IMI Motorsports Complex
Erie, Colorado, USA

Week 5
June 6, 1998 - IMI Motorsports Complex
From: Jennifer Susich, fainche@earthlink.net

The track was really fast tonight and it gave us some good racing. Unfortunately we had a few wrecks. Joe Gawith got banged up in race one. We're thinking of you Joe and wishing you a speedy recovery. Tom "Kamikaze Kid" Kern was out with a broken hand. Hurry and get better, guys. We also had the debut of a new rider, number 76, Dirk Ballinger. He's the guy that bought Lee Cederberg's bike. Welcome, Dirk. And congratulations to Chad Harris. He's already bumped up to D1 after four races. Good job!

Round 1
Pat "The Rat" Litt won this race. Dirk Ballinger hit the wall in turn four of lap 3. Race two witnessed Ron Grace Jr. hit the ground in turn two. When he got back up it looked like he was going to run the rest of the race backwards. Trying to rewind the race, Ron? Rob "Fire" Ball won this one. Jay "Do or Die" Gruetzmacher got the gate in race three. Gene "The Dancin' Machine" Petz rubbed against him in turn one, taking the lead. Got too excited though, and went down in turn three. Then, in lap three he passed Mike Rohr and Chad "I don't know my address" Mann to get second, behind Gruetzmacher, who crossed the finish line with a flat tire, taking the bike sideways the wrong way. Way to go, Jay!

Round 2
Petz got the gate and the win in race one. Shawn "Tornado" Hurley and Don "Batman" Foster battled it out for second, with Foster passing inside on the last turn. Joe Gawith and Grace bumped crossing the line in race two. Gawith went to the hospital and Grace tried sticking it out for one more race but had to call it quits. Get better quick, guys. Ball got the gate in race three and Litt was right on his tail. He gunned it on the back straight to pass Ball and take the win.

Round 3
Chad Harris was hot on Hurley's tail, but couldn't catch him and had to settle for second. Gruetzmacher got the gate in race two. Foster thought he'd try another corner and went down in turn two. He passed Ballinger, though, to come in third behind Gruetzmacher and Rohr. Litt ran away with race three.

Round 4
Ball took race one. Chad "I don't know my address" Mann got his first win in race two. Great show, Chad! The other races gave him flying lessons during trophies by throwing him high into the atmosphere. "The Dancin' Machine" Petz apparently wanted to do the jitterbug with Foster, as he kept rubbing up against him. After the second come on, Foster decided to leave the track. Litt won.

Round 5
Mike Rohr got the gate in race one and Mann passed on the inside. Hurley also passed Rohr on the inside but couldn't make it around Mann, as Mann got his second win for the evening. Ball and Litt took races two and three, respectively. Gruetzmacher didn't race this round because he pulled a Dave Pieper and forgot to turn on the fuel.

Run-Off
Petz and Gruetzmacher tied for third. Gruetzmacher remembered to turn on the fuel this time. They were neck-in-neck in turn one and Petz pulled ahead, taking the win on his birthday.

1st   28 Pat "The Rat" Litt  15 Points
2nd   17 Rob "Fire" Ball  13 Points
3rd   57 Gene "The Dancin' Machine" Petz  10 Point
4th   14 Jay "Do or Die" Gruetzmacher 9 Points
5th    8 Shawn "Tornado" Hurley  8 Points
      27 Mike Rohr
6th    5 Don "Batman" Foster  7 Points
      39 Chad "I don't know my address" Mann 
7th   96 Chad Harris 5 Points
8th   76 Dirk Ballinger  4 Points
9th   67 Ron Grace, Jr.  3 Points
      24 Joe Gawith