STEVE CARLSON NABS FOURTH MILLER 100 TITLE

ROCAREK TOPS MODIFIEDS, ROBERTSON DOMINATES USAC FORD FOCUS MIDGETS

 

By Brad Grupe

 

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa  06/01/07)—West Salem, WI driver Steve Carlson put himself in the Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Miller 100 record books twice on Friday during the 35th running of the Keith Fleck Miller 100.

 

            First, Carlson broke Landon Cassill’s track record, turning the Hawkeye Downs half-mile in 18.321 seconds for a lap speed of 98.248mph. Later, Carlson became the first four-time winner of the prestigious Keith Fleck Miller 100.

 

            Forty-two ASA Midwest Tour Late Models went through qualifying paces with three other drivers besides Carlson breaking the previous track record. Brad Osborn, Kenny Richards,  and Trent Snyder all set marks quicker than the previous record of 18.499 seconds.

 

            Qualifying was delayed after two rounds of heavy downpours moved through the area earlier in the day pushing back the schedule. The weather cleared by mid-afternoon and another shower that appeared on radar later in the evening dissipated and moved north allowing the event to run without interruption.

 

            Carlson rolled a three in post-qualifying ceremonies which when added to the invert number of eight put him 11th on the starting grid for the 26 car-field.

 

            After a rousing send-off from the enthusiastic Miller 100 crowd, Nathan Haseleu bolted into the lead from outside the front row and maintained a strangle-hold on the position through the first two cautions and subsequent restarts.

 

However, the caution waved again with just fifteen circuits remaining putting Steve Carlson on Haseleu’s tail for the restart. Carlson had been methodically picking off cars but once he got to second place hadn’t gained much ground on the front running Haseleu.

 

Just one lap after green flag racing resumed Carlson took the top spot and motored away from the field as the final laps ticked off. Haseleu remained in second, holding back a last lap charge from Josh Vadnais, who finished third. Jonathon Eilen and Travis Sauter rounded out the top five.

 

Both Carlson and Haseleu admitted that the final caution flag was the turning point of the race.

 

``That caution flag won me the race because Nate was checked out, my tires were all hot and that caution let my tires cool, I caught up to him and it made a pretty good finish for me,'' Carlson said.

 

During the post-race ceremonies Haseleu said,``The last caution killed us, We started up front and we had an OK car. We were real loose and I think I was turning it to the right more than left. We missed it a little bit, otherwise I think we could have ran with Steve - he just had a dominant car. We just did the best we could do and I'm happy with it.''

 

Carlson is the third different winner in the three races run to date in the ASA Midwest Tour.

 

In other racing Friday night at ASA-Sanctioned Hawkeye Downs Speedway, the Miller Time Modifieds ran a 25-lap feature event with Rodney Rocarek of Mount Vernon collecting the checkers and Coca-Cola Victory Lane accolades.

 

Rocarek started outside the first row and led all 25 laps as he bagged his first win of the season. It wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds though as Arlo Becker applied heavy pressure during the last five laps but was unable to stay alongside to make a pass for the lead.

 

Rocarek beat Becker to the line by .272 seconds.

 

  Point leader Tim Plummer finished fourth with the most recent feature winner in the division, Chad Willett, crossing the stripe in fifth.

 

The USAC Ford Focus Midgets were also on hand Friday night running a 30-lap feature on the Hawkeye Downs quarter-mile track. The field was a little slim for this visit as some drivers opted not to chance the weather.

 

Indiana Driver James Robertson picked up his third win in as many visits on a track made a little tricky in a couple spots where water from the earlier heavy rains was seeping through the track.

 

The race ran caution-free until lap 27 when a spinning car bunched the field. Robertson quickly pulled away again as the green dropped beating Tyler Irwin to the stripe.  Chett Gehrke finished in third with Caitlin Shaw fourth and Craig Haack fifth.

 

Another big winner for the night was the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids. As has been the tradition since the inception of the Miller 100, the Fleck family has donated race proceeds to a designated charity with some $262,000 donated to date.  In addition, the Boys/Girls Club held a 50/50 raffle with netted them additional cash on Friday night.

 

RESULTS

 

ASA MIDWEST TOUR QUALIFYING

1. Steve Carlson 18.321
2. Brad Osborn 18.398
3. Kenny Richards 18.420
4. Trent Snyder 18.460
5. Donny Reuvers 18.514
6. Josh Vadnais 18.559
7. Jacob Goede 18.609
8. Jason Schneider 18.638
9. Mark Kraus 18.642
10. Nathan Haseleu 18.646
11. Doug Mahlik 18.653
12. Dudley Fleck 18.668
13. Jonathan Eilen 18.672
14. Dan Fredrickson 18.689
15. Travis Sauter 18.699
16. Brad JJ Mueller 18.700
17. Jamie Iverson 18.700
18. Hendrickson 18.707
19. Andy Hanson 18.711
20. Brian Johnson Jr. 18.722
21. Kyle Calmes 18.725
22. Brandon Hill 18.725
23. Bryan Roach 18.754
24. Anderson 18.754
25. Adam Royal 18.755
26. Dan Lensing 18.760
27. Kenny Reiser18.780
28. Rod Wheeler 18.785
29. Charlie Menard 18.872
30. Kris Kelly 18.874
31. Nick Mahlik 18.893
32. Dave Feiler 18.895
33. Rich Loch 18.948
34. Russ Blakeley 18.976
35. Trevor Millikan 18.999
36. Griffin McGrath 19.014
37. AJ Rhoads 19.039
38. Tony Strupp 19.048
39. Jim Duchow 19.166
40. Randy Coghlan 19.340
41. Scott Blake 19.370
42.  Brad Dvorak 19.344

 

ASA MIDWEST TOUR LATE MODELS (100 laps)- 1. Steve Carlson, West Salem, WI;

2.Nathan Haseleu, Marshall, WI; 3. Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, MN; 4. Jonathon, Eilen, Hampton, MN;

5. Travis Sauter, Necedah, WI; 6. Dan  Fredrickson, Lakeville, MN; 7. Jacob Goede, New Germany, MN; 8. Doug Mahlik,

Green Bay, WI; 9. Donny Reuvers, Dundas, MN; 10. Kenny Richards, Montello, WI;

11. Mark Kraus, Stratford, WI; 12. Thor Anderson, Bondaurant, IA; 13. Dave

Feiler, Sun Prairie, WI; 14. Trenton Snyder, Ironton, MN; 15. Brandon Hill,

Lake Geneva, WI; 16. Jason Schneider, New Market, MN; 17. Brian Johnson, Jr.,

Machesney Park, IL; 18. Dan Lensing, Roscoe, IL; 19. Brad Mueller, Random Lake,

WI; 20. Kyle Hinrichs, Swisher, IA; 21. Adam Royle, Farmington, MN; 22. Charlie

Menard, Eau Claire, WI; 23. Kyle Calmes, Appelton, WI; 24. Andy Hanson, Ramsey,

MN; 25. Brad Osborn, Janesville, IA; 26. Dudley Fleck, Cedar Rapids, IA

 

 

 

MILLER TIME MODIFIEDS (25 laps)—1. Rodney Rocarek, Mount Vernon, IA; 2. Arlo

Becker, Norway, IA; 3. Tim Plummer, Norway, IA; 4. Chad Willett, Alburnett, IA;

5. Shawn Stinger, Palo, IA; 6. Craig Bender, Cedar Rapids, IA; 7. Joey Gase,

Cedar Rapids, IA; 8. Larry Clausen, Cedar Rapids, IA; 9. Jim Hanson, Cedar

Rapids, IA; 10. Darrell Long, Cedar Rapids, IA; 11. Scott Strauss, Cedar

Rapids, IA; 12. Cory Houdek, Marion, IA; 13. Scott Grady, Cedar Rapids, IA

 

 

 

USAC FORD FOCUS MIDGETS (30 laps) (Partial Results)—1. James Robertson,

Indianapolis, IN; 2. Tyler Irwin, Polson, MT; 3. Chett Gerke, Bartelsville, OK;

4. Caitlin Shaw; 5. Jordan Pennington, Mishawaka, IN 6. Craig Haack, Lewisburg,

TN; 7. Bill Griffith