Choco Taco presents the Fall Brawl - Road Course at Badger Raceway - Muskego, WI

September 20, 2018

Round 2 of 16

Strom Feasts On Home Cooking

Dean Strom (center) wins the Choco Taco presents the fall Brawl, Dan Margetta, second (right) and Tom Spehert, third (left)

(Muskego, WI) -- Home cooking has been the key to victory early in the 2018-19 IndySlotCar season as Dean Strom took the checkers going away at the Choco Taco presents the Fall Brawl at Badger Raceway Thursday. This follows Tom Spehert's home track win at the Mini-Milwaukee Mile two weeks ago, both drivers took control early and never felt a challenge.

In qualifying it looked like the home town hero would take the pole position as well, but on the next to last lap of his qualifying session Mike Fitzlaff laid down a lap that no one could touch at 4.415 seconds on the long straights and tight turns of the Road Course at Badger Raceway, Strom would line up along side on the front row.

The first heat race was a pair of brawls as Angry Squirrel Speedsport teammates Mike Lack and John Wiedemann battled for the lead while pole sitter Fitzlaff and last race pole winner Ev Kamikawa fought it out for third place. Unfortunately, running in close quarters can have serious consequences, as Fitzlaff's #10 NTT Data Kuzin ITT Racing Honda-Dallara spun coming out of turn four, Kamikawa collected him and they both went flying off the track and out for the night, finishing tenth and eleventh on the night. Meanwhile, Lack held off Wiedemann advancing to the final and WIedemann would have to watch Strom pass his lap total denying him a trip to the final and settling for fifth.

Dan Margetta and Dean Strom made their season debuts at Badger and again, the aptly named Fall Brawl was just that as the two would pass each other numerous times in the second heat, but as the clock ran out, it was Margetta who took the win, but Strom's lap total bumped Wiedemann out of the "transfer" enroute to his 10th career victory and the first since the Rotter Memorial Grand Prix in March of 2017.

While Tom Spehert didn't figure into the battle for the victory his heat win and solid third place finish showed that his win the previous round was no fluke and now holds a 21 point lead in the Husarsbilt Cup championship over 5-time defending champ Mike Lack and John Wiedemann.

Bill Black and his Black/Atom Racing teammate Pete Dorn had respectable finishes at sixth and eighth respectively, Matt Hayek battled handling issues all night to wind up seventh for the second race in a row and Mike Kristof seemed to just be running around out there in ninth.

Next up, the annual trip to the Lack Track for the West Bend Grand Prix and the challenge for the Golden Ladle Award will be joined by one of the favorites.

###

Choco Taco Presents The Fall Brawl Fast Facts

Race date: Thursday, Sep 20

Track: Road Course at Badger Raceway, 3.25 mile natural-terrain road course

Race distance: 20 minutes

Twitter: @indyslotcar

IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com

2015 race winner: Dean Strom (MaD Motorsport Dallara-Honda)

2015 P1 Award winner: Ev Kamikawa (Penske-HO Dallara-Chevrolet)

One-lap qualifying record: Mark Walczak, 4.397 seconds, 2013

Race record: Mike Lack, 226 laps, 2013

YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel

At-track schedule (all times local):

6:30 – Driver introductions

6:55 – Drivers’ meeting

7:00 – IndySlotCar Series Practice

7:20 – Qualifying for the P1 Award (group qualifying/ fastest single lap)

7:45 – Heat races

8:30 – Fat Tony 400

Race Notes:

· This is just the third “club car” event held at the Road Course at Badger Raceway.

· Tom Spehert is coming off his first win in 10 years and with it being the opening race, like his last win, puts him at the top of the points standings.

· Badger Raceway has secured major sponsorship to have Choco Taco as the presenting sponsor for the third Fall Brawl.

· This is expected to be the debut event for three popular drivers this season, hometown hero Dean Strom of Alter Ego Racing, Amy Butler from Angry Squirrel Speedsport and Team FYI’s Dan Margetta in the #13 Go Daddy car.

· This will be Ev Kamikawa’s 300^th IndySlotCar Series start and Tom Spehert’s 250^th.

CHOCO TACO PRESENTS THE FALL BRAWL PRE-EVENT QUOTES:

Dan Margetta No. 13 Team FYI: I’ve been winning off the track, I expect that to continue on the track.

Tom Spehert No. 28 Spehert Autosport: I’m just going to race the track, not the other cars.

FALL BRAWL HISTORY (2 EVENTS):

Date Race Winner Event Name

9/19/2013 Mike Lack Ricardo’s Pizza presents the Badger Raceway Fall Brawl

9/17/2015 Dean Strom Fall Brawl presented by UFC