Trokan Cup 500 - Mini Milwaukee Mile - Wauwatosa, WI

September 10, 2020

Round 1 of 15

Margetta Wins Fourth Trokan Cup

He likes to say, “I win one race a year”. Well, if that is true, then veteran Dan Margetta is playing with house money after winning the opening race to the 28th IndySlotCar season.

The Trokan Cup 500 once again served as the season opener with the difference being the location of the Mini Milwaukee Mile track which temporarily moved to Wauwatosa.

Pete Dorn kicked off the night by scoring the pole, the second of his career, with the quickest four lap run and the quickest single lap time.

Heats were set up by drivers choice and Margetta quickly showed that he was going to be the one to beat with an easy win in the first heat over tough oval racing competitors Bill Black, multi series champion Mike Lack and Mike Kristof. Kristof had car issues and quickly faded while

Lack had early troubles getting up to speed in the outside lane. While Margetta toyed with the field on his way to an easy victory, Lack tried to chase down Black in the second half but ran out of time.

The second heat race saw another easy victory as Dean Strom took the checkers without much challenge, putting him into the final with rival Margetta. Ev Kamikawa struggled to keep up with Strom but settled down to put in enough laps to grab the transfer to the final. Matt Hayek

also struggled with car issues and wasn’t able to get the speed to compete.

Defending series champion John Wiedemann had crashed his car in qualifying but redeemed himself with a solid win in the third heat. Steve Rist battled early but struggled with handling in his first time racing on the tight bull-ring track. Dorn wasn’t able to match the

speed he had in qualifying and finished third in the race.

The final was set with two drivers, Margetta and Kamikawa, with the most wins at the track and a bunch of rivalries between all of the drivers.

While the top three took off, Wiedemann struggled early in the outside lane. Early crashes slowed the pace as Margetta, Strom and Kamikawa traded off time at the front of the pack. Strom looked like a contender, leading at halfway, but trouble was on the way. A slow 30

second pitstop dropped him out of contention causing him to lose over twelve laps to the field. Margetta and Kamikawa both pitted quickly and the battle was on with Kamikawa in the lead. Margetta was able to close in and the two veterans battled side by side.

Then the unthinkable happened. During the battle, the two touched wheels and Kamikawa went flipping off the track in turn two, ending his night. The battle was over and Margetta cruised to his fourth Trokan Cup victory, tying Kamikawa for the most wins in the event, and adding

another to his series leading wins which is now at 46.

The series heads next to the Fall Brawl at Badger Raceway at the Road Course at Badger Raceway on September 24th. Lack is the defending race winner.

Trokan Cup 500 Fast Facts

Race date: Thursday, Sep 10

Track: Mini Milwaukee Mile, 1 mile bull-ring oval in Wauwatosa, WI

Race distance: 500 laps

Twitter: @indyslotcar

IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com

2019 race winner: Matt Hayek (No. 15 Alter Ego Racing)

2019 P1 Award winner: Mike Lack (No. 1 Angry Squirrel Speedsport) 5.070 seconds* new 4 lap quali record

One-lap qualifying record: Ev Kamikawa, 1.102 seconds, 2006

Four-lap qualifying record: Mike Lack, 5.070 seconds, 2019

Race record: Matt Hayek, 13 minutes 41 seconds, 2019

YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel

At-track schedule (all times local):

6:00 – Gates open

6:30 – Driver introductions

7:00 – Drivers’ meeting

7:05 – IndySlotCar Series Practice

7:30 – Qualifying for the P1 Award (single car/four laps, total time)

8:00 – Heat races

8:30 – Trokan Cup 500 (500 laps)

Race Notes:

· The 28^th IndySlotCar Series season begins at the Mini Milwaukee Mile, with the Mini-Mile in Wauwatosa for this year’s edition, it’s the third location for the bull-ring oval, after spending many years in Greendale and starting in West Allis at the offices of the full-scale track.

· Matt Hayek began his incredible opening to the 2019 season with a convincing win at the Trokan Cup 500.

· A couple of new team alignments include John Wiedemann and Mike Lack adding their closest rival for last season’s championship, Matt Hayek in Super High Intensity Team and veteran Dean Strom combining with Steve Rist who will contest his first full-time season in Squirrel Shagged Enterprises.

· John Wiedemann begins his defense of his first championship.

MINI-MILWAUKEE MILE HISTORY (25 events, 1996 - Present):

Date Race Winner Event Name

1/4/1996 Arnie Lueders Firestone 400

9/26/1996 Chad Sorce Ford 500

10/6/1997 John Baas Ford 500 (2 races in the

1/8/1998 Ev Kamikawa Firestone 400 97-98 season)

9/17/1998 John Baas Ford 500

10/7/1999 Ev Kamikawa Aero Race Wheels 500

9/21/2000 Phil Cianciola Aero Race Wheels 500

9/20/2001 Dan Margetta Aero Race Wheels 500

9/19/2002 Jim Iverson Chancery Restaurants 500

9/18/2003 Mike Kristof Krispy Kreme 500

10/21/2004 Phil Cianciola Milwaukee Mile presents the Mini Mile 500

9/8/2005 John Shea Milwaukee Mile 500

9/7/2006 John Shea Trokan Cup 500**

9/7/2007 Chris Spehert Trokan Cup 500 presented by the Milwaukee Mile

10/2/2008* Mark Walczak Trokan Cup 500

9/10/2009* Ev Kamikawa Trokan Cup 500

9/23/2010* Ev Kamikawa Trokan Cup 500

9/8/2011* Mark Walczak Trokan Cup 500

9/6/2012* Mike Fitzlaff Trokan Cup 500

9/5/2013 Mike Lack Trokan Cup 500

9/3/2015 Dan Margetta Trokan Cup 500

9/8/2016 Dan Margetta Trokan Cup 500

8/31/2017 Mike Lack Trokan Cup 500

9/6/2018 Tom Spehert Trokan Cup 500

9/12/2019 Matt Hayek Trokan Cup 500

*- From 2008-2012 the Mini Mile was renamed RJ Foyt’s All American Raceway

** - The opening round trophy was the Trokan Cup from 1997-2000, this was restored for the 2006 race.

Most Wins – Ev Kamikawa-4; Dan Margetta-3; Mike Lack, Mark Walczak, John Shea, Phil Cianciola, John Baas-2