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Jason Weinkauf Takes Super Late Win!
Plowman Edges Closer to Title with Super Stock Victory!
By Jeffrey Sachse |
August 20, 2004;
Plover, WI - As the
season begins to wind down, a good showing of fans and drivers were in attendance for
Fabco Equipment Night at Golden Sands Speedway. Heading the list of the evening's
winners was Jason Weinkauf of Merrill, who managed to make an early race pass of Brian
Back, and then keep Back in his tire tracks in the 40 lap Super Late Model headliner.
For Weinkauf, the victory was his third of the season as he attempts to remain
close to Mark Eswein in the division title chase. For Eswein who is seeking his
fifth track title, the current gap is a comfortable but not insurmountable 46 point lead
over Weinkauf, with just two point nights remaining.
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Jason Weinkauf collected his third Super Late
Model feature win of the 2004 season at Golden Sands Speedway.
Brian Back (#61) paced the opening laps of the
Super Late Model feature before Jason Weinkauf (#76) worked by for the top spot.
A torrid battle for third place in the Super
Late Model headliner developed in the closing laps of the contest. Chris Weinkauf
(#75) would work by Allen Check (#20) for the position as Jeff Weinfurter (#3) gives
chase.
Jeremy Lepak (#40) works under rookie Dillion Kralovetz (#2) for the lead in the
Super Late Model semi-feature. Lepak would win the contest and head to the main
event.
Mark Eswein (#71) the current Super Late Model point leader set the fastest lap in
qualifying for the evening.
Tim Plowman (#80) used a victory in the Super Stock feature to edge a little closer
to the division title.
Matt Pyburn (#71) and Collin Wilcott (#16) do battle for the lead early in the
Super Stock feature, as eventual winner Tim Plowman (#80) gives chase.
It wasn't in their plans, but sometimes the
close racing action of the Super Stock division leads to a little contact!
Tim Hintz (#1) had a recent streak of feature wins, and this evening he set fast
time in the Super Stock division.
Scott Strigel (#46) was the victor this evening
in a hard fought Pure Stock contest.
There was a large turnout of 2-Man Cruisers this
evening, making it necessary for three events to be held. The winners were the teams
of Clark and Boyer (#5), Werge and Schmidt (#22), and finally Adams and Oermik (#108). |
In the Super Stock division, one of the closest point races in the history of the
division is taking place as Tim Plowman, defending champion Shawn Stelzer and Tim Hintz
vie for the title. Plowman managed to come out on top of the point fray this week
taking the feature win, his second of the season, stopping the streak of Hintz.
Hintz had won three features in a row and narrowed the point gap significantly in recent
weeks. Heading into the final two programs Plowman has a 12 point gap on Stelzer,
with Hintz lurking in third and additional 10 points back.
In Pure Stock action it was fast qualifier Scott Strigel reaching the winners circles,
while no less than three main events were held for the 2-Man Cruisers, with the teams of
Adams / Omerik, Werge / Schmidt and Clark / Boyer taking top honors in the events.
Brady Baldry sat on the pole for the 40 lap Super Late Model contest with Brian Back to
his outside. At the drop of the green flag Back charged to the lead, as Baldry fell
back in the inside lane. Mark Mackesy and Kurt Guralski filed into second and third
by the completion of lap two. Jason Weinkauf who had started in the ninth spot, was
already into the fifth position on lap five, attempting to maneuver by Allen Check who
held down the fourth position.
Attempting to hold his position, Check started working the outside lane and would
surpass Guralski bringing Weinkauf with him. Weinkauf was tenacious in his battle
with Check however and work work his way by on lap 15 and then continued his charge
passing Mackesy for second on the next trip around the high-banked third mile oval.
Back meanwhile had build a ten car length lead as a cushion, but it became apparent
that Weinkauf would be able to close the gap. Doing so quickly, Weinkauf was ready
to contest the lead before the first caution flew on lap 21 for a spin by Josh Bell, who
was making his first appearance of the season at the raceway.
On the restart is was Back, Jason Weinkauf, Check, Mackesy and Jeff Weinfurter in the
top five, with Jason's older brother Chris, sitting in sixth. On lap 23, Jason Weinkauf
ducked to the inside of Back in turn one and the pair raced side by side for the next two
laps before Jason was able to annex the top spot.
Once out front Jason would set the pace the remainder of the event. Second place
however would be hotly contested to the finish. Chris Weinkauf would be the one moving
forward in the closing stages of the race working past Mackesy, Weinfurter and Check for
third, leaving himself five laps to catch Back.
With Jason out front by four car lengths, Chris and Back were ready to do battle on the
final two laps for the runner-up spot. Jason swept under the white flag, just as
Bell spun again in turn four, forcing the caution to appear. As the white flag was
already given, the race was declared complete. Jason Weinkauf was awarded the
victory followed by Back, Chris Weinkauf, Check and Weinfurter in the top five.
Eswein, the evening's fast qualifier and division point leader claimed sixth.
The Super Stocks point battle focused the attention of the fans on Plowman, Stelzer and
Hintz for their headline event. Hintz, who had won last weeks feature started
deepest in the field, while Stelzer the evening's fast qualifier was staged near mid-pack
along with Plowman.
Polesitter Matt Pyburn took the initial lead with Collin Wilcott in tow. Wally
Kallman worked into third by lap three. The first caution of the event appeared on lap
five when Brad Scholze slipped off the top of the track in turn one.
Plowman had already worked into the fifth slot, while Stelzer and Hintz were still
mired deep in traffic when the race resumed.
Pyburn again shot back to the lead with Wilcott staying in a position to challenge.
Plowman quickly moved forward and placed himself in the third position by lap
eight, closing rapidly on the lead duo. Wilcott began to flex some muscle, and
worked past Pyburn for the top spot on lap 13, bringing Plowman with him into second.
The second slowdown occurred on lap 16 when Dan Gollen spun on the backstretch.
When the green flag flew again Plowman was all over Wilcott seeking a way to take the
lead. Plowman would find that room on the inside side taking over the top position
on lap 17.
While Plowman was comfortable out front both Stelzer and Hintz were still deep in the
field, working hard to progress to the top spots. Stelzer would climb into the fifth
spot finally clearing traffic with a handful of laps to go but finding himself a great
distance behind visiting driver Sam Anderson who ran in the fourth position. Though
Stelzer closed rapidly on Anderson, Plowman would reach the finish to complete the race
before Stelzer could advance any more positions.
At the checkered it was Plowman, Wilcott, Pyburn, Anderson and Stelzer in the top five.
Hintz reached the seventh spot by the checkered.
The Pure Stock event would be a hard fought contest, with plenty of paint being traded.
Bob Cook led the opening two laps before Dean Aschbacher took over the lead. Troy
Engman was the next driver to challenge for the top spot. Aschbacher and Engman
would wage a great side by side battle for the lead, while the evening's fast qualifier,
Strigel worked into the third position.
Engman would finally reach the top spot with six laps to go in the contest, but now had
to fend off Strigel who had his intentions set on taking over the lead. As had
happened earlier the battle for the top spot ran side by side, with the occasional bump to
make the challenge for the lead exciting. Strigel would would finally clear Engman
with only a pair of laps to go in the contest.
The sprint to the wire proved especially dramatic as Raymond Kramer spun at the finish
line as the leaders were getting ready to accept the checkered. Strigel never slowed
his pace, sweeping past the spun car of Kramer to win the contest. Nelson would squeak
past Engman on the final turn for second with Engman having to settle for third.
Aschbacher and Andrew Hintz completed the top five runners.
Next Friday evening, August 27th, at Golden Sands Speedway is Mid-State Truck Night at
the races. The show will feature all three divisions of racing with a full program
of Super Late Model, Super Stock, Pure Stocks. Completing the evening will be the wildly
popular Bus Races!
The weekly race program will conclude on Friday evening, September 3rd, with the season
championships, and all four divisions, Super Late Models, Super Stocks, Pure Stocks and
Four Cylinders will be on hand as champions are crowned in each division for the 2004
season.
The final program of the year will be held the following Friday on September 10th, as
the track presents it's annual Eve of Devastation. Filled with wild and wacky racing
events and motorized mayhem of all types, the Eve of Devastation brings it's own style of
entertainment to the high-banked third mile oval.
All three shows begin with qualifying at 6:30 p.m., and racing at 7:45 p.m.
Golden Sands Speedway "Central Wisconsin's Power Playground" is located
between Wisconsin Rapids and Plover, Wisconsin on Highway 54. For additional
information please call (715) 423-4660 or consult the track website at www.goldensandsspeedway.com
For
complete RACESTAT Race Results Click Here!
Late Models
40 Lap Feature: 1.) Jason Weinkauf; 2.)
Brian Back; 3.) Chris Weinkauf; 4.) Allen Check; 5.) Jeff Weinfurter; 6.) Mark Eswein; 7.)
Mark Mackesy; 8.) Greg Back; 9.) Joe Krzykowski; 10.) Kurt Guralski
20 Lap Semi-Feature: 1.) Jeremy Lepak; 2.) Dillon Kralovetz; 3.)
Keith Bohmsach; 4.) Steve Gress; 5.) Burton Brown
First 12 Lap Heat: 1.) Mark Van; 2.) John Totzke Jr.; 3.) Casey
Chase
Second 12 Lap Heat: 1.) Lepak; 2.) Kralovetz; 3.) Bohmsach
Third 12 Lap Heat: 1.) J. Weinkauf; 2.) Krzykowski; 3.) Weinfurter
Fast Qualifier: Eswein, 12.268 Seconds
Super Stocks
30 Lap Feature: 1.) Tim Plowman; 2.)
Colin Wilcott; 3.) Matt Pyburn; 4.) Sam Anderson; 5.) Shawn Stelzer; 6.) Wally Kallman;
7.) Tim Hintz; 8.) Dan Gilster; 9.) Dave Neitzke; 10.) Mike Brooks
15 Lap Semi-Feature: 1.) Tim Zuehlke; 2.) Brooks; 3.) Matt
Raykowski; 4.) Randy Storlie; 5.) David Pagels
First 10 Lap Heat: 1.) Roger Stanczyk; 2.) Raykowski; 3.) Duane
Robinson
Second 10 Lap Heat: 1.) Storlie; 2.) Brooks; 3.) Zuehlke
Third 10 Lap Heat: 1.) Stelzer; 2.) Plowman; 3.) Brian Schmutzer
Fast Qualifier: Hintz, 13.562 Seconds
Pure Stocks
20 Lap Feature: 1.) Scott Strigel; 2.)
Eric Nelson; 3.) Troy Engman; 4.) Dean Aschbacher; 5.) Andrew Hintz; 6.) Matthew Moore
First 10 Lap Heat: 1.) Shane Floistad; 2.) Dan Breitsprecher; 3.)
Raymond Kramer
Second 10 Lap Heat: 1.) Aschbacher; 2.) Moore; 3.) Michael Gwidt
Fast Qualifier: Strigel, 14.970 Seconds
2-Man Cruisers
First 10 Lap Feature: 1.) Adams/Oermik;
2.) Brage/Nigh; 3.) Kraliher/Johnson; 4.) No Card; 5.) Wheelock/Green
Second 10 Lap Feature: 1.) Wrege/Schmidt; 2.) McDonald/McDonald;
3.) Mroczenski/Lafave; 4.) Ciesielski/wille; 5.) Bitsky/Wogernese
Third 10 Lap Feature: 1.) Clark/Boyer; 2.) Wierzba/Wierzba; 3.)
Pingel/Williams; 4.) Kuhn/Michaels; 5.) No Card |