August 12, 2001; Slinger, WI - Donavan Morgan ended a two-month drought Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway by holding off a determined Brad Mueller to win the 76 Racing Gas Fan Appreciation 60-lap late model feature.

"Brad (Mueller) and I have had a lot of Monday morning conversations this year about the competition out here," said Morgan in victory lane after winning his first feature since May. "It's so tough that it just comes down to track position and I haven't led a race since early summer so I was nervous enough leading and didn't know what to do there for a while."

Morgan and Charlie Thon Jr. led the field to the green flag and traded the top spot for the first three laps before Thon's car became unstable in the inside groove, allowing Morgan to take sole possession of the lead on lap four. Mueller started the event directly behind Morgan and followed in his tire tracks to claim second place while Thon battled Conrad Morgan for third. Conrad took over the third spot on lap 15 and brought fast qualifier David Prunty with him.

Mueller made a few attempts to sneak inside of Donavan and was able to pull alongside but could not find enough traction on the inside to complete the pass as Conrad and Prunty closed in. The top four drivers raced nose-to-tail as they began to catch lapped traffic while Dave Teske kept the front runners in sight while holding down the fifth position. Mueller looked to both the high and low sides but Donavan again was able to fend off his challenges and led at the halfway point to collect the $100 Mac Tools Halfway Bonus from Dan Casey.

Mueller refused to give up and continued to pull up to Donavan's rear quarter panel as the leaders worked lapped traffic, nearly taking the point on lap 40 when Donavan almost became pinned behind a lapped car. As Mueller and Donavan fought it out for the lead, Conrad and Prunty raced for third while Al Schill and Lowell Bennett engaged in a battle of their own for fifth.

Mueller began to use a strategy of driving hard and "diamonding" the corners in an effort to better his exit to catch Donavan as the laps wound down. However, Donavan had his car working well in the outer groove and was able to pull away through more lapped traffic to take the win by two car lengths over the determined Mueller. Conrad held off Prunty for third place while Schill outdistanced Bennett for fifth. The win was Donavan's second of the season and first since early May.

(Article by Lanae Weyer)