2021-22 Round 1
Trokan Cup 500 - Milwaukee Mile - Greendale, WI
September 9, 2021
Round 1 of 16
Spehert Conquers Mini Mile To Open Season
Greendale. WI – The 29th season of the IndySlotCar Series kicked off at the Mini-Milwaukee Mile with the racers battling for the Troken Cup.
New owner of the track, Chris Spehert, proved that there is no place like home by besting the field to take the win. Spehert’s victory was
his second win at the Mini-Mile, previously winning thirteen seasons prior in 2007.
With thirteen drivers competing in the season opener, the paddock was full at the short challenging bullring. Adding another twist to the
event was the introduction of the Daboiler body, a new 3D printed body with features matching the full size IndyCar Series bodies. With no
organized off-season practice to figure out the new configuration,drivers and fans were excited to see how Daboiler performed in
competition.
After a brief practice session, qualifying got underway with Spehert leading off the session. Spehert, running a part time schedule for
Angry Squirrel Speedsport, did not disappoint by setting a quick time that held all the way to the middle of the session when CBD’s Bill Black
dropped the hammer and beat Spehert’s four lap time by almost four tenths of a second. Black captured the Firestone Pole Award for the
third time in his career. Black was followed on the speed chart by Spehert and oval ace Dan Margetta.
With more entered drivers than spots available in the three heat races, a new sprint race to make the field was added to the schedules this
season. The bottom four drivers in qualifying will race to fill the 12 car heat race field. In tonight’s event three spots were available and
the bottom four included CBD’s Brad Core going up against three drivers from Angry Squirrel Speedsport: Mike Lack, Matt Hayek and John
Wiedemann.
The three teammates showed their experience over last season’s Rookie of the Year Core and all three moved on to the heat races led by defending
Series Champion Lack.
The opening heat featured a great battle between Margetta and new member of Michael Shank-It Racing Joe Heitz. The two chased each other around
the short oval and distanced themselves from CBD’s Pete Dorn and Lack in the first half with Margetta up by two laps. The second half was a
different story as Margetta struggled with handling and Heitz took control. At the end of the half, Heitz cruised to a sixteen lap victory
over Lack who had taken over second place and held the provisional transfer spot.
Polesitter Spehert took on PenskeHO’s Ev Kamikawa, Hayek and Squirrel Shagged Enterprises Steve Rist in the second heat race. Spehert quickly
distanced himself from the pack and finished with an eleven lap win over Kamikawa who took the transfer spot away from Lack by just three laps.
The final heat race featured fourth place qualifier Squirrel Shagged Dean Strom, Michael Shank-It’s Mike Kristof, Black and Wiedemann.
Throughout the first half, the battle for the lead was Kristof holding off Wiedemann. Shortly into the second half, Wiedemann took over the
point as Kristof struggled. Black made a charge for the lead but came up six laps short when the checkers fell.
The 500 lap final was set with heat race winners Spehert, Heitz, Wiedemann and transfer driver Kamikawa. Each driver would take a turn
in each lane with the race run in 125 lap segments.
Spehert took the lead early and was challenged by Kamikawa. At the end of the first run, it was Spehert in the lead by six laps over Kamikawa
with Wiedemann and Heitz another four laps back. Spehert kept the point position in the second segment but Heitz was on the charge. By the end
of the first half Spehert was still leading but Heitz had made up ten laps to move into second place just 9 laps behind the leader. Pit stops
opened the second half and most had great stops but Wiedemann had a slow stop plus a ten lap penalty to drive with the opposite hand, putting him
further laps behind the pack. In that third segment Spehert was able to move away from the pack putting 17 laps between himself and second place
Heitz. Kamikawa also picked up the pace in third and was just ten laps behind second place. Just about halfway through the final segment,
Kamikawa lost control and crashed off the course, ending his night. Heitz suffered power loss but was able to hang on to second place over
Wiedemann. None of that mattered to race leader Spehert as he pulled away to easily take the win while leading the entire race.
The victory was the fifth in Spehert’s IndySlotCar career moving him into a tie for 16th on the all-time list with Kristof.
In two weeks, the series heads to the Road Course at Badger Raceway for the Fall Brawl at Badger Raceway on September 23rd. Trak owner Dean
Strom is the defending race winner.
Trokan Cup 500 Fast Facts
Race date: Thursday, Sep 9
Track: Mini Milwaukee Mile, 1 mile bull-ring oval in Greendale, WI
Race distance: 500 laps
Twitter: @indyslotcar
IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com
2020 race winner: Dan Margetta (No. 88 Margetta Hardly Steinbrenner Autosport)
2020 P1 Award winner: Pete Dorn (No. 5 Black Atom Racing) 5.433 seconds
One-lap qualifying record: Ev Kamikawa, 1.102 seconds, 2006
Four-lap qualifying record: Mike Lack, 5.070 seconds, 2019
Race record: Dan Margetta, 12 minutes 39 seconds, 2020
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 29th season of IndySlotCar racing begins the most significant change in the series since the end of the “Open Class Era” twenty years ago as all cars will be using the new Daboiler TS-21 body, mandated by the series, and are an exact replica of the full-scale series car body.
· One again Mike Lack is in the familiar position of defending a championship, coming off his seventh title.
· Lack and his teammates John Wiedemann and Matt Hayek have returned to the Angry Squirrel Speedsport operation, Dan Margetta teams up with Mike Fitzlaff to run the #48 and #9 cars, respectively for MisFitz Motorsports and Michael Shank-It Racing expands to two cars with Joe Heitz moving into the #06 car.
· Last season’s Rookie of the Year, Brad Core, takes a full-time ride with CBD Racing in the #86 car joining the two former Black-Atom Racing teammates Bill Black and Pete Dorn.
MINI-MILWAUKEE MILE HISTORY (26 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
9/10/2020 Dan Margetta Trokan Cup 500 – In Wauwatosa
*- 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, Dan Margetta-4; Mike Lack, Mark Walczak, John Shea, Phil Cianciola, John Baas-2