September 8, 2001; West Salem, WI - Brad Powell only needed to start the feature to win the NASCAR Late Model Championship, easy enough, right? Don't tell Powell and his crew that! Powell started the night qualifying in the top spot. Things were looking good. He started the Bud Dash in the back and was patiently working his way through the field. That's when things got interesting. Powell came out of three and four and whether something broke or he got loose, he found his number 23 hitting the wall hard out of turn four. Sparks flew from the car as he continued down the front stretch and made his way to his pits. His crew looked the car over and decided that they needed to fetch their back up car. But could they make it to the track before the semi-feature? Powell needed to run at least one lap with the back up car to qualify it for the feature. The car arrived with five laps to go in the semi-feature, but Powell was unable to join the field as the yellow flag did not fly.
Now what? That's when Todd Oliver stepped up and offered Powell his car for the feature. Powell's crew worked feverously to make thenecessary changes. Powell joined the field late and in the last position. When the call came to "start your engines", Powell's borrowed car wouldn't fire. It finally did and Powell pulled onto the track. The field took the green as they have throughout the season. As they completed lap one, several cars, including many veteran drivers, were involved in a crash down the front stretch, ending in turn one. After the dust had settled, Powell found himself in the ninth position. Blake Horstman was the leader at the restart with Steve Carlson close behind. Again, after only one completed lap, the yellow flag flew as Ken Hutchens and Jim Hagel tangled in turn one. Horstman found himself in the lead at the restart. T he yellow flag flew once again as Mike Belling and Andy Burgess swapped paint in turn three. Burgess ended up being black flagged for aggressive driving and ended his night in the pits. The race restarted with 18 to go and the drivers were able to keep it green through the checkered. Horstman held off a hard charging Carlson to claim his first NASCAR Late Model Feature. Carlson was unable to hold off Mark Lamoreaux and Brent Kirchner and ended up fourth. Isaak Owen rounded out the top five. Brad Powell walked ,while one of his crew drove the back up car, to the front stretch to be crowned Midwest Fuels NASCAR late Model Champion for 2001. This was Brad's first championship and needless to say, he was a little excited. The Grand National Sportsman had a much easier time Saturday night. Corey Jankowski thrilled the fans by qualifying at 22.597 seconds, close to the track record of 22.521. They were able to run most of their laps under green. During the feature, with only three laps to go, Rick Shisler found himself up against the wall in turn one. At the restart, Jimmy Gilster, Corey Jankowski and Jeff Baker engaged in a heated battle that would last until the checkered flags flew. Gilster edged out Jankowski at the line followed by Baker, Jon Barrette and Tom Thill. The Thunderstock feature was won by Jason Schaller. This was Schaller first feature win of the season. He was followed by Les Stanfield, Chad Rosendahl, Dan Secor and Terry Christianson. The night was wrapped up with the United Auto Supply Raybestos Shootout for the Late Models and Grand National Sportsman drivers. It was time to have some serious racing fun! Racing veterans Kevin Nuttleman, Steve Carlson and newly crowned champion Brad Powell tested each others skills as they ran side by side through most of the race. Kevin Nuttleman ended up winning followed by Carlson and Powell. The Grand National Sportsman had a tough time finishing their shootout. The yellow flag flew a couple of times. Jimmy Gilster showed the way for most of the laps. That was until Jeff Baker came from a ways back to challenge for the lead. They ended up swapping paint and spinning in turns three and four of the last lap. Corey Jankowski was able to make it through and win the shootout. For complete results from the RACESTAT computer click here Ray Hutson
Chevrolet Grand National Sportsman |
