September 4, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Waelti started off the night with a stellar 14.813 lap, which turned out to be good enough for quick time over the 35-car field. Starting the Dash on the outside pole, Waelti went on to finish third. Starting Heat 4 on the outside of row four, Waelti was unable to make the transfer position and had to run the B-Main, where he finished second to Danny Stratton.

Starting the night’s feature event on the outside of row five, Waelti moved into the top five by lap 15 where he battled Michael Pickens for several laps. On lap 35 Pickens retired from the event moving Waelti into fourth where he remained to the finish.

Waelti, despite missing one night of competition, held on to third place in the Badger points.

Brandon and the entire crew would like to thank our sponsors, fans, and families for all of their support this year.

August 27-28, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

This weekend Waelti competed in the USAC/BMARA split show at Angell Park. In Saturday night’s, USAC sanctioned event, Waelti qualified for the 30-lap Feature, but was involved in a chain reaction crash on the first lap which caused him to retire early from the event. Sunday night’s, BMARA sanctioned event, saw Waelti post a third quick time in a 37-car field and finish seventh in the nights 30-lap Feature.

Waelti remains third in the Badger points, behind Danny Stratton, heading into next week’s season finale, The Pepsi Nationals.

August 21, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Returning to the track in the familiar #3, Waelti took little time to settle back in. Facing a fast track early, Waelti posted a qualifying time of 14.995, third quick in the 31-car field. Starting the Trophy Dash in the third position, Waelti finished the event in the fourth spot. Keeping up the what has seemingly become a tradition to be in the fourth row of the second heat, Waelti had to be patient this week to make his way through the field, but managed to do so by lap 7, once he took the lead he never looked back.

Starting the Governor’s Cup 51 Feature outside of row four, Brandon wasted little time working his way to the top five, and finally the top three. Waelti maintained his third place spot until lap 33 when he was passed by Nick Lundgreen. Waelti appeared to be in his finishing spot when Lundgreen ran out of fuel coming out of turn four on the final lap. Waelti took advantage of this and passed Lundgreen at the checkers to come home in the third spot. Waelti commented after the feature, “We did not have a third place car tonight, more like a seventh or further back, but we’ll take it.”

With just two Badger points races left on the schedule, Waelti is third in points, just 35 points behind Danny Stratton. The Waelti-Schulenberg team will be back in action at Angell Park next Saturday and Sunday for the show with the USAC Midgets.

August 14, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Unable to land a ride for the evening, Waelti and crew were at the track as spectators for the evening. Waelti Racing hopes to have the motor back and ready to go for the Governor’s Cup 50 next weekend.

August 7, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Brandon received the call from Tom Bong late Sunday afternoon with an offer to drive the 87x at the Prairie, which he accepted in order to keep up with the points chase. After qualifying a disappointing 22nd, Waelti advised the crew to set up the car to run the bottom, as that’s where he felt he had a chance. Waelti went on to finish fourth in his heat and qualify for the nights feature event. Starting on the inside of Row 9 for the feature, Waelti found and used everything the car and track he could and made his way into the top 10 by lap 10, into fourth by lap 16, and into third by lap 20. Waelti had something for the leaders but was caught up in lap traffic for too long to catch them. He finished the event in third place.

Waelti’s strong finish in the 87x car seemed to surprise a lot of people, including owner Tom Bong. Someone asked him after the feature if he thought he would be weighing a car. He replied as he pointed to the 87x, “Maybe, but not this one!”

The entire Waelti-Schulenberg team would like to thank Tom Bong for the ride.

 

August 6, 2005
Wilmot, WI

Waelti-Schulenberg and the entire race team would like to extend a huge thank you to Kris Hoegsted for allowing Brandon to pilot the #97 car after our motor blew in hotlaps. Waelti transferred to the Feature event through the B-Main and finished the event in 11th place.

July 31, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Although Waelti qualified second quick with a 14.630 and finished fourth in the Trophy Dash, it proved to be one rough night for Waelti Racing. Waelti struggled with some steering issues in the Dash, but finished the event. The crew thrashed to change the steer gear in time for Waelti to start the second heat, only to find out that in the process of changing the steer gear, the electrical wires shorted out and there was no power to the switch. Once again, the crew was back to work getting that fixed. With all of the problems seemingly covered, Waelti lined up on the pole for the B-Main only to find out that the power steering pump was gone. Waelti managed to hold lead wire-to-wire in the event with no power steering. Thanks to Hans Lein, the team was able to replace the power steering pump in time for the night’s feature event. Starting inside of row 4, Waelti moved up to third early on, but dropped back to fifth by lap 15, when caution slowed the event. During the caution flag, Waelti developed motor problems and retired from the event early.

Waelti Racing will be back in action next Saturday, August 6th, in Wilmot.

 

July 24, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

With temperatures at almost 100 on Sunday, Waelti survived the heat and moves a little closer to the top of the Badger Points.

Posting a qualifying time of 15.018, Waelti made the dash, and with the luck of the draw, started on the Outside Pole for the event. Waelti took the lead from the get-go from Pole Sitter Chad DeSelle and never looked back. Once again starting in the last row of the second heat, Waelti had to patiently work his way around slower cars to get to the front. By the time he made his way to the front, Davey Ray had checked out, Waelti came in second in the event. Starting the Feature in the third row, Waelti had to slow his pace quickly when Rick Mueller almost got upside down in front of him. This put Waelti back to ninth, but he quickly made it back to the tope five. Waelti made his way to third half way through the event and appeared to be the fastest car on the track, but was unable to make up the distance between himself and second place Brad Kuhn.

Waelti heads into next weeks event second in the Badger Points, just 40 points behind Scott Hatton. Waelti-Schulenberg are the current Owner Points Leaders.

July 15-17, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

This past weekend proved to be a very busy, yet racey weekend for Waelti…..

Friday night Waelti returned to Madison International Speedway, making his second appearance in the Wood Brothers Fab Shop #7 ASA Late Model. Waelti barely missed a feature starting qualifying time, finished second in his heat race, WON the “Last Chance Race”, and finished eighth in the Feature!

Saturday Waelti Racing traveled to Powercom Park in Beaver Dam for a co-sanctioned race with the Gateway Racing series. Also racing that night were sprints and mini-sprints, a perfect combination for a dry-slick track. Waelti struggled in his heat race and finished fifth forcing his first appearance in a B-Main this season. Starting in the back of the field, Waelti patiently skated his way through traffic to come home second in the B-Main, solidifying himself a starting spot in the night’s feature event. Starting the event in the back of the field, Waelti exercised his expertise on running the bottom; making it all the way to the top ten when he made contact with an infield tire causing damage to the steering on this midget retiring him from the event early.

Heading into Sunday night’s show at the ‘Prairie’, Waelti and crew were ready for a good night. Waelti just missed the Trophy Dash, qualifying seventh. He went on to place second in his heat, showing the fans a great race against David Gough, to solidify his second row starting spot for the night’s feature event. Waelti battled in the top three for much of the event, until a restart on lap 22 where he was passed by a couple of cars, but held on to finish the event in fifth.

Waelti returns to Madison International Speedway this Friday night.

July 10, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Posting another dash qualifying time of 14.878, Waelti and crew settled in the dash to bring home a third place finish. Starting the Second Heat in the rear of the field, Waelti wasted no time charging to the front and bring home another heat race win. Qualifying fifth quick placed Waelti in a prime starting spot for the night’s feature event – outside of Row Three. Waelti struggled to find a groove that he could run consistently, but battled in the to five for the entire event, coming home in the fifth spot edging out Chad DeSelle by a half a car length.

Waelti will return to Madison International Speedway this Friday night, July 15, marking his second appearance in the Wood Brothers Fab Shop #7 ASA Late Model.

 

July 3, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Once again qualifing in the top six, Waelti started on the outside pole for the Trophy Dash, and ran in second for the entire event. Starting in the last row of Heat 2, Waelti took little time working his way through the field, taking the lead and on lap four and finishing with a half a straight away lead on the rest of the field. In the Feature, Waelti, who started inside of row three, ran in the top five for the first 10 laps. He raced a steady line on the bottom of the track to catch the race leaders Davey Ray and Scott Hatton and take the lead on lap 16, only to have a yellow flag come out.

On the restart, Waelti maintained his line on the bottom, and got by Davey Ray. Caution flew on lap 23 with Waelti in second, behind Scott Hatton. On lap 24, Hatton jumped the cushion, allowing Brandon to take the lead coming out of turn 4. Hatton got his momentum back and the two raced wheel to wheel, literally to the finish, with Hatton winning by a wheel.

Waelti heads into next weeks race second in the Badger points, just 19 points behind leader Davey Ray.

June 26, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Posting a time of 14.718, 3rd quick on the night, Waelti started and finished the Dash in 5th place. Starting Heat 2 outside of row 4 proved to be interesting at best for Waelti, who came home 3rd to clench his outside row 4 starting spot in the nights feature event. The 22-car field saw a fast, racey track at feature time. Waelti among others, including Davey Ray, Chad DeSelle, and Kevin Doty, all put on a great race during the final 6 laps with Waelti coming in 5th, just beating DeSelle by half a car length at the line.

Waelti heads into the July 3 race 3rd in the Badger points 7 points behind 2nd place Danny Stratton, and 56 behind leader Davey Ray.

June 19, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Once again starting the night with a struggle in qualifying, Waelti and crew regrouped for the heat race. Waelti started inside of row 2 in his heat. He took the lead from the start and never looked back. Waelti started the feature event inside of row 9 so he knew he had to be smart and patient while letting the dust settle. By lap 10 Waelti moved into the 10th position. At this point in the race, it became plagued with red flag stops, 7 total for the event. Waelti stayed out of trouble, barely making it through a few of the incidents, to come home in 5th place.

June 18, 2005
Wilmot, WI

Waelti Racing traveled to Wilmot Speedway coming off of a victory last week at Angell Park. Qualifying started the night out slow with Waelti posting a 12th quick time. Starting the 4th heat outside of row 2, Waelti found a groove on the high side to take the win for the event. Starting the nights feature event outside of row 7, Waelti was going to need his patience. He quickly found his groove on the bottom of a very dry slick race track. He raced in the 3rd position most of the event, eventually moving up to 2nd by just surviving attrition. He battled Mike Hess, who was running the race along the wall, for the remainder 11 laps to finish the feature in 2nd place.

June 12, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Sunday's weather was hot and Waelti wasted little time turning up the heat! Finally seeing the track early in qualifing, Waelti took advantage of a tacky track to post a lap at 15.018, 4th quick in a field of 33 cars. Starting inside of row two in the Trophy Dash, Waelti battled wheel to wheel to hold off a hard-charging Brad Kuhn for second behind Kevin Doty.

The line-up for Heat 4 saw no slouches with the likes of Davey Ray, Danny Stratton, and David Gough all lined up in front of Waelti, he clearly had his work cut out for him in this one. Once the dust settled after the first lap, Waelti worked his way, one by one, into the lead by lap 5 when caution flew for two tangled cars. On the restart Waelti maintained the lead for half a lap before being passed on the top side by Davey Ray, but maintained second for the remainder of the event.

Waelti started the night's Feature event inside of row four and dropped back to 10th by lap six when a red flag flew. The cars involved in the red were all running in front of Waelti, moving him up to sixth on the restart. Waelti was running in fifth, slowly gaining on the pack of cars in second through fourth when caution flew for a stalled car. On the restart, Waelti maintained his line and again picked off positions one by one, until lap 19 when he caught and passed leader Nick Lundgreen. Waelti put a few car lengths between himself and Lundgreen and used lapped traffic to come home victorious at the prairie! In victory lane, Waelti dedicated this race to the late Dave Schulenberg.

Waelti moved from fourth to second in the Badger points race heading into next weeks two nights of racing, 64 points behind Davey Ray.

June 5, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Facing a one-groove, dry-slick race track, Waelti had his work cut out for him. He posted a qualifying time of 15.317, 8th quick out of a field of 36 cars. Starting in the sixth spot in Heat 3, Waelti quickly moved to the third position when the field slowed for a caution. On the restart at lap five, Waelti passed ARDC competitor Michele Miller for second where he raced wheel to wheel with Danny Stratton to a photo finish. Starting the feature event on the inside of the second row proved to be a great advantage for Waelti, who ran third for the first five laps before taking the lead from Dan Boorse on lap six. Waelti began putting some distance between himself and the rest of the field. He survived two red flag stops and two caution flags before being passed by Jerry Coons, Jr., who mysteriously found a high groove, on lap 22. Waelti held on to second for the remainder of the event.

May 30, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Setting a qualifing time of 15.235 placed Brandon in his first Trophy Dash of the season. Thanks to a good draw from the Kids Club Winner, Brandon started on the pole for the Dash taking the lead early and never looking back.


After the dust settled at the start of heat 3, Brandon moved into fourth at the checkered flags to secure his feature starting spot. Brandon started the feature outside of row three and raced in the top ten for the entire event finally finishing in ninth.

May 22, 2005
Sun Prairie, WI

Waelti and crew headed into the evening with momentum from a great start to the season at Angell Park last week. Brandon commented before the race: "I'm not used to starting the season out on such a high note, I'm used to having to come from behind." A late qualifing draw presented Brandon with track conditions slower than earlier qualifiers saw; Brandon made the best of it and came across the line with a time of 15.1. Brandon had a great starting position for his heat, inside of row two, but was held up by a couple of cars getting crossed up in front of him. Even after a slow start, Brandon gained steadily on the leaders coming home in the fourth position.

Brandon started the feature event inside of the 7th row, by lap 5 he had worked his way up to 9th where he stayed until the caution flag few on lat 15. On the restart, Brandon was passed by Kevin Doty, and he remained in the 10th position for the remainder of the event.

May 7, 2005
Beaver Dam, WI

Waelti Racing competed with the USAC National Midget series at Powercom Park facing not only tough competition from drivers all over the US, but a very rough racetrack. Due to a lengthy rain delay qualifying was cancelled and cars were placed in heat races based on the number they drew. Waelti started on he pole and held on to finish third. After the heat race Brandon commented that,

"The car felt like it was hooked up, but the track is just so rough it's hard to control the car."

Brandon's third place finish was good enough to lock him into the starting field for the, accident plagued, 30-lap Main Event. Brandon escaped the first few incidents, but was collected in one of them at about half-way through the event where he got tangled up with the #2 car of Danny Stratton and sustained a broken drag link. The crew was able to get the link replaced and have him pushed off before the field took the green flag. Brandon survived the rest of the event coming home in 12th position.

Next Sunday, May 15th, marks the season opener at Angell Park Speedway. Waelti Racing heads into that race second in points, just five points behind Davey Ray.

April 10, 2005
Canton, IL

The 2005 Badger race season started off this weekend in Canton, IL at Spoonriver Speedway for the DQ Clash. Waelti started off the night good with a heat win in a very stacked heat. Brandon then started the 30 lap feature on the outside of the front row which would prove to be good as the track conditions were extremly slick. Waelti took the early lead for the first four laps until Danny Stratton gained the top spot on lap five. The two began to leave the rest of the field until a lap 18 red stalled the race. Tire management began to be an issue, while some drivers elected to put on a new right rear and start at the tail of the field, Waelti and Stratton gambled and choose to maintain their spots. As the closing laps came, Waelti's tire didn't hold up and faded to a sixth place finish. Brandon is very optomistic for the next races to come as they ran so strong all night. The next race is April 30 in Quincy, MI at the Butler Battlegrounds where Waelti goes in second in BMARA points, five points behind leader Davey Ray.

Brandon has been tabbed to run a limited schedule in the ASA Late model series at Madison International Speedway this summer. Waelti will be wheeling the brand new 2005 Lefthander/Ford Taurus for Wood Brothers fab shop. Waelti will share driving duties with Nascar touring series driver Brian Hoppe, ASA veteran Chad Wood, and 2003 Nascar champion Matt Kenseth. With veteran crew chief Joe Wood calling the shots, Brandon is excited about the new oppurtunity to get his feet wet in the late model pavement division at MIS. With the great drivers slated to drive, Brandon has the opportunity for alot of great driving advice at his fingertips. With a full season slated in the Badger Midget series, limited USAC and ASA late model races, Brandon will have a very busy summer in 2005.

ASA Late Model Schedule:(For Brandon)

Fri. May 13, 2005 @ MIS
Fri. July 15, 2005 @ MIS
Fri. July 22, 2005 @ MIS
Fri. August 12, 2005 @ MIS
Fri. August 19, 2005 @ MIS

See Brandon's Full Shedule

January 5 - 8, 2005
Tulsa, Oklahoma

This year marks Brandon's fourth appearance in "The Super Bowl of Midget Racing", the Chili Bowl, which hosted a field of 249 cars. Waelti Racing took advantage of their prior experiences at the Chili Bowl to set up the car in an unbeatable fashion for Wednesday's qualifying races. Brandon started on the inside of the 2nd row in the 11th heat of the night; he took the lead by lap 2 and never looked back, he finished a half-lap ahead of the rest of the field. The heat race win locked up a top ten starting position for the night's A-Main. Facing an incredibly dry-slick race track, Brandon moved from ninth to fourth in the first five laps of the event. He had a clean, bottom side, pass just about completed on John Stanbrough when John came down into Brandon and spun him out, sending him to the tail of the field. Brandon raced his way back through the field to finish the event in the 15th position. This finishing spot found Brandon starting on the pole of the second C Main on Saturday night.

Not having made the A Main through the qualifying race on Wednesday night, Waelti Racing had their work cut out for them. While Brandon started on the pole for the C Main, he had plenty of well known company behind him, including Davey Ray, Mike Hess, Steve Knepper, Scott Hatton, and Jimmy Sills. Brandon took the lead from the get go, survived several yellow flagged laps and held on to win, and transfer to the second B Main of the night.

Starting outside of the eighth row for the B Main at a glance seemed to be the beginning of the end of the evening for Waelti and crew having to finish in the top six in order to make the A Main and race with the likes of Jerry Coons, Jr., Adam Clarke, Davey Ray, David Gough, Kraig Kinser, and Mike Hess to do so. Brandon was working his way through the field when Craig Kinser spun out in front of him, nearly taking him out of the race. He raced up to the sixth and final transfer position where he stayed for the remainder of the race - good enough to earn a position in the A Main!!

The track was completely worked before the start of the A-Main which made it a very racy track for the main event. Brandon started the event in the 24th position where he maintained for the first few laps, patiently waiting for the field in front of him to settle in, and to find his groove, before he started passing. Once Brandon found his line, he was very fast on the top. Brandon raced up to the 18th position when the leaders caught up with him. He gave leaders Tracy Hines and Corey Kruseman a run for their money when they were about to lap him. He maintained his line and raced with the leaders for the remainder of the event.

An awards ceremony was also held on Saturday for the National Midget Driver of the Year. The top ten drivers were awarded with trophies for their accomplishments. Brandon finished 7th in the National points last year and was a part of that ceremony.

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