Contact:
Julia Luther
Dells Raceway Park
Wisconsin Dells, WI-With over 100 cars at Dells Raceway Park, an American Speed Association track, on Saturday, May 23rd the crowd was in for some great racing and a night of firsts as new drivers brought home the win, and DRP favorites were welcomed back.
Dan Lensing, in the Super Late Model division, set his first Quick Qualifying time for the 2009 season with a 13.595. In the feature race with the field inverted 14 positions, Lensing had a lot of cars to pass and only 50 laps to accomplish it. John Zimmerman made his return to DRP and started the feature in eighth position. He moved steadily through the field and with 30 laps to go took the lead, with Tom Lichtfeld and Dan Lensing in his rearview mirror. Lensing then moved into second and tried to narrow the lead between him and Zimmerman while maneuvering through lap traffic. However, time ran out and it was John Zimmerman who claimed the feature win for the night. Don “Thunder” Turner claimed the fast dash trophy and John Zimmerman won the heat race.
In the Limited Late Model division rookie Corey Jankowski set fast time with a 14.301. In the semi-feature another rookie, Bobby Kendall, and Andy Niles raced their way into the feature. Jankowski set out to prove that he was the one to beat as he worked his way through the full field of cars in the feature. By lap 18 of the 40 lap feature Jankowski was in the lead, and he raced his way to the checkered flag for the second time this season. In another first Derek Childs got his first win in the heat race. Steve Lichtfeld and Bobby Kendall also visited Victory Lane for heat race wins.
For the third week in a row, Mike Lichtfeld set fast qualifying time with a 14.976 in the Super Stock division. However, the class welcomed some additional competition from the Mid American Stock Car drivers that joined the field to prepare for next weeks Duel in the Dells Part 1. Matt Pyburn and Danny Church engaged in a fierce battle for the top spot, and after 30 laps it was Pyburn who wrapped up the race on top. John Zuch and Dale Schultz claimed the checkers in the heat races.
Kevin Gilding was the car to beat the Pure Stock division during qualifying with a 16.405. In the feature, Durand Larsen quickly moved past the front runners to take the lead. Despite pressure from Willy Schreiber, Larsen hung on to the lead and visited Victory Lane for the first time in his racing career. Ben Monday and Willy Schreiber won their heat races.
Dells Raceway Park experienced another first when the Bandit pits were filled to capacity, with 25 cars competing in this division. Jody Schmidt set fast time with a 17.652. In the semi-feature Hunter Boardman and Jo Rupp raced their way into the transfer spots to start the feature. At the end of the 18 lap feature, Joe Kuehn picked up his first DRP Feature win. Brian Warner, Cody Gray, and Hunter Boardman picked up wins in their heat races.
Click this link to view and use photos from Saturday Night. Photo credit is Blaser Photography. http://www.racetrackmarketing.com/dells/052309/
