WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (July 30, 2011) - Whether it was in the shop over the past three days or on the track for 40 laps in the Budweiser Late Model Feature, one thing was certain - Rich Schumann Jr. and his team worked hard for their first win of the season at Dells Raceway Park.

Schumann slipped past Mike Lichtfeld on lap 25 of the main event and went unchallenged over the final 15 circuits. With plenty of dash wins and top fives over the past two seasons, the win was Schumann's first in a feature since Sept. 12, 2009.

"I can't even explain," Schumann said of returning to victory lane. "It's a pretty good feeling right now."

Before he was able to weave through traffic from his seventh-place starting spot, Schumann and his team were tested in the shop beginning on Thursday. After experiencing engine troubles two weeks ago when the Late Models were last in action at DRP, Schumann had further problems at Madison International Speedway last week. That prompted a move that sent the team scrambling to prepare for Saturday.

"I got a hold of our motor builder this week, Tiry's Race Engines, and he built me a new motor," Schumann said. "We got it in about 2 a.m. on Thursday. The guys were there Friday, we worked on it this morning, and here we are."

The current point leader was met at the front of the field by two of his rivals at the top of the standings - Mike Lichtfeld and Corey Jankowski.

Lichtfeld powered past Zach Reining on a lap-15 restart to take the lead away from the pole-sitter. Following Lichtfeld on the high side were Schumann and Jankowski.

Surveying Lichtfeld for several laps, Schumann peeked to the high side, but ultimately preferred the bottom. Schumann waited for his opening and seized his opportunity on the back straight. Entering turn three on lap 25, Schumann took the top spot.

"I thought I raced Mike pretty clean," Schumann said. "The car was good, I was just trying to be patient and I really got off that concrete well. That's what really helped me a lot."

Just a few laps later, Jankowski closed the gap on Lichtfeld. Jankowski repeatedly looked to the inside. Hoping to keep the defending Champion at bay, Lichtfeld attempted to keep the bottom line sealed and slammed the door on Jankowski. With neither driver relenting in a heart-stopping battle, the two ran out of real estate, spun to the infield and were placed at the tail end of the field.

After the restart Jesse Bernhagen rocketed into the second spot. Also utilizing the outside lane was fast qualifier Dan Lensing, who shot into third. The top three remained unchanged over the final ten laps with Reining recording a fourth-place finish and visiting Ryan Destefano rounding out the top five.

A Stroke of Luck

With some new combatants joining him in the RacingOnline.Com Sportsman, Scott Luck just raced his race. For the second consecutive week Luck kept his composure and patiently worked his way to the top spot to grab his third feature win of the season.

To earn top honors in the 25-lap Sportsman event, Luck had to deal with last year's Columbus 151 Champion Phil Denikas and a returning, and speedy, Tim Syvrud.

Alex Lee and Clifton Sauey set the field into motion and drivers paired off and raced side-by-side for the first five circuits. As the field began to sort out Lee lost his engine in front of the field and collected Kody Hubred in the infield. Both drivers were unharmed.

On the restart Sauey was pitted against Denikas. The two locked into battle for several trips around DRP until Denikas worked past Sauey on the inside. As Denikas started to check out Syvrud, who set fast time, closed in for second.

Closing in quickly, Syvrud dived to the bottom entering turns one and two. However, Sauey already had position and was sent spinning. Both drivers went to the tail of the field and Luck restarted alongside Mike Winters in the second row.

Luck wasted little time wrestling the lead away from Denikas with only six laps remaining. Winters followed with the same move to the inside to grab second a lap later. Over the final five laps Luck watched the field shrink in his rear view mirror as he pulled away. Winters was second, Demikas third, Daron Fish finished fourth and Ron Grabarski was fifth.

Same Car, Different Driver, Same Result
Portion by: Amanda Peschek

After a week's absence, Dave Trute claimed his position once again as the leader in the Schultz Small Engine Pure Stock Division. Beginning in the rear of the field, Trute moved his way through the field to capture the 25-lap feature.

When the green flag waved the division to a start, they were unable to get a full lap in when Don Fassett spun in turn one. With a complete restart, Bic Arendsee, Steven Sauer, Carey John, Mark Hohl and Kevin Gilding gave the field a fresh start with the green flag once again.

With each lap, each driver was competing for the coveted top position. However, within four laps, Trute barreled his way into the second position behind Sauer. Following the two drivers were Hohl, John and Arendsee. However, Sauer couldn't hold onto the leading position for long.

On the eleventh lap, Trute made his way past Sauer, gaining the lead. For the remainder of the race, he ran away with the top spot, proving his skill even against those who are not regular to Dells Raceway Park. On the last lap, Trute, Sauer, Gilding, Hohl and John led the division across the finish line as the checked flag waved.

Portzen Breaks Through

Andrew Portzen is creating a run for the lead points position in the Fire Rescue Supply Bandit division with a win this past Saturday. It looked as though it would be a long night for the Bandits, but all went smoothly after a few bumps.

As the green flag waved, John Preston led the field across the start-finish line, but it wasn't long before the yellow flag made it's debut in the feature. On the second lap, Arnold Preston and David Treu had an altercation and created a restart for the division. Immediately with the restart, Steven Rozek and John Preston caused the yellow flag to wave again.

By the fifth lap, Portzen claimed the lead position. With each passing lap, he crawled farther away from the rest of the field. Behind him, Kurt Kolden also was creating a gap between him and his fellow Bandits.

While it appeared as though Portzen and Kolden were running away with the top two positions, Haley Kapp was impressively moving her way through the field. She started halfway through the pack at the start and by the last ten laps she was in a battle with Kolden for the second position.

With the wave of the checkered flag, the top five positions were held by Portzen, Kapp, Kolden, Spencer Wilhelm and Preston. As only weeks remain in the racing season, top points positions for the Bandits have begun to tighten.

To round out the evening John Wasserburger was victorious in his 2008 Subaru in the Spectator One-on-One Races.

Up Next at DRP...
Saturday Aug. 6 brings Pepsi Night #2 - a night which marks the stretch run to the championship. Also, Helping Hands Recycling in Reedsburg will be on hand to recycle used electronic supplies. An old computer or laptop recycled receives $3 off your admission. For more information on the recycling event (which runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.) visit http://www.dellsracewaypark.com/stars/pdfs/recycling_01.pdf

Dells Raceway Park is located at N1070 Smith Road, five minutes north of downtown Wisconsin Dells, Wis., off highway 12-16. For more information including the latest news, the 2011 schedule and more visit www.dellsracewaypark.com.