"Hess kicks off Badger Midget season with Charter Raceway Victory"

By Bryan Gapinski
Beaver Dam, Wis., May 2---Mike Hess opened defense of his series championship by capturing the 25-lap Badger Midget Series, Saturday Night at Charter Raceway Park. The event kicked off the 73rd year of sanctioning midget auto racing for the organization, oldest in the country.
Brandon Waelti paced the initial two laps, before serenading the top position to Scott Hatton. Hatton built a two-second advantage, when on lap 7 Bubba Alitg flipped, escaping injury. On the restart Hatton paced the field, with Hess and fast qualifier Brad Kuhn restarting in sixth and seventh positions. Hess made two excellent passes and moved into second place by the completion of lap 9.
Hess closed on Hatton, while Kuhn moved into third place at the mid-way point. Hatton and Hess were even at the line on lap 14, with Hess making the winning pass exiting Turn 2. Hess increased his lead and with five laps remaining began lapping the tail of the field. One lap Later Kuhn moved into third, and in the final two laps cut Hess's margin, to three-car lengths at the finish.
For Hess who drove the Jerry Hardy owned Buzzard/Hawk#1, the victory was his third in five events at the facility. Completing the top five were Hatton, Chad DeSelle, and Washington State's Austin Wheatley. The complete feature field with the exception of Altig were running at the finish. Series action continues on Sunday May 17 at Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, Wis.).

SUMMARY
25-lap Feature: 1. Mike Hess; 2. Brad Kuhn; 3. Scott Hatton; 4. Chad DeSelle; 5. Austin Wheatley; 6. Brad Loyet; 7. Brandon Waelti; 8. Matt Smith; 9. Davey Ray; 10. Joey Moughan; 11. David Budres; 12. Aaron Fiscus; 13. Jake Slotten; 14. Jim Fuerst; 15. Bryon Walters; 16. Eric Johnson; 17. Jason Dull; 18. Courtney Erfurth; 19.Bubba Altig.

10-lap Semi Feature Winner: DeSelle.
10-lap Heat Race Winners: Hess, Waelti, Kuhn.
Fast Time: Kuhn, 15.708 seconds.
Cars Present: 20 Feature Lap Leaders: Waelti 1-2, Hatton 3-14, Hess 15-25.
**Dull flipped in heat one. Walters flipped in heat three. Altig flipped on lap 7 of feature. All drivers uninjured.