Nottestad Opens Title Defense at Jefferson Speedway

JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, April 26, 2014) Dale Nottestad of Cambridge kicked off the 2014 season the same way he ended 2013…..in victory lane. After capturing the 2013 Late Model championship as well as winning the final features of the season, Nottestad charged through the field to capture the Stoddard’s Market Ice Breaker 50 on a chilly night at Wisconsin’s Action Track.

Kyle Taylor and Tyler Peterson paced the field of 20 Late Models to the drop of the green flag. Taylor led lap one at the stripe as Peterson fell back to battle Brandon Pendleton for second. The first of three early cautions waved on lap four when Kyle Smith spun in turn two. After two more quick cautions, the racing got serious with Pendleton making his move around Peterson and setting his sights on Taylor. Pendleton began to peek under Taylor on lap eight, drawing even a lap later. Pendleton slid past for the top spot on lap ten as he began to open up a healthy lead over the field. Meanwhile, Nottestad was picking his way towards the front, moving into the top five by lap 19. Shaun Scheel claimed third from Peterson on lap 22 with Nottestad in tow for fourth. Scheel continued to move forward, taking second from Taylor on lap 22 as Nottestad remained in his tracks for third with Tory Bagley up to fourth. On lap 29, Scheel got loose exiting turn four forcing Nottestad to check up and allowing Bagley to shoot past for second. But Bagley got loose two laps later giving second back to Scheel. On lap 33, Nottestad charged by Scheel for second as he began to try to reel Pendleton in at the front. Lap after lap, Nottestad closed the gap on the leader. A final caution on lap 44 set up a six lap shootout to the finish with Pendleton trying to hang on out front. As racing resumed, Nottestad made his move diving to the low side and dispatching Pendleton to claim the point. Nottestad drove off to see the checkers first and get the win. Scheel nipped Pendleton at the stripe to finish second with Bagley and Casey Johnson rounding out the top five.

Watertown’s Jay Kalbus was awarded the victory in the 30 lap Sportsman feature event. Kalbus led early from the outside of row one as Doug Paul and Adam Bleskan fought for second. Paul claimed the position with Hansberry up to third on lap two. The top three began to break away from the pack by lap ten. On lap 12, Hansberry slipped by Paul for second and charged up alongside Kalbus at the front. Hansberry cleared for the lead a lap later and immediately began to pull away. Jason Thoma made a late race charge into the top five, finding his way to third in the closing circuits. But Hansberry had the field covered on his way to checkers. Following post race inspection, Hansberry was forced to vacate his finishing position handing the win to Kalbus. Rounding out the top five were Thoma, Paul, Terry Wangsness and Mark Deporter.

Watertown’s Chris Chenoweth claimed the lead at the halfway point of the 20 lap International feature and drove away with the win. Jason Uttech led lap one with Peter Shelley challenging to his inside. Uttech claimed sole possession of the lead on lap two as Peter Shelley dropped into a three way fight for second with Jamie Shelley and Keith Bell. Caution waved on lap four when Peter Shelley experience a flat right front tire. As racing resumed, Jamie Shelley moved up to challenge Uttech for the lead. Shelley drew even on lap five, making the pass for the top spot a lap later. John Handeland and Chenoweth followed past Uttech on lap eight. Chenoweth got by Handeland just before the second caution slowed the action. Once the green flew again, Chenoweth went to work on Shelley out front. Chenoweth peeked under Shelley on lap as he pulled up next to the leader. A lap later, Chenoweth was out front alone and driving away to the win. Shelley hung on to finish second with Kyle Stark, James Bell and Handeland completing the top five.

Defending 2013 Hobby Stock champion Bobby Selsing Jr picked up where he left off last season by winning his 20 lap feature event. Boyd Eichelkraut and Kevin Henderson led the field to green with Eichelkraut leading lap one. Lucas Buckingham made his way to second on lap three with Selsing already up to third. After the sole caution of the race, Buckingham moved under Eichelkraut to claim the lead on lap four. Selsing followed into second as he began to challenge the new leader. After a brief side by side battle, Selsing claimed the point and opened up a large lead. Chester Williams moved up to second on lap nine and began to cut into Selsing’s advantage. Williams continued to chip away at the leader as he found himself on Selsing’s rear bumper as they flew past the white flag. But Selsing held off Williams’ advances to cross under the checkers first. Williams settled for second followed by Phil Wuesthoff, Dustin Ward and Buckingham.

Watertown’s Bill Reynolds made a late race pass to claim the win in the 15 lap Road Warrior feature. Matthew Melchiori grabbed the early lead on lap one with Keith Erickson up to second. Melchiori and Erickson remained first and second while Reynolds sliced his way towards the front. Reynolds joined the leaders on lap ten as he began to challenge Erickson for second. Reynolds made the pass on lap 11 and pulled up behind Melchiori. Reynolds drove alongside the leader on lap 12 as they battle door to door for the top spot. Reynolds poked his nose out front and cleared for the lead as they raced past the while flag. Reynolds hung on to cross the stripe first for the win with Melchiori, Erickson, Jeff LeFave and Chad Olds rounding out the top five.

Devon Dixon of Janesville claimed the 15 lap Bandit feature as the division made the move to the full quarter mile track for the 2014 season. Ron Coppernoll and Dave Schmidt led the field to the green flag. Coppernoll got very loose entering turn one on the opening lap as Schmidt took control of the lead with Karl Benn up to second and Josh Marx in third. After an early caution on lap two, Marx drove to the high side of Benn to claim second with Dixon in tow for third. On lap five, Dixon took a shot on the outside as he drew even with Marx for second. Dixon cleared for the position as he looked to close on Schmidt at the front. Schmidt looked to have the field covered until lapped traffic forced him to check up allowing Dixon to fire past into the lead with only two laps remaining. Dixon held off Schmidt in the final laps to claim the win. Schmidt was second followed by Marx, Nick Schmidt and Heather Stark.

Next Saturday, May 3, is a full program of racing sponsored by Newville Auto Salvage. Time trials begin at 5pm with racing at 7pm sharp. 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-

Ice Breaker 50 lap Feature Results- 1) Dale Nottestad, Cambridge 2) Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 3) Brandon Pendleton, Watertown 4) Tory Bagley, Stoughton 5) Casey Johnson, Edgerton 6) Zach Riddle, Stoughton 7) Jerry Eckhardt, Johnson Creek 8) Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 9) Kyle Taylor, Stoughton 10) Michael Grueneberg, Madison 11) Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva 12) Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 13) Kyle Smith, Lake Mills 14) Roger Behlke, Jefferson 15) Andrew Kiedrowski, Union Grove 16) Tom Jasinski, Pewaukee 17) Ed Kubicz, Whitewater 18) Jared Lannert, West Allis 19) Trent Erdman, Fort Atkinson 20) Bruce Lee, Cambridge

Fast Qualifier- Dale Nottestad—14.484 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Roger Behlke 2) Stephen Scheel 3) Brandon Pendleton

Sportsman-

Feature Results- 1) Jay Kalbus, Watertown 2) Jason Thoma, Jefferson 3) Doug Paul, Montello 4) Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 5) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 6) Kyle Chwala, Lake Mills 7) Tony Ciano, Janesville 8) Adam Bleskan, Menomonee Falls 9) Ed Jackson, Madison 10) John Daley, West Bend 11) Tim Coley, Madison 12) Steven Sauer, Waterloo 13) Jim Taylor, Stoughton 14) Robert Hansberry Jr

Fast Qualifier- Steven Sauer—15.164 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Adam Bleskan 2) Robert Hansberry Jr

International-

Feature Results- 1) Chris Chenoweth, Watertown 2) Jamie Shelley, Edgerton 3) Kyle Stark, Waterloo 4) James Bell, Janesville 5) John Handeland, Belleville 6) Dan Birkett, Arlington 7) Seth Reamer, Waupun 8) Neil Higgins, Watertown 9) Keith Bell, Brodhead 10) Josh Lenz, Lake Mills 11) Merek Pankow, Jefferson 12) Jason Uttech, Watertown 13) Peter Shelley, Edgerton 14) Mike Lambert, Madison

Fast Qualifier- Chris Chenoweth—16.293 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Jason Uttech 2) Seth Reamer

Hobby Stock-

Feature Results- 1) Bobby Selsing Jr, Edgerton 2) Chester Williams, Waukesha 3) Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 4) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 5) Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 6) Ken Scott, Rio 7) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 8) Jim Wolf, Watertown 9) Boyd Eichelkraut, Stoughton 10) Ricky Sanwick, Janesville 11) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 12) Kevin Henderson, Waterford

Fast Qualifier- Bobby Selsing Jr—15.740 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Jeff LeFave 2) Ken Scott

Road Warrior-

Feature Results- 1) Bill Reynolds, Watertown 2) Matthew Melchiori, Milwaukee 3) Keith Erickson, Columbus 4) Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 5) Chad Olds, Whitewater 6) Brett Carson, Fort Atkinson 7) Doug Harriman, Madison 8) Scott Hoeft, Watertown 9) Tom Dorn, Fort Atkinson 10) Bryan Gottschalk, Jefferson 11) Chris Gottschalk, Jefferson 12) Kenny Storkson, Evansville 13) Bill Sweeney, Edgerton

Fast Qualifier- Bill Sweeney—16.747 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Keith Erickson 2) Bill Sweeney

Bandit-

Feature Results- 1) Devon Dixon, Janesville 2) Dave Schmidt, Cudahy 3) Josh Marx, Waukesha 4) Nick Schmidt, Watertown 5) Heather Stark, Waterloo 6) Karl Benn, Menomonee Falls 7) Brandon DeLacy, Stoughton 8) Trent Rueth, Jefferson 9) Tyler Deporter, Fort Atkinson 10) Dennis Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 11) Paul Reagles, Colgate 12) Sueter Bennett, Franksville 13) Kyle Dopkins, 14) Adam Schook, Fort Atkinson 15) Ron Coppernoll, 16) Steve Dobbratz, Rio 17) Noah Pankow, Jefferson

Fast Qualifier- Devon Dixon—16.998 seconds

Heat Winners- 1) Dave Schmidt 2) Josh Marx