Stapleman wins his second DRP Feature in last three starts
Montello's Jeff Kendall protects his 2007 DRP championship drive with second-place finish.
By Bob Blaschke
DRP Media
(09-01-07)-- For the second time in three weeks, Plainfield's Todd "The Gun" Stapleman reached Victory Lane. Taking over the lead on lap 38, Stapleman who started tenth, survived three cautions over the final 10 laps and held off Baraboo's Jeff Brescia, who was himself intent on collecting his first DRP Feature win of the season.
With the Dells Raceway Park enjoying another huge night at the pit gate, a season-high 111 cars took part in the annual Bike Night. Extra Heats and a needed B-Feature pushed the start of the Leo's Upper Dells Bar 50-lapper to just before 11 o'clock for the field of 21 entries. For Stapleman, the wait was well worth it.
When the green flag flew, Waterford's Michael Gunderson started on the Pole and led the first four laps. Portage's Tom Lichtfeld muscled his way to the front following a lap-four restart for a Pete Kempf (Nekoosa) spin on the front stretch.
Pacing the field for the next 11 laps, Lichtfeld began to feel heavy pressure from Baraboo's Jeff Brescia following a lap-16 restart for a spin involving Reedsburg's Matt Gawronski and Kempf. Lining up behind Lichtfeld on the restart, DeForest's Andrew Morrissey was up to fifth while Stapleman and Montello's Jeff Kendall were seventh and eighth.
From lap 17 to 24 Brescia aggressively fought for a way around Lichtfeld, lifting the yellow No. 75 on each pass through turns one and two. Brescia's attempt on lap 24, nearly backfired as Lichtfeld came out of turn two so loose, Brescia was forced to the outside to avoid wrecking Lichtfeld. Iowa's Ken Reiser quickly closed on Lichtfeld's bumper and looked to take the second spot, but a spin by Pete Carlson as he exited turn four, brought out the caution and saved the second spot for Brescia.
The mid-race restart showed Lichtfeld leading Brescia, Reiser, La Crosse's Don 'Thunder' Turner, Stapleman, Morrissey, Kendall, Markesan's John Zimmerman, Gunderson, and Jason Hicks.Brescia immediately went back to work on Lichtfeld's back bumper. By lap 27, Stapleman was up to fourth.
Lap 31 saw Brescia take the lead. Two laps later Stapleman got pass Lichtfeld and into second. The next lap saw Lichtfeld lose third to Kendall.As hard as he had worked for the lead, Brescia only held it for seven laps before Stapleman moved out front.
A lap-40 caution involving Kempf in turn three, set up a final 10-lap shootout and ended Kempf's run.With the restart showing Stapleman leading Brescia, Kendall, Lichtfeld and Zimmerman the field would only go green for two laps, before Holmen's Joseph Scholze took a hard hit, slamming into the outside backstretch wall just past the upper pit entrance.
Really wanting his first Feature win of the season, Brescia was all over Stapleman's back bumper after the lap-42 restart. The yellow would fly for the last time after several cars came together in turns one and two. Terry Patnode (South Milwaukee) suffered the worst of the damage as he tried avoiding the sideways cars of Gunderson, La Crosse's 'Luvable' Jim Carlson, and Reedsburg's John Raupp.
Patnode rode off on a Blystone hook, while Gunderson and Carlson were set to the rear of the field. Raupp was placed ninth for the 15-car restart. The lap-45 restart saw Stapleman get a great jump. Brescia's pressure was no more. In fact Kendall worked past him for the second spot, as Reiser and Morrissey both moved past Lichtfeld to record top fives.
Following his win, Stapleman said, "Brescia ran a good race tonight. I don't know how long I could have held it. When me and Thunder [Don Turner] got into it down there in the back corner, it knocked my toe out. I cranked a bunch of rear brake into it and the car came around, otherwise I think Brescia would have won the Feature."
Stapleman, who recorded a top-15 down at Milwaukee in last weekend's Governor's Cup All-Star 50, now has a pair of DRP Feature wins sandwiched around a second-place finish in his last three Dells starts. Another strong showing in next week's Great Lakes Components season championships, will give the part-time DRP racer a realistic shot at finishing in the division's top five. He currently sits 34 points out of fifth, but the points are doubled for next Saturday's division finale.
Earlier in the evening Heat wins went to Lichtfeld (Fast) and Gawronski.
Leo's Upper Dells Bar Late Models
Sept. 1, 2007
50-lap Feature: Stapleman, Kendall, Brescia, Reiser, Morrissey, Lichtfeld, Turner, Zimmerman, Raupp, Hicks, Van, Gunderson, Carlson, Bill, Seidler, Patnode, Scholze, Kempf, Gawronski; Fast Heat: Lichtfeld, Carlson, Morrissey, Zimmerman, Kendall, Kempf, Reiser, Brescia, Turner, Stapleman; Heat 1: Gawronski, Raupp, Scholze, Patnode, Van, Gunderson, Seidler, Bill, Hicks; Fast Qualifier: Kendall 13.379.
Top 10
1 Jeff Kendall..................472
2 Andrew Morrissey..........390
3 Kenny Reiser.................373
4 Tom Lichtfeld................364
5 Don Turner...................336
6 Todd Stapleman............302
7 Pete Kempf...................295
8 Jim Carlson..................284
9 Mike Gunderson............276
10 Matt Gawronski...........268
Sauter wins his first Late Model Feature
Necedah's Tyler Sauter adds his name to the Dells record book, collecting his first career late model win.
(09-01-07)-- As the 2007 season at DRP began, the future for the Limited Late Models at the one-third mile Dells oval did not look good. Anticipated high car counts for the Super Lates delegated the Limited Late Model division to that of a part-time role.
Willing to give the division a chance, DRP's Joe Graziano was impressed with the turnout for the first few nights that the Schulz Automotive Limited Lates raced and added the division full time to the remainder of the 2007 schedule.Turning out the season's largest field for a regular night of racing, 33 Limited Lates took part in Saturday night's program providing fans with four Heats and two Features of excitement.
While the Super Lates have finally topped 40 racers to have earned 2007 DRP points, the track's 2006 top division (highest season-long car count) now has nearly 60 cars in their Schulz Automotive points standings. Without question, this division has proven it merits a 2008 return and made Graziano's decision to give the division a chance - the right one!
Lining up 18 cars for the 35-lap Feature, Necedah's Tyler Sauter found himself on the Pole, beside Portage's Rocky Breezer. Prairie du Chien's Michael Ehde and Appleton's 14-year-old Ross Kenseth sat in row two. Points leader, Eric Klawitter (Montello) started on the outside of row four, while Portage's Rich Schumann Jr. lined up on the inside of row five. Fast qualifier, 17-year-old Matthew Byrne, started beside Schumann.
Taking the green, Sauter quickly kept the point, leading until lap five, when Breezer won their side-by-side battle at the start-finish line. By the end of the next lap, Sauter was back out front. Despite late transmission problems, he would not give up the lead over the final 29 laps.
The first of two crashes requiring Blystone's wreckers to haul off damaged cars, took place on lap 15, when Madison's Luke Hoffman, Reedsburg's James Kruschke III, Bryan Monday, and Poynette's Jim Syvrud came together in turns one and two. Hoffman, Syvrud and Monday all suffered damage with Monday's No. 23 towed off the track. For Monday and Syvrud their night's were over. Though damaged Hoffman stayed out, while Kruschke was sent to the rear.
The next caution came five laps later, when the red flag flew following a front stretch incident involving, Byrne, Breezer, Union Grove's Keith Tolf, Andy Niles and Eric Klawitter. As Baraboo Paramedics checked Breezer and Byrne, Tolf entered the pits on his own with heavy damage.Both Breezer and Byrne needed tows to the upper pits. Niles was given his spot back, while points leader Klawitter was sent to the rear of the restart that showed Sauter pacing Ehde, Janesville's Beau Sanden, Kenseth, and Schumann.
Three laps into the restart Ehde was aggressively working Sauters back bumper, who began experiencing transmission problems and was forced to use his knee to keep the No. 50 Champion Graphics Spring Green Health Mart limited late in gear over the final 12 laps.
As Sauter raced on to his first career late model feature win, the race within the race was taking back further back as Klawitter was literally racing for a track championship by doing everything he could to close the gap on Schumann.At the end, Sauter led Ehde, Sanden, Schumann and Baraboo's Joel Soenksen to the checkers.
Klawitter climbed all the way back up to an eighth-place finish and now stands in a dead heat with Schumann as the two enter the final night of racing tied at 449 points in the season-long points chase. Ehde is just 34 markers back entering the Great Lakes Components season championship, where the points will be doubled.
Following his first career late model win at the track where he first cut his racing teeth in a Dells' Pure Stock, the third-generation racing Sauter commented, "This feels real good, considering I have spent such a short time in a limited late and to get my first win in such an old chassis [1982]. I need to thank Lyle Messinger for all his support and consideration in letting me drive his racecar. I had a hell of a time holding on and Ehde was giving me all he had. It's hard to put my feelings in words."
Sauter's plans for the remainder of 2007, include at stop at Jefferson on September 15th. and the Big 8 event during La Crosse's annual Oktoberfest.
Heat wins went to Ehde (Fast), Bernie Fritz Sr,. Ed Szelagowski Jr, and Kruschke. Monday won the 20-lap R.A.C.E.S. B-Feature, best the 17-car field and along with Syvrud advanced into the Feature.
Schulz Automotive Limited Late Models
Sept. 1, 2007
35-lap Feature: Sauter, Ehde, Sanden, Schumann, Soenksen, Nolden, Kenseth, Klawitter, Niles, Clapper, Kruschke, Hoffman, Westenberg, Byrne, Breezer, Tolf, Monday, Syvrud; RACES Feature: B Monday, Syvrud, Wildes, Wilcox, Potter, Norgard, L DeVito, Sojer, Fritz, Gray, J DeVito, Smiley, Szelagowski, Burke, Peters, Fossum, Paul; Fast Heat: Ehde, Clapper, Klawitter, Schumann, Byrne, Nolden, Sanden, Soenksen, Kenseth; Heat 1: Fritz, Smiley, Burk, Peters, Fossum, Paul, J Devito; Heat 2: Szelagowski, L DeVito, Norgard, Monday, Wilcox, Wildes, Sojer, Potter; Heat 3: Kruschke, Syvrud, Tolf, Niles, Sauter, Breezer, Hoffman, Westenberg; Fast Qualifier: Byrne 14.242.
Top 10
1 Eric Klawitter................449
1 Rich Schumann Jr..........449
3 Mike Ehde....................415
4 Matt Byrne...................395
5 Rocky Breezer...............376
6 James Kruschke III........345
7 Andy Niles....................319
8 Tyler Sauter..................309
9 Beau Sanden................304
10 Nick Nolden................303 | 
