Mark Eswein tops Super Lates
for second win of season at Golden Sands!
By Amy Kolo

June 4, 1999; Plover, WI:  -  For weather seeming to be a bit threatening, Golden Sands still had an excellent crowd, with die hard race fans joining in on the 2nd Annual Wal-Mart/Children’s Miracle Kid’s Night.  Congratulations to Matt Tursa our Wal-Mart bike winner and congratulations to Jim and Julie Stratton our Save On Furniture Fans of the Week. 

6499a.jpg (17218 bytes) Current Late Model point leader, Mark Eswein (#71) managed to pad his point lead by taking home the feature win in the Super Late Model division.  Eswein is the first Super Late Model driver to score more than a single victory this season on the third mile, high-banked asphalt oval.

The Formula Indy cars joined in on the festivities at Golden Sands Speedway.  For as small as these little Indy cars are they can turn times just as fast as the Super Late Model Division.  The small cars raced back and fourth switching positions in every turn.  One cart would spin out, but quickly regain itself back into the race position before bringing out any caution flags.  Chip Blawat, fast timer, quickly took the lead position by the third lap. 

Chip Blawat (#1) proved how he earned that number.  He came home with a sweep of the evenings events winning the dash, his heat and the feature as well as setting fast time in the Formula Indy Racing Association cars which made a guest appearance at the speedway this evening. 6499e.jpg (12895 bytes)

Second fast in time Jim Chapley took the second position.  By the fourth lap more and more lapped traffic started to become an issue.  Out of the twelve cars in the entire field, only five of the cars were on the lead lap.  Blawat was able to take the checkered flag, with Chapley in second and Vern Brown in third. 

Super Late Model times once again were astonishing.  Chris Wimmer ended up with the fast time for the night and opted to take the Hot n’ Now Ultimate Challenge, which was up to $1,200.00!  Garrett Fait took the early lead, with Doug Drost directly behind him.  Right on the second lap Drost and Fait spun bringing out a caution. 

As the race restarted, Troy Nelson took the lead with Jeff Weinfurter and Monte Gress closing in.  Weinfurter started having mechanical difficulties and started losing positions.  He then tangled with Jeremy Lepak.  Scott Beyers took advantage of Weinfurter’s loss of power and started to work on the lead positions.   Eswein came from the middle of the pack and started working on the lead cars.  Other fast runners Jeff Weinfurter and MG Gajewski started charging hard to the front and spun each other out.  This gave Eswein the jump into the third position, but fast runner; Chris Wimmer was right behind Eswein.  Nelson held on to his lead, with Gress in the second position.  All of a sudden on lap 23, Gress maneuvered around Nelson for the lead and Wimmer found the power and started stealing positions. 

Chris Wimmer (#52) set fast time during this evenings program.  He opted to take the Hot 'N Now challenge, where if he could come from the back of the feature race and win he would be eligible for a big bonus.   Wimmer got close, he made it to second before spinning while trying to run down the leader. 6499d.jpg (13838 bytes)

First he maneuvered around Eswein, then got around Nelson for the second position!  It looked like Wimmer was going to be the first late model ever to take home the progressive Hot n’ Now Challenge pot!  On lap 25, Wimmer just got to excited and spun out all by himself, the crowd let out a sigh of disappointment.  They really wanted the young Wimmer to be victorious.  This gave Gress the opportunity to take the lead.  With just five laps to go, it was a dash to the finish.  Nelson started losing positions backwards, as Kirby Kurth came to play in the front.  As the white flag fell, Gress all of a sudden moved to the outside, totally giving the lead to Eswein.   Didn’t have a chance to talk to Monte Gress to see if it was driver error or mechanical.  Eswein took the checkered, with Gress in second and Kirby in third. 

Jason Kirsling took the fast time with a new track record of 13.275 in the super stock division.  Kirsling opted to take the Letter Perfect Challenge that was up to $150.00.  Last year champion, Gary Wosick started out in the lead with fast runner and last year pure stock champion, Shawn Stelzer directly behind him. 

6499b.jpg (12129 bytes) Former Super Stock champ, Gary Wosick (#61) had a fine run this evening.  He scored a feature win in the division holding off new track record holer and fast qualifier Jason Kirsling.

Judd Brand moved up and started switching places back and fourth with Stelzer.  Then on the ninth lap a spin occurred between Stelzer, Brandl, and Keith Bohmsach, send all drivers to the back of the pack.  This gave Kirsling the chance to move up into the second position by the tenth lap!  It looked like the Letter Perfect Challenge was going to be won once again!  Wosick held on tight to his lead.  Another fast runner Jim Cormack started moving up to play.  Cormack made his way around Kirsling. 

Wosick no longer seemed an issue anymore.  It just became an intense race between Cormack and Kirsling.  Cormack would lead a few laps, then Kirsling would lead the next few.  With four laps to go, Kirsling was able to get around Cormack and pull ahead.  On the white flag lap fast runner Randy Storlie moved up and around Cormack for the third position.  Wosick took the checkered, with Kirsling in second and Storlie in third.  An excellent run for fast timer, Jason Kirsling. 

Marv Flick (#9) appears to be on a roll having won the last two Pure Stock feature races at Golden Sands Speedway. 6499c.jpg (13776 bytes)

In Pure Stock action, as the new drivers started out in the front of the pack and the veteran drivers started out in the rear, it was a scramble to the front with many changing positions.  Duane Robinson had the lead for the first three laps, then Jason Lewandowski took it over for the next two.  At that time fast runner Marv Flick came up and took the lead.  Anney Turzinski wanted the win bad.  She just graduated this week and won her heat race.  She was looking forward to winning another race to top off the week.   She fought hard but Mike Brooks was able to maneuver his way around her.  Flick took the checkered, with Brooks in second, and Turzinski in third. 

The two man Cruiser division, made a guest appearance at Golden Sands Speedway tonight.  The team of Wede and Cayer (#69) came home the winners in the caution free feature race. 6499f.jpg (8995 bytes)

Congratulations to the cruiser division, the only division to race a cautionless feature race for the evening!  Slicing and dicing was the name of the game in the cruiser race.   With cars spinning in to the infield and doing 360’s in the turns the race was very exciting and very laughable.  Wede and Cayer took the win with Hansen and Flink in second.   Szymkowiak and Cisewski finished 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
30 Lap Feature Event Time Trials
1. #71 Mark Eswein

1. #52 Chris Wimmer

 12.006 Seconds
2. #107.5 Monte Gress 2. #77 Todd Stapleman 12.060 Seconds
3. #85 Kirby Kurth 3. # 3 Jeff Weinfurter 12.091 Seconds
4. # 3 Scott Beyer 4. #40 Jeremy Lepak 12.107 Seconds
5. #66 Troy Nelson 5. #71 Mark Eswein 12.121 Seconds
6. #77 Todd Stapleman
7. #40 Jeremy Lepak
8. # 3 Jeff Weinfurter
9. #32 Doug Drost
10. #41 Larry Lepak

Semi-Feature: 1.) Kurth; 2.) Chad Devine; 3.) Steve Gress; 4.) Charlie Schwock; 5.) Frank Nitzke
First Heat: 1.) Garret Fait; 2.) S. Gress; 3.) M.G. Gajewski
Second Heat: 1.) M. Gress; 2.) Eswein; 3.) Rene Scheinoha
Dash: 1.) Eswein; 2.) Weinfurter; 3.) Stapleman

CWSSA Super Stock Division
Feature Event Time Trials
1. #61 Gary Wosick 1. #99 Jason Kirsling 13.275 Seconds
2. #99 Jason Kirsling 2. #17 Jason Szymkoiwak 13.435 Seconds
3. #53 Randy Storlie 3. #01 Cale Laessig 13.444 Seconds
4. # 7 Jim Cormack 4. #24 Keith Bohmsach 13.517 Seconds
5. #78 Scott Hamel 5. #53 Randy Storlie 13.532 Seconds
6. #17 Bernie Fritz Jr.
7. # 7 Brian Stroik

Indicates New track record
8. #40 Shawn Stelzer
9. #80 Tim Plowman
10. #24 Keith Bohmsach

Semi-Feature: 1.) Stroik; 2.) Merele Weinfurter; 3.) David Pagels; 4.) Cary Lyons; 5.) James Wojcik; 6.) Matt Wisz
First Heat: 1.) Wesley Krause; 2.) Stroik; 3.) Wojcik
Second Heat: 1.) Weinfurter; 2.) Plowman; 3.) Wosick
Third Heat: 1.) Judd Brandl; 2.) Cormack; 3.) Mike Doughty
Dash: 1.) Storlie; 2.) Bohmsach; 3.) Laessig

Pure Stock Division
Feature Event Time Trials
1. # 9 Marv Flick 1. #22 Michael Brooks 15.230 Seconds
2. #22 Michael Brooks 2. #42 Roland Kuhn 15.385 Seconds
3. #15 Anney Turzinski 3. #26 Jeffrey Gruber 15.444 Seconds
4. #78 Bradley Scholze

4. # 9 Marv Flick

14.486 Seconds
5. #26 Jeffrey Gruber 5. # 5 Jeremy Kemnetz 15.606 Seconds
6. #42 Roladn Kuhn
7. # 2 Duane Robinson
8. #11 Jason Lewandowski

Semi-Feature: 1.) Scholze; 2.) Marlowe Greening; 3.) Matthew Raykowski; 4.) Michel Somers; 5.) Kevin Fisher
First Heat: 1.) Greening; 2.) Scott Christensen; 3.) Somers
Second Heat: 1.) Turzinski; 2.) Lewandowski; 3.) Gruber
Dash: 1.) Flick; 2.) Kemnetz; 3.) Gruber

Formula Indy Racing Association
Feature Event Time Trials
1. # 1 Chip Blawat

1. # 1 Chip Blawat

 12.344 Seconds
2. #21 Jim Chapley 2. #21 Jim Chapley 13.067 Seconds
3. #38 Kevin Brown 3. #31 Ken Lush 13.441 Seconds
4. # 5 Dirk Wilker 4. #14 David Woodcock 14.237 Seconds
5. #31 Ken Lush 5. #23 Keith Howard 14.263 Seconds
6. #14 David Woodcock
7. #23 Chris Eberhardt
8. # 3 Neil Gilentine

First Heat: 1.) Eberhardt; 2.) Woodcock; 3.) Don Brown
Second Heat: 1.) Blawat; 2.) Wilker; 3.) Lush
Dash: 1.) Blawat; 2.) Chapley; 3.) Wilker

Cruisers

Feature: 1.) Wede and Cayer; 2.) Hansen and Flink; 3.) Szymkowiak and Cisewski