Early in the week thought I had a fair amount of time for more than just regular weekly maintenance.  The workload (including my new “actual” job) added up and had to focus on a lot of stupid items, such as: BOTH pit carts had steering issues, watertemp gauge and then fittings, stripped out threads (special thanks dad for help on most of the later), etc.  Andy Jones of JJ Precision Grinding did his normal fuel system cleaning, but other than the mentioned assistance above and a small part from girlfriend Felisha, it was all but a solo effort until well into Sunday afternoon.  Not to mention our “weekly” racing escapades at Rockford (only two left) and Pearl City (can’t turn down a kart that should win) and the effort to adjust the fuel setting to the IRS restrictors (I will point to that as our biggest delay), so the preparation effort went even further down the wire than usual.

Hot Laps:  We did arrive just as other cars were pushing up to the line and my uncle Tom had to rush around a lot before Dwight arrived to help get the car out.  Otherwise though, we didn’t have any loose lines and the car seemed to run ok.  I only had a couple decent laps though, but could not pin-point if it was fuel system/chassis/or just me. 

BMARA Qualifying:  Tried a little different line this week.  Stayed out high going into the corners and came out low coming off.  The car felt sluggish and seemed to bog down though.  I did only breath the throttle a little bit once the whole two laps.  The 15.2 ended up being the best time we have ever recorded in a #56 car (I did a little better when the throttle stuck on the #87 four years ago), but the track was pretty fast again that early (thanks to Quinn McCabe and the BMARA officials for not making me go out last-as the IRS did).

IRS Qualifying:  Car seemed to be good on the bottom end with our most recent attempt at setting the fuel system to the restrictors, but it was still sluggish if I did get into the cushion and/or turned the wheel (wondered if the effort the power steering pump puts on the motor kills it?) too much.  Managed 18.  , which was     quick though.

BMARA Heat:  Let Bob Schreffler, from the inside line, get a jump on me going to the flag, but tried to settle into second.  Before I got any rhythm going, Brad Kuhn         and Brandon Wealti got around too (did make Brandon work for it, but gave him plenty of room going through three and four).  Had a decent race with Chad DeSelle, but in the end, he too passed me.  I did finally get going and did not let him pull ahead right away though.  However, mid-race I started to notice oil smoke from the engine.  Confirming it to myself (and seeing the officials stare at the car as I drove around), I evaluated that my chances of catching any of the top four was fairly unlikely.  Although I had just got somewhat of a line going up top, I decided to take the short way around and not be so hard on the motor (considering I was not aware of the extent of the smoke problem).  I did finish though, figuring the couple points gained were worth more than damage to the motor…

The car was only a quart or two low, and we looked everything over, but could not determine the leak.  Decided to just push off for the IRS heat and pulled in before the green.  I managed to keep the car running and we double checked everywhere and verified nothing was draining out real bad.

QUAL HT 1 DASH  

A FEAT
1 1 HESS 14.604 1 ALTIG 1 DESELLE 1 KUHN
2 41 KUHN 14.875 2 LOYET 2 HATTON 2 HATTON
3 o5 LOYET 14.904 3 WALTERS 3 SMITH 3 HESS
4 15 HATTON 14.944 4 SMITH 4 FISCUS 4 DESELLE
5 3 WAELTI 14.972 5 FISCUS 5 HOLLINGSWORTH
6 13 SMITH 14.993 HT 2 6 FISCUS
7 21K MAYHEW 14.995 1 WAELTI     7 SMITH
8 19 DESELLE 15.017 2 KUHN     8 WALTERS
9 7 FISCUS 15.057 3 SHREFFLER     9 DULL
10 85 HOLLINSWORTH 15.058 4 DESELLE B-FEAT 10 JOHNSON
11 21S SHREFFLER 15.130 5 DULL 1 HATTON 11 MAYHEW
12 57 ALTIG 15.138 HT 3   2 SMITH 12 WAELTI
13 82 JOHNSON 15.227 1 HESS 3 FISCUS 13 SHEFFLER
14 56 DULL 15.277 2 ERFURTH 4 DULL 14 ALTIG
15 5W WALTERS 15.279 3 HOLLINGSWORTH 5 MAYHEW 15 LOYET
16 25 ERFURTH 15.654 4 HATTON 6 JOHNSON 16 ERFURTH
17 3D DRANGMEISTER 17.413 5 JOHNSON        

We went ahead and pushed off for the IRS heat, but without the restrictors and spec tires.  I pulled in right away and kept it running to verify that the oil problem was no longer.  Mysteriously, there was no issue.

B-main:  In a prelude to the A feature, battled Erik Johnson and Kurt Mayhew before pulling away and getting a rhythm of my own going.

A-main:  Did not know where to go on the start, with Byron Walters in front and Brad Kuhn               on the bottom.  I thought Walters may stay up top, and figured I would just go wherever I could into one.  I considered that the there was not a real bad cushion and thought I could go above it if I needed to (always recalling the Eldora 4 crown nationals with Levi Jones, and also last week’s feature winner Mike Hess’ quote from the week before).  Well, I guess I decided I needed to…didn’t go in near hard enough though…was in a slide for life pushing toward the wall.  Somehow managed to get out of one, and actually powered off of two with some momentum.  Apparently I did not learn anything though, as I all but did the same thing in three and four, although this time with Eric Johnson underneath.  Got my head straight after the first lap, and closed up on the battling pack, which included usual front runners Brad Loyet, Brandon Wealti, etc.  It seemed like some were all over the place and I had the feeling something was going to happen.  Happen it did!  Wealti ended up getting out of shape and Loyet did a barrel roll in turn two.  Slowing and swerving, I managed to snake through between the wreck and the inner guard rail.  Others, such as the above mentioned and at least Bob Schreffler ended up not restarting.  During the red, I also noticed the #25 car (10th in points), was in the pit area, so I was hoping for a good point run.  After the restart, the race went caution free.  Just like the B-main, I spent too much time battling Johnson, before I got a rhythm going.  Once I got passed him, initially closed on Walters.  At one point, going into one, I thought I was going to be able to pass the Mopar powered veteran.  Well I feel our effort SHOULD be able to compete with his, in reality, normally it is a matter of if we start in front of him and not so much an all out true pass on the track (although I now do recall a backstraight “career” run from me with the Chevy II a few years ago).  Maybe thinking too much, I let him pull away.  Trying to run the top with what I got, it seemed to me that I continued to loose ground.  About mid-race, and with hints of the blue and gold (although I knew it was most likely way too early) I decided to see what I could get around the rail.  We did end up closing on “Flying” Byron, but I just could not get the job done.  Mentally, I fought with keeping myself charged up to make the pass, but not too excited that I screwed up.  Doubt I used both feet like I should have, and fell short at the end.  I never gave up until after the flag (actually, figuring the leaders were right behind, I wanted to take the extra lap to ensure our race was over).  While we at least closed up on him, I ended up only good enough for 8th.      

By Bryan Gapinski:  Two-time series champion Brad Kuhn won Sunday Night's 25-lap Badger Midget Series feature at Angell Park Speedway. The event featured five lead changes. Shane Hollingsworth paced the initial two laps, until a four-car accident occurred in the top ten, causing Brad Loyet to flip. Loyet was uninjured. On the restart Chad DeSelle passed Hollingsworth for the lead. Kuhn moved into fifth place on the lap 5, and then gained one position each lap, moving into second on lap 8. Kuhn, closely followed by Scott Hatton moved to within a car length of DeSelle. Kuhn jumped the cushion allowing Hatton to gain the runner-up position at the midway point. Hatton edged DeSelle at the start/finish line to lead lap 15, with DeSelle regaining the lead entering Turn 1. Kuhn repassed Hatton for second place and then on lap 18 drove under DeSelle entering Turn 1 to take the lead. Hatton moved into second on the same lap. The pair pulled away from the field. Kuhn driving the Jones Motorsports Spike/Fontana No. 41 finished two car lengths of Hatton. Fast qualifier Mike Hess placed third ahead of DeSelle, and Hollingsworth. Hatton now holds a 138-point lead over Hess going intot he Aug. 9 event at Angell Park Speedway.

Cars Present: 19

Feature Lap Leaders: Hollingsworth 1-2, DeSelle 3-14, Hatton 15, DeSelle 16-18, Kuhn 19-25.

BMARA POINTS STANDINGS AS OF 8/3/09
POSITION, DRIVER, POINTS, PASS PTS, CAR #, OWNER, POINTS

1 SCOTT HATTON 1436 53 15 HUSTON SOLUTION RACING 1436
2 MIKE HESS 1298 46 1 JERRYATRIC MOTOR SPORTS 1298
3 BRAD LOYET 1265 39 o5 LOYET MOTOR SPORTS 1211
4 CHAD DESELLE 1081 32 19 IMHOFF-DAVIS 1081
5 AARON FISCUS 850 16 41 JONES MOTORSPORTS 829
6 BRAD KUHN 820 48 13 STEVE SMITH 818
7 MATT SMITH 818 12 7 JIM FISCUS 814
8 BUBBA ALTIG 808 26 57 RAB RACING 808
9 BRANDON WAELTI 634 7 21S BERNIE SHREFFLER 649
10 COURTNEY ERFURTH 607 22 25 JERRYATRIC MOTOR SPORTS 607
11 JASON DULL 561 16 3 WAELTI-SCHULENBERG 570
12 BOB SHREFFLER 538 29 56 JASON DULL 561
13 BRYON WALTERS 524 16 5W BRYON WALTERS 496
14 DAVID BUDRES 467 5 31 MANIC RACING 467
15 ERIC JOHNSON 467 14 82 CHUCK JOHNSON 467
16 KURT MAYHEW 452 15 21K KURT MAYHEW 452
17 JERRY COONS 383 22 5 WILKE PAK 383
18 JIM FUERST 239 7 28 JIM FUERST 239
19 DAVEY RAY 217 6 5D DAN DAUM 178
20 ZACH DAUM 178 4 87 ACCELERATION RSCING 177
21 JAKE SLOTTEN 177 0 33 DAN MECUM 161
22 TRACY HINES 159 19 24 BOB PARKER 159
23 PAUL PERKINS 128 2 63 PAUL PERKINS 128
24 JASON THERKELSEN 117 5 11 ART WACHAL 117
25 DARREN HAGEN 116 3 3H RFMS RACING 116
26 DICK KAISER 87 4 17 DAN GEORGE 87
27 JOEL WYTTENBACH 67 8 1X MIKE RINKIN 67
28 MARK BROWN 67 1 73 SCOOTER ELLIS 67
29 AUSTIN WHEATLEY 67 0 71 JIM FISCUS 67
30 TIM NOBLE 67 0 38 TOM & TAMMY  BONG 67
31 KEVIN OLSON 47 2 o5x LOYET MOTOR SPORTS 54
32 JOEY MOUGHAN 45 4 1H JERRYATRIC MOTOR SPORTS 47
33 A.J. FIKE 42 0 55 JOEY MOUGHAN 45
34 DENE McALLAN 41 0 3A RFMS RACING 42
35 BUDDY LUEBKE 0 0 29 JACK BERRY 41
36 DAVID GOUGH 0 0 7X JIM FISCUS 36
37       43 BULL DOG MOTORSPORTS 0
38       99 RAB RACING 0

From Bill Blumer:  There should be no doubt that the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association is alive and well. Car-counts have been a concern since early in the season for fans of Badger. But it’s the product, the racing on the track, that really counts. At the start of the season, if all went right Angell Park could have easily counted on a minimum of 20 cars from its headliner, per week. That number was dashed early-on when Robbie Ray, Buddy Luebke and Jake Slotten all suffered major damage to their cars. This, coupled with an injury to Davey Ray, brought the Badger regulars to about 16. Yet, on the track, Angell Park can often boast a field with at least five of the top ten cars in the National Midget Driver of the Year point race. National travelers are still wandering in as evidenced by the first appearance of Shane Hollingsworth at the Speedway this week. As the season winds down, things look to only get better. This week, for the Racer’s Memorial 25 by Pizza Hut and Pepsi, Badger qualifying showed again that the clay was quick at Angell Park, as seven cars scored times in the fourteen- second range. The card was shared by the Illini Racing Series, who saw four cars in their seventeen-second benchmark bracket. In Badger heat action, Bubba Altig lead off with his second heat win in two weeks, driving for the ever-improving RAB racing team. The second heat saw Bob Schreffler lead the first six circuits, as Brandon Waelti and Brad Kuhn fought to get to him from the back of the pack. Before the seventh lap was complete Waelti and then Kuhn, went under Schreffler coming out of the west end. Waelti showed the power of his newly freshened engine, as he held off Kuhn. Courtney Erfurth jumped to the lead in the last Badger heat, but Mike Hess was good too, as he went from last to third before the field exited turn-two on the start. The rookie Erfurth, looked like a vet as she gassed it around the rim. Once Hess broke free from the others it looked like he would still have trouble catching Erfurth. A yellow flag put him on her tail for a restart, but Erfurth got the jump when racing resumed. This time she seemed to be testing some other grooves and Hess was able to gain ground. Coming to the white flag, Hess dove under her and the two made contact. Hess maintained his momentum while Erfurth’s machine was stunned for a second. Hess then completed the task and took the checkers, followed by Erfurth. Suffering an uncharacteristic round of boos from the crowd during his Victory Lane interview, Hess told the crowd things are not as easy as they might look on the track and seemed to invite fans to give it a try sometime...The first IRS heat was a stacked deck, with Allan Gillis, David Budress and Kurt Mayhew all in the field. From the front row, Budress got the jump as Mayhew immediately looked strong on the top of the track. An early yellow, bunched the field and had the restart as Budress, Gillis, Mayhew. As the three took off, the fireworks started with Mayhew splitting the two as they completed the lap. Budress battled back as the three continued with three cars in the space that would seem to only support two. As they continued wheel to wheel Gillis then edged forward as they came to the checkers and completed the thrilling event. With his customary pump of the fist, upon exiting the car, Gillis told the crowd, "Part of it was luck," that he took the point...The Badger qualifying race went to Chad Deselle despite a spirted battle from Scott Hatton. Hatton came back to win the semi. The bounty on Kurt Mayhew has grown. At $400, Gillis and the rest of the IRS regulars were primed to unseat the IRS king of Angell Park features. The two started next to each other in the fourth row, while Oldendorf and Koerner occupied the front for the twenty lap main. Oldendorf looked good at the drop, stringing Koerner along while Mayhew and Gillis would have to work traffic. A third lap restart had Oldendorf take off while Koerner, Rich Drangmeister and Mayhew quickly made it three-wide at the Pavilion turn. Mayhew broke free and hunted down Oldendorf on the next lap for the lead. With seven laps on the board, a restart showed the order as Mayhew, Oldendorf, Gillis, Drangmeister and Budress. From there, Mayhew made it anti-climactic as he put five lengths between himself and Gillis. Even a green, white, checker finish didn’t help the posse as Mayhew and his Brayton racing engine, beat Gillis and his Ford Escort power-plant. The stage was set for an exciting feature for Badger as the field took the green. Within a couple of laps, some of the enthusiasm was diminished as a turn-two pile up took out contenders, Brandon Waelti, Schreffler, Loyet and Altig. The restart saw DeSelle power by Hollingsworth, but the Indiana visitor kept on DeSelle’s tail. On the ninth circuit, Hollingswoth was overtaken by Kuhn for second and soon Hatton occupied third. Kuhn then jumped the cushion on the back straight, sending Hatton rocketing by for second. Just past the half way point, Hatton swung under DeSelle in four. In another lap the three were side by side going into one. They sorted out DeSelle, Kuhn and Hatton, front to back. Then with seven laps to go, Kuhn pulled a slidjob on DeSelle at the Pavilion and it stuck. DeSelle immediately fought back but Kuhn’s car was too strong. From there Kuhn wheeled it to the checkers ahead of Hatton, Hess, DeSelle and Hollingsworth. Kuhn, the USAC midget point leader, was understandably tired as he was fresh off a third place finish at the Belleville Nationals in Kansas on Saturday and the ten hour commute from there to Sun Prairie. Angell Park will host Badger and support divisions for the next two weeks, without a price increase. From there, the Speedway builds up to the Cornfest 50; the Saturday/Sunday Hall of Fame Nationals, with Badger and USAC; and the Labor Day Weekend classic, the Pepsi Nationals, again with the two most venerable midget organizations in the world