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Lake Geneva Raceway presents
Round and Around by Fay Hendricks
Upcoming Events at Lake Geneva Raceway:

See you for the 2006 Season opener in April
Round and Around:  By Fay Hendricks
The following is a column written by Fay Hendricks for The Checkered Flag Racing News. This race publication began in 1968 and ceased operations as of July 13, 2005. The wife of 7-time sportsman and mini stock champion Jim Hendricks, Fay has been writing since 1981. As a way to allow readers to continue following the travels of Fay Hendricks around several venues, Lake Geneva Raceway owner-promoter Kevin Dawson has decided to offer the columns here. We hope you enjoy the reading.
May 27, 2006  -  Mother Nature smiled upon us for a change, making the Memorial Day weekend even more memorable. Despite the super weather forecast, a brief shower showed up Saturday before qualifying time at Lake Geneva Raceway. Not to be deterred, the track drying quickly began and the first race began on schedule. The late-arriving crowd packed the place, for the evening’s slate included another wreck-filled trailer race. This time the entries showed much more imagination, and more than a few onlookers bemoaned the “slaughter” of so many stuffed animals during the carnage. But first the race program.

There were several driver substitutions among the fields Saturday, and some new faces. The mini mod field was a bit light in numbers, but put on a good show with their non-stop feature. After the lead changed among three different drivers, Bill Trusky completed his clean sweep of the class in the mount borrowed from Mike Van Houten. Due to the full program, the winner interviews were shelved in order to speed things up. But we know Trusky would have been extremely happy.

Next on the feature docket was the super mini cup class feature. The first to bring out the caution flag, it was needed three times for minor spins. The small-engine machines need a couple laps to get up to speed each time, some adapting quicker than others. The other noticeable difference is that the small vehicles don’t brake for the corners, unlike their heavier counterparts. The close contest between Mick Ellis and Erik Gehrke was resolved by the halfway point in the feature, then Gehrke handily charged ahead to the end. Later coming up to the tower to give his winner’s interview, Gehrke announced, “It’s my wife’s birthday, so the only way I could go racing today was to win.” When announcer Mike Babicz asked Gehrke what his occupation was the winner stated. “I’m a police officer and hostage negotiator.” Not your average racer, but Gehrke was eligible for Monday’s special event at Lake Geneva. A new race was added to the annual Memorial Day Midwest Stock Car Enduro, this one just for law enforcement. Other entries for Monday came in during the evening as well, great news for the series co-owner, Darryl Traber, who was competing in a super stock Saturday.

The super stock main event zipped along without a caution, with Dan Clemenz taking charge with only five laps remaining. Substitute driver Derrick Perrier and 14-year old Tyler Peterson made the starting field via the semi. With the first two race leaders fading as the contest went to the final flag, Traber was happy with his runner-up finish. Coming from far back in the starting field for third and fourth places were Bob Moeller and Jack Rubach, quite remarkable since there were no cautions to help them out. At this track the feature fields are allowed to choose their lane on restarts. Sometimes the results are dramatic, sometimes the choices don’t work out. It’s always interesting to watch.

The late model main capped off the racing portion of the evening with a caution-filled event. Of course, this happens every time you’re in a rush to get things done quickly. Minor spins and lengthy track cleanups had no injuries reported in either, although the broom crew did get quite a workout Saturday night. The invitation to exit (the black flag) was given to a driver or two during the event, due to their involvement. Earlier the semi placed Vincent Merry and Rick Corso at the end of the 20-car field. Corso came back to a top ten finish after pitting shortly before the midway point, having had an interactive Saturday with his fellow racers. Third-generation racer Josh Wallace became the third different leader of the 40-lap contest, holding on until just before the white flag lap. With another restart leaving only seven circuits left, it was a classic show of experience against youth when veteran Eddie May smoothly worked his way around Wallace in the Fran Prestay mount. May is one of several racers we enjoy watching. He may not provide a big show or flashy moves, but simply takes his time smoothly getting past one car at a time. This formula is hard to master, but very effective in the win column.

The audience then got an eyeful of crashes and crunches. The 17 entries in the trailer race paraded their wares before total carnage began. Several pop-up campers, several boats, a snowmobile, a washer, and reclining chair were among the trailer contents, and many perfectly good stuffed animals were attached to vehicles. Before the green flag dropped, one had already launched his boat and the others quickly followed in jettisoning their cargo. The audience delighted in the sight, cheering as the entries smashed into, over, or through the debris as things got mangled and destroyed. With disabled mounts all around the course, the drivers quickly exited to safety as the final vehicles regrouped for a dash to the finish. By 10:30 it was all over, the arena looking like a tornado had hit. The happy audience had ample time to visit with their favorites, and there was way too much time left for victory celebrations.

With Saturday night’s temperatures still in the 70’s, this was the rarest of treats, considering what Spring in Wisconsin has been so far. We can only be happy for this as Lake Geneva Raceway completed the second of their four race programs for the weekend. Normally they compete on the motocross course as well as the third-mile oval every Friday night, the Saturday divisions on the oval, followed by go-karting on Sundays. We wonder where all those racers will go next year after they become orphans.

 
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