Pokorski, Dippel, Wenzel, Kuhfuss & Ruh Top EWSC Season Opener  at Manitowoc
By Mary Horneck
 

Manitowoc, WI.; May 5, 2007 - In typical May racing weather, the fans were bundled up to watch the Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars 2007 Sunset Tours Season Opener at the Manitowoc County Expo. The EWSC Board announced to the fans and drivers that a contract was signed with Manitowoc County to secure the Club’s racing at the Expo through the 2010 season.
Photo Highlights
A new look for the 2007 season!  Defending Winged Super Modified champion Paul Pokorski sits in victory lane with new colors for this season!
Dan Dippel (#8) picked up where he left off last year as the defending Limited Late Model champion... by making a trip to victory lane.
Brett Wenzel (#4) takes his turn in the winner's circle after topping the Grand National Sportsman feature contest.
Mike Kuhfuss (#17) put his sharp looking Mighty 4 in victory lane after taking a sweep f the evening's events.
Kevin Ruh (#91) topped the Eastern 8 division feature contest.
We'll race anything to entertain!  The top finishers of the Pit Bike racing event this evening.

On a super fast race track, the Winged Super Modified 30-lap A-Main competitors flew around the Manitowoc track as past Modified Track Champion Paul Pokorski of West Bend was hooked up as he charged out into the lead on the first lap. Steve Bricker of Two Rivers and Bob Brion of Plymouth chased Pokorski with Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport, Dan Kruschke of Glenbeulah, Tim McMullen of Plymouth and Pete Ostrowski of East Troy remaining tightly packed as they battled for third place in lap four. A lap later, a yellow flag pulled leader Pokorski back to just in front of the field.Last season’s EWSC Winged Super Modified Track Champion Paul Pokorski of West Bend wasted no time in jumping to the front of the A-Main with another past division champion Pete Ostrowski of East Troy chasing him down. Dave Deicher of Plymouth charged after the Modified champions with Kris Hansen of Manitowoc on his bumper. Pokorski and Ostrowski were hooked up on the high side of the track as they charged through the turns lap after lap. At the white flag with one lap to go, it looked as if lapped traffic would hold up leader Pokorski just for a second which would give an experienced racer like Ostrowski enough time to take control of the race. Pokorski threw his car skillfully between two lapped cars to pull down the backstretch still in the lead with Ostrowski charging through the same cars to chase Pokorski to the line. As the checkered flag flew, Pokorski became the first Modified A-Main winner of the 2007 season. Fast Qualifier Ostrowski followed in second with Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport, Dave Deicher of Plymouth and Kris Hansen of Manitowoc rounding out the top five.

In the Limited Late Model A-Main, Jeff Sayler of Howards Grove grabbed the early lead in the first lap but bobbled just slightly coming out of turn four to complete the second lap. That was all the opening last year’s Limited Late Model Track Champion Dan Dippel of Plymouth needed to charge through to take over the lead. Sayler raced after Dippel with Howie Weiss of Glenbeulah on his bumper. Two laps later, Weiss moved into second and heat winner Mark Dingel of Sheboygan followed in third in the chase for the lead. Nothing would halt the race as Dippel set the pace and charged through to win the first Limited Late Model A-Main of the season. Weiss finished second with Dingel, Scott Haugstad of Plymouth and Sayler rounding out the top five.

The hard-charging Grand National A-Main hit the track and ran green flag to checkered without interruption as Brett Wenzel of Two Rivers charged into the lead by the second lap. In the early laps, as cars battled three wide through the corners at the Manitowoc track, Tim Warner of Malone and Mike Plate of Newton raced after leader Wenzel to challenge for control of the race. After seven laps of following Warner, Plate made his move coming out of turn four to complete lap nine as Plate threw his car hard to the inside of Warner to charge passed him on the front stretch to take over second. As Plate focused on catching the leader, Wenzel was able to distance his car out in front. Warner refocused and charged after Plate as last year’s track champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth moved into fourth. By lap 12, Plate, Warner and Gilles raced bumper to bumper with only inches separating second through fourth. Three laps later, coming out of turn four, Plate, Warner and Gilles charged hard down the front stretch making contact across the start/finish line as Warner moved back into second by inches. With five laps to the end, leader Wenzel maneuvered around lapped traffic to hold onto the top spot. Warner charged after Wenzel as Plate and Gilles battled for third. In lap 17, Gilles secured third and chased down Warner for the challenge position. When the white flag flew, Gilles made his move as he threw his car to the outside groove to attempt to pass Warner but Warner held him off. At the checkered flag, Wenzel solidly won the first Grand National A-Main of the season. Warner followed in second with Plate making a final lap pass on the front stretch to finish third. Fast qualifier and heat winner Gilles and Bob Peter of Howards Grove rounded out the top five.

In the Limited Late Model A-Main, Jeff Sayler of Howards Grove grabbed the early lead in the first lap but bobbled just slightly coming out of turn four to complete the second lap. That was all the opening last year’s Limited Late Model Track Champion Dan Dippel of Plymouth needed to charge through to take over the lead. Sayler raced after Dippel with Howie Weiss of Glenbeulah on his bumper. Two laps later, Weiss moved into second and heat winner Mark Dingel of Sheboygan followed in third in the chase for the lead. Nothing would halt the race as Dippel set the pace and charged through to win the first Limited Late Model A-Main of the season. Weiss finished second with Dingel, Scott Haugstad of Plymouth and Sayler rounding out the top five.

The hard-charging Grand National A-Main hit the track and ran green flag to checkered without interruption as Brett Wenzel of Two Rivers charged into the lead by the second lap. In the early laps, as cars battled three wide through the corners at the Manitowoc track, Tim Warner of Malone and Mike Plate of Newton raced after leader Wenzel to challenge for control of the race. After seven laps of following Warner, Plate made his move coming out of turn four to complete lap nine as Plate threw his car hard to the inside of Warner to charge passed him on the front stretch to take over second. As Plate focused on catching the leader, Wenzel was able to distance his car out in front. Warner refocused and charged after Plate as last year’s track champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth moved into fourth. By lap 12, Plate, Warner and Gilles raced bumper to bumper with only inches separating second through fourth. Three laps later, coming out of turn four, Plate, Warner and Gilles charged hard down the front stretch making contact across the start/finish line as Warner moved back into second by inches. With five laps to the end, leader Wenzel maneuvered around lapped traffic to hold onto the top spot. Warner charged after Wenzel as Plate and Gilles battled for third. In lap 17, Gilles secured third and chased down Warner for the challenge position. When the white flag flew, Gilles made his move as he threw his car to the outside groove to attempt to pass Warner but Warner held him off. At the checkered flag, Wenzel solidly won the first Grand National A-Main of the season. Warner followed in second with Plate making a final lap pass on the front stretch to finish third. Fast qualifier and heat winner Gilles and Bob Peter of Howards Grove rounded out the top five.

n the All American Mighty 4’s A-Main, Amber Rabe of Plymouth charged into the early lead with Kyle Resch of Manitowoc chasing her down. As the field completed lap three and charged into turns one and two, the red flag came out for Resch who rolled his car through the turn.

Fortunately, Resch climbed out of his car and the race would be restarted. Rabe lined up in front alone with JJ Anderson and Greg Gierke of Kiel directly behind her. When the green flag flew, Rabe charged out in front with Anderson and heat winner Mark Kuhfuss of Howards Grove who moved into third. Two laps later, Kuhfuss took over the challenge spot and set his sights on Rabe. At the line in lap seven, Kuhfuss edged out Rabe for the lead as the two cars charged side-by-side down the front stretch and into turn one. Kuhfuss set the pace for the remainder of the laps as he took the checkered flag to win the first Mighty 4 A-Main of the season. Rabe followed in second with Anderson, Gierke and Jacob Meyer of Plymouth rounding out the top five.

Newton’s Mike Kaufmann charged into the early lead in the first Eastern 8 A-Main of the 2007 season with Mark Vranak of Sheboygan moving into second in lap two. A lap later, Kevin Ruh of Elkhart Lake and Brett Koehler of Two Rivers charged passed Vranak to move in second and third. Ruh and Koehler continued their charge by passing Kaufmann in the next lap to take over the top spots. By lap six, Ruh and Koehler distanced their cars out in front as Kaufmann and Brad Ruh also of Elkhart Lake crossed the scoring line with only inches separating their cars. Brad Ruh threw his car to the inside of Kaufmann to take over third. As Brad Ruh chased down leader Kevin Ruh and Koehler, Vranak who was running in fourth was joined by last year’s track champion Adam Krepline of Manitowoc moving into fifth. As the laps counted down, Kevin Ruh held off the challenges and took the checkered flag to be the season’s first Eastern 8 A-Main winner. Koehler held off a last lap challenge from Brad Ruh to hold onto second with Ruh finishing third. Vranak followed in fourth with heat winner Krepline rounding out the top five.

Join Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars on Saturday, May 12th when the Winged Super Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Grand Nationals, Mighty 4’s and Eastern 8’s are joined by the CCRA Street Stocks at the Manitowoc County Expo Race Track.

Summary: Sunset Tours 2007 EWSC Season Opener

Winged Super Modified:

Fast Qualifier: Pete Ostrowski – East Troy 15.746 Seconds

A-Main (15 laps): Paul Pokorski, West Bend; Pete Ostrowski, East Troy; Butch Hafemann, Campbellsport; Dave Deicher, Plymouth; Kris Hansen, Manitowoc;

Heat # 1 (10 laps): Pokorski; Hafemann; Ostrowski; Hansen;

Limited Late Model:


A-Main (15 laps): Dan Dippel, Plymouth; Howie Weiss, Glenbeulah; Mark Dingel, Sheboygan; Scott Haugstad, Plymouth; Jeff Sayler, Howards Grove;

Heat # 1 (10 laps): Dingel; Haugstad; Dippel; Weiss;

Grand National:


Fast Qualifier: Brian Gilles – Plymouth 21.374 Seconds

A-Main (20 laps): Brett Wenzel, Two Rivers; Tim Warner, Malone; Mike Plate, Newton; Brian Gilles, Plymouth; Bob Peter, Howards Grove; Jesse Cullen, Chilton; Chad Kistner, New Holstein; Josh McDonald, Sheboygan;

Heat # 1 (10 laps): Gilles; Plate; Warner; Peter;
Heat # 2 (10 laps): McDonald; Kistner; Cullen; Wenzel;


All American Mighty 4’s:


A-Main # 1 (12 laps): Mark Kuhfuss, Howards Grove; Amber Rabe, Plymouth; JJ Anderson; Greg Gierke, Kiel; Jacob Meyer, Plymouth;

 

Heat # 1 (6 laps): Kuhfuss; Gierke; Meyer; Rabe;

Eastern 8’s:

A-Main # 1 (15 laps): Kevin Ruh, Elkhart Lake; Brett Koehler, Two Rivers; Brad Ruh, Elkhart Lake; Mark Vranak, Sheboygan; Adam Krepline, Manitowoc; Steven Ruh, Chilton; John Mahlberg, Hilbert; Craig Koehler, Francis Creek; Mike Kaufmann, Newton; Crystal Koenig;

Heat # 1 (6 laps): Krepline; Ruh; Ruh; Craig Koehler;
Heat # 2 (6 laps): Matt McDonald, Manitowoc; Mike Bastian, Manitowoc; Todd Mott; Nic Schuette, Plymouth;
Heat # 3 (6 laps): Ruh; Mahlberg; Koehler; Koenig;

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