KAUKAUNA, Wis. (May 11, 2019) – Dennis Prunty had to escape an early sticky situation and hold off the advances of a hard-charging Casey Johnson to pick up his second straight win in Kroll’s West Round One at Wisconsin International Raceway Saturday night.

It was the fifth career win for Prunty with the TUNDRA Super Late Models Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes.

The two most nerve-wracking moments came early and late in the race for the former series Champion.  On lap four Prunty was just able to dodge a spin by Luke Fenhaus, averting what would have been major damage to both machines.  Late in the race Prunty was being chased down by fast qualifier and defending TUNDRA Champion Casey Johnson.

Johnson got to the rear bumper of Prunty on lap 49 of the 50-lap feature but did not have enough time to challenge.  Prunty said he was well aware Johnson was approaching, and saw the blue 47 filling his rear-view mirror.

 “I should probably take [the mirror] off because I think it slowed me down watching [Johnson] and [Stumpf] come through,” Prunty said.

In a power-packed feature field, Prunty found himself starting on the outside of defending Red, White and Blue Champion Bobby Kendall in row three.  Two rows up Jordan Thiel wrestled the early lead away from Fenhaus.

The opening green flag did not last long as a chain reaction from the front of the field sent cars scrambling.  Cameron Clifford fell victim of cars ducking and dodging each other and spun exiting turn four.

On the following lap-one restart Thiel was left to try to fend off Stumf.  He was able to do so until the caution on lap four for the Fenhaus spin.  No one was collected, but Prunty was the closest as he had to be keen on his brakes to avoid the right side of Fenhaus’ car.

On the following restart the Top Five broke away from the pack.  Thiel tried to fend off Stumpf to his inside while Kendall, Brent Strelka, and Prunty completed the lead group.  Eventually Kendall snuck past Stumpf and put pressure on Thiel.  They would exchange the lead on laps nine and ten.

One lap later Thiel secured the top spot again and Kendall fell into the hands of Stumpf.  As Stumpf went to the inside for the second spot, Thiel slipped out of turn four.  Suddenly Stumpf found himself in the lead.  He brought Prunty and Maxwell Schultz along on the inside.

Prunty waited patiently to make his move on Stumpf and had an opportunity to get to his bumper on lap 19.  He closed quickly as Stumpf appeared to bobble in turns three and four.  Prunty continued his momentum and forced his way past Stumpf into the lead.

“[Stumpf] ran a really good race and I got into him to take the lead.  I apologize for that, but we had a fast car,” Prunty said.

As the race carried on, Johnson continued to ascend through the field.  After Maxwell Schultz dropped off with issues while running third, Johnson closed in on Thiel to scrap for the position.  Johnson took the spot on lap 25 and next set his sights on Stumpf in Second.

Johnson eventually got to the inside line on Stumpf but was unable to make the pass after a couple laps of disputing the spot.  He eventually had to tuck back in line when they approached lap traffic and reset his challenge.  This proved to be a critical moment.

“I just had to make quicker work of [Stumpf], but I didn’t want to rough him up.  He’s got a heck of a motor underneath the hood of that car,” Johnson said.

On lap 45 Johnson was able to slip past Stumpf but Prunty had built up a sizeable advantage.  Johnson chewed away very quickly and had some help when Prunty approached a lapped car.  However, he only was able to get to Prunty’s bumper exiting turn four on the way to the checkered flag.  

Prunty rolled into Victory Lane for the second straight time at WIR followed by Johnson, Stumpf, Andy Monday, and Steve Apel.

Just like last season the win sets the tone for the former Champion as he now allows Neil Knoblock to tag in for the next event.  Due to setting fast time and passing the most cars, Johnson leaves WIR with the point lead and a strong outlook for a title defense.

The next event for the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series is the Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial presented by River Valley Bank and A&A Lock Service at Marshfield Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 8. Qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 with racing slated for 6 p.m.

Marshfield Motor Speedway is located 3.5 miles west of Marshfield on Hwy H.  For more information visit http://www.marshfieldspeedway.com

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (September 24, 2018) – It was nearly impossible to predict just how Sunday’s TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Round Six Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes would play out at Dells Raceway Park.  In the end some familiar names – and one that will be familiar soon – found their own ways to highlight a spectacular day.

Casey Johnson picked up finishes of Fourth and Second in the twin 55-lap features to secure his second TUNDRA Championship.  Mike Lichtfeld scored a much-coveted win at his home track in the first 55 and Carson Kvapil became the youngest winner in series history by capturing the second 55.  Kvapil also set fast time.

While the 55 lappers had plenty of twists and turns of their own, the main plot point of the day was an intense Championship battle.  Nine drivers were separated by just 55 points.  With qualifying and two features – awarding full points – there was plenty of opportunity for drivers to move about the standings.

Johnson took advantage of qualifying points as he had throughout the season.  With just he and Lichtfeld scoring points by timing into the Top Five, Johnson took a three-point lead over his teammate John Beale heading into the first feature.

Colin Reffner, who entered the day just 19 points out of the top point position, led the field to green alongside Andy Jones.  Jones provided a stout opposition for Reffner but could not fend off the second-year TUNDRA racer.  Reffner secured the lead from the outset and attempted to build a lead.  Behind Reffner and Jones the action was furious among Lichtfeld, Ryan Farrell, and Rich Schumann Jr.  Schumann and Farrell made contact but were able to avoid a melee.  However, this allowed Lichtfeld to slip into Third and set his sights on the Top Two.

Just before lap 10 Lichtfeld moved to the inside of Jones and secured Second.  The timing was perfect for him as the lone caution fell shortly after when Brent Strelka experienced a mechanical issue.

Lichtfeld elected to use the outside lane for the restart.  After a three-lap, side-by-side duel, he was able to grab the lead from Reffner.  Behind the lead duo Farrell, Johnson, Kvapil, Bobby Kendall and John Beale looked to work into the Top Five.

Farrell surged to Third on lap 12 and looked to reel in the leaders.  Just past the midway point Johnson would grab Fourth from Jones and look to challenge Farrell, but to no avail.  Behind him Beale was making a steady climb.  From the 11^th starting spot Beale was able to climb to Fifth, gaining him bonus points for passing the most cars.

Lichtfeld cruised through lap traffic after seizing the lead on the restart although Reffner chewed away at the disadvantage late.  Reffner would settle for Second, Farrell Third, Johnson Fourth and Beale Fifth.

After the first feature, Johnson led Beale by five with Reffner Third, just 12 points back.  Lichtfeld made up a ton of ground on the leaders and climbed from Seventh to Fourth in the standings, just 17 points back.

An invert of seven placed Bobby Kendall and Kvapil on the front row for the second 55.  Kendall enjoyed an early advantage but could not shake Kvapil.  While those two raced in close quarters, Beale and Johnson were in hot pursuit running Third and Fourth.  Through the first half of the race, Beale and Johnson were tied in the Championship standings.  Once the cautions fell, things began to shake up.

Kvapil took the lead back from Kendall on a restart on lap 27.  When Kendall slipped to the top groove, Beale capitalized and stole Second, leaving Johnson in Fourth.  The spread was enough to put Beale back on top of the standings.  Johnson furiously tested Kendall to try to take Third away.  The move would have been good enough to give him the title lead back.  However, a caution for an incident involving Jordan DeVoy and Frank Nitzke would reset things again.

Beale elected to hold the inside line with Johnson behind.  This left the outside line of the front row for Kendall and the outside of Beale for Farrell.  Kendall slipped back into the Second spot, and Farrell challenged to the outside.  He nipped Beale and the line for Third with 24 laps remaining.  When a caution fell for an incident between Lichtfeld and Justin Mondeik, it was Farrell who was Third with Beale and Johnson behind.

The front row composed of Kvapil and Kendall once again, but this time it was Farrell and Johnson in row two as Johnson elected the outside lane. Beale restarted inside row three.  Kvapil ran away from the pack in a hurry and the outside line opened for Johnson.  He quickly moved past Farrell, then stole Second from Kendall.  Beale put the pressure on Farrell in hopes of making a late-race run but could not charge any further forward.  

As Kvapil ran out front, Johnson started to close the gap.  With a Championship and overall day’s win in hand, Johnson got to the bumper of Kvapil, but was not able to snatch the win away from the young driver.  Kendall held off Farrell for Third, and Beale rounded out the Top Five.

With the consistent day’s runs Johnson surged to 19-point win in the Championship standings. He previously won the title in 2016. Beale was Second to his teammate and Crew Chief.  Reffner finished Third, Mike Lichtfeld climbed to Fourth, and Justin Mondeik rounded out the Top Five in the season standings.

Despite an up-and-down day, Gabe Sommers held on for Seventh in the season standings and was declared the 2018 Back 40 Wraps TUNDRA Rookie of the Year.

Although both features awarded points, there were bonuses for the Top Ten overall.  Those drivers were:

Driver F1 F2 Total
1 Johnson 4 2 6
2 Kvapil* 6 1 7
3 Farrell 3 4 7
4 Reffner 2 6 8
5 Lichtfeld* 1 9 10
6 Kendall^ 7 3 10
7 Beale 5 5 10
8 Jones 8 11 19
9 Zellmer^ 12 8 20
10 Gress 10 10 20

*tiebreaker for winning feature 

^tiebreaker for better finish in 2nd feature

The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series would like to thank its supporting tracks – Wisconsin International Raceway, Marshfield Motor Speedway, State Park Speedway, Jefferson Speedway, Golden Sands Speedway, and Dells Raceway Park – as well as the fans for the continued support and growth this season.

TUNDRA would also like to thank its sponsors: The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, Wegner Automotive Research, Kroll’s West Restaurant, Central Door Solutions, The Country Plumber, Lefthander Chassis, Epyk Media, RacePal, Back 40 Wraps, Al Kul Radiators, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Wehrs Machine, Brakeometer, J&S Design, 920 Wraps/Three Four Apparel, TJ Harron Photography, Pathfinder Chassis, and B&B Race Engines.

Plans for the 2019 TUNDRA season will be announced in the coming months.

JEFFERSON, Wis. (July 22, 2018) – On a night where more laps were turned in an effort to dry the racing surface than in actual competition, the portion of the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series event Mother Nature did allow was overflowing with action.

John Beale dashed to the lead from his Fifth Place starting spot on lap 27 of the rain-shortened feature to claim his first TUNDRA win in Round Four Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes Saturday night.

The win came just one year and one day after Beale challenged Wyatt Brooks to the very end of the 2017 main event.  Although the feature only made it to the halfway point before another persistent rain brought an ending, Beale was pleased finally to visit Victory Lane in a TUNDRA event – especially at his de facto home track.

“It’s special to win one here after coming so close last year,” Beale said.  “Everyone works so hard within this team.  This was a long time coming.”

Brief but heavy showers swooped through the Jefferson area on several occasions.  Just as it appeared the feature would start after a concerted track-drying effort, another rain shower chased teams back to the pits.  Finally, the feature began after a third drying of the track.

Rookies Collin Slife and Gabe Sommers led the field to the green flag.  Slife quickly secured the lead as Sommers engaged in battle with Jake Zellmer, Carson Kvapil, and Beale.

As Slife began to break away, Beale followed Zellmer on the inside line.  In a brief moment on the backstretch, Beale, Kvapil and Dennis Schmidt were three wide, with Schmidt backing out to elude danger.  Shortly after, Zellmer took Second from Sommers and brought Beale to Third.

On lap ten Beale swept to the inside of Zellmer to wrestle away the Second spot.  The move opened the inside line for Sommers to challenge, as well.  Behind them and Schimdt, Dennis Prunty made a move around the outside of Justin Mondeik to take Sixth.  One lap later he rocketed past Schmidt into Fifth.

After Beale had chased down Slife, he surveyed the inside line on several occasions, finally making his move to pull even on lap 22.  Once it appeared Beale had taken the lead, Slife put the nose to the backside of Beale’s machine and was able to take the lead back.  Another dazzling side-by-side battle would see Beale emerge with the top spot on lap 27.

The dispute between the leaders allowed Prunty to close the gap once he had taken Third from Sommers.  He found his way to the inside of Slife to grab the Second spot by lap 30.  Three laps later the lone caution fell for a spin, leaving a single-file restart and a showdown between Beale and Prunty.

At the drop of the green Beale was able to escape Prunty and maintain about a car-length lead.  Deeper in the field cars were beginning to lose traction as another bout of precipitation fell on the track.  The race had gone to the halfway point and officials decided the track surface was in no condition to continue.  The checkered was displayed and the race considered complete.

Beale kept Prunty at bay – although Prunty jokingly challenged Beale to a one-on-one in Victory Lane despite the track conditions.  Slife held on to Third to pick up his best-ever TUNDRA finish.  Sommers did the same with his Fourth Place finish.  Fast qualifier Casey Johnson had charged through the field from 12^th to round out the Top Five.

UP NEXT…

The TUNDRA Series takes a summer break and rolls back into action on Labor Day, Monday, September 3, at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wis.

Golden Sands Speedway is located on State Highway 54 between Plover and Wisconsin Rapids.  For more information visit http://www.gssraces.com.

WAUSAU, Wis. (July 8, 2018) – There is a reason they call him the King of State Park Speedway.  For the second time in the past three season Mark Mackesy reigned supreme against the invaders of the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes at SPS.

Mackesy surged past Jordan Thiel on a lap-32 restart and repelled the advances of Mike Lichtfeld to secure victory in the 75-lap feature Saturday night.

It was a calculated effort by the four-time State Park Speedway Champion who exercised patience early and chose the outside line for restarts to advance his position.  Most drivers tried to play it safe by electing the inside.  Mackesy felt as though the gamble was going to pay off.  He was right.

“The outside was really good here tonight,” Mackesy said.  “A lot of nights it’s not so good.  The car rolled so good up on the top.”

It was the inside line that proved to be the best early.  Thiel grabbed the lead from fellow front-row starter Gabe Sommers and began to stretch out his advantage while Sommers scrapped for Second with Mike Egan and Justin Mondeik.  Drivers continued to test the waters until a caution fell when for an incident involving Steve Lichtfeld and Corey Jankowski.

On the restart Thiel again escaped Sommers by using the inside line.  Egan and Mondeik held serve and tucked in line, but were soon joined by Mike Lichtfeld and Casey Johnson.  Johnson looked the fastest of the bunch as he moved around Lichtfeld and swooped inside Mondeik.  However, the two made contact sending Mondeik spinning.  Both would have to restart at the tail of the field on lap 32.

The restart was short-lived as John Beale, Neil Knoblock and fast qualifier Colin Reffner tangled just across the start finish line.  Knoblock got the worst of the incident, backing into a tire barrier at the entrance of turn one.  Reffner also was forced to retire after sustaining heavy damage to his right front.

A second restart brought Mackesy to the forefront.  After working his way toward the Top Five, Mackesy was presented the opportunity to take the outside of the front row.  He did not hesitate.  Mackesy then used his veteran prowess to escape Theil and swipe the lead.

A final caution came on lap 49 when Colin Slife and Wyatt Brooks got together on the backstretch.  The ensuing restart saw one of the most breathtaking moments of the race.

As Mackesy and Thiel entered turn one, they bumped and Mackesy began to slide sideways.  Mackesy skated through one and two on the edge of spinning out but was able to hold on and maintain the lead.

“I didn’t think I was going to save it when Thiel and I got together.  We both made it,” Mackesy said.  “I thought we were both going to spin.  I don’t know how we held on to it, but we did.”

The near-calamity was avoided, but cost Thiel Second Place to Mike Lichtfeld.  Lichtfeld started to pull the chain on Mackesy and came close to challenging him.  But the challenges came up empty.

“For a little bit there I thought we might have had something for the leader, but it would have taken giving him the nose and Mark’s the last person I’d want to use the nose on,” Lichtfeld said.  “But then after a couple laps he was driving away from us.”

Mackesy went on to claim his third career TUNDRA win by almost a second over Lichtfeld.  Johnson charged furiously back through the field to finish Third.  Thiel held on for Fourth and John Beale reemerged after the restart incident to round out the Top Five.

Proving to be a wild night in the standings, the top nine in TUNDRA Super Late Model points are separated by just 31 points at the halfway mark of the 2018 season.  Despite the DNF, Reffner still holds a slim four-point advantage over Mondeik.

VOLM DELIVERS DOUBLE

Mark Mackesy wasn’t the only driver happy to defend his turf on Saturday night.  Travis Volm won both the 30-lap TUNDRA Sportsman Tour feature and the 40-lap TUNDRA Late Model Triple Crown feature.  Volm had only planned to run the Late Model, but decided to call in the Sportsman at around 3 p.m.

After setting fast time for both, Volm had to wait patiently for the right opportunities to open up.  In the Sportsman race, Volm outwaited early-race leader Phil Lehl.  Lehl maintained the inside line through the first half of the race with Volm putting pressure on him.  Eventually Volm was able to slip to the bottom on lap 15.  He nosed ahead on the front straight and secured the lead by the exit of turn two.  Volm would go unchallenged from that point.  Lehl finished Second and his teammate Andy Casavant was Third.

The story was much the same in the Late Model main.  Volm picked his way to Second in quick order, but then stalled when trying to find a way around Bryan Monday.  Making his first ever start at State Park, Monday – who had won his heat earlier – attempted to seal the inside line and hold Volm at bay.  Much like the Sportsman race before, Volm waited for the right time to pounce and found it at the halfway point.  He went on to cruise to victory with Monday holding Second.  Mike Meyerhofer held off Jesse Bernhagen in the final laps to finish Third.

Up Next…

It’s a quick turnaround for the TUNDRA Super Late Models as the series rolls into Wisconsin’s Action Track Jefferson Speedway on Saturday, July 21.  TUNDRA will be joined by Jefferson’s Hobby Stocks and Road Warriors.

Jefferson Speedway is located at W8135 US-18 just west of the city of Jefferson.  For more information visit http://www.jeffersonspeedway.com

MARSHFIELD, Wis. (June 9, 2018) – Colin Reffner may have been the happiest driver to see Marshfield Motor Speedway return to the schedule for the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes. On Saturday he proved why.

Reffner set fast time and stormed through the field in the Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial Presented by River View Construction and A&A Lock Service to collect his first series win. To do it at the track where cut his teeth – and in honor of Bev Aschenbrenner – made the spoils of victory that much sweeter.

“This was long overdue. We’ve come up short so many times and had so many things happen. Today everything went right,” Reffner said. “I remember Bev coming down when I was 14 years old racing a Super Stock here. She came around with cookies, bars, and treats. The whole Aschenbrenner family are great people. To win a memorial for her…I’ll remember this one forever.”

Although it took some finessing by Reffner and his team throughout practice, they were on point from the drop of the green in qualifying. Reffner topped Carson Kvapil’s fast lap by .002 seconds on his first lap of time trials, then shattered his best by turning an 18.008 on his third lap of qualifying.

When it came to the feature, a few lucky breaks and some lane choices helped Reffner jump to the front from his 13th Place starting spot and secure the lead before the halfway point.

The field settled into place early behind polesitter Darek Gress and fellow front-row starter Mike Lichtfeld. In the first ten laps both Reffner and former TUNDRA Champion Casey Johnson were moving through the field. Johnson was to Fourth by lap 10 and Reffner was to Seventh.

After an incident between Jordan Thiel and John Beale that would see Thiel invoke the Gentleman’s Agreement, Lichtfeld had another chance to swipe the lead from Gress on a restart. Although Lichtfeld clipped Gress at the line on lap 15, Gress slid back to the top spot one lap later. His move to the lead allowed Johnson to move to Second, and on lap 17, Johnson grabbed the top spot. He then set his machine on cruise control.

While Johnson was setting the pace, Reffner was still grabbing spots. He moved from Fifth to Third in a matter of three laps, securing the position on lap 20.

The race saw a major change in complexion when Johnson lost power out of turn four coming to the line for lap 27. Johnson drew a yellow and went to the pit area in hopes of repair to his machine. Unfortunately for Johnson, the fuel pump failed, and he was forced to retire.

On the following restart Reffner joined Gress on the front row. He escaped on the top line to secure the lead. However, the race was far from over as several restarts awaited.

Perhaps the most spectacular incident involved Corey Jankowski. As several drivers battled for spots near the Top Ten, cars went into scramble mode on lap 34. Jankowki spun to the embankment outside the track and was momentarily airborne. Unfortunately, the incident ended his day as well as that of dash winner Jim Sauter Jr.

When the barrel was placed for the restart Reffner quickly slid in front of Gress to take the outside line. He would make the move on a later restart, as well.

“Knowing how this track gets late in the race and having a comfortable car was behind my decision,” Reffner said of his lane choice. “I picked it time and time again. I really had to work for this with the restarts.”

Despite having to outduel Beale on two occasions, Reffner was able to flex his muscle and jump away from the pack.

With Reffner out front, a trio of drivers began to find late-race surges. Perhaps the most impressive was that of Justin Mondeik. Mondeik spun coming to lap one and had to tag the tail of the field at the start. By lap 40 Mondeik had found his way back to Third. On lap 45 he swiped Second from Beale.

Making his TUNDRA debut, Carson Kvapil also found some late-race magic. Kvaipil was following Brent Strelka to the front of the field in the final 15 laps. Strelka got as high as Third and was preparing to challenge Mondeik until Kvapil prepared to make a move. Kvapil overtook Strelka on 54 then slipped past Mondeik on lap 59.

Kvapil would make a statement in his debut with the Second Place finish, Mondeik the same with a run from the back to Third, Beale slipped back to a Fourth Place finish, and Strelka recorded his best TUNDRA finish by rounding out the Top Five.

STARK SIZZLES IN SPORTSMAN
Much like Reffner, Jason Stark was the driver of the day in the TUNDRA Sportsman Tour. Stark set fast time, secured the lead by lap five, and cruised to his first ever TUNDRA Sportsman win in the 25-lap main event.

From his Sixth Place starting spot Stark caught an early break and stormed to Second by the time the field hit the stripe for lap one. Stark immediately pressured Travis Volm, who had snuck around Andy Casavant and Dylan Wenzel on the first circuit.

Stark wasted no opportunities as he found a line around Volm on lap five. He then left Volm to deal with heat-race winner and defending Sportsman Tour Champion Dave Trute.

While Stark broke away, Trute and Volm engaged in a spirited battle for Second. At the same time Wenzel and Phil Lehl continuously swapped the Fourth spot.

By lap 20 it appeared Trute had fled from Volm and was making up some ground on Stark. However, Volm closed back in on Trute and swiped Second with two laps remaining to claim the runner-up spot.

Trute was Third, and Wenzel outgunned Lehl for Fourth.

UP NEXT…
TUNDRA will break for the remainder of June and spring back into action at State Park Speedway in Wausau, Wis. on Saturday, July 7. Round Three will feature the Super Late Models, Sportsman, the second leg of the Late Model Triple Crown, and fireworks display. More information will be available in the coming weeks through the TUNDRA web site.