SLINGER, Wis. — The ARCA Midwest Tour will make their first ever visit to Slinger Super Speedway on April 24.
The Keen Parts ‘Miracle on the High Banks’ 75th Miller Lite Season Opener will be highlighted by a pair of 30-lap Showdown features which will set the stage for the Tour versus Slinger 75-lap, $5,000-to-win finale.
Slinger Champions Luke Fenhaus, Lowell Bennett, Alex Prunty, Conrad Morgan and Dennis Prunty will go head-to-head against ARCA Midwest Tour Champions Ty Majeski, Casey Johnson, Dalton Zehr and Jonathan Eilen.
Chicagoland Champion Eddie Hoffman and Tundra Champion Riley Stenjem have also entered.
The event will be broadcast live by SPEED SPORT affiliate, MidwestTour.tv.
Lowell Bennett, Neenah, Wis. – Bennett will be making a rare Midwest Tour start. The seven-time Slinger Super Speedway Track Champion has five Slinger Nationals wins to his credit. Additionally the Super Late Model standout counts five Fox River Racing Club Championships and five Red, White and Blue State Championships amongst his racing accomplishments along with two Midwest AllStar Racing Series Titles.
Luke Fenhaus, Wausau, Wis. – 2021 was a breakout season for Fenhaus, who garnered the 2021 Slinger Super Speedway Track Championship along with a runner-up finish in the Midwest Tour points on his way to rookie of the year honors. He finished second to Marco Andretti in SRX action a season ago at Slinger, a race he earned a start in by winning the Slinger Nationals. Additional accolades a season ago for the 2018 State Park Speedway Champion included the Kulwicki Driver Development Championship as well as the Alive for 5 Series title.
Casey Johnson, Edgerton, Wis. – No driver may have carried more speed than Johnson to end the 2021 Midwest Tour season. The two-time tour champion charged late in the race to claim August’s Howie Lettow Classic at Madison and then recorded his first Oktoberfest 200 win at LaCrosse. Last season he won his second Red, White and Blue State Championship by winning the White and Blue races at WIR. Johnson has amassed two championships at Wisconsin International, three at Jefferson, two in Big 8, two Tundra titles, six Wisconsin State Championships and two National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway. He has finished second and third in the last two Slinger Nationals.
John DeAngelis, Jr., Hubertus, Wis. – DeAngelis has been racing his fair share in the Southern United States but has made his home region starts count including a win in last year’s Falloween at Dells Raceway Park. He put the competition on notice as he dominated the first half of the Gandrud Auto Group 250 last August, setting a blistering pace. His last two Midwest Tour starts have netted a third at the Howie Lettow and a runner-up effort in the Jim Sauter Classic. DeAngelis finished third in the final 2019 Tour point standings and has multiple Super Late Model wins at his hometrack, Slinger.
Eddie Hoffman, Wheaton, Ill. – The eight-time Chicagoland Champion (7 Grundy and 1 at Illiana), Hoffman has two career Midwest feature wins to his credit, both coming at Grundy County Speedway where he is the winningest driver in track history. Looking to join the Midwest Tour full time in 2022, Hoffman, the 1997 ARTGO Challenge Series Champion will be making his first career start at ‘The World’s Fastest Quarter Mile’. Having done little touring racing since being a favorite in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when he captured three Oktoberfest titles, Hoffman has remained a favorite each time his familiar number 8 is unloaded in the pit area.
Derek Kraus, Stratford, Wis. – The youngest winner in Midwest Tour history returns to his Midwest roots this weekend, his last Super Late Model start netting him a top five. Currently in the mix of contenders each week in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the former K&N West Series Champion is quickly making a name for himself in the NASCAR garage. Kraus is currently 12th in the truck standings, less than 75 markers out of the top five. Kraus nearly found victory lane during last July’s Slinger Nationals, leading late only to come up one position short of victory.
Alex Prunty, Lomira, Wis. – Last Labor Day Weekend at the Dells, Prunty made his first Midwest Tour appearance. Now the tour comes to his turf and the 2018 Slinger Super Late Model Champion is amongst the favorites to claim top honors for the home team. With a 2015 Pro Late Model Championship to go along with countless wins at Slinger, the 2016 Kulwicki Cup Champion is one of the most well-known Slinger drivers. In addition to his Slinger successes, Prunty is also a two-time National Short Track Championship winner at Rockford Speedway.
Gabe Sommers, Plover, Wis. – Sommers recorded his breakthrough win at the Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway in 2019. He went on to become the 2019 Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year and backed up that effort with a runner-up points finish in 2020 and fifth a season ago. A winner last June at California’s Irwindale Speedway, the young driver placed second at Milwaukee on Father’s Day in 2021. Sommers found himself in a battle with NASCAR Cup Series winner William Byron during the 2022 World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway in February, eventually finishing second.
Dennis Prunty, Allenton, Wis. – This longtime Midwest Tour supporter will take part in the first Tour race ever at his hometrack Slinger on Sunday afternoon. Prunty is the 2012 Slinger Super Speedway Champion and collected the big check following the 2015 Slinger Nationals, a popular win for the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet. Prunty has amassed over 35 career Midwest Tour starts with his lone win coming during the 2016 Dixieland 250 at WIR.
Jonathan Eilen, Hampton, Minn. – He won the first ever Midwest Tour event which was held in 2007 at Elko Speedway, his hometrack. Now Eilen, the 2012 ARCA Midwest Tour Champion will be part of another first, the first ever tour event at Slinger. Eilen has a total of five career feature victories in tour competition and is fast yet again with a season best third place finish coming at Hawkeye Downs in August of last year. Eilen, who is seventh on the all-time wins list will make his 143rd Tour start on Sunday.
Ty Majeski, Seymour, Wis. – Recording his fifth ARCA Midwest Tour Championship in 2021, the all-time tour win leader will run a partial schedule in 2022 when his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule allows. He was the fast qualifier for the Trucks at Daytona and has a season best finish of third at Atlanta. Majeski, recorded his record fifth Rattler 250 victory in March at South Alabama Speedway and continues to be amongst the elite in Super Late Models. Majeski has 29 tour wins and is a two-time Slinger Nationals winner and won the 2020 Snowball Derby as well.