Manitowoc County Fairgrounds
May 19, 2012
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Hirt steals WDLMA Late Model win at the Manitowoc County Fairgrounds

Manitowoc, WI. (May 18) - Finally sunny skies shown over the Manitowoc County Fairgrounds as Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars entered the third week of the 2012 season. The show was fast-paced with very few cautions and some fantastic racing.

WDLMA LATE MODELS
A 6 car invert produced a front row of Tim Buhler (Glenbuelah) and Rick Scheffler (Waukesha), followed by Billy Rezutek (Big Bend) and Justin Hirt (Tigerton). Jim Schmidt (Cleveland) was forced to scratch with engine problems, scrambling the field from the middle back. Scheffler jumped into the lead, with Buhler on the bottom running him hard. Last weeks winner Russ Scheffler was buried in the field after starting 10th. Two distinct lines were used by the leaders, hugging the bottom and way up top almost out of the park. Hirt used the high line to work his way around Rezutek, then fighting Buhler and Rick door to door. Craig Schueffner made steady progress towards the leaders, working the bottom line well. At the halfway point it was Rick, Buhler, Hirt, Bret Swedberg (Shawano) and Russ who had picked up 5 spots at that point. Caution  came a lap later as Turk Letizia (Milwaukee) spun in Turn 2, giving Pete Parker (Kaukauna) a chance to pit for a quick repair and return to action. Under green again Rick, Buhler, and Hirt continued the battle at the front while Schueffner cracked the top 5. Lap 16 brought out a yellow for Justin Schmidt (Cleveland) spinning in Turn 2, and Russ Scheffler retired for the night with a broken rearend. The leaders again took off on the green, settling back into their battle as Tom Naeyaert (Shawano) joined the top 5 after getting around Swedberg and Rezutek. The final 6 laps was a dizzying battle between the 3 leaders as the lead was swapped at practically every corner. Hirt wrestled the lead from Rick on Lap 19 on the high side, with Buhler right behind them ready to take over if they bobbled. Lapped traffic played a role at the checkers as Hirt swept across the line for the win followed by Rick, Buhler, Schueffner, Naeyaert, Parker, Rezutek, Swedberg, Eric Michaels (Cleveland), and Letizia. Hard Charger honors to Schueffner and Michaels picking up 6 spots and Naeyaert grabbing 4.

HEAT 1 - 1, Pete Parker. 2, Justin Hirt. 3, Rick Scheffler. 4, Jim Schmidt. 5, Brett Swedberg. 6, Justin Schmidt. 7, Turk Letizia. 8, Eric Michaels. 9, Scott Haugstad.
HEAT 2 - 1, Russ Scheffler. 2, Billy Rezutek. 3, Tim Buhler. 4, Mark Rose. 5, Tom Naeyaert. 6, Craig Schueffner. 7, Jim Letizia. 8, Dan Dippel.
FEATURE - 1, Justin Hirt. 2, Rick Scheffler. 3, Tim Buhler. 4, Craig Schueffner. 5, Tom Naeyaert. 6, Pete Parker. 7, Billy Rezutek. 8, Brett Swedberg. 9, Eric Michaels. 10, Turk Letizia. 11, Justin Schmidt. 12, Mark Rose. 13, Scott Haugstad (Plymouth). 14, Dan Dippel. 15, Russ Scheffler.

GRAND NATIONALS
Newcomer Logan Rhode (Manitowoc) and Steven Ruh (Elkhart Lake) led out the Grand National Feature. Nick Schumacher (Eagle) suffered damage in his heat and returned to take the green in the feature and immediately pull into the pits as the first of several racers to have issues. Rhode ran out to the early lead with Ruh in his tire tracks, while last weeks winner Matt Jackson (Sheboygan) and Jestin Danes (subbing for Mark Kuhfuss) started strong moves from deep in the pack. Ruh ran down Rhode on Lap 5, while on Lap 7 Kevin Lubach (Elkhart Lake) and Brad Juckem (Chilton) both pitted, rejoining the field several laps down. Halfway showed Ruh, Ryan Minster (Sheboygan), Rhode, Kevin Naidl (Reedsville), and Travis Groelle (Two Rivers) in the top 5. Lap 12 spelled the end of the night for Adam Broehm (Stockbridge) when he pulled off and did not return. Minster continued to hound Ruh, but did not catch him as Ruh came home with the victory, followed by Minster, Rhode, Naidl, Donny Kulow (Plymouth), Jackson, Danes, James Pagel (St. Cloud) and Paul Perrone (Plymouth). Biggest movers were Danes and Jackson with 5 positions and Pagel with 4.

HEAT 1 - 1, Steven Ruh. 2, Kevin Naidl. 3, Ryan Minster. 4, Travis Groelle. 5, Brad Juckem. 6, Adam Broehm (Stockbridge). 7, James Pagel. 8, Kevin Lubach.
HEAT 2 - 1, Logan Rhode. 2, Donny Kulow. 3, Paul Perronne. 4, Matt Jackson. 5, Don Schumacher. 6, Jestin Danes. 7, Nick Schumacher.
FEATURE - 1, Steven Ruh. 2, Ryan Minster. 3, Logan Rhode. 4, Kevin Naidl. 5, Donny Kulow. 6, Matt Jackson. 7, Jestin Danes. 8, Travis Groelle. 9, James Pagel. 10, Paul Perronne. 11, Don Schumacher. 12, Brad Juckem. 13, Adam Broehm. 14, Kevin Lubach. 15, Nick Schumacher.

STREET STOCKS
With last weeks winner Bradley Ruh (Elkhart Lake) starting shotgun on the field, and Tim Mueller (New Holstein) dropping out due to mechanical issues Douglas Engleking (Menominee Falls) and Hank Horn (Brillion) brought the Street Stock Feature to the line. Engleking moved to the early lead, trailed by Horn, Jeff Bender (Plymouth), and Jerry Brickner (Mishicot). Jeff Leonhard (Sheboygan-filling in for Josh McDonald) moved rapidly forward to join Ruh in challenging the top 3. The midway point showed Engleking still holding the lead, Horn, Ruh, Bender, and Leonhard. Lap 9 brought a yellow for debris, and Dave Gauger (Two Rivers) dropping out with mechanical problems. Engleking lead the field to the green, and was challenged quickly by Horn who claimed the lead 2 laps later and held off Engleking for the victory. Leonhard, Ruh, Brickner, Bender and Ray Fuller (Manitowoc) would round out the finishers. Leonhard picked up 3 spots for biggest mover honors.

HEAT 1 - 1, Douglas Engleking. 2, Bradley Ruh. 3, Tim Mueller (New Holstein). 4, Hank Horn. 5, David Gauger. 6, Jeff Bender. 7, Ray Fuller. 8, Jeff Leonhard. 9, Jerry Brickner.
FEATURE - 1, Hank Horn. 2, Douglas Engleking. 3, Jeff Leonhard. 4, Bradley Ruh. 5, Jerry Brickner. 6, Jeff Bender. 7, Ray Fuller. 8, David Gauger. 9, Tim Mueller. (DNS).

MSA 360 SPRINTS
A six car inversion produced a front row of Justin Miller (Plymouth) and points leader Ben Schmidt (Howards Grove). Scotty Neitzel (Beaver Dam), last weeks feature winner was buried in the pack in 11th at the start. Jeremy Shultz (Beaver Dam) grabbed the lead from his 3rd starting spot, bringing along Scotty Thiel from his 5th grid position. Schmidt took the lead away a lap later. Tim Haddy (Waupan) retired on Lap 2, while Schultz, Thiel, and Kyle Marten (Sheboygan Falls) tried to hold pace with Schmidt. He began lapping cars on Lap 7, while Thiel got around Schultz and jumped to the high side trying to chase down the 35. Scott Conger (Eagle) slowed to a stop on the backstretch on Lap 12 bringing out a caution. The restart order showed Schmidt, Thiel, Schultz, Marten, John Krebsbach (Cascade), and Neitzel up to sixth. Thiel pressured  Schmidt back under green, while Schultz was using every bit of cushion to chase them down. Neitzel broke into the top 5 a lap later, pushing hard to try and reel in the leaders. Shane Wenninger (Kewaskum) was steadily charging through the field from the 15th starting spot, breaking into the top 5 on Lap 22. A lap later Thiel slowed to a stop in Turn 4 after something broke, sending him to the pits for the rest of the night. Schimdt, Schultz, Marten, Neitzel, and Wenninger took the green for the final dash to the checkers. On Lap 25 Neitzel got around Marten for third, setting the final finish. Schmidt took the win, Schultz, Neitzel, Marten, Wenninger, Randy Brunette (Chilton), Kevin Kranitz (West Bend), Randy Sippel (Elkhart Lake), Krebsbach, and Paul Pokorski (West Bend). Hard charger went to Wenninger picking up 9 positions and Neitzel with 8 positions.

HEAT 1 - 1, Scotty Thiel. 2, Scotty Neitzel. 3, Kyle Marten. 4, Paul Pokorski. 5, Kevin Karnitz. 6, Don Kiel. 7, Jay Riemer. (DNS).
HEAT 2 - 1, John Krebsbach. 2, Justin Miller. 3, Eliot Kulow (Elkhart Lake). 4, Randy Brunette. 5, Jeff Wilke. 6, Scott Mohs. 7, Josh Walter (Sheboygan Falls)
HEAT 3 - 1, Jeremy Schultz. 2, Ben Schmidt. 3, Scott Conger. 4, Randy Sippel. 5, Shane Wenninger. 6, Mark Krueger (Green Bay). 7, Tim Haddy.
FEATURE - 1, Ben Schmidt. 2, Jeremy Schultz. 3, Scotty Neitzel. 4, Kyle Marten. 5, Shane Wenninger. 6, Randy Brunette. 7, Kevin Karnitz. 8, Randy Sippel. 9, John Krebsbach. 10, Paul Pokorski. 11, Eliot Kulow. 12, Jeff Wilke. 13, Mark Krueger. 14, Justin Miller. 15, Randy Walter. 16, Jay Riemer. 17, Don Kiel. 18, Scotty Thiel. 19, Scott Mohs. 20, Scott Conger. 21, Tim Haddy.