Sports

NASCAR Driver From Prior Lake Breaks Raceway Record

Chad Walen, a NASCAR Super Late Model driver, broke the 13-and-a-half-second barrier Sunday.

The following is a news release from in Shakopee.

Chad Walen, a NASCAR Super Late Model driver from Prior Lake, broke the 13 and a half second barrier this past Sunday night during NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Fast Lap Qualifying at Raceway Park. Walen turned in a fast lap time of 13.470 on the paved banked oval, setting a new track record.  Weather conditions were perfect for high speed action on Sunday evening, with cooler track temperatures and cloudy skies.  The previous record of 13.500 was set in 2009 by Ryan Johnson during an American Speed Association event.  

In the NASCAR Super Late Model feature, it was Joe Prusak of Minnetonka and Goodhue's Bryan Roach on the pole, with Prusak taking the lead at the start.  Two laps into the event, Walen moved underneith Roach to take second, and immediately went to the outside of Prusak, and after a few laps of side by side racing, passed to take the lead with 25 laps to go.  Midwest racing veteran Mark Lamereaux of Bloomington was closing on Prusak in a battle for second place, allowing Walen to build his lead.  Lamereaux took the second spot with 17 laps remaining, as Lakeville driver Billy Mohn followed the Bloomington driver to move into third.  Caution waved with 14 laps to go as Crystal's Jerry Ziemiecki spun in turn three after entering the turn too high.  At lane choice it was Walen and Lamereaux side by side, but at the restart, something broke on the Bloomington racers machine sending the car slowly to the pit lane, and once again bringing out the caution.  The restart had Walen along side Roach, with Walen taking the lead, leaving Roach to battle with a quick charging Billy Mohn for second.  Mohn worked his way around with 12 laps to go, followed by NIck Barstad of Prior Lake, who moved around Roach to take third.  As the laps clicked down, Walen had once again built quite a lead, but a late caution with five laps remaining regrouped the field when Ziemiecki and Ryan Kamish of Farmington got together in turn three.  Lane choice placed Barstad along side Walen, and the two stayed close as racing resumed until the checkers, with Walen crossing first, Barstad in second, Mohn finishing in third followed closely by Prusak.

The American Short tracker feature had Jeremy Roche of New Prague starting next to Hastings driver Mike Dimmick.  Roche, a rookie for the 2012 season, took the lead on the first lap, but was quickly chased down by Charlie Pehrson of Prior Lake and Keith Paulsrud of Rogers, who passed Roche for the top two spots with nine laps to go.  As the top two pulled away, Dimmick and Farmington's Todd Kamish were locked in a battle for third, with a side by side battle for fifth between Justin Schelitzche of Lester Prairie and Plymouth racer Dave Reed taking place right behind.  With four laps to go Kamish was able to pass Dimmick into third, and at the line it was close finish with Pehrson crossing the finish line just ahead of Paulsrud, and Kamish holding on to a third place finish.

The first of two Wild'n'Crazy Figure-8 features had Shakopee's Matt Dickey leading the first lap with Todd Tacheny of Mankato moving into second.  Positions were changing quickly as Danny Johnson of Lakeville passed to third place with 12 laps to go, as the top three racers began to extend their lead over the rest of the group.  With the top three so far out ahead, the excitement heated up in the "Crossroads of Doom" and the backup of traffic in the "X" with three laps to go gave Johnson the chance to move in on Tacheny, finally passing into second place one lap later.  Johnson then moved right onto Dickey's back bumper, but the laps ran out before he could make his move.  At the checkers it was Matt Dickey with the win inches ahead of Johnson, and Tacheny finishing in third.

The second Figure-8 feature had Minnetonka's Louie Ansolabehere next to fan favorite Dennis "The Menace" Barta of Richfield, but at the green it was Maple Plain driver Mark Bronstad who got the jump from the second row and moved in behind Barta on the first lap.  Ricky Martin of Farmington has made a habit of moving quickly up though the field of Figure-8 drivers, closing in and challenging Todd Tacheny in a run for third place with 12 laps to go.  One lap later it was Bronstad to the outside of Barta in a push for the lead, with the Maple Plain driver passing to the top spot with nine laps remaining, and Martin quickly moving in to challenge Barta, passing into second  with six to go.  It was then "The Bronstad and Martin Show" for the rest of the feature as the Farmington driver repeatedly tried to move outside, then inside of the leader, but wasn't close enough to get around before the finish.  Bronstad took the win with Martin right behind, followed by Barta crossing in third.

The Mini Stocks had plenty of cautions during their feature run, but the constant side by side scrambles for position thoughout the group of 26 racers had fans scanning the entire track trying to take it all in at once.  Michael Wachs Jr. of Shakopee came out the leader of a 3-wide battle for the top spot at the green flag, clearing the pack just as Chad Reller of Burnsville and Chaska's Jay Heitz made contact coming out of turn two, sending both cars spinning and bringing out the first caution of the event.  It was Wachs next to Bloomington racer Jack Purcell at the restart, with Chaska driver Tom Sibila moving into third place with 16 laps remaining.  One lap later Purcell passed Wachs for the lead just as two Shakopee drivers, Brandon Plekkenpol and Kyle Larkin, made contact going into turn three resulting in another caution as both drivers spun.  Lane choice had Purcell next to Blake Dorweiler of Montgomery, with Purcell once again pulling ahead at the green and building his lead with 13 laps to go.  Sibila was challenging Wachs for third with 11 laps remaining, and the two kept it side by side until six laps to go when the Chaska driver was able to pass to third.   Dorweiler couldn't close the gap on the leader before the finish, and it was Purcell taking the win followed by the Montgomery driver, and Sibila settling for a third place finish.

The Bomber feature was also a "keep your eyes open or you'll miss the action" kind of event, as Darren Wood of Shakopee jumped to the lead at the green flag, leaving a side by side battle for second between Ryan Varner of Minnetonka and Shakopee's Dave Montour on the first lap.  They kept it up, back and fourth until 17 laps to go, when Varner was able to pass Montour, as Mankato's Joe Tacheny moved quickly in behind.  Varner was challenging Wood for the lead when Kyle Campbell of Belle Plaine suddenly dropped to the infield with 13 laps remaining, resulting in a caution.  It was Wood and Varner with lane choice, and as both drivers tried to take the lead at the restart, Shakopee's Justin Kotchever snapped a wheel going into turn four bringing out the caution again.  At the restart the battle for the lead resumed, keeping it side by side until Varner was able to clear to the top spot with nine laps to go.  Three laps later Varner was pulling away as Montour worked his way around Wood to take second, leaving room on the inside for Ramsey driver Eric Prindle to challenge Wood for third by the last lap.  At the checkers it was Varner for the win, Montour in second with Wood holding on to third just ahead of Prindle at the line.

The Hobby Stock feature got off to a wild start, as Burnsville driver Robby Carter got together with Jeremy Wolff of Chaska on the opening lap, bringing out an early caution and leaving both drivers able to continue with torn up cars.  That set up a restart with Louie Ansolabehere of Minnetonka along side of Shakopee's Mark Hawes, with side by side racing thoughout the entire pack until Hawes took the lead with 18 laps to go.  Bill Woodworth of Chanhassen  took advantage of the opening around Ansolabehere to charge in on Hawes, when Carter again brought out a caution, blowing a tire and spinning in turn two.  It was Hawes and Woodworth at lane choice, with the Chanhassen driver grabbing the lead with 13 laps remaining.  Both Dusty Mann of Farmington and Lonsdale's Brent Kane were on the move, closing in on the leaders as the two chased each other down in a battle for third.  With six laps to go, and Woodworth extending his lead, it was a side by side pack of Hawes, Mann, Kane and Wolff all trying for second place just as Tony Hallberg blew a tire further back resulting in another caution.  It was Woodworth and Mann at lane choice, with the Chanhassen driver taking the lead at the restart, and with two laps remaining Kane made his move to get outside of Mann in a chase for second.  He couldn't lock it in, and had to settle for a third place finish behind Mann, with Woodworth taking the well deserved win.

Coming up next at Raceway Park on Sunday, June 10th, starting at 6pm, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returns with the Great North Legends and Bandoleros joining the Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Bombers, NASCAR Super Late Models and Wild'n'Crazy Figure-8s in a  fun event featuring kids rides in the racecars and the annual Bubble Blow Off Contest.  For family affordable ticket prices and additional information, contact the Raceway Park office at 952/445-2257, and check the website atwww.goracewaypark.com


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