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Ovadal Captures Old Glory 50
By Andrew Schaller |
July 3, 2008; Jefferson WI -- Watertown's
John Ovadal Jr charged to the front of the pack to claim victory in the Old
Glory 50 lap Late Model feature at Jefferson Speedway on Thursday night. In
doing so, Ovadal took the early lead in the Goodyear Stateline Challenge, a
two day program between Jefferson Speedway and Rockford Speedway. The second
half gets underway at Rockford Speedway this Saturday night.
Chad Reimer and Chris Quam lead the field of 20 competitors to the drop
of the green flag. The duo battled side by side until lap four when Quam
gained the top spot with Casey Johnson going by Reimer for second. Quam and
Johnson began to separate themselves from the pack while Reimer and Mike
Beyer battled for third. Beyer got by Reimer for third just as Ovadal
entered the top five on lap 16. Ovadal quickly moved into fourth and
together with Beyer started to run down the leaders. Ovadal snuck inside
Beyer for third just as the first of two cautions waved when Matt Berger
spun his mount.
On the restart, Ovadal dove inside Johnson for second and immediately set
his sights on Quam for the lead. On lap 32, Ovadal peeked to the low side of
Quam down the backstretch. He cleared for the top position a lap later and
began to pull away. The final caution flew with two laps remaining, but the
restart was no problem for Ovadal as he cruised to the checkers for the win.
Quam, Steve Dobbratz, Johnson and Beyer rounded out the top five.
Terry Wangsness of Jefferson made a late race charge to the front of the
field the grab the win in the Cheesehead 30 lap Sportsman feature event.
Brandon Riedner took the early lead from fellow front row starter Dan
Schmidt with Wangsness following into the second spot. The leaders lined up
single file and ran off lap after lap without caution. Wangsness continued
to shadow Riedner until lap 20 when he finally made his move. Wangsness
looked to the inside, eventually pulling even on lap 22 as the pair of
drivers flew around the quarter mile oval. They raced each other side by
side until lap 28 when Wangsness finally gained the advantage. He motored to
the stripe out front with Riedner right behind for second. James Helmer, Tom
Reents and Dave Oswald completed the top five finishers.
Current International point leader Mark English of Janesville increased his
lead in the standings by claiming the 20 lap feature event. Neil Higgins
took the initial lead on the opening lap while the pack bunched up behind
him for second. The hard racing behind him allowed Higgins to pull out to a
comfortable lead. Scott Hoeft won the battle for second just as the first
caution of the race flew on lap five. As the green returned, English flew
into the top five and quickly moved into fourth. By lap nine, English was in
third while Higgins continued to lead. English caught Hoeft on lap 11 and a
lap later was by him for second with his eyes fixed on Higgins for the top
spot. English pulled up the rear bumper of Higgins and, on lap 13, moved to
the inside and pulled even with the leader. English cleared Higgins for the
lead on lap 14 just as the second and final caution flew. On the restart,
English was unchallenged as he sped to the line for the win. Rounding out
the top five were Higgins, Hoeft, Rodney Mundt and Peter Shelley.
Sun Prairie's Larry Moen took top honors by winning the 25 lap Hobby Stock
feature race. Moen didn't have far to go to get to the front as he started
on the outside of row. Moen moved into second early on as Andy Raley took
the early lead. Moen shadowed the leader until lap four when he took a look
to the inside of Raley. Two laps later, Moen charged by Raley and into the
lead. By this time, Dustin Ward had joined the fight at the front of the
field and the three lined up to run together and get away from the pack. The
only caution period of the event arrived on lap 12, slowing the field and
erasing any advantage the leaders owned. After the restart, Moen began to
separate himself from the Raley as Ward looked to get by into second. Raley
experienced mechanical difficulties and was forced to retire on lap 14. But
Moen was enjoying a large lead and he cruised to the line for the win. Steve
Sauer managed to get by Ward late in the race for second with Ward finished
third. Chet Paffel was fourth while Lincoln Keeser took fifth.
Tony Ciano of Janesville managed to hold off a hard charging Tommy Pfeifer
to capture the win in the 20 lap Bandit feature. Ciano took control early
from his front row starting spot while Pfeiffer began making his way through
the traffic to the front. Pfeifer was into the top five by lap nine. He was
up to fourth a lap later and on lap 12, Pfeifer split two competitors and
maneuvered into second. Pfeifer began closing the gap on the leader, Ciano.
Pfeifer caught Ciano and as they motored underneath the while flag, was side
by side for the top spot. As the raced under the checkers, Ciano held the
very slight advantage for the win with Pfeifer in second. Mark Dewey, David
Schmidt and Jeff LeFave completed the top five.
You can catch the second half of the 1st Annual Goodyear Stateline Challenge
this Saturday, July 5th at Rockford Speedway with racing getting started at
7:07 pm. Next Saturday, July 12 is a full program in all divisions at
Jefferson Speedway with time trials at 5:00 and racing at 7 pm sharp.
Jefferson Speedway is located halfway between Jefferson and Cambridge on Hwy
18. For more information, please visit www.jeffersonspeedway.com.
Jefferson Speedway Race Summary
Late Models—
Feature Results- 1) 71 John Ovadal Jr, Watertown 2) 4 Chris Quam, Stoughton
3) 52 Steve Dobbratz, Rio 4) 5 Casey Johnson, Stoughton 5) 0 Mike Beyer,
Machesney Park, IL 6) 7 Bob Kahler, Caledonia, IL 7) 94 Jason Erickson, Fort
Atkinson 8) 16 Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 9) 44 Roger Behlke, Jefferson 10)
71 Jason Deppe, Waterloo 11) 39 Matt Berger 12) 51 Dennis Schmidt 13) 2
Michael Bilderback 14) 11 Tim Sargent, S. Beloit, IL 15) 11 Trent Erdman,
Fort Atkinson 16) 99 Doug Hahn, Whitewater 17) 4 Luke Padfield, Jefferson
18) 19 Chad Reimer, Watertown 19) 22 Jasper Gronert, Jefferson 20) 52
Leonard Reimer, Janesville
Fast Qualifier- 7 Bob Kahler—14.315 seconds
Consolation Race- 1 Jody Krueger, 13 Andy Brocker
Last Chance- 11 Trent Erdman, 71 Jason Deppe, 39 Matt Berger, 51 Dennis
Schmidt
Heat Winners-1) 13 Andy Brocker 2) 51 Dennis Schmidt 3) 29 Scott Lindsay 4)
33 Dylan Schuyler
Sportsman—
Feature Results- 1) 55 Terry Wangsness, Jefferson 2) 4D Brandon Riedner,
Waunakee 3) 7 James Helmer, Oconomowoc 4) 42 Tom Reents, Janesville 5) 31
Dave Oswald, Cottage Grove 6) 6 Darrell Garmin
Fast Qualifier- 20 Bret Schmidt—15.153 seconds
Consolation Race- 5 Doug Bennett, 23 Ron Young
Last Chance- 22 Brady Lilly, 95 Bob Hansbury, 39 Ken Scott, 12 Scott Lawver
Heat Winners- 1) 82 Mike Atchison 2) 39 Ken Scott 3) 12 Scott Lawver
International—
Feature Results- 1) 57 Mark English, Janesville 2) 66 Neil Higgins,
Watertown 3) 00 Scott Hoeft, Jefferson 4) 21 Rodney Mundt, Lake Mills 5) 5
Peter Shelley, Edgerton 6) 67 Joe Cross, Sun Prairie
Fast Qualifier- 57 Mark English—16.538 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) 3 Shawn Gunsolas 2) 21 Brandon Pendleton
Hobby Stock—
Feature Results- 1) 10 Larry Moen, Sun Prairie 2) 11 Steve Sauer, Waterloo
3) 9 Dustin Ward, Waterloo 4) 60 Chet Paffel, Madison 5) 99 Lincoln Keeser,
Johnson Creek 6) 33 Jimmy Robinson, Orfordville
Fast Qualifier- 11 Steve Sauer—16.515 seconds
Last Chance- 07 Mike Maurer, 52 Jamie Peck, 1 Brett Carson, 62 Alan McBride
Heat Winners- 1) 56 Randy Strasburg 2) 60 Chet Paffel 3) 10 Larry Moen
Bandit—
Feature Results- 1) 86 Tony Ciano, Janesville 2) 57 Tommy Pfeifer, Fort
Atkinson 3) 82 Mark Dewey 4) 10 Dave Schmidt, Cudahy 5) 81 Jeff LeFave, Fort
Atkinson 6) 89 Chad Olds
Fast Qualifier- 57 Tommy Pfeifer—14.407 seconds
Last Chance- 4 Brian Beale, 29 Waylin Willman, 18 Scott Pauls, 10 Melissa
Moen
Heat Winners- 1) 76 Al Stillman 2) 86 Tony Ciano
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