Pokorski Tops Modified Twin with Dippel, Sohrweide, Jorgenson & Krepline Winners
By Mary Horneck
 

Manitowoc, WI.; August 19, 2006 - With only four championship point races left after this weekend, the annual Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars “Back to School” Night was a hit on and off the track. Off the track, all student and children ticket holders received “back to school” supplies donated by race crews and sponsors. On the track, a fast track and close point battles set the tone for the hard-charging racing action at the Manitowoc County Expo.
Photo Highlights
Paul Pokorski (#4) has been on a roll, winning the Winged Super Modified main events for the past several weeks.  He has taken over the point lead and in seeking to win the season title in Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car action.
Dan Dippel (#8) continues his stranglehold on the checkered flag in Limited Late Model feature action.
Tim Thompson (#69) carries the American Flag during opening ceremonies.
Scott Sohrweide (#41) won the Grand National Sportsman feature contest this Saturday evening at the Manitowoc County Expo raceway.
Local racer Adam Krepline (#99) topped the Eastern Eight feature contest.
Tim Jorgensen (#18) was joined by Miss Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car after collecting another All-American Mighty 4 feature victory.

In the first 20-lap Twin A-Main in the Winged Super Modifieds, Scott Mohs of Plymouth jumped into the early lead with Jeremy Mullenbach and Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport on his bumper. By the fourth lap, six-time feature winner Paul Pokorski of West Bend charged into second and began reeling leader Mohs in. Two laps later, Pokorski tucked his car to the inside of the leader to cross the line with Mohs still in the lead by just a couple inches. Mohs and Pokorski charged around the Manitowoc track side by side with Pokorski changing grooves to pass Mohs on the outside to take over the lead in lap seven. In the same lap, last years track champion Tim McMullen of Plymouth charged into third behind the battling duo. As leader Pokorski began lapping cars at the mid-point of the race, McMullen passed Mohs to take up the challenge spot. Pokorski and McMullen weaved their cars through the lapped traffic but time was not on McMullen’s side. Pokorski charged through the checkered to win the first half of the Modified Twin Challenge. McMullen followed in second with Brad Swendrowski of Milwaukee making a last lap pass to finish third. Mohs and Kris Hansen of Manitowoc rounded out the top five.

With the lead lap cars from the first race inverted in the line-up for the second race, Jeremy Mullenbach charged in the lead with Pokorski on his trail from the first lap. Hansen and McMullen battled behind them for third. Pokorski threw his car to the outside of the track to take over the lead in lap three as McMullen tucked to the inside of Hansen to beat him across the line by inches to take over third. A lap later, McMullen passed Mullenbach to take over second with some track to make up to catch leader Pokorski. A couple yellow flags pulled the field back together in laps eight and nine but Pokorski charged out on the green flag. McMullen running the inside groove changed to the outside as Hafemann challenged him on the high groove from third. Chuck Tuschl of Reedsville moved into fourth with Hansen charging after him. As the field charged through the turns, the Modified competitors raced three wide through turns one and two and down the backstretch. Pokorski again began lapping traffic with McMullen and Hafemann battling behind him. At the checkered flag, Pokorski won the second leg of the Twins earning him the overall win for the race. In this race, McMullen followed in second with Hafemann, Hansen and Tuschl completing the top five. Following Pokorski in the overall win, McMullen finished second with Hansen, Mohs and Swendrowski rounding out the top five.

In the Limited Late Model A-Main, Dave Schaetzer of Sheboygan jumped into the early lead with Dave Haag of Glenbeulah charging after him. Scott Haugstad of Plymouth moved into third by the second lap with Paul Dingel of Sheboygan on his bumper. By lap six, a three-car battle for third developed with Haugstad charging the high side of the track, Dingel on the inside and point leader Dan Dippel of Plymouth sticking to their bumpers for his opportunity to advance. A lap later, Haugstad only held third by inches as he and Dingel charged side by side around the track. Another lap was completed with Dingel moving into third just before a yellow flag stopped the hard-charging action and relined up the field. When the green flag flew, Schaetzer charged out in front with Haag on his bumper and Haugstad moving back into third. Dippel charged passed Dingel on the front stretch to take over fourth in lap nine. In the next lap, Dippel threw his car to the outside of Haugstad to challenge for third. By this time, the top five cars were tightly packed in the front and Dippel used the outside of the track to pass Haugstad on the backstretch but Haugstad battled back through turns three and four. When Dippel and Haugstad charged down the front stretch, the two crossed the line almost even with Dippel having the slight advantage. Haag attempted to tuck his car inside leader Schaetzer but Schaetzer closed the door and maintained his lead. Dippel again used the high groove to pass both Haag and Schaetzer to take over the lead with four laps to the end. Schaetzer kept his car tight on the low side of the track and took back the lead in lap 13. Dippel battled back and retook the top spot a lap later. At the checkered flag, Dippel won his tenth A-Main of the season. Heat winner Haugstad passed on the white flag lap to finish second with Dingel, Haag and Schaetzer rounding out the top five.

An early red flag for a flipped car and hard-charging racing action highlighted the Grand National A-Main with the race stopping only in lap three when Bob Cullen of Chilton flipped his car for the second time this season. As Cullen’s car rolled front corner to rear corner in front of gasping fans who were able to see the entire undercarriage of the Grand National, safety crews reached Cullen as he was able to exit the car under his own power. The crash sent Cullen and another competitor to the pits not to return to the race. As the feature was restarted, a hard-fought battle for the lead developed with five-time feature winner Mike Bastian of Manitowoc and Tim Thompson of Campbellsport raced side by side through the turns and down the straightaways. Brett Wenzel of Two Rivers, Ben Schmidt of Plymouth and last week’s feature winner Bob Peter of Howards Grove charged behind them to chase down the leader. With Bastian and Thompson separated by only inches for the lead at the line in lap five, Scott Sohrweide of Chilton moved into fifth place. Thompson used the inside groove to pass for the lead a lap later with Bastian hot on his tail. Wenzel and Schmidt charged after the battling dup with Brian Gilles of Plymouth pulling next to Sohrweide to challenge for fifth.

An incident on the backstretch between leader Thompson and Bastian sent Thompson spinning into the infield and sent both drivers to the pit area a lap later not to return. After the top two left, Wenzel charged out in front with Sohrweide throwing his car to the outside to take over second and Schmidt following in third. Side by side the top competitors charged around the track with Sohrweide racing outside Wenzel to take over the lead in lap ten. With half the race to go, the top five, Sohrweide, Wenzel, Schmidt, Gilles and Peter, charged tightly packed together three abreast to battle for the win. In lap twelve, Gilles slid inside passed Schmidt to take over third by inches but Schmidt, charging on the high side, raced passed Gilles the next lap to secure third again.

Schmidt continued his charge on the outside to pass Wenzel for second in lap fourteen. Wenzel stuck to the inside and charged back into second the next lap to chase down leader Sohrweide. Schmidt and Gilles again battled for control of third as the two charged almost even around the track. When the white flag flew, Gilles took over third and charged after Sohrweide and Wenzel for the final lap. As the checkered flag flew, heat winner Sohrweide won his first A-Main of the season. Wenzel followed in second with Gilles, heat winner Schmidt, and fast qualifier Jason Winkler of New Holstein rounding out the top five.

In the Mighty 4 A-Main, Greg Gierke of Kiel took the early lead with Ben Daoust of Oneida charging after him in second in lap three. Behind them, Jacob Meyer of Plymouth and Tim Jorgenson of DePere raced side by side down the front stretch in a battle for third. A lap later, Daoust passed Gierke for the lead as Jorgenson also charged ahead to move into second. Daoust and Jorgenson both chose the high side to charge around the Manitowoc track. At the line in lap five, heat winner Amber Rabe of Plymouth moved into third behind the battling duo. By lap nine, Jorgenson stuck to the back of leader Daoust waiting for the slightest opportunity to take control of the race. Bumper to bumper the cars charged around the track until Daoust race higher coming out of turn four and Jorgenson tucked his car inside to cross the line in lap eleven side by side with the leader. Daoust held off seven-time feature winner Jorgenson to lead another two laps but as the white flag flew, Jorgenson charged passed to take over the lead with Rabe sticking right behind him in second. On the final lap, Rabe pressured Jorgenson for the win but at the checkered flag, Jorgenson won his eighth A-Main of the season. Rabe followed in second with Meyer moving into third at the white flag.

Only one yellow flag halted the racing action in the Eastern 8 A-Main with point leader Adam Krepline of Manitowoc charging into the lead in the first lap. Jeff Sayler of Howards Grove chased down the leader with Mike Kaufmann of Newton charging after him in third. At the line in lap six, Sayler attempted to tuck his car inside Krepline to take over the lead but Krepline held him off just before the solo yellow flag appeared to reline up the field. When the green flag flew to restart the race, Krepline charged out in the lead again with Sayler after him. Mark Vranak of Sheboygan, Bret Koehler of Two Rivers and Sandra Meyer of Plymouth charged after the leaders. Krepline raced through the turns holding Sayler at bay until the checkered flag flew marking Krepline’s third feature win of the season. Sayler followed in second with heat winner Vranak, Meyer and Koehler rounding out the top five.

Join Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars at the Manitowoc County Fair on Wednesday, August 23rd for a full race program with the self-starting Winged Super Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Grand Nationals, Mighty 4’s and Eastern 8’s. The EWSC race program returns to Saturday nights on September 2nd for the EWSC Labor Day Weekend Race.

Summary: EWSC “Back To School” Night at the Races


Winged Super Modified:


Fast Qualifier: # 7 Pete Ostrowski – East Troy 14.835 Seconds

Overall A-Main Finish: Paul Pokorski, West Bend; Tim McMullen, Plymouth; Kris Hansen, Manitowoc; Scott Mohs, Plymouth; Brad Swendrowski, Milwaukee; Butch Hafemann, Campbellsport; Chuck Tuschl, Reedsville; Jeremy Mullenbach; Tyler Hafemann, Manitowoc; Dan Kruschke, Glenbeulah;

A-Main # 1 (20 laps): Pokorski; McMullen; Swendrowski; Mohs; K. Hansen; Mullenbach; Tuschl; Butch Hafemann;

A-Main # 2 (20 laps): Pokorski; McMullen; Butch Hafemann; K. Hansen; Tuschl; S. Mohs; Mullenbach; Swendrowski;

Heat # 1 (7 laps): Swendrowski; Tuschl; Greg Perko;
Heat # 2 (10 laps): Ostrowski; Pokorski; McMullen;

Limited Late Model:


A-Main (15 laps): Dan Dippel, Plymouth; Scott Haugstad, Plymouth; Paul Dingel, Sheboygan; Dave Haag, Glenbeulah; Dave Schaetzer, Sheboygan;

Heat # 1 (10 laps): Haugstad; Dippel; Haag;

Grand National:


Fast Qualifier: # 88 Jason Winkler – New Holstein 19.524 Seconds

A-Main (20 laps): Scott Sohrweide, Chilton; Brett Wenzel, Two Rivers; Brian Gilles, Plymouth; Ben Schmidt, Plymouth; Jason Winkler, New Holstein; Bob Peter, Howards Grove; Kevin Damrow, Howards Grove; Dale Damrow, Sheboygan; Chad Kistner, New Holstein; Bernie Schommer, Chilton;

B-Main (12 laps): Brad Ruh, Elkhart Lake; Kistner; D. Damrow: Brian Goetsch, Sheboygan; K. Damrow; Brian Rathe. Kewaunee;

Heat # 1 (10 laps): D. Damrow; Ruh; K. Damrow;
Heat # 2 (10 laps): Sohweide; Gilles; Tim Thompson, Campbellsport;
Heat # 3 (10 laps): Schmidt; Tim Warner, Malone; Wenzel;

All American Mighty 4’s:


A-Main # 1 (15 laps): Tim Jorgenson, DePere; Amber Rabe, Plymouth; Jacob Meyer, Plymouth; Greg Gierke, Kiel; Samantha Meyer, Plymouth; Kyle Resch, Manitowoc;

Heat # 1 (8 laps): Rabe; Jorgenson; Daoust;

Eastern 8’s:


A-Main # 1 (15 laps): Adam Krepline, Manitowoc; Jeff Sayler, Howards Grove; Mark Vranak, Sheboygan; Sandra Meyer, Plymouth; Brett Koehler, Two Rivers; Josh Schroeder, Manitowoc;

Heat # 1 (6 laps): Mike Kaufmann, Newton; Schroeder; Krepline;
Heat # 2 (6 laps): Vranak; Sayler; Koehler;

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