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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.
July 1, 2006  -  The month of July is suddenly upon us, and things heat up in a hurry. The thermometer hung around the 90 mark as we returned to Lake Geneva Raceway for the first time in weeks. The first Saturday of the month meant another opportunity for someone to break the all-time qualifying record, and this night was the second trailer race of the season. Impending weather was kept at bay until shortly after the evening’s features began, when it was learned that a huge storm with strong winds was headed our way. No winner interviews would be held to keep things moving along, but the final feature would be plagued with yellow banners. You know the rule. When you’re in a hurry, things only go slower. Even the roll of the die had to be done twice, landing on the number 4 to invert 14 cars in the features.

Driver substitutions are nothing new at Lake Geneva, for racers can register as a team at the beginning of the year to allow for missed events due to other activities. Saturday must have been a big social night, judging by the many changes. Practice was still winding down when we noticed the hauler of Joe DeCubellis leaving the track, and he never qualified in the super stock field. DeCubellis returned with the Jamie Starks car later, racing it to second place in the semi to earn the last feature berth. The race from Burlington, near the Illinois border, to Waukesha, where Starks lives, and back to Lake Geneva, another hour away, was the best win of the night for DeCubellis to keep alive his championship point hopes.

There were close finishes that could not be called until after checking with the scorers. The closest of these was perhaps in the first super stock heat, Seth Lootans perhaps an inch ahead of Michael Olson. The sportsman field was light Saturday night, and a couple familiar names were in the field. Eddie May doubled his racing by competing in the Adam Mass sportsman as well as his own late model, and Sonny Schoffen turned up in the John Janssen car. The 25-lap feature would have gone nonstop except for the fire aboard Cliff Adee’s car as the race began. Mike Smart was overtaken by May right away as fast-timer Erik Pierce was making his way through the field. Just eight laps were left when Pierce took the top spot, and May faded quickly.

The super stock main went nonstop for 30 laps with the largest field of the night. This would be the second of three contests where the car on the pole would never lead one lap. Nathan Matz held on for the first couple laps before Craig Mertes replaced him. Tom Roney started in the tenth position in the number 10 car, and he must have doubled his effort to make it to the front before the halfway mark. A solid win for Roney ahead of his closing rivals had to be very satisfying as he made his way to victory circle for photos.

The late model feature started off with veteran Mike Simon taking charge from the outside front row, happily motoring along until suddenly Jamie Wallace’s car slowed, causing Mike Gunderson and Rick Corso to spin. Lane choice worked out for May, who came from the sixth row to the lead at the restart after only a dozen laps. Three solo spins brought out the yellow banner along the way, then one more for debris ended the 40-lap contest with a green-white-checkered flag finish. Luckily, the drivers kept their wits about them and finished without any mayhem. May began unbuckling after parking on the frontstretch as usual after a win, but no time for interviews Saturday. On behalf of all Saturday’s winners, they thank their crews and sponsors, and are grateful to their supportive families. You all know who you are.

There was a rush to have the winged 410 sprint car of Tim Cox take a couple practice laps, then run in earnest against the clock for his attempt at the Quest for the Ultimate Lap. Cox came late after his son’s go-kart racing, and hoped his crew dialed in the mount well. The very first time had just edged below the former mark set by dirt late model racer Russ Scheffler in 1997, then his car bobbled before taking his third, and final circuit. This was it, the new all-time record lap, lowering the mark to 14.396 seconds. Later Cox told your scribe that his car kept popping out of gear, which made his run a bit off, and he will return the first Saturday in August to try again. We’ve known Cox since his foray into the national ASA tour, when he was vying for rookie of the year while still running his sprint car. In the past twenty years or so, he has put his own hopes on the back burner in order to coach a son’s hockey team as well as the current karting, yet always has a smile.

With weather coming, the much-awaited trailer race began with a parade of vehicles to be judged by the audience for appearance. Several themes were chosen among the 24 entries, and the favorites were picked before the carnage began. With campers, boats, lawnmowers, and accoutrements flying off into the turns as quickly as the event began, fans got an eyeful of what they had hoped for. A couple times the action had to be halted when mounts were buried under so much debris that the drivers were not visible, but all escaped to safety unhurt. Raindrops had begun to fall, but the full house was reluctant to leave. At the end there were still three entries running, beaten and ragged, and it was all over just after 10:00. Cleanup would take much longer.

 
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