2016-17 Round 3
West Bend Grand Prix - Lack Track - West Bend, WI
September 29, 2016
Round 3 of 16
West Bend Welcomes Wiedemann
See the full box score here.
West Bend, WI -- After struggling with mechanical issues at the first two rounds of the season, John Wiedemann reminded the IndySlotCar series that he will be a force to be reckoned with for the Husarsbilt Cup, taking the Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award and then easily outdistancing the field in his heat and the 20 minute final to sweep the West Bend Grand Prix at the Lack Track.
The night started with the JAM Racing cars showing up in fresh livery and Wiedemann clearly took advantage of the team's improved preparations placing the #19 Dallara-Honda on the pole ahead of Dean Strom's #16 MaD Motorsports by just 24 one-hundredths of a second. The heats were then randomly selected, placing "JW" against his teammate Mike Lack, Mike Kristof and first time starter Keith Lindback, it was obvious early on that Wiedemann was hooked up and took the win with Lack just hoping to hang on to the "transfer" spot with Kristof finishing the night ninth and Lindback, twelfth.
Meanwhile, it was another battle of teammates in the second heat, as Dean Strom held off his fellow MaD Motorsports driver Matt Hayek to advance to the final while Hayek would keep his streak of making all the finals this season by claiming the transfer spot, with the points leader coming into the race, Dan Margetta, struggling to a seventh place finish and Mike Fitzlaff experiencing all kinds of handling problems on his #10 NTT Data Fitz Ganassi Racing Dallara-Chevrolet winding up eleventh.
It was sophomore sensation Bill Black out of the Spehert Autosport stable who had the toughest road to the final squeaking by Penske HO Racing's Ev Kamikawa as the two traded the lead several times late in the third heat, but a late spin by the #2 Verizon car allowed Black to make his first final of the season, while Kamikawa would score his second sixth place finish in a row while JAM Racing's Amy Butler would finish the night eighth and Black's teammate Pete Dorn ended up tenth.
As the 20 minute West Bend Grand Prix got under way, Matt Hayek sped away with a good launch, pursued closely by Strom and Wiedemann, but by half way, Wiedemann opened up a multi-lap lead, pit stops would not change the order and JW would cruise to his 15th career win, and allow him to leapfrog to third in the Husarsbilt Cup points, Dean Strom finished ahead of his teammate with a strong second place, while Matt Hayek's finish of the bottom step of the podium allows him to climb to the top of the points, Bill Black took the RacingNation.com Hard Charger Award moving from eighth on the grid to his fourth place finish. Dan Margetta falls back to second in points eight behind Hayek.
The second oval of the season is on the schedule next as the IndySlotCar Series heads to the desert for the Slots-A-Fun 400 at Startdust Speedway.
###
West Bend Grand Prix Fast Facts
Race date: Thursday, Sep 29
Track: Lack Track, 1.8 mile road course in West Bend, WI
Race distance: 20 minutes
Twitter: @indyslotcar
IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com
2016 race winner: Mike Lack, (No. 1 JAM Racing Dallara-Honda)
2016 Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award winner: Mike Lack (No. 1 JAM Racing Dallara-Honda)
One-lap qualifying record: John Wiedemann, 3.971 seconds, 2013
Race record: John Wiedemann, 243 laps, 2013
YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel
At-track schedule (all times local):
6:30 – Driver introductions
7:00 – IndySlotCar Series Practice
7:15 – Qualifying for the Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award (group qualifying/ fastest single lap)
7:30 – Heat races
8:00 – Too Clean Laundry Grand Prix (20 minutes)
Race Notes:
· Penske HO’s Dan Margetta holds a one point lead in the Husarsbilt Cup championship over MaD Motorsports’ Matt Hayek. Margetta and Hayek swapping first and third place finishes in the first two events, the one point difference being Margetta’s Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award at Rapids.
· Husarsbilt Cup three-time feeding champion Mike Lack returned to the track finishing second at the Too Clean Laundry Grand Prix.
· Lack is the defending race winner and Chick-fil-A Brookfield P1 Award winner at the WBGP and has won this event three of the first five times it has been run.
· After “Tire-gate” at the Too Clean Laundry Grand Prix, the IndySlotCar series has invested heavily in new wheels and tires for all of the cars.
· Look for the Lack Track to make a big effort to reclaim the Top Chef Award after narrowly being defeated for the coveted prize by Badger Raceway last season.
WEST BEND GRAND PRIX PRE-EVENT QUOTES:
Mike Lack No. 1 JAM Racing: It was good to get back in the car after missing the opener, I always look forward to the West Bend Grand Prix, the home cooking really helps!
John Wiedemann No. 19 JAM Racing: Sonuva#$@&!
Dan Margetta No. 3 Penske HO: I got this.
LACK TRACK HISTORY (5 events, 2011 - Present)
Date Race Winner Event Name
10/8/2011 Ev Kamikawa West Bend Grand Prix
10/13/2012 Mike Lack West Bend Grand Prix
9/28/2013 John Wiedemann West Bend Grand Prix
10/4/2014 Mike Lack West Bend Grand Prix
10/1/2015 Mike Lack West Bend Grand Prix