2016-17 Round 14
Lucky Bob's March Madness - Lucky Bob's Bonsai Track - Milwaukee, WI
March 21, 2017
Round 14 of 16
Margetta Cuts Down The Nets at March Madness!
Milwaukee, WI -- Dan Margetta won the Lucky Bob's March Madness Tuesday, ensuring that the madness in the fight for the Husarsbilt Cup championship will go down to the final two races of the season. The top four in points all advanced to the 20-minutes final at Lucky Bob's Raceway with leader John Wiedemann taking a solid lead into the halfway point, but the car died during a pitstop and could not be refired, this allowed Margetta to move to the top step of the podium for the 42nd time in his career, equalling the series record for victories. With "JW" relegated to a fourth place finish, Margetta moves to within nine points, while three-time defending champion Mike Lack finished second to climb back into third in the championship. 31 points back and Matt Hayek also gained a couple of points on the lead, now just 33 markers out. All four are well within striking distance considering the double points available at the HO Indy 500 season finale.
It's a quick turn around for the IndySlotCar Series as they move on to Menomonee Falls next Thursday for the "open class" Larry Rotter Memorial Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2016-17 season.
Return To Lucky Bob's
Milwaukee, WI -- The IndySlotCar Series returns to Lucky Bob's Raceway for the first public race the series has held in over 10 years. The season championship battle comes down to the final three races starting with this track at Lucky Bob's that no driver on the grid has turned a single lap on. Dan Margetta crashed out early at the Stardust 500 finishing 12th while John Wiedemann finished second giving him a 25 point advantage while Matt Hayek's dominating win at Stardust helped him climb right back into championship sitting 34 points behind Wiedemann, while three-time defending champion Mike Lack is now just 36 markers back.
The last time the series made an appearance at the home of slot car racing in Milwaukee, Larry Rotter took the checkers and went on to win the 2005-06 championship. Rotter also won the inaugural Lucky Bob's Challenge in 2004. Both of those races were contested on the "Scorpion" track at Lucky Bob's, this year's event will be held on the Bonsai track. Everyone is welcome to watch the action, starting Tuesday night at 7pm.
Lucky Bob’s March Madness Fast Facts
Race date: Tuesday, Mar 21
Track: Lucky Bob’s Raceway: Bonsai Track, 3-mile, 10-turn natural terrain circuit, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Race distance: 20 minutes
Entry List: Lucky Bob’s March Madness
Twitter: @indyslotcar
IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com
2006 race winner: Larry Rotter (No. 4 Butler-Rotter Racing Lola-Cosworth)
2006 Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award winner: Larry Rotter (No. 4 Butler-Rotter Racing Lola-Cosworth)
Qualifying record: new track
Race record: new track
YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel
At-track schedule (all times local):
6:30 – Driver introductions
7:00 – IndySlotCar Series Practice
7:20 – Qualifying for the Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award (Three groups of qualifying)
7:40 – Heat races
8:30 – Lucky Bob’s March Madness
Race Notes:
· Dan Margetta’s DNF at the Stardust 500 opens up a bit of breathing room for John Wiedemann who now leads the Husarsbilt Cup championship by 25 points, with Matt Hayek in third just 34 points back and three-time defending champion Mike Lack now just 36 points behind his JAM Racing teammate with three races remaining in the 2016-17 season.
· MaD Motorsport’s Hayek leapt back into the championship with his dominating win from the pole at Stardust.
· The return to Lucky Bob’s Raceway for the first time in over ten years for IndySlotCar, the last event in January of 2006, when Hall of Famer Larry Rotter swept the pole and win en route to his third and final Husarsbilt Cup championship.
· Lucky Bob’s Raceway: Bonsai track will be a new circuit for the series and the drivers, none of whom have raced in this track in any series before.
· This is the IndySlotCar Series first public race held since that last appearance at Lucky Bob’s in 2006.
Lucky Bob’s March Madness PRE-EVENT QUOTES:
Matt Hayek No. 15 MaD Motorsports: If I keep finishing ahead of the others things could work out well, I am a two-time winner of the HO Indy 500, you know.
Dan Margetta No. 3 Penske HO Racing: See what happens when Dean Strom shows up? After spending all that time at races in Vegas, I learned a lot!
John Wiedemann No. 19 JAM Racing: Did I say Dean Strom or Bill Black were my heroes? Dan Margetta might be my new hero!
Pete Dorn No. 26 Spehert Autosport: Where’s Margetta?
LUCKY BOB’S HISTORY (3 events, 2004 - 2006)
Date Race Winner Event Name Track
2/19/2004 Larry Rotter Lucky Bob’s Challenge Scorpion
2005 Dan Margetta Lucky Bob’s Challenge M-T Track
1/18/2006 Larry Rotter Lucky Bob’s Challenge Scorpion