Selle again, Reffner back in Front, Anderson and Conant Repeat
By Mike Barrett
Brandon Selle served notice Friday night that he is a serious contender for the hotly contested Golden Sands Speedway points title. The young Dale WI third generation driver posted fast time, and out-raced a field of 20 Late Model aces to put him squarely in the lead ahead of the tenacious Weinkauf brothers. Selle started 3rd row inside, and had a great view of incredible early racing among Mark Van, Frank Nitzke, and Chris and Jason Weinkauf. The field strung out early, Van leading Chris Weinkauf, Selle in 3rd. Jordan Thiel got into turn 1 a little hot on lap 10, and nicked Rene Sheinoha to cause a spin and a caution. As those two restarted in the rear, Chris Weinkauf led the field ahead of a furious battle between his brother Jason and Mark Van. By halfway Selle had cleared the rest of the fray and set a bead on the elder Weinkauf, and in a move reminiscent of the old days, picked off Weinkauf in a nifty bump and run followed by an inside pass on lap 24. Weinkauf raced hard, but gave the Selle kid his due by not pushing the issue, settling in for a calm 2nd place finish. With 10 to go, Selle and Weinkauf had several lengths of space to relax with, and the battle for 3-5th was one of the best shows of the year, with Jeff Weinfurter picking up spots each lap until he garnered 3rd. Mark Van kept his head in the race and outpaced Jason Weinkauf and Jordan Thiel for 4th. Thiel's comeback from a last place restart to 5th was outstanding, and something to see.
As the Super Stock class started their feature, the car count may have dropped a bit, but the competition was heated. Claire Decker led early, surrendering the lead to Scott Hamel on lap 8. Hamel looked ready fro a win, but a caution on lap 10 bunched the group, and Colin Reffner got a huge run on Hamel and took off for the front. Lap 19 was another delay when Brian Weinfurter turned Duwayne Davis, and a 6 lap dash for the finish ended with Hamel losing 2nd to Dean Zakrzewski. John Zuch backed up his first-ever Fast Time at Golden Sands with a 4th, and Don Zuehlke posted a steady 5th.
4 Cylinder stocks came with fresh faces, and a very close qualifying set. Lucas Betro gave us a look at his old fast self, and picked up Fast Time. Traffic was a struggle for the young driver,and finishing in his 8th starting spot was the best he could manage. Tim Anderson again just drove up to the outside and let the car keep the speed up, until he passed newcomer Kody Hubred for the lead with about a lap and a half to go. Joachim Mangen, Kelly Sankey and Corey Stevens put on a heck of a show battling for spots, also finishing in the top 5.
The Mods in the 4 cylinders took the green, and Scott Scholze took off. He put a great distance between his car and all the others, who had to contend for runner up. Adam Eckes, Brad Conant and Phil Malouf all raced feverishly, until lap 13, when the Scholzes suffered an incredible racing mishap. Scott's nephew Brad spun, possibly after getting a flat just as Scott was coming for the white flag. Scott did not see Brad in time, turned hard left, and smashed flatly side-to-side against Brad's car, disabling both. His big lead turned into a race that ended 50 feet short. Brad Conant was positioned in 2nd at that lap, and led Malouf and Eckes across for the win after the green/white/checkered restart. Austin McKeever and Dale Robinson staved off challenges to finish 4th and 5th.
The cruiser field watched Berg and Berg drive off for a win (again!), as Meyer and Schultz edged Kalata and McIntee for 2nd.
Next week is Driver Appreciation Night! Drivers get 20% Off Pit Pass! After Race Pit Party! Meet your Favorite Driver! SLM, SS, PS, and Figure 8’s
Race results at www.gssraces.com, and Mike's Monday racing blog is on www.gorapids.com
