DELLS RACEWAY PARK LATE MODEL STANDOUT AWAITS MASCS TRAVELERS

Topics:  Mike Lichtfeld

Matt Panure
Mid American Stock Car Series
August 17, 2011

Phoenix trip to be given away on Saturday

FORT ATKINSON, Wis. (August 17, 2011) – Mike Lichtfeld is ready to try again. After digging through storage and dusting off his mount, the driver who is chasing a championship in the Dells Raceway Park Late Models is preparing to chase away the Mid-American Stock Car Series travelers on Saturday in Dells Duel Part Two.

Lichtfeld enjoyed success with the Mid-American Stock Car Series late last season with second place finishes at Madison International Speedway and at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway during Oktoberfest. However, he has struggled at his home track. With only one top five finish in five starts at DRP, Lichtfeld is hoping to secure his first MASCS win at his home track.

“I’ve yet to win a Mid-American Stock Car Series feature event, so that is very, very high on my to-do list,” Lichtfeld, of Pardeeville, Wis., said. “There is no better place to try to do it than the Dells.”

Last season Lichtfeld was named Rookie of the Year in the Late Models by virtue of his second place finish in final standings. He came up just three points shy of the crown. This season Lichtfeld has yet to capture a win, but continuously clicks off top-five finishes as he sits second in standings.

Admitting that driving a Late Model around Wisconsin’s Showcase Short Track is much different than wheeling a heavier MASCS machine with a four-barrel carburetor, Lichtfeld said there is a bonus to having more laps at DRP. Pulling double duty, he’ll turn more than anyone else Saturday.

“That’s a completely different beast in a sense, but in another sense racing is racing and DRP is DRP,” he said. “The experience I have on the race track will definitely help out driving the Mid-American car even though the cars drive different it will still be nice having the experience of running the Late Model at the Dells.”

After running six MASCS races in 2009 and four last season, Lichtfeld knows just what the competition will bring. He also cited the breathtaking finish between James Swan and Bill Prietzel in Dells Duel One as an example of the quality of Mid-American Stock Car Series events.

“The Mid-American Series always brings a high caliber of drivers,” Lichtfeld said. “I always look forward to racing with those guys. They’re gentlemen, a class act and they race clean.”

It may have been more difficult to put on a clean race for the MASCS drivers when they lasted visited DRP because of the new lane and the new groove in turns three and four. However, the drivers adjusted quickly and were able to utilize the lane.

No one in Saturday’s field should be more familiar with the concrete in turns three and four than Lichtfeld as he helped design and construct the concrete lane. He has also utilized it in his Late Model.

“It’s hard to say since we haven’t had the Mid-Am car on (the concrete) at all this year, but my Late Model gets down on that concrete pretty well,” he said. “Once we get rolling out there for practice we’re going to go to work right there and see how it runs.”

Mid-American will welcome Hankscraft Inc., of nearby Reedsburg as a sponsor for the evening. Hankscraft will contribute to the MASCS purse and will crown and overall winner of Dells Duel Part One and Part Two.

Qualifying at Dells Raceway Park begins at 4:45 p.m. with racing scheduled for 6:30. The Late Models, Sportsman, Bandits and Legends will join Mid-American.

Fans will have their final chance to sign up to win a trip to Phoenix for a NASCAR weekend with Paige Decker and Decker Racing courtesy of Boring Bob’s TOURs. Fans have signed up at every stop of the 2011 season from as far south as Indianapolis to as far north as Norway, Mich. Fans who have attended any MASCS race may sign up again to increase their odds of winning on Saturday. A winner will be selected at intermission.

Dells Raceway Park is located at N1070 Smith Road, five minutes north of downtown Wisconsin Dells, Wis., off highway 12-16. For more information including the latest news, the 2011 schedule and more visit www.dellsracewaypark.com.