SLINGER, WI – Slinger Speedway kicked off its 2020 season Sunday night with the E.H. Wolf and Sons Memorial Day Weekend Special as Alex Prunty bested Dennis Prunty and Mike Held to win the 100-lap super late model headliner.
“The car just got better and better as the race went on, “Alex Prunty stated from victory lane after leading the final 66 laps to score the win, “I can’t thank my guys enough for getting it back together after the year we had last year and then coming here tonight and putting it back in victory lane.”
“The track was greasy from top to bottom and if your car was going to turn you wanted to be on the bottom and if it wasn’t going to turn you wanted to be up top,” Dennis Prunty said after leading a total of 17 laps before finishing second, “This is a new car and we still getting the bugs out and we still have some work to do.”
Perhaps the most satisfying run of the night came from Mike Held who raced with the leaders throughout the event before taking the checkered flag in third for one of the best super late model performances of his career.
“I have to give a huge thanks to my crew, my friends, and my parents for all the support as we’ve tried so hard and we’ve worked our tails off so hard this year and this is encouraging,” an enthusiastic Held said afterwards.
Casey Johnson and Alex Prunty led the field to the green flag as Johnson eased out front ahead of Prunty with Dennis Prunty, John DeAngelis and Mike Held following. Steve Apel and Rich Bickle began to move forward during the opening laps as well and they joined the lead battle by lap 11 when Alex Prunty was able to wrestle the lead away from Casey Johnson. Dennis Prunty moved into second place shortly thereafter as the first caution flag waved when R.J. Braun hit the turn one wall on lap 15. Dennis Prunty time the restart perfectly to grab the lead away from Alex Prunty as racing resumed while Johnson and Bickle disputed third place just ahead of Apel and DeAngelis with Rich Loch, Mike Held, and Jordan DeVoy within sight as well. With a quarter of the race completed, Bickle dove to the inside of Johnson for third entering turn three and the ensuing contact sent both cars careening into the turn three wall in a shower of sparks as the caution waved for the second time.
Dennis Prunty maintained the top spot on the restart but was immediately pressured by Alex Prunty with Steve Apel close behind. On lap 34, Alex Prunty was finally able to work his way around Dennis Prunty to take the lead while DeAngelis and DeVoy battled behind them. On lap 43, slight contact off turn four between DeVoy and DeAngelis sent DeAngelis’ car sliding through the frontstretch grass where it came to rest in turn one, drawing the caution flag in the process. Alex Prunty once again led over Dennis Prunty and Steve Apel as racing resumed while Rich Loch and Mike Held advanced into the top five. Held was on the move and chased down the top three as the race neared the halfway point. On lap 51, Dennis Prunty slipped off turn four and his car’s sudden stop resulted in hard contact from Apel who was racing close behind him. The contact was enough to severely damage the nose and front fender of Apel’s car as Held took advantage of the situation to pass both Apel and Dennis Prunty to move into second. A few laps later the final caution flag waved as Apel’s fender became dislodged from his car and rested on the backstretch.
Alex Prunty was able to keep the lead on the restart and he could not be caught as the final half of the event ran without a caution flag. Dennis Prunty was able to keep within sight of the leader but had to settle for second place at the finish. Mike Held finished a strong third while Rich Loch and Austin Nason rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively. Brad Mueller finished sixth while Steve Apel took the checkered flag in seventh with his damaged car. Chris Blawat, Jordan DeVoy, and Grant Griesbach completed the top ten finishers.
Mike Held won the super late model fast dash and Steve Apel was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 11.234 seconds.
For more information on Slinger Super Speedway visit slingersuperspeedway.com
Qualifying Results
1) #51A Steve Apel
2) #45B Rich Bickle
3) #48K Brad Keith
4) #72H Mike Held
5) #55L Rich Loch
6) #42P Dennis Prunty
7) #7D John DeAngelis
8) #11P Alex Prunty
9) #5J Casey Johnson
10) #92B RJ Braun
11) #38D Jordan DeVoy
12) #38W Nick Wagner
13) #17G Grant Griesbach
14) #89M Brad Mueller
15) #26B Chris Blawat
16) #97S James Swan
17) #14N Austin Nason
18) #5H Jeff Holmgren Jr.
19) #84V Jacob Vanosky
Feature Results
1) #11P Alex Prunty
2) #51A Steve Apel
3) #48K Brad Keith
4) #45B Rich Bickle
5) #72H Mike Held
6) #42P Dennis Prunty
7) #7D John DeAngelis
8) #55L Rich Loch
9) #5J Casey Johnson
10) #38D Jordan DeVoy
11) #14N Austin Nason
12) #89M Brad Mueller
13) #26B Chris Blawat
14) #38W Nick Wagner
15) #5H Jeff Holmgren Jr.
16) #92B RJ Braun
17) #97S James Swan
18) #17G Grant Griesbach
19) #84V Jacob Vanosky
Slinger Super Speedway Press Release
