By Kari Shear-Carlson
June 13, 2012 – When Travis Sauter took the lead he took it for good, taking home the Swiss Colony Howie Lettow Memorial 150 presented by RaceTeamGear.com at the Milwaukee Mile.
“This is just huge,” said a smiling Sauter from victory lane.
42 cars started in the ASA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings event. Bondurant, IA, driver Thor Anderson led the field to green alongside Dillon Oliver after a 13 car invert. It did not take long for Oliver to take over the lead as Anderson drifted back.
On lap four, the #53 of Jerry Sharp hit the wall in turn two bringing out the first caution of the night. As the field went back to green, Oliver continued to lead, with a hungry Travis Sauter running in the seventh position at the time.
ECHO and ECHO Bear Cat Touring Star Jonathan Eilen was the highest finishing ASAMT driver of the night. At one time he was battling Jeremy Lepak for the lead until another caution came out for a spin in turn two. Eilen continued to run strong all night, ending up in fourth.
The track was never without side-by-side battles throughout the field, sometimes even three and four wide. Sauter took the lead on lap 41 and never looked back. As the top five continued to battle for spots another caution came out for a huge wreck in turn one.
Ben Kennedy, Michael Bilderback, Skylar Holzhausen, Griffin McGrath, rookie Cardell Potter and pole-sitter, Thor Anderson, were among the carnage. NASCAR star Rusty Wallace took on some damage as well, but was able to continue. However, after a night of ups and downs, he eventually called it a night and finished 31st.
On lap 75, the caution fell for the scheduled 10-minute break. The break allowed drivers to make adjustments to their cars and get ready for the second half of the race. One driver who made the right changes was the son of Bill Elliott. Chase Elliott was already up to fifth by lap 76.
As the cars got settled in after the break, another Sauter was on the move. Travis’ uncle Johnny Sauter started in the 29th position and by lap 83 was already up to fifth. Meanwhile, a three-way battle for eighth was shaping up between Jeremy Lepak, Matt Kenseth and Becca Kasten. Right behind them was Florida driver Jeff Choquette and NASCAR star David Ragan.
Just when it looked like it was going to be a three car race between Sauter, Oliver and Chase Elliott, Oliver drove it in a little too hard and spun on the backstretch, bringing out the caution and tightening up the field once again. On lap 126, the third Sauter in the field, Tim, took a hard lick into the front stretch wall, ending his night.
Jonathan Eilen was not going to give up just yet though. The double-file restarts allowed Eilen to start inside Sauter. But Sauter was just too strong and not only that, he brought Johnny with him into second. Travis once again started to pull away.
As the field came to the final laps, Johnny started to slip back just a bit and settled for third behind Chase Elliott. Jonathan Eilen and Brent Kirchner rounded out the top five.
For complete race results go to asamidwesttour.com.
Be sure to follow the ASA Midwest Tour on Facebook (asamidwesttour) and Twitter (@asamidwesttour).
To learn more about the ASA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings, log on toasamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (630) 212-6022 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831, or e-mail Tim Olson a tim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.
To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association® Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association®, visit www.asaracing.com.
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ASAMT Unofficial Results-Howie Lettow 150
# Driver Name Hometown
1 – 5S – Travis Sauter – Necedah, WI
2 – 9E – Chase Elliott – Dawsonville, GA
3 – 5JS – Johnny Sauter – Necedah, WI
4 – 77 – Jonathan Eilen (TS) – Hampton, MN
5 – 8K – Brent Kirchner – LaCrosse, WI
6 – 17 – Matt Kenseth – Cambridge, WI
7 – 75 – Chris Weinkauf (TS) – Merrill, WI
8 – 5A – Aric Almirola – Concord, NC
9 – 51 – Becca Kasten – Mecquon, WI
10 – 29 – Jeff Choquette – South Beach, FL
11 – 39 – Andrew Morrissey (TS) – DeForest, WI
12 – 43 – Matt Kocourek – Franklin, WI
13 – 71KB – Kyle Benjamin – Easley, SC
14 – 36 – Dan Fredrickson (TS) – Lakeville, MN
15 – 52 – Chris Wimmer (TS) – Wausau, WI
16 – 26 – Bubba Pollard – Senoia, GA
17 – 77R – David Ragan – Unadilla, GA
18 – 29T – Austin Theriault – Fort Kent, ME
19 – 34 – Brandon Hill – Genoa City, WI
20 – 40 – Jeremy Lepak – Ringle, WI
21 – 91 – Ty Majeski (R) – Seymour, WI
22 – 63 – Gary LaMonte – West Allis, WI
23 – 8N – John H. Nemecheck – Moorseville, NC
24 – 89 – Matt Tifft (R) – Hinckley, OH
25 – 99 – Tim Sauter – Necedah, WI
26 – 25 – Jeff Storm (TS) – Waterford, WI
27 – 89O – Dillon Oliver – Bowling Green, KY
28 – 76 – Jason Weinkauf (R) – Merrill, WI
29 – 47 – Trey Mitchell – Wimberly, TX
30 – 35S – David Stremme – Moorseville, NC
31 – 66 – Rusty Wallace – St. Louis, MO
32 – 22 – Nick Panitzke (TS) – Lakeville, MN
33 – 96K – Ben Kennedy – Daytona, FL
34 – 64 – Griffin McGrath – Cedar Rapids, IA
35 – 4 – Thor Anderson – Bondurant, IA
36 – 2 – Michael Bilderback – South Beloit, IL
37 – 8H – Eddie Hoffman – Wheaton, IL
38 – 87 – Nathan Haseleu (TS) – Marshall, Wi
39 – 58 – Cardell Potter (R) – Camp Douglas, WI
40 – 78 – Skylar Holzhausen (TS) – Bangor, WI
41 – 72 – Jacob Goede (TS) – Carver, MN
42 – 53S – Jerry Sharp – Orland Park, IL
ECHO Quick Cut Qualifier: 8N John Hunter Nemecheck (1st Career ASAMT Fast Time)
Hedman Husler Hedders Husler Zone (Winners Circle): 1) 5S Travis Sauter; 2) 9E Chase Elliott; 3) 5JS Johnny Sauter
Hedman Husler Hedders Hard Charger: 39 Andrew Morrissey (+27)
Provisional Starters: 39 Andrew Morrissey (TS); 78 Skylar Holzhausen (TS); 91 Ty Majeski (R); 25 Jeff Storm (TS); 34 Brandon Hill
Next Race: Saturday, June 30th at Marshfield Motor Speedway in Marshfield, Wisconsin
Rookie of the Year Points: 1) 89 Matt Tifft (R) 497; 2) 91 Ty Majeski (R) 494; 3) 76 Jason Weinkauf (R) 488; 4) 58 Cardell Potter (R) 454; 5) 6 Austin Luedtke (R) 312
Championship Points: 1) 77 Jonathan Eilen (TS) 550; 2) 39 Andrew Morrissey (TS) 542; 3 75 Chris Weinkauf (TS) 537; 4) 52 Chris Wimmer (TS) 525; 5) 78 Skylar Holzhausen (TS) 506; 6) 22 Nick Panitzke (TS) 501; 7) 87 Nathan Haseleu (TS) 499; 8 ) 89 Matt Tifft (R) 497; 9) 91 Ty Majeski (R) 494; 10) 72 Jacob Goede (TS) 491
Main image thanks to: www.racingnation.com
Victory lane image thanks to: www.asamidwesttour.com
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