Reynolds Jr. Rolls to Victory, Becomes 'King of the High Banks' at Slinger

by Jordan Kuehne
There are no "boys of summer" in 2010, but merely one man. Jon Reynolds Jr. loves the summer and it showed once again tonight in the BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet's first ever trip to the high banks of the Slinger Super Speedway. 'Driver X' heated up quickly, rocketing from his tenth place starting spot into the lead in just over 25 laps and fending off a host of drivers including two-time series champion Jeremy Miller and Slinger veteran James Swan to continue his July hot streak. After winning three consecutive features at Rockford Speedway, a track similar to Slinger, Reynolds Jr. used his veteran guile and his experience around the quarter-mile to take home the Old Wisconsin Smokehouse 'King of the High Banks 88'.

Steve Schultz mashed the gas to take the lead as the green flag waved on the BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet for the first time ever at Slinger Super Speedway. The Old Wisconsin Smokehouse ‘King of the High Banks 88’ got off to a swift start as fast qualifier Jon Reynolds Jr. wasted no time negotiating from his tenth place starting position up to fifth, bursting into the top five in a mere eight laps.

While Schultz slowly built a cushion up front, Chris Ratajczyk maneuvered around James Swan for second and brought Rob Braun with him into third. Swan’s dive continued as Reynolds Jr. pushed past him for fourth and set his sights on Braun. As lap 14 ticked off the scoreboard, ‘Driver X’ forced his way into third on the inside of the quarter-mile.

The first caution of the evening flew on lap 15 after contact between Johnny Baumeister Jr. and Rob Myers sent both drivers spinning onto the frontstretch. On the restart, Schultz jumped ahead as Reynolds Jr. made quick work of Ratajczyk for the bridesmaid’s position and targeted the leader. Swan followed ‘Driver X’ into third as Ratajczyk dropped out of the top five.

Reynolds Jr. gained traction on the high side of the banked speedway and dueled with Schultz on the outside, working his way past the local driver to snatch the top spot with 23 laps in the books. Immediately after Reynolds Jr’s move to the front, the second caution of the evening flew for a trip through the spin cycle by Jacob Vanosky.

On the ensuing restart, Reynolds Jr. burst into clean air as a determined James Swan followed in hot pursuit claiming second as Schultz dropped back to third. Chris Blawat stuck his nose into fourth as Bobby Wilberg entered the top five in fifth.

A third caution fell on lap 29 for a three car accident involving Kyle Shear, Jimmy Ganski, and Wayne Freimund. Shear got loose exiting turn four creating a bottleneck on the frontstretch that collected Freimund and sent him hard into the turn one wall as Shear’s right front tire escaped his machine. Both Shear and Freimund were forced to make an early exit as Ganski remained on the race track with minor cosmetic damage.

The Slinger veteran remained out front on the restart as Schultz jumped back into second ahead of Swan. Tanner Whitten found himself in the top five with 33 circuits completed as he inched his way past Wilberg for the fifth position. Swan quickly fought back on the inside of Schultz as the local driver washed up the high banks and succumbed to Swan for second.

Swan turned his sights towards the leader as he worked the inside line on Reynolds Jr. slowly snaking forward on the bottom of the track. The two drivers battled door-to-door over the next seven laps, trading paint and the lead before another caution flew for an incident in turn one involving Bill Shavlik and Mike Graczkowski.

When the green flag waved, Reynolds Jr. rode his momentum back out front as Swan fell back into the clutches of Schultz and points leader Jeremy Miller. As Tanner Whitten fell in line with Miller and attempted a pass on Swan, the two made contact sending Whitten spinning in turn three and forcing Swan to the back of the pack when the race resumed.

Miller made mincemeat of Schultz for second as Rob Braun collected third. Schultz exited the track with mechanical issues with 20 laps remaining, ending a solid run by the local driver early.

As the laps winded down, Reynolds Jr. continued to edge away from Miller utilizing his valuable experience piloting a super late model around the quarter-mile to gain ground. ‘Driver X’ survived a late caution to ride the wave of momentum he’s created at the Rockford Speedway, earning his first feature win of the 2010 BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet season and becoming ‘King of the High Banks.’

“The best decision the Big 8 Series made, going to this tire,” an ecstatic Reynolds Jr. stated in victory lane. “The car never went away from me and I just used the grip up on those things to get away. The car was so good and I have to thank my crew and my sponsors for helping me do this. It’s awesome having the Big 8 at Slinger and I hope we can do this again.”

Miller settled for a strong second place effort after his charge stalled for a bit midway through the race and extended his lead in the standings to a comfortable 63 point margin over Bobby Wilberg with half of the season in the books. Local driver Rob Braun notched a solid third as Wilberg continued his consistency with a fourth place finish. Kris Kelly rounded out the top five in fifth.

The BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet makes its return during Madison International Speedway's Fall Classic on Friday, September 24th and returns the next evening, Saturday, September 25th, for feature racing action.

For more information on the Big 8 Series, including the remainder of the 2010 schedule, visit the series website at www.big8series.com or call the Rockford Speedway Box Office at (815)633-1500.

Big 8 Series Results (Slinger Super Speedway, 07.18.2010)

Race 3 of 6

Big 8 Series Late Models

'King of the High Banks 88' 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Rockford; 2. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 3. Rob Braun, Wales, Wis; 4. Bob Wilberg, Beloit, Wis; 5. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 6. Jeff Holtz, Muskego, Wis; 7. Chris Blawat, Palmyra, Wis; 8. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, Wis; 9. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 10. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis; 11. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 12. Ryan DeStefano, Colgate, Wis; 13. Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.; 14. Bill Shavlik, West Bend, Wis; 15. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 16. Tanner Whitten, Congerville; 17. Steven Schulz, Waukesha, Wis; 18. Mike Graczowski, Jackson, Wis; 19. Rob Myers, Hartford, Wis; 20. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 21. Jacob Vanoskey (r), Hartford, Wis; 22. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 23. Travis Dassow, West Bend, Wis; 24. John DeAngelis, Jr, Hubertus, Wis.

Last Chance "A" 01 -- 1. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, Wis; 2. Mike Graczowski, Jackson, Wis; 3. Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.; 4. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 5. Michael Bachaus, Milton, Wis; 6. Troy Rave, Westby, Wis; 7. John Beinlich, Prairie View; 8. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 9. Bill Shavlik, West Bend, Wis; 10. Dan Wood, Wales, Wis; 11. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 12. Derek Childs, Poynette, Wis; 13. Jason Hicks, Elkhorn, Wis; 14. Joe Pecaro, Edgerton, Wis.

Heat 01 -- 1. Steven Schulz, Waukesha, Wis; 2. Jeff Holtz, Muskego, Wis; 3. Rob Braun, Wales, Wis; 4. Jacob
Vanoskey (r), Hartford, Wis; 5. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Rockford; 6. Travis Dassow, West Bend, Wis; 7. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich..

Heat 02 -- 1. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis; 2. John DeAngelis, Jr, Hubertus, Wis; 3. Bob Wilberg, Beloit, Wis; 4. Chris Blawat, Palmyra, Wis; 5. Tanner Whitten, Congerville; 6. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 7. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis.

Heat 03 -- 1. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 2. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 3. Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.; 4. Mike
Graczowski, Jackson, Wis; 5. Dan Wood, Wales, Wis; 6. Derek Childs, Poynette, Wis; 7. John Beinlich, Prairie View; 8. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 9. Joe Pecaro, Edgerton, Wis.

Heat 04 -- 1. Rob Myers, Hartford, Wis; 2. Ryan DeStefano, Colgate, Wis; 3. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, Wis; 4. Jason Hicks, Elkhorn, Wis; 5. Michael Bachaus, Milton, Wis; 6. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 7. Troy Rave, Westby, Wis; 8. Bill Shavlik, West Bend, Wis; 9. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis.

Time Trial -- 1. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Rockford; 2. Tanner Whitten, Congerville; 3. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 4. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 5. Jacob Vanoskey (r), Hartford, Wis; 6. Chris Blawat, Palmyra, Wis; 7. Rob Braun, Wales, Wis; 8. Wayne Freimund, Elkhorn, Wis; 9. Jeff Holtz, Muskego, Wis; 10. Bob Wilberg, Beloit, Wis; 11. Travis Dassow, West Bend, Wis; 12. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis; 13. Steven Schulz, Waukesha, Wis; 14. John DeAngelis, Jr, Hubertus, Wis; 15. Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.; 16. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, Wis; 17. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 18. Ryan DeStefano, Colgate, Wis; 19. Derek Childs, Poynette, Wis; 20. Jason Hicks, Elkhorn, Wis; 21. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 22. Rob Myers, Hartford, Wis; 23. John Beinlich, Prairie View; 24. Bill Shavlik, West Bend, Wis; 25. Mike Graczowski, Jackson, Wis; 26. Michael Bachaus, Milton, Wis; 27. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 28. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 29. Dan Wood, Wales, Wis; 30. Troy Rave, Westby, Wis; 31. Joe Pecaro,
Edgerton, Wis; 32. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis.