Quarryfest Deslotmania - Quarry Heights Raceway - Wauwatosa, WI

February 5, 2026

Round 12 of 17

Lack Loves Deslots

For the third straight season Mike Lack has taken home the Quarryfest Deslotmania trophy. In fact the seven-time Husarsbilt Cup champion was so confident that he would win, he left the trophy at home rather than bring it to the Wauwatosa track.

Hometown hero Matt Hayek opened up the event with his third Firestone P1 Award of the season, the first driver this season to score so many pole positions. Former fellow Wauwatosa resident Mike Kristof, lined up next to Hayek on the front row, continuing his speedy form of late. Dan Margetta, back in his proper Spehert Global colors qualified third, with Lack also on the second row and Lack's FAST teammate Steve Rist was fifth on the grid.

Margetta's Spehert Global teammates James and Chris Spehert struggled in qualifying and failed to race their way out of the LCQ, leaving them 13th and 14th on the evening respectively.

In a "De-slot" race the drivers have to keep the pin in the slot, they are allowed to come off the track twice in the ten-minute heats, but they are credited with a DNF (Did not finish) on the third "de-slot".

The four slowest qualifiers were grouped together in the opening heat race and it was a spirited battle between John Wiedemann and Bill Black, Pete Dorn DNFed early and Ev Kamikawa was circulating a distant third. As the clock was running down, Wiedemann's #45 FAST II: The Castaways Honda-Daboiler spun in the corkscrew corner with his last "de-slot", just as Black came to the corner, his#7 CBD Racing car hit the 45 causing his second "de-slot". Black's car was placed back on the track by the marshal, but immediately sped to the next corner and crashed out, with that, Kamikawa was the last man standing and was immediately declared the winner. Just the kind of shocking finish that the "De-slot" format is known for.

Heat two featured previous race winner Joe Heitz, FAST's Dean Strom and Steve Rist as well as Brad Core. Core would "de-slot" out even faster than his CBD Racing teammate Dorn and finish twelfth for the second race in row, meanwhile Rist would also exit the contest early and loudly declared his disdain for the "de-slot" format to the media. With just two drivers left on the track, the "transfer" position would be established by which ever driver finished second, with a shot at the final. Heitz would just hold off Strom.

The fastest four qualifiers in the final heat saw Lack, pole sitter Hayek, Good Vibes Racing's Mike Kristof and Spehert Global's Dan Margetta. Lack had his work cut out for him as Hayek kept him honest running just a lap back at the halfway mark, with Margetta just a lap behind Hayek, Kristof had to behave in the tight Red lane leaving him six laps out of the lead. With the random swap of lanes at halfway, the question was, could anyone catch and pass Lack? Hayek collected his second "de-slot" early in the second half which limited how aggressive his pursuit could be. Margetta played it the way Dan always does, which is to be aggressive no matter how many "de-slots" he has, continuing to attempt to chase down and harass Lack, but it unraveled on lap 119 with the last "de-slot". Meanwhile, Kristof was the fastest car on the track and still only has one "de-slot", but the hole dug in the first half was just too deep and closed to within two laps of the lead, while Hayek remained a lap back, but with the time running down his focus had to be on the "transfer" spot (the driver who finishes second in the heats with the most laps joins the three heat winner) and Strom's lap total was within sight, a few seconds left as Hayek would cross the start/finish line to equal Strom's 126, but he also had to pass the spot on the track where Strom ended his race, in the corkscrew, but the time would run out for Hayek just as he got to turn one, about two turns away from Strom, settling for fifth on the night, Kristof a lap back in sixth. Hayek and Kristof would be the only two drivers who didn't make the final who would not "de-slot" out of the race.

Lack and Heitz would rematch from two weeks earlier, when Heitz was the winner at Corevette Connection Raceway. Strom was looking to make some noise in the championship fight where the #10 Solo Cup Honda-Daboiler pilot was looking to move into third in the standings. Ev Kamikawa was just thrilled to be in the final. Strom, unfortunately, would be too aggressive in the format and find himself out with just 97 laps in the books, well short of half-time. Kamikawa would also crash out early, also shy of half time. Lack would build a seven lap lead over Heitz at halfway and pit stops did not change that, Heitz capitulated with a fourth and final spectacular "de-slot" to finish second and Lack would have his third straight Quarryfest Deslotmania title and the fourth of his career, equaling the most by any driver, Hayek.

With that fifth win of the season, Lack holds a 91 point lead heading into round 13 in two weeks at Rapids International Raceway over Heitz, and Strom 103 markers out with just five races left in the campaign.

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Quarryfest Deslotmania Fast Facts

Race date: Thursday, Feb 5

Track: Quarry Heights Raceway, 2 mile natural terrain road course, Wauwatosa, WI

Race distance:  20 minutes

Twitter:  @indyslotcar

IndySlotCar Website: indyslotcar.com

2025 race winner: Mike Lack (No. 26 FAST Honda-Daboiler)

2025 Firestone P1 Award winner: Mike Lack (No. 26 FAST Honda-Daboiler)

One-lap qualifying record: Matt Hayek, 3.590 seconds, 2020

Race record: Matt Hayek, 265 laps, 2020

YouTube Broadcast: IndySlotCar Channel

At-track schedule (all times local):

6:00 – Gates open

6:30 – Driver introductions

6:55 – Drivers meeting/Chassis distribution

7:00 – IndySlotCar Series Practice

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

8:15 – Heat races

9:00 – Quarryfest Deslotmania

Race Notes:

·         Mike Lack has swept the pole and win at Quarryfest Deslotmania the past two seasons, collecting a total of 58-thousand IndySlotCar bucks. The seven time champion enters this season’s de-slot classic with four wins this season and a 78 point lead over his nearest competitor, John Wiedemann.

·         Joe Heitz is coming off a win at Corvette Connection two weeks ago, his third of the season, moving him within one point of second in the Husarsbilt Cup championship standing.

·         Heitz was backed by his Good Vibes Racing teammate Mike Kristof, the pair made their first double podium since the beginning of the “Floodgates” back in January of 2022.

·         Scott Mente made his IndySlotCar debut at Corevette Connection Raceway, becoming the 61st driver in IndySlotCar Series history to make a start. This also puts Mente atop the Rookie of the Year standings.

·         STATS WATCH: Heitz’s recent victory is the 18th of his career, moving him to 11th on the all-time wins list, the Good Vibes Racing driver’s start from pole was his 11th, moving to a tie with Hall of Famer Jim Iverson, the pair sit 15th on the all-time list. Mike Lack moves to a tie with Ev Kamikawa for second in all-time Heat Wins with 111. Mike Kristof’s 36th heat win moves him ahead of his teammate to 15th on that list, while Heitz’s 48th Final Four appearance elevates him to a tie with Bill Black for 17th and leapfrogs Chad Sorce to 21st on the Laps turned list with 18,061. Mente’s first start with 64 laps is good for 55th on the all-time list.

QUARRYFEST DESLOTMANIA HISTORY (12 event, 2013 – 2020, 2022 – present)

Date                   Race Winner

1/30/2013        Mark Walczak

2/13/2014        Matt Hayek

2/19/2015        Dan Margetta

2/18/2016        Matt Hayek

2/16/2017        Mike Lack

2/22/2018        John Wiedemann

1/31/2019        John Wiedemann

2/6/2020           Matt Hayek

2/24/2022        Matt Hayek

1/19/2023        Pete Dorn

2/1/2024           Mike Lack

1/30/2025        Mike Lack

Multiple Race Winners: Matt Hayek-4, Mike Lack-3, John Wiedemann-2