Rain Shortens Midseason Championships at Jefferson Speedway!

By Larry Starr

June 25, 2005; Jefferson, Wis. – Luke Westenberg of Watertown claimed top honors in the, Rain Shortened, Late Model feature. Starting outside row 2, Westenberg headed toward the front as Bret Schmidt charged to the early lead.

Westenberg overtook Schmidt, on lap 4, claiming the point. Caution came, on lap 30, for a spin in the 2nd turn, after the restart on more lap was completed before the rain started. The downpour made it evident that racing was done for the night. The scheduled 50 lapper was declared complete at 301 laps, with Westenberg still at the point. Rounding out the top 5 were Chris Quam, John Ovadal, Tim Noble and Dylan Schuyler.

In Sportsman action Mark DePorter of Fort Atkinson notched the win, in the 35 lap main event. Starting 9th, DePorter began his journey to the checkers, as Brent Gergen grabbed the early lead. Gergen led the way for 16 laps before surrendering the point to Dan Schmidt. As Schmidt claimed the top spot, DePorter was up to the third spot, closing with Gergen for the 2nd spot. As the battle raged, a blown engine brought out the first caution of the race, with DePorter still running 2nd to Schmidt. Closing with Schmidt, on the restart, DePorter battled inside Schmidt, for 5 laps before making the winning pass on lap 28. At the stripe it was DePorter for the win followed by Jason Thoma, Schmidt, Kyle Taylor and Scott “Chico” Riedner.

In International action Mark English claimed victory in the 20 lap feature. Starting outside row 4, English started his trek to victory lane as Mike Hoppe claimed the early lead. Hoppe’s turn at the point ended on the 2nd lap as Michelle Heimann drove to the front. English motored past Heimann on lap 3, guiding the way from there to the checkers. As the took the checkered it was English for the win followed by Scotty Hoeft, Chris Chenoweth, bill Sweeney and Brandon Kozak.
The Hobby Stock and Bandit divisions were scheduled to race after the Late Models, and were postponed, until next week due to rain. Both divisions will run double features next week.

Next week at Jefferson Speedway hosts the “Kearns Motor Car Co. 50,” with a 50 lap Late Model feature. Also on tap are Stock Car Rides for kids, Big Wheel Races, and the Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular.
In order to allow time for the Kid’s programs the program times have been adjusted: Gates open at 1:00, Qualifying at 3:30 and racing starts at 7:00 sharp.

Jefferson Speedway is half way between Cambridge and Jefferson Wisconsin on Highway 18.

Jefferson Speedway Race Summary 06/25/2005 MidSeason Championships
——————————————————————

Late Model Division Feature Finish
1) 16 Luke Westenberg (Watertown) 2) 4 Chris Quam (Stoughton)
3) 71 John Ovadal 4) 71 Tim Noble (Janesville)
5) 33 Dylan Schuyler 6) 52 Steve Dobbratz (Rio)
7) 82 Chad Stevens (Orfordville) 8) 99 Doug Hahn (Whitewater)
9) 94 Jason Erickson (Lake Mills) 10) 44 Roger Behlke
11) 20 Bret Schmidt (watertown) 12) 6 Ken Piotrowski (Janesville)
13) 2 Matt Frey 14) 41 Mike Taylor (Stoughton)
15) 12 Allen Petrie Jr (Sun Prairie) 16) 17 Noel Ramge (Helenville)
17) 11 Tim Petrie (Whitewater) 18) 22 Jasper Gronert (Ft. Atkinson)
19) 68 Ken Olson (Ft. Atkinson) 20) 23 Chris Koepke (Jefferson)
Fast Qualifier: 94 Jason Erickson (Lake Mills) : 14.275 seconds
Dash: 68 Ken Olson (Fort Atkinson)
Last Chance: 2 Matt Frey, 12 Allen Petrie Jr, 11 Tim Petrie, 22 Jasper Gronert
Heats: Qual1) 17 Noel Ramge, Qual2) 44 Roger Behlke, Qual3) 23 Chris Koepke

International Division Feature Finish
1) 57 Mark English 2) 00 Scotty Hoeft (Watertown)
3) 97 Chris Chenoweth (Watertown) 4) 42 Bill Sweeney (Janesville)
5) 2 Brandon Kozak (Whitewater) 6) 67 Joe Cross (Sun Prairie)
Fast Qualifier: 73 Chris Nelson (Cottage Grove) : 16.530 seconds
Dash: 73 Chris Nelson (Cottage Grove)
Heats: Qual1) 00 Scotty Hoeft

Sportsman Division Feature Finish
1) 28 Mark DePorter (Fort Atkinson) 2) 42 Jason Thoma
3) 19 Dan Schmidt (Waterton) 4) 14 Kyle Taylor (Stoughton)
5) 26 Scott Riedner (Waunakee) 6) 27 Jay Kalbus (Watertown)
Fast Qualifier: 42 Jason Thoma : 15.229 seconds
Dash: 3 Curt Thompson (Fort Atkinson)
Heats: Qual1) 38 Brent Gergen, Qual2) 42 Tom Rents

Hobby Stock Division Feature Finish Feature Race postponed until Next week due to rain.
Fast Qualifier: 38 Bryon Grassl (Janesville) : 16.678 seconds
Dash: 31 Ken Au (Jefferson)
Last Chance: 88 William Stephenson, 21 Dan Gosda, 41 Nick Newton, 96 Tim Lange
Heats: Qual1) 56 Randy Strasburg, Qual2) 33 Jim Robinson, Qual3) 31 Ken Au

Bandit Division Feature Finish Feature Race postponed until Next week due to rain.
Fast Qualifier: 98 John Remsik : 14.710 seconds
Dash: 98 Tom Bleecker (Watertown)
Heats: Qual1) 29L Josh Lenz, Qual2) 27 James Bell, Qual3) 8 Shaun Scheel, Qual4) 24 Tyler White