Johnson Flexes Muscle at Jefferson Speedway
by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, July 14, 2012) As the lightning flashed beyond the turn three wall, Wisconsin’s Action Track came to life with 18 of the best Late Model pilots taking the green flag to begin the Fair Week 50 lap feature event. When the dust settled, Stoughton’s Casey Johnson sat in victory lane with a convincing win, his third such triumph of the season.
Bruce Lee and Tom Schuette made up row one at the start with Schuette moving out front on the first lap. Chris Quam followed around the outside of Lee to claim second on lap three and immediately begin to challenge the early leader. On lap four, with Quam underneath Schuette, the two drivers touched in turn four resulting in both spinning and bringing out the first of two cautions. Both were forced to the rear for the restart, handing the top spot over to Lee with Jerry Eckhardt riding second and Shaun Scheel in third. Johnson began his trek through the top five on lap eleven, getting past Doug Hahn for the fifth spot. Johnson moved around John Ovadal Jr for fourth on lap 17. Just as Johnson slipped by Scheel for third on lap 20, the second caution appeared when Dale Nottestad and Scott Lindsay got together down the back stretch. When racing resumed, Johnson quickly charged under Eckhardt, clearing for the position on lap 22 and setting his sights on Lee at the front of the pack. Johnson drew even with Lee on lap 23, clearing for the lead as they exited turn four. Johnson immediately began to pull away from the rest of the field on his way to the checkers for the win. Lee finished second followed by Eckhardt, Dylan Schuyler and Scheel.
Jason Thoma of Jefferson continued his recent string of success by capturing the 25 lap Sportsman feature event. Steven Sauer and Jim Taylor led the field to green as they battled door to door to open up the action. The duo continued to trade the lead as the see saw battle continued until lap eight when Sauer got loose in turn four allowing Taylor to claim sole possession of the top spot. Sauer tried to fight back on the low side of Taylor, but began to lose grip as he fell back into a war for second with Seth Lootans. Lootans claimed the runner up spot on lap 14 with Thoma in tow for third. When Lootans took a peek under Taylor for the lead, Thoma fired alongside looking for second. Thoma passed Lootans for second on lap 17 and celebrated by diving to the low side of the speedway under Taylor. A lap later, Thoma was out front alone with Taylor in second and Jim Tate Jr up to third. Tate moved past Taylor for second on lap 23, bringing Kyle Chwala along. But Thoma was already well on his way to picking up the victory. Tate was second with Chwala, Taylor and Lootans rounding out the top five.
Madison’s Mike Lambert claimed his sixth feature win of the season by winning the 20 lap International main event. Devin Wild and Josh Kubicz brought the field to the green flag as they battled side by side on lap one. Peter Shelley joined the fight, dropping to the low side and getting past the two front row starters just before the caution waved for Kyle Stark. As racing resumed, Shelley continued to show the way while Neil Higgins shot up to second. Higgins made his move for the lead on lap five, drawing even with Shelley through turns three and four. Higgins cleared for the top spot on lap six while Lambert made his way into the top five. Lambert picked off car after car until he sat on Higgins rear bumper with 5 laps to go. Lambert drove to the outside groove as he pulled alongside Higgins. Lambert completed the pass on lap 16 as Higgins appeared to drop off the pace with mechanical difficulties. Shelley moved back into second, but Lambert was already enjoying a large lead on the way to the checkers for the win. Shelley was second while Kubicz finished third. Higgins held on for fourth followed by Mark English in fifth.
Dustin Ward of Waterloo picked up his first feature victory of the season by winning the 20 lap Hobby Stock main event. Duane Deppe led lap one from the outside of the first row with Jeff LeFave moving into second. LeFave quickly began to apply pressure to the early leader. LeFave took to the high side, drawing even with Deppe on lap three. A lap later, LeFave claimed the lead just before the sole caution of the race appeared on lap five. On the restart, Ward powered to the outside of Deppe for second, clearing for the position on lap seven with Bobby Selsing and James Helmer in tow. Ward dropped to the bottom of the racing surface as he began to work over the leader, LeFave. Ward pulled alongside the leader on lap 12, completing the winning pass a lap later. As Ward took over the top spot, Selsing, Helmer and LeFave drove three wide to settle the race for second. Selsing emerged with the position while Ward hung on to see the checkers first. Helmer finished third followed by LeFave and Jimmy Robinson.
Jefferson’s Rob Lange completed the clean sweep of the Road Warrior division by capturing fast time, winning his heat race and coming home with the trophy after the 15 lap feature. Chester Williams and Chad Olds fought wheel to wheel from the front row to kick off the action. After an early caution, Olds restarted as the leader with Williams right behind in second. After Williams suffered problems on lap six, Tim Ellis moved under Matt McKinney as they battled for second. Lange joined them as they charged three wide into turn three. Lange emerged with the position with Ellis behind in third. Lange caught Olds on lap 12, moving to his inside as they entered turn three. Lange cleared a lap later with Ellis in tow for second. Lange hung on over the final circuits to cross the stripe first to collect the win. Ellis was second followed by Olds, Bill Sweeney and Bill Reynolds.
Josh Lenz of Lake Mills was awarded the win in the 20 lap Bandit feature event. Robby Robinson fired into the lead as the green flag waved while Josh Marx moved to the outside of Brad Birzer for second. Robinson began to pull away from the pack as Birzer and Marx fought for position. Marx began to lose grip on the outside allowing Birzer to control second while the field bunched up behind him. Lenz made a late race move to the outside, drawing even with Birzer on lap 16. Lenz claimed the spot with two laps to go, but Robinson was already well in front of the field. At the checkers, it was Robinson across the stripe first, but following post-race inspection Robinson was forced to vacate his win. As a result, Lenz was awarded the victory followed by Nick Schmidt, Birzer, Cory Jansen and Phil Wuesthoff.
Next Saturday, July 21, is a full program in all divisions with time trials beginning at 5pm and racing at 7pm. Jefferson Speedway is located halfway between Jefferson and Cambridge on Hwy 18. Please visitwww.jeffersonspeedway.com for more information.
Jefferson Speedway Race Summary
Late Model-
Feature Results- 1) Casey Johnson, Stoughton 2) Bruce Lee, Cambridge 3) Jerry Eckhardt, Johnson Creek 4) Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 5) Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 6) John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 7) Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 8) Trent Erdman, Fort Atkinson 9) Doug Hahn, Whitewater 10) Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 11) Dale Nottestad, Cambridge 12) Noel Ramge, Helenville 13) Scott Lindsay, Dousman 14) Chris Quam, Stoughton 15) Roger Behlke, Jefferson 16) Craig Phillips, Edgerton 17) Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 18) Tom Schuette, Fort Atkinson
Fast Qualifier- Jason Erickson—14.339 seconds
Consi- Ed Kubicz, Erik Connell
Last Chance- Luke Westenberg, Scott Lindsay, Stephen Scheel, Roger Behlke
Heat Winners- 1) Shawn Gunsolus 2) Luke Westenberg 3) Roger Behlke
Sportsman-
Feature Results- 1) Jason Thoma, Jefferson 2) Jim Tate Jr, Deforest 3) Kyle Chwala, Lake Mills 4) Jim Taylor, Stoughton 5) Seth Lootans, Kenosha 6) Kody Hubred, Cambridge 7) Steven Sauer, Waterloo 8) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 9) Jason Kubicz, Whitewater 10) Jeff Schultz, Elkhorn
Fast Qualifier- Jim Tate Jr—15.096 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Kody Hubred 2) Jason Thoma
International-
Feature Results- 1) Mike Lambert, Madison 2) Peter Shelley, Edgerton 3) Josh Kubicz, Whitewater 4) Neil Higgins, Watertown 5) Mark English, Edgerton 6) James Bell, Brodhead 7) John Handeland, Belleville 8) Seth Reamer, Marshall 9) Dan Birkett, Jefferson 10) Devin Wild, Jefferson 11) Mike Storkson, Evansville 12) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 13) Kyle Stark, Waterloo
Fast Qualifier- Mike Lambert—16.310 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Mark English 2) Kyle Stark
Hobby Stock-
Feature Results- 1) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 2) Bobby Selsing, Edgerton 3) James Helmer, Beaver Dam 4) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 5) Jimmy Robinson, Orfordville 6) Tony Ciano, Janesville 7) Chester Williams, Waukesha 8) Duane Deppe, Waterloo 9) Jim Wolf, Watertown 10) Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 11) Rob Hildebrandt 12) Jared Vike 13) Crystal O’Gorman, Lake In The Hills (IL)
Fast Qualifier- James Helmer—16.102 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Jeff LeFave 2) Jimmy Robinson
Road Warrior-
Feature Results- 1) Rob Lange, Jefferson 2) Tim Ellis, S.Beloit (IL) 3) Chad Olds, Whitewater 4) Bill Sweeney, Edgerton 5) Bill Reynolds, Watertown 6) Matt McKinney, Fort Atkinson 7) Jared Larson, Jefferson 8) Travis Schneeberg, Cottage Grove 9) Chester Williams, Waukesha 10) Rodger Stephenson, Cambridge
Fast Qualifier- Rob Lange—16.695 NEW TRACK RECORD
Heat Winners- 1) Bill Reynolds 2) Rob Lange
Bandit-
Feature Results- 1) Josh Lenz, Lake Mills 2) Nick Schmidt, Oak Creek 3) Brad Birzer, Ixonia 4) Cory Jansen, Lake Geneva 5) Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 6) Dustin Yanke, Fort Atkinson 7) Josh Marx, Jefferson 8) Michael Heimann, Waunakee 9) Tiffany Desjarlais, Columbus 10) Mike Raskovic 11) Erik Bennett, Beloit 12) Brent Bergholz, Marshall 13) Brandon DeLacy, Stoughton 14) Robby Robinson, Orfordville 15) Keith Erickson, Columbus
Fast Qualifier- Phil Wuesthoff—14.536 seconds
Last Chance- Erik Bennett, Mike Raskovic, Brent Bergholz, Brandon DeLacy
Heat Winners- 1) Brandon DeLacy 2) Brad Birzer 3) Josh Marx
