Tatnell Keeps It In The Family At The Richert Memorial

Tatnell Keeps It In the Family at Richert Memorial

By: Justin Zoch (9-12-09)

It was an emotional night for the entire Richert family as they huddled to honor their father, Jerry Richert, and watched a member of the family - Brooke Tatnell - score the win at the 9th Annual Jerry Richert Memorial at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Tatnell, who is married to Jerry's daughter Amy, raced a car owned by Joe Kouba and Jerry Richert Jr. to victory over a very impressive field of IRA Sprint Cars to score his second consecutive win in the event.


Tatnell, who was returning to the cockpit for the first time since shattering his left leg in a driveline explosion in July, started the feature event in the fifth spot and watched Johnny Herrera open up a lead over the first part of the race. Once the leaders reached lapped traffic, Herrera eventually succumbed to the pressure from Tatnell as a torrid four-car battle between Herrera, Tatnell, Terry McCarl and tenth starting Scott Winters heated up from laps 10-20, when Josh Higday slapped the concrete wall on the backstretch, bringing out a yellow flag.

Tatnell survived a series of late race yellow flags and managed to hold off Scott Winters on every restart while McCarl and Herrera battled back and forth. On the final restart, with two laps remaining, Bill Balog drove from sixth to fourth while Tatnell cruised around to a very popular victory. Tatnell was followed by Johnny Herrera, Balog and McCarl.

Greg Parent (GRP Motorsports) put up two Hard Charger Awards and it went to two very deserving drivers as Bill Balog earned the IRA Hard Charger and Scott Winters won the non-IRA member award. Each driver was given $200 from GRP.


In Osborne and Sons Trucking Qualifications, Terry McCarl nearly broke his five-year-old track record with a lap of 10.787 (the record in 10.757) and the four heat races went to Scott Uttech, Lynton Jeffrey, Robbie Wolfgang and Tatnell. Davey Heskin won the Behling Racing Products B-main, which saw Phillip Mock take a horrendous backstretch tumble. The current IRA Rookie point leader emerged uninjured.

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