Johnson Wins by Inches at Jefferson Speedway

JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, July 26, 2014) Casey Johnson of Edgerton has been a force to deal with each time he unloads his Late Model at Wisconsin’s Action Track this season. That trend continued on Saturday night as Johnson overtook a strong performance by Jefferson’s Dylan Schuyler to nip him at the stripe for his fourth feature victory of 2014.

Kyle Smith and Bruce Lee paced the field of 18 Late Models to begin the Cambridge Auto Repair and Sales 50 lap feature event. Lee took the initial lead entering turn one with Smith back to second. On lap three, Smith dove under Lee through turns one and two as they reignited their opening lap battle for the lead. Smith moved out front on lap six with Lee now in second and Brandon Pendleton up to third. On lap 17, racing slowed as the sole caution of the race waved for point leader Dale Nottestad and his flat right rear tire. As racing resumed, Dylan Schuyler began his trek through the top five as he drew even with Pendleton for third. Schuyler claimed the position on lap 27 with Johnson now on his rear bumper. On lap 31, Smith and Lee once again entered into a fight for first as they battled wheel to wheel. Lee retook the top spot on lap 32 with Schuyler trying to follow past Smith. Schuyler claimed second on lap 34 with Johnson in tow for third. On lap 36, Lee got loose entering turn one allowing Schuyler to pounce on the leader. After a brief battle, Schuyler moved into sole possession of the lead on lap 39 while Johnson continued to follow into second. Johnson began stalking the new leader as he searched for his opportunity to make a move. With four laps to go, Johnson charged under Schuyler trying to pull alongside. With two laps remaining, Schuyler and Johnson now fought door to door, each looking to gain the upper hand. As they raced off turn four one final time, Johnson held the slight advantage and held it as they flew past the checkers. Johnson claimed the win by inches over Schuyler with Lee, Smith and Zack Riddle rounding out the top five.

Jim Tate Jr of Deforest made his second visit to Jefferson Speedway in 2014 and captured the 25 lap Sportsman main event. Adam Bleskan led early from the pole with Mark Deporter up to second. On lap three, Deporter charged under Bleskan to claim the lead a lap later with Terry Wangsness in tow for second. Jason Thoma followed into third a lap later with Tate on his rear bumper in fourth. Thoma and Tate got by Wangsness on lap eight as they continued to move to the front. Thoma drew even with Deporter on lap nine, overtaking the leader a lap later with Tate still in his tracks for second. On lap 11, Tate decided he was done following as the pulled even with Thoma into turn one. A lap later, Tate rocketed off turn two to claim the top spot with Thoma back to second. The leaders raced nose to tail through a caution on lap 15 with Tate remaining unchallenged on the point. At the checkers, it was Tate for the win followed by Thoma, Jay Kalbus, Wangsness and Deporter.

Watertown’s Chris Chenoweth claimed the 20 lap International feature event. Joe Cross led on lap one from the front row with Peter Shelley in second. Chenoweth quickly entered the top five, finding himself in a battle for third with Neil Higgins on lap five. Chenoweth claimed third on lap six and second on lap nine as he looked to close on Cross at the front. Chenoweth pulled up to the leader’s rear bumper on lap 11, drawing even a lap later and clearing down the backstretch on lap 12. A caution on lap 14 set up a six lap shootout to the finish with the new double wide restarts for the International division. As racing resumed, Chenoweth fired back out into the lead as Cross tried to hang on to second. Chenoweth cruised to the checkers for the win with Cross winning a tight three way battle for second. Mike Lambert was third followed by John Handeland and Keith Bell.

An exciting second half of the 25 lap Hobby Stock feature ended with Waterloo’s Dustin Ward in victory lane. Justin Kumbier and Justin Thomas battled door to door to open the action. Lucas Buckingham took to the high groove as he drove around the outside of Kumbier and Thomas to take over the lead on lap two. Cody Buchs followed Buckingham to second with Ward in his tracks for third on lap three. On lap six, Buchs drove under Buckingham, clearing for first two laps later with Ward in tow. Caution on lap ten slowed the action with Buchs still showing the way and Ward filling his rear view mirror. Ward launched his bid for the lead on the restart as he looked to the high side of Buchs. Ward drew even as they battled fender to fender. Buchs slipped back out front by himself on lap 18, but Ward used the crossover down the backstretch and into turn three as he now pulled alongside Buchs on the inside. Ward inched forward, clearing for the top spot with four laps to go. Buchs stayed close to the new leader, but Ward held him at bay to see the checkers first for the win. Buchs was second followed by Bobby Selsing Jr, Buckingham and AJ Lloyd.

Watertown’s Bill Reynolds captured the 20 lap Road Warrior feature event. Tom Down led early with Matthew Melchiori peeking to his inside. After a brief battle with Melchiori, Dorn reclaimed possession of the lead with Reynolds up to third. Reynolds got past Melchiori for second on lap six as Chris Gottschalk joined him in third. Reynolds slipped under Dorn, claiming the lead on lap seven with Gottschalk in tow for second. Gottschalk began to apply heavy pressure to the new leader with Reynolds trying to hold him off. Gottschalk appeared to get a run several times, but Reynolds was able to hold him at bay. With two laps remaining, Gottschalk made one last attempt at a winning pass, but was unable to get the job done. At the checkers, it was Reynolds for the win with Gottschalk, Bill Sweeney, Craig Henning and Kenny Storkson completing the top five.

Paul Reagles of Colgate led every lap of the 15 lap Bandit feature en route to the win. Starting from the pole, Reagles claimed the lead on lap one with Adam Schook up to second and Josh Marx in third. Marx stole second from Schook on lap six with Nick Schmidt trying to follow into third. Marx and Schmidt battled for second in the closing laps, but Reagles was well on his way to grabbing the win. Schmidt came home second followed by Marx, Trent Rueth and Tyler Deporter.

Next Saturday, August 2, is a full program of racing in all divisions with time trails at 5pm and racing at 7pm sharp. Kids Bike Night is scheduled for Saturday, August 9. Jefferson Speedway is located halfway between Jefferson and Cambridge on Hwy 18. Please visit www.jeffersonspeedway.com for more information.

Jefferson Speedway Race Summary (7/26/14)

Late Model-

Feature Results- 1) Casey Johnson, Edgerton 2) Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 3) Bruce Lee, Cambridge 4) Kyle Smith, Lake Mills 5) Zack Riddle, Stoughton 6) Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 7) Trent Erdman, Fort Atkinson 8) Brandon Pendleton, Helenville 9) Jerry Eckhardt, Johnson Creek 10) Chris Quam, Stoughton 11) Dale Nottestad, Cambridge 12) Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 13) Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 14) John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 15) Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 16) Dan Jung, Iron Ridge 17) Michael Grueneberg, Madison 18) Steve Dobbratz, Rio

Fast Qualifier- Jason Erickson—14.541 seconds

Last Chance- Jerry Eckhardt, Stephen Scheel, Luke Westenberg, Dan Jung

Heat Winners- 1) Dan Jung 2) Luke Westenberg 3) John Ovadal Jr

Sportsman-

Feature Results- 1) Jim Tate Jr, Deforest 2) Jason Thoma, Jefferson 3) Jay Kalbus, Whitewater 4) Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 5) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 6) Adam Bleskan, Menomonee Falls 7) Tim Coley, Madison 8) Chris Weber, Sparta 9) Mike Storkson, Evansville 10) Josh Fehrman, Hartford

Fast Qualifier- Jim Tate Jr—15.272 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Tim Coley 2) Tony Ciano

International-

Feature Results- 1) Chris Chenoweth, Watertown 2) Joe Cross, Sun Prairie 3) Mike Lambert, Madison 4) John Handeland, Belleville 5) Keith Bell, Brodhead 6) Neil Higgins, Watertown 7) Dan Birkett, Jefferson 8) Jason Uttech, Watertown 9) Seth Reamer, Waupun 10) Merek Pankow, Jefferson 11) Peter Shelley, Edgerton 12) Aaron Randell, Janesville 13) Josh Lenz, Lake Mills

Fast Qualifier- Mike Lambert—16.390 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Neil Higgins 2) Seth Reamer

Hobby Stock-

Feature Results- 1) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 2) Cody Buchs, Mazomanie 3) Bobby Selsing Jr, Edgerton 4) Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 5) AJ Lloyd, Loves Park (IL) 6) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 7) Chester Williams, Waukesha 8) Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 9) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 10) Gary Paulick, Union Grove 11) Jim Wolf, Watertown 12) Justin Kumbier, Watertown 13) Boyd Eichelkraut, Stoughton 14) Justin Thomas, Jefferson

Fast Qualifier- Dustin Ward—15.742 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Gary Paulick 2) AJ Lloyd

Road Warrior-

Feature Results- 1) Bill Reynolds, Watertown 2) Chris Gottschalk, Jefferson 3) Bill Sweeney, Edgerton 4) Craig Henning, Jefferson 5) Kenny Storkson, Evansville 6) Tom Dorn, Fort Atkinson 7) Scott Hoeft, Watertown 8) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 9) Matthew Melchiori, Milwaukee 10) Brandon DeLacy, Fort Atkinson 11) Mike Bleecker, Watertown 12) Don Georgeson Jr, Madison 13) Tadd Douglas, Jefferson 14) Rodger Stephenson, Cambridge

Fast Qualifier- Bill Sweeney—15.652 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Matthew Melchiori 2) Bill Sweeney

Bandit-

Feature Results- 1) Paul Reagles, Colgate 2) Nick Schmidt, Oak Creek 3) Josh Marx, Dousman 4) Trent Rueth, Jefferson 5) Tyler Deporter, Fort Atkinson 6) Brandon DeLacy, Fort Atkinson 7) Adam Schook, Whitewater 8) Noah Pankow, Jefferson 9) Tom Bleecker, Lake Mills 10) Dennis Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 11) Devon Dixon, Janesville 12) Mike Bleecker, Watertown 13) Lyle Phillips, Edgerton 14) Robert Taylor, Wind Lake 15) Sueter Bennett, Franksville

Fast Qualifier- Devon Dixon—17.188 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Dennis Wuesthoff 2) Josh Marx