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Kocourek and Summers Crowned Champions,
Raceway Says Goodbye to Nancy Laufenberg!
By Dale Erdmann

September 21, 2002; Lake Geneva, WI. - Until 5pm. it was a beautiful day in Southeastern Wisconsin. But just as the race cars came to the track for hot laps the sky got dark and before the night was over some rain stopped the events from time to time. Going into tonights program Matt Kocourek of Racine held a slim lead in points with just 105 over veteran Al Schill in the Budweiser super late models. Rob Summers hometown driver from Lake Geneva in his third season of McHenry Limousine super stock competition was ahead the same amount to defending champion Jack Rubach. When the night was over Matt Kocourek and Rob Summers were the new champions of their respectitive divisions.

Photo Highlights
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Mike DeKeuster (#6) used the outside lane to retake the lead in the Super Late Model feature from Al Schill Sr. (#14).   DeKeuster would go on to score his first career Super Late Model feature victory.
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Mike Bell (#01) grabbed his fourth Super Stock feature victory of the 2002 season at Lake Geneva Raceway.
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Defending Sport Truck champion Vincent Merry (#55) garnered his fourth feature win of the 2002 season.
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Nick Kalteis (#27) took his fifth feature win in the BIC cars and was joined in victory lane by Junior Fan of the night, Zachary Buckholtz. 

Another Racine driver second generation hot shoe Mike DeKeuster won his first career 50 lap feature in the super late model main event. Mike Bell of Waukesha won the 30 lap super stock feature his fourth of the season. Nick Kalteis of Lake Villa,IL. won his fifth Anchor Towing Basic International car 15 lap feature that started from a dead stop fourth abreast and defending sport truck champion Vincent Merry of Wadsworth,IL. won his fourth 12 lap feature of the season.

With the good size crowd on their feet the officals fans and drivers said good bye to Nancy Laufenberg who died last Sunday at the age of 51. Nancy was a weekend supporter of the raceway for over 20 years. Her son Ken is a crew member of Jason Hick’s team. Many of the drivers carried the black flag after Dale Erdmann PR Director emotionally talked about their friend who unexpectedly left us.

The super late model feature brought Don Collins in front of the field before the only caution came on lap three for a Jerry Cowan and Dan Mecum get together. Collins pounced back in front for just two more laps before Mike DeKeuster slipped in front.

Right behind them Terry Patnode, Denny Hiffman and fast timer Jason Hicks were side by side for positions. It was very tight up front as DeKeuster could feel the heat from Patnode starting with lap six.

Hiffman joined the cluster at the top and it now was a three way battle for the lead. Hicks and now Al Schill crept along side this group and then Billy Skinner Jr. came into play as did rookie Jerry Freeman. On lap twenty six a sliced tire put Hicks in the pits and now Fran Prestay and Matt Kocourek joined the fray that still looked like a parade lap.

At the same time Patnode got alittle wide as Schill slipped under him and set his sights on the leader. Two laps later Schill raced along side DeKeuster inching ahead but not by much.

Now Skinner put the pressure on Patnode as Freeman worked his way around Hiffman on lap thirty two. Things were close from second to tenth as Schill gained a three car margin by lap thirty six. Suddenly on lap forty Schill started to slow as DeKeuste,r Skinner and Freeman caught up to him and three laps later the lead went back to DeKeuster.

Schill dropped out on lap forty eight with a right front tire going down and his hopes of winning the championship were over. DeKeuster went on to win the race as Skinner was on his bumper in second Freeman, Kocourek and Patnode rounded out the top five in this close contest.

With second in time sixth in the dash and fifth in this feature second year driver Matt Kocourek won the championship. The new champion said ”Al was tough as always and it went right down to this feature race”. He thanked the fans for their support here and jokingly said he’d never miss a race again. Kocourek missed an early season night for a family event. Matt did not take over the point lead until the mid season mark when he won his fourth feature of the season that evening.

The super stock feature was just three laps old when fourth place runner Mike Kooi blew his engine and then started on fire. Kooi escaped injury but his night was over.Before that Paul Konieczny and Joe DeGubellis diced for the top spot with each
leading a lap before that slowdown.

Tom Roney slipped under Konieczny on the restart with Craig Mertes following the new leader but was not able to shake Konieczny. Scott Scholl was now right behind this group with Roney starting to gain a good lead by lap ten. Mertes finally secured second but then Mike Bell moved in on lap fifteen. It was too close call from second back to eleventh as Bell gained second place on lap eighteen. Scott Eggebrecht worked his way around Konieczny with ten laps to go and then moved around Mertes. Another rookie Sonny Schoffen got around Konieczny one lap later as the crowd went wild as the top five were under a blanket for the final eight laps.

Bell worked on the leader and took over the lead on lap twenty six holding on for the win as Roney took second Eggebrecht was third Mertes fourth and Schoffen completed the top five.

Summers took fourth in time second in the dash and eighth in the feature to hold a 120 point advantage to Jack Rubach who finished the night with second in time fourth in the dash and eleventh in the feature in this highly competitive division of
support race cars. This is Summers first title for the third season driver.

Chris Blake scooted out front of the twenty car BIC feature from his pole starting position but Dave Cheney Jr. grabbed the front spot one lap later. This event would go non stop as the new leader pulled away from the field.Jeff Bremer challenged the leader to no avail as did point leader Greg Sheldon but with four laps to go Nick Kalteis moved in front to win the race over Sheldon Cheney fast qualifier Bob Koch and Brian Bottlemy for the top five finishers.

This coming weekend marks the schedule of three days of racing on the oval track. The 11th. O’Doul’s Fall Classic brings in drivers from five states.On Friday September 27th. the annual small car world championships will bring in 150 drivers. The Herb’s mini modifieds and the Perfection Auto Body legend cars will have their season championships during part of this big night. Ken Johnson of Paddock Lake and Jeff   Schultz of Silver Lake are locked into a heated battle for the 2002 crown.

In the legend cars Curt Gnatzig of Hartford and Clayton Kruse of Burlington are in the same situation in their division. Time trials begin at 6pm. racing will start at 7:30 sharp.

On Saturday there will be another complete program with Budweiser super late models, Performance unlimited limited late models, McHenry Limousine super street stocks which will include two separate divisions of race cars. The Jefferson Columbus and Tomahawk cars that have a min. post race weight of 3150 pounds and the Slinger stingers WIR type cars that run the Hoosier tires and the Rockford Grand Nationals. The Burlington Glass street stocks which are LGR type cars Midwest Enduro type cars Pure stocks which are like Slinger Bees, Rockford Hornets Jefferson Bandit,s and LGR BIC cars and the Planet Pages Mid-American Stock Car Series point series race cars will be here too. The Wisconsin sport trucks will
run two separate shows both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night the one on one street drags take place. The annual clash of champions for the limited late models and super lates will also run. Time trials are at 2pm. races at 6pm on Saturday.

On Sunday there will be feature races for all divisions starting at 1pm.Weekend Spectator passes are just $25 for adults. Juniors 8 to 14 years of age are $12 and children under 8 are free. Separate tickets for each day are also available.The raceway is located on Bloomfield Road southeast of downtown Lake Geneva,Wisconsin.

The Raceway phone number is 262-248-8566. Listen to WMCW 1600 am and WLKG 96.1 fm for up to the minute updates and details.

Super Late Model Feature            
1    6    Mike Dekuester    Racine, WI
2    47    Billy Skinner Jr (t)    Pell Lake, WI
3    61    Jerry Freeman    Lyons, WI
4    43    Matt Kocourek    Racine, WI
5    5    Terry Patnode    ,
6    41    Denny Hiffman    River Forest, IL
7    5    Fran Prestay    Waterford, WI
8    4    Don Collins    ,
9    56    Mike Simon Jr    Ingleside, IL
10    89e    Mike Egan    Slinger, WI
           
Super Late Model Semi Feature            
1    14R    Randy Rodgers    Elkhorn, WI
2    12    Billy Baumeister    ,
3    23    Brian Ulrich (t)    Racine, WI
4    16    Russ Grossen    Brooklyn, WI
5    22    Super late 22    ,
6    20    Bill Shavlik    ,
7    36m    Jeff Menolascino    Walworth, WI
8    89    Bob Koidahl    Cary, IL
           
Super Late Model Heat #1           
1    89    Bob Koidahl    Cary, IL
2    20    Bill Shavlik    ,
3    16    Russ Grossen    Brooklyn, WI
4    48    Mike Simon Sr    Grayslake, IL
5    4    Don Collins    ,
6    55    Vincent Merry (t)    Wadsworth, IL
7    22    Super late 22    ,
8    36m    Jeff Menolascino    Walworth, WI
9    14R    Randy Rodgers    Elkhorn, WI
10    23    Brian Ulrich (t)    Racine, WI
           
Super Late Model Heat #2           
1    61    Jerry Freeman    Lyons, WI
2    6    Mike Dekuester    Racine, WI
3    11    Dan Mecum    Marengo, IL
4    87    Jamie Wallace    Pell Lake, WI
5    56    Mike Simon Jr    Ingleside, IL
6    67    Jerry Cowan    Burlington, WI
7    5    Fran Prestay    Waterford, WI
8    5    Terry Patnode    ,
9    8    Ron Stoehr    Waukesha, WI
10    12    Billy Baumeister    ,
           
Super Late Model Time Trials           
1    63    Jason Hicks    Lake Geneva, WI
2    43    Matt Kocourek    Racine, WI
3    89e    Mike Egan    Slinger, WI
4    14    Al Schill    Franklin, WI
5    41    Denny Hiffman    River Forest, IL
6    47    Billy Skinner Jr (t)    Pell Lake, WI
7    87    Jamie Wallace    Pell Lake, WI
8    67    Jerry Cowan    Burlington, WI
9    5    Fran Prestay    Waterford, WI
10    5    Terry Patnode    ,
           
Super Late Model Dash           
1    14    Al Schill    Franklin, WI
2    89    Bob Koidahl    Cary, IL
3    41    Denny Hiffman    River Forest, IL
4    63    Jason Hicks    Lake Geneva, WI
5    47    Billy Skinner Jr (t)    Pell Lake, WI
6    43    Matt Kocourek    Racine, WI		 Super Stock Feature           
1    1    Mike Bell    Waukesha, WI
2    10    Tom Roney    Ridgefield, IL
3    64    Scott Eggebrecht    Crystal Lake, IL
4    42    Craig Mertes    Antioch, IL
5    75    Sonny Schoffen    Crystal Lake, IL
6    4    Mike Gunderson    Union Grove, WI
7    43    John Janssen    Burlington, WI
8    38    Rob Summers    Lake Geneva, WI
9    44    Dan Huber    Antioch, IL
10    12    Paul Konieczny    Oconomowoc, WI
           
Super Stock Semi Feature           
1    18    Nick Nelson    Lombard, IL
2    88    Paul Roscoe    Mundelein, IL
3    31    Erik Engel    Genoa City, WI
4    92    Tom Fay    Arlington, IL
5    87    Ken Eisbrenner    Racine, WI
6    11    David Erickson    Algonquin, IL
7    5    Jason Krage    Huntley, IL
8    98    Greg Beebe    Waukesha, WI
9    39    Brad Spiniolas    Harvard, IL
10    16    Willy Peterson (t)    Woodstock, IL
           
Super Stock Heat #1           
1    10    Tom Roney    Ridgefield, IL
2    1    Mike Bell    Waukesha, WI
3    44    Dan Huber    Antioch, IL
4    30    Scott Scholl    Wauwatosa, WI
5    42    Craig Mertes    Antioch, IL
6    12    Paul Konieczny    Oconomowoc, WI
7    36    Joe DeGubellis    Salem, WI
8    0    Pete Olson    Mchenry, IL
           
Super Stock Heat #2           
1    18    Nick Nelson    Lombard, IL
2    1    Norman Paulsen (t)    Beach Park, IL
3    92    Tom Fay    Arlington, IL
4    88    Paul Roscoe    Mundelein, IL
5    29    Trevor Mock    Island Lake, IL
6    87    Ken Eisbrenner    Racine, WI
7    76    Mike Kooi    ,
8    39    Brad Spiniolas    Harvard, IL
9    5    Jason Krage    Huntley, IL
10    52    Jack Clark    ,
           
Super Stock Heat #3           
1    16    Willy Peterson (t)    Woodstock, IL
2    11    David Erickson    Algonquin, IL
3    99    Adam Mass    Woodstock, IL
4    98    Greg Beebe    Waukesha, WI
5    4    Brad Norgard    Pell Lake, WI
6    31    Erik Engel    Genoa City, WI
7    59    Bill Morris (t)    Streamwood, IL
8    7    Glen Carter Jr    Burlington, WI
9    2    Super Stock 2    ,
           
Super Stock Time Trials           
1    43    John Janssen    Burlington, WI
2    46    Jack Rubach    Burlington, WI
3    4    Mike Gunderson    Union Grove, WI
4    38    Rob Summers    Lake Geneva, WI
5    75    Sonny Schoffen    Crystal Lake, IL
6    64    Scott Eggebrecht    Crystal Lake, IL
7    12    Paul Konieczny    Oconomowoc, WI
8    42    Craig Mertes    Antioch, IL
9    44    Dan Huber    Antioch, IL
10    1    Mike Bell    Waukesha, WI
           
Super Stock Dash           
1    64    Scott Eggebrecht    Crystal Lake, IL
2    38    Rob Summers    Lake Geneva, WI
3    75    Sonny Schoffen    Crystal Lake, IL
4    46    Jack Rubach    Burlington, WI
5    43    John Janssen    Burlington, WI
6    4    Mike Gunderson    Union Grove, WI

Bic Feature            
1    27    Nick Kalteis    Lake Villa, IL
2    91    Greg Sheldon    Crystal Lake, IL
3    15c    Dave Cheney    Winthrop Herbor, IL
4    3    Bob Koch    McHenry, IL
5    5    Brian Bottlemy    McHenry, IL
6    49    Steve Doherty    Woodstock, IL
7    43    Jeff Bremer    Round Lake, IL
8    69m    Chris Blake    Milwaukee, WI
9    63    Tony Burrafato    McHenry, IL
10    58    Steve Richter    Bristol, WI
           
Bic Semi Feature #1           
1    222    Randy DeGrave    Elkhorn, WI
2    50b    Tom Benedetti    Glenview, IL
3    23    Randy Schneider    Burlington, WI
4    9    Matt Bushnell    Fox River Grove, IL
5    26    Brit Bromann    Wildwood, IL
6    28s    Chris Scala    Fox River Grove, IL
7    113    Marty Butler    Lake Villa, IL
8    88    Mad Matt Pruessing    Walworth, WI
9    44D    Dale Krause    Lake Geneva, WI
10    22m    Jeff Curcio    Racine, WI
           
Bic Semi Feature #2           
1    76m    Dan Meyer    Racine, WI
2    39c    Dan Clemenz    Waukegan, IL
3    888    Ern Fell (t)    Fontana, WI
4    68    Jason Tibbs    Spring Grove, IL
5    17m    Mike Ryszkiewicz    Muskego, WI
6    24    bic 24    ,
7    26b    Shay Bushnell    Fox River Grove, IL
8    630    John Orr    South Milwaukee, WI
9    77    Ruben Davila    N Riverside, IL
10    921    Brad Norgard    Pell Lake, WI
           
Bic Heat #1           
1    120    Rod Brossard    Fox Lake, IL
2    97    Reid Kahrs Jr    Milwaukee, WI
3    7    Mike Yoder    Twin Lakes, WI
4    18p    David Emery Jr.    Lake Geneva, WI
5    8p    David Emery Sr    Lake Geneva, WI
6    422    Bic 422    ,
7    969    Jeff Keesee    Genoa City, WI
8    53a    Ryan Andrews    Woodstock, IL
9    1    Kevin Weiss    Mc Henry, IL
10    99h    Ayron Mapes    Genoa City, WI
           
Bic Heat #2           
1    9    Matt Bushnell    Fox River Grove, IL
2    44D    Dale Krause    Lake Geneva, WI
3    630    John Orr    South Milwaukee, WI
4    22m    Jeff Curcio    Racine, WI
5    17m    Mike Ryszkiewicz    Muskego, WI
6    88    Mad Matt Pruessing    Walworth, WI
7    77    Ruben Davila    N Riverside, IL
8    26b    Shay Bushnell    Fox River Grove, IL
9    11    John Curcio    ,
10    921    Brad Norgard    Pell Lake, WI
           
Bic Heat #3           
1    23    Randy Schneider    Burlington, WI
2    113    Marty Butler    Lake Villa, IL
3    68    Jason Tibbs    Spring Grove, IL
4    50b    Tom Benedetti    Glenview, IL
5    26    Brit Bromann    Wildwood, IL
6    28s    Chris Scala    Fox River Grove, IL
7    76    Rob Hunt    Cyrstal Lake, IL
8    888    Ern Fell (t)    Fontana, WI
9    73    Josh Brisbois    Salem, WI
10    2b    Bic 2b    ,
           
Bic Heat #4           
1    58    Steve Richter    Bristol, WI
2    5    Brian Bottlemy    McHenry, IL
3    15c    Dave Cheney    Winthrop Herbor, IL
4    55    Vladi Vladimirov    Racine, WI
5    63    Tony Burrafato    McHenry, IL
6    39c    Dan Clemenz    Waukegan, IL
7    49    Steve Doherty    Woodstock, IL
8    69m    Chris Blake    Milwaukee, WI
9    19    John Da Duke Edwards    Crystal Lake, IL
10    2    Lenny Adams    Mc Henry, IL
           
Bic Time Trials           
1    3    Bob Koch    McHenry, IL
2    27    Nick Kalteis    Lake Villa, IL
3    33    Dan Giannotti    Bristol, WI
4    76    Rob Hunt    Cyrstal Lake, IL
5    91    Greg Sheldon    Crystal Lake, IL
6    43    Jeff Bremer    Round Lake, IL
7    63    Tony Burrafato    McHenry, IL
8    5    Brian Bottlemy    McHenry, IL
9    58    Steve Richter    Bristol, WI
10    55    Vladi Vladimirov    Racine, WI
           
Bic Dash           
1    91    Greg Sheldon    Crystal Lake, IL
2    3    Bob Koch    McHenry, IL
3    43    Jeff Bremer    Round Lake, IL
4    33    Dan Giannotti    Bristol, WI
5    76    Rob Hunt    Cyrstal Lake, IL
6    27    Nick Kalteis    Lake Villa, IL