Stevens Notches Watertown Bowl 50, at Jefferson Speedway!

By Larry Starr

August 9, 2003; Jefferson, Wis. – Chad “Squirt” Stevens of Orfordville claimed top honors in the “Watertown Bowl 18/Watertown Bowl North” 50 lapper, on “Wisconsin’s Action Track.” Starting on the inside of row 3, Stevens headed for the front, as Dylan Schuyler pulled to the early lead.

Schuyler guided the field, for 7 laps, before surrendering the point to John Ovadal Jr. As Ovadal pulled to the front, Scott Nottestad closed with Schuyler in a bid for 2nd. Nottestad claimed 2nd on lap 10, with Curt Thompson close behind, for 3rd.

Stevens closed with Nottestad on lap 32, claiming the 2nd spot on lap 35 and started closing the gap with Ovadal. Stevens closed with Ovadal on lap 39, as the came into lapped traffic. On lap 40 Stevens moved to the inside to make the winning pass. At the stripe it was Stevens for the win, followed by Ovadal, Thompson, Nottestad and Jason Erickson.

In International action, Mike Bingham of Milton claimed victory in the 20 lap main event. Starting from the pole, Bingham claimed the early lead placing him ahead of the lap 7 catastrophe, when the battle for 2nd resulted in a spin, off the 2nd turn, that collected all but 6 cars, from the field. Bingham led the restart, guiding the way to the checkers, as Chris Quam moved into 2nd challenging for the lead. Bingham was first at the stripe, followed by Quam, Mike Drays, Scott Dolphin and Aaron Rude.

In Sportsman division action Tony Koepke of Fort Atkinson made his way to Victory Lane, in the 30 lap feature. Starting from the inside of row 3, Koepke headed for the point, as Mark English claimed the early lead. Koepke claimed the 2nd spot by lap 5, closing with English. English held off the challenge until lap 14, when he surrendered the point to Koepke.

As Koepke pulled ahead, Bobby Stough was close behind, claiming 2nd. Stough was able to close with Koepke, over the closing laps of the race, but was never able to make his move. At the stripe it was Koepke for the win followed by Stough, Jason Thoma, Trent Erdman and Dave Oswald.

In Hobby Stock action Garrett Goth of Cottage Grove won the 20 lap main event. Starting from the inside of row 2, Goth watched as Russ Nicholson and Rick Kehoe swapped the early lead. Claiming 2nd by lap 4, Goth kept the pressure on Kehoe, looking for an opening. Goth found his opening, on lap 18, motoring to the inside and claiming the top spot. As they flew past the checkered flag it was Goth for the win, followed by Terry Wangsness, Kehoe, Ken Au and Dennis Schmidt.

In Bandit Action Matt McKinney guided the field, from the green to the checkered, to win the 18 lap feature. Starting from the outside of row 1, McKinney claimed the early lead, guiding the field all the way to the finish. On his way to the win, McKinney held off Brian Paulson, who challenged most of the way. At the stripe it was McKinney followed by Paulson, Alan Petrie, Mark Joyner and Tim Seitz.

Rounding out the night’s activities was the Demolition Derby, which was won by Donny Swenson.

Next week Jefferson Speedway hosts the “WFAW/Voss Sentry Foods, Winners Circle Challenge,” a special event for all feature winners from the season, along with a full racing program in all divisions.

Gates open at 3:00pm, qualifying at 4:30pm and racing at 7:00pm sharp.
Jefferson Speedway is half way between Jefferson and Cambridge Wisconsin, on highway 18.

Jefferson Speedway – Date: August 9, 2003 – Event: Watertown Bowl 18 – 50 plus Demo Derby
Late Model Feature Finish: Laps: 50
1. 82 Chad “Squirt” Stevens (Orfordville) 10. 18 Andy Wendt (Watertown)
2. 71 John Ovadal Jr. (Watertown) 11. 52 Steve Dobbratz (Rio)
3. 100 Curt Thompson (Ft Atkinson) 12. 94 Nick Wendt (Watertown)
4. 14 Scott Nottestad (Stoughton) 13. 4 Randy Breunig (Columbus)
5. 2 Jason Erickson (Cambridge) 14. 41 Mike Taylor (Stoughton)
6. 44 Roger Behlke (Jefferson) 15. 13 Shane Radtke (Watertown)
7. 76 Ron Bishofberger (Ft. Atkinson) 16. 6 Ken Piotrowski (Janesville)
8. 33 Dylan Schuyler (Dousman) 17. 56 Don Mattrisch (Ft. Atkinson)
9. 11 Beau Sanden (Janesville) 18. 11 Russ Goodwin (Beloit)
FAST QUALIFIER : 76 Ron Bishofberger (Ft. Atkinson): 14.905 seconds
FAST DASH: 8 Lap (Watertown Bowl): 44 Roger Behlke (Jefferson)
LAST CHANCE: 20 Lap : 56 Don Mattrisch (Ft. Atkinson), 6 Ken Piotrowski (Janesville), 13 Shane Radtke (Watertown), 11 Russ Goodwin (Beloit)
Heats: 10 lap: 1) 5 Jeff Johnson (Stoughton) 2) 18 Andy Wendt (Watertown) 3) 12 Greg Bowers (Waterloo)

International Feature: Laps: 20
1. 17 Mike Bingham (Milton) 4. 0 Scott Dolphin (Marshall)
2. 4 Chris Quam (Stoughton) 5. 9 Aaron Rude (Cambridge)
3. 48 Mike Drays (Milton) 6. 74 Scott Uttech (Beaver Dam)
FAST QUALIFIER : 9 Aaron Rude (Cambridge): 15.975 seconds
LAST CHANCE: 10 Lap : 7 Steve Allman (Oconomowoc), 18 David Jurczyk (Jefferson), 2 Ron Young (Rockford), 18 Randy Jansen (Lake Geneva), 69 Brandon Workman (Monona)
Heats: 10 lap: 1) 7 Troy Olson (Janesville) 2) 00 Scott Hoeft (Watertown)

Sportsman Feature: Laps: 30
1. 32 Tony Koepke (Ft. Atkinson) 4. 11 Trent Erdman (Ft. Atkinson)
2. 48 Bobby Stough Jr. (Waunakee) 5. 31 Dave Oswald (Cottage Grove)
3. 95 Jason Thoma (Jefferson) 6. 57 Mark English (Janesville)
FAST QUALIFIER : 95 Jason Thoma (Jefferson): 15.551 seconds
LAST CHANCE: 15 Lap : 98 J.J. Yanke (Ft. Atkinson), 77 Jim Burns (Edgerton), 7 Jody Purdy (Milton), 21 Tony Chase (Columbus)
Heats: 10 lap: 1) 4 Luke Padfield (Jefferson) 2) 9 Tod Goldade (Stoughton) 3) 2 Jordan McBride (Janesville)

Hobby Stock Feature: Laps: 20
1. 89 Garrett Goth (Cottage Grove) 4. 31 Ken Au (Jefferson)
2. 55 Terry Wangsness (Delavan) 5. 19 Dennis Schmidt (Johnson Creek)
3. 70 Rick Kehoe (Jefferson) 6. 67 Russ Nicholson (Stoughton)
FAST QUALIFIER : 6 Jeramy Hartwig (Cottage Grove): 16.665 seconds
CONSI: 8 Lap : 24 John Duessler (Marshall), 91 Bret Carson (Ft. Atkinson)
LAST CHANCE: 12 Lap : 21 Josh Courtney (Janesville), 01 Justin Bowey (Sullivan), 8 Chris Schoonover (Janesville), 44 Jesse Ayers (Stoughton)
Heats: 8 lap: 1) 58 Dave Ryan 2) 21 Josh Courtney (Janesville) 3) 2 Aaron Carson (Ft. Atkinson) 4) 44 Jesse Ayers (Stoughton)

Bandit Feature: Laps: 15
1. 38 Matt McKinney (Watertown) 4. 29 Mark Joyner (Whitewater)
2. 41 Brian Paulson (Edgerton) 5. 57 Tim Seitz (Edgerton)
3. 12 Alan Petrie 6. 73 Chris Nelson (Cottage Grove)
FAST QUALIFIER : 42 Bill Sweeney (Janesville): 15.165 seconds
CONSI: 8 Lap : 7 Kyle Watters (Stoughton), 77 Charlie Spry (Orfordville)
LAST CHANCE: 12 Lap : 24 Keith Peck (Janesville), 8 Mike Heelein (Ft. Atkinson), 92 Kyle Stark (Waterloo), 99 Jordan Hill (Black Earth)
Heats: 8 lap: 1) 14 Luke Kreyer (Beloit) 2) 83 Joel Bowers (Edgerton) 3) Mike Heelein (Ft. Atkinson) 4) 73 Chris Nelson (Cottage Grove)