Ovadal Returns to Victory Lane
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, May 13, 2017) Former Late Model track champion, John Ovadal Jr of Watertown, made a triumphant return to the Jefferson Speedway victory lane on Saturday night. The win marks Ovadal’s first feature victory in several seasons at Wisconsin’s Action Track.
Don Gaserude and Stephen Scheel paced the field to green with Scheel taking the early lead on lap one of the B&M Electric 50. An early caution on lap two for a spinning Steve Dobbratz bunched up the field for the restart with Scheel out front, Gaserude in second and Ovadal in third. On the restart, Ovadal slipped by Gaserude to claim second and set his sights on Scheel. Ovadal began to apply heavy pressure to the leader on lap seven as he looked to the inside lane to make his move. The duo made contact on several occasions with Scheel holding the advantage. Another caution on lap 13 slowed the action when Kody Hubred spun after contact with Michael Grueneberg. As racing resumed, Ovadal went back to work on Scheel for the top spot while Shaun Scheel, Jason Erickson and Dale Nottestad raced into the top five. After another yellow flag on lap 20, Ovadal dove under Scheel one more time, this time making it stick. After a brief side by side battle, Ovadal moved into control of the point on lap 29 with the Scheel brothers now waged in a war for the second position. One final caution period slowed the pace on lap 38, but Ovadal stayed strong out front to capture the win. Stephen Scheel held off his brother, Shaun to come home with second. Erickson and Nottestad rounded out the top five.
Serenity Concepts sponsored the Sportsman Challenge consisting of twin 25 lap feature events. The first feature got under way with Joe Shelby surrendering the lead to Tony Ciano on the opening lap. Jay Kalbus followed into second with Mark Deporter up to third. Deporter quickly got by Kalbus on lap four as Ciano and he began to break away from the rest of the pack. Deporter spent the remainder of the race trying to reel in Ciano, but was unable to do so. At the end of feature number one, it was Ciano for the win followed by Deporter, Josh Madell, Robert Hansberry Jr and Jason Thoma.
The second feature saw Jim Taylor take the initial lead on lap one from the outside of the front row. Chris Chenoweth raced up to second with Bobby Selsing in tow for third. Selsing motored past Chenoweth on lap six with Thoma in his tracks. On lap 11 the winner of the first feature, Tony Ciano, experienced a flat tire and was forced to pull off the racing surface ending his chance at the overall title. On lap 14, Selsing made his move on Taylor at the front, diving under the leader as they raced off turn two. A lap later, Selsing was out front and pulling away while Thoma took a turn racing with Taylor for second. Thoma made the pass on lap 16, but was unable to catch Selsing at the front. At the checkers, it was Selsing for the win followed by Thoma, Taylor, Hansberry and Chenoweth. Jefferson’s Thoma combined finishes of fifth and second to claim the overall title.
Neil Higgins of Watertown claimed the 20 lap International feature event. Josh Rusch and Joe Cross led the field to green with Cross taking the early lead. Jason Uttech followed into second with Higgins in his tracks. Higgins drove under Uttech on lap three as they pulled up behind Cross. Higgins slid forward under Cross on lap four, clearing for first a lap later. Higgins began to stretch his lead while Josh Marx and Mark English moved into the top three. English got by Marx on lap 14 as he tried to close in on the leader. Tom Berens made a late race push towards the front, getting past English with two laps to go. But Higgins flew past the checkers first to score the win followed by Berens, English, Mike Lambert and Marx.
AJ Lloyd of Loves Park, IL, made it two feature wins in a row after claiming the 25 lap Hobby Stock main event. Brandon Angileri took the point on lap one from the pole with Jared Vike dropping into second. The leaders remained nose to tail through two cautions on lap nine and lap 15. After the second yellow, Jim Robinson drove to the outside of Vike to pick up second with Lloyd in tow for third. Lloyd quickly went to work on Robinson to move into the runner up spot and set his sights on Angileri. Lloyd began to stalk the leader as the laps wound down. Lloyd took to the outside of the leader on lap 21. But one lap later, Angileri began to show heavy smoke from his machine forcing a caution and ending his evening. This handed the lead over to Lloyd, which he held over the final three circuits to get the win. Robinson was second followed by Chester Williams, Phil Wuesthoff and Vike.
Chris Gottschalk of Fort Atkinson grabbed his second straight feature win after capturing the 15 lap Road Warrior event. Bill Reynolds led early from the outside of the front row. Craig Henning slid up to second and went to work on Reynolds on lap two. By lap three, Henning was out front with Bill Sweeney trying to follow into second. Gottschalk joined the battle up front on lap five. Gottschalk got by Sweeney on lap six and pulled up behind Henning a couple laps later. With three laps remaining, Gottschalk motored past Henning to take over the top spot and cruise to the checkers for the win. Henning was second with Sweeney, Merek Pankow and Reynolds completing the top five.
Karter Stark of Marshall took top honors in the Bandolero 12 lap feature event. Stark fired into the lead on lap two after passing Michael Guderski. Stark began to stretch his advantage as Anna Malouf moved up to the second spot. Malouf spent the remainder of the race trying to reel in Stark at the front. But Stark was too fast to catch as he cruised to the checkers for the win. Malouf was second followed by Alex Hartwig, Keegan Kehoe and Kolton Guralski.
Next Saturday, May 20, is a full program including the Legends and the Best Appearing Car Contest. Time trails begin at 5pm with 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-
Feature Results- 1) John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 2) Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 3) Shaun Scheel, Lake Mills 4) Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 5) Dale Nottestad, Cambridge 6) Noel Ramge, Helenville 7) Cody Erdmann, Horicon 8) Don Gaserude, Fort Atkinson 9) Kody Hubred, Cambridge 10) Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 11) Jacob Nottestad, Utica 12) Steve Dobbratz, Rio 13) Michael Grueneberg, Madison 14) Jerry Eckhardt, Johnson Creek 15) Kyle Smith, Lake Mills 16) Ed Wolff III, Watertown 17) Lincoln Keeser, Johnson Creek 18) Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson
Fast Qualifier- Dale Nottestad—14.248 seconds
Last Chance- Luke Westenberg, Kyle Smith, Ed Wolff III, Lincoln Keeser
Heat Winners- 1) Lincoln Keeser 2) Ed Wolff III 3) Noel Ramge
Sportsman-
Feature #1 Results- 1) Tony Ciano, Janesville 2) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 3) Josh Madell, Mayville 4) Robert Hansberry Jr, Beloit 5) Jason Thoma, Jefferson 6) Chris Chenoweth, Watertown 7) Bobby Selsing, Johnson Creek 8) Jim Taylor, Stoughton 9) Joe Shelby, Neenah 10) Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 11) Jay Kalbus, Watertown 12) Dan Schmidt, Farmington 13) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 14) Scott Hoeft, Watertown 15) Dan Silberhorn, Fond du Lac 16) Boyd Eichelkraut, Stoughton 17) Ed Jackson, Madison
Feature #2 Results- 1) Bobby Selsing, Johnson Creek 2) Jason Thoma, Jefferson 3) Jim Taylor, Stoughton 4) Robert Hansberry Jr, Beloit 5) Chris Chenoweth, Watertown 6) Mark Deporter, Fort Atkinson 7) Josh Madell, Mayville 8) Jay Kalbus, Watertown 9) Joe Shelby, Neenah 10) Dustin Ward, Waterloo 11) Scott Hoeft, Watertown 12) Dan Silberhorn, Fond du Lac 13) Ed Jackson, Madison 14) Dan Schmidt, Farmington 15) Boyd Eichelkraut, Stoughton 16) Tony Ciano, Janesville 17) Terry Wangsness, Jefferson
Overall Finish- 1) Jason Thoma 2) Bobby Selsing 3) Robert Hansberry Jr 4) Mark Deporter 5) Josh Madell
Fast Quallifier- Jason Thoma—14.880 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Tony Ciano 2) Robert Hansberry Jr
International-
Feature Results- 1) Neil Higgins, Watertown 2) Tom Berens, Slinger 3) Mark English, Edgerton 4) Mike Lambert, Fort Atkinson 5) Josh Marx, Dousman 6) Seth Green, Janesville 7) Jamie Kohn, Madison 8) Jason Uttech, Watertown 9) Josh Rusch, Fort Atkinson 10) Adam Schook, Palmyra 11) Ashley Gottschalk, Fort Atkinson 12) Noah Pankow, Jefferson 13) Dylan Scott, Rio 14) Joe Cross, Sun Prairie
Fast Qualifier- Seth Green—15.891 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Adam Schook 2) Neil Higgins
Hobby Stock-
Feature Results- 1) AJ Lloyd, Loves Park (IL) 2) Jim Robinson, Orfordville 3) Chester Williams, Waukesha 4) Phil Wuesthoff, Beaver Dam 5) Jared Vike, Sussex 6) Lucas Buckingham, Whitewater 7) Kenny Storkson, Indianford 8) Dan Snyder, Madison 9) Robby Robinson, Orfordville 10) Jon Benninger, Windsor 11) Chuck Egli, Columbus 12) Jordan Egli, Columbus 13) Brandon Angileri, Beloit 14) Dylan Buckingham, Whitewater 15) Jessica Breunig, Columbus 16) Korey Bengsch, Fond du Lac
Fast Qualifier- Dan Snyder—15.871 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Brandon Angileri 2) Kenny Storkson
Road Warrior-
Feature Results- 1) Chris Gottschalk, Fort Atkinson 2) Craig Henning, Helenville 3) Bill Sweeney, Lake Mills 4) Merek Pankow, Jefferson 5) Bill Reynolds, Watertown 6) AJ Accardi, Madison 7) Mark Dewey, Janesville 8) Brant Nicholson, Stoughton 9) Bryan Gottschalk, Jefferson 10) Rickie Nelson, Stoughton
Fast Qualifier- Chris Gottschalk—16.649 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Bill Reynolds 2) Craig Henning
Bandolero-
Feature Results- 1) Karter Stark, Marshall 2) Anna Malouf, Wausau 3) Alex Hartwig, Portage 4) Keegan Kehoe, 5) Kolton Guralski, Wausau 6) Jevin Guralski, Wausau 7) Logan Taylor, 8) Robbie Rucks, Deerfield 9) Michael Guderski, 10) Emma Hunstiger, Helenville 11) Mason Milcott, 12) Kaeden Wangsness, Jefferson
Fast Qualifier- Kolton Guralski—14.603 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) Anna Malouf 2) Kolton Guralski
