Trokan Cup presented by Harley Davidson - The Shrine

Round 1 of 16

September 3, 1998

SORCE SPEEDS TO VICTORY IN SEASON OPENER

-Cianciola close behind in rough and tumble Trokan Cup-

Wauwatosa, WI (Sept. 7th, 1998) - Third year driver Chad Sorce picked up the third win of his career at the Shrine road course last Thursday, barely outlasting Phil Cianciola in the Trokan Cup-Presented by Harley­ Davidson. Sorce, who proved putting his Leinenkugel's Reynard Ford on top of the practice speed charts a week earlier was no fluke, swapped the lead with Cianciola numerous times right up until the final 10 laps when Sorce held him off once and for all.

"I want to dedicate this win to my new son Alex. Winning this race and getting this trophy (the Trokan Cup) means so much to me knowing the history behind trophy and the race," said Sorce, who becomes the early PPPG Cup points leader for the first time in his career. He started second on the grid and his Leinenkugel's team executed perfect pit stops throughout the race, as did the Penske H.O. team of defending series champion Phil Cianciola.

"The boys gave me great stops and the car felt good, but Sorce just never made a mistake there at the end and I couldn't catch him." Cianciola finished about a half lap behind after setting a race record for the pole position.

In a night of crashes and strange twists thanks to the breakdown of the new Ortega Timing and Scoring system, third place in the race may have been the strangest story of the night. Dan Margetta drove his Miller Lite car into the Final Four, but found he could drive no further due to the pain from his recovering broken leg. Margetta commissioned Tony Perkins to pilot Dan's car in the Final, since Perkins failed to make the grid in his Player's machine after traveling all the way from Indianapolis. Thanks in part to attrition, Perkins put Margetta's car on the podium in third.

Making his debut as a driver for the new Frugal Homebrewer team, Jim Kaehny, who had been struggling with a loose condition all night long, lost the back end and crashed hard on only the fourth lap of the Final. The uninjured Kaehny said, "The car just never felt right all night long for some reason. It was really weird."

He settled for fourth place.

His partner Phil Marich, driving one of the three Swift Ford Firestone Frugal cars, had a career night, qualifying a personal best of fourth on the grid and finishing fifth, his highest finish to date in his career, now in its second year. Team owner John Baas also crashed out, losing control on lap 24. Baas led the series in DNF's last season. His shortened night left him in seventh place.

Defending race champion Dave Austin debuted a new MCI car combination and promptly struggled to end up sixth after starting eighth. "The new Toyota engine was certainly down on power tonight, but we're making progress," said the ever-optimistic Austin, who was warned once for rough driving in the hairpin turns.

Ev Kamikawa's Ferrari went out with a bang in turn two on lap 24 also, leaving him in eighth place. Rookie Larry Rotter, driving a radical Penske Toyota combination had a solid debut in the series as he picked up his first two championship points by out-qualifying three other drivers. One of them was the new Penske driver Pat Jarvis, who won this race back in 1993, the first race ever held in the series. Jarvis could only manage tenth spot in his comeback debut event.

Back with Player's and the "Blue Crew" this season, Tony Perkins ended up out of the points in 11th place, but did get some valuable seat time subbing for Margetta in the Final Four. And Tom Spehert was hoping for a better show in front of his own sponsors at their race, but the Harley-Davidson driver brought up the rear in 12th position.

At a dozen entries, the race was the largest in series history. It was also one of the longest nights ever due to delays after the new computerized scoring system crashed. A backup EDS system had to be quickly wired in for the bulk of competition. Series officials hope to give the new Ortega Timing and Scoring system another chance at race number two of 16 coming up on Thursday, September 17th. The Ford 500 will be run outside under the stars on the Mini Milwaukee Mile oval in West Allis.

RACE PREVIEW: THE TROKAN CUP-Presented by Harley-Davidson

0     WHAT: The 6th annual Trokan Cup-Presented by Harley-Davidson

0    WHERE: The Shrine- Wauwatosa, WI

0    WHEN: Thursday Sept. 3rd, 6:30 p.m.

0    DEFENDING CHAMPION:  Dave Austin

0   DEFENDING POLESITTER: Dave Austin

0    TRACK LAYOUT: Permanent road course

0   RACE LENGTH: 20-min. Final Four

0    RACE RECORDS: Qualifying- 100 laps  Dave Austin 1997

Race 270 laps          Dave Austin 1997

0  RACE #: 1 of 16

0    NEXT EVENT: The Ford 500

Thursday, Sept. 17th Mini Milw. Mile, TBA

0    INSTANT REPLAY

The new season began with a great fight on the track in a heat race, which spilled over into an ugly altercation in the pits afterward. Dave Austin and Jim Kaehny battled on the track through the keyhole turn and touched wheels near the end of the heat. Kaehny felt Austin took him out and told him so afterward, a move that led to blows between the two before they were pulled apart by crew members.

Austin would go on to the win in-record fashion and claim the early points lead in a

near-perfect debut of his new LCI team and car.

THE TROKAN CUP HISTORY

Year Race Winner      Pole Winner

1993 PAT JARVIS PHIL CIANCIOLA

1994 PHIL CIANCIOLA JOHN SHEA

1995 DAVE AUSTIN DAVE AUSTIN

1996 JIM KAEHNY PHIL CIANCIOLA

1997 DAVE AUSTIN DAVE AUSTIN

Things to watch for this year...

As the new season begins, Dave Austin has always been a strong starter, the only man to achieve a repeat win here and be on pole two of the past five years. Phil Cianciola begins defense of his PPPG Cup on a home track where he has not won in over a year. Several drivers will be making debuts with new teams.