MORRIS, Ill. — Using pretty much the outside groove to lead more than 50 laps, Stan Zolodz IV came home the winner of the 63rd annual Bettenhausen Memorial 100 presented by Elite Trade Show Services super late model stock car special at Grundy County Speedway Saturday night.
Taking over the lead on lap 48, the 23-year-old Zolodz, from Hebron, Ind., wheeled his S4 Motorsports Camaro to the victory which was worth $6,300 plus lap prize money. Zolodz’s ride to starter Greg Kuntz’s checkered flag was not an easy one as Wisconsin’s Blake Brown pressured Zolodz for the last 20 laps or so. Zolodz’s victory margin was 0.378 seconds at the finish.
Another Wisconsin speedster Casey Johnson finished third in the 100 lapper at the third-mile paved oval which saw a field of 24 cars take the green flag.
Former two-time race winner Ricky Baker finished fourth, followed by Jake Gille and Anthony Danta, who saw a third-place finish disappear in the closing laps because of a broken trailing arm bolt.
Paul Shafer Jr., who won the race in 2018 and 2019, Kody King, Rich Bickle Jr. and nine-time Grundy late model champion Eddie Hoffman rounded out the “top 10” finishers.
Veteran racer Larry Schuler came from his outside front row starting spot to lead the first six circuits with Bickle, the evening’s fastest qualifier, taking over the top spot on lap seven. Grabbing fast time honors with a lap of 14.728 seconds and starting fourth in the feature field, Bickle stayed on front, battling with Max Kahler for the lead.
Bickle and Kahler tangled with 47 laps complete with both drives spinning down the front straightaway with both drivers sent to the tail of the field for the double-file restart.
New leader Zolodz chose the outside lane for the restart with Shafer electing to restart the race from the inside groove – a scene that would be repeated a couple of more times with Zolodz holding off Shafer, leading the way to his biggest win of his career. Zolodz became the 32nd different winner of the historic Chicago area stock car event which began in 1962 at the now-closed Illiana Motor Speedway.
“I think our car was just a bit faster than everyone else’s,” said Zolodz. “We were kind of hurting during those long runs. (Paul) Shafer tried to get by me on the inside on those restarts but I had some great starts. I tried to keep him inside and kept the lead and set sail.
“I have to applaud the track workers (who applied a track adhesion product to the outside groove). They did a fantastic job with the second groove. It came to life and made the racing so much better for all of us. I don’t want to use my front bumper. I want to get around somebody clean. It gives you the option for hard, clean racing.
“I was concerned about (Blake) Brown there at the end. He was a little faster during those long runs. I had to keep to the high side. That was the preferred line. If he got to my quarter panel, it was going to be over. He was going to get around us. This is one (win) we’re going to remember.”
Scotty Gardner claimed top honors in the Mid-Am Racing Series 35-lap main event. Gardner scored the victory in front of Josh Nelms, fastest qualifier Cameron Preisler, Connor Kosowski, Ron Vandermeir Jr. and Timmy Stewart. A field of 22 took the green flag at the start.
Mike Pearson won the 20-lap “Sixers” division feature over Bobby Frisch and Breanna Riggins. Carter Appleton scored the win in the 25-lap Super Cup headliner. Pearson bested JoJo Fadke, Dustin Olmstead, Jacob Senerchia and Richard Bischof.
The finish:
Stan Zolodz IV, Blake Brown, Casey Johnson, Ricky Baker, Jake Gille, Anthony Danta, Paul Shafer Jr., Kody King, Rich Bickle Jr., Eddie Hoffman, John Beale, Nathan Kelly, Kyle Shear, Larry Schuler, Dean Patterson, DJ Weltmeyer, Braden Berge, Tony Brutti, Max Kahler, Josh Nelms, Andy Jones, Eric White, Tristan Batson, Jeff Wakeman