Halloween Havoc - Quarry Heights Raceway - Wauwatosa, WI

October 24, 2019

Round 4 of 16

Enjoying That Home Cooking

(Wauwatosa, WI) -- IndySlotCar's hottest driver was able to enjoy that home cooking at Quarry Heights Raceway and it clearly helped as Matt Hayek was able to add a third victory on the season in the first four races taking the checkered pumpkin for the Halloween Havoc. It was the first time Hayek won on his home track and extended his championship lead to 44 points over Mike Lack who struggled on the winding circuit through the Wauwatosa neighborhood known for it's tricks and treats.

The night started out with treats for the hometown hero as he set the pole and set a new track qualifying record, joining him below the old record were fellow first heat competitors John Wiedemann and Hayek's Alter Ego Racing teammate Dean Strom, but Strom was unable to hang with the other two and faded, while Wiedemann tried his best to keep pace with the hottest driver in the series, and although he would finish second in the heat, he was able to transfer to the final on the strength of his lap total.

In the second heat defending race winner Mike Kristof battled defending series champion Mike Lack, who challenged early but could not keep up with Kristof's #60 SiriusXM entry. Lack's #1 SealMaster Angry Squirrel Speedsport Honda would have to settle for fifth on the night and Dan Margetta returned to the track after missing the previous round, qualified a solid fourth but went backwards and wound up sixth.

The final heat seemed to feature three drivers who didn't want the win, Pete Dorn's #5 Arrow Black/Atom Honda made an early exit, crashing out just into the second lap, Joe Heitz #22 Menards PenskeHO Racing Chevrolet seemed plenty fast, but handling soon became an obvious issue even while Tom Spehert's #28 DHL Spehert Autosport entry also struggled to get a feel for the eight turn track, eventually inheriting the lead and able to move on to the final, while Heitz would finish eighth.

In the 20 minute final the early advantage went to Kristof and the only thing more shocking than Hayek's sudden success this season would be seeing the Michael Shank-It Racing team repeat as a race winner, however, it seemed like it might happen as the #60 held off Hayek's #15 Total Honda and the two had a tight battle for about three quarters of the race. While John Wiedemann's all silver #19 Angry Squirrel Speedsport Honda and Spehert would struggle back in third and fourth, the two leaders would set a blazing pace that saw Kristof make a couple too many mistakes that allowed Hayek to take the point and pull away to a solid victory, Kristof made his first final of the season and came five laps shy of repeating, jumping from eighth to fourth in the standings.

The series moves on to another of the traditional holiday races at the Infield Road Course at South Shore Superspeedway for the Turkey Trot.

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Halloween Havoc Fast Facts

Race date: Thursday, Oct 24

Track: Quarry Heights Raceway, 2 mile Road Course in Wauwatosa, WI

Race distance: 20 minutes

Twitter: @indyslotcar

IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com

2018 race winner: Mike Kristof (No. 60 Michael Shank-It Racing Dallara-Honda)

2018 P1 Award winner: Matt Hayek (No. 15 Alter Ego Racing Dallara-Honda)

One-lap qualifying record: Dean Strom, 3.987 seconds, 2014

Race record: John Wiedemann, 261 laps, 2015

YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel

At-track schedule (all times local):

6:30 – Driver introductions

7:00 – Drivers Meeting/Chassis Distribution

7:05 – IndySlotCar Series Practice

7:30 – Qualifying for the P1 Award (group qualifying/ fastest single lap)

7:50 – Heat races

8:40 – Halloween Havoc (20 minutes)

Race Notes:

· Matt Hayek enters his home race with two wins in the first three races and a 24 point lead in the championship

· Hayek and Mike Lack are the only two drivers who have appeared in all three finals this season

· Mike Kristof is the defending race winner, think about that statement for a moment, yeah, strange times

· Fans are still awaiting Bill Black’s first appearance in the 2019-20 season

· IndySlotCar fans everywhere will be thinking of Ev Kamikawa on race day as it coincides with his surgery

Halloween Havoc PRE-EVENT QUOTES:

Mike Kristof #60 Michael Shank-It Racing: I still can’t believe it.

Mike Lack #1 Angry Squirrel Speedsport: I hope Hayek is enjoying this, I’m not going to allow it much longer

Bill Black No. 6 Black/Atom Racing: I’ll be there!

HALLOWEEN HAVOC HISTORY (26 events, 1993 - Present)

Year Race Winner Event Name Track

10/28/93 Jim Chitel Miller Black Cat 250 Shrine Road Course

10/27/94 Dave Austin Happy Hobby Halloween 250 Shrine Road Course

10/27/95 Phil Cianciola Red Dog Halloween 250 HO Road America

10/31/96 Dave Austin Red Dog Halloween 250 HORA

10/30/97 Jim Kaehny Red Dog Halloween 250 HORA

10/29/98 Jim Kaehny NTB Halloween 250 HORA

10/21/99 Phil Marich Texaco-Havoline Halloween 250 HORA

10/31/00 Ev Kamikawa Miller Lite Halloween 250 HORA

10/31/01 Dan Margetta Miller Lite Halloween 250 HORA

10/24/02 Jim Kaehny Halloween 250 HORA

10/30/03 Larry Rotter Halloween 250 HORA

10/28/04 Dan Margetta McDonald’s Halloween 250 HORA

10/27/05 Ev Kamikawa McDonald’s Halloween 400 Road Wisconsin

11/4/06 Mark Walczak State Farm 400 Lake Country Motorplex

10/27/07 Dan Margetta State Farm Halloween 400 LCM

10/23/08 Mark Walczak Milwaukee Sporting Goods Halloween Havoc-Turtle Creek

11/5/09 Mark Walczak SportsClips Grand Prix Quarry Heights Raceway

10/28/10 John Weidemann SportsClips Halloween GP QHR

10/27/11 Dan Margetta Halloween Havoc QHR

10/25/12 Dan Margetta Halloween Havoc QHR

10/24/13 Mark Walczak Halloween Havoc QHR

12/4/14 Dean Strom Nightmare Before Christmas QHR

10/29/15 John Wiedemann Halloween Havoc QHR

10/27/16 John Wiedemann Halloween Havoc QHR

10/26/17 Mike Lack Halloween Havoc QHR

10/25/18 Mike Kristof Bridgestone Halloween Havoc QHR

Most wins: Dan Margetta-5; Mark Walczak-4; John Wiedemann, Jim Kaehny – 3; Dave Austin, Ev Kamikawa - 2