By: Kevin Ramsell
(Kaukauna, WI) – Luke Fenhaus has won some big short track events in his career, and tonight he added the ASA Midwest Tour’s Gandrud Auto Group 250 victory to his impressive racing resume along with a $15,000 payday.
The Wausau, WI driver, who drives part-time for ThorSport Racing #66 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, battled with defending two-time ASAMT champion Gabe Sommers on a restart with 10 laps to go and pulled away to the victory.
“Yeah, it means a lot, you know, this race is definitely one on my bucket list, and it was really the only one in Wisconsin on my bucket list this year,” Fenhaus said after the victory. “After the Slinger Nationals in 2021, I’ve always wanted to win this one. So this is a big one for us.”
Ryan Nuttleman Photo
Sommers would heavily challenge Fenhaus for a few laps by trying to loosen him up coming out of turn four. With 11 laps to go, Sommers would get back on the inside of Fenhaus, but a lap later, Fenhaus would pull away from Sommers and get the win.
“It seemed like every time Gabe went, he could spin it off of four, off that hump, and I just knew, you know, over the past couple of years that it could happen. I lost this race due to a restart,” Fenhaus explained. “So I knew not to spin my tires, and I felt like I got a good restart. I didn’t spin the tires, and then just was really slow for the first lap, took a lap or two, even three laps to get the speed rolling in this number four car, and then once it was rolling, I could be in a drive away a little bit, but yeah, it was difficult. I mean, Gabe was probably one of the best, if not the best car at the end. And it was tough to hang with him for a while, but yeah, it was just consistency.”
Roy Orphine Photo
After his battle with Fenhaus, Sommers would get passed by Austin Nason, Derek Kraus, Carson Hocevar, and John DeAngelis Jr. in the closing laps and finish sixth.
After the race, Hocevar’s car was disqualified for having his axle diameter too small, allowing DeAngelis to finish fourth and Sommers to finish fifth.
Nason had one of his best runs of the season with his second-place finish.
“We took tires really early, and those guys wanted to run hard, and I knew we still needed something for the end there, and it kind of showed,” Nason said. “I mean, we just couldn’t fire off quick enough to keep up with the guys, and then once we got that long run, I was really able to start picking them off. But the 4 (Fenhaus) and the 15 (Sommers) are gone by that time. And like I said, we fired off on that restart, and I was able to get by the 15. But, like I said, it just took me five, six laps to really get going and get back in rhythm and make sure the thing was good.”
Kraus, who got a victory earlier this year in the ASA STARS National Tour event in Kingsport, TN, was satisfied with a podium finish after his previous luck in this race.
“We had a good run tonight, for sure,” Kraus said. “I feel like we just took our tires a little bit too late. So once we got trapped back in 16th, 17th, wherever we were, I was like, this ain’t going to be good. So, we got through the field as best we could, but I also got through the field we burnt our stuff in the process.”
Expect the points battle for the ASAMT championship to tighten up after tonight’s event.
Current ASAMT point leader Casey Johnson came into the 250 with a 52-point lead over Sommers. Johnson fell out on lap 46 with overheating issues.
The ASA Midwest Tour is back in action on Saturday, August 16th, with the Wayne Carter Classic 100 presented by Rod Baker Ford & D’Arcy Chevrolet at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. Tickets are on sale now at midwesttour.racing.
A replay of tonight’s event can be seen on tracktv.com.
