Ovadal Outruns Field at Jefferson Speedway
By Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, August 27, 2011) Watertown’s John Ovadal Jr methodically picked his way to the front of the field on Saturday night and ran away to capture the Papa Murphy’s Pizza 50 lap Late Model main event. The victory marked Ovadal’s second feature win of the season as he continues to stay alive in the hunt for the 2011 championship crown.
Ty James and Shaun Scheel paced the field of 18 competitors to the green with Scheel taking the initial lead down the back stretch on lap one. James pulled in line behind Scheel with Chris Quam up to third and Tommy Pecaro riding in fourth. The top three lined up single file as they began to pull away from the rest of the pack while Ovadal sliced his way into the top five by lap eleven. One lap later, James mounted a charge to the inside of Scheel, drawing even as he looked to steal the top spot. James continued to inch forward until finally clearing for the lead on lap 16. Meanwhile, Ovadal ran down the leaders, making quick work of Quam and sliding under Scheel for second. Ovadal cleared for the runner up spot on lap 21, bringing Doug Hahn along for third. Ovadal began to reel in James until the sole caution of the race waved on lap 28. Once racing resumed, Ovadal began to peek to the inside of James. Ovadal got a good run on lap 29, drawing even with James and shooting past for the lead. Ovadal immediately opened up a large advantage while Hahn moved up to battle James for second. Ovadal continued to stretch his lead as he cruised to the checkers to get the win. James held off the advances of Hahn to claim second with Casey Johnson in fourth and Jason Erickson in fifth.
Fort Atkinson’s Mark Deporter dominated the 30 lap Sportsman feature on his way to victory lane with the win. Kyle Chwala and Dan Schmidt led the field to green as they battled door to door for position. On lap two, Schmidt lost control entering turn three as he backed into the wall and collected several other competitors to force the caution. The melee resulted in Will Rece assuming the lead with Jim Taylor in second and Terry Wangsness third. As racing resumed, Deporter made his move from the fourth position as the dropped to the bottom of the racing surface and surged forward. Deporter quickly maneuvered up to second as he charged under Rece for the lead on lap four. Deporter cleared for the top spot on lap six with point leader Jay Kalbus trying to follow. On lap seven, Kalbus lost a wheel entering turn one ending his night and bringing out the second caution. As the green flag flew once again, Wangsness mounted a charge on the low side, pulling into second on lap nine. Deporter continued to pull away as Kurt Kleven moved up to challenge Wangsness for second. Kleven made the pass for second on lap 18, but Deporter was well out in front on his way to the checkers for the win. Kleven finished second followed by Wangsness, Taylor and Chwala.
Kyle Stark made a last lap pass to capture yet another International feature victory and extend his lead in the standings. Waylin Willman led lap one from the pole with Neil Higgins up to second. Higgins quickly went to work on the early leader, moving to his inside and stealing the point on lap three. Higgins began to stretch his lead as Kyle Smith made his way up to second. Meanwhile, Mark English and Stark were charging through the field and into the top five by lap ten. Smith began to challenge Higgins for the lead on lap eleven, overtaking him for the spot a lap later. Devon Dixon followed into second as Stark made his way to third on lap 15. A lap later, Stark drove under Dixon to claim second as he continued to move forward. Stark cleared for second with two laps remaining as he slid up behind Smith. Stark dove to the low side of Smith as they duo passed under the white flag. Stark edged ahead of Smith as they exited turn four and crossed the stripe. Stark got the win with Smith, English, Mike Lambert and Higgins rounding out the top five.
Waterloo’s Steven Sauer held off a hard charging Jim Tate Jr to capture the 20 lap Hobby Stock feature event. Jamie Dunn and Jim Wolf battled side by side as the race got underway. Wolf owned a slight advantage as they caution waved on lap five. As racing resumed Tate, Tony Ciano and Sauer made it a three way fight for third behind Wolf and Dunn. Sauer motored past Dunn into second on lap six. Sauer continued to move to the front as he pulled even with Wolf on lap eight. Sauer claimed the point with Tate in tow for second. Tate immediately began to apply heavy pressure to the new leader with Sauer holding him at bay with each attempt. Tate continued to shadow Sauer lap after lap until the checkers finally waved with Sauer showing the way. Tate settled for second followed by Ciano, Wolf and Jeff LeFave.
In Road Warrior action, it was Scott Pauls of Deerfield hanging on to win the 15 lap feature. Rob Lange led lap one as Bill Reynolds crept up to his inside. Reynolds moved out front on lap two with Pauls in tow for second. Pauls began to pressure Reynolds to the inside, pulling alongside on lap five. On lap eight, Reynolds got very loose entering turn one allowing Pauls to shoot into sole possession of the top spot. Pauls cruised to the checkers from there to pick up the win with Reynolds coming home second. Rounding out the top five were Rodger Stephenson, Bill Sweeney and Kevin Pauls.
Josh Lenz of Lake Mills picked up his first career feature win by capturing the 20 lap Bandit main event. Josh Marx led lap one from the pole with Lenz moving up to second. After an early caution on lap three, Art Blakely moved into the high groove alongside Lenz. Blakely tried to pull to the outside of Marx with Lenz watching from third. On lap 12, Marx opened up the bottom lane just enough for Lenz to get a run as they entered turn one. Lenz slid past Marx to claim the lead with Blakely following into second. Heather Stark joined the fight for the lead in the closing laps, but Lenz hung on to see the checkers first and get the win. Stark finished second with Blakely, Keith Erickson and Derek Dixon completing the top five.
Next Saturday, September 3, is full program of racing in all division highlighted by the Quam’s Marine and Motorsports 50 lap Late Model feature. Also joining the festivities is the return of the Green Mamba Jet Car. 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-
Papa Murphy’s Pizza 50 lap Feature Results- 1) 71 John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 2) 27 Ty James, Oconomowoc 3) 99 Doug Hahn, Whitewater 4) 5 Casey Johnson, Stoughton 5) 94 Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 6) 33 Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 7) 8 Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 8) 104 Noel Ramge, Helenville 9) 4 Chris Quam, Stoughton 10) 9 Tommy Pecaro, Markesan 11) 52 Steve Dobbratz, Rio 12) 14 Zack Riddle, Brooklyn 13) 77 Bruce Lee, Cambridge 14) 23 Brian Ulrich, Lake Geneva 15) 44 Roger Behlke, Jefferson 16) 1 Jody Krueger, Edgerton 17) 96 Tim Lange, Dousman 18) 11 Trent Erdman, Fort Atkinson
Fast Qualifier- 14 Zack Riddle—14.362 seconds
Last Chance- 1 Jody Krueger, 23 Brian Ulrich, 96 Tim Lange, 77 Bruce Lee
Consi- 100 Andy Brinkmann, 3 Chuck Duncan
Heat Winners- 1) 3 Chuck Duncan 2) 27 Dan Chesmore 3) 9 Tommy Pecaro 4) 27 Ty James
Sportsman-
Feature Results- 1) 2 Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 2) 51 Kurt Kleven, Cambridge 3) 55 Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 4) 4 Jim Taylor, Stoughton 5) 22 Kyle Chwala, Lake Mills 6) 15 Will Rece, Stoughton 7) 39 Ken Scott, Rio 8) 3 Ken Hoff, Stoughton 9) 11 Adam Bleskan, Menomonie Falls 10) 1 Levi Cloute, Janesville 11) 82 Mike Acheson, Watertown 12) 00 Reid Kahrs, Lake Geneva 13) 27 Jay Kalbus, Watertown 14) 19 Dan Schmidt, Farmington 15) 4 Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 16) 52 Tory Bagley, Stoughton 17) 22 Brady Lilly, Milton
Fast Qualifier- 27 Jay Kalbus—15.166 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) 55 Terry Wangsness 2) 22 Kyle Chwala
International-
Feature Results- 1) 92 Kyle Stark, Waterloo 2) 90 Kyle Smith, Lake Mills 3) 57 Mark English, Edgerton 4) 26 Mike Lambert, Madison 5) 66 Neil Higgins, Watertown 6) 27 James Bell, Brodhead 7) 29 Waylin Willman, Janesville 8) 23 Casey Strese, Jefferson 9) 67 Gary Stark, Sun Prairie 10) 6 Dale Smith, Lake Mills 11) 5 Peter Shelley, Edgerton 12) 43 Jimmie Pankow, Jefferson 13) 82 Mark Dewey, Janesville 14) 83 Devin Wild, Jefferson
Fast Qualifier- 92 Kyle Stark—16.150 seconds
Last Chance- 43 Jimmie Pankow, 6 Dale Smith, 5 Peter Shelley, 83 Devin Wild
Heat Winners- 1) 17 Pete Seitz 2) 23 Casey Strese 3) 57 Mark English
Hobby Stock-
Feature Results- 1) 11 Steven Sauer, Waterloo 2) 27 Jim Tate Jr, Deforest 3) 86 Tony Ciano, Janesville 4) 7 Jim Wolf, Watertown 5) 81 Jeff LeFave, Fort Atkinson 6) 77 Sean Watters, Jefferson 7) 71 Jamie Dunn, Deforest 8) 72 Gary Paulick, Union Grove 9) 55 Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 10) 29 Mike Manley, Fort Atkinson 11) 88 Rodger Stephenson, Cambridge 12) 49 Buck Stultz, Lake Mills 13) 47 Crystal O’Gorman
Fast Qualifier- 27 Jim Tate Jr—16.267 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) 29 Mike Manley 2) 27 Jim Tate Jr
Road Warrior-
Feature Results- 1) 18 Scott Pauls, Deerfield 2) 6 Bill Reynolds, Watertown 3) 88 Rodger Stephenson, Cambridge 4) 42 Bill Sweeney, Edgerton 5) 78 Kevin Pauls, Middleton 6) 33 Mike White, Janesville 7) 01 Tim Ellis, S.Beloit (IL) 8) 135 Rob Lange, Jefferson 9) 51 Rory Hardy, Oregon
Fast Qualifier- 18 Scott Pauls—16.993 seconds
Heat Winner- 33 Mike White
Bandit-
Feature Results- 1) 16 Josh Lenz, Lake Mills 2) 93 Heather Stark, Waterloo 3) 51 Art Blakely 4) 03 Keith Erickson, Columbus 5) 111 Derek Dixon, Janesville 6) 37 Seth Reamer, Columbus 7) 99 Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 8) 18 Brian Beale, Franklin 9) 17 Tadd Douglas, Jefferson 10) 5 John Beale, Verona 11) 13 Taylor Schmude, Cambridge 12) 36 Erik Bennett, Beloit 13) 28 Scott Crawford 14) 53 Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 15) 10 Dave Schmidt, Menomonie 16) 68 Dalton Jones, Columbus 17) 09 Nick Schmidt, Menomonie 18) 13 Josh Marx, Jefferson
Fast Qualifier- 93 Heather Stark—14.216 seconds
Last Chance- 68 Dalton Jones, 28 Scott Crawford, 36 Erik Bennett, 3 Dylan Buckingham
Heat Winners- 1) 36 Erik Bennett 2) 69 Dan Birkett 3) 5 John Beale