HASELEU SENDS A MESSAGE - TWO-TIME DEFENDING WCS CHAMPION CLAIMS HIS SECOND SERIES WIN IN LESS THAN A WEEK!
By Bob Blaschke - DRP Media

Saturday, May 12, 2007 (Wisconsin Dells, WI) – While it is still early in the season and the race weather has not yet warmed up, Pardeeville's Nathan Haseleu certainly has. Less than one week after claiming his first Wisconsin Challenge Series win of 2007, the two-time defending series Champion reached Victory Lane again, this time at the Dells Raceway Park.

Starting on the inside of row three, the series' all-time career win leader moved his Swiss Colony No. 87 Ford into second place, behind DeForest's Andrew Morrissey, just one lap after Waterford's Mike Gunderson and Hortonville's Brandon Selle brought out the yellow flag for a minor mishap on lap nine.

By lap 25, it looked as though Morrissey and Haseleu were going to check out on the field, racing to a full straightaway advantage over the No. 77 of Plainfield's Todd Stapleman, who was battling with Iowa's Ken Reiser for third. Sun Prairie's Dave Feiler had the fifth spot, ahead of the night's fastest qualifier, Montello's Kenny Richards.

Some 17 laps later, Haseleu had found the inside back quarter panel of Morrissey's black No. 39. Haseleu would get the pass on lap 43, but a turn-one spin by Nekoosa's Pete Kempf, would wipe out the effort.

The restart tightened up the field, turning it back into a five-car lead pack led by Morrissey, Haseleu, Reiser, Feiler and Richards. This lead group ran in order, until lap 56, when Haseleu and Reiser took advantage of an opening and got past Morrissey, who then lost third and fourth place to Feiler and Richards on the next lap.

Kyle Kinder's front stretch spin brought out the next caution. The lap 64 restart brought the lead five-car pack back to the field with Stapleman, Appleton's Andy Monday, Wisconsin Dells' Frank Kreyer, Freedom's Kyle Calmes, and Lake Geneva's Jacob Humphrey rounding out the top ten.

The race would go green for 22 laps before flagman, Pat Barrett once again displayed the yellow as Monday went around coming out of turn four. With lapped cars having two positions near the front on the restart, things out a little ugly, as nine cars got together in a turn one mess. The crash included Gunderson, Selle, Plainfield's Greg Ruffalo, Kewauanee's Eugene Gregorich Jr. and suffering the worst of the damage, South Milwaukee's Terry Patnode and the WCS' all-time points leader Mark Eswein (who had been running in the top ten with just 20 laps to go).

The race would go green for the final 13 laps, with Reiser unable to find a way around Haseleu. Feiler finished third ahead of Richards and Kreyer, who posted his first WCS top-five of the season and who had won the series' last event at the Dells' track. Calmes, Morrissey, Franklin's Matt Kocourek, La Crosse's Don Turner (who started last in the 23-car field), and Appleton's Tim Rothe recorded top-10 finishes.

Following his third win of 2007 (two WCS wins and a big CRA win at Nashville) Haseleu said, "It's been going good. It is not like we have a dominating car and we are winning by a straightaway or anything, but we just keep working at it. Kenny [Richards] was faster today and we started closer to the front. We are just doing the best we can."

Responding to questions about holding off Reiser for nearly half the race, Haseleu answered,
"I didn't know if I was going to be able to. I certainly tried, you just don't know. I've raced Kenny a lot [Ken Reiser]. Whenever I have passed Kenny he has always given me a lot of respect. I told my spotter if 'Kenny gets inside of me, we're going to run him clean', but he just never got there. He was a little bit better in and through the center. We were a little bit better off."

Reiser agreed, "I think I was better than him [Haseleu] on the restarts, but once we get going here, it is hard to pass. I would have had to try the outside and with Feiler right behind me, if I didn't make the pass, Feiler would have gotten past me."

Off to a strong start in 2007 himself, the DRP regular continued, "I like this track, it is a lot of fun and I like the people up here."

Looking to run three to four WCS races this season, the Iowa driver will continue to offer Wisconsin's best late-model drivers plenty of stiff competition this season, while looking to stay at the top of the DRP standings.

Next up for the WCS is a trip over to Plover's Golden Sands for the annual Memorial Day weekend event. Haseleu, who will be looking for his third straight WCS win, thinks things will heat up at Golden Sands.

"It is tough to win at Plover. Kenny Richards will be there and when it is hot and sunny, he is pretty dominating. Eswein and a lot of other good guys up there, means we'll have our work cut out. We'll try as best as we can."

Wisconsin Challenge Series - Dells Raceway Park
May 12, 2007

100-Lap Feature: Haseleu, Reiser, Feiler, Richards, Kreyer, Calmes, Morrissey, Kocourek, Turner, Rothe, Monday, Kempf, Ruffalo, Kinder, Gunderson, Selle, Hicks, Humphrey, Gregorich, Eswein, Stapleman, Patnode, Zimmerman; Quick Qualifier: Richards 13.462;

Qualifier: Rothe, Kempf, Eswein, Zimmerman, Ruffalo, Hicks, Vandermolen, Kralovetz, Carlson, Thiel, Weiler, Turner.