
laps began. Eswein, Richards and
Royle were line up nose to tail for the
second spot, while Horstman ran
comfortably in fifth. Among the
leaders the biggest battle was waged for
the sixth spot as Frank Kreyer who
started 23rd on the grin, had slowly
worked through the field. He had
reached Trent Snyder in the sixth
position and the pair of Kreyer and
Snyder entertained fans with a thrilling
side by side duel which would also
include the occasional exchange of
paint.
The final ten laps past
swiftly and Haseleu would reach the
finish to scored his first WCS victory
of the 2006 season. Eswein
would finish solidly in second with
Richards' extending his point lead with
a third place run. Royle would
finish with a strong fourth place
showing while Horstman ran to his best
WCS finish of the year claiming fifth.
Snyder would fend off
Kreyer over the final laps to hold
sixth, while Kreyer made the biggest
move of the day racing from 23rd to
seventh at the finish. Jason
Weinkauf would complete the race in
eighth place in a car borrowed from Jay
VanderGeest, after his own machine
developed mechanical difficulties in
practice. Jeremy Lepak would grab
the ninth spot with Andy Monday
completing the top ten finishers.
Earlier in the day a 25
lap qualifying race was used to complete
the field for the main event, and the
race was won in convincing fashion by
Neil Knoblock. Knoblock would
later race to 11th in the big show.
Following Knoblock to the line in the
qualifying race was Ben Pettis, Nick
Hammer, Monday and Jacob Humphrey to
complete the top five. Tommy
Pecaro finished six, in the final
transfer spot to the main event.
At the end of the
program a very exciting B-feature was
held as Jeff Way, Dennis Prunty, Elliott
Weiler and John Zimmerman ran nearly
pack style battling for the lead.
Prunty would manage to work ahead of way
and fend off Way's challenges to win the
race. Way would slow over the
final laps giving second to Weiler.
Hintz would finish third. Pete
Moore making his first run of the year
cam from dead last on the grid to claim
fourth and Mike DeKeuster rounded out
the top five.
The Wisconsin Challenge
Series will now head to Golden Sands
Speedway on Friday Night, July 28th for
the Power Playground 100. All the
stars of the WCS series will be on hand
to challenge the Golden Sands Speedway
regular's on the high banked third mile
oval for top honors.
The 100 lap main event
will feature 24 starters. A pair
of 30 lap qualifying races will set the
field for the race, and the day will
conclude with a 30 lap B-Feature contest
for those not making the main event.
In addition to the WCS
Super Late Models, the show will
feature, 2-Man Cruisers and 4 cylinders.
Time trials will be at
6:30 p.m. and the first race will get
the green flag at 7:45 p.m.
Golden Sands Speedway is located
between Wisconsin Rapids and Plover,
Wisconsin on Highway 54. For additional
information please call (715) 423-4660
or consult the track website at
www.goldensandsspeedway.com
More information and a complete
season schedule for the Wisconsin
Challenge Series can be found at
www.wisconsinchallenge.com
COMPLETE RACESTAT RESULTS
EARTH INC. / V&H HEAVY TRUCK Marshfield
80 - Marshfield Super Speedway - July
15, 2006
100 Lap
Feature: -- 1.) Nathan
Haseleu, Marshall; 2.) Mark Eswein,
Wisconsin Rapids; 3.) Kenny Richards,
Montello; 4.) Adam Royle, Farmington,
MN; 5.) Blake Horstman, Rockland; 6.)
Trent Snyder, Ironton, MN; 7.) Frank
Kreyer, Pardeeville; 8.) Jason Weinkauf,
Merrill; 9.) Jeremy Lepak, Wausau; 10.)
Andy Monday, Appleton; 11.) Neil
Knoblock, Wausau; 12.) Chris Weinkauf,
Merrill; 13.) Jeff Kendall, Montello;
14.) Dave Feiler, Sun Prairie; 15.)
Jacob Humphrey, Lake Geneva; 16.) Pete
Kempf, Nekoosa; 17.) Nick Hammer, Sun
Prairie; 18.) Brandon Selle, Dale; 19.)
Tim Hintz, Nekoosa; 20.) Ben Pettis, Elk
Mound; 21.) Eugene Gregorich Jr.,
Kewaunee; 22.) Charlie Menard, Eau
Claire; 23.) Dean Cornelius, Chaska, MN;
24.) Gary Back, Vesper
30 Lap
Qualifier -- 1.)
Knoblock; 2.) Pettis; 3.) Hammer; 4.)
Monday; 5.) Humphrey; 6.) Cornelius; 7.)
Tommy Pecaro, Edgerton; 8.) Jeff Way,
Burlington; 9.) Selle; 10.) Mike
DeKeuster, Racine
25 Lap
B-Feature: 1.) Dennis Prunty,
Lomira; 2.) Elliott Weiler, Marshfield;
3.) John Zimmermann, Markesan; 4.) Pete
Moore, McFarland; 5.) DeKeuster; 6.)
Paul Prokusch, LaCrosse; 7.) Frank
Nitzke, Berlin; 8.) Way; 9.) Darren
Wolke, Minneapolis, MN; 10.) Kyle Davis,
Marshfield
|
