BAUKNECHT RULES VERCAUTEREN MEMORIAL

Topics:  Tyler Bauknecht

Tom Wagner
Mid American Stock Car Series
May 12, 2014

(Kaukauna, WI - 5/10/2014) Simply put - Gary would have loved it.

The 25th running of the Mid-American Stock Car Series Vercauteren Memorial had all of the elements necessary for a great racing story. And the event’s namesake - series founder Gary Vercauteren - would have been the perfect guy to write it.

He could start his story noting there that there was a solid field of MASCS competitors returning to the track that was instrumental in the birth of the series - Wisconsin International Raceway - on a Chamber of Commerce day. And he could talk about his travels with the Bauknecht family, and the young racer who would eventually take home the day’s big trophy.

On a memorable day in MASCS history, Tyler Bauknecht held off three-time series champ Bill Prietzel to win the first Vercauteren Memorial run at WIR since 2008. The track had hosted 15 total Memorials, dating back to the series first season in 1993.

While Bauknecht was in command through most of the event, as often happens, an easy path to victory turned a little tougher in the late stages.

The race got off to a shaky start as a lap one incident involving David Slack and Stephen Cox halted proceedings, with Slack ending up perched atop the backstretch guardrail.

Fortunately, it was not a sign of things to come. Starting from the top, Kenny Joosten shot from his outside starting spot on the first row to grab the lead from defending champ Brad Keith, and the field was off on a long green flag run. In just a lap, Bauknecht, passed Keith for second. He gained the inside line on Joosten three laps later, and the two raced side by side for two laps with Bauknecht taking control of the point on lap seven.

With a tight pack up front, the lead duo caught a break at the expense of Keith on the 11th lap. Heading down the backstretch, Keith started trailing smoke. It intensified through three and four as he crossed to the inside to get out of the racing lane. The momentary traffic jam behind him allowed Bauknecht to sprint away to a comfortable margin.

As the laps ticked away, the leading contingent turned into a series of four races in one. It was Bauknecht on cruise control, Joosten keeping Prietzel and Jeff Holtz at bay in the battle for second, a bit further back Mark Pluer, Scott Dunning and Jeremy Spoonmore vying for fourth, and finally Lyle Nowak and Adam Bendzick in tandem giving chase.

But the script was rewritten with 13 laps to go as a Greg Beebe slide brought out the second caution of the event and the Bauknecht big lead was a memory.

MASCS employs the “cone” method of restarts, with racers picking their lane in order. Bauknecht chose the inside, as did Joosten. But Prietzel opted for the outside lane giving him his first shot at the leader.

With green flying again, Prietzel staged a couple runs from the outside, but Bauknecht proved too strong as he regained control en route to a narrow win.

Chasing the top two across the stripe was Holtz, turning in his second straight podium finish after a win in the opener at Rockford. The restart was unkind to Joosten, who was shuffled back to ninth in the finishing order.

Dunning turned in a stellar fourth place effort in his first ever visit to the unique D-shaped ½ mile. Spoonmore and Nowak finished fifth and sixth respectively. Both were closing late, but ran out of laps. Pluer battled a loose race car to finish 7th and Erik Pierce rebounded nicely from a single lap outing at Rockford for 8th.

Rounding out the top ten was late model veteran Jimmy Dragich who started scratch on the 25 car grid.

With many in the starting field never having seen WIR before, Bauknecht’s tours around the track on Thursday nights in a late model proved to be an unexpected plus.

“I never really got that home field advantage concept at all because there are a lot of great drivers out there - until now,” he said. “Your comfort level is just a lot higher. I really felt relaxed out there.”

Although admittedly, when he saw who was lining up along side of him for the late restart, he did take pause. “I saw that green car out there - and I just said - awww,” he laughed.

Winning is always sweet. Beating a Wisconsin racing legend makes it sweeter. And winning this particular race was truly the topper for Bauknecht.

“This really means a lot,” he said. “We traveled with Gary when my brother (Kyle) raced the MidAm trucks. It was actually how Gary got to the races - he rode with us. He helped us out quite a bit with PR. He had the paper then, and he’d write things about us in there.”

With those memories in mind, a Vercauteren Memorial win was high on the wish list. “ The first one we raced, we blew an engine. Then it was at Road America, and we didn’t have a car for that. The next one we raced was Norway and we crashed. Then last year we missed because we were racing full time here.” But now the wait was worth it. “We couldn’t have picked a better track.”

And it’s safe to assume, Gary would have agreed.

The series will quickly turn its attention to round three on the schedule; a trip to Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday night May 16th.

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

For more information on Hawkeye Downs, visit the track’s website at www.hawkeyedownsspeedway.com.

Mid-American Results 5/10/14

40 Lap Vercauteren Memorial Feature presented by Valu Pro:

(1-10) Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, WI; Bill Prietzel, Richfield, WI; Jeff Holtz, Franksville, WI; Scott Dunning, Bolingbrook, IL; Jeremy Spoonmore, Somonauk, IL; Lyle Nowak, Wausau, WI; Mark Pluer, Brookfield, WI; Erik Pierce, Crystal Lake, IL; Kenny Joosten, Wonder Lake, IL; Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, WI
(11-20) Rick Tackman, Jr, Waukesha, WI; Adam Bendzick, Elko, MN; Brian Holtz, Muskego, WI; Scott Null, Lake Mills, WI; Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI; Ben Glascock, Indianola, IA; Dan Gilster, West Salem, WI; David Verhagen, Green Bay, WI; Tim Fulford, Solsberry, IN; Greg Beebe, Waukesha, WI
(21-25) Dusty Krebs, Hartford, WI; Brad Keith, West Bend, WI; Marv Flick, Stevens Point, WI; David Slack, Engadine, MI; Stephen Cox, Union City, IN

Heat 1 - Tackman: Gilster
Heat 2 - Keith: Spoonmore
Heat 3 - Pluer: Bauknecht

Fast Qualifier - Prietzel (21.141)