2013-14 Round 12
Quarryfest Deslotmania presented by Hayek's Shorewest Pharmacy - Quarry Heights Raceway
February 13, 2014
Round 12 of 16
Dungeons & Dragon Scores 1-2 Finish at Quarryfest Deslotmania
Wauwatosa, WI -- Matt Hayek scored a popular win, Thursday night, in the IndySlotCar Series' Quarryfest Deslotmania presented by Hayek’s Shorewood Pharmacy-setting fast qualifying time and driving away from the field in the 20 minute finale.
Championship point leader Mike Lack and Cha-Ching Motorsports driver Dan Margetta drove to heat race wins while Hayek and his teammate Mike Kristof earned transfer spots as a result of second place showings in their respective heats.
Kristof set a torrid early pace in the finale and led JMM Racing’s Lack at the half way point. At the break, Kristof’s hands were shaking, sweat pouring off his brow and his voice quivering as he was heard to mutter, “I need a drink”. Once the race resumed, Kristof was the first driver down pit road. Rust showed through for the Dungeons & Dragon Racing crew laying down mistake after mistake enroute to a 30-second stop. The frustration followed as Kristof sped off of pit road—a mistake that all but wipped out any chance of victory.
But things got even worse for Lack as he entered the pit area, smoke pouring from his Dallara-Honda, the victim of yet another death-card.
Dan Margetta, in his ninth straight final, was the next driver to fall. Under IndySlotCar Series de-slot race rules, drivers are eliminated from competition after their fourth de-slot (the cars pin coming out if the slot). Margetta suffered his fatal de-slot with minutes to go and left just teammates Hayek and Kristof to battle for the win. But the D&D Racing crew serviced Hayek much better on his stop, setting up the teams lead driver with a margin that he’d never relinquish.
After Hayek crossed the stripe, fans poured onto the front stretch and mobbed the victorious driver, carrying both him and his Dallara-Chevrolet to victory lane, where the party roared on until the sun began to rise.
“This is the kind of night that we knew this team was capable of,” said Hayek. “In fact we had another driver and sponsor watching tonight and I think we’ll have an announcement real soon about adding that driver to the mix.”
John Wiedemann; Dean Strom; Mike Fitzlaff and Ev Kamikawa all DNF’ed in heat race action and were scored fifth through eighth in the final run down.
For winning from the pole, Hayek took home an additional $8000 in IndySlotCar Series pole-to-win cash.
With four races remaining on the 2013-14 IndySlotCar slate, Lack continues to hold a 79-point bulge in the championship standings. With his third place showing, Margetta moved into the runner-up spot in the standings—a spot the veteran driver is all too familiar with. Hayek passed Strom to move into fourth position while Kristof leapfrogged over Kamikawa into the sixth position.
The series travels next to Stardust Speedway and the Stardust 500, February 27th.
###
FAST FACTS
WHAT: Quarryfest Deslotmania presented by Hayek’s Shorewest Pharmacy
WHERE: Wauwatosa, WI
WHEN: Thursday, February 13, 2014 7pm
U.S. TELEVISION SCHEDULE: MBC Slotcar Network, YouTube
2013 CHAMPION: Mark Walczak
2013 POLESITTER: Dean Strom
TRACK LAYOUT: Natural Terrain Road Course
RACE LENGTH: 20 minutes
TRACK RECORDS: Qualifying – 2009 – Mark Walczak – 3.906
Race – 2013 – Mark Walczak – 228 laps
Margin of Victory – One event – 2013– Walczak – 8 laps
RACE ROUND: 12 of 16 in the 2013-2014 IndySlotCar Series
INSTANT REPLAY:
Wauwatosa, WI – The Husarsbilt Cup championship has been widening and squeezing like an accordion for the last several races. After tonight's Quarryfest De-Slotmantia presented by Hayek's Shorewood Pharmacy Mark Walczak's accordion is expanding again when he took the checkers for the fifth time this season. Following Mike Kristof and Mike Fitzlaff's early exit Walczak easily held off hometown favorite Matt Hayek. With five races remaining in the 20th season, the four time defending champ holds a 42 point lead, but once again that accordion will squeeze as Walczak announced he will miss the next race at the Deckertring.
QUARRYFEST DESLOTMANIA HISTORY (1 event, 2013 - Present)
Date Race Winner
1/30/2013 Mark Walczak
Top Stories
Dan Margetta has made his way into eight straight finals, and nine of the first eleven races, but the Deckertring was his first victory of the season, closing him to within three points of John Wiedemann for second place in Husarsbilt Cup points. But, points leader Mike Lack finished second at the last race behind Margetta making it more and more likely he will wrap up the championship soon.
Who’s Hot
--Dan Margetta continues to be the hottest driver out there, with a win at the last race and 8 straight finals.
Stats Watch
--Dan Margetta moved to second on two of the most high profile lists on the All-time stats, winning from the pole at the Deckertring ties him with series founder Phil Cianciola for second with 36 career wins and pulls equal with the other five time champion Mark Walczak for second in poles with 41.
--Ev Kamikawa’s 178 laps in his fourth place finish at the Deckertring was enough to put him over 50,000 laps for his career, second all time.