GRUENEBERG GLIDES TO FEATURE WIN

CAMBRIDGE, WI (Saturday, June 6, 2020)              Wisconsin Dells pilot, Michael Grueneberg, charged to the front of the field on Saturday night at Jefferson Speedway and held off a hard charging Casey Johnson in the closing laps to secure the CR Custom Construction 50 lap Late Model feature. It is Grueneberg’s first feature win in the young 2020 season, as he looks to stake an early claim to the championship that has eluded him thus far.

Noel Ramge and Jason Erickson paced the field to green as they battled side by side for early control of the top spot. Ramge slid out front alone on lap six as Erickson dropped back into a battle with Grueneberg for second. On lap eight, Grueneberg cleared Erickson for second and set his sights on the early leader. Stephen Scheel followed Grueneberg into third with his brother, Shaun, in tow as well as Johnson to round out the top five. Grueneberg began to pressure Ramge at the front, getting alongside on lap 11. One lap later, Grueneberg was out front alone and already increasing his advantage over the field. Stephen Scheel got around Ramge for second on lap 21, with Johnson now in his tracks. Johnson slid past Ramge as well for third as the leaders maneuvered through lapped traffic. Johnson drew in behind Scheel on lap 35 and began peeking to the high side. A lap later, Johnson was door to door with Scheel for second. After a three lap battle, Johnson was clear and trying to reel in Grueneberg. As the laps ticked away, Johnson cut the gap between himself and the leader. As they raced under the white flag, Johnson closed in on Grueneberg. But Grueneberg was not to be denied, holding off any chance Johnson had at making a pass. As the checkers flew, it was Grueneberg for the win with Johnson a close second. Stephen Scheel came home third with Ramge fourth and Shaun Scheel completing the top five.

A great side by side, race long battle between Tony Ciano and Randy Breunig ended with Breunig sitting in victory lane following the 30 lap Sportsman feature event. The duo led the field to green as the war was on. Racing on the low side, Ciano inched ahead of Breunig, clearing for the lead on lap six. But Breunig dropped to the bottom of the racing surface, drawing back to even on the inside of Ciano on lap nine.  The two competitors continued to jockey for position, seeming to never make contact the entire time. Jim Taylor watched from third while Mark Deporter closed in as well. Deporter used to high side to get by Taylor for third on lap 19 while the two leaders continued to battle. Deporter drew in behind them, taking a peek at a three wide fight for first. With just two laps remaining, Breunig got a good run on the low side, clearing for the lead and bringing Deporter along for second. But Breunig stayed strong out front, racing to the checkers unchallenged for the win. Mark Deporter was second followed by Tyler Deporter, Taylor and Ciano.

Watertown’s Jason Uttech claimed his first career feature victory after leading every lap of the 20 lap International feature event. Starting on the outside of row one, Uttech grabbed the lead from fellow front row starter Josh Rusch on lap one. Josh Marx followed Uttech into second with Mark English up to third. On lap six, Marx went to work on the early leader, working the low side of the speedway. After battling alongside eachother, Uttech reclaimed sole possession of the lead on lap ten. Marx settled into second ahead of English and Scott Hoeft. Hoeft got by English in the closing laps, while Uttech showed the way to the checkers. At the stripe, it was Uttech for the win with Marx, Hoeft, English ad Mark Dewey rounding out the top five.

Kolten Guralski of Wausau hung on to claim the 25 lap Hobby Stock main event. Starting on the pole, Guralski fired into the lead on the opening lap. Jim Tate Jr, Christian Janssen ad Jason Dunn drove three wide behind Guralski on lap one for second with Tate emerging for the position. After an early caution on lap three. Guralski and Tate led the field back to green. After a brief side by side battle, Guralski returned to the lead with Tate still working the high side of the leader. Tate settled in line behind Guralski on lap nine. Tate stuck close to Guralski’s rear bumper, waiting for the youngster to make a mistake. But Guralski failed to give Tate an opening, maintaining this lead throughout the race to pick up the win. Tate finished second followed by Jared Vike, Janssen and Chester Williams.

In Legends action, West Bend’s Aaron Moyer picked up right where he left of last season, claiming the 25 lap feature event. Chad Olds and Moyer made up the front row at the start. As the green flag flew, James Lynch dropped low to make it a three wide affair for the top spot on lap one. Lynch and Moyer emerged side by side with Lynch taking the lead on lap two. But Moyer used a crossover to charge back under Lynch and claim the top spot for himself on lap three. Tristan Swanson followed Moyer into second just as the first of several cautions slowed the pace. Moyer and Swanson led the field back to green, this time Swanson taking command on the restart. But another caution pitted the duo side by side for the restart. Swanson retook the lead as racing resumed. But Moyer dove low, drawing even with Swanson on lap ten and shooting past to take the lead. Moyer survived a restart after the third caution on lap 12, moving back out front with Austin Jahr now challenging for second. Jahr moved past Swanson on lap 14 and zeroed in on Moyer out front. The fourth and final caution waved on lap 18, setting up shootout to the finish between Moyer and Jahr. But Moyer charged back out front on the restart, fending off Jahr through the checkered flag to score the win. Jahr spun exiting turn four as they raced to the checkers, allowing Swanson to claim second. Ethan Ross was third followed by Lynch and Frank Beutel.

Defending Bandolero champion, Jevin Guralski of Wausau, laid claim to the 15 lap feature event as he looks to claim another title in the division. Tucker Bodendorfer took the early lead on lap one with Laney Osborne up to second. On lap three, Alex Hartwig used the high line to charge up alongside Osborne. A lap later, Hartwig was in second behind Bodendorfer. After an early caution, Bodendorfer and Hartwig restarted side by side as they began to dice for position. By lap five, Hartwig was out front with Guralski charging toward the leaders. Guralski got to second just before the second caution slowed the action. This time it was Hartwig and Guralski on the front row to restart the race. Hartwig moved back out front with Bodendorfer back up to challenge Guralski for second. Guralski recleared Bodendorfer and went work on Hartwig at the front. But another yellow flag slowed the pace, setting up another restart. This time, it was Guralski getting the jump as racing resumed. The defending champ claimed the lead and drove off to score the victory. Hartwig settled for second with Osborne, Bodendorfer and Ayrton Brockhouse completing the top five.

Next Saturday, June 13, is a full program of racing with time trials at 5pm and racing at 7pm. 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

Heat Races

Feature

Sportsman-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Last Chance

Feature

International-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

Hobby Stock-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Last Chance

Feature

Legends-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Last Chance

Feature

Bandoleros-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Consy

Last Chance

Feature