HOLTZ REIGNS AT THE PRESTIGIOUS MILWAUKEE MILE

Topics:  Jeff Holtz

Tom Wagner
Mid American Stock Car Series
June 9, 2014

(Milwaukee, WI - 6/7/2014)

It may not have come from a high school geometry class, but somewhere along the line Jeff Holtz learned the fastest way around an oval is to run the tightest circumference you possibly can.

In other words - the low line.

That little tidbit of knowledge, coupled with a race car to match, helped propel the Franksville, WI veteran to the Mid-American Stock Series feature win at the famed Milwaukee Mile Saturday afternoon.

The series made its annual visit to the state’s biggest racing stage as part of the annual ARCAFest celebration, and proved to be the perfect setting for a memorable performance by Holtz.

His day began on a positive note. By a tenth of a second, he was able to claim the day’s fast qualifying time from last year’s quickest at the Mile, Bill Prietzel. But as those in the racing world know, fast time for short trackers can sometimes be a blessing - but sometimes be a curse.

The dice roll invert landed Holtz in the 13th starting spot on the grid; which equates to inside the seventh row. Not all that comforting when you realize that within the 12 teams starting in front of you, six of them are former MASCS champions: Prietzel, Jeremy Spoonmore, Lyle Nowak Brad Keith, Rick Corso, and 2013 Mile winner Mark Pluer. “Curse” might come to mind at that point.

It took a full lap of side by side racing for front starters Adam Bendzick and Jeremy Bloomberg to decide who would be first in the scorer’s book, with Bloomberg just edging ahead at the stripe to gain the honor. The former Grundy Speedway champion quickly settled into a comfortable pace and began to pull away from the field.

Behind him, Bendzick, Dan Gilster and Kevin Gentile where able to stretch out a bit as well as the rest of the top ten sorted out.

Holtz worked to the bottom and, more or less to his surprise, found that as he continued forward, the “doors” kept opening, and he was able to pick off positions almost at will. The script seemed to be the same - pull up on the guy ahead - my car sticks on the low-side- their’s doesn’t - they slide up - I pass them.

With Keith settling in behind him, the duo broke free and began to chase down the top four. Just 12 laps into the race, Holtz cracked the top three by slipping inside Bendzick for third. One lap later, the same scenario for second, with Gilster the victim.

One last inside pass remained, and that would be on Bloomberg a few laps later, completing a remarkable run from mid-pack to the lead in about half the race.

There was a final bullet to dodge as the event’s lone caution bunched the field with seven to go as Tim Fulford slipped free through the third and fourth turns. But Holtz quickly put any doubt to the outcome aside with a perfect restart en route to his second win in four MASCS 2014 events.

While Holtz proved to be the class of the field on the day, Bloomberg wasn’t far behind. While he did relinquish the lead to Holtz, his second place finish was never in doubt.

One of the better matches in the latter stages was the battle for third between Gilster and Keith. Keith made several runs at the 2013 MASCS rookie of the year but could never get by, as the duo both recorded their first top five finishes of the year.

One driver that did benefit from the late caution was Nowak who picked off several spots in the final laps to complete the top five finishing order. His final pass did knock Bendzick down to sixth, but still a solid showing for the Elko, MN racer; his best of the year.

Just racing at the Mile is an event in itself, but along with that is the fact that it is a MASCS point paying event. Holtz entered the day with a slim one point edge on Spoonmore, which he bolstered with a perfect day. Leading Spoonmore by a point coming into the event, the victory will give Holtz a little breathing room in the point battle over Spoonmore who finished tenth in the 35 mile race. Now four for four in top five finishes on the season, the stars appear to be aligning for a championship run.

And as for the car that produced the perfect day - “I think we’ll just leave it alone”, he laughed.

The Milwaukee stop on the tour is one of six races on the MASCS schedule taped for telecast by Sopwith Motorsports TV, a television production company based in Indianapolis, IN. Fans have several options to choose from, with the flagship telecasts appearing on Time Warner Cable of Wisconsin Sportschannel 32.

Dates, times, and station information for the Milwaukee telecast will be posted on the company’s website at www.sopwithmotorsports.com. The first telecast of the series on Time Warner will be Monday June, 9th at 3:30 PM. The featured race will be the Vercauteren Memorial, which was round 2 of the series from Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, WI. Check the website for additional dates, times, and telecast locations.

The next event on the MASCS 2014 schedule will be a visit to “Wisconsin’s Action Track”, Jefferson Speedway on Saturday night June 21st. Joining MASCS on the card will be the popular TUNDRA Late Model series and the IMCA Vintage Late Models

For updates, news, and series information, visit the MASCS website at www.midamericanracing.com/.

For more information on Jefferson Speedway, visit the track’s website at www.jeffersonspeedway.com.

Mid-American Stock Car Series Milwaukee Mile unofficial Results 6/7/2014

Milwaukee Mile 35 Lap Feature Finish:

(1-10) Jeff Holtz, Franksville, WI - Jeremy Bloomberg, Hampshire, IL - Dan Gilster, West Salem, WI - Brad Keith, West Bend, WI - Lyle Nowak, Wausau, WI - Adam Bendzick, Elko, MN - Kevin Gentile, Elwood, IL - Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI - Bill Prietzel, Richfield, WI - Jeremy Spoonmore, Somonauk, IL
(11-20) Mark Pluer, Brookfield, WI - Bobby Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI - Rick Tackman, Jr, Waukesha, WI - Cody Erdmann, Mayville, WI - Erik Pierce, Lake in the Hills, IL - Brian Holtz, Muskego, WI - Ben Glascock, Indianola, IA - Stephen Cox, Indianapolis, IN - Kenny Joosten, Wonder Lake, IL - Dusty Krebs, Hartford, WI
(21-28) Tim Fulford, Solsberry, IN - Ken Calhoun, Johnsburg, IL - Eric Buchholz, Wautoma, WI - Jack Stern, Slinger, WI - Greg Beebe, Waukesha, WI - David Verhagen, Green Bay, WI - Scott Dunning, Bolingbrook, IL - Rick Corso, McHenry, IL

Fast Qualifier - Jeff Holtz (32.064), Prietzel, Spoonmore, Nowak, Keith, Pluer, Corso, Brian Holtz, Ryan Gutknecht, Gentile