Eswein tops Sands' Mid-SeasonChampionships!
By Amy Kolo

June 25, 1999; Plover, WI:  -  Fans poured into Golden Sands Speedway for the 5th Annual Copps Food Stores Mid-Season Championship.  Congratulations goes out to Janet Wojick Save On Furniture’s Fan of the Week, and Kacey Jo Okeefe, the winner of the Wal-Mart mountain bike.

#71 Mark Eswein - Winner Golden Sands Speedway Mid-Season Championships!
62599a.jpg (18089 bytes) Current Super Late Model Point Leader, Mark Eswein (#71) further extended his point lead over Kirby Kurth in the season standings with his win in the Mid-Season Championship feature event.  With just half the season remaining Eswein has a fairly comfortable lead in the standings.  He has also been the most frequent feature winner having scored three victories this season.

The Super Late Model 50 lap feature was excitement from start to finish.  Jeremy Lepak pulled fast time and opted to take the Hot n’ Now Ultimate Challenge which was up to $1500!  With a $1000 to win the late model feature.  Jeremy had the chance to walk away with at least $2500.  M.G. Gajewski started out with the lead on the feature, but the "Gun on the Run", Todd Stapleman pulled out and took the first position away from Gajewski.  Mark Eswein and Kevin Peterson were coming up fast to work on the leaders.  On lap 16, Stapleman spun out all by himself.  Stapleman, very disappointed took the rear of the field.  He was abound and determined to make his way back up to the front. 

Jeremy Lepak (#40) captured his first fast qualifying effort of the season in the Super Late Model division, turning a lap of 12.055 seconds around the third-mile high banked asphalt raceway. 62599b.jpg (13935 bytes)

At the restart Eswein took the lead with Peterson in second.  Greg Weinfurter and Gajewski started switching the third and fourth positions back and forth.  By lap 21, Weinfurter started losing positions as Kirby Kurth and Jeff Weinfurter moved up to the front of the pack.  Lepak had to go into the pits for a punctured tire.  Poor Jeremy kept having problems after problems.  But his fast time was an amazing accomplishment.  Just like his "Fly Navy" Sponsor says:  Jeremy does fly at Golden Sands Speedway.  As Greg Weinfurter kept losing positions faster cars were moving up from the rear of the field.  By lap 40, Stapleman was already back in the sixth position.  Everyone fought hard trying to get to the front.  On the white flag lap a caution came out sending positions three on back into a huge pile up.  As the rulebook states, scoring the finish then went back to the white flag lap for positions three to last. Also official results changed due to some cars not passing tech inspection.  Eswein finished first and also took the Mid-Season Championship home.  Gajewski took the second position and Kurth finished third. 

62599e.jpg (13885 bytes) Randy Storlie (#53) spent the early part of the CWSSA Super Stock feature doing battle with Merle Weinfurter before motoring away to score the win.

The Super Stock main also held the same great excitement.  Keith Bohmsach came out the fast timer and opted to take the Letter Perfect Challenge that was now up to $300.00  Merle Weinfurter jumped out into the lead during the 30 lap race.  Randy Storlie and Tim Plowman were both hot on his heels.  By the 8th lap Storlie maneuvered his way around Weinfurter for the lead.  Fast runners, Jason Szymkowiak and Gary Wosick started coming from the back to work on the leaders.   Bohmsach was trying hard to make it around the slower cars for the lead. 

Former Pure Stock champion, and Super Stock Rookie of the Year, Keith Bohmsach (#24) keeps getting faster.  Tonight he topped qualifying in the Super Stock class. 62599c.jpg (13536 bytes)

By the 13th lap Weinfurter was able to catch back up to Storlie.  It was neck and neck for most of the race.  Storlie would take the lead by a nose cone for a few short laps, then Weinfurter would steal it back.  This went on forever as other cars in the back of the pack started making their way to the front. 

62599d.jpg (14199 bytes) Jason Szymkowiak (#17) may not have won this evenings feature race, but he did score the most points on the evening to be crowned the Mid-Season champion.  Szymkowiak also used this evenings performance to take over the point lead.

Fast time and new points leader, Jason Szymkowiak maneuvered his way around last years track champion, Gary Wosick, to try and work on the leaders.  Cale Laessig started making his way to the front as Shawn Stelzer for some reason started losing positions.   Storlie was finally able to pull ahead for a larger lead ahead of Weinfurter and take the win.  Weinfurter came in second and Szymkowiak came in third.  Bohmsach finished in eighth.  Congratulations to Jason Szymkowiak taking the Mid-Season Championship home. 

Marv Flick (#9) earned yet another trip to victory lane after a Pure Stock feature.  Flick currently lies second in the points to Michael Brooks (#22) at the halfway point of the race season. 62599f.jpg (13094 bytes)

Last year cruiser driver Mark Flink pulled ahead with the early lead in the pure stock feature event.  But veteran driver, Marv Flick, was able to make his way around Flink for the lead.  Matt Pyburn showing improved driver skills held his third position moving around newer drivers for the top positions.  Mike Brooks another veteran driver, started moving to the front, sending Pyburn back a few positions.    As the newer drivers moved to the back of the pack, the drivers with more experience fought each other for the top positions.   Flick  finished in first and also took the Mid-Season Championship home.  Brooks finished in second and Jeff Gruber in third.

Racing continues on Friday evenings at Central Wisconsin's Power Playground, Golden Sands Speedway. Our racetrack is a high-banked 1/3 mile asphalt oval featuring Super Late Models, CWSSA Super Stocks and Pure Stocks.

The track is located between Plover and Wisconsin Rapids, WI on Highway 54. 

Super Late Model Division
50 Lap Feature Event Time Trials
1. #71 Mark Eswein

1. #40 Jeremy Lepak    

12.055 Seconds
2. #22 M.G. Gajewski 2. #71 Mark Eswein 12.065 Seconds
3. #85 Kirby Kurth 3. # 3 Scott Beyer 12.076 Seconds
4. #77 Todd Stapleman 4. # 3 Jeff Weinfurter 12.114 Seconds
5. #52 Chris Wimmer 5. #32 Doug Drost 12.123 Seconds
6. #97 Jamie Iverson
7. #32 Doug Drost
8. #66 Troy Nelson

Semi-Feature: 1.) Iverson; 2.) Don Turner; 3.) Ted Schoppenhorst; 4.) Monte Gress; 5.) Greg Ives; 6.) Steve Gress
First Heat: 1.) Eric Getzloff; 2.) Chad Devine; 3.) Turner
Second Heat: 1.) Iverson; 2.) M. Gress; 3.) Greg Weinfurter
Third Heat: 1.) Kurth; 2.) Nelson; 3.) Beyer
Dash: 1.) Drost; 2.) Beyer; 3.) Eswein

CWSSA Super Stock Division
Feature Event Time Trials
1. #53 Randy Storlie 1. #24 Keith Bohmsach 13.582 Seconds
2. #24 Merle Weinfurter 2. #52 Mike Doughty 13.613 Seconds
3. #17 Jason Szymkowiak 3. #17 Jason Szymkowiak 13.644 Seconds
4. #61 Gary Wosick 4. # 8 Carl Saylor 13.667 Seconds
5. #01 Cale Laessig 5. # 7 Jim Cormack 13.680 Seconds
6. #80 Tim Plowman
7. # 7 Jim Cormack
8. #24 Keith Bohmsach
9. #40 Shawn Stelzer
10. #52 Mike Doughty

Semi-Feature: 1.) Dean Brillowski; 2.) Bernie Fritz Jr; 3.) David Pagels; 4.) Wesley Kruse; 5.) Brian Stroik; 6.) Roger Stanczyk
First Heat: 1.) Brillowski; 2.) Pagels; 3.) Krause
Second Heat: 1.) Stroik; 2.) Scott Hamel; 3.) Fritz Jr.
Third Heat: 1.) Stelzer; 2.) Storlie; 3.) Laessig
Dash: 1.) Szymkowiak; 2.) Bohmsach; 3.) Doughty

Pure Stock Division
Feature Event Time Trials
1. # 9 Marv Flick 1. #22 Michael Brooks 15.267 Seconds
2. #22 Michael Brooks 2. # 9 Marv Flick 15.290 Seconds
3. #26 Jeffrey Gruber 3. #15 Anney Turzinski  15.469 Seconds
4. #78 Bradley Scholze

4. #26 Jeffrey Gruber

15.627 Seconds
5. #26 Curtis Turner 5. #15 Michel Somers 15.690 Seconds
6. #15 Michel Somers
7. #71 Matthew Pyburn
8. #25 Scott Christiansen

Semi-Feature: 1.) Curtis Turner; 2.) Scholze; 3.) Matthew Raykowski; 4.) Matt Osowski
First Heat: 1.) Scholze; 2.) Jason Lewandowski; 3.) Kevin Fisher
Second Heat: 1.) Christiansen; 2.) Flick; 3.) Gruber
Dash: 1.) Somers; 2.) Brooks; 3.) Turzinski