Lensing wins second Late Model Feature of Season, Schumann is Champion

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (September 10, 2011) - After three wins in his rookie season, Mike Lichtfeld was denied another chance to visit victory lane in the 40-lap Budweiser Late Model feature with a second-place finish to Dan Lensing before a large and vibrant crowd at Dells Raceway Park Saturday.

At the end of the night, that was the furthest thing from his mind.

Scoring the biggest prize of any weekly Late Model show in the Midwest, Lichtfeld captured the $2,000 bonus as he bested the 12-car, 20-lap Wegner Automotive Research Fast Dash Clash.

"I'm not going to lie. It was a little depressing that we didn't win a feature this year," Lichtfeld said. "We were pretty close. I had so many second-place finishes. To come through and win the $2,000, being a Wegner car with a Wegner motor, it turned out to be a great night."

The deck was stacked against Lichtfeld before the race started. Drawing for position, Lichtfeld drew the 8th-place starting spot. What's more - Late Model Champion Rich Schumann Jr. drew the pole position.

Schumann led the field to green in the 20-lap event along Brian Johnson Jr. Having been involved in a wreck in the Late Model feature earlier in the evening, Schumann's car was not 100 percent and Johnson ran away early.

Seemingly ready to check out and grab the $2,000, Johnson had his lead erased when Dan Lensing was sent head-on into the backstretch wall. Lensing was ok, but his chance to add to his feature win from earlier in the night was gone.

Johnson realigned with Schumann in the front row on the restart with Derek Childs and Lichtfeld in the second row. As Johnson tried to hold his ground after the green, he and Childs tangled, ending the contest for Childs and placing Johnson at the tail end of the field after spinning.

When the dust settled Lichtfeld and Davey Pennel aligned in the front row. With a rivalry brewing from a year of battling for the points championship, the gloves came off. Pennel and Lichtfeld made contact several times as the two battled for real estate.

"With $2,000 on the line it made it all that more prestigious," Lichtfeld said. "I wasn't going to give an inch and he wasn't going to give an inch."

The climax of the battle came entering turn one with 15 laps remaining. The duo made contact just past the start finish line and Lichtfeld swung sideways heading into the turn. Lichtfeld made a save which would be the envy of most NHL goaltenders and held the lead.

Over the final circuits Corey Jankowski caught Pennel and moved to second, only to surrender the spot again. Pennel was closing on Lichtfeld with just a few laps remaining, but ran out of time to make another challenge for the lead.
Earlier in the evening the Late Models competed in their final 40-lap feature event of the season.

As was the case many times in 2011, key cautions played a role in shaping the final complexion of the race. An early caution when Mike Ehde and John DeAngelis made contact through the first and second turn made a major change to the complexion of the race as Rich Schumann was collected in the melee.

With the Championship already locked up, Schumann suffered major front end damage. He was able to continue, however, as his crew got him back out on the lead lap.

The decision cone allowed Mike Lichtfeld to creep to the outside and slide into the top three on the restart. Lichtfeld was unable to shake early-race leader Shayne Poehnelt who paced the field through the first 14 circuits.

As Lichtfeld hounded Poehnelt on the low line, Dan Lensing was picking off cars by using the top line. Lensing made his pass of Lichtfeld on lap 14 and cruised past Poehnelt on the following lap.

Lensing started to check out from the field until his lead was erased by a caution involving Matt Clossey and Mike Ehde on lap 27.

After an extensive cleanup, Lensing rocketed away from the pack again. Lichtfeld was able to swipe the second spot from Poehnelt, but still could not catch Lensing. Over the final ten laps, Lichtfeld had to be more concerned about Jankowsi, who had moved to third and began to challenge.

Lichtfeld held off Jankowski for the runner-up spot. Johnson moved into fourth with a late charge and Bobby Kendall rounded out the top five.

COPPERNOLL FINDS RETRIBUTION

Earlier this season Rick Coppernoll destroyed his racer after a wreck in a heat race. The car was totaled and Coppernoll was shaken. Driving his brother Bob's car Saturday night, Coppernoll won the season-ending RacingOnline.Com Sportsman race to end his season on a high note.

Coppernoll broke away from fellow front-row starter Becky Grabarski and was not challenged as traffic remained frantic behind him.

Three laps into the 25-lap event Coppernoll had a large advantage over Grabarski and Kody Hubred, who were battling for second. As Hubred and Grabarski tried to solve their dispute, the rest of the field was waiting for time and space to open up.

That break came on lap seven when Grabarski slowed, handing second to Hubred. Hubred was challenged immediately by Clifton Sauey for the chance to battle with Coppernoll. As Sauey and Hubred remained side-by-side, fast qualifier Jason Thoma had moved to fourth.

Thoma waited patiently for the duo in front of him to break open. It took three laps for Sauey to shake loose of Hubred, which also opened the door for Thoma. However, Coppernoll's advantage was too strong to be overcome.

Sauey held off Thoma for second, Mike Winters cruised to fourth and Hubred held on for fifth.

Remaining patient and staying out of trouble, Scott Luck raced to a seventh-place finish. He needed only to stay in the feature event to claim his first title at Dells Raceway Park and to capture the crown in the Sportsman.

BURROWS TAKES ONE FOR THE TEAM

Tied up with his Super Late Model effort on Saturday, Dave Trute was powerless to hold off his car owner Bill Zeman to win his second consecutive Schultz Small Engine Pure Stock Championship. Jeff Burrows, however, was not.

Substituting for Trute, Jeff Burrows claimed his second feature of the season and put a wraps on the title for the team.

The 20-lap main event had its hiccups before the green flag officially fell. Jeff Templin and Mark Ailes were scheduled to be the front row starters, but could not get a clean start. After three tries, they were sent to the back and a new front row took the green.

Don Fassett took an early lead and was challenged by Zeman. As Zeman tried to take the lead from Fassett, Burrows crept through the field. At the halfway point, Nick Rittman lost a radiator which brought out a caution and stacked the field.

After the restart Burrows challenged Fassett for the lead. Burrows proved to be too strong for Fassett after several laps of side-by-side racing. Fassett held on for second, Mark Hohl was third, Kevin Gilding fourth and Zeman was fifth.

Once the checkered flag fell, Burrows waited by the track entrance in lieu of heading directly to victory lane. When he did pull in to accept his accolades Burrows had a passenger with him - Dave Trute.

The two were joined by car owner Bill Zeman to celebrate a second-consecutive Championship in the Pure Stocks and a one-two finish in season standings.

STARK SHINES AGAIN

No matter where he goes, Gary Stark is a threat to win when he shows up. For the second time in two tries at DRP, Stark grabbed a win in the 18-lap Fire Rescue Supply Bandits. Stark had the lead just nine laps in, and never looked back.

Two cautions slowed the normally-quick-moving Bandit feature. The first came when front row starters Gene Bialozor and Spencer Wilhelm tangled on lap nine. By that point Stark had moved to third bringing Kory Childs along to fourth. Childs tried to keep pace with Stark after the start, but could not challenge.

Another caution occurred just after the restart when Ali Pennel and Arch Preston tangled. Pennel got the worst of the contact with major damage to her car.

The restart was a carbon copy of the previous with Stark getting away from Childs again. At that time point leaders Steve Rozek and Haley Kapp were moving through the field. Rozek, who had damaged his racer in a wreck during the heat race needed only to keep Kapp in sight to take the title.

Kapp finished second over Rozek after the two battled over the final circuits. Childs held out for fourth and Andy Portzen rounded out the top five.

Up Next at DRP...

Dells Raceway Park has canceled what was to be the season-ending Small Car Nationals due to a lack of driver participation.

Several Dells Raceway Park drivers will be competing in post-season fall specials such as the Madison International Speedway Fall Classic (Sept. 23 and 24), the National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway (Sept. 30 through Oct. 2) and Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway (Oct. 6 through Oct. 9).

Season Opening Night for 2012 has been announced as Saturday, May 19.

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 and more visit www.dellsracewaypark.com.