October
6, 2001; West Salem, WI - Gordy Swanson shed tears of grief
and tears of joy all in one emotional rollercoaster of a day at the 2001 Oktoberfest Race
Weekend. At 2 p.m. Friday his brother Wally Reynolds was found dead of
an
Just before the start of the racing program the fans were informed
of the His first ever win during the Oktoberfest Weekend came Saturday night in dramatic fashion as the two leaders of the race took each other out in turn one. "I just want to go out there and do the best I can," Swanson said in accepting the dedication award. "The decision of my family was that I race tonight," he added. "I want to thank everyone who has comforted myself and my family," Swanson concluded. Kim Hedberg, driving the Mobil 1 Chevrolet, set the early pace with Jamie Farrell, Art Christoffersen, Jeff Steenbergen and Vincent Wilkinson all holding down second place during the first 14 laps. On lap 15 Danny Heinritz put the Discount Auto Sales Ford into second and tried repeated to get inside Hedberg. The pair made contact several times in turns one and two before they tangled on lap 19. Heinritz made an inside passing attempt in the first turn, but the two leaders locked horns and spun in front of the entire field. All the McLeodUSA Super Trucks made it clear of the wreck except Andy Jirik, who spun and clipped the wall trying to avoid Heinritz and Hedberg. Almost magically Swanson emerged running in second place behind new leader Christoffersen. One lap after the race was resumed Swanson shot to the inside of Christoffersen to take the lead. He pulled away to a ten-truck length margin of victory. As he crossed the finish line he was welcomed by standing, cheering crowd of Oktoberfest fans. Wilkinson came home second in his best finish of the 2001 campaign followed by rookie Jeff Steenbergen, 2001 champion Jerry Seibel, 1997 and 1998 champion Terry Marzofka and two-time series feature winner Art Christoffersen. Seibel, who led the 24-truck field in qualifying with a lap of 21.205 seconds, nipped Swanson for the season point championship by a margin of 1,252 to 1,245. Steenbergen finished third in the points and claimed rookie of the year honors. Darren Wolke escaped injury in a wild front stretch crash during the first ten-lap heat race when his truck made contact with another vehicle, slid down the front stretch and climbed the inside wall separating the track from the pit area. The series banquet will be Saturday Nov. 3 at the Leathem Smith Lodge in Sturgeon Bay, WI. McLeodUSA Super Trucks 30-Lap Feature: 1.
Gordy Swanson, Apple Valley, MN; 2. Vincent Wilkinson, Sandwich, IL; 3. Jeff Steenbergen,
Waupun, 10-Lap heats: First: 1.
Kim Hedberg; 2. Sorenon; |
