WHITTEN WINS #2 AT GOLDEN SANDS SPEEDWAY

Tanner Whitten again rolled out to the front of the Super Late Model feature race Friday night July 13th at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover WI, and again he flat outran the rest of the field.   Starting in the 5th position and after two re-starts due to accidents Tanner was able to get to the front by lap 10.  He started the night qualifying 7th out of 21 cars, won the fast dash heat race and finished the night winning the feature.  Next on tap is Round 3 of the TUNDRA Super Late Models at Dells Raceway Park this Saturday.

WHITTEN TAKES 2ND IN ROUND TWO OF THE
TUNDRA SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES AT DELLS RACEWAY PARK

On Saturday, June 16th there were 27 super late models on hand for round two of the 100 lap Tundra Super Late Model series at Dells Raceway Park.  Tanner qualified 3rd quickest and went on to win the dash for cash fast car heat race.  The feature race was a nail biter to say the least.  Tanner started in the 8th position and was able to work his away up and finish the race in 2nd.  Below is the story from the Dells Raceway Park website.  A video of the final 6 laps of the race is located on the Media & Video page.

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (June 17, 2012) - It was smooth sailing through the first 74 laps of TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Round Two at Dells Raceway Park Saturday night for Dennis Prunty. However, a caution with six laps remaining brought a squall threatening to sink his chances of a first DRP win.

Prunty grabbed the lead just six laps into the Advanced Engine Concepts 80-lap feature event and built his advantage to over five seconds until a caution with six to go brought challenges from Frank Kreyer and Tanner Whitten. Prunty was able to turn back both.

Before the caution Prunty began to foreshadow his fate. "With 20 to go I was starting to think, 'when is something going to happen?' I definitely didn't want to see (the caution)," Prunty said.

"I knew that Tanner Whitten was going to be fast. He was able to get alongside me, but we held him off. It felt good."

Prunty built his enormous advantage by streaking to the front of the field from his fifth-place starting spot. After the green fell Terry Schoppenhorst grabbed an early lead from Dennis' brother Dale Prunty. Quickly after Schoppenhorst took the top spot, Kenny Reiser and Dennis Prunty moved past Dale Prunty into second and third.

Schoppenhorst's lead was short-lived as Reiser took to the lead on lap two. Right behind, Prunty was lurking and waiting for his opportunity to pounce. Prunty found his chance on lap six when he swooped to the inside and left Reiser to deal with the rest of the pack.

Just past the ten-lap mark Reiser fell into the clutches of Dalton Zehr, Whitten and fast qualifier Bobby Kendall. Zehr worked furiously in an attempt to move past Schoppenhorst and Reiser, but found no room to grab the runner-up spot.

As second spot on back stayed in heavy dispute, Prunty worked calmly through lapped traffic and built his lead to over four seconds. The pack finally broke open on lap 36 when Whitten was able to negotiate his line around Reiser. Reiser began to reel backward with Dalton Zehr stuck on the outside line, as well. In a matter of just five laps they fell to the tail end of the top ten.

Sour luck for Reiser and Zehr opened up room for two of the stars of TUNDRA Round One. As the field clicked past the midway point Kreyer and Round One winner Rich Bickle made an appearance in the top five. The duo locked into a tussle for the next ten laps in hopes to settle a dispute for third. Kreyer emerged with on lap 54 and began to chase down his teammate Whitten.

Over the next 20 laps, Prunty kept picking off lapped traffic and got as near to the top ten as 13th place John Zimmerman.

When things seemed to be completely in Prunty's favor, the caution fell for a Derek Childs spin. With a brand new script to write over the final six circuits, Prunty was set to face off against a driver he chased in title standings last year in Kreyer.

The cone was placed leaving Prunty all alone in the front row. Kreyer, who just six laps before the yellow had taken second from Whitten, chose the inside line. Whitten swung to the outside with Bickle being flanked by Kendall in the third row.

Initially Prunty broke away on the restart. However, Kreyer caught him quickly and provided a challenge to the inside. Sealing off the bottom Prunty turned back Kreyer. However, the outside line was left wide open for Whitten. Whitten got side-by-side with Prunty and on some occasions appeared to have the advantage. However, Prunty proved too strong in the bottom groove.

Whitten, who earlier in the evening upset Bickle in the five-for-five dash, tucked back into line hoping to shake Prunty off the bottom. Prunty kept his composure and held on to win by less than a car length. Bickle grabbed third from Kreyer with three laps to go and secured his point lead. Zehr made a late run back into the top five and stole fourth from Kreyer on the final circuit.

Advanced Engine Concepts Feature:1. Dennis Prunty (Knowles, WI), 2. Tanner Whitten (Congerville, IL), 3. Rich Bickle (Janesville, WI), 4. Dalton Zehr (Daytona Beach, FL), 5. Frank Kreyer (Wisconsin Dells, WI), 6. Robert Kendall (Montello, WI), 7. Corey Jankowski (Tomah, WI), 8. Terry Schoppenhorst (Berlin, WI), 9. Steve Rubeck (Cherry Valley, Ill.), 10. Dale Prunty (Allenton, WI), 11. John Zimmerman (Markesan, WI), 12. Landry Potter (Lake Geneva, WI), 13. Michael Egan (Slinger, WI), 14. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI), 15. Dan Lensing (Roscoe, Ill.), 16. Kelsey Bauer (Elkhart Lake, WI), 17. Jim Olson (Seneca, IL), 18. JJ Wallace (Lake Geneva, Wis.), 19. Ken Reiser (Waukon, IA), 20. Mark Simonson (Crystal Lake, Ill.)

Qualify:1. Robert Kendall (Montello, WI), 2. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI), 3. Tanner Whitten (Congerville, IL), 4. JJ Wallace (WIS DELLS, WI), 5. Rich Bickle (Janesville, WI), 6. Dalton Zehr (Daytona Beach, FL), 7. Dennis Prunty (Knowles, WI), 8. Dan Lensing (WI DELLS, WI), 9. Ken Reiser (Waukon, IA), 10. Dale Prunty (Wis Dells, WI), 11. Terry Schoppenhorst (Berlin, WI), 12. John Zimmerman (Markesan, WI), 13. Frank Kreyer (Wisconsin Dells, WI), 14. Jim Olson (Seneca, IL), 15. Michael Egan (Slinger, WI), 16. Steve Rubeck (WIS DELLS, WI), 17. Landry Potter (Lake Geneva, WI), 18. Mark Simonson (Wis Dells, WI), 19. Tim Lampmann (Kenosha, WI), 20. Tom Lichtfeld (Pardeeville, WI), 21. Corey Jankowski (Tomah, WI), 22. Steven Lichtfeld (Portage, WI), 23. Mark Kissinger (West Bend, WI), 24. Kelsey Bauer (Elkhart Lake, WI), 25. Ross Zumbach (Wis Dells, WI), 26. Pete Carlson (WIS DELLS, WI), 27. Scott Hoffman (Menomonee, MI)

ROB ALBRIGHT FROM PRN AND TANNER SPEAK AT THE WISCONSIN CLUB

On Tuesday, June 11th in Milwaukee, WI, Tanner had the honor of speaking with Rob Albright from Performance Racing Network at the Wisconsin Club's monthly Christian Leadership Businessman's luncheon.   Tanner was invited by Robert Conklin, Jr. of Conklin Real Estate Services.  Rob asked Tanner several questions regarding racing and also the role that God plays in his life.  There were 30 plus local business men and women on hand for the luncheon.  The luncheon concluded with a short question and answer period.

WHITTEN WINS AT GOLDEN SANDS SPEEDWAY

Tanner Whitten of Congerville, IL started in the second starting position of the Super Late Model Feature at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wisconsin last Friday night and allowed no one a chance at a win.  A couple of restarts slowed the field but Whitten's #32 Kreyer prepared and Fellowship of Christian Farmers sponsored Ford was "the best car I have ever driven", according to the young racer.  Whitten applied the speed he needed to stave off challenges from Jim Sauter, Jr., Mark Eswein and Jeremy Lepak.  This weekend Tanner will be racing at Dells Raceway Park on Saturday and back to Golden Sands on Memorial Day for the 100 lap feature.