Wendt tops field at Jefferson Speedway!
By Jeanne & Larry Starr
May 13, 2000; Jefferson, WI. – Andy Wendt of Watertown claimed top honors in the “Mountain Dew 50” at Jefferson Speedway. Starting from the inside of row 6, Wendt started the long drive to the front as Randy Cusick of Ft. Atkinson pulled out to the early lead. A rookie driver spun in turn 2, on the second circuit, bringing out the first caution of the race. Cusick led the field back to green, guiding the way through the second caution on lap 10, for a spin in turn 3.
Roger Behlke of Jefferson moved into second, on lap 12, closing with Cusick. Motoring into the top spot on lap 15, Behlke opened up a healthy lead, as Wendt worked his way through traffic. Wendt moved around Cusick for third on lap 17, closing with Nick Wendt of Watertown for the second spot. Motoring under Nick Wendt, Andy Wendt claimed 2nd on lap 25, and set his sights on Behlke. Wendt battled Behlke for two laps, claiming the top spot before a crash on the front stretch brought out the caution on lap 29. Dan Chesmore of Janesville claimed 2nd on lap 34 closing with Wendt in a hot battle for the top spot.
Wendt and Chesmore suffered a close call on lap 48, when a pair of cars tangled, resulting in a spin in front of the leaders, bringing out the final caution of the race. On the restart it was Wendt guiding the way, through the green-white-checkered finish. At the stripe it was Wendt for the win, followed by Chesmore, Ron Bishofberger of Ft. Atkinson, Behlke and Scott Null of Lake Mills.
Bishofberger set the fast qualifying pace, with a 14.715 second circuit of the quarter mile.
Claiming victories, in 10 lap heat races, were Scott Bleecker of Jefferson, Ken Piotrowski of Milton, Chris Purdy of Milton and Andy Wendt of Watertown.
Moving to the feature lineup from the 20 lap Last Chance race were Purdy, Russ Goodwin of Beloit, Duane Deppe of Waterloo and Mike Taylor of Stoughton.
In International class action, the night started with a Bobby Moore victory in the feature event held over from last week. Starting from the pole, Moore cruised flag to flag, claiming his first feature win. Following Moore at the stripe were Aaron Rude of Cambridge, Brent Nottestad of Cambridge, Rick Neerland of Ft. Atkinson and Scott Uttech of Beaver Dam.
Chris Quam of Stoughton claimed top honors in the May 13 version of the International division feature. Starting from the inside of row 4, Quam started his move toward the point as Scott Uttech of Beaver Dam pulled out to the early lead. Dale Nottestad of Cambridge moved up to second before the only caution of the race, on lap 4. On the restart Nottestad made his move, motoring under Uttech for the top spot by lap 5. Nottestad opened up a healthy lead, before Pete Weston of Ft. Atkinson broke free of the field, closing with the leader by lap 12.
The battle continued to the white flag, with Weston still challenging for the lead. As they entered turn 3, on the final lap, everything changed. Weston and Nottestad collided, spinning toward the bottom. Darnell Mepham, who had been running third, was collected in the melee, with Quam taking to the high side, and heading for the checkered flag. At the stripe it was Quam, followed by Uttech, Mark English of Janesville, Mike Bingham of Jefferson and Bobby Moore of Madison.
Brent Nottestad of Cambridge set the mark in qualifying, with a 15.954 second tour of the quarter mile.
Claiming victories, in 8 lap heat races, were Mike Dietzen of Milwaukee, English and Bingham.
Making the feature lineup, via the 10 lap Last Chance race were English, Dietzen and Derrick Bettenhausen.
In Sportsman Division action, defending track champion Dave Oswald of Cottage grove claimed victory in the 25 lap feature. Starting from the outside of row 7, Oswald started his trek to the front, as Tony Koepke of Ft. Atkinson grabbed the early lead. The race started with a caution as contact led to a spin, that involved 5 cars. On the restart Koepke was at the point, with Oswald running 11th. By lap 6, Josh Weir of Cottage Grove moved up to challenge Koepke. Weir kept the pressure on until lap 10, when he motored to the front, before the field closed up for another caution on lap 11, for a spin in turn 4.
On the restart it was Weir pulled ahead, with Koepke locked in the battle for 2nd, with Josh Courtney of Janesville. Weir slowed on lap 12, with Courtney diving to the inside to move all the way to the front. Oswald, was locked in a battle for 3rd, with Trent Erdman of Ft. Atkinson, as Courtney held of Rich Titus of Jefferson. Oswald had motored under Erdman and Titus, before the final caution of the race, on lap 16. On the restart Oswald moved to the bottom, battling Courtney for 2 laps, before claiming the top spot. As they flew past the checkered, it was Oswald for the win, followed by Courtney, Erdman, Titus and Jeff Kohlhoff of Watertown.
Oswald set the fast qualifying pace with a 15.888 second orbit of the quarter mile.
Claiming 10 lap heat race victories were Rick Rothwell of Madison, Koepke and Erdman.
Moving to the feature lineup from the 12 lap Last Chance race were Chris Ehrhart of Deerfield, Bob Jacobs of Deforest, Dan Schmidt of Farmington and Luke Padfield of Jefferson.
Hobby Stock Action saw Dennis Gaserude of Oregon claim the win, in the 20 lap Main event. Starting from the outside of row 3, Gaserude started toward the front, as Ernie Witte of Watertown pulled out to the early lead. The field slowed for one caution, on lap 4, for a 2 car crash. On the restart Witte continued to lead, with Gaserude up to the 4th spot. Gaserude moved past Roger Stephenson of Cambridge, and Witte, to claim the top spot on lap 7. From there it was Gaserude all the way to the checkered flag, followed by Jim Pfeifer of Ft. Atkinson, Stephenson, Gerald Chapman of Juneau and Witte.
Jason Ayers of Stoughton set the fast qualifying mark, with a 17.185 second loop of the quarter mile speed plant.
Claiming victory, in 8 lap heat races, were John Remsik of Sun Prairie, Nick Golich of Hebron and Tim Noble of Janesville.
Moving to the feature, via the 10 lap Last Chance race were Remsik, Chris Matz of Watertown, Golich and Scott Johnson of Deforest.
The One-on-One Street drags finished the evenings racing action with Eric Nelson of Madison claiming the win in the 4 cylinder cars. A.J. Schumacher of Cambridge won the 4&6 Cylinder truck division. Ken Morris of Madison won the 6 Cylinder car division. Mike Jarlsberg of Cambridge won the 8 Cylinder Cars and Jim Taylor of Stoughton won the 8 Cylinder Trucks.
Next week it’s Armed Forces Day at Jefferson Speedway along with the first round of the Spin to Win.
Jefferson Speedway is located between Cambridge and Jefferson Wisconsin, on Highway 18.
Results – Mountian Dew 50
Late Model Feature Finish: Laps: 50
1. 18 – Andy Wendt (Watertown)
2. 27 – Dan Chesmore (Janesville)
3. 76 – Ron Bishofberger (Ft. Atkinson)
4. 44 – Roger Behlke (Jefferson)
5. 62 – Scott Null (Lake Mills)
6. 68 – Ken Olson (Ft. Atkinson)
7. 16 – Luke Westenberg (Palmyra)
8. 46 – Nick Wendt (Watertown)
9. 41 – Mike Taylor (Stoughton)
10. 4 – Ignacio Varella (Lake Mills)
11. 52 – Duane Deppe (Waterloo)
12. 25 – Randy Cusick (Ft. Atkinson)
13. 77 – Ryan Ley (Rome)
14. 11 – Russ Goodwin (Beloit)
15. 2 – Tom Dorn (Ft. Atkinson)
16. 106 – Chris Purdy (Milton)
17. 7 – Bill Leindecker (Janesville)
18. 97 – Jim Jarlsberg (Cambridge)
FAST QUALIFIER
#76 – Ron Bishofberger (Ft. Atkinson): 14.715 Seconds
FAST Dash: 8 Lap
16 – Luke Westenberg (Palmyra)
LAST CHANCE: 15 Laps
106 – Chris Purdy (Milton)
11 – Russ Goodwin (Beloit),
52 – Duane Deppe (Waterloo)
41 – Mike Taylor (Stoughton)
Heats: 10 laps (Winners Only) :
1) 98 – Scott Bleecker (Jefferson)
2) 6 – Ken Piotrowski (Milton)
3) 106 – Chris Purdy (Milton)
4) 18 – Andy Wendt (Watertown)
International Feature (5/6/00 hold over): Laps: 20
28 – Bobby Moore (Madison)
24 – Rick Neerland (Ft. Atkinson)
9 – Aaron Rude (Cambridge)
74 – Scott Uttech (Beaver Dam)
25 – Brent Nottestad (Cambridge)
4 – Chris Quam (Stoughton)
International Feature: Laps: 20
4 – Chris Quam (Stoughton)
17 – Mike Bingham (Jefferson)
74 – Scott Uttech (Beaver Dam)
28 – Bobby Moore (Madison)
57 – Mark English (Janesville)
39 – Jerry Efferding (Cottage Grove)
FAST QUALIFIER:
#25 – Brent Nottestad (Cambridge): 15.954 seconds
LAST CHANCE:
57 – Mark English (Janesville)
21 – Mike Dietzen (Milwaukee) 1
0 – Derrick Bettenhausen
Heats: (Winners Only)
1) 21 – Mike Dietzen (Milwaukee)
2) 57 – Mark English (Janesville)
3) 17 – Mike Bingham (Jefferson)
Sportsman Feature: Laps: 25
31 – Dave Oswald (Cottage Grove)
21 – Rich Titus (Jefferson)
21 – Josh Courtney (Janesville)
98 – Jeff Kohlhoff (Watertown)
11 – Trent Erdman (Ft. Atkinson)
32 – Tony Koepke (Ft. Atkinson)
FAST QUALIFIER
#31 – Dave Oswald (Cottage Grove): 15.888 seconds
LAST CHANCE: 12 laps
6 – Chris Ehrhart (Deerfield)
23 – Bob Jacobs (Deforest)
19 – Dan Schmidt (Farmington)
4 – Luke Padfield (Jefferson)
Heats: (Winners Only)
1) 53 – Rick Rothwell (Madison)
2) 32 – Tony Koepke (Ft. Atkinson)
3) 11 – Trent Erdman (Ft. Atkinson)
Hobby Stock Feature: Laps: 20
18 – Dennis Gaserude (Oregon)
7 – Gerald Chapman (Juneau)
11 – Jim Pfeifer (Ft. Atkinson)
02 – Ernie Witte (Watertown)
88 – Roger Stephenson (Cambridge)
J10 – Jim Williams (Milton)
FAST QUALIFIER
# 57 – Jason Ayers (Stoughton): 17.185 seconds
LAST CHANCE: 10 lap
83 – John Remsik (Sun Prairie)
72 – Chris Matz (Watertown),
66 – Nick Golich (Hebron)
2 – Scott Johnson (Deforest)
Heats: 8 lap:
1) 83 – John Remsik (Sun Prairie)
2) 66 – Nick Golich (Hebron)
3) 71 – Tim Noble (Janesville)
One-on-One Drags;
4 Cyl Car: Eric Nelson (Madison)
4&6 Cyl Truck: A.J. Schumacher (Cambridge)
6 Cyl Car: Ken Morris (Madison),
8 Cyl Car: Mike Jarlsberg (Cambridge)
8 Cyl Truck: Jim Taylor (Stoughton)