Daily News Sports Editor
SLINGER — The bungee cord was only a temporary fix.
Then with 10 laps to go in Sunday’s super late model feature at Slinger Superspeedway, the bungee chord gave way and Mueller held on, driving the world’s fastest quarter-mile oval with one hand.
As if driving with two hands isn’t already tough enough at this track.
Mueller emerged the winner in a thrilling finish, winning by 0.039 seconds over Steve Apel, with both cars spinning across the stripe.
“It’s not really easy,” Mueller said with a smile in victory lane about driving one-handed. “I don’t know if you’ve ever tried it or not, but it’s really not.”
It made for a finish that’ll be talked about for quite some time.
For the final handful of laps, Mueller and Apel battled side-by-side trying to get an edge. Apel led at the line by mere inches as the white flag flew. Both drivers got good runs going down the back straight. Then, going into turns 3 and 4, Apel hit a small patch of water, got loose and slid up the track and into Mueller. Quickly, Mueller and Apel got sideways and Mueller crossed the finish line ahead of Apel, going sideways.
“There’s probably a lot of unhappy (Apel) fans; sorry about that,” Mueller said.
Apel finished second. There was no bitterness on either side for the other driver.
“We were going for the lead; going for the win on the last lap,” Apel said. “Sometimes that’s the way it goes. Being second place to Brad Mueller is not something to be disappointed about.”
Mueller said, “It was good racing. We didn’t wreck each other on purpose. It was just we were both hungry. There’s nothing to feel bad about. That’s just good hard racing.”
Rob Braun had another strong day, finishing in the top five for the fifth straight race, dating back to the final three races of the 2012 season. Braun took third Sunday, 0.163 seconds behind Mueller.
“I was hoping they’d get crossed up and turn to the inside and I’d go around on the outside,” Braun said.
West Bend’s Travis Dassow, who led 11 laps Sunday, finished fourth, and Michael Bilderback, who led the first 30 laps, finished fifth.
Mueller, a three-time track champion, now has feature victories in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Last year’s feature victory was his first since Aug. 31, 2008.
This victory will be saved in Mueller’s memory bank.
The shifter on Mueller’s car wouldn’t stay in fourth gear and the problem developed in practice. To solve the problem, Mueller’s team wrapped a bungee chord around the shifter to keep it in fourth gear. But in the last 10 laps, the bungee chord couldn’t keep the shifter in place.
“I had to hold it in gear with the right hand for the rest of the race; I drove one-handed, left-handed the rest of the race,” Mueller said.
Conrad Morgan appeared to be on his way to his first feature victory since Aug. 2, 2009. He passed Dassow for the lead with 18 laps to go and built a sizable lead on Mueller.
With 10 laps to go, Fred Winn spun in Turn 2 and Morgan clipped Winn’s car, cutting the right rear tire and sending the six-time champion to the pits. He finished 14th.
“I feel so unfortunate for him,” said Mueller about Morgan. “He had a great car and I was not catching him. Anybody but Conrad because he really deserves a win after all the stuff he’s been through.”
Morgan has led 102 laps in 52 starts since his last victory.
Apel got the chance to challenge for the lead when Dassow elected to take the low line on the final restart while running in second and Apel chose the high line to take over second.
“When Travis picked the inside, I was ecstatic,” Apel said. “The only chance I was going to have to win the race was if I got to the outside and got next to Brad.”
Mueller said his dirt-track racing experience helped him keep his car straight while sliding sideways down the front stretch. Thus, the 2011 late model champion at Plymouth knew how to handle his less-than-perfect car when it mattered most.
“This is a top-fiver for sure,” Mueller said about where he thinks Sunday’s victory will rank among the finest in his career.
“I love coming here,” he added. “This is the greatest track in the world to me. This place has been good and so rewarding for us over the years.”
RESULTS
Sunday
Feature winners
Super late model: Brad Mueller
Limited late model: Dan Jung
Midwest sportsman: Ken Joosten
Area sportsman: Kyle Chwala
Slinger Bees: Brandon Tackes
Figure 8: Willy Van Camp
American Super Cup: Brian Baldyga
Fast qualifiers
Super late model: Brad Mueller (11.413 seconds)
Limited late model: Alex Prunty (12.522)
Midwest sportsman: Jack Stern (12.851)
Area sportsman: Kyle Chwala (13.274)
Super Cup: Erle Hoth (15.127)
Point Standings
(After Week 2)
Area sportsman — 1, Joe Shelby 166; 2, Ken Schraufnagel 165; 3, Tim Kreuser 132; 4, Kenny Richards 125; 5, Nick Egan 111.
Figue 8 — 1 (tie), Ryan Lovald and Shane Becker 220; 3, Willy Van Camp 215; 4, Paul Williams 175; 5, Scott Goetzke 170.
Limite late model — 1, Alex Prunty 212; 2, Dan Jung 183; 3, Mike Lichtfeld 178; 4, Ryan DeStefano 163; 5, John DeAngelis 144.
Midwest sportsman — 1, Ken Joosten 188; 2, Jay Shambeau 166; 3, Jack Stern 163; 4, Chris Ratajczyk 158; 5, Brian Holtz 156.
Slinger Bees — 1, Steve Dickson 212; 2, Brandon Tackes 198; 3, Nick Schmidt 194; 4, Jacob Schraufnagel 166; 5, Marty Tackes 141.
Super late model — 1, Rob Braun 197; 2, Brad Mueller 193; 3, Michael Bilderback 165; 4, Travis Dassow 140; 5, Al Schill 134.
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