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George Baumann
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. (August 28) - A week of warm and dry weather left the track dry and smooth and ready for action. The 25-lap Late Model Feature was first on the track and Brad Mueller (Random Lake) provided a thrilling finish as he won by inches at the finish line. Danny Schlafer (Sussex) dominated the Sprint Feature. Brad Lubach (Elkhart Lake) won the Grand National Feature while Andy Singer (Cascade) won the Outlaw Compact Feature with a pass off turn four on the final lap.
Mueller after starting seventh found himself in fourth with only two laps left. He then went to the outside and started his run to the checkers. On lap twenty-four he passed Russ Scheffler (Waukesha) for third.
The on the final lap, he moved around Rick Scheffler (Waukesha) and going into turn three pulled along-side race leader Turk Letizia (Milwaukee). The two came off turn four side by side and as they crossed the finish line, Mueller was ahead by inches for the win.
Letizia had led every lap and looked unbeatable for much of the race. Early in the race, Bill Rezutek (Big Bend) drove the tracks high side very hard, but could only pull even with Letizia.
Later, Rick Scheffler and Russ Scheffler (Waukesha) would stay close to Letizia.
In the end, the Scheffler brothers would finish third and fourth with Tim Buhler (Glenbeulah) rounding out the top five. The race set a new track record surpassing the old record by thirty-seven seconds.
The Grand National Feature went under caution a number of times in the early going and in the end was shortened by time. Bob Peter (Howards Grove) led early from his pole position start. Brad Lubach after starting sixth was able to pull into second on the first lap.
Lubach chased Peter until lap-10 when he was able to complete what would be the winning pass. Dick Hed (Sheboygan Falls) came from the fourth row to finish third ahead of Brian Gilles (Plymouth) and Mark Fieber (Cascade)
The Sprint Feature saw Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan) lead the first six laps before Ken Jay Fiedler (Sheboygan Falls) passed him to assume the point. Schlafer after starting in the fourth row put his car high on the track and became the fastest car to watch.
By lap eight Schlafer would be in second and had his aim set on the leader. On lap-12, Schlafer executed a perfect slide-job in turn four, and flew over the start/finish line in first. Lance Fassbender (Burnett) charged from the sixth row and raced wing to wing for many laps with Fiedler before finishing third.
Jim Melis (Glenbuelah) would be the hard charger coming from sixteenth to finish fourth ahead of Thiel.
In the Outlaw Compact Feature, Tim Simon (Fond du Lac) set a fast pace from the front row early. Aaron Stolp (West Allis) would stay close and when a wheel came off Simon's car on lap seven, Stolp would be the leader.
Andy Singer (Cascade) would be second and stay close to the front. On the final lap the two leaders came up behind a slower car before making a dash to the finish which saw Singer ahead by a fraction of a second.
Michael Zitzer (Sheboygan) was third ahead of J.J. Pagel (St. Cloud) and Sean Mueller (Plymouth).
In preliminary races Buhler and Rick Scheffler won Late Model heat races. Gilles, Brett Wenzel (Manitowoc) and Matt Jackson (Sheboygan) were winners in Grand National heat races.
Sprint cars ran two B-mains with Robbie Pribnow winning the first and Tony Wondra (Campbellsport) the second. For Pribnow it was his first night back in a racecar after being injured in a crash on the Fair Park track one year ago.
Sprint heat race winners were Earl Possi (Rock, MI), Schlafer, Fassbender and Scott Conger (Eagle). The third heat race was stopped after Randy Brunette (Chilton) flipped hard on the front stretch. He was not injured but his car was done for the night.
Winning Outlaw Compact heat races were Zitzer and Ben Van Wyke (Waldo).
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