Erickson is Back To Back Champ

By Andrew Schaller

JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, September 12, 2009) – Doug Hahn of Whitewater captured the 60 lap Havill Spoerl season championship feature event at Jefferson Speedway while Fort Atkinson’s Jason Erickson wrapped up the 2009 Late Model title. Erickson laid claim to his second straight championship and his third overall at Wisconsin’s Action Track.

Mike Taylor and Allen Petrie paced the field to green as Petrie took the early lead on lap one. Jerry Eckhardt followed into second and began to put pressure on Petrie for the lead. His efforts were slowed on lap seven for the first of three caution periods. On the restart, Dylan Schuyler charged up to third with Steve Dobbratz in two for fourth. Schuyler moved up to second on lap 22 as Hahn entered the top five. Caution waved again on lap 25 for a multiple car melee in turns three and four. As the green returned Hahn dove under Schuyler to take away the second spot. Hahn continued his momentum as he pulled alongside Petrie for the lead. A lap later, Hahn sat on the point while Casey Johnson and Kyle Jarlsberg were making their way forward. Johnson and Jarlsberg found themselves in second and third when the final yellow waved on lap 43. Johnson took a shot at the leader as racing resumed, but Hahn pulled back out to a solid advantage. Jarlsberg slipped past for second on lap 46, but Hahn had the field covered as he cruised to the checkers for the win. Jarlsberg, Johnson, Schuyler and Erickson rounded out the top five.

Markesan’s James Helmer claimed his second feature win in a row by winning the 40 lap Sportsman main event. James Assmann lead early as Mike Acheson slid up to challenge for the lead. Acheson claimed the point on lap two bringing Helmer along for second. Helmer wasted little time as he charged up alongside Acheson and stole the lead away on lap five. Curt Thompson followed into second, but was forced to retire on lap 15 when his motor went south. Meanwhile, 2009 Sportsman champion Scott Riedner was slicing through the field and into the top three on lap 18. Riedner quickly made his way to second and began to cut into Helmer’s large advantage. Riedner closed the gap as Helmer tried to navigate through lapped traffic. The duo cleared the traffic with only three laps remaining and Riedner took a peek to the low side of Helmer trying to steal the top spot. But Helmer charged to the stripe to take the win followed by Riedner, Jason Dunn, Acheson and Brady Lilly.

Mark English of Edgerton capped off his International championship in style by winning the 30 lap feature event. Mike Lambert lead lap one as Mark Dewey slid into second. Caution waved on lap three with Lambert restarting the leader and English knocking on the door to the top five. English picked off the leaders until he sat in second on lap 16. English immediately began to apply heavy pressure to Lambert for the top spot, moving to the inside of the leader on lap 18. English cleared for the lead a lap later and drove off to the win. Rounding out the top five were Lambert, Dewey, James Bell and Steven Scheel.

Waterloo’s Kyle Stark captured the 35 lap Hobby Stock feature while Steven Sauer laid claim to the 2009 title in the division. Kyle Chwala was the early leader from the pole with Terry Wangsness sliding up to second. Wangsness moved around Chwala into the lead on lap five as Zac Schmidt tried to follow. Stark moved up into a three way fight for second. Stark and Schmidt emerged and Stark claimed the spot a lap later. On lap 15, Stark moved up alongside Wangsness and took the point for himself with Dustin Ward in tow for second. Ward tried several times to make a move around Stark, but Stark stayed strong on the point. Caution waved on lap 30 as several cars were involved including Ward. Johnny Robinson inherited second for the restart. But Stark held on to the lead as he crossed the stripe first for the win. Robinson was second followed by Wangsness, Jim Tate and Chwala.

In Bandit action, Will Rece captured the win while Kyle Watters of Stoughton won the track championship. Mike White and Eric Bennett led the field to green with White taking the initial lead. Rece quickly moved up to second and drove to the outside of White for the lead. Rece cleared for the lead and immediately began to pull away from the pack. Heather Stark moved into second on lap six while Watters made his way through the field. Watters found his way to third when the caution waved on lap 23. On the restart, Watters slipped by Stark for second, but Rece was too far ahead to catch. At the line, it was Rece for the win followed by Watters, Stark, Matt Goodwin and Mike Heimann.

Next Friday and Saturday at Jefferson Speedway is Wisconsin State Championship weekend sponsored by Miller Brewing Company. Friday, September 18, gates open at 1pm, time trials at 5pm, first race at 8pm. A full program of qualifying races, champion races and preview features will take place Friday. Then, Saturday, September 19, the first race is at 6:30 with a full program of last chance events and features highlighted by Twin 65 lap Late Model features. 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-
Havill Spoerl 60 lap Feature Results- 1) 99 Doug Hahn, Whitewater 2) 87 Kyle Jarlsberg, Jefferson 3) 5 Casey Johnson, Stoughton 4) 33 Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 5) 94 Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 6) 52 Steve Dobbratz, Rio 7) 16 Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 8) 61 Jerry Eckhardt, Johnson Creek 9) 27 Ty James, Oconomowoc 10) 51 Dennis Schmidt, Juneau 11) 29 Scott Lindsay, Dousman 12) 41 Mike Taylor, Stoughton 13) 4 Chris Quam, Stoughton 14) 44 Roger Behlke, Jefferson 15) 12 Allen Petrie, Sun Prairie 16) 23 Chris Koepke, Watertown 17) 32 Tony Koepke, Fort Atkinson 18) 21 Ryan Zielski, Oconomowoc 19) 3 Chuck Duncan, Milwaukee 20) I Bob Kahler, Belvidere (IL)
Fast Qualifier- 52 Steve Dobbratz—14.299 seconds
Last Chance- 32 Tony Koepke, 23 Chris Koepke, 51 Dennis Schmidt, 3 Chuck Duncan
Heat Winners- 1) 99 Lincoln Keeser 2) 23 Chris Koepke 3) 51 Dennis Schmidt
Iron Man Winner- 99 Doug Hahn

Sportsman-
40 lap Feature Results- 1) 4 James Helmer, Markesan 2) 26 Scott Riedner, Waunakee 3) 71 Jason Dunn, Sun Prairie 4) 82 Mike Acheson, Jefferson 5) 22 Brady Lilly, Milton 6) 8 Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills
Fast Qualifier- 4 James Helmer—15.182 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) 7 Phil Denikas 2) 26 Scott Riedner
Iron Man Winner- 26 Scott Riedner

International-
30 lap Feature Results- 1) 57 Mark English, Edgerton 2) 26 Mike Lambert, Madison 3) 82 Mark Dewey, Beloit 4) 27 James Bell, Brodhead 5) 4 Steven Scheel, Lake Mills 6) 35 Gary Stark, Madison
Fast Qualifier- 57 Mark English—16.509 seconds
Last Chance- 20 Ryan Nelson, 77 Sean Watters, 25 Darren Brown, 61 Waylin Willman
Heat Winners- 1) 90 Titus Helgestad 2) 05 Ashley Smith 3) 61 Chris Gottschalk
Iron Man Winner- 26 Mike Lambert

Hobby Stock-
35 lap Feature Results- 1) 92 Kyle Stark, Waterloo 2) 99 Johnny Robinson, Beloit 3) 55 Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 4) 27 Jim Tate, Watertown 5) 22 Kyle Chwala, Lake Mills 6) 11 Steven Sauer, Waterloo
Fast Qualifier- 11 Steven Sauer—16.275 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) 96 Alan Dorn 2) 27 Jim Tate
Iron Man Winner- 9 Dustin Ward

Bandit-
30 lap Feature Results- 1) 15 Will Rece, Stoughton 2) 17 Kyle Watters, Stoughton 3) 93 Heather Stark, Waterloo 4) 45 Matt Goodwin, Beloit 5) 31 Mike Heimann, Waunakee 6) 33 Mike White, Janesville
Fast Qualifier- 17 Kyle Watters—14.292 seconds
Last Chance- 11 Art Blakely, 77 Jody Purdy, 78 Kevin Pauls, 5 Kameron Lee
Heat Winners- 1) 99 Phil Wuesthoff 2) 45 Matt Goodwin 3) 17 Kyle Watters
Iron Man Winner- 93 Heather Stark