Art Speciale Claims First Enduro Win Of The Season; Pinkalla, Hayes And Lemery Also On Top At Grundy County Speedway July 6
Morris, IL, July 6 - Art Speciale of Bartlett, scored his first Midwest Enduro Stock Car Series win of the season during the running of the "FAIRTIME 250" enduro held at the Grundy County Speedway. Speciale dominated the event winning by two laps over runner up Mike Geringer at the finish of the 250-lap event.
Speciale was the overall winner and first in the "A" Class over Geringer. First in the "B" Class was Gary Paulick over Bob Kelly.
The start of the "FAIRTIME 125" Midwest Enduro Small Car Series 4-cylinder event seemed like all 28 drivers shot out of a cannon as the early pace was fast and exciting. Local racer Jason Claypool was set to mix it up with veteran drivers Roger Schultz and Matt Arvia as the three fought hard in the early going. Schultz and Arvia were side by side at lap 5 with Claypool getting the best of them by lap 10. Soon after Mike McKay moved in the mix to run fourth and he would bring Mark Johler along with him. At the 25 lap marker Claypool was shown as the race leader followed by Johler, Arvia, Bill Mueller and Becky Pinkalla to round out the top five. Three circuits later, the event was red flagged for Deyan Yordanov as he hit the turn 2 wall extremely hard after a blown tire. Yordanov was ok. Claypool, even though shown as the leader, had a four lap pre-race penalty to overcome. Johler moved ahead of Claypool on lap 38 and maintained a two-second advantage up to the half way point on lap 75. The top five at lap 75 were Johler followed by Claypool, Becky Pinkalla, Bill Mueller and Devin Brandt. Pinkalla caught Claypool at the lap 84 marker and had her sights set on Johler. The red flag came out at the lap 93 marker and closed the field. Mueller was out of contention as he pulled into the pit area at this time. Pinkalla pulled alongside of Johler two circuits later and by lap 97 assumed the lead. Pinkalla pulled away from Johler at this point and increased her lead over the last 25 laps to cruise to a ten-second margin over Johler at the line. At the finish, it was Pinkalla, Johler, Arvia, McKay and Mike Jucius.
Once again, there was no holding back the field as the green flag dropped for the running of the "FAIRTIME 250" Midwest Enduro Stock Car Series main event. Charlie Pinkalla quickly jumped out front with Geringer close on his tail. Les Wiedenhoeft saw an opening for second and passed by Geringer by lap 9. Pinkalla was spun around on lap 21, which put Wiedenhoeft out front with a full rear view mirror of Speciale right behind him. Speciale took the point away from Wiedenhoeft at lap 25 and had Wiedenhoeft, Pinkalla, Geringer and Gerry Galloway in tow. Speciale was on a mission as he distanced himself from second running Pinkalla by fourteen seconds at lap 33 when the red flag flew. The red came out for Rob Clayton when he lost a tire after hitting the turn three wall hard as Al Kuphals engine expired down the backstretch creating an oil slick. When the race resumed, Mark Fogel moved up to battle with Pinkalla for the second position. As the first of three pit stops was approaching at lap 67, Fogel had the edge over Pinkalla. The top five at the break were Speciale, Fogel, Wiedenhoeft, Pinkalla and Don Lunsford. Speciale and Fogel were the only two cars on the lead lap at this point as a lap was missed on Pinkallas scorecard.
After the break, Speciale started to break away from the field once again retaining a solid four-second advantage over Fogel. Fogels chances fell apart on lap 86 when he broke an axle bringing out the red flag. Pinkalla once again moved back into second place with Lunsford all over his rear bumper. Wiedenhoeft fell off the pace at this point. Speciale pulled away once again and when the field reached the second pit stop on lap 131 the top five were Speciale, Pinkalla, Lunsford, Geringer and Tom Ruh.
With Speciale way ahead of the rest of the field by a whole lap now, the race was for second. Lunsford got a great stop from his crew and now assumed the runner up position. Lunsford stayed ahead of Pinkalla until lap 149 and put the order back the way it was at the last break. Lunsford suffered a flat left rear tire at lap 173 and took his chance away for a top five finish. As the field slowed for the final pit stop on lap 188, the top five were Speciale, Pinkalla, Geringer, Gerry Galloway and Tom Barnharst.
The final 62 laps was all Speciale as there was no chance for anyone except if he broke. Pinkalla gave a valiant effort but his day ended on lap 223 when he exited to the pit area for right side suspension damage. At the line it was Speciale, Geringer, Galloway, Tom Arnold and Barnharst.
The next Series event is scheduled for Sunday afternoon July 20 at the Dells Raceway Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI). For further information call (262) 895-6682 from 6 - 9 pm. or leave a message. Additional up to date information can be found on the Series website at www.midwestenduro.com.
COMPLETE SUMMARY: "FAIRTIME 250" by Tredroc Tire Service
1. Art Speciale, Bartlett, 250 laps completed; 2. Mike Geringer, Elburn, 248; 3. Gerry Galloway, Hanover Park, 246; 4. Tom Arnold, Minooka, 244; 5. Tom Barnharst, Wind Lake, WI, 244; 6. Gary Paulick, Union Grove, WI, 241; 7. Don Lunsford, Oak Creek, WI, 241; 8. Erich Iversen, Kenosha, WI, 240; 9. Tom Ruh, Elkhart Lake, WI, 239; 10. Louis Chatroop, Palatine, 238; 11. Jay LeBrun, Antioch, 234; 12. Donnie Paskiewicz, Franklin, WI, 231; 13. Gerald Hayes, Monee, 230; 14. Bob Kelly, New Berlin, WI, 229; 15. Charlie Pinkalla, Racine, WI, 222; 16. Bob Palermo, Crown Point, IN, 221; 17. Darryl Traber, Waterford, WI, 217; 18. Tom DeYoung, Lowell, IN, 209; 19. Chris Prince, Coal City, 207; 20. Craig Phillips, Edgerton, WI, 198; 21. Julie Hayes, Monee, 194; 22. Rob Solorio, Hampshire, 194; 23. Brad Jones, Rockton, 193; 24. Mark Fogel, West Bend, WI, 159; 25. Don Wilson, Hartford, WI, 152; 26. Les Wiedenhoeft, Jackson, WI, 114; 27. David Paskiewicz, Madison, WI, 71; 28. Tim Goulet, Milwaukee, WI, 49; 29. Miles Bradley, Edgerton, WI, 45; 30. Jay Bozart, Milton, WI, 33; 31. Rob Clayton, Antioch, 31; 32. Al Kuphal, Franklin, WI, 26; 33. Robin Merigold, Green Garden, 26; 34. Jason Lange, Elgin, 25; 35. Jim Watters, Bonfield, 6; 36. Ken Hocking, Joliet, 0;
"A" CLASS
1. Art Speciale; 2. Geringer; 3. Gerry Galloway; 4. Tom Arnold; 5. Barnharst; 6. Lunsford; 7. Iversen; 8. Ruh; 9. Chatroop; 10. LeBrun; 11. Donnie Paskiewicz ; 12. Gerald Hayes; 13. Charlie Pinkalla; 14. Palermo; 15. Traber; 16. Phillips; 17. Mark Fogel; 18. Wilson; 19. Wiedenhoeft; 20. Bradley; 21. Bozart; 22. Kuphal; 23. Merigold; 24. Watters
"B" CLASS
1. Paulick; 2. Kelly; 3. Tom DeYoung; 4. Prince; 5. Solorio; 6. Brad Jones; 7. Clayton; 8. Lange; 9. Ken Hocking
"FAIRTIME 125" SMALL CAR by Tredroc Tire Services
1. Becky Pinkalla, Racine, WI, 125 laps completed; 2. Mark Johler, Des Plaines, 125; 3. Matt Arvia, Griffith, IN, 124; 4. Mike McKay, West Allis, WI, 124; 5. Mike Jucius, Oak Lawn, 123; 6. Jason Bielek, Stateline, NV,123; 7. Phil Speciale, Elgin, 123; 8. Jason Condrad, Burlington, WI, 123; 9. Jason Claypool, Morris, 121; 10. Dusty Heil, Carol Stream, 120; 11. Bill Mueller, Racine, WI, 119; 12. Logan Schnake, Arlington Heights, 119; 13. Cody Clubb, Coal City, 118; 14. Alex Clubb, Morris, 117; 15. Dylan Helfenstein, Racine, WI, 111; 16. Dennis Jones, Nichols, IA, 109; 17. Tony Prietzel, Peru, IN, 107; 18. Roger Schultz, Rockford, 97; 19. Ryan Johnson, Monee, 83; 20. Devin Brandt, Morris, 81; 21. Trevor Pertell, Warrenville, 59; 22. Tom Arnold, Elwood, 55; 23. Chris Jones, Rockford, 54; 24. Jasper Drengler, Shawano, WI, 42; 25. Steven Mueller, Caledonia, WI, 35; 26. Ryan Hoffman, Highland, IN, 26; 27. Deyan Yordanov, Round Lake, 24; 28. Kris Hopper, Beecher, 11
"FAIRTIME 15" Powder Puff by Tredroc Tire Services
1. Michelle Lemery, Rockford, 15 laps completed; 2. Jennifer Arnold, Wilmington, 15; 3. Tanya Galloway, Hanover Park, 15; 4. Emilee Prince, Coal City, 14; 5. Brenda DeYoung, Lowell, IN, 14; 6. Joy Wilson, Hartford, WI, 14; 7. Ashley Fogel, South Milwaukee, WI, 14; 8. Kim Geringer, Elburn, 14; 9. Lori Nowaczynski, Oak Creek, WI, 13; 10. Hanna Paskiewicz, Franklin, WI, 13; 11. Maggie Paskiewicz, Racine, WI, 13; 12. Tracy Fry, Kenosha, WI, 13; 13. Carol Burczak, Caledonia, WI, 13; 14. Erika DeYoung, Lowell, IN, 5; 15. Kara Hocking, Joliet, 3
