Scribner, Steenbergen, Naidl, Bangart net A man victories
By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 29, 2016 – On a night when a huge field of 106 cars packed the pit area to capacity, a pair of veterans stole the headlines as Lance Fassbender of Burnett claimed his first victory of the season in the Sprint Car A main and Tim Buhler of Greenbush notched his second triumph of the 2016 campaign in the Late Model main event.
First-time winners ruled the evening as four of the evening’s six A main victors made their maiden visit to victory lane for the 2016 season.
One of those first-time winners was Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown, who held off Travis Arenz of Sheboygan and Brian Bruechert of Kewaunee to win an entertaining Sport Mod A main in his first appearance of the season at Manitowoc Speedway.
Eric Scribner of Kiel collected his first 2016 triumph in the Modified A main. Kevin Naidl of Reedsville outdueled Brad Lubach of Kiel to capture his initial 2016 win in the Grand National A main. Shaun Bangart of Chilton posted his fifth Sport 4 main event victory of the season, while Walker Bergene of Whitelaw was again the Thunder Truck victor.
After a false start for a spin involving Derek Siegel of Milwaukee on the initial green flag, Lance Fassbender charged into the lead from his inside second row starting spot with a bold move in the first turn on the opening lap of the 20-lap Sprint Car main event.
The former Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) champion wasted no time building up a huge half lap lead over fifth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth. Fassbender caught lapped traffic on lap 10, but even that didn’t slow him down as he skillfully negotiated the cars at the back of the pack on the tricky dry, slick racing surface.
On lap 14, Anthony Knierim of Franksville worked up from his seventh starting spot to pass second starter Danny Schlafer of Sussex for second place. However, Schlafer regained the third position on the next lap as the two drivers dueled for the spot for several laps.
As the laps wound down, Fassbender retained a sizable advantage, while Paul Pokorski of West Bend made a late charge to the front passing Knierim for fourth on lap 16 and then Schlafer for third with a low move in turn four on lap 18.
Fassbender cruised to his 18th career MSA A main victory in the non-stop race, followed by Miller in second and Pokorski in third. Knierim posted a career-best fourth-place finish and Schlafer rounded out the top five.
Polesttier Derek Janke of New London gained the initial lead in the 20-lap Late Model A main as sixth starter Tim Buhler worked his way into second place on lap three, followed closely by the fifth starting machine of Cleveland’s Justin Schmidt.
On lap 4, Buhler overtook Janke along the high groove in turn two to gain the top spot for good. After the lone caution flag flew on lap six for the spinning car of Cleveland’s Eric Michaels, Buhler again showed his strength pulling out to a big lead.
Three laps later, seventh starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland cleared his son Justin for second place and began to run down Buhler. Jim Schmidt, who pulled off a last lap pass to score the A main victory last week, charged to within striking distance in the closing laps. However, it was not quite enough as Buhler claimed his second Late Model A main victory of the season.
Jim Schmidt had to settle for second, Justin Schmidt wound up third, Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth came up from his 10th starting spot to finish fourth in his 2016 racing debut and Janke rounded out the top five.
Outside front row starter Eric Scribner grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag in the 20-lap Modified main event. Two laps later, Scribner had built up a half lap cushion over the second place car of third starter Matt Jackson of Sheboygan.
While Scribner raced all by himself at the front of the field, Jackson, Randy Markwardt Jr. of Sheboygan Falls, Kyle Kudick of Two Rivers and Mark Joski of Denmark waged an epic battle for the runner-up spot starting on lap 8.
After a restart following a caution involving Scott Mommaerts of Eagle, Markwardt Jr. bolted around Jackson for second before another caution slowed the pace for the stalled car of Jamie Schmidt of Seymour on the backstretch on lap 13.
In the closing laps it was Mukwanago’s Mark Knurr who put on a show using the high line to move from his ninth starting into four place on lap 19.
Scribner went on to claim his first Modified A main victory of the season at Manitowoc, followed by Markwardt Jr. in second, eighth starter Kyle Kudick in third, Knurr in fourth and Schmidt, who came from the rear of the field to finish fifth.
An eventful 20-lap Sport Mod A main got off to a rough start when polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four while leading. Bauer’s car collected third starter Andrew Meyerhofer of Menasha, who flipped hard. With no place to go, Hunter Parsons of Green Bay and Cody Schroeder of Manitowoc also made violent contact with Meyerhofer’s car forcing a red flag.
All four drivers emerged from the scene with no major injuries. Meyerhofer, Parsons and Schroeder retired from the race, while Bauer was able to return to competition.
When the race returned to green flag action, 12th starter Jeff Steenbergen, who restarted in the third position, powered into the lead in turn four. After another caution for a two-car spin on lap 4, Steenbergen pulled away from the field.
On lap 5, 18th starter Travis Arenz assumed second place and set his sights on Steenbergen. Arenz caught Steenbergen on lap 10 while Brian Bruechert, who restarted the race at the tail of the field following the lap 3 red flag, charged into fifth place.
With Arenz working the low groove and Steenbergen racing up high, the two dueled side by side for several laps before another caution flew on lap 12 for a stalled car.
On the restart, Steenbergen moved down to the low groove to block Arenz’ challenge. Meanwhile Bruechert moved in to challenge the lead duo on lap 15. The fourth and final caution came out on lap 16 for a stalled car.
In the final four laps, Bruechert used the high groove to gain second place briefly, but Arenz quickly regained the spot using the low line.
Steenbergen survived the three-way battle to gain his first Sport Mod A main victory of the 2016 campaign in his first Manitowoc Speedway appearance of the season. Arenz placed second, Bruechert was third, fifth starter John Rothmund of Manitowoc placed fourth and Wyatt Block of Tigertown came from the eighth starting spot to finish fifth.
Polesitter Steven Wirtz led the first three laps of the 20-lap Grand National A main before outside front row starter Kevin Naidl, who was making a rare Manitowoc Speedway appearance, used a low move in turn four to wrestle the lead away from Wirtz on lap 4.
After a pair of caution flags on lap 7, Wirtz dueled with ninth starter Brad Lubach for second place on the restart. Lubach gained the spot one lap later while Wirtz retired to the pit area with apparent mechanical issues.
By lap 11, Lubach closed in to Naidl’s rear bumper. Over the final nine laps. Lubach applied relentless pressure Naidl ducking under the leader on several occasions entering turn three.
However, Naidl refused to back down even as some slight contact was made in the closing laps. Naidl fended off one last challenge from Lubach on the final lap to score his first Manitowoc Speedway Grand National victory of the 2016 season.
Lubach had to settle for second, Ryan Minster of Sheboygan charged from his 14th starting spot to take third, Kodiak Wirtz of Menomonee Falls took fourth after starting 11th and Nick Schumacher of Eagle placed fifth after starting eighth.
In the Sport 4 main event, it was all Shaun Bangart, who moved up from the fifth starting spot to pass third starter Brian Watzka Jr. of Denmark for the lead on lap 2.
Once out front, Bangart pulled away en route to his fifth Sport 4 A main victory of the season at Manitowoc. Eighth starter Mitch Meier of Chilton was second, Watzka Jr. finished third, Neil Watzka of Denmark started and finished fourth and seventh starter Matt DeWilde of Kaukauna placed fifth.
Walker Bergene of Whitelaw was the Thunder Truck winner.
The evening was EWSC Sponsor Appreciation Night at the speedway.
The EWSC races next Friday, Aug. 5 will include racing in the Grand National, Modified, Sport Mod, Street Stock, Sport Four and Thunder Truck divisions. Pink Heals Racing Away Cancer/Badger Brew and Que Night at the races will showcase the Grand National division with driver introductions and a 30-lap Grand National Nationals main event featuring extra pay. The Street Stocks will also be making their second and final appearance at Manitowoc this season. Pit gates open at 4:30 p.m. Spectator gates open at 5:30 p.m. with racing to begin at 7 p.m.
Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through a diverse array of promotional strategies and methods, including press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.
For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.
PROFESSIONAL PLATING SPRINT CAR RESULTS
HEAT 1
1, Brandon McMullen. 2, Al Schlafer. 3, Doug Wondra. 4, Will Gerrits. 5,
Josh Teunissen. 6, Douglas Pietz. 7, Derek Siegel.
HEAT 2
1, Anthony Knierim. 2, Justin Miller. 3, Lance Fassbender. 4, Rusty Egan. 5,
Tim Haddy. 6, Chris Clayton. 7, Tyler Brabant.
HEAT 3
1, Paul Pokorski. 2, Kurt Davis. 3, Danny Schlafer. 4, Tony Wondra. 5, Dick
Kaiser. 6, Samantha Portschy.
A FEATURE
1, Lance Fassbender. 2, Justin Miller. 3, Paul Pokorski. 4, Anthony Knierim.
5, Danny Schlafer. 6, Kurt Davis. 7, Brandon McMullen. 8, Tim Haddy. 9, Al
Schlafer. 10, Douglas Pietz. 11, Doug Wondra. 12, Rusty Egan. 13, Josh
Teunissen. 14, Chris Clayton. 15, Tyler Brabant. 16, Tony Wondra. 17, Will
Gerrits. 18, Samantha Portschy. 19, Derek Siegel. 20, Dick Kaiser (DNS).
BALEIGH INDUSTRIAL LATE MODEL RESULTS
HEAT 1
1, Turk Letizia. 2, Justin Schmidt. 3, Jim Schmidt. 4, James Letizia. 5,
David Jaeger. 6, Joe Reuter. 7, Kyle Odekirk.
HEAT 2
1, Tim Buhler. 2, Mike Stangl. 3, Derek Janke. 4, Eric Michaels. 5, Randy
Markwardt. 6, Taylor Scheffler. 7, Tony Peterson.
A FEATURE
1, Tim Buhler. 2, Jim Schmidt. 3, Justin Schmidt. 4, Kyle Odekirk. 5, Derek
Janke. 6, Tony Peterson. 7, James Letizia. 8, Mike Stangl. 9, Joe Reuter.
10, Taylor Scheffler. 11, Eric Michaels. 12, Turk Letizia. 13, David Jaeger.
14, Randy Markwardt (DNS).
PROFESSIONAL PLATING MODIFIED RESULTS
HEAT 1
1, Mark Joski. 2, Jamie Schmidt. 3, Matt Jackson. 4, Jeff Bodendorfer Jr.. 5,
Mike Knurr. 6, Steve ueller. 7, JJ Tuyls.
HEAT 2
1, Eric Scribner. 2, Randy Markwardt Jr. 3, Kyle Kudick. 4, Joel Crowbridge.
5, Scott Mommaerts. 6, Chuck Turner. 7, Tyler DeBouche.
A FEATURE
1, Eric Scribner. 2, Randy Markwardt Jr. 3, Kyle Kudick. 4, Mike Knurr. 5,
Jamie Schmidt. 6, Matt Jackson. 7, Mark Joski. 8, Steve Mueller. 9, Tyler
DeBouche. 10, Joel Crowbridge. 11, Scott Mommaerts. 12, Jeff Bodendorfer
Jr.. 13, Chuck Turner. 14, JJ Tuyls (DQ).
GRAND NATIONAL RESULTSHEAT 1
1, Brad Lubach. 2, Jason Dyer. 3, Jesse James Cullen. 4, Steven Weber. 5,
Jonathan Otte. 6, Daniel Schumacher. 7, Jeffery Krizan. 8, Chris Gilson.
HEAT 2
1, Brad Juckem. 2, Kevin Lubach. 3, Steve Wirtz. 4, Kodiak Wirtz. 5, Ryan
Minster. 6, Tyler Kulow. 7, Gary Glander.
HEAT 3
1, Kevin Naidl. 2, Justin Erickson. 3, Josh Pierce. 4, Nick Schumacher. 5,
Donny Kulow. 6, Matt Berlin. 7, Tim Simon.
A FEATURE
1, Kevin Naidl. 2, Brad Lubach. 3, Ryan Minster. 4, Kodiak Wirtz. 5, Nick
Schumacher. 6, Justin Erickson. 7, Tim Simon. 8, Jason Dyer. 9, Steven
Weber. 10, Brad Juckem. 11, Daniel Schumacher. 12, Josh Pierce. 13, Tyler
Kulow. 14, Jonathan Otte. 15, Kevin Lubach. 16, Donny Kulow. 17, Matt
Berlin. 18, Gary Glander. 19, Chris Gilson. 20, Steve Wirtz. 21, Jesse
James Cullen. 22, Jeffery Krizan.
CALIBRE COATINGS UNLIMITED SPORT MOD RESULTS
HEAT 1
1, Cody Schroeder. 2, Chad Vetting. 3, Brian Bruechert. 4, Wyatt Block. 5,
Brandon Knepprath. 6, Craig Gessner. 7, Kassi Krause.
HEAT 2
1, Jayden Schmidt. 2, Jeff Steenbergen. 3, Hunter Parsons. 4, Andrew
Meyerhofer. 5, Jason Juech. 6, Russ Franks. 7, Travis Arenz.
HEAT 3
1, John Rothmund. 2, Robby Thiel. 3, Justin Bauer. 4, Matt Valiquette. 5,
Seth Hoeffner. 6, Jason Schilling.
A FEATURE
1, Jeff Steenbergen. 2, Travis Arenz. 3, Brian Bruechert. 4, John Rothmund.
5, Wyatt Block. 6, Chad Vetting. 7, Jayden Schmidt. 8, Robby Thiel.
9, Matt Valiquette. 10, Justin Bauer. 11, Brandon Knepprath. 12, Jason Juech.
13, Russ Franks. 14, Kassi Krause. 15, Jason Schilling. 16, Craig Gessner. 17,
Seth Hoeffner. 18, Andrew Meyerhofer. 19, Hunter Parsons. 20, Cody Schroeder.
SPORT 4 RESULTS
HEAT 1
1, Mike Meier. 2, Shaun Bangart. 3, Jason Dondlinger. 4, Doug Lange. 5,
Jeremiah Hughes. 6, Sarah Van der Vaart. 7, Scott Kafka.
HEAT 2
1, Brian Watzka, Jr. 2, Neil Watzka. 3, Matt DeWilde. 4, Corey Suttner. 5,
Brian Watzka Sr. 6, Mitch Meier. 7, Randy Dent.
A FEATURE
1, Shaun Bangart. 2, Mitch Meier. 3, Brian Watzka, Jr. 4, Neil Watzka. 5,
Matt DeWilde. 6, Doug Lange. 7, Corey Suttner. 8, Brian Watzka Sr. 9,
Jeremiah Hughes. 10, Jason Dondlinger. 11, Scott Kafka. 12, Sarah Van der
Vaart. 13, Randy Dent (DNS) 14, Mike Meier (DNS)
THUNDER TRUCK RESULTS
HEAT 1
1, Walker Bergene.
A FEATURE
1, Walker Bergene.
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