Update: Jesse Love was disqualified for a rear end infraction.
Luke Fenhaus wasn’t afraid to return the ol’ bump-and-run Derek Kraus put on him Tuesday night.
You have to wonder how the 17-year-old high school senior-to-be will play with the likes of Tony Stewart and Helio Castroneves when they come to Slinger Speedway on Saturday.
Fenhaus scored the biggest victory of his racing career, controlling much of the 200-lap feature in the 42nd Slinger Nationals, save for some back-and-forth with Kraus after a restart with 30 laps.
“He gave me one when I was battling with (RJ Braun), and I thought I”m just going to do it back,” Fenhaus said. “That’s short-track racing, and that’s racing for 10 grand and the Slinger Nationals.”
And for the golden ticket into the fifth round of the Superstar Racing Experience, the first-year IROC-style competition that has drivers from diverse backgrounds competing on classic American grassroots tracks for six consecutive Saturday nights live on CBS.
“It’s going to be awesome to race against them guys and talk to them guys and learn some things, but it’s for sure a once-in-a-lifetime deal,” Fenhaus said of NASCAR Hall of Famers Stewart, Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte, and the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves.
“I want to win it really bad, of course, but I’m going to enjoy the moment, too.”
Fenhaus became the youngest winner in Nationals history and led all-teen podium with the 19-year-old Kraus finishing second and 16-year-old Jesse Love placing third.
Fenhaus always has been fast at the tricky quarter-mile, but despite racing weekly, he had not won a feature before Tuesday. He won two last year
“He’s really been good here all year, just didn’t have a lot to show for it,” crew chief Tom Ress said. “I really stressed to him patience in a long race like this. When he needed to be aggressive he was at the end. Kraus gave him a little bit and he gave it back. It just shows how talented his is as a driver.”
Casey Johnson and Dennis Prunty rounded out the top five in a race interrupted after 75 laps by a brief downpour.
Fenhaus, the fastest qualifier, started 12th with the invert and was running second to Ty Majeski when the red flag came out. An hour later the race resumed and Fenhaus needed just five laps to get to the front.
“When we were in front of Ty, I kind of just paced myself off of him and kind of reserved but also tried to keep him behind me and control the race,” Fenhaus said.
“We ran about four car lengths (ahead) and I could always see him in my mirror. He was tough. He’s a really good racer. He’s tough to pass, and that’s why he’s Ty Majeski. He’s the best there is.”
Majeski, though, got clipped by a lapped car and was dropping through the field before he pulled off because of the damage.
When NASCAR Cup driver Erik Jones stopped with water spraying from his radiator, that set up a restart with 30 laps to go. Fenhaus has been lapping cars inside and out and suddenly his lead was gone.
“That caution really helped me,” Fenhaus said. “I was super free in and I was super free off. (RJ Braun) was running us down … I wouldn’t see him in my mirror and then he popped up and he got closer and closer and closer and closer. Tom was on the radio saying he was coming.”
Fenhaus had enough for Braun, but Kraus made a dive to the inside on the restart and tried to get away.
“It was really the only shot I had at him,” Kraus said. “I knew he was better than me. I knew he was going to get by me.”
Ten laps later, Fenhaus returned the favor and was on his way to a big payday.
Kraus’ runner-up finish was somewhat surprising, considering he made the feature lineup by winning the last-chance race.
Love, a Toyota development driver from California who moved to the Charlotte area, had led all 75 laps from the pole in his first Slinger appearance and got the opportunity to race around other cars this time.
“I could have been better; I think I should have run second but I made a few mistakes as a driver that I obviously wish I didn’t make,” Love said. “I’m happy for Luke. Luke’s been great to me every time I’ve been here, and he’s been a class act. I don’t think anyone here isn’t happy that he ran well. So if it wasn’t me, I’m happy it was him.”
In addition to the rain, Tuesday was a strange night and the strangest part came when Steve Dorer got launched onto Carson Hocevar’s roof against the wall in Turn 2 just past the midpoint.
“I didn’t see what Hocevar did to cause that, but he was just slamming the door on several people, I saw as I was catching them,” Dorer said. “Then he bounced in front of me, I checked up and somebody evidently got in the back of me and I hit his right rear with my left front and it shot me up in to the air and into the fence. That was the end of that.
“He got the ability. He’s capable fo going fast. He wins races. But as far as realizing there’s other people out there beside himself, I don’t think he does that.”
RESULTS
- Luke Fenhaus
- Derek Kraus
- Casey Johnson
- Dennis Prunty
- Austin Nason
- R.J. Braun
- Stephen Nasse
- Jake Garcia
- Grant Griesbach
- Zach Telford
- Brad Keith
- Michael Bilderback
- Carson Kvapil
- Alex Prunty
- Erik Jones
- Steve Apel
- Ty Majeski
- Rob Braun
- Carson Hocevar
- Steve Dorer
- Ryan DeStefano
- John DeAngelis
- Brad Mueller
- Rich Bickle
- Sammy Smith
- Jesse Love (DQd)
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