KAUKAUNA, Wis. (May 8, 2016) – Saturday’s Duke FM 50 for the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series as part of Round One Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes was eerily reminiscent of the 2015 season opener.  This time, however, Ty Majeski was the chaser instead of the chasee.  And this time he was able to make the pass.

Majeski picked up his second straight TUNDRA season-opening win at Wisconsin International Raceway after carefully ascending through the field and making a late-race pass of Steve Apel, who chased Majeski to the finish line last season.

Just like last season, the battle between Majeski and Apel raged on for over a dozen laps before it was finally settled.  Apel had paced the field for the first 27 laps from the front row without much of a challenge.  Fellow front-row starter Brent Strelka kept close, but Apel was able to distance himself as the race matured.

Then, a caution on lap 27 tightened the field.  By this time Majesi was to Third.  After making the pass on Strelka after the restart, he set his sights on Apel.  What ensued was another dazzling battle between the two young Super Late Model stars.  Majeski began his challenges immediately after passing Strelka on lap 28, but could not make the pass.

With a Red, White and Blue Championship under his belt from last season, Apel looked like a sly veteran of the half-mile.  Any time Majeski got to the inside to provide a challenge, Apel would get a perfect run off turn two or four to clear Majeski and settle back into the lead.  As time ticked away, Majeski’s efforts stepped up.  He eventually made his fateful move on lap 43.

Entering turn one Majeski was able to force Apel’s hand by changing his line.  Apel tried to hold him off, but this time could not get enough of a run off turn two to defend the lead.

“It’s a little tough when you’re side by side,” Majeski said.  “The outside is definitely preferred.  I crowded him up just a little bit just to ruin his run off turn two and that was enough to do it.”

While Majeski and Apel were battling, last year’s Third Place finisher was reeling in the leaders.  Casey Johnson was on Majeski’s bumper when he made the pass for the lead.  He then followed Majeski into Second and had hopes of challenging for the win.

As the final laps clicked off Johnson held within striking distance of Majeski and looked to be setting up for a final challenge.  He got his opportunity when the second yellow fell on lap 48 for oil spotted in the top racing groove in turns one and two.  After the cleanup Majeski paced the field to perfection.  He jumped away from Johnson to the tune of three car lengths and didn’t look back.

Although pleased with a strong run through the field to Second, Johnson was hoping to capitalize on the restart.  He said his car was best on long runs, but may have had an opportunity.  “On that last restart we thought we might have had something,” Johnson said.  “But Ty knew what he had to do to hold on and he did it.”

In similar fashion to the previous two TUNDRA events at WIR, the 2016 version featured plenty of passing and drivers coming from deep in the field to challenge for the win.  Majeski started 11^th on the grid.  Johnson started 12^th.  Ironically enough, Johnson had passed Majeski early in the race and blazed a path to the front.  Majeski made his pass on the outside of Johnson on lap 11 for the Fifth position.

In fact, most of Majeski’s passes – with the exception of the one for the lead – were made by going to the high side.  Johnson’s path to the front was similar.  “I got to the outside really quickly and had a pretty good battle back there,” Majeski said of his run through the field.  “After that I started picking them off one by one.”

Behind the Majeski and Johnson tandem, Apel came home Third.  It was his second consecutive podium finish in the event after a Second Place finish to Majeski last season.

Aside from the incredible battles up front, there was plenty of movement in the Top Five all race long.  Toward the end of the race defending Champion Lowell Bennett led a pack that included Travis Dassow, Dalton Zehr, Jeff Van Oudenhoven and fast qualifier Maxwell Schultz.  Bennett had started Fifth, but fell back early in the race.  He also had to take to the outside to move back up to a Fourth Place finish.  He brought Travis Dassow with, who remained on the bumper of Bennett right up until the checkered flag.

In a field full of strong competition, a Sixth Place finish for Jeff Van Oudenhoven (who made his return to action after injury sidelined him for most of 2015) was a good indicator that the rust has been shaken off.  Behind him, Maxwell Schultz came home Seventh.  The fast qualifier fell back from his 13^th Place starting spot early and fought hard to climb back into the Top Ten.

Those two had battled with reigning TUNDRA Champion Dalton Zehr, who looked to be on his way to a solid Top Ten finish.  However, Zehr’s machine experienced issues in the closing laps of the race.  He was forced to retire on lap 48, which marks his first TUNDRA DNF since the final round of 2014 at Slinger Speedway.  He had already locked up the Championship in that race.  A 20^th Place finish for Zehr will leave little room for error over the rest of the TUNDRA season.

LAST LAP PASS GIVES TRUTE FIRST TUNDRA SPORTSMAN WIN

In a field full of some of the best Sportsman/Street Stock/Super Stock/Mid-American drivers the area had to offer, the king of the Sportsman was able to take down the Hall of Famer with a last-lap pass in the 30-lap affair.

The first ever TUNDRA Sportsman event featured a dazzling battle between three-time Mid-American Series Champion Bill Prietzel and five-time Dells Raceway Park Champion Dave Trute.  When Prietzel made his pass of Trute after a restart on lap seven, the race looked like it was all over.  Trute disagreed.

The duo of Trute and Prietzel came from Eighth and Ninth in the pack.  Once outside pole-sitter Dusty Mann’s machine expired on lap seven, it became a battle of will between Prietzel and Trute.  Although Prietzel nabbed the lead on the restart, Trute kept within two car lengths over the final 23 laps.

There were several opportunities for Trute to challenge Prietzel just past the halfway point.  However, he could only get close enough to give Prietzel a slight tap to the bumper and remind him he was there.  While the battle raged on, and the duo weaved through lapped traffic, Greg Back moved into Third.  He looked to have a strong machine also, as he reeled in the top Two.  However, Back ran out of time and had to settle for Third.

The final challenge was set up by Trute with four laps to go.  After clearing lapped traffic, Trute closed to Prietzel’s back bumper.  He surveyed the inside line over the next two laps until Prietzel left just enough room for Trute to get a run to the inside.  Once the door cracked open, Trute was able to swing it wide open and take the inside line.

Charging out of turn two, Trute pulled even with Prietzel.  With the preferred line he was able to push ahead entering three and four.  However, Prietzel – who had won several Mid-American Series races at WIR – exited turn four well on the outside and drag raced Trute to the stripe.  Unfortunately for Prietzel, Trute was able to outlast him and take a win in his first ever trip to the half-mile.

Back cruised home to the Third spot.  Brian Wienfurter was Fourth and Jason Thoma rounded out the Top Five.

SCHNEIDER DEFENDS HOME TURF IN VINTAGE

It would have taken some pretty strong sandpaper to get the smile off Jerry Schneider’s face after the TUNDRA Vintage feature Saturday afternoon.  The former Super Late Model racer at WIR brought his Chevelle home to victory in a wild Vintage 30-lap feature.

Schneider found himself in the lead about midway through the feature event.  He then powered to the win after a late red flag for a wreck that involved Roger Stanczyk and Ken Olson.  Both drivers were ok.

Behind Schneider, Royce Rossier, Ken Lewis, Pat Echlin, and Dick Kath rounded out the Top Five.

NEXT FOR TUNDRA

The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series as well as the Sportsman and Vintage divisions will head to Dells Raceway Park for Round Two Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes on Saturday, June 4.  Qualifying is slated for 5:30 with racing at 7 P.M.  The series will also be joined by the Midwest Truck Series.

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

JEFFERSON, Wis. (September 20, 2015) – Entering the final event of 2015 at Jefferson Speedway, defending TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Champion Dalton Zehr knew there was only so much he could control. He controlled it well.

Zehr dominated a caution-free final 75-lap feature of the season, propelling him to a five-point win in the Championship standings over Ty Majeski, who lost power steering early in the race and manhandled his machine to an eighth-place finish. Zehr had trailed Majeski by 25 points entering the main event.

“I guess this would be the turning point of the season,” Zehr said. “I didn’t come into this race very optimistic about the points. We just set out to put the best car we could on the track and go out for the win.”

Zehr captured the top spot from early race-leader Ryan Farrell and outdueled defending TUNDRA Jefferson race winner Casey Johnson to pick up his second win of the season.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “The race went exactly the way we needed it to go, straight through. Credit goes to the TUNDRA drivers. Casey (Johnson) and I were racing hard and no one was holding that up.”

A quick scramble to the front saw some of the faster qualifiers push into the top five early in the race. The original invert was nine, which would have placed Steve Rubeck on the pole for the feature. However, just prior to the feature, Rubeck elected to start in the rear, putting eighth-place qualifier Duke Long on the front row alongside Ryan Farrell.

After a strong performance at Jefferson last season, Farrell proved to have a solid machine early by taking the lead from Long. He led a parade of cars from the outside line into the top three, which included Zehr and Johnson.

Farrell held a tenuous lead until lap ten when Zehr shot to the outside line to challenge. On lap 11 Zehr secured the lead from the rookie. One lap later Johnson found a way past Farrell into second.

A quick run to the front was part of the race strategy for Zehr. “It’s hard to pass when the cars are equal,” he said. “It would have been really interesting with Casey and I because I ran the outside the whole race. If Casey would have been ahead of me I would have burned my stuff up trying to get around him, so the key was to get to the front first.”

Johnson gave Zehr no time to relax once they separated themselves from Farrell. With the inside line open, Johnson ducked to the bottom and tested the low groove in both sets of turns. Surprisingly, Zehr gave Johnson the bottom lane in turns one and two. Lap after lap, Zehr was able to escape. Johnson was able to pull even on a couple of occasions, but ultimately couldn’t make the pass. As the race hit the halfway point Zehr slowly cleared Johnson and started to stretch out his lead.

“We just kind of threw something at it and hoped for the best. It unloaded pretty good right away,” said Johnson, who was driving the Chase Motorsports 47 at his home track for the first time. “Dalton could just hang on out the outside really well. He gave me the line so there was no need to rough him up at all. We just raced around and he was better at the end.”

As Zehr and Johnson rode out front, the remainder of the top five continued to sort out. Mike Lichtfeld made a run to fourth on lap 14, then, after tracking down Farrell, shot into the third spot on the outside line. Although his machine had some jump in only his second visit to Jefferson, Lichtfeld wasn’t able to make up the deficit.

“A yellow would have been nice by the time I got into third place,” Lichtfeld said. “Those two guys were half a track ahead. We kind of rolled around saving our stuff hoping for a caution, but we never caught it.”

As Lichtfeld settled into third, and the trio of Farrell in fourth, Performance Diesel Fast Qualifier Dan Lensing in fifth and Gregg Pawelski in sixth (which is where they would finish the event) sorted out the final spots in the top five, attention turned to Majeski. Majeski had started in the fifth position, but fell back to seventh early in the race when the outside lane made its run to the front.

After closing on Pawelski on lap 25, Majeski fell back a few car lengths. Because of his power steering issue, a run back into the top five wasn’t in the cards for the two-time winner in 2015. Eventually, on lap 57, Travis Dassow nudged his way past Majeski, leaving him to settle for eighth. It was only the second time in a stellar season that Majeski finished outside of the top two.

“With all the caster we run in these wheels it’s almost impossible to turn the car, so I just tried to hang on and come home with the best finish I could,” Majeski said. “There was no time to give my arms a rest, I was just fighting it. Congratulations to Dalton Zehr on the Championship, he ran great all year. I’m disappointed we couldn’t take it home, but you have to take the good with the bad.”

Up until the final circuits Zehr was unaware that Majeski was not in position to hold the points lead.

“To be honest with you those last couple of laps I was thinking about how I was going to congratulate Ty on the Championship,” Zehr said. “I had no idea. I was just out there running my hardest every lap.”

Heading into the Championship race with the point lead was not unfamiliar territory for Zehr. However, Zehr had the title wrapped before the final race of last season. The 2015 story looked similar to the 2012 point battle where Zehr led the points coming into the evening, but did not come out with that title. Dennis Prunty won the feature and captured the Championship.

Sometimes history repeats itself in more ways than one.

Keske and Anderson are co-Rookies of the Year, Lensing Finishes Third in Points

For the first time this season both Bryan Syer-Keske and Cole Anderson appeared at the same TUNDRA event. Keske, being the primary driver, accumulated the points at Jefferson. With his heat race win he put the wraps on the Dean’s Satellite and Security Rookie of the Year title for the team. Anderson was on hand to compete in the 75-lap event and celebrate after the race, as well.

“It’s awesome to come out here and compete for Rookie of the Year,” Keske said. “I had Nick Panitzke and Dan Fredrickson over my shoulder. We have a five hour ride home to think the race over.”

“It was a good short track race,” Anderson said of Jefferson. “I had a great time in the series.”

The team of Keske and Anderson finished fourth in series standings behind Dan Lensing.

“We’ve had a lot of ups, but we had some downs,” said Lensing, who set a new track record in qualifying. “I really like the series. We went to a lot of tracks that I never went to. I really like how they run everything and I’ll probably be back.”

The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series would like to thank its 2015 partners: The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, Dean’s Satellite and Security, Performance Diesel, The World Championship Snowmobile Derby, Habelman Brothers Company Cranberries, Johnnie’s Hobbies, RSI X-ray, The Country Plumber, Five Star Race Car Bodies, TD Graphics, Coleman Racing Products and Wegner Automotive Research. The series would also like to thank its 2015 partner tracks and their staffs, race teams, and countless fans who supported TUNDRA this season.

An Awards banquet for the series will be announced in the coming weeks. TUNDRA has announced the 2016 season will begin at Wisconsin International Raceway on Saturday, May 7, 2016.

PLOVER, Wis. (September 8, 2015) – On a steamy Central Wisconsin afternoon, Nathan Haseleu might not have been cool, but he sure was calm and collected. Haseleu persevered through an animated TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Round Six Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes Monday afternoon at Golden Sands Speedway to capture victory in his series debut.

The veteran racer endured several restarts from the front row and a near run-in with a lapped car to grab the win in his first ever TUNDRA start. Haseleu matched the effort of Skylar Holzhausen, who won in his series debut at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in July. Adding to the significance for Haseleu is that the clock is ticking on his storied career.

The three-time Wisconsin Challenge Series and one-time Midwest Tour Champion plans to retire at the end of 2015. He has been racing in select events this season.

“It feels really good to win,” Haseleu said. “Wins are hard to come by, and when you race only once in a while, they’re even harder to come by. We’re pretty excited.”

If it is one of his last races, he won’t soon forget it. With wins across the Midwest Haseleu was happy to make his way back to Victory Lane at GSS for the first time in almost ten years.

“That’s about the wildest one I’ve ever been in,” Haseleu said. “I’m pretty excited to win. I’m only going to race a few more times so I’m pretty happy to get a win here. It’s a fun place.”

A nine-car invert placed Haseleu just inside the top ten at the drop of the green flag, along with a pair of drivers who would challenge him for the win in TUNDRA point leaders Ty Majeski and Dalton Zehr.

Majeski and Zehr found a quicker avenue to the front of the field and were into the top three by the first caution on lap 20.

After an incident under yellow, the front row starters for the lap 20 restart were Zehr and Darren Jackson. Zehr, who won the Performance Diesel Fast Qualifier Award on the afternoon, was able to clear Jackson and pull away to establish a healthy lead. From his fifth-place starting spot on lap 20, Haseleu jumped up to third and captured second from Jackson by lap 25. Majeski, who restarted on the outside of the third row, quickly recovered and found third by lap 28.

A caution came out one lap later when Brian Hakala dropped off the backstretch entering turn three and spun to the outfield. Zehr selected the outside lane for the restart with Haseleu flanking him to the left.

The battle between Zehr and Haseleu raged for several laps. After Haseleu used the inside lane to clear Zehr on lap 32, Zehr immediately swung low. He was able to grab the inside line to challenge Haseleu once again for the lead. However, on lap 35 Zehr slipped off turn four and was unable to keep his machine from spinning, bringing out another caution.

Haseleu selected the inside row for the restart with Majeski to his outside. Although it seemed Haseleu had the edge and led to the line on the following lap, Majeski backed up the turn shot to the bottom of the track and grabbed the inside from Haseleu. Two laps later Majeski cleared for the lead. However, he was unable to run away from Haseleu.

Two more restarts pitted Haseleu against Majeski with the same result, Majeski securing the lead. Behind them, the battles inside the top five were furious. Jackson, Ryan Farrell, Brandon Selle, Mike Lichtfeld and Dan Lensing exchanged the positions repeatedly.

Four laps after the restart on lap 45 a lapped car, who had been warned by officials about the approaching leaders, disrupted the battle and sent Majeski spinning. Majeski’s machine was damaged, but he was able to continue the race in the top spot. Unfortunately, the incident brought the end of Brandon Selle’s third-place run.

Majeski cleared Haseleu on the following restart. The duo separated from the pack once again to settle the lead. Waiting patiently for the right opportunity, Haseleu seized his chance on lap 58. Haseleu tested the top groove as he swung past Majeski and into the lead. Shortly after, Majeski, showing some scars from the earlier incident, fell back to third behind a hard-charging Mike Lichtfeld.

One final chance came for Majeski with eight laps remaining when he passed Lichtfeld after a final restart. However, Haseleu proved to be too strong as he opened up the margin over the final seven laps. Majeski was able to hold second, Lensing was third, Lichtfeld fourth and Joel Theisen, who started 21st, rounded out the top five.

It appeared Haseleu’s car was best when the laps were clicking off on the longer runs. He also recognized that Majeski had a strong machine on the afternoon.

“I was hoping for a longer green flag run,” Haseleu said. “If that wouldn’t have happened to Ty I don’t know if we would have been able to get him or not.”

As for Majeski, another podium finish capped off a wild afternoon. “I think I had a car to beat [Haseleu],” he said. “I cooked my tires down the front stretch trying to keep it off the wall. I just didn’t have anything for him after that incident. I’m happy to bring home second place.”

Aside from the dramatics at the front of the field a major storyline of the afternoon was the hard-charging efforts of Theisen, Mike Lichtfeld and Lensing. Lichtfeld cruised from 15th to fourth. Lensing grabbed 16 spots by ascending to third from 19th.

“I’m just whooped,” Lensing said. “I probably would have had something, but I had to use up my whole car coming through the field. There is just nothing left. Our car really wasn’t the best in the feature. We just changed lines and made the best of it.”

Just outside the top five, Zehr was able to recover for a sixth-place finish. Although he lost ground to Majeski, the 24-point margin held by Majeski is anything but safe. The spread from first to seventh in the feature is 24 points, putting a major emphasis on top ten feature finish spots and qualifying efforts at Jefferson. If both Majeski and Zehr were to falter, Lensing sits 47 points back. However, that is the split from first to 19th in the feature.

The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series rounds out its 2015 season on Sunday, September 20 at Jefferson Speedway with the Championship Round. The Sunday portion of the event was added to the 35th Annual Wisconsin State Championships which take place Friday and Saturday, as well as a rain date from the June 20 postponement. TUNDRA will be joined on Sunday by the Upper Midwest Vintage Series, American Ethanol Super Trucks and Legends and Bandaleros. Racing will begin at 2 P.M.

Jefferson Speedway is located on state highway 18 between Cambridge and Jefferson, Wis. For more information, including a full schedule of events for the Wisconsin State Championships, visit http://www.jeffersonspeedway.com.

WAUSAU, Wis. (August 2, 2015) – Sometimes TUNDRA Super Late Model Series victories come with a few battle scars. Dalton Zehr’s machine showed some wounds after Saturday night’s 75-lap feature at State Park Speedway, but he was able to capitalize, grabbing his first win of the season in Round Five Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes.

The win was Zehr’s ninth of his TUNDRA career and came in Zehr’s second-ever appearance at State Park Speedway.  Last week he finished second to NASCAR driver Johnny Sauter in the Larry Detjens Memorial.  This week the defending TUNDRA Champion was not to be outdone.

“Last week was a huge learning experience,” Zehr said.  “We didn’t make any changes to the car today.  That was big for me to have the experience of last week.”

Two wild mid-race incidents left their mark on both the event itself and the cars involved.  Those incidents just so happened to take place in heated battles for the lead on lap 28.

After Ryan Farrell cut a tire and spun on lap 28, the field was bunched up and put into side-by-side formation for the restart.  Mike Lichtfeld, who had grabbed the lead from Jeremy Lepak on lap five, was to go toe-to-toe with Zehr.

Fresh out of a spirited tussle with Dean’s Satellite and Security Rookie of the Year contender Cole Anderson, Zehr chose to restart on the outside of Lichtfeld.  As they raced out of the second turn, Zehr surged ahead.  When entering turn three both racers went for the same plot of real estate and came together, sending Zehr spinning and the remainder of the field scrambling to avoid contact.

Under caution, Lichtfeld pulled to the front stretch and tapped on his hood, invoking the gentleman’s agreement.  By Lichtfeld accepting responsibility for the caution, Zehr and all others involved in the incident were awarded their spots back.  Lichtfeld sustained some heavy damage to his front suspension and radiator, and was forced to retire.

“Tons of respect to Lichtfeld there for tapping and giving me my spot back.  I don’t think we would have been here without that,” Zehr said.

Under yellow, Zehr’s teammate Reagan May, who had moved from 13^th to fourth, experienced a fire under the hood of her machine.  May quickly exited her racer unharmed and the SPS safety crew members extinguished the flames.  A red flag was required for the cleanup before the race was to continue.

Although he avoided a near-calamity with Lichtfeld, the threat to Zehr’s chances of victory were far from over.  The following restart, still on lap 28, brought TUNDRA point leader Ty Majeski and Performance Diesel Fast Qualifier Dan Lensing.

At the drop of the green Zehr was able to use the inside line to try to hold onto the top spot.  As they entered turn three, again contact was made.  However, this time, both drivers were able to carry on and maintain their positions under green.

“Ty was capitalizing on a situation.  I got a little crossed up going into three,” Zehr said.  “I might have overcooked it a little on my own and there might have been some contact.  Plus, Dan was there.  It was a crazy couple of laps where I thought, ‘oh boy, this race could really boil over.’”

Majeski was caught in the sticky spot of trying to pass for the lead and hold off Lensing.  “It was just good tight racing.  I was trying to clear Danny and (Zehr) checked up just a little bit more than I anticipated,” Majeski said.

As both cars skated to the high line, Lensing stayed low.  He pulled even with Zehr, but was unable to complete the pass for the lead. “That looked like free candy right there.  I was hoping they would tangle and I would run off,” Lensing said.

Lensing continued to pressure Zehr on the inside line until another yellow fell on lap 33 when Wyatt Brooks went up into the outside retaining wall in turn three.  The caution saw Lensing choose to stay behind Zehr on the inside while Majeski returned to the top, and the front row.

It was a short-lived battle after the restart as Majeski desperately tried to find grip on the high side.  However, it wasn’t meant to be as he filed back into second in hopes to keep pace with Zehr.  The restart was as close as Majeski would get, as Zehr pulled away to victory.  “It’s so tough to make the outside work here especially with his car as good as it was.  I just didn’t have the forward drive off the corner,” Majeski said.

Behind Zehr, Majeski held a comfortable advantage over Lensing, who went on to finish third.  Brandon Selle saw a late race resurgence pay off with a fourth-place finish.  Anderson rounded out the top five.

With the win, and a slightly better qualifying effort Zehr was able to carve away ten points from Majeski’s advantage.  The point lead now sits at just nine markers with two races remaining in the 2015 season.

“We needed this more now than ever,” Zehr said.  “Ty was running away with the points show and he finished second tonight so we didn’t gain a lot on him but we still gained.  We couldn’t afford to lose more.”

The next event for the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes is scheduled for Labor Day Monday, September 7.  Racing action is scheduled for a 2 P.M. start time.  More information will be available soon through TUNDRA’s web site and social media pages.  TUNDRA will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series, Upper Midwest Vintage and another class to be announced.

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

The Unified Northern Drivers Racing Association (TUNDRA) Super Late Model Series was formed in 2011 as the Alive For Five Super Late Model Series at Dells Raceway Park. TUNDRA’s business plan is based on a sustainable program for promoters and race teams alike, while still providing high-quality Super Late Model entertainment to fans.

For more information on TUNDRA including news, results and the point standings, archived results and standings, and more visit http://www.tundrasuperlates.com. Also, interact with us on Facebook (facebook.com/TundraSuperLateModels) or Twitter (@TUNDRAslms).

By Zach Onan

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (July 18, 2015) – “He made one mistake, he went high in turns one and two and I got underneath him and I was just trying to be smooth and stay calm and I was able to make the pass” said Ty Majeski on his battle for the lead with Dalton Zehr.

At the site of his first Late Model victory, Ty Majeski did it again Saturday night, earning a second straight TUNDRA Super Late Model Series victory at Dells Raceway Park, the birthplace of TUNDRA in Round Four Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes.

Things got off to rocky start coming out of turn two on lap five.  At least nine cars were involved in some fashion.  Performance Diesel Fast Qualifier Brian Hakala was involved and left on the hook as well as Dan Lensing, Maxwell Schultz and Bobby Kendall who all sustained major damage.  All drivers were physically okay after the incident.

Following a red flag for cleanup, which also included a water break for drivers on a day where temperatures hung around ninety degrees, the green flag flew again to begin the 70 laps that remained.  The front row for the restart remained the same as the original start five laps earlier with Deans Satellite and Security Rookie of the Year contender Cole Anderson on the inside and defending TUNDRA champion Dalton Zehr to his outside.

Cole Anderson made fairly quick work of Zehr who quickly was under pressure from Majeski for second.  Meanwhile, Alex Prunty made his way into fifth past Rich Schumann Jr. and began to track down Ryan Farrell for the fourth position.

Fifteen laps into the race Majeski got to the back bumper of  Anderson and began to pressure for the lead.  Zehr got back to Majeski’s bumper and the top three ran nose to tail as they checked out from the rest of the field.  Prunty made the pass on Farrell via the inside line and began to track down the top three as Anderson, Majeski and Zehr seemed to be content riding nose to tail for the time being.

Majeski began to work Cole Anderson for the top spot at lap 35.  As the battle up front intensified with Majeski trying to find a hole on the inside, a few more cars joined the scrum at the front.  Michael Sauter, Ryan Farrell and Mike Lichtfeld made it a seven car train at the front all nose to tail.  Lichtfeld, who caught a piece of the incident on lap five and sustained some right front damage, seemed to have a very strong car making passes on the inside and outside as he battled back to the front after the early red flag.  Lichtfeld worked past Sauter for sixth position with 28 laps to go and then got by Farrell for fifth the following lap.

The top four of Anderson, Majeski, Zehr and Prunty again began to pull away.  With 25 laps remaining Majeski took a look inside Anderson and made very slight contact which allowed Dalton Zehr to get to Majeski’s outside and shortly thereafter cleared Majeski and started to work to Anderson’s outside.  Zehr nosed ahead to lead lap 51 by a nose.  Lap 53 rolled around and Zehr was able to clear Anderson as Majeski was next to try Anderson from the outside.

With Zehr trying to pull away, Majeski knew he had to make quick work of Anderson to have a shot at Zehr.  With 19 laps to go Majeski was able to clear Anderson.  Zehr had built up a half-a-dozen car length lead on Majeski, but he wasn’t going to quit.

Shortly after Majeski cleared Anderson, Prunty snuck by for third followed by Lichtfeld gaining the fourth position.

With ten laps to go it was obvious that Majeski was gaining ground on the leader.  The next lap he was a half of a car length off Zehr’s bumper.  With eight laps to go Majeski took a look inside Zehr in turns one and two.  The leaders battled side by side for two laps with Majeski finally prevailing on the inside line and began to run away.  Zehr was left to fend off Alex Prunty for second as Ty Majeski ran off to win his second straight Dells Raceway Park TUNDRA feature event.  Zehr was able to keep Prunty at bay to record a second place finish and Prunty, in his first TUNDRA start, finished third followed by Mike Lichtfeld.

TUNDRA makes its first appearance at State Park Speedway in Wausau, Wis. for Round Five Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes on Saturday, August 1.  Local divisions will complete the card.  More information will be available through http://www.tundrasuperlates.com.