2020-21 Round 11
Jackson 500 - Black Track - Jackson, WI
February 18, 2021
Round 11 of 15
Lack Wins At Black Track, Finally
Thursday, Feb 18
Jackson, WI – Mike Lack took home the checkered flag from one of two race tracks left on the IndySlotCar schedule that he had yet to win at.
The Black Track had not been a favorite place to race for Lack. Last season he finished dead last in the race leading to an average finish in the event of 6.5 and only making the final one time in the history of the race.
This time was different as Lack scored max points in dominating fashion and increased his point lead in the standings as his closest rival, Dean Strom was unable to make the race.
With a track record tying lap of 1.295 seconds, Lack won the Jackson 500 pole, his sixth of the season and 43rd of his career. Following Lack in the qualifying results were track owner Bill Black, first time racer Brad and Dan Margetta.
Heats were setup in random order leaving Mike Kristof and Steve Rist to take on Lack in the first heat. They were no match as Lack sped away with an 11 lap lead at the halfway break on his way to a 20 lap win. Kristof ran more than enough laps to grab the provisional transfer position and hold on to it throughout the remaining heat races.
Black took on Margetta and John Wiedemann in the second heat race and had a spirited battle with Wiedemann throughout the entire first half of the race. But in the second half, Black joined Margetta with struggles in getting around the oval to allow Wiedemann cruise to the heat race win.
The final heat race had veteran Ev Kamikawa taking on Pete Dorn and Brad in a battle of old vs new drivers. Experience was the key with Kamikawa able to manage his speed on the high banks to take the victory.
The Jackson 500 final was run in four segments to allow drivers to experience racing in all of the lanes. Lack jumped out to an early lead in segment one by eight laps over Kamikawa with Kristof and Wiedemann following. At the end of the second segment, Kamikawa moved to the top spot by five laps with Lack running the difficult low lane. Kamikawa continued to increase his lead in the third segment and with one more run to go, had an eleven lap lead over Lack. But, it was time for Kamikawa to take his turn in the bottom groove and that proved to be his undoing. Lack, running in the middle of the track, took full advantage and overcame the gap to grab the lead and pull away to a four lap win over Kamikawa. Kristof maintained third over Wiedemann.
The victory for Lack was his third of the season and the 46th of his career, leaving him one victory away from tying all time series win leader Margetta.
With Lack’s max points night and Strom missing the race, he now has a 116 point lead over Wiedemann who moved into second place. Strom drops to third by 14 points with Black 32 more points back in fourth.
Up next is the Larry Rotter Memorial Grand Prix at Turtle Creek Park Raceway in Menomonee Falls. This is an open class race which Lack has dominated recently, winning the last three events.
Jackson 500 Fast Facts
Race date: Thursday, Feb 18
Track: The Black Track, 7/8 mile high-banked oval, Jackson, WI
Race distance: 500 laps
Twitter: @indyslotcar
IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com
2020 race winner: Dan Margetta (No. 88 Hardly Steinbrenner-Margetta Racing Dallara-Honda)
2020 Firestone P1 Award winner: Dean Strom (No. 30 Alter Ego Racing Dallara-Chevrolet)
Lap record: Dean Strom 1.295 seconds - 2020
Qualifying record: Dean Strom 5.226 seconds - 2020
Race record (400 laps): John Wiedemann 12 minutes 7 seconds – 2019
(500 laps): Dan Margetta no time kept - 2020
YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel
At-track schedule (all times local):
6:00 – Gates open
6:30 – Driver introductions
7:00 – Drivers meeting/ Chassis distribution
7:00 – IndySlotCar Series Practice
7:25 – Qualifying for the P1 Award (single car qualifying/ fastest four lap total)
7:45 – Heat races
8:30 – Jackson 500
Race Notes:
· Pete Dorn is coming off of his first career victory, to a track that he made the final at, in his last appearance at the Black Track in 2019.
· Championship contender and last season’s Firestone P1 Award winner Dean Strom will be sidelined due to COVID concerns in his household. Strom sits second in the championship, 13 points behind Mike Lack and 26 ahead of Lack’s Super High Intensity Team teammate John Wiedemann.
· STATS NOTES: Pete Dorn became the 29th driver to take the checkers in the series’ 28 seasons. Bill Black moves to a four-way tie for 20th in pole positions all-time with his second, equaling his Black-Atom Racing teammate Pete Dorn, Chris Spehert and Phil Marich. Black and Dorn moved up on the Heat Wins and Finals appearances lists as well, Black is alone in 18th and 19th respectively, while Dorn is 21st in Heat Wins, tied with John Baas with 13 and 22nd in Finals with 16, the same as Amy Butler. Mike Lack moves past Phil Cianciola in total laps, now third with almost 47,000, behind only Dan Margetta and Ev Kamikawa. Lack also moved into a tie for 8th on the all-time starts list with 190, pulling even with Chris Spehert.
BLACK TRACK HISTORY (4 events, 2017 - Present)
Date Race Winner Event Name Track
1/18/2018 Dan Margetta Dan Gurney Memorial 400 Black Track Version 1
1/19/2017 Ev Kamikawa Fat Tony 400 Black Track Version 1
1/17/2019 John Wiedemann Jackson 400 Black Track Version 2
1/9/2020 Dan Margetta Jackson 500 Black Track Version 3
Black Track Map
