HOLTZ POURS INTO VICTORY LANE AT ABBREVIATED SPRING CLASSIC

Topics:  Jeff Holtz, Spring Classic 50

Eric Huenefeld
Mid American Stock Car Series
April 14, 2014

No matter what, Jeff Holtz was in the right place at the right time Sunday afternoon.

The Franksville Wisconsin driver used a front row starting spot to help propel himself to the lead, then found himself at the head of the pack as rain showers stalled the 50 lap Spring Classic at Rockford Speedway on lap 29. When the showers did not subside, the race was called complete, awarding Holtz his first-ever Mid-American Series triumph.

Multi-time Rockford winner and former Mid-American Series champion Jeremy Spoonmore started the race from the pole and he, along with second place starting Holtz, led the field to the green flag. The two drivers went toe-to-toe in the race’s opening paces, with Holtz finally slipping ahead of Spoonmore for the lead. Spoomore settled into second, pursued by fellow Mid-American champion Lyle Nowak and former Rockford winner Kenny Joosten.

Holtz pulled away in the laps that followed, with Spoonmore alone in second spot. Nowak felt constant pressure from Joosten, yet continued to hold third. Behind the top four, the action was tense for fifth, with Ryan Gutknecht and Bill Prietzel slugging it out for the position. Prietzel used a daring move in turn three on lap 20 to steal fifth from Gutknecht. A lap later, Gutknecht attempted to make a three wide move to recapture the spot from Prietzel, to no avail.

On lap 29, Dustin Krebs lost control of his car in turn three, spinning around and bringing out the first caution of the day. Following the cleanup from the solo spin, the field assembled two-by-two for the first restart of the day, which soon brought chaos. As the field slipped through turns three and four, Prietzel made a bold move to the bottom of the track, getting loose in the gray area and slipping up towards the balance of the field. While most of the cars avoided calamity, Kenny Joosten’s car suffered the brunt of the damage, making right side contact with the turn three wall.

While clean up took place following the incident, the rains began to fall, forcing Mid-American Series officials to red flag the race. After a two hour wait, the race was officially called complete, awarding the win to Holtz.

Spoonmore held onto the second spot, with Nowak finishing third. Kenny Joosten was awarded fourth place with Prietzel awarded fifth. Despite the incident involving Joosten, the Wonder Lake Illinois driver was award fourth due to the yellow technically being thrown for rain. Joosten was awarded the spot he held prior to the restart. Prietzel was also allowed to keep fifth spot.

Lake Mills Wisconsin driver Scott Null was the racer’s ‘Hard Charger,’ finishing in ninth spot after starting the race in fifteenth.

The Mid-American Stock Car Series’ next event is set for Saturday afternoon May 10, at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna Wisconsin with the annual running of the Vercauteren Memorial Race. The event will be run in companion with the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series.

Follow Mid-American on www.midamericanracing.com.

Finishing Order – ‘Spring Classic 50’- 1. Jeff Holtz, 2. Jeremy Spoonmore, 3. Lyle Nowak, 4. Kenny Joosten, 5. Bill Prietzel, 6. Ryan Gutknecht, 7. Mark Pluer, 8. Brad Keith, 9. Scott Null, 10. Scott Dunning, 11. Dan Gilster, 12. Ken Calhoun, 13. David Slack, 14. Dustin Krebs, 15. Greg Beebe, 16. Ben Glasscock, 17. Adam Bendzick, 18. Rick Tackman Jr, 19. Erik Pierce

Fast Qualifer: Mark Pluer (14.198 seconds)

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