WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (September 25, 2017) – Even scorching hot, record temperatures at Dells Raceway Park paled in comparison to the hot streak of Jordan Thiel Sunday. Thiel scored his third straight Super Late Model win and first in the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes.

By virtue of an Eighth Place finish Dalton Zehr collected his third TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Championship.

Thiel had waited nearly 11 years to capture his first Super Late Model win. Although the first two in weekly action at Golden Sands Speedway were meaningful, outgunning a powerful field on Sunday in the Country Plumber 75 tops the charts according to Thiel.

“This is as good as both of those combined,” Thiel said in Victory Lane. “I’ve always wanted to win a TUNDRA race and put one of those orange stickers on my windshield.”

With his win, Thiel became the sixth different first-time winner in the six TUNDRA events this season. Included in that is his teammate Wyatt Brooks, who was victorious in Round Three at Jefferson in July. It made for a memorable season for Brooks & Thiel Motorsports.

“It’s been a great year. We ended the year on a high note after starting off a little slow,” Thiel said. “Once we started putting our heads together and hollering at each other a little more, here we are.”

Although Thiel was able to flex his muscle late in the feature, the race was anything but a walk in the park. Mike Lichtfeld looked to be well on his way to a second straight TUNDRA win until a shock mount broke. Thiel then had to fight past Round Two winner Cole Anderson after Anderson captured the lead from Thiel on a late-race restart.

“I have to commend Cole for running me very clean,” Theil said. “I put him into the fence on one of those starts, so I had to thank him for running me so clean.”

Last year’s Dean’s Satellite and Security Rookie of the Year Braison Bennett seized control of the early lead, fending off Collin Slife. After a caution for an incident involving Dan Church and Josh Wallace on lap nine, Slife surged past Bennett on the restart.

While Slife settled at the head of the pack, Lichtfeld, Thiel, and Anderson began to move through the field. Lichtfeld tracked down Slife by lap 26 and grabbed the lead on lap 28. He then went to build a large lead as Anderson and Thiel worked in tandem to secure Second and Third from Slife. On lap 50, Thiel made the move past Anderson into Second.

That move would prove to be one for the lead as Lichtfeld was struck by misfortune just two laps later when his shock mount broke and sent him spinning in turn four. After a botched restart due to a spin in the field, Anderson jumped away from Thiel. Anderson began to build his lead, but Thiel tracked him down as the laps clicked off. On lap 68 Thiel made his move into the top spot by sliding down to the inside.

As Thiel stretched out his advantage, Bobby Kendall and Alex Prunty locked into a furious battle. Initially it was for Third behind Anderson, but both drivers were able to slide past and contend for Second. Eventually Kendall muscled his way to the inside and swiped the spot from Prunty.

By that time Thiel had built a large advantage and set sail to the win. Kendall was Second, Prunty Third, Anderson held on to Fourth, and Wyatt Brooks – who started 18th – rounded out the Top Five.

ZEHR WINS THIRD TUNDRA TITLE
A little early-day adversity didn’t shake Dalton Zehr and his team. However, it did adjust his strategy for the 75-lap feature. Zehr qualified 19th, but made some ground back up on Second Place points-getter and Fast Qualifier John Beale by winning his heat race.

“We had probably a better car than where we finished today, but there was a lot of points talk going into it,” Zehr said. “I didn’t chance a single pass. I just took it easy and took whatever the track gave me, and it was enough. I don’t like racing for points; I like to race for wins, but it’s cool to win another TUNDRA Championship.”

“I was quite disappointed in myself after qualifying. If I would have been higher up in qualifying we could have raced a lot harder. After that we knew we just had to salvage the Championship.”

During the first caution on lap nine, Zehr ducked into the pits and made some adjustments to the machine. Although he surrendered several spots, he gained them back quickly after the green fell again. Zehr patiently worked his way through the field. The most jeopardizing time came when Anderson closed in on the lead while Zehr was still deep in the field.

Eventually things fell into place as Zehr stuck behind Steve Lichtfeld and followed him into the Top Ten. Zehr’s final advantage was 28 points over Anderson and 52 over Beale, who secured the Dean’s Satellite and Security Rookie of the Year title.

The third title comes in a much different fashion for Zehr as he did not win a TUNDRA event for the first time in the series’ seven-year history. It was consistency and resiliency that helped him score the Championship. He now has three Championships and three Second Place point finishes. Zehr said he hopes to tilt the count toward more Championships in 2018.

“I’m already looking forward to next year,” Zehr said. “Now I’ve tied my Second Places. Next year we can go for it again and hopefully have won 50 percent of the TUNDRA Championships then.”

BIRDSILL FLIES TO SPORTSMAN WIN, TRUTE SECURES CHAMPIONSHIP
What looked to be a runaway win for Brandon Birdsill at his home track, quickly became a virtual foot race with an Olympic sprinter to the finish line. Birdsill secured the lead, built it to over six seconds, and then had to hold on as Dave Trute attempted to track him down.

Birdsill’s move into the lead of the 40-lap feature was impressive as he rallied around the outside of Bryce Miller and Daron Fish. As Fish and Miller continued to scrap for Second, Birdsill proved his strength stretching out his advantage to nearly half a lap over the rest of the field. However, once Miller and Fish sorted out Second, the gates opened, and drivers such as fast qualifier Dave Trute and Scott Luck were able to shake free.

Trute made his move into Second on lap 22. By that point Birdsill’s lead was nearly seven seconds. With some free space, Trute started to chop away by half-a-second per lap. Birdsill was able to work cleanly through lapped traffic, not allowing Trute to make up any extra time. The laps ran out on Trute as his closed the gap down to 0.7 seconds on the final lap. He would settle for Second and Scott Luck was Third.

With his Second Place run Trute was able to secure his second TUNDRA Sportsman Championship. His final advantage was 22 points over Greg Back and 53 over Jason Stark.

UP NEXT…
The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series rolls into the offseason after its most competitive campaign with eyes on 2018. In the coming weeks the series will announce dates for the awards banquet, off-season meetings, and 2018 schedule dates.

TUNDRA would like to thank its fine partners of the 2017 season: Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, Dean’s Satellite and Security, Kroll’s West Restaurant, Wegner Automotive Research, Johnny’s Hobbies, Epyk Media, BrakeOMeter, Circle Track Magazine, Coleman Racing Products, B&B Race Engines, Habelman Brothers Cranberries, RacePal, Wehrs Machine, and FiveStar Race Car Bodies.

The Series would also like to thank the drivers and members of all the Super Late Model, Sportsman, and Midwest Truck Series teams who helped make our events so successful as well as the management and staff of our host facilities – Wisconsin International Raceway, LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway, Jefferson Speedway, State Park Speedway, Golden Sands Speedway, and Dells Raceway Park.

Finally, TUNDRA would like to offer its gratitude toward the great short track fans of the Midwest. We look forward to continuing to bring you the Thunder of TUNDRA in 2018!

PLOVER, Wis. (September 5, 2017) – There is a saying that “close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. After a few near misses during his TUNDRA Super Late Model Series career, Mike Lichtfeld doesn’t have to worry about being “close” to his first TUNDRA win any longer.

Lichtfeld capitalized on Wyatt Brooks’ misfortune and held off Brooks’ teammate, Jordan Thiel, with just eight laps remaining in the Wegner Motorsports 75 as part of TUNDRA Round Five Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes. The win came in Lichtfeld’s 26th series start and is now the fifth time he’s been in a top-three finishing spot.

With Lichtfeld’s trip to Victory Lane, all five TUNDRA Super Late Model Series events so far in 2017 have seen first-time winners.

“This means so much to me,” said Lichtfeld, who has never missed a TUNDRA event either as a competitor or worker for the series. “I don’t think we had the best car today. I think the 25 (Brooks) had the best car today. I didn’t know where our chances stood coming into today, but we threw some changes at it for the feature and we held on – literally.”

Before any challenge materialized on the track, Lichtfeld had to overcome some emotion in the cockpit of his race car. An early-race incident sent his brother Steve head-on into the tire barriers off turn two. Steve was sore, but was able to walk away under his own power.

“I don’t know if you know this, but if you see your brother up there taking a pretty hard hit, it shakes you up quite a bit,” Lichtfeld said. “It took me a little while to get going again.”

The incident ignited when title contenders Cole Anderson and Dalton Zehr were jockeying for position entering turn one on lap two. Anderson attempted to dive to the bottom, but space was limited. As the two hooked, several others were collected, including fellow title contender Colin Reffner. All were able to make repairs and rejoin – with the exception of Steve Lichtfeld.

Once the field returned to green, the remaining 73 laps went off uninterrupted. Brooks reassumed the lead and began to stretch out his advantage. Unfortunately, just past halfway, smoke started to spill from his machine. Faulty power steering soon claimed Brooks’ chances as he slowed and was chased down by Lichtfeld, Thiel, and others.

Once in the lead, Lichtfeld’s advantage over Thiel started to shrink. Thiel – who transferred through a qualifying race and charged from 15th on the starting grid – ran down Lichtfeld and provided a stunning challenge on lap 67. Thiel found an opening after Lichtfeld drifted slightly out of turn four. Both drivers tried to secure the bottom line which resulted in Lichtfeld slamming the door and Thiel sliding through the grass sideways. He made a remarkable save, but would not challenge Lichtfeld again.

“It was a little sketchy,” Thiel said with a smile after the race. “I thought the door was open, so I went. Honestly, I have no idea how I pulled out of that. I wasn’t going to give up.”

The Second Place finish surpasses Thiel’s Third Place result in last year’s season finale at Jefferson as his career-best with the series.
“This is almost as good as a win for all of us,” Thiel said. “Wyatt has been doing a hell of a job this year, so it was time to step up and show what I could do too.”

Thiel wasn’t the only driver to mount a massive charge through the feature. Zehr picked his way back through the field after the lap-two incident to finish Third.

“I was fortunate the car was still in 100% condition otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to come through the field,” Zehr said. “By the end of the race, if we would have had the track position, I think we would have been the car to beat.”

Behind Zehr, rookie John Beale enjoyed another solid run with a Fourth Place finish. Collin Slife, who earlier in the day became the youngest ever TUNDRA Super Late Model fast qualifier, capped off an impressive debut with a Fifth Place finish.

The result helped Zehr pad his point lead with one event remaining at Dells Raceway Park. Beale now sits in Second 39 points back. Anderson’s 13th Place finish dropped him to Third, 46 points behind Zehr. Lichtfeld jumped past Colin Reffner and now sits Fourth in the standings. If all things are equal heading into the feature during Round Six, Zehr can secure the title with a 12th Place finish.

BACK HOME AGAIN AT PLOVER
Greg Back did well to defend his home territory in the TUNDRA Sportsman twin 20-lap feature events. Back handily won the first 20-lap feature and secured the overall win with a Fourth Place finish in the second feature event.

As the green fell on the first 20-lap feature, Wisconsin International Raceway Champion Dylan Wenzel took the lead. Back quickly sliced through the field by capitalizing on open lines to the inside and outside. Near the halfway point, he went to the outside of Wenzel and took the lead. In the final laps, a fight for Second between Brian Weinfurter and fast qualifier Jason Stark erupted. Stark was able to take the spot by sliding to the bottom.

This would later turn out to be a fateful move to help seal Back’s win, as Weinfurter finished Second in the second feature. Had he held onto Second in the first feature, Weinfurter’s two Second Place finishes would have been good enough for the overall win.

In the second feature, Rachel Kallas and Wenzel battled for the early lead. Kallas eventually took the top spot and was challenged by Dave Trute. Trute initially tried the outside line, but could not find a way past Kallas. Behind him, Back, Stark, Travis Volm, and Weinfurter scrapped for position.

Trute eventually found his way past Kallas in the final five laps. Weinfurter moved into Second and Volm to Third. Back was able to slide past Kallas, as well. The Fourth Place finish gave him an overall score of five, the same as Weinfurter. Back was awarded the overall win as having a feature win secured the tiebreaker. Trute was Third in the overall standings.

UP NEXT…
The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series rounds out its 2017 season at its birthplace, Dells Raceway Park, on Sunday afternoon September 24. Qualifying is scheduled for 1 P.M. with racing to follow at 2 P.M. TUNDRA will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series and Sportsman.

Dells Raceway Park is located at N1070 Smith Road just north of Wisconsin Dells. For more information visit http://www.dellsracewaypark.com

WAUSAU, Wis. (August 5, 2017) – Nearly a handful of drivers have won in their TUNDRA Super Late Model Series debut. So if Chris Wimmer was going to make some series history at State Park Speedway in Round Four Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes Saturday, he was going to have to do something spectacular.

A clean sweep did the trick.

Wimmer became the first driver to set fast time – which he did with a new TUNDRA SPS track record – win the Fast Five Dash, and secure the feature win in the 75-lap main.

“This was huge. There was such a good group of cars here,” Wimmer, who started 11th on the grid, said in Victory Lane. “This was a big race and [to win] in my first start, it’s pretty cool.”

If not for a caution on lap 27, Wimmer may have had some extra work cut out for him. Just after sliding past Derek Kraus to take the Third spot, a yellow flag allowed Wimmer to erase what was nearly a straightaway deficit to early-race leader Darek Gress.

“The 00 (Gress) got out there in front. He actually ran a really good race. I thought Skylar (Holzhausen) was going to take off on the start and that the top line was going to roll. I just kind of took my time there,” Wimmer said.

Gress jumped out to the lead after a botched start which collected several drivers deep in the field including Brent Strelka, last year’s TUNDRA State Park winner Mark Mackesy, and Round Three winner Wyatt Brooks. Braison Bennett suffered the worst of the ordeal and retired after sustaining heavy damage to the front of his machine.

On the second opportunity Gress again jumped away from the outside-pole-sitter Holzhausen. Gress started to build a healthy lead as Holzhausen was left to defend against the likes of John Beale, Paul Paine and Cole Anderson. By lap ten that trio had worked its way past Holzhausen into Second, Third, and Fourth.

The next grouping brought some more heavy hitters as Kraus and Wimmer stepped in to challenge Holzhausen. Kraus worked his way to Fifth on lap 12 with Wimmer following two laps later. Kraus eventually chased down Anderson. As he did, Wimmer went to the top groove to try to make the pass on both. However, Anderson made his move on Paine for Third, forcing Wimmer to tuck back in line behind Kraus.

Once that trio moved past Paine, Kraus and Wimmer went to work on Anderson. Kraus made his pass on lap 21 and Wimmer on lap 23. By this point Beale was nearly a half straightaway ahead and Gress was off in the distance even further. Wimmer soon challenged Kraus and slid past him using the inside line on lap 25.

Just one lap later the second and final caution of the race fell when Steve Lichtfeld was sent spinning into the infield. For the restart Beale chose the outside line on Gress with Wimmer and Kraus side-by-side in the second row.

Wimmer was able to capitalize and take Second from Beale shortly after the green flag fell. He pressured Gress for several laps until sliding to the inside and making the pass coming back to lap 34.

With Wimmer out front, Kraus and Anderson continued to do battle. Eventually Kraus would pass Anderson, Beale and Gress to secure Second and try to track down Wimmer. At that time TUNDRA point leader Dalton Zehr was hanging just outside the Top Five battling with Minnesota drivers Nick Barstad and Bryan Syer-Keske. Zehr was able to move past Barstad into Sixth on lap 42. Ten laps later he secured Fifth.

Anderson, Beale, and Zehr – three of the top four in TUNDRA points coming into the race – started to settle the score with around 20 laps remaining. Anderson swooped past Beale into Third on lap 57 and brought Zehr to Fourth. Although Zehr was close when the pass was made, Anderson was able to keep his distance.

Up front, Wimmer breezed through lapped traffic over the final ten laps. Kraus made up some ground, but it was clear he would need a caution to contend. That caution did not come. Kraus settled for Second as he did a season ago, Anderson was Third, Zehr was Fourth, and Beale rounded out the Top Five.

The 75-lap main shook up the TUNDRA points with just two races remaining in the 2017 season. Zehr’s lead over Second place grew from 19 to 26. However, it is now Cole Anderson who sits Second after gaining 11 points on Zehr and leapfrogging Beale and Colin Reffner.

Beale is now Third, 42 points back. Reffner, who struggled with a 14th Place finish, is now 46 points back of the lead in Fourth. Beale and Reffner are also chasing the Dean’s Satellite and Security Rookie of the Year title.

CONSISTENCY WINS IT FOR VOLM
The Sportsman division returned for two 20-lap features. Greg Back captured the first 20 lapper and fast qualifier Dave Trute dominated the second. By virtue of two Second Place finishes, Travis Volm was awarded the overall win.

The most dramatic moment of the evening for the Sportsman came with just five laps remaining in the first feature. Back, Trute, and Volm were battling for the lead when contact was made and Back went spinning. Trute invoked the “Gentleman’s Agreement,” taking blame for the incident. He went to the tail of the field and Back retained his spot, which allowed him to secure the win.

For the second 20 lap feature, the field was aligned based off finishing position in the first feature. Because of his misfortune, Trute started on the outside pole. He took off in a hurry and left little doubt. Volm had to pick his way through the field to finish Second. Back remained in Fourth throughout the race, leaving him one spot shy of the overall win.

UP NEXT…
The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series is back in action Monday, September 4 (Labor Day) at Golden Sands Speedway. TUNDRA will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series and Sportsman. Racing is scheduled to begin at 2 PM. More times and information about the event will be available through the TUNDRA web site in the coming weeks.

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

JEFFERSON, Wis. (July 23, 2017) – It was a night for the up-and-coming standouts of Super Late Model racing to shine.  But no one quite had the glimmer of Wyatt Brooks, as he picked up his first TUNDRA Super Late Model Series win in Round Three Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes at Jefferson Speedway Saturday night.

The 22-year-old Amherst, Wis. native took control of the 75-lap feature from the outset and withstood two hearty challenges in the final 14 laps from Dean’s Satellite and Security Rookie contenders Jordan DeVoy and John Beale.

Perhaps the most impressive facet of Brooks’ win was how the racer with very little experience at the tricky quarter-mile mastered the outside lane – especially on restarts.  With his choice of either lane each time the barrel was placed to double up the field, Brooks chose the outside.

“My car was so tight the entire day,” Brooks said in Victory Lane. “I couldn’t have started in a better spot than the outside pole with the car I had.”

Brooks secured the lead from fellow front-row starter Grant Griesbach just two laps after the green flag dropped.  Behind him, teammate Jordan Thiel slid to Second and looked to close in to challenge for the top spot.  A caution on lap six gave Thiel the opportunity to start alongside Brooks, but Brooks stepped away.

The complexion of the race took a major turn on lap eight.  Brent Strelka and Adam Peschek touched wheels going into turn three, sending Strelka sideways.  With nowhere to go, and little time to react, several possible contenders slid into the melee.  The incident collected Mike Lichtfeld, Corey Jankowski, Jeremy Lepak, point leader Dalton Zehr, Cole Anderson, and fast qualifier Justin Mondeik.  Both Mondeik and Anderson were able to continue.  Anderson would nurse his machine to a Sixth Place finish and Mondeik would finish Ninth.

After the track was cleared, Brooks and Thiel were again set to bring the field to green.  Once more, Brooks was able to hold off Thiel and retake the lead.  Unfortunately for Thiel – just two laps later – he was forced to drop out with a mechanical issue.

Brooks stretched out a comfortable lead over Darek Gress, DeVoy, Griesbach, and Colin Reffner.  As he did, all eyes turned to Beale.  In the second half of the race Beale – who started second-to-last on the grid – began to climb to the front of the pack.  He made his way past Reffner on lap 40.  Then, after a seven-lap dispute, he moved past Griesbach into Fourth on lap 55.  Before he could close in on the top three, a caution fell for a Braison Bennet spin on lap 61.

By this time DeVoy had moved past Gress into Second.  Once again Brooks chose the outside and DeVoy the inside.  DeVoy held even for several laps, forcing a side-by-side scrum with Brooks.  Behind them, Beale secured Third over Gress.

The battle was halted a final time for a spin with eight laps to go.  Just before the field was sent to the green flag, DeVoy slowed.  A melted wire ended his day without an opportunity to challenge for the win again.  That, however, would send Beale to the front row with Brooks for the final showdown.

Beale held strong on the inside as Brooks tried to wheel his way back to the front.  With five laps to go, Brooks sealed the lead spot, but the battle was not over.  Beale continued to peek into the inside line and hope for an opening.  That opening did not come as Brooks kept the door shut and went on to secure the victory.

Behind Beale, Peschek made several moves late in the race to secure the final podium position.  It was Peschek’s first race as a Super Late Model.  His Third Place TUNDRA debut is the best since Nathan Haseleu and Skylar Holzhausen won in their series debuts in 2015.

Griesbach continued a successful week, as well.  After scoring a Top Ten in the Slinger Nationals on Tuesday, he held on for Fourth – his best TUNDRA finish.

Leading rookie Colin Reffner enjoyed yet another solid day at a new race track.  Reffner scored a Fifth Place finish and cut Zehr’s point lead from 44 to 19 markers.

The next event for TUNDRA takes place at State Park Speedway on Saturday, August 5.  TUNDRA will be joined once again by the Midwest Truck series and the Sportsman division will return, as well.  More information about the event will be available through the TUNDRA web site.

State Park Speedway is located at 5711 N Mountain Rd. in Wausau, Wis.  For more information visit http://www.stateparkspeedway.com