Monster Hall Raceway Suffers 'Wet Weekend'!
By Ben Brost

June 20, 2002; Unity, WI. - The rain washed away any hopes of racing at Monster Hall Raceway this past weekend, which gave the drivers, crew, and track officials extra time to get their cars, and the track into prime shape for this weekends momentum builder of a race, the Budweiser Midseason Championships, presented by K & A Promotions.

After Friday nights rain, the track officials worked on the track all day in hopes that the rain will hold off yet another day to put on the show on Sunday, but the rain came again, and drowned the chance of racing at all. Weather permitting, the staff at Monster Hall Raceway promises an exciting night of racing to top no other night seen at the track this season. 6 classes of racers will bring their cars to do battle, providing door-to-door non-stop racing action all over the high banks.

The first of the features out of the gates will be the Midwest Modifieds. This class has seen much growth over the time that it has been in the lineup at Monster Hall Raceway, and many new faces piloting their way into the Budweiser Winner's Circle. Still a very strong threat every time he comes out is the 2001 Track Champion #27 Scott Anderson. Anderson has proven that he has what it takes to take the championship this weekend, with several feature wins this season, and looking like he is on pace to be crowned victor yet again.

Anderson has seen much competition from his competitors this season, including that of #3jr Shane Halopka. A little bit of bad luck hasn't stopped Halopka from proving that he is one of the many aspiring talents racing their way around the 1/3 mile, after winning a feature this season, and holding his own every week. #4 Jim Poyda has shown significant improvement taking home the checkers earlier this season, and consistently showing that he can bring the heat to the class, leading the point chase by 1 point over #01 Al Seehafer. Seehafer jumped behind the wheel of his black and yellow machine to consistent top five finishes, putting him in second place in the points battle, which should provide for an excellent starting position this weekend.

The next class will be the street stocks. These guys put on a great show every week, continually showing that it is anybodies race every night. Friday nights race will prove to be up for grabs with great names returning to the high banks, such as #51 Chris Oertel, #33 Mike Paul, #36 Dave Teatz, and #27 John Becker. All of these drivers have won features at Monster Hall Raceway, and have been strong contenders every week. Becker won opening night, and continues to hang on to his top five finishes consistently every week, showing continuous contention for winning. Mike Paul has developed his talent, and honed his driving ability over the course of the years, and this year is continually proving to be a contender, winning a couple of features this season. This weekend will definitely set the tone for the rest of the season, especially with drivers like #35 Ken Heser, and #17 Joe Bablick, as well as the Crasper brothers, #07 Cory, and #7 Chris setting a new tone for the Street Stock division at Monster Hall Raceway.

The Super Stocks are going to come with the thunder on Friday night, with veterans as the "Colby Comet" Paul Lieders in his blue and white #57, as well as the 2001 Track Champion #14L Lance Leu. Not to mention #22 Randy Spacek, and #77W Jim Willner. Those four drivers have been battling on the track for almost the entire season, all trying to make a strong showing for their legion of fans. The question of the night will be who has the most experience on the track, and who nailed the setup right for the night, because with the rain that we had this weekend, nobody can really predict as to what the conditions of the track will be. We have seen this class go 3 wide, and sometimes 4 wide on the straights, and every night it is a new host of drivers duking it out for position. Leiders has won the track championship 3 times in the last 4 years, Leu won it last year, and Randy Spacek is always strong on the banks, so it is anybodies guess who will win this race.

The Modifieds will be on the track next, and these guys give new meaning to the phrase "expect the unexpected". 4 weeks ago, #33 Jed Moore was experiencing all sorts of mechanical trouble, and was not able to do much of anything, and all of a sudden, he came alive one weekend bringing home the checkers. Of course #80 Troy Kuyoth will always be a contender for any win in whatever race he is in, so it is important not to count him out. #151 Tyler Keyser has been flexing his racing muscle at area tracks, and runs the high line like no other, in a position to take a win each and every night. The three other cars to watch are #51 Butch Oertel, #3 Mike Bauer, and #33s Jeremy Shiltz.

With well over 25 years of experience, and numerous accomplishments in his storied career, Oertel can find his way around any track very easily. #3 Mike Bauer has shown that he can compete with everybody by showing that he still can keep up with the leaders. He gets a lot of forward bite on the backstretch, and makes passing cars in the corner look easy. Shiltz is only in his second year, but has shown significant improvement since his first time behind the wheel. He was running in second some weeks ago, and tried several times to get around #22 Jeff Spacek, occasionally getting a tire alongside his door. Friday night we will find out if it will be the experience of a living legend in Oertel, will it be the tenacity of a clean but yet aggressive driver like Bauer? Or will it be the youngblood hungry for victory in Shiltz? Friday night will tell all.

The Late Models made their debut at Monster Hall Raceway this season, and the fans have seen some great racing from new faces and experienced competitors thus far this year. #80 Troy Kuyoth has a very slim point lead over #15 Nick Anvelink, so that battle alone should be exciting in the Late Model class. #00 Robby Bunkelman made his debut in his orange late model, driving on a mission for his position. Newcomer this season to Monster Hall Raceway is Paul Brust. Brust, right now, has at least 2 feature wins under his belt, along with a lot of respect from his colleagues. #8 Brent Larson won in southern Minnesota earlier this season, and has the ability to run up front every week. It has been rumored that the legendary #72 Bill Lindner might bring out his machine this weekend, hopefully he does come out, so all can see one of the last of the good ol' boys race yet again.

Friday night isn't the only event coming up that will bring the heat on. July 3rd, Monster Hall Raceway is going to see some of the biggest names in WISSOTA Late Model Racing, with the Challenge Series coming to town. We are back to regular racing next Friday night, and we have another Enduro race on July 13th. The next few weeks are going to be action packed and fun filled, so be sure to come out and join us!