Dobbratz Dashes to Victory Lane

by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, August 25, 2012) After taking several weeks off, Steve Dobbratz of Rio made his triumphant return to Wisconsin’s Action Track as he claimed the Papa Murphy’s Pizza 50 lap Late Model main event. Meanwhile, the points battle tightened up between leader Casey Johnson and his closest rival in the standings, Jason Erickson.

Noel Ramge and Craig Phillips paced the field to green with Ramge taking the initial lead out of turn two with Shaun Scheel following into second. Dobbratz sliced into third before completing the opening circuit. Scheel quickly made a move to the inside of Ramge while Dobbratz and Doug Hahn watched from behind. The see saw battle between Ramge and Scheel continued lap after lap until the caution waved on lap 13. Scheel was scored as the leader with Ramge right behind in second and Dobbratz riding in third. The leaders ran single file through one more caution on lap 15. On the restart, Dobbratz got a good run on the low side of Ramge for second, clearing on lap 16 with Hahn in tow for third. Dobbratz pulled up behind Scheel on lap 19, diving to the inside of the leader a lap later. Dobbratz cleared for the top spot as they exited turn four to complete lap 20. Scheel tried to fight back entering turn one, but Dobbratz maintained control of the lead with Hahn watching from third. Dobbratz continued to show the way while Dale Nottestad entered the top five. Nottestad picked his way up behind Scheel in second by lap 36, while Casey Johnson and Jason Erickson battled for position in the top five. Nottestad got past Scheel for second with nine laps remaining as the leaders tip toed through some lapped traffic. But through it all, Dobbratz kept control of the top spot as he flew past the checkers first to get the win. Nottestad finished second followed by Scheel, Hahn and Erickson.

Tory Bagley of Stoughton charged to the front of the field on his way to winning the 30 lap Sportsman feature event. Steven Sauer grabbed the early lead from the pole on lap one with Bagley already up to second. On lap two, Bagley got a great run under Sauer as they entered turn one. Bagley drew even with Sauer as they raced wheel to wheel for several laps until Bagley gained control of the point on lap six. Will Rece followed into second with Kody Hubred in tow for third. The leaders lined up single file until lap 17 when Rece began to apply heavy pressure to Bagley out front. Rece took several peeks to the low side of the leader, but each time Bagley rocketed back into sole possession of the top spot. Rece took a break from challenging Bagley while they raced through some lapped traffic. Once clear of the lap down cars, Rece went back to work looking for a way to get by Bagley. But Bagley held Rece at bay until finally crossing the stripe under the checkers for the win. Rece came home second with Hubred, Sauer and Kyle Chwala rounding out the top five.

Chris Chenoweth of Watertown captured his first career feature win at Jefferson Speedway by winning the 20 lap Bandit main event. Dan Birkett moved into the lead on lap one while fellow front row starter Devon Dixon dropped back into a three wide battle for second between Matt McKinney and Chenoweth. Chenoweth claimed second on lap two just before the caution waved for debris. Birkett restarted with the lead while Chenoweth lined up in second. As racing resumed, Chenoweth began to pressure Birkett, taking a look on the low side of the leader. Chenoweth got by Birkett to take over the top spot on lap six as they bunched up for third behind him. McKinney took a turn under Birkett as they fought for second allowing Chenoweth to open up a healthy margin over the pack. Kyle Stark pulled up behind McKinney just as McKinney moved past Birkett for second. Stark followed into third on lap 15. A lap later, Stark fired past McKinney for second as he set his sights on Chenoweth who was enjoying a large lead. Stark began to cut into Chenoweth’s advantage, but quickly ran out of laps to catch to the leader. At the checkers, it was Chenoweth for the win followed by Stark, McKinney, James Bell and Dixon.

Tony Ciano of Janesville used a late race pass to take the lead and then win his second Hobby Stock feature in as many weeks. Justin Kumbier and Jim Wolf led the field to the drop of the green flag. Chester Williams made it a three way fight for first on the opening lap as he moved to the inside and motored past for the lead. Andy Raley followed into second with Wayne Buchs in tow for third. Williams started to stretch his lead while Raley and Buchs tried to hold off a hard charging Bobby Selsing. After racing three wide, Buchs and Selsing emerged side by side for second as Williams’ lead continued to grow. Selsing moved into sole possession of second on lap 12 as he began to close on Williams at the front. A caution on lap 13 made that task much easier as the leader closed up for the restart. As the green flag waved once again, contact entering turn one forced Williams to slide up the track allowing Selsing to power onto the point. Ciano followed him for second with James Helmer also getting by for third. On lap 18, Ciano began to pressure Selsing, looking to the low side of the new leader. Ciano pulled alongside Selsing with six laps to go as he looked to take the lead. Ciano continued to inch forward until finally clearing for the top spot on lap 21. Selsing tried to fight back on the low side, but Ciano held him off as he charged to the checkers for the win. Helmer nipped Selsing at the stripe for second with Dustin Ward and Williams completing the top five.

Travis Schneeberg of Cottage Grove led every lap of the 16 lap Road Warrior feature en route to his first career feature win the division. Schneeberg took control of the lead on lap one with Chester Williams falling to second. Bill Sweeney quickly made his way to third with Schneeberg already holding a large lead over Williams in second. On lap eight, Sweeney took to the high side of Williams, moving past for second and setting his sights on Schneeberg. But Schneeberg stayed strong out front as he cruised to the checkers for the win. Sweeney was second followed by Rob Lange, Williams and Bill Reynolds.

Tiffany Desjarlais of Columbus made her way to the front of the 20 lap Bandit feature and drove off to get her first feature win of the season. Justin Thomas and Merek Pankow made up the front row with Thomas taking the early lead on lap one. Desjarlais followed under Pankow claim second and pull up on the rear bumper of Thomas. On lap two, Thomas drifted high through turns three and four allowing Desjarlais to claim the point with Pankow and Cory Jansen moving into second and third respectively. A caution on lap six slowed the action, but once racing resumed, Desjarlais maintained a stronghold on the top spot with Pankow and Jansen behind. The leaders remained nose to tail over the final circuits with Desjarlais showing the way to the checkers for the win. Pankow was second followed by Jansen, Phil Wuesthoff and Keith Erickson.

Next Saturday, September 1, is a full program in all divisions with time trials at 5pm and racing at 7pm. Only two weeks of point racing remains in the 2012 season, so don’t miss the action as we decide who will be crowned champion in all six divisions heading into the Wisconsin State Championships on Sept 14-15. Jefferson Speedway is located halfway between Jefferson and Cambridge on Hwy 18. Please visit www.jeffersonspeedway.com for more information.

Jefferson Speedway Race Summary

Late Model-

Papa Murphy’s Pizza 50 lap Feature Results- 1) Steve Dobbratz, Rio 2) Dale Nottestad, Cambridge 3) Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 4) Doug Hahn, Whitewater 5) Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 6) Alex Papini, Machesney Park (IL) 7) Casey Johnson, Stoughton 8) Kyle Jarlsberg, Jefferson 9) Noel Ramge, Helenville 10) John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 11) Zack Riddle, Brooklyn 12) Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 13) Craig Phillips, Edgerton 14) Luke Hoffman, Madison 15) Nick Wendt, Watertown 16) Dave Edwards, Salem 17) Tom Schuette, Fort Atkinson 18) Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson

Fast Qaulifier- Jason Erickson—14.318 seconds

Consi #1- Gary Krueger

Consi #2- Kyle Smith

Last Chance- Nick Wendt, Tom Schuette, Dave Edwards, Stephen Scheel

Heat Winners- 1) Jack Rabey 2) Greg Bowers 3) Stephen Scheel 4) Bob Kahler 5) Doug Hahn

Sportsman-

Feature Results- 1) Tory Bagley, Stoughton 2) Will Rece, Stoughton 3) Kody Hubred, Cambridge 4) Steven Sauer, Waterloo 5) Kyle Chwala, Lake Mills 6) Seth Lootans, Kenosha 7) Jim Tate Jr, Deforest 8) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 9) Mike Heelein, Evansville 10) Mike King, Kewaunee 11) Jason Kubicz, Whitewater 12) Joe DeCubellis, 13) Kenny Au, Jefferson 14) Jason Thoma, Jefferson

Fast Qualifier- Kyle Chwala—14.991 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Jason Thoma 2) Will Rece

International-

Feature Results- 1) Chris Chenoweth, Watertown 2) Kyle Stark, Waterloo 3) Matt McKinney, Fort Atkinson 4) James Bell, Janesville 5) Devon Dixon, Janesville 6) Peter Shelley, Edgerton 7) Mike Lambert, Madison 8) Neil Higgins, Watertown 9) Seth Reamer, Marshall 10) Dan Birkett, Jefferson 11) Mark English, Edgerton 12) Josh Kubicz, Whitewater 13) Jimmie Pankow, Jefferson 14) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 15) John Beale, Verona 16) John Handeland, Belleville

Fast Qualifier- Kyle Stark—16.397 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Peter Shelley 2) Kyle Stark

Hobby Stock-

Feature Results- 1) Tony Ciano, Janesville 2) James Helmer, Beaver Dam 3) Bobby Selsing, Edgerton 4) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 5) Chester Williams, Waukesha 6) Wayne Buchs, Mazomanie 7) Justin Kumbier, Watertown 8) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 9) Andy Raley, Fall River 10) Jim Wolf, Watertown 11) Chris Matz, Jefferson 12) Duane Deppe, Waterloo 13) Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 14) Gary Paulick, Union Grove 15) Crystal O’Gorman, Lake In The Hills (IL)

Fast Qualifier- James Helmer—16.019 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Gary Paulick 2) Tony Ciano

Road Warrior-

Feature Results- 1) Travis Schneeberg, Cottage Grove 2) Bill Sweeney, Edgerton 3) Rob Lange, Jefferson 4) Chester Williams, Waukesha 5) Bill Reynolds, Watertown 6) Matt McKinney, Fort Atkinson 7) Jason Haas, Jefferson 8) Chad Olds, Whitewater 9) Rodger Stephenson, Cambridge 10) Jordan Lamb, Fort Atkinson 11) Tadd Douglas, Jefferson 12) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 13) Tim Ellis, S.Beloit (IL)

Fast Qualifier- Tadd Douglas—16.922 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Dylan Buckingham 2) Bill Reynolds

Bandit-

Feature Results- 1) Tiffany Desjarlais, Columbus 2) Merek Pankow, Jefferson 3) Cory Jansen, Lake Geneva 4) Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 5) Keith Erickson, Columbus 6) Brian Beale, Verona 7) Josh Marx, Jefferson 8) Justin Thomas, Waukesha 9) Tom Schmude, Cambridge 10) Michael Heimann, Waunakee 11) Josh Lenz, Lake Mills 12) Erik Bennett, Beloit 13) Brandon DeLacy, Fort Atkinson 14) Dustin Yanke, Fort Atkinson 15) Josh Rusch, Fort Atkinson 16) Nick Schmidt, Oak Creek

Fast Qualifier- Brian Beale—14.367 seconds

Last Chance- Josh Rusch, Erik Bennett, Mike Raskovic, Brandon DeLacy

Heat Winners- 1) Brian Stark 2) Dustin Yanke 3) Phil Wuesthoff