Lack Goes Back-to-back

(Milwaukee, WI) -- It's been five seasons since Mike Lack hoisted the Husarsbilt Cup to celebrate his seventh IndySlotCar Series championship, 2025-26 is beginning to look a lot like those title winning seasons as the FAST driver won for the fourth time this season and follows up his Christmas Classic victory by taking the checkers at the Raven 250.

The record holder for all-time victories, is now creeping up on the record for pole positions as Lack scored the Firestone P1 Award to start the evening's program. Lack's former FAST teammate, Matt Hayek lined up on the front row at the start, with his teammate, John Wiedemann putting his FAST II: The Castaways Honda-Daboiler on the second row followed by the two Good Vibes Racing drivers, Mike Kristof and Joe Heitz, respectively to round out the top five.

The opening heat race featured the Solo Cup sponsored #10 of Dean Strom, hometown hero Pete Dorn along with his CBD Racing teammate Brad Core and Strom's FAST teammate Steve Rist. The start brought high drama as Rist hit the gas at the green flag, made the corner at turn one and then touched tires with one of his competitors, causing the #8 FAST Honda-Daboiler to leap over the pit straight wall and out of the race, making for one of the shortest races in the 33 season history of the IndySlotCar Series. While Rist was uninjured in the wreck, he was clearly stunned at what had happened and did not have an explanation. Meanwhile, Strom opened an early lead over Core, Dorn just a lap behind. As the race neared its conclusion Core made a mistake and came off at the infield hairpin, ending his race, settling for tenth on the night. Strom cruised to victory, with Pete Dorn holding the transfer spot for the moment, but the total would not stand up and finish seventh for the event.

Ev Kamikawa has surprised many this season, after finishing second in the standings last season, the #12 Verizon pilot has had only one appearance in a final so far this season. It was a tight battle between Kamikawa and Joe Heitz in the first half of the second heat, with Dan Margetta right behind the leaders and John Wiedemann not far back. As the race moved into the second half, Kamikawa's Team PenskeHO Chevrolet-Daboiler built a lead over Heitz, who easily surpassed Dorn's transfer position lap total as Margetta attempted to make some noise in a challenge for second, however he was heard repeatedly on the radio to his Spehert Global team, that the car was dangerously loose. Margetta finished sixth for the race, while second in points, John Wiedemann would settle for eighth.

The last heat saw three of the top four qualifiers compete for a chance to join Strom, Kamikawa and possibly Heitz in the final. Mike Kristof's #20 Java House Chevrolet-Daboiler opened an early lead, with Lack in hot pursuit and Matt Hayek just behind in third. Lack would overtake Kristof a few minutes in, and grow that gap out to three laps. While Kristof would make attempts to get back within distance of challenging Lack for the lead, but too many mistakes allowed the points leader to hold a solid two lap lead. Despite running behind, the transfer position was still within reach for Kristof, and as the clock ticked down,  he would surpass his teammate Heitz's total to put the Good Vibes driver in a final for the first time since his home race back in September. Hayek ran to ninth for the evening.

The 250 lap final was one of the most competitive of the season, Kristof and Lack would trade the lead early, with Lack opening a bit of gap through lap 100. But, as the race was nearing half distance, Kristof, with the help of a couple of mistakes by Lack, was able to overtake the #9 PNC Bank Honda-Daboiler, then just as lap 125 was going to mark the end of the first half, Kristof had an unusual wreck coming off the last corner, landing on his roll cage as Lack swooped in and took the point on lap 125. Meanwhile, Ev Kamikawa was running five laps behind Kristof in third and Dean Strom a more distant fourth. If the top two thought they were well clear of the second two in the second half, time would show that was not a safe assumption. Kristof was pushing hard to try to keep in contact with Lack, but spins and crashes in being aggressive was allowing Kamikawa to pull within striking distance. Inside the last 50 laps Kamikawa pulled to the same as Kristof's #20, eventually the Java House car made one too many mistakes and the Verizon Chevy of Kamikawa moved into a solid second place within three laps of Lack, who was able to smoothly ride out the end of the race, to take his sixth "Incident" trophy for winning the Raven 250. Kamikawa ran a remarkable 128 laps in the second half, against Lack's 125, Strom with a solid 122 and Kristof's 121. 

Lack now opens a sizable 55 point lead over his long-time friend/former teammate/rival, with Dean Strom 70 markers back. Lack will likely miss one event in the closing half of the season, but with a maximum of 54 points available at any race, the lead could be maintained. Next up on the schedule, the longest track on the schedule, Corevette Connection Raceway for the Corvette Connection Grand Prix, where Ev Kamikawa is the defending race winner and Good Vibes Racing drivers have three wins and a second place.

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