Nick is King!

Shawano, WI - Nick Anvelink was crowned King of the WABAM Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Gehm’s Club 117 Kings Classic at Shawano Speedway in BMRE Electrick Carts Victory Lane. The victory breaks the record for the most late model feature wins at Shawano Speedway, making Anvelink the all-time late model leader at the legendary half mile, with 93 wins.

Mitch McGrath and Anvelink led the field to the green flag, with McGrath taking the lead from the start. McGrath quickly pulled ahead to a 1.702 second advantage over Anvelink. As McGrath began to approach the tail end of the field, Anvelink was able to close the distance to the leader. Behind them, Brett Swedberg and Justin Ritchie battled for third. McGrath raced his way to the tail of the field on lap 11, where Jayme Zidar and Cody Welch battled for position, racing side by side. McGrath’s lead over Anvelink narrowed to .879 seconds and continued to shrink as McGrath waited for an opportunity to pass. McGrath continued to work his way through the field, with Anvelink just .533 seconds behind. Anvelink was .684 seconds behind McGrath on lap 13, with Aaron Reivitis and Turk Letizia just ahead of the leaders. Coming out of turn two, McGrath moved to the outside of Reivitis with Anvelink at his bumper and Anvelink dove to the inside of McGrath as they raced down the backstretch, splitting Reivitis as they raced into turn three. Anvelink had the advantage in turn three and took the lead on lap 14, crossing under the flagstand .218 seconds ahead of McGrath.

Anvelink had a 1.996 second lead over McGrath when caution slowed the field for the first time on lap eighteen, as Swedberg made contact with the lapped car of Reivitis and spun in turn three, while running third. Swedberg changed a flat left front tire under caution and restarted in 13th position.

On the restart, Anvelink was able to pull ahead of McGrath as Ritchie challenged for second, but the 1.026 second lead was wiped away a lap later for debris in turn three. With just six laps remaining, Anvelink pulled ahead to the lead as Ritchie challenged McGrath for second with Troy Springborn and Mike Mullen rounding out the top five, but it was Todd Frank who raced three wide and advancing to fourth.

Anvelink had a clear track ahead of him, pulling away to a 3.740 second advantage over McGrath at the finish. Frank finished third, followed by Ritchie and Springborn. Lukas Postl finished sixth, followed by Mike Mullen, Joel Bennett, Brad Mueller and Andy Karl.

Special Thanks to Gehm’s Club 117 in Bonduel for sponsoring the Gehm’s Club 117 Kings Classic and adding additional money to each position throughout the field.

Gehm's Club 117 Kings Classic 25 Laps
1. 15-Nick Anvelink[2]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath[1]; 3. 21-Todd Frank[13]; 4. 70-Justin Ritchie[4]; 5. 81-Troy Springborn[6]; 6. 5-Lukas Postl[3]; 7. 99M-Mike Mullen[7]; 8. 7-Joel Bennett[9]; 9. 89-Brad Mueller[8]; 10. 61K-Andy Karl[12]; 11. 51-Chris Oertel[10]; 12. 56-Tim Rothe[11]; 13. 3-Brett Swedberg[5]; 14. D1-Turk Letizia[19]; 15. 93-Cody Welch[18]; 16. 36-Tommy Rindt[17]; 17. 55-Joe Bongiorno[16]; 18. 48-Aaron Reivitis[20]; 19. 9Z-Jayme Zidar[14]; 20. 21M-Shawn Miller[15]
Autoworx Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 15-Nick Anvelink[2]; 2. 3-Brett Swedberg[1]; 3. 99M-Mike Mullen[3]; 4. 51-Chris Oertel[6]; 5. 21-Todd Frank[4]; 6. 55-Joe Bongiorno[7]; 7. D1-Turk Letizia[5]
Klink Equipment Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 5-Lukas Postl[1]; 2. 70-Justin Ritchie[3]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller[4]; 4. 56-Tim Rothe[5]; 5. 9Z-Jayme Zidar[2]; 6. 36-Tommy Rindt[6]; 7. 48-Aaron Reivitis[7]
Ken's Sports Inc. Heat 3 8 Laps
1. 74-Mitch McGrath[1]; 2. 81-Troy Springborn[2]; 3. 7-Joel Bennett[5]; 4. 61K-Andy Karl[3]; 5. (DNF) 21M-Shawn Miller[6]; 6. (DNS) 93-Cody Welch
Autoworx Qualifying 1 2 Laps
1. 3-Brett Swedberg, 00:20.334[3]; 2. 15-Nick Anvelink, 00:20.418[5]; 3. 99M-Mike Mullen, 00:20.634[1]; 4. 21-Todd Frank, 00:20.819[6]; 5. D1-Turk Letizia, 00:21.133[2]; 6. 51-Chris Oertel, 00:21.252[4]; 7. 55-Joe Bongiorno, 00:21.688[7]
Klink Equipment Qualifying 2 2 Laps
1. 5-Lukas Postl, 00:20.898[3]; 2. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 00:20.947[6]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie, 00:21.273[5]; 4. 89-Brad Mueller, 00:21.279[2]; 5. 56-Tim Rothe, 00:21.432[7]; 6. 36-Tommy Rindt, 00:21.868[1]; 7. 48-Aaron Reivitis, 00:21.986[4]
Ken's Sports Inc. Qualifying 3 2 Laps
1. 74-Mitch McGrath, 00:20.511[1]; 2. 81-Troy Springborn, 00:20.827[6]; 3. 7-Joel Bennett, 00:20.935[3]; 4. 61K-Andy Karl, 00:21.165[5]; 5. 93-Cody Welch, 00:22.066[4]; 6. (DNS) 21M-Shawn Miller