Champions Crowned at Jefferson Speedway
by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, September 8, 2012) Rookie Late Model pilot Stephen Scheel of Lake Mills waited until the final points race of the 2012 season to pick up his first career feature win in the division. While Scheel won the battle, Stoughton’s Casey Johnson won the war. Johnson survived mechanical difficulties at the start of the Havill Spoerl 65 lap main event to capture his second Late Model crown at Wisconsin’s Action Track.
Scheel and Roger Behlke brought the field to the drop of the green flag. Before the completion of lap one, Johnson spun in turn four to force the only caution of the event. Johnson pulled into the pit area and retired for the evening as the field prepared to go green once again. Scheel grabbed control as racing resumed with Chris Quam pulling up under Behlke in a battle for second. Quam moved into second on lap two with Brady Liddle in tow for the third spot. A few laps later, Liddle got by Quam for second as Scheel was already enjoying a large lead. Liddle began to reel in the leader as the top three pulled away from the rest of the pack. By lap 25, Liddle was right behind Scheel as he applied pressure from the second position. Liddle remained on Scheel’s rear bumper lap after lap as the pair of drivers continued to stretch their lead. The duo raced through heavy lapped traffic with Scheel showing the way the entire time. Liddle made one last attempt on the final lap, looking to the inside of Scheel entering turn three, but Scheel held off his advances to take the checkered flag first for the win. Liddle was second with Shaun Scheel, Dale Nottestad and Kyle Jarlsberg rounding out the top five.
Will Rece of Stoughton charged to the front of the 35 lap Sportsman feature and drove off the get the win. Jeff Schultz took control of the point on lap one with Jason Kubicz in second. Seth Lootans slipped by Kubicz on lap four with Rece in tow for third. Schultz extended his lead while Lootans and Rece fought over the second spot. Rece grabbed the position from Lootans on lap 11 and began reeling in the leader. Rece caught Schultz on lap 16, looking to the inside entering turn three. Rece drew even with Schultz as they raced wheel to wheel for the top spot. Rece finally claimed the lead on lap 21 as he immediately began to pull away. Jason Thoma made a late race charge to second, but Rece was already well on his way to the checkers for the win. Schultz finished third followed by Kody Hubred and Mark Deporter. Jim Tate Jr of Deforest was crowned the 2012 Sportsman champion.
Mark English of Edgerton made a thrilling last lap pass to get the win in the 30 lap International feature event. Josh Kubicz led lap one with John Handeland up to second. Handeland quickly made his way past Kubicz for the lead on lap two. Handeland began to drive away from the pack while James Bell made his way forward through the top five. Bell found himself in third behind Peter Shelley by lap six. Handeland’s advantage continued to grow as Bell moved up to third on lap 11. The leaders remained stretched out until a caution with two laps remaining bunched them up for the finish. After one attempt at the green-white-checkered finish, Bell got into the rear of Handeland as they entered turn one. Handeland spun to bring out the caution and both drivers were forced to the rear for the restart handing the lead over to Kyle Stark with English riding in second. Stark maintained the lead as racing resumed, but as they flew past the white flag, English charged to the outside of the leader. English powered into the lead entering turn one on the final circuit and held the advantage all the way to the checkers for the win. Stark was second followed by Devon Dixon, Mike Storkson and Matt McKinney. Madison’s Mike Lambert scored his first championship by winning the International title for 2012.
Tony Ciano of Janesville continued his recent string of success by winning the 35 lap Hobby Stock feature event. Dale Werner and Jared Vike brought the field to green. Werner drifted high on lap one allowing Jim Wolf fire into the lead. Meanwhile Dustin Ward took to the high side of the speedway, moving up to second on lap four. Ward continued forward as he pulled alongside Wolf for the lead on lap five. Ward cleared a lap later with Ciano in tow for second. The top two began to break away from the pack as they launched a great battle for the lead. Ciano searched for a way around Ward lap after lap until a caution on lap 26 slowed his efforts. As the green flag waved again, Ciano resumed his pursuit of the point. ON lap 29, Ciano got a good run exiting turn four on the low side of Ward. Ciano pulled ahead down the backstretch with five laps to go. Ward tried to fight back on the outside, but Ciano kept him at bay to get the victory. Ward nipped James Helmer at the line for second with Wayne Buchs and Chester Williams rounding out the top five. Helmer came home as the 2012 Hobby Stock champion.
Edgerton’s Bill Sweeney drove to the front of the field and pulled away to win the 25 lap Road Warrior feature. Brett Carson led lap one from the pole with Dan Birkett and Chad Olds battling for second. ON lap four, Sweeney split Birkett and Carson, with Sweeney and Birkett emerging side by side. A lap later, Sweeney was out front and driving away. Bill Reynolds got up to second, but Sweeney was already long gone. At the checkers, it was Sweeney by a large margin followed by Reynolds, Tim Ellis, Rob Lange and Travis Schneeberg. Lange was crowned the Road Warrior champion for the 2012 season.
Rounding out the evening’s events was the 30 lap Bandit feature event won by Jordan Lamb of Fort Atkinson. Mike Raskovic led early with Lamb running in second. After an early caution, Devon Dixon took the high side as he powered forward into third. Dixon continued in the outside lane past Lamb and alongside Raskovic for the lead. Dixon claimed the point on lap ten as he began to stretch his lead. Dixon’s lead continued to grow until lap 22 when he slowed and pulled off the racing surface. Lamb inherited the lead with seven to go as he drove off the get the win. Michelle Kriigel came home second with Cory Jansen, Josh Marx and Erik Bennett completing the top five. Philip Wuesthoff of Beaver Dam claimed the season championship for the Bandit division.
The regular racing season is complete with only one more weekend of racing on tap. Next Friday and Saturday is the 32nd Annual Wisconsin State Championships highlighted by the return of the Big 8 Late Models and the Mid American Stock Car Series. All the details can be found at www.jeffersonspeedway.com. Jefferson Speedway is located halfway between Jefferson and Cambridge on Hwy 18.
Jefferson Speedway Race Summary
Late Model-
Feature Results- 1) Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 2) Brady Liddle, Oregon 3) Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 4) Dale Nottestad, Cambridge 5) Kyle Jarlsberg, Jefferson 6) Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 7) John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 8) Trent Erdman, Fort Atkinson 9) Chris Quam, Stoughton 10) Noel Ramge, Helenville 11) Doug Hahn, Whitewater 12) Jerry Eckhardt, Johnson Creek 13) Zack Riddle, Brooklyn 14) Scott Lindsay, Dousman 15) Bruce Lee, Cambridge 16) Tim Lange, Dousman 17) Steve Dobbratz, Rio 18) Mike Taylor, Stoughton 19) Tyler Peterson, Woodstock (IL) 20) Roger Behlke, Jefferson 21) Brandon Pendleton, Helenville 22) Casey Johnson, Stoughton
Fast Qualifier- Zack Riddle—14.263 seconds
Last Chance- Zack Riddle, Tim Lange, Tyler Peterson, Brandon Pendleton,
Scott Lindsay, Mike Taylor
Heat Winners- n/a
Sportsman-
Feature Results- 1) Will Rece, Stoughton 2) Jason Thoma, Jefferson 3) Jeff Schultz, Elkhorn 4) Kody Hubred, Cambridge 5) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 6) Seth Lootans, Kenosha 7) Tory Bagley, Stoughton 8) Jim Tate Jr, Deforest 9) Kyle Chwala, Lake Mills 10) Brady Lilly, Milton 11) Steven Sauer, Waterloo 12) Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 13) Robert Hansberry Jr, Beloit 14) Dan Schmidt, Farmington 15) Joe DeCubellis, Twin Lakes 16) Jason Kubicz, Whitewater
Fast Qualifier- Kyle Chwala—14.970 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Steven Sauer 2) Tory Bagley
International-
Feature Results- 1) Mark English, Edgerton 2) Kyle Stark, Waterloo 3) Devon Dixon, Janesville 4) Mike Storkson, Evansville 5) Matt McKinney, Fort Atkinson 6) Josh Kubicz, Whitewater 7) James Bell, Janesville 8) Seth Reamer, Marshall 9) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 10) Neil Higgins, Watertown 11) Joe Cross, Sun Prairie 12) John Handeland, Belleville 13) Peter Shelley, Edgerton 14) Chris Chenoweth, Watertown 15) Mike Lambert, Madison
Fast Qualifier- James Bell—16.356 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Peter Shelley 2) John Handeland
Hobby Stock-
Feature Results- 1) Tony Ciano, Janesville 2) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 3) James Helmer, Beaver Dam 4) Wayne Buchs, Mazomanie 5) Chester Williams, Waukesha 6) Kenny Au, Jefferson 7) Justin Kumbier, Fort Atkinson 8) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 9) Jim Wolf, Watertown 10) Jared Vike, Columbus 11) Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 12) Duane Deppe, Waterloo 13) Anthony Lloyd, Loves Park (IL) 14) Dale Werner, Jefferson 15) Randy Strasburg, Jefferson 16) Bill Bush, Jefferson
Fast Qualifier- Tony Ciano—15.902 seconds
Heat Winners- n/a
Road Warrior-
Feature Results- 1) Bill Sweeney, Edgerton 2) Bill Reynolds, Watertown 3) Tim Ellis, S.Beloit (IL) 4) Rob Lange, Jefferson 5) Travis Schneeberg, Cottage Grove 6) Dan Birkett, Jefferson 7) Rodger Stephenson, Cambridge 8) Keith Erickson, Columbus 9) Chad Olds, Whitewater 10) Brett Carson, Fort Atkinson
Fast Qualifier- Bill Sweeney—16.839 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Chad Olds 2) Tim Ellis
Bandit-
Feature Results- 1) Jordan Lamb, Fort Atkinson 2) Michelle Kriigel, Sun Prairie 3) Cory Jansen, Lake Geneva 4) Josh Marx, Jefferson 5) Erik Bennett, Beloit 6) Keith Erickson, Columbus 7) Nick Schmidt, Oak Creek 8) Merek Pankow, Jefferson 9) Dustin Yanke, Fort Atkinson 10) Bobby Ollerman, Madison 11) Dennis Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 12) Jeremy Bredeson, Columbus 13) Tiffany Desjarlais, Columbus 14) Michael Heimann, Waunakee 15) Devon Dixon, Janesville 16) Mike Raskovic, New Glarus 17) Brian Stark, Waterloo 18) Brandon DeLacy, Fort Atkinson 19) Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 20) Josh Lenz, Lake Mills 21) Josh Rusch, Fort Atkinson
Fast Qualifier- Dustin Yanke—14.424 seconds
Heat Winners- n/a
