FIRST DAY OF WSC IN THE BOOKS!

CAMBRIDGE, WI (Friday, September 16, 2022)    The 42^nd annual Wisconsin State Championships kicked off on Friday evening at Jefferson Speedway with the first of two nights filled with racing action. The Friday night portion was highlighted by the Glassworks 50 lap Late Model feature event as well as the return of the Midwest Truck Series, which competed in their own 50 lap main event. Newly crowned seven time Late Model track champion, Dale Nottestad of Cambridge, came out on top while Brandon Reichenberger took top honors in the Truck Series feature.

In Late Model action, it was Johnny Sauter and Michael Grueneberg leading the stout field of drivers to the drop of the green. Sauter led lap one while Grueneberg tucked in behind him. On lap six, Grueneberg got back alongside Sauter in an effort to get out front. A couple laps later, Grueneberg muscled past the early leader, grabbing control of the top spot before the first of three cautions slowed the pace. Grueneberg and Sauter restarted the action on the front row with Gruenberg reclaiming the lead. Nottestad filled the spot under Sauter, taking over the second spot on lap 12. Nottestad drew in behind Grueneberg, taking his shot at the lead on lap 18. A lap later, Nottestad moved ahead with Luke Westenberg trying to follow under Grueneberg. The second yellow flag flew on lap 22 when Sauter spun in turns three and four. Nottestad and Jackson Lewis paced the pack back to green with Nottestad once again gaining the advantage. One more caution slowed the action on lap 37 with the same result upon the restart. Nottestad remained in control to see the checkers first while Shaun Scheel slipped by Lewis in the closing laps to gain second. Stephen Scheel was fourth with Jason Erickson rounding out the top five.

Brandon Reichenberger made his way to the front of the Midwest Truck Series field and held off a heavy challenge from Paul Shafer Jr to secure the victory. Derek Doerr and Shafer led the field to green with Shafer grabbing the early lead on lap one. Doerr returned to Shafer’s inside on lap two, but Shafer managed to fend him off until the first caution flag waved on lap four when Bryce Miller spun in turn one. Doerr and Shafer restarted side by side with Shafer gaining the advantage on the restart. Reichenberger also managed to squeeze by Doerr to pick up second on lap 15. The leaders ran single file until lap 27 when the yellow flag returned. This time it was Shafer and Reichenberger on row one for the restart. As racing resumed, Reichenberger moved ahead, taking over the lead from Shafer. Shafer didn’t fall far, tucking in behind the new leader as he began to search for a lane back to the front. Shafer spent the remainder of the race hounding the rear bumper of Reichenberger, waiting for an opening. Two more cautions provided a brief break in the action, but both resulted in the same outcome as Reichenberger remained in control of the top spot. As they flew past the checkers, it was Reichenberger fo the win with Shafer a close second. Doerr came home third followed by Eugene Gregorich and Aaron Moyer.

Starting outside row one, Robert Hansberry Jr grabbed control of the 35 lap Sportsman feature and drove away to capture the win. Jared Vike took the early lead on lap one with Hansberry dropping in line behind him. But on lap four, Hansberry drove back to the high side of Vike, powering into the lead alone two laps later. Vike fell back into a battle for second with Tytus Helgestad as Hansberry began to pull away. Helgestad faded back after some contact with Vike, allowing Tyler Deporter to move up and challenge for second. Deporter got by Vike on lap 17, but Hansberry’s lead was too much to overcome. Hansberry cruised to the checkers with Deporter coming home second. Chris Weber was third followed by Mark Deporter and Vike.

Kyle Stark of Marshall made a thrilling last lap pass to net the win in the 20 lap International feature race. George Sparkman led early with Stark already up to challenge for second. Stark cleared for the spot on lap six and quickly set his sights on Sparkman. Two laps later, Stark slid by for the lead while Mark Dewey followed his tracks into second. A caution around the midpoint of the race set up a restart with Stark and Dewey side by side. As racing resumed, Dewey moved ahead while Stark stuck close by in second. Stark shadowed Dewey as the laps wound down until an opening appeared on the final lap. As they raced into turn one the final time, Stark got a run on the low side of Dewey. Stark cleared as they raced down the backstretch, holding him off as they flew by the checkers. Dewey settled for second ahead of Karter Stark, Weston Strese and James Bohling.

In Hobby Stock action, Nick Bruley pounced on the lead from the pole and held off a hard charge from track champion, Jim Tate Jr, to secure the 30 lap feature win. Bruley took control of the lead on lap two when fellow front row starter, Chester Williams, fell off the pace. After a caution on lap four, Bruley continued to show the way with Tate moving up to second on the restart. Tate drew in behind Bruley, filling his rear view mirror while he searched for a way around. But Bruley remained strong out front, fending off Tate’s advances to pick up the win. Tate was second followed by Kody Hubred, Brandon Riedner and Jevin Guralski.

Rounding out the evening’s festivities were twin 20 lap Bandit features. Merek Pankow grabbed the first race with Carson Phillips picking up the win in the second. Todd Snow led initially in the first feature with Kyle Riedner up to challenge. Riedner moved ahead on lap five with Matt Krinke in tow. Riedner led until the caution flew on lap 15. Pankow moved up to challenge on the restart. Riedner continued to lead as racing resumed with Pankow in pursuit. On lap 16, Pankow drove to the high side of Riedner. After a brief battle, Pankow moved ahead, claiming the lead and hanging on through the checkers. Nick Schmidt moved up to finish second ahead of Phillips, Riedner and Krinke.

Tyler White took the lead of feature number two with Nick Newton back to second. Phillips drove up to third on lap three and began to apply pressure to Newton for second. Phillips made the pass for second on lap 11, setting his sights on White at the front. Phillips closed in as the laps ticked away. On the final circuit, White drove to the high side trying to clear lapped traffic. Phillips chose the low groove as White got hung up allowing Phillips to power into the lead as they raced under the checkers. Phillips took the with White in second. Schmidt, Newton and Ryan Oetzel rounded out the top five. With combined finishes of third and first, Carson Phillips of Edgerton claimed the overall Bandit state title.

Night two of the 42^nd annual Wisconsin State Championships begins with qualifying for Legends and Bandoleros at 4pm with the first green flag of the night at 5pm. Jefferson Speedway is located halfway between Jefferson and Cambridge on Hwy 18. Please visit jeffersonspeedway.com for more information.

JEFFERSON SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY

Late Model-

Qualifying

Qualifying Races

Feature

Midwest Truck Series

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

Sportsman-

Qualifying

Qualifying Race

Feature

International-

Qualifying

Qualifying Race

Feature

Hobby Stock-

Qualifying

Qualifying Races

Feature

Bandit-

Qualifying

Qualifying Races

Last Chance

Feature #1

Feature #2