Milwaukee Post
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/996995
June 22, 2018 • Milwaukee County Post • 11 By NICHOLAS DETTMANN Conley News Service SLINGER — For reasons unknown, Brad Keith, while sitting on a boat on the lake with his wife, Kelly, and their 7-month-old daughter Hadley, looked at his wife and did something he never does. "I told my wife I think we have a good chance to win," Keith said. "I never say that. I'm usually pretty humble." His hunch was right. In his 101st super late model start at Slinger Super Speedway, Keith won his first career feature, holding off a late push by defending track champion Gary LaMonte courtesy of a cau- tion with four laps to go in the 60-lap main event. "It took long enough," Keith said Monday. "At cer- tain times, I wondered if it was going to happen." That was especially true as he sat and watched driv- ers such as LaMonte or Dennis Prunty or Steve Apel win seemingly at will. "Are we ever going to get that opportunity?" Keith said. "You wonder if every- thing was going to fall into place." And lately, he had good reason to think that as it seemed every bad-luck thing that could happen in a race car did the last several weeks. "A lot of it has things go your way," Keith said. "Everything fell into place." Conrad Morgan finished third in the feature, fol- lowed by Grant Griesbach and John DeAngelis Jr. Also picking up feature victories Sunday were Nick Egan (limited late model), Matt Urban (Slinger Bees), Rick Schaefer (Super Beez) and Rick Bruskiewicz (Figure 8). 'Pretty special' And talking about every- thing falling into place, Keith won the milestone fea- ture on his first Father's Day. "It was pretty special," Keith said. "You won't for- get that." Keith had to work for it, too. He started the feature in eighth place after the invert after being second- quickest in qualifying. Most of the season, Keith said he believed he had a fast race car, one certainly good enough to challenge for wins. Despite that, he was wary of his chances to win the race moments before the feature. "I don't think I ever really thought it could be it," Keith said. "It seems like there hasn't been a lot of passing in the super lates this year." Mid-pack start Keith's eighth-place start- ing spot matched the fur- thest back on the grid a driver has had to come from to win a race this season in the super late model divi- sion. On May 6, Prunty started eighth. Otherwise, the starting spots of the eventual fea- ture winners in the division were fifth, fourth, fifth and first. "You think for your first one, you'd win from the front row and not mid- pack," Keith said. Sixty laps at Slinger is not a lot of time to work with when a lap lasts less than 12 seconds in a race setting. Not to mention, the side-by- side racing makes it diffi- cult to pass. But, Keith found a way and did so quickly, working his way to the lead on lap 19. "I knew that at some point our luck was going to change," Keith said. With four laps to go, Travis Dassow and Nick Wagner crashed to bring out the yellow flag. Keith chose the outside line for the restart and did so because he knew LaMonte's car is typically not the strongest on a short run. He believed that played to his advantage. Shortly after the green flag waved, LaMonte and Keith made slight contact, but Keith got the run off Turn 2 and surged to sole possession of the lead. "It felt like 160 laps," Keith said. "I was not let- ting that one slip away last night." A meaningful track The victory wasn't Keith's first in a super late model. In 2015, he won a super late model feature at La Crosse. But, this one was different. Keith has been going to Slinger as a driver or as a fan since he was 8 years old. He grew up in Slinger. This track is close to his heart. It means a lot to him. He is a track champion and has 15 feature wins in other divi- sions at Slinger. It also means a lot to the family. Keith's family has invested plenty into the sport and Slinger. Keith's Marina in West Bend sponsors at least one race night a season and has been a supporter of the track and its competitors for several years. "It's pretty cool," Keith said. "My first feature win came in a Mid-am car on Keith's Marina night in 2006." He added, "My dad was excited. To get your first win on your first Father's Day is pretty special." The next race at Slinger is one of those Keith's Marina-sponsored nights. And it's a fundraiser for cancer research. Several raffle prizes and door prizes will be available for fans with proceeds going toward Chix 4 A Cause. "We've got door prizes; a lot of good stuff," Keith said. For more information on the fundraiser or to get tick- ets, contact Keith through Facebook or go to Keith's Marina, 4339 Highway 33, Town of West Bend or Kurly's Grand Larsony, 143 Main St., Kewaskum. Keith finally gets into victory lane Driver wins first feature in 101st super late model start SPORTS SLINGER SUPER SPEEDWAY Ron Erstad Jr./Special to Conley News Service Brad Keith poses after winning his first career super late model race Sunday at Slinger Super Speedway.