| Leindecker claims Wisconsin State Championship by .014 Seconds! By Jeanne & Larry Starr 
September 15-16, 2000; Jefferson, WI. - Putting together a second place finish and a win, in the Pepsi Wisconsin State Championship twin 60’s, tied Bill Leindecker of Janesville with Ron Bishofberger of Ft. Atkinson at the end of two races. The tie breaker goes back to qualifying, where Leindecker was .014 seconds quicker than Bishofberger.
Starting from the pole, Bishofberger claimed victory in the first 60 lapper. At the green flag Bishofberger dropped to 2nd, behind Jason Erickson of Cambridge. The first caution of the race came on lap 15, for a spin in turn 2. Erickson led the restart with Bishofberger running 2nd. By lap 23 Leindecker closed with Bishofberger challenging for the 2nd spot. Leindecker claimed 2nd, on lap 25 closing with Erickson.
Battling Erickson for 5 laps, Leindecker claimed the point on lap 31, with Bishofberger close behind for 2nd. On lap 47, as the leaders bunched behind lapped traffic, Bishofberger made his way under Leindecker to claim the top spot. Caution came again, on lap 51, for a spin and collision on the front stretch. Leindecker went to work, trying to reclaim the lead, but was still running 2nd, when the a spin in turn 4 brought the final caution on lap 58. Bishofberger led the Green-White-Checkered finish claiming victory in the first 60 lapper, followed by Leindecker, Erickson, Roger Behlke of Jefferson and 2000 track champion Dan Chesmore of Janesville. Leindecker claimed victory in the 2nd 60 lapper. Starting from the outside of row 6, Leindecker headed toward the front, as Ken Olson of Ft. Atkinson and Scott Null of Lake Mills battled for the early lead. Caution came on lap 2 when a spin, between turns 3 & 4, collected 6 cars. On the restart it was Null at the point with Olson running 2nd and Leindecker up to 7th. Leindecker made it up to 5th by lap 7, with Bishofberger right behind. Moving to the inside of Watertown’s Andy Wendt, on lap 9, Leindecker claimed the 4th spot on lap 10, closing with Randy Breunig of Columbus for 3rd. Breunig held off Leindecker’s challenge until lap 13, when Leindecker moved past to challenge Olson for the 2nd spot. Claiming 2nd on lap 19, Leindecker closed with Null, launching his bid for the lead. Moving to the inside on lap 24, Leindecker made the winning pass on lap 25, guiding the field from there to the checkered flag. As Leindecker claimed the point, Bishofberger was battling Wendt, for 4th. Caution came on lap 36, for a spin in turn 2. Leindecker led the restart, with Bishofberger still running 5th. The battle for 2nd, between Null and Olson, was still raging and allowed Leindecker to open up a strong lead, on his way to the checkered flag.
The battle for 2nd ended, on lap 45, when the two made contact, with Null spinning from the racing surface. Null righted the car, rejoining the field 1 lap down. Wendt slipped during the incident, watching the freight train streak by on the bottom, as Bishofberger claimed 3rd, followed by Roger Behlke of Jefferson, and 2000 track champion Dan Chesmore of Janesville. Bishofberger closed with Olson for 2nd, claiming the spot by lap 50, looking ahead to Leindecker. A spin in turn 4 brought the final caution, on lap 53. On the restart Chesmore suffered a broken trailing arm, going into turn 3, sending him hard right into Behlke and carrying them both to the wall. Leindecker guided the way from the final restart to the checkered flag, followed by Bishofberger, Olson, Wendt and Jim Jarlsberg of Cambridge. With a tie in the overall finish standings, the tie breaker went back to qualifying, where Leindecker scored a .014 second advantage, earning him the overall Pepsi-Wisconsin State Championship. Eric Gerlach of Palmyra and Andy Tomlinson of Poynette moved to the feature lineup from the first, 25 lap, Last Chance Race. Luke Westenberg of Palmyra and Chad "Squirt" Stevens came through the second Last Chance race. On Friday night Dan Chesmore set the fast qualifying pace, at 14.830 seconds. Dan Friske of Tomahawk and Toph Gray of Madison moved to qualifying races from the 10 lap Pre-qualifier. Moving to the main event, from 2, 20 lap, Qualifying races were Don Mattrisch of Whitewater, Rex Weston of Lake Mills, Butch Mierendorf of Waterloo and Russ Blakely of Palmyra. Former track champion Al Papini of Machesney Park IL claimed victory in the 15 lap Race of Champions. Nick Wendt of Watertown claimed victory in the 25 lap Preview Feature.
In International class action, 2000 track champion Brent Nottestad claimed top honors in the 40 lap main event. Starting from the outside of row 5, Nottestad headed toward the front, as Darnell Mepham of Ft. Atkinson pulled out to the early lead. Caution came on lap 4, for a spin coming out of turn 4. Mepham led the restart followed by Chris Quam of Stoughton, with Nottestad up to 6th. The second caution, for a spin on lap 10, saw Nottestad up to 5th, as Mepham led the restart. Nottestad motored past Bobby Moore of Edgerton, for 4th, on lap 11 and claimed 3rd from Mike Drays of Milton on lap 13. Nottestad passed Quam on lap 17 closing with Mepham. A stalled car, on the back stretch, brought the final caution on lap 21, with Mepham still guiding the way. On the restart Nottestad moved to the inside pulling even with Mepham on lap 23 and making the winning pass on lap 25. Over the closing laps, Ed Wolf III of Watertown moved up to challenge Nottestad but came up short at the finish. Nottestad was first at the checkered followed by Wolf, Mepham, Drays and Mike Bingham of Jefferson.
At the start of the race, kids flocked to turn 1, as the "Grape Ape" was removed from the #28 of Bobby Moore and tossed over the fence to be claimed by the kid lucky enough to catch it. On Friday night Wolf turned in the fast qualifying effort, with a 15.812 second circuit of the quarter mile. Derek Bettenhausen of Cambridge and Mike Dietzen of Milwaukee joined the feature lineup from the 10 lap Qualifier. Brent Nottestad claimed victory in the 15 lap Preview Feature.
In Sportsman Division action Scott "Chico" Riedner of Waunakee claimed victory in the 40 lap main event. Starting from the inside for row 6, Riedner headed toward the front as Trent Erdman of Ft. Atkinson pulled out to the early lead. Paul Brown of Friendship moved up to claim the point on lap 7, leaving Erdman to do battled with Brian Paszek of Middleton for the 2nd spot. Paszek claimed 2nd on lap 8, closing with Brown. The battle ended, in the only caution of the race, when Brown hit the wall coming out of turn 2. Current track champion Dave Oswald of Cottage grove, was collected by Brown, tearing off his front suspension and ending his night. Paszek led the restart with Riedner up to 6th. Riedner claimed 4th on lap 11, closing with Jeff Kohlhoff of Watertown. Kohlhoff fell to Reidner’s charge on lap 12 as Riedner closed with Kyle Munro of Ft. Atkinson.
Motoring past Munro on lap 14, Riedner set his sights on Paszek. Riedner closed with Paszek on lap 16, moving to the inside. Battling on the inside for 3 laps, Riedner claimed the point on lap 20, guiding the way to the checkered flag. At the stripe it was Riedner for the win followed by Paszek, Kohlhoff, Rick Coppernoll of Marshall and Munro. Jim Pankow of Oregon and Jason Thoma of Jefferson joined the Last Chance race from the 10 lap Pre-Last Chance. Joining the feature lineup from the 20 lap Last Chance race were Andy Bartelt of Wausau and Ken Scott of Rio. On Friday night Riedner set the fast qualifying pace with a 15.443 second orbit of the quarter mile. Bill Falk of Poynette and Joe Roatch or Stoughton moved to 15 lap Qualifiers from the 10 lap Pre-Qualifier race. Moving to the feature lineup, from two 15 lap Qualifiers were Kevin Anderson of Cottage Grove Shane Radtke of Hellenville, Roger Stephenson of Cambridge and Rich Titus of Jefferson.
In Hobby Stock action Chris Matz of Watertown claimed top honors in the 40 lap feature. Starting from the outside for the front row Matz guided the field flag-to-flag. The only caution of the race came on lap 2, when a pair of cars spun on the front stretch, backing onto the top of the infield sand barrier. Matz guided the way from the restart to the checkered, followed by Bret Schmidt of Farmington, Jason Ayers of Stoughton, Dennis Gaserude of Arena and Jim Pfeifer of Ft. Atkinson.
Dennis Schmidt of Watertown and Jason Thom of Ft. Atkinson joined the feature from the 20 lap Last Chance race. On Friday night Tim Noble of Janesville set the fast qualifying pace, with a 16.973 second tour of the quarter mile. Ernie Witte of Johnson Creek, Brett Carson of Ft. Atkinson, Jim Williams of Milton and Roger Stephenson of Cambridge moved to the feature lineup from 12 lap Qualifiers. One on One Street Drags rounded out the Friday night portion of the program with Rob Sweeney finishing ahead of Josh Starr in the 4 cylinder car division. B. J. Schumacher edged Phil Reynolds in the 4 cylinder trucks. Stan Shavey finished ahead of Tony Ryan in the 6 cylinder cars. Chris Rowley beat Richard Hunt in the 8 cylinder cars and Jim Taylor topped Craig Phillips in the 8 cylinder trucks. This closes the 2000 racing season at Wisconsin’s Action Track. The quarter mile asphalt will be silent until April, when teams, cars, drivers and race fans will return to the open of a new season, and the start of new championship races. RESULTS - September 15, 2000
FAST QUALIFIER - # 27 Dan Chesmore (Janesville): 14.830 secondsPRE-QUALIFIER: 12 laps: 5 Dan Friske (Tomahawk), 29 Toph Gray (Madison) QUALIFIER-1: 20 laps: 56 Don Mattrisch (Whitewater), 35 Rex Weston (Lake Mills) QUALIFIER-2: 20 lap: 12 Butch Mierendorf (Waterloo), 22 Russ Blakely (Palmyra) RACE-OF-CHAMPIONS: 15 laps: 5 -Al Papini (Machesney PK IL).
FAST QUALIFIER - # 89 Ed Wolf III (Watertown): 15.812 secondsQUALIFIER: 10 Lap: 10 Derik Bettenhausen (Cambridge), 21 Mike Dietzen (Milwaukee)
FAST QUALIFIER - # 26 Scott "Chico" Riedner (Waunakee): 15.443 secondsPRE-QUALIFIER: 10 laps - 29 Bill Falk (Poynette), 43 Joe Roatch (Stoughton) QUALIFIER-1: 15 Lap: 42 Kevin Anderson (Cottage Grove), 18 Shane Radtke (Hellenville) QUALIFIER-2: 15 Lap: 88 Roger Stephenson (Cambridge), 21 Rich Titus (Jefferson)
FAST QUALIFIER - # 71 Tim Noble (Janesville): 16.973 secondsQUALIFIER-1: 12 lap: 02 Ernie Witte (Johnson Creek), 56 Brett Carson (Ft. Atkinson) QUALIFIER-2: 12 lap J10 Jim Williams (Milton), 88 Roger Stephenson (Cambridge) One-on-One Street Drags: RESULTS - September 16, 2000
Overall Champion: # 7 Bill Leindecker (Janesville)
- Determined by faster qualifying time.
LAST CHANCE: 20 laps: 06 Andy Barltelt (Wausau), 39 Ken Scott (Rio)
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