5/30/2018
Midwest Legends Dirt Series
141 Speedway Adds to the 2018 Winners List
The WLRDS season has started off with strong competition as the first three races have seen three different winners. Going into the 4th race (3rd points race), that trend looked to continue. The series joined the IRA sprints, WI Mini Sprints and Wisconsin WingLESS sprint series at 141 Speedway and a strong field of 17 legends took to the track.
The track saw rubber put down in qualifying and the heat races for the sprint cars which made for some experimentation in the heat races. Dan Mech led from flag to flag in the heat race as Mike Mueller attempted to take off his back bumper as both Mueller and Mech wanted the bottom. Justin Pearson attempted to run the top but wasn’t able to find any traction up top. The second heat race was taken by Cody Apfelbeck who also remained glued to the bottom of the race track.
With the invert set, Dan Mech and Dom Troyan started on the front row for the feature. The first half of the race was full of cautions as drivers attempted to figure out the track and make their way through traffic. Mech jumped out to a lead as Dom Troyan was shuffled back on the start. Dave Eberle, Frankie Hoch, Apfelbeck and Pearson formed a train on the bottom as that was the place to be. Ryan Sullivan, Mike Mueller, and Ryan Mech all fought for position on the top but to no avail as the only part of the track that hadn’t taken rubber was the very bottom. The first caution of the race came out on lap 4 when Mueller got into the back of Sullivan, spinning him around. The restart didn’t go as planned for multiple drivers. Sullivan and Lauren Muenster got together in turn one, while Eric Barth, Ryan Mech, and Mueller all got together in turn four as they all fought for the same piece of track. On the restart, Apfelbeck and Pearson moved up to second and third (respectively) and a few more laps were complete until Ed Farrington stalled in turn three.
The rest of the race would go caution free as Dan Mech attempted to hold off the hard charging Pearson and Apfelbeck. Apfelbeck was the first to attempt to make a move as he moved up a grove and fell back two spots to Pearson and Ryan Mech. Pearson would then try the same thing a few laps later in hopes of moving around Dan Mech. Pearson had similar results, falling behind Ryan Mech and Cody Apfelbeck. This put Dan and Ryan running first and second. Ryan gave Dan a few shots with the bumper, but never enough to move him as the train formed on the bottom again. Dan crossed the line in first for his first victory since 2015 and Ryan followed him home in second. Cody Apfelbeck finished third, Justin Pearson was fourth, and Dave Eberle rounded out the top five for the evening.
The series looks ahead to its first triple header this weekend as the cars and stars of the series make the long tow to Lafayette County Speedway in Darlington, WI on Friday night. Saturday the series returns to its home track of Beaver Dam Raceway for a five-division night. Sunday the series will be part of the season opener for the famed Angell Park Speedway.
Article Credit: Ryan Mech
Submitted By: Ryan Mech