Steve Apel Outduels R.J. Braun For Labor Day Weekend Win, Alex Prunty Captures Second Slinger Title

In a fierce contest for the leading position with R.J. Braun, Steve Apel emerged victorious. Despite his car faltering on the final lap, he managed to secure a win in the Labor Day Weekend Celebration’s 75-lap Super Late Model Feature on Sunday night at the Slinger Speedway.

Apel took the lead in the race after several laps of neck-and-neck competition with Braun, particularly as they neared lapped traffic with just six laps remaining. Braun then found himself competing for second place with Brad Mueller. Despite seeming to encounter a mechanical issue as he approached the white flag, Apel managed to maintain his position and secure the win. Braun narrowly beat Mueller to second place, with less than a car length between them.

“Throughout the race, my car was constantly popping out of gear in second,” Apel explained from the victory lane. “We race in third, so I didn’t pay it much mind until there were only two laps to go. Coming out of turn four, I thought it had popped out of third gear. I quickly shifted it into second and then immediately back to third. I kept it in third for the last lap and thankfully, it held together.”

“Getting a one-two finish for our shop was quite exciting,” said R.J. Braun, who came second. He was referring to both cars being serviced in the same shop. “After the caution, the car was not the same as it got messed up,” he added. Braun led the first half of the race and was far ahead when he collided with a lapped car, causing the event’s only caution flag while leading.

Brad Mueller expressed frustration with himself after finishing in a close third place. “I was responsible for my position in the race. I didn’t fill the holes early as I should have and I held back slightly because I was confident we had a strong car. However, I got trapped behind some side by side racing which put me at a disadvantage. Even though our car was slightly faster than Steve (Apel)’s, I couldn’t take advantage of it due to the errors I made earlier,” he explained.

“Finally, we accomplished what we had to do, secured the fourth position and claimed the championship,” said Alex Prunty, after winning the 2024 Super Late Model track championship. “It took a lot of people to achieve this, and we are incredibly grateful for their assistance.”

Dennis Prunty secured a fifth-place finish, followed by Rich Loch in sixth place. Nick Egan and Jesse Bernhagen came in seventh and eighth respectively. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Billy Braun in ninth place and Jerry Mueller in tenth.

The Super Late Model fast dash was won by Dennis Prunty while Alex Prunty emerged as the fastest qualifier, clocking a qualifying lap in 11.344 seconds.

Ryan Gutknecht emerged as the victor of the 40-lap Late Model primary race, defeating Zach Prunty and Rick Redig-Tackman. Tyler Hromadka secured the fourth position, followed by Mitchell DelCamp in fifth place. After a fierce struggle at the front in the initial laps, Jon Reynolds Jr. and Evan Hassler came in sixth and seventh respectively. The following positions were taken by Matt Urban in eighth, Drew Bernhagen in ninth, and Alan Shierling Jr. in tenth. Nicholas Lemberger and Mitchell DelCamp were the champions of the Late Model heat races, with Jon Reynolds Jr. setting the fastest qualifying time at 11.982 seconds.

After a fierce competition with Jake Schraufnagel, Nick Bruly emerged victorious in the 35-lap Sportsman feature race. Schraufnagel finished second, while Brady Held, who initially led the race before losing his lead amidst lapped traffic, secured third place. The fourth and fifth spots were claimed by Tom Elsinger Jr. and Brian Holtz respectively. In the 10-lap Sportsman bonus race, Brian Holtz took the top spot. Jake Schraufnagel clocked the fastest qualifying lap time of 12.678 seconds. His second place finish in the main race ensured his triumph as the 2024 Slinger Speedway Sportsman track champion.

Blake Nottestad triumphed in the 25-lap Super Beez feature, prevailing over Travis Kreuser and Al Strobel. Mark English and Nick Schmidt rounded out the top five finishers. The Super Beez heat race victories were claimed by Tracy Neu and Mark English. Blake Nottestad also set the fastest time with a qualifying lap of 13.476 seconds.

Gracie Flanagan won the 20-lap High School Racing Association feature to claim the 2024 track championship and become the first female track champion in the 77-year history of Slinger Speedway. Caleb Arneson finished second and Jackson Martindale was third. Aidan Laubenstein finished fourth ahead of Peyton Payne in fifth. High School Racing Association heat races were won by Nathan Ulik and Caleb Arneson while Gracie Flanagan was the fastest qualifier with a lap time of 15.817 seconds.

-Slinger Speedway Press Release
-Photo credit: Ron Erstad, Jr.

Super Beez Feature with 25 Laps had the following results: Blake Nottestad from Cambridge, WI (98N) came in first, followed by Travis Kreuser from West Bend, WI (20K) in second place and Albert Strobel from Iron Ridge, WI (14S) in third. Mark English from Janesville, WI (57E) took the fourth spot while Nick Schmidt from Watertown, WI (09X) rounded out the top five. Other participants include Tracy Neu (15N), Lyle Phillips (35P), Paul Reagles (25R), Mitchell Strobel (84S), Morgan Zerwinski (35Z), Kendall Becker (20X), Brandon Tackes (24B), Rick Schaefer (11S), Jason Clope (3C), and Jason Uttech (36U). Todd Buckley (8B) did not start (DNS). The numbers in the brackets represent their starting positions.

The Super Late Models Feature race of 75 laps saw the following results: In first place was Steve Apel (51A), from Slinger, WI. Following him was RJ Braun (92B) from Wales, WI, in second place, and Brad Mueller (89M) from Random Lake, WI, in third. The fourth spot was taken by Alex Prunty (11P) from Kewaskum, WI, followed by Dennis Prunty (42P) from Allenton, WI, in fifth place. Rich Loch (55L) from Franklin, WI, took the sixth spot, and Nick Egan (13E) from Lomira, WI, came in seventh. Jesse Bernhagen (28B) from Markesan, WI, was eighth, followed by Billy Braun (17B) from Wales, WI, in ninth. Jerry Mueller (49M) from Richfield, WI, finished tenth, Conrad Morgan (92M) from Waukesha, WI, eleventh, Jacob Vanoskey (84V) from Hubertus, WI, twelfth, and Thomas Jasinski (46J) from Pewaukee, WI, in the thirteenth place.

In the Sportsman Feature 35 Laps, the results were as follows:

1. Nick Bruley (23B) from Johnson Creek, WI
2. Jake Schraufnagel (29S) from Horicon, WI
3. Brady Held (04H) from Iron Ridge, WI
4. Tom Elsinger Jr (33E) from Germantown, WI
5. Brian Holtz (88H) from Muskego, WI
6. Alex Lopacinski (89L) from West Bend, WI
7. Brandon Tackes (24B) from West Bend, WI
8. Ryan Sielaff (32S) from North Prairie, WI
9. Carl Benn (01B) from Lisbon, WI
10. Chris Beine (45B) from Slinger, WI
11. Andrew Meyerhofer (14M) from Freedom, WI
12. Chuck Gilbertson Jr (52G) from Kaukauna, WI
13. Jared Apel (22A) from Colgate, WI.

In the Late Models – Feature 40 Laps, the results were as follows: First place went to Ryan Gutknecht (01G) from Oak Creek, WI. Second place was claimed by Zach Prunty (39P) from Allenton, WI, and third place went to Rick Redig-Tackman (98R) from Hartford, WI. The fourth position was secured by Tyler Hromadka (3H) from Colgate, WI, followed by Mitchell Delcamp (16D) from Germantown, WI in fifth. The sixth place went to Jon Reynolds Jr (10R) from Rockford, IL, and seventh to Evan Hassler (38H) from Hartland, WI. Matt Urban (48U) from Slinger, WI, came in eighth, with Drew Bernhagen (28D) from Markesan, WI in ninth. Tenth place was secured by Alan Shierling Jr (70S) from Waupun, WI. The following places were taken by Simon Seyfert (9S) from Saukville, WI, Jerry Eckhardt (61E) from Johnson Creek, WI, and Tom Berens (99B) from Slinger, WI. Nicholas Lemberger (22L) from Menomonee Falls, WI was fourteenth, and Mike Held (72H) from Hartford, WI was disqualified.

The HSRA feature consisted of 20 laps. The results were as follows: Gracie Flanagan from Oregon, WI came in first, followed by Caleb Arneson from Melrose, WI in second place. Third place went to Jackson Martindale from Stillman Valley, IL. Aidan Laubenstein from Mayville, WI took fourth place, while Peyton Payne from Elroy, WI came fifth. Xander Weeks from Sauk City, WI was in sixth place, and Nathan Ulik from West Bend, WI took the seventh spot. Truman Robertson from Richfield, WI came in eighth, while Trenton Robertson, also from Richfield, WI, took ninth place. Finally, Kennedy Krueger from Sparta, WI rounded out the top ten.