2012-13 Round 7
Dwayne Sweeney Memorial Grand Prix - Road Course at Badger Raceway
November 29, 2012
Round 7 of 16
Walczak Wins Again At Duane Sweeney Memorial
Muskego, WI – Mark Walczak captured his third win of the 2012 IndySlotCar season as he coasted to victory in the Rupena's Fine Food presents the Duane Sweeney Memorial. Track owner and hometown favorite Dean Strom sped to the pole in qualifying in the "Open Class" event where the series participants fielded their own chassis, allowed to be modified by gearing and tire selection.
The opening heat race featured the series first European participant, Johannes Schucht from Germany. Schucht's rookie run in the series couldn't have come on a faster, more challenging track. The high-speed chicanes and tricky turns challenged the German driver as he raced against championship contenders Ev Kamikawa and John Wiedemann. The track took its toll on the rookie as he crashed out on his 16th lap, a finish that bettered many other first time participants in the IndySlotCar Series. Kamikawa pulled away to the win in the first heat race. Pole sitter Strom held off Matt Hayek to take the victory in the second heat race, and Walczak outraced Mike Kristof to the checkers in the third heat. Mike Fitzlaff continued to struggle, crashing out of his heat race and finishing ninth in the event. Riding a two race winning streak, Dan Margetta was plagued by equipment failure throughout the event and finished seventh overall. Wiedemann captured the transfer to race in the feature.
Walczak took the early lead in the feature race and paced the first half of the race. With Strom and Wiedemann racing side by side for second place and Kamikawa struggling with handling issues, Walczak led at the break by six laps over Strom and seven over Wiedemann. A long pitstop at the beginning of the second half of the feature race by Walczak allowed the field to close in on the leader. While Strom and Wiedemann continued to fight each other for the second spot, they made up laps on Walczak. But battling hard for position also took its toll on the drivers as each had off track excursions that erased gains made. At the end of the race, Walczak cruised to the checkers with a three lap advantage over teammate Strom and Wiedemann finished another two laps back in third.
With the victory, Walczak extended his lead in the Husarsbilt Cup championship standings to 31 points over Wiedemann. Fitzlaff remains third in the points, 51 behind leader Walczak, and Kamikawa continues to climb the standings only four points behind Fitzlaff. A quick turnaround is in store for the series as they travel to Wauwatosa next week for the Shorewest Christmas Classic at Vista Rio Rancho Raceway on December 6th. Walczak is the defending champion of the race.
The Break Is Over And Badger Raceway Announces Last Minute Sponsor
(Muskego, WI) -- The IndySlotCar Series returns to action Thursday night with Dan Margetta riding a two race winning streak as The Road Course at Badger Raceway has secured a last minute sponsor. Tonight's race will be called Rupena's Fine Food presents the Duane Sweeney Memorial. The Amy Butler-Margetta Racing driver will attempt to take the checkers in the "open class" race, where the teams prep their own cars, as opposed to the standard rules of league equally prepared cars. Last year's winner Mike Lack will miss the race, despite constant rumors that he will run the rest of the schedule to challenge for the Husarsbilt Cup. A late addition to the field will feature the first ever foreign driver, there are not a lot of details, but German driver, with the F1 schedule complete speculation runs rampant.
The Husarsbilt Cup championship points lead is held by four-time defending champion Mark Walczak ahead of John Wiedemann by 15 points. Each year the series pays tribute to former Indy 500 starter Duane Sweeney who once flagged an IndySlotCar race.