WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (August 13, 2011) – An ominous forecast threatened Saturday’s Alive For Five Super Late Model Series presented by Advanced Engine Concepts Round Four. Little did everyone know that a different type of Storm was brewing – and was poised to visit victory lane at Dells Raceway Park.

Jeff Storm jumped out to an early lead and dominated the 55-lap feature until the final circuits. AFF Round One winner and current point leader Frank Kreyer chased Storm down from a straightaway back and made several attempts to steal the win away.

“That 51 car (of Kreyer) is fast,” Storm said after providing a smoke show on the front straight. “Our car was good enough to win, but it could be better.”

Despite the forecast, a season-high 29 Super Late Models rolled through the gates for the third consecutive increase in car count in the Alive For Five Series.

Cautions and restarts again played a factor in the race as Storm had to survive several displays of the amber. The first ten laps clicked off without incident as Storm took the lead from fellow front-row starter Tom Lichtfeld and began to stretch out his advantage. Behind Lichtfeld, Dave Trute had taken third from Amanda Ferguson and was looking to move to second.

The first caution flag fell on lap 11 when Dennis Prunty spun after making contact with Troy Nelson. Both were sent to the tail of the field.

For the restart the decision cone was placed. Storm restarted alone in the front row with Lichtfeld and Trute aligned side-by-side in the second row and Ferguson flanked by Frank Nitzke to the outside in the third row.

An incident entering turn one after the drop of the green targeted a pair of former Lake Geneva racers. Landry Potter and Jamie Wallace made contact and Wallace was sent spinning into turns one and two. With nowhere to go Nelson hopped over the left side of Prunty’s racer. Must See Racing Sprint driver Jason Cox, making his Super Late Model debut, was also involved. All were able to continue.

Another restart went awry when Mike Egan and fast qualifier Bobby Kendall made contact after several cars in front of them checked up. Egan was sent spinning into turn one.

Per a new rule for the Super Late Models, the following restart was single file. With some time and space to operate in third, Trute worked to the bottom of Lichtfeld to take second. Nitzke followed Trute into third.

Nelson’s hard-luck day continued as he spun in turns one and two to bring out a caution with 21 laps in the books. By that point a train of Kreyer, Ken Reiser, Terry Schoppenhorst and Dalton Zehr were creeping toward the top five.

When the green fell again, Kreyer patiently worked his way around his team car driven by Ferguson. When the door was opened Reiser moved to the inside and took the spot, but again the run was cut off by a caution.

Kreyer immediately challenged Lichtfeld for fourth with Reiser not far behind. However, Schoppenhorst’s run to the front was stalled as he made contact with Ferguson sending the young Florida driver spinning. Both were sent to the tail of the field.

With 25 laps remaining Kreyer was able to work around Lichtfeld, bringing Reiser along. With some distance to close on the top three, Kreyer set his sights on a developing second-place battle. Nitzke dared to take the outside line on Trute and stole second. Trute later dropped out with a problem on his machine.

A final restart with 16 laps remaining set Storm, Nitzke, Kreyer, Reiser and Zehr in the top five. Derek Childs, who was utilizing his Budweiser Late Model with ten inch tires, won the last chance race and had worked his way up to sixth from his 19th-place starting spot at that time.

Storm broke away from the pack leaving Nitzke to deal with Kreyer. After Storm had built a substantial lead, Kreyer broke free of Nitzke and he began to try to reel in the leader.

Slowly Kreyer chopped away at the disadvantage. With five laps to go he was within car-lengths and with two to go he was on Storm’s bumper. Through the final circuit Kreyer dropped as low as he could to open up the bottom on Storm. Storm was not shaken, however, as he held his ground. Kreyer settled for second for the third consecutive time after winning Round One, Dalton Zehr jumped around Kenny Reiser to take third and Nitzke held on for fifth.

The Super Late Models return for the finale of the Alive For Five Super Late Model Series on Season Championship night Sept. 10.

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (July 23, 2011) – Although he calls Daytona Beach, Fla. home, Dalton Zehr soon may want to set up residence in Wisconsin Dells. For the second consecutive event Zehr looked at home while cruising to victory in Super Late Model action at Dells Raceway Park.

Zehr dashed to the top side and survived what seemed to be an endless string of cautions and restarts in the Alive For Five Super Late Model Series presented by Advanced Engine Concepts Round Three.

As storms brewed to the north and east, and lightning lit up the sky around Wisconsin’s Showcase Short Track, Zehr said a raindrop or two may have helped him in the 55-lap feature event.

“The track was slick from the heat and a little bit of rain made for a tough-to-pass track,” he said. “It really narrowed the track up and sort of made for a single groove track tonight. It didn’t affect us that much because we weren’t being pressured the whole time, except those restarts – they were killers.”

After three tries to start the event the field was led to green by Don Turner and Jeff Storm. Turner claimed the early lead, which lasted only one lap before a caution came out involving fast qualifier Bobby Kendall.

Just one lap after the restart AFF Round One winner Frank Kreyer dived to the bottom for positioning in the top three, but made contact with Kenny Reiser in the process. Reiser spun bringing out the yellow, but via the Gentleman’s Rule, Kreyer took blame awarding Reiser his spot in the top three.

On both restarts Zehr jumped to the outside and gained spots, just as he did in Round Two on his way to victory. Zehr was up to second by lap four and, cruising to the top, he stole the lead from Kenny Reiser just six laps in.

After three more cautions for spins the top five consisted of Zehr, Dennis Prunty, Reiser, Storm and John Zimmerman. The five raced furiously, exchanging paint and positions at the front of the field. On lap 21 the battles were brought to a halt as another yellow was displayed for an incident involving Terry Schoppenhorst, Terry Patnode and Turner.

Zehr continued to hold the field at bay on the restart with Prunty choosing the outside and sliding into second over Reiser. As the laps started to click off, Steve Holzhausen worked his way into the top five and secured the fourth spot by lap 23.

With 26 circuits remaining, Reiser started to regain momentum and worked past Prunty into second. Prunty attempted to shut the door, but Holzhausen had slid in. Prunty was sent spinning, bringing out another yellow.

On the ensuing restarts Reiser pressed hard to take the lead away from Zehr. Although Reiser was able to get to the door, Zehr’s machine was prepared to utilize the outside line, and ultimately he retained the lead.

“I thought I had a handle on those restarts, but Kenny taught me a few things on those two,” Zehr joked.

After another pair of cautions Frank Kreyer had moved from the back and into contention. With 20 laps remaining Kreyer had moved to third, and then worked past Reiser into second with 18 laps left.

Another pair of cautions set up a final restart with Kreyer and fast qualifier Bobby Kendall in the top three. The final ten laps went off without incident and without a challenge to a stout Zehr.

Kreyer finished runner-up to Zehr for a second time, Kendall was third, Holzhausen fourth and Frank Nitzke rounded out the top five. (Results are unofficial as of time of publication).

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (July 1, 2011) – With the heat index reaching over 100 degrees at Dells Raceway Park, Daytona Beach, Fla. Native Dalton Zehr barely broke a sweat. Looking at home in the heat and humidity, Zehr looked like a born-natural behind the wheel of his Super Late Model Friday night.

Zehr swiped the lead from his teammate Troy Nelson just 14 laps into the Alive For Five Super Late Model Series presented by Advanced Engine Concepts North American Cup Feature and pulled away in the late stages from Round One Winner Frank Kreyer. The win was Zehr’s first in select visits to Dells Raceway Park.

Starting 12th in the 21-car field after setting fast time, Zehr’s journey to the front started early thanks to a caution and restart. Utilizing the decision cone after a first-lap caution, Zehr took his mount to the outside line and moved up four spots on the outside line. He later moved up to the fifth spot on a lap-seven restart.

“The car was just amazing on the outside,” Zehr said.

After the lap-seven restart Zehr picked off three cars in succession. Zehr raced to the outside of John Zimmerman on the restart, Dennis Prunty one lap later then moved around Dave Trute into second on lap 10.

With Nelson in his sights, Zehr left Trute and Prunty to battle furiously for the third spot. Zehr caught Nelson by lap 13, but could not complete the pass using his preferred outside line. On lap 14 Zehr took a new line on his teammate and took the lead away.

“I couldn’t quite get it done on the outside with (Nelson) but I was able to get the bottom. After that he was right on my tail.”

Nelson was in hot pursuit of Zehr up until an incident on lap 26. Landry Potter rejoined the field from the pit area in an inopportune situation. Zehr was able to take evasive action, but Nelson was not as he made hard contact with Potter’s machine. Potter drove away, but Nelson’s night came to an abrupt end. Both drivers were unharmed.

The restart saw Zehr pull away from the disputing duo of Trute and Prunty. Prunty secured second after the restart on the outside line, but was unable to chase down Zehr.

Zehr looked to be in complete control of the feature until Round One Winner Frank Kreyer tore into the top five. Kreyer took second on lap 38 and initially chewed away two tenths of a second away a lap. However, as the run continued, Zehr maintained and refurbished his lead.

“He was chasing me down,” Zehr said. “Our car was better on the longer run, it really showed and I was able to pull away from him.”

Kreyer was credited with second, but did not pass post-race inspection. Dennis Prunty finished third, defending DRP Late Model Champion Corey Jankowski made a late surge to finish fourth and Jeff Storm finished fifth.

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (May 28, 2011) – Some drivers just seem due for a big win. While Frank Kreyer had to slice his way through a stout field of returning Super Late Model division, Larry Schotten led wire-to-wire while holding on for his first feature win in 18 years of trying on Saturday at Dells Raceway Park.

After setting fast time hometown driver Frank Kreyer was placed deep in the 17-car starting field for Round One of the Alive for Five Super Late Model Series presented by Advanced Engine Concepts.

Kreyer made his fateful pass on Troy Nelson with two laps remaining in the 55-lap feature event. Testing the new concrete line on several occasions, Kreyer muscled to the inside of Nelson and nosed ahead at the line. The two raced side-by-side to the white, with Kreyer securing the lead as he crossed the line for the final time.

“It was pretty cool. My spotter told me it was ten to go and I knew to be patient,” Kreyer said of his final approach to the front. “It’s one of those things where it’s better to be patient than try to bonsai it and make mistakes.”

Aside from working through traffic, Kreyer also had to avoid a pileup three laps into the main event. The melee started when Molly Rhoads and Dennis Prunty made contact entering turn three. Rhoads spun in front of the pack, sending cars scurrying in all directions. Tom Lichtfeld, Ken Reiser, Michael Gunderson, Terry Schoppenhorst and Max McNamara were involved. Only Reiser and Gunderman were able to continue.

“Molly was turned completely flat out across my nose and I thought here we go,” Kreyer said. “The guy that planted the grass down in three and four is probably going to be (mad) at me because I drove right through that stuff.”

Jeff Storm ran a solid race, placing in the top three. Prunty recovered for a fourth-place finish with Mike Egan rounding out the top five.

Kreyer and his Super Late Model compatriots had nothing but good things to say about the Alive for Five format.

“I think it’s going to be a really positive thing. It’s getting the racers involved,” Kreyer added. “This economical time that we’re in is really tough and I think now the racers are taking a look and understand what the promoters and track owners are dealing with. We’ve got the race drivers grouped together. I think it can only help.”