Egan Nabs Second Slinger Feature

Dennis Prunty (42) and Steve Apel crash while racing for the lead at Slinger (Wis.) Super Speedway Sunday. (Bruce Nuttleman Photo)

SLINGER, Wis. — Mike Egan turned back the challenges of Lowell Bennett to capture his second feature victory of the season in a wild 50-lap super late model main event Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway.

“That was a great race and Lowell was all over me,” said Egan. “This is the second win and I’d like to get one more though I think.”

Mike Graczkowski raced to the early lead from the outside of the front row with pole-sitter Fred Winn slotting into second just ahead of Egan, Rob Braun, and Conrad Morgan who raced alongside each other for third.

The field quickly fell under the yellow flag on lap three when Nick Ostberg looped his machine around exiting turn two as Graczkowski led over Winn, Egan, and Braun.

Graczkowski and Winn fought for the lead side by side for a lap as racing resumed before Winn’s car washed wide entering turn one allowing Egan, Jeff Holtz, Rob Braun, Dennis Prunty, Steve Apel all to get by.

With Graczkowski, Egan, and Holtz racing nose to tail out front, Prunty and Apel both made their way to the inside of Braun to claim fourth and fifth respectively as Braun slid back four spots before he could get back to the inside groove.

The lead cars raced bumper to bumper around the bottom groove with Holtz making a quick bid to the inside of Egan off turn two for second only to denied the position when Egan closed the door, resulting in Prunty and Apel having to jump on the binders in accordion-like fashion.

With the inside groove jamming up, Prunty tried the outside but was unable to find grip as Apel filled the gap on the inside and moved alongside in a bid for the fourth position.

The top two contenders for the track championship raced door to door with Apel on the inside and Prunty on the outside while Graczkowski continued to lead over Egan and Holtz.

The battle over fourth between Prunty and Apel intensified on lap 18 as Prunty worked to keep Apel pinned down on the inside between turns three and four and when the two cars exited turn four, their front wheels touched, sending both cars sliding sideways down the frontstretch.

Both drivers regained control of their cars but the dispute over fourth ended abruptly entering turn one when Apel’s car appeared to fail to make the corner and both cars crashed hard into the turn one wall, ending their night as the caution waved.

Graczkowski again maintained the lead for the restart but as racing resumed, Egan made a tremendous run from the outside and swept by for the lead exiting the second turn and before Graczkowski could regain his momentum, Holtz and Bennett darted to each side to grab second and third respectively with a breathtaking three wide maneuver.

Behind the top three, James Swan, Conrad Morgan, and Rob Braun also used the inside lane to race around Graczkowski who was caught in the high lane.

Egan kept his car glued to the bottom of the racetrack as Bennett raced directly in his tire tracks while Holtz slammed the door on an inside bid for third by Swan, allowing Morgan to use the high groove to edge ahead of Swan in fourth just before the caution waved for a spin by Nick Wagner in turn two on lap 35.

Egan remained on the bottom for the restart and he raced out to the lead as the green flag waved with Bennett latching onto his rear bumper followed by Holtz and a side by side battle over fourth between Swan and Morgan. Behind the top five, Graczkowski and Braun fought fiercely over sixth, trading defensive moves and bumper taps as the laps began to wind down.

Egan remained hooked up on the bottom as Bennett made numerous attempts on the side for the lead but each time Egan prevailed off the corners. With just four laps to go, the tussle for sixth between Braun and Graczkowski erupted as contact between the cars send Braun spinning off turn four to produce the caution flag.

Egan was up to the challenge for the final four lap charge to the finish and he turned back any challenge Bennett could mount as he kept the lead while Bennett was forced to fend off Holtz from third. Egan drove under the checkered flag for his second super late model feature win of the season while Bennett settled for a strong second at the finish just ahead of Holtz in third.

James Swan and Conrad Morgan completed the top five finishers.

Other winners at Slinger Sunday included John Deangelis (late models), James Swan (midwest sportsman), John Daley (thunder stocks), Brandon Tackes (slinger bees) and Shane Becker (figure-8).

Hurry and enter! Winners will be announced Saturday at the Knoxville Nationals finale! Chance to win a $2,500 VIP prize package to the 2013 Knoxville Nationals and be on Donny Schatz’s pit crew!

Posted by NSSN Staff on Aug 6 2012 Filed under Latest Headlines, MIDWEST, Racing Nation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.