NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — Brandon Waelti captured the season-opening Badger Midget Series 30-lap feature Saturday night at Amsoil Sandbox Arena at Cedar Lake Speedway.
It was the first race inside America’s newest indoor-racing facility.
Waelti passed the initial two laps around the quarter-mile dirt oval before Dave Darland took the lead. Running multiple grooves Darland, Waelti, Bubba Altig and Jerry Coons, Jr. pulled away from the field.
Darland and Waelti crossed the line, separated by inches at the midway point. Exiting turn two, Waelti drove under Darland for the lead. Waelti’s two-car-length lead was erased with eight laps remaining when Coons and Altig came to a stop in turn two.
On the restart, Waelti and Darland changed grooves with Waelti running the high side, but Waelti held on for the victory in Jim Fiscus’s Spike Esslinger. Darland was second, ahead of Aaron Fiscus, fast-qualifier Dave Gough and Nick Lundgreen.
The finish:
Brandon Waelti, Dave Darland, Aaron Fiscus, Dave Gough, Nick Lundgreen, Scott Hatton, Tim Noble, Davey Ray, Joe Wipperfurth, Jason Dull, Bubba Altig, Jerry Coons, Jr., Donovan Peterson, Dan Mecum, Chad DeSelle, Jody Rosenboom, David Budres, Mike Hess, Buddy Luebke, Jon LeJuene.