Gabe Sommers Racing picked up and headed out for yet another doubleheader weekend, making stops at State Park Speedway for the Flip Merwin Memorial on Thursday June 27, before rolling to Dells Raceway Park for the Dairyland 100 on Saturday June 29 with the Alive For 5 Super Late Model Series.

A special event no doubt, the Flip Merwin Memorial was high on GSR’s list of races to attend outside of their priorities with Alive For 5 and the ASA Midwest Tour. The 100 lap special is expected to be the last of its kind, as State Park Speedway’s future lay uncertain at the conclusion of the 2024 season. The No. 15 unloaded decently, picking up a top five spot on the leaderboard in the opening practice of the evening. The crew and driver, obviously not willing to settle for fifth, went to work on finding some speed. The position would remain the same in the second practice, but Gabe was able to whittle his way down to just 0.046 seconds off of the top spot. Qualifying would be another story, as Gabe had locked in for a steaming 13.640 second lap, more than good enough to claim the provisional pole. Heat races would soon follow qualifying, and used more so as a test session for Gabe, laying back from the field and trying different lines and braking points to see if anything was out there in terms of speed.

With qualifying setting the feature lineup, Gabe would be set to roll off from the eleventh spot for the 100 lap main event of the evening. A tricky racetrack in the way of passing, making the most of every corner would be the key to success at State Park. It didn’t take long for Sommers to crack the top ten, finding himself ninth by the conclusion of the first lap. From there he got busy on the wheel, picking off another pair of cars by lap 10/100. Laps clicked off quickly, and Gabe found himself up to sixth by the halfway point. Multiple kerfuffles jumbled the field behind the leaders as the race wound down, sending the No. 15 back to ninth with just 25 laps remaining. Luckily, the hot shoe in the seat was up for the challenge, powering back around all the cars he lost spots to by the checkered flag, keeping the nose clean and loading up in one piece with a sixth place finish.

While not what GSR had hoped for final results in the Flip Merwin Memorial, they had to put it in the rearview mirror and look towards another marquee 100 lap event at Dells Raceway Park on Saturday.

A new day came, and a fresh outlook for GSR was ready to show up and show out at Dells Raceway Park. Gabe piloted his No. 15 to an impressive second place effort in the opening round of practice, putting the field on notice that they would be a contender for the trophy come the end of the night. Sommers backed up his statement in the following rounds, never falling outside of the top three in speed. The Travis Sauter led crew stayed on top of the changing track conditions, always putting their best foot forward on track and in the pits. Qualifying would result in a P5 effort for Gabe, but with an invert inbound on the field, this wasn’t taken negatively. Another heat race full of experimentation followed, with Gabe rolling around off of the pack to save the car.

Soon enough it was time to grid for the Dairyland 100. A decent invert had set up the No. 15 to roll off from the fourth position, with a confident driver and crew ready to strike. The green flag flew and Sommers immediately took advantage of the bunched up field, flying forward from fourth to the lead in the matter of three laps. Gabe set an absolutely blistering pace, putting multiple seconds between his rear bumper and the field as they sorted out the order behind him. Laps flew by, but one thing stayed the same; No. 15, your leader. A pair of late cautions brought challengers to GSR’s doorstep, but there would be no stopping Gabe and his machine today. Leading 97/100 laps, the GSR crew would claim their second straight Alive For 5 Super Late Model Series victory in dominating fashion.

With renewed confidence and a head of steam, Gabe Sommers Racing will now look towards a Crown Jewel event in Super Late Model Racing, the 45th Annual Slinger Nationals. You can catch us trackside on Monday and Tuesday, July 8/9, or on Racing America!