2009-10 Round 1

Trokan Cup 500 - RJ Foy's All American Raceway

Round 1 of 14

September 10, 2009

FAST FACTS

The Trokan Cup 500

2008 CHAMPION: Mark Walczak

2008 POLESITTER: Mike Fitzlaff

TRACK LAYOUT: Bullring oval

RACE LENGTH: 500 laps

TRACK RECORDS: Qualifying - 2006, Dan Margetta, 17.852

Race – 2006, John Shea, 13:59.758

Fast Lap – 2006, Ev Kamikawa, 1.102

RACE ROUND: 1 of 16 in the 2009-2010 HO Indy Slot Car Series

INSTANT REPLAY:

After being bought by RJ Foyt and moved it race date to a new date, The Trokan Cup 500 took place on a cold and overcast evening. Mike Fitzlaff proceeded to pace the field in practice and in qualifying putting his car on the pole. The first heat of the evening was a duel between the Vista Racing teammates of Mike Kristof and Matt Hayek. Matt used the quicker inner lane in the second half to take his first career heat win and make his first appearance in the finals.

The second heat was a fight between John Shea and Dan Margetta, and Larry Rotter and Chris Spehert. While Shea and Margetta were busy trying to collect each other in accidents it allowed Chris Spehert to open up a ten lap advantage at the half way point. Rotter used the inside lane to close up in the second half but a late race collision with Chris Spehert was enough for Chris to secure the victory by one lap .

Pole sitter Mike Fitzlaff Ran away and hid in the third heat race finishing with a 37 lap lead over rookie John Wiedemann. The only question was who would finish third, as Wiedemann, Ev Kamikawa, and Amy Butler all made runs for it. In the end the standings would read Fitzlaff, Wiedemann, Butler and Kamikawa. Butler made up 23 laps to take over third place in the end.

The final heat of the night belonged to points leader Mark Walczak. He barely set a wheel wrong Rookie Mike Lack struggled with learning the tight bull ring oval, and Tom Spehert had handling issues threw out the race.

In the finals Mike Fitzlaff stormed to an early lead at the half way point. However that’s when this changed drastically. The sky opened up and the rains came down. Drivers struggled to find the balance between traction and speed. Chris Spehert withdrew his car saying it was ridiculous to run as he had no traction. Walczak was the first driver to find a happy balance and was able to make up a 35 lap difference before the event ended. It was Walczak’s first win of the year. Mike Fitzlaff finished second, and Matt Hayek who had the fastest car after finding the balance finished third.

The Trokan Cup 500 HISTORY (15 events, 1994 - Present)

Year Race Winner

1994 Jim Kaehny

1995 Arnie Lueders

1996 Chad Sorce

1997 John Baas

1998 John Baas

1999 Ev Kamikawa

2000 Phil Cianciola

2001 Dan Margetta

2002 Jim Iverson

2003 Mike Kristof

2004 Phil Cianciola

2005 John Shea

2006 John Shea

2007 Chris Spehert

2008 Mark Walczak

2009 ?????????????

Top Stories

The 17th season of HO Slot Car Series racing kicks off at RJ Foyt’s All American Raceway. The track returns to it usual spot of hosting the opening event. The series has new qualifying procedures for both ovals and road courses. After a lot of speculation about what would happen with BMW Racing following the in team squabbling at the end of the year, the three drivers decided to make another go of it. Even after Amy Butler held open auditions at the HO Indy 500 for a teammate to replace Walczak. Walczak is back to defend his first title and his race win in the Trokan Cup 500. The rest of the teams remained the same with the exception on Dean Strom and Larry Rotter. After calling Rotter a career sucker at the Deckertring, the two have parted ways, however Rotter has agreed to offer technical assistance to Strom.