HO Indy 500 - South Shore Superspeedway - Saint Francis, WI

April 13, 2024

Round 17 of 17

Wiedemann First to Five

(Saint Francis, WI) -- John Wiedemann capped off an extraordinary season by becoming the first driver to capture five HO Indy 500 victories at South Shore Superspeedway Saturday. The new champion ran a near perfect race to drink the milk after holding off his FAST teammates, Steve Rist and Matt Hayek as well as rookie sensation James Spehert.

HO Indy 500 Fast Facts

 Race date: Saturday, Apr 13

Track: South Shore Superspeedway, 2.5 mile oval

Race distance: 1000 laps

Entry List: HO Indy 500

YouTube / Twitter:  @indyslotcar

IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com

2023 race winner: Joe Heitz (No. 06 Michael Shank-It Racing Honda-Daboiler)

2023 Firestone P1 Award: John Wiedemann (No. 29 Angry Squirrel Speedsport Chevrolet-Daboiler), 8.110 seconds

Qualifying record: Mike Kristof, 7.987 seconds, 2021, Single Lap: Mike Kristof, 1.950 seconds, 2020

Race record: Mike Fitzlaff, 40 minutes, 26 seconds, 2018

IndySlotCar Channel Streaming: All IndySlotCar Series races will stream on YouTube.

At-track schedule (all times local):

4:00 – Gates open

4:30 – Chassis distribution/Drivers meeting

4:35 – IndySlotCar Series Practice

5:00 – Qualifying for the Firestone P1 Award (single car, four lap total time qualifying in blue lane)

6:45 – Heat Races

7:15 – 30th running of the HO Indy 500

Race Notes:

·         John Wiedemann clinched the Husarsbilt Cup championship at the last race, it is the first time in 10 years the championship has been decided before the running of the HO Indy 500.

·         While Wiedemann has taken the season championship, he is one of two drivers making “the drive for five” HO Indy 500 wins, along with Ev Kamikawa. Wiedemann won in 2014, ’16 and back-to-back in ’20 and ’21. Kamikawa’s victories came in 1997, 2002,’06 and ’12.

·         Kamikawa holds the record for most finals at the HO Indy 500 with 14.

·         While Wiedemann has clinched the title, Joe Heitz is secure in second in the championship, Steve Rist leads Mike Lack by 21 points for third place, Pete Dorn is just five points ahead of Kamikawa for fifth and Dan Margetta sits seventh with Dean Strom five back and Mike Kristof eight markers arears of Margetta.

·         Stats Watch: John Wiedemann can set a new series record for finals in a season, if he makes the final at the HO Indy 500, with 15. A heat win would give him a share of the record for Heat Wins in a season with 12, equaling series founder, HOFer Phil Cianciola and one other person. Brad Core’s pole position at The Shrine Cup is the fourth of his career, moving into 20th on the all-time list. Chris Spehert joins Larry Rotter at tenth on the all-time starts list with 203.

HO Indy 500 HISTORY (30 events, 1994 – present)

Date                   Race Winner                                                    Track

5/19/1994        Phil Cianciola                               Shrine Road Course

5/18/1995        John Shea                                     Edgewood “The Edge” Superspeedway  

5/18/1996        Dave Austin                    

4/26/1997        Ev Kamikawa                                  

4/18/1998        Jim Kaehny

4/17/1999        Phil Marich

4/15/2000        Phil Cianciola

4/21/2001        Jim Kaehny

4/12/2002        Ev Kamikawa

4/13/2003        Larry Rotter

4/17/2004        Chris Spehert

4/9/2005           Dan Margetta

4/18/2006        Ev Kamikawa                               South Shore Superspeedway

4/14/2007        Jim Iverson

4/12/2008        Mark Walczak

4/18/2009        Chris Spehert

4/10/2010        Matt Hayek

4/9/2011           Matt Hayek

4/14/2012        Ev Kamikawa

4/13/2013        Mike Fitzlaff

4/5/2014           John Wiedemann

4/11/2015        Mike Kristof

4/9/2016           John Wiedemann

4/8/2017           Mike Lack

4/7/2018           Mike Fitzlaff

4/13/2019        Mike Lack

6/12/2020        John Wiedemann

4/17/2021        John Wiedemann

4/16/2022        Dean Strom

4/22/2023        Joe Heitz

Most Wins – 4- John Wiedemann, Ev Kamikawa; 2-Mike Lack, Mike Fitzlaff, Matt Hayek, Chris Spehert, Jim Kaehny, Phil Cianciola