7.6.19 American Ethanol Late Models Results
Lake City, MI (Saturday, July 7, 2019) – The 2019 American Ethanol Late Model Tour (AELMT) wrapped up a weekend doubleheader at Merritt Speedway Saturday night, and it was David Mielke who went to YellowHose.com Victory Lane for the second time in his career, and the second time in two weeks.
The AELMT weekend began on Friday as drivers tried to set Motul Motor Oil and Lubricants Fast Time. Group Number One was lead by Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame member Steven Hilliker with a 14.982, over Logan Arntz’s 15.064, and Preston Deshano’s 15.709. In Group Two, Travis Stemler paced the field with a 15.112, over Dona Marcoullier’s 15.180, and Dave Baker’s 15.284. Mielke broke into the 14 second bracket in Group Three turning in a 14.903, over Brandon Thirlby and his 15.047, and Kyle Novak’s 15.330. The fourth and final group was paced by Cody Bauer with a 15.061, Chris Brindly clocked in at a 15.072, and Wade Witherspoon with a 15.073.
Do to rescheduled races from Thursday night’s rain out, heat races were scraped for the AELMT event, however, two 25 lap, $1,000 to win KEL Graphics Qualifiers were held to decide who would battle in a starting position determining Dash. Qualifier Number One was another victory in the cap for Mielke, as he led wire to wire over Thirlby, Arntz, and Novak. Qualifier Number Two saw Stemler go to victory lane at Merritt for just the second time in his career, over Eric Spangler, Marcoullier, and Cody Bauer. The top four drivers from each Qualifier were put into American Ethanol Dash Number One, while positions 5-8 made up American Ethanol Dash Number Two, and the rest of the field would run Last Chance Qualifiers.
Saturday’s action began with the eight lap dash races that would set the starting line-up for the 40 lap main event. Dash One set positions 1-8 for the feature, with Dash Two setting positions 9-16. Mielke went back to victory lane in Dash One over Stemler and Spangler, while Michael Luberda won Dash Two over Nick Kurtz and Rich Bell.
Two Last Chance Qualifiers were needed to finish setting the field, with the top two cars from each race getting a chance to battle for $5,000, while the other drivers would be placed in a non-transfer B-Main. In LCQ Number One, John Goodrich got the win over Steve Nieuwenhuis, and Andrew Terrill and Dave Baker raced their way into the show through LCQ Number Two. Wade Witherspoon won the non-transfer B-Main Feature.
The stage was now set for the Independence 40, with David Mielke and Travis Stemler leading the field to the American Ethanol Green Flag. Mielke quickly jumped out to the early race lead, while Eric Spangler quickly shuffled Stemler out of line, and back to third place ahead of Brandon Thirlby and Logan Arntz. The top five would run that way, largely uncontested through the halfway point, but a pair of late race cautions turned up the wic at the front of the field.
A single car spin brought out the caution flag on lap 32, stacking up the field with just eight laps to go. Bell, Arntz, and Kyle Novak went three wide on the restart, battling for a top five finish. Bell managed to take the spot momentarily, but Artnz crossed Bell over and retook the spot before a two car spin in turn four with Steven HIlliker and Mike Vandermark, Jr brought out the caution.
On the ensuing restart, Mielke jumped back out to the lead, but it was Thirbly who powered to the inside of Spangler into turns one and two, and took the second spot away down the back stretch. Stemler, who was still running in the fourth spot, defended Arntz and Bell who were still locked into a fight for the fifth spot. A final caution flew on lap 37 for a single car incident, setting up a three lap dash to the checkers. Even still, no one could manage to get close enough to Mielke to challenge for the win.
With the win, Mielke becomes the first repeat winner of 2019(I-96 Speedway, Merritt Speedway), the first back-to-back winner of the season, and he becomes the first ever driver to win in the American Ethanol Modified Tour Presented by Allstar Performance, and the AELMT during the same show or weekend.
The next event for the AELMT is a postponed show at I-96 Speedway on Friday, July 19th, before the AELMT takes a small Summer Vacation in preparation for a huge August and September.
Stay up to date with the AELMT on social media including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Log on to AELMT.com for complete results, stories and more.
Unofficial Results:
KEL Graphics Qualifier 1:
87M David Mielke
M14 Brandon Thirlby
21A Logan Arntz
24N Kyle Novak
1W Michael Luberda
21B Rich Bell
21S Steve Hilliker
41V Mike Vandermark Jr.
44G John Goodrich
33T Bob Timmer
23 Preston Deshano
44 Colin Shipley
16 Mike Staszak
73 Steve Nieuwenhuis
5X Richard Cebula
KEL Graphics Qualifier 2:
2 Travis Stemler
27 Eric Spangler
6M Dona Marcoullier
19X Cody Bauer
79 Nick Kurtz
87K Josh Knoll
10 Brett Miller
03 JC Witherspoon
4T Andrew Terrill
04 Wade Witherspoon
3 Jeremy Tulick
15 Dave Baker
25CB Chris Brindley
25JB Jim Billett
00 Rob Lewis
42 Chad Finley
Independence 40:
87M David Mielke
M14 Bandon Thirlby
27 Eric Spangler
2 Travis Stemler
21A Logan Arntz
21B Rich Bell
79 Nick Kurtz
10 Brett Miller
1W Michael Luberda
87K Josh Knoll
4T Andrew Terrill
03 JC Witherspoon
21S Steve Hilliker
44G John Goodrich
41V Mike Vandermark Jr.
24N Kyle Novak
15 Dave Baker
73 Steve Nieuwenhuis
6M Dona Marcoullier
19X Cody Bauer
B-Main:
04 Wade Witherspoon
3 Jeremy Tulick
23 Preston Deshano
25JB Jim Billett
00 Rob Lewis
44 Colin Shipley
33T Bob Timmer
16 Mike Stazak
25CB Chris Brindley
LCQ 1:
1W Michael Luberda
79 Nick Kurtz
21B Rich Bell
87K Josh Knoll
10 Brett Miller
41V Mike Vandermark Jr.
21S Steve Hilliker
03 JC Witherspoon
LCQ 2:
4T Andrew Terrill
15 Dave Baker
04 Wade Witherspoon
25CB Chris Brindley
3 Jeremy Tulick
25JB Jim Billett
00 Rob Lewis