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Ovadal Grabs Miller Lite
Feature Win
By Andrew Schaller |
July 26, 2008; Jefferson WI --
Watertown's John Ovadal held off a hard charging Jason Erickson to claim the
win in the Miller Lite 50 lap Late Model feature at Jefferson Speedway last
Saturday night. Ryan Zielske and Chad Reimer led the field of 18 competitors
to the drop of the green flag with Reimer taking the early lead exiting turn
four of the opening lap. Luke Westenberg slid past Zielske to second with
Ovadal in tow for third.
Ovadal went right to work on Westenberg for the second spot, getting
inside him on lap six and clearing for the position two laps later. Ovadal
then set his sights on the leader as he began to run Reimer down. Just as
Ovadal caught Reimer and looked to the inside, the first caution of the race
slowed the field. After the restart, Ovadal dove back to the inside of
Reimer, this time making the move work to take over the top spot on lap 19.
While Ovadal began to stretch his advantage, Erickson was entering the top
five by lap 26. Caution number two waved on lap 30 when Chris Quam spun on
the front stretch erasing Ovadal's lead. When the green returned, Erickson
made quick work moving up the leader board and into third. Two consecutive
yellow flags flew on lap 34 setting up a 16 lap shootout to the end.
Erickson motored by Reimer for second when racing resumed and pulled up the
rear bumper of Ovadal with only eight laps remaining. Erickson tried the low
side of the leader several times, pulling even on different occasions but
never being able to get the advantage. Ovadal fought off the challenges as
he took the checkers out front with Erickson right behind in second. Reimer,
Kyle Jarlsberg and Westenberg rounded out the top five.
Brady Lilly of Milton took honors in the 30 lap Sportsman feature event. Ron
Nelson took the initial lead from fellow front row starter Mike Acheson on
the first lap. Lilly was already into the third spot by lap 5 and working on
Craig Olver for second. The only caution period of the race appeared on lap
six when Tory Bagley and Dick Reents tangled in turn one. After the restart,
Lilly got to the inside of Olver for second and cleared on lap ten with
Chris Ehrhart in tow for third. Lilly began to size up Nelson for the top
spot, finally making his move on lap 18. Nelson showed Lilly the low groove
and Lilly took advantage getting side by side with the leader. Lilly cleared
for the lead with then laps remaining as Nelson slipped back into the pack
and Ehrhart took over the second spot. Ehrhart shadowed the leader for the
remainder of the race until losing control on the final lap and spinning in
turn two. Lilly cruised to the stripe for the win followed by Tom Reents,
Dave Oswald, Nelson and James Helmer.
In International action, James Bell of Brodhead won his first career feature
by claiming the 20 lap event. Starting from the front row, Bell took control
down the backstretch on the first lap and never relinquished the lead. Rob
Lange shadowed Bell the entire race from the second position, making several
attempts at the leader but never seriously challenging Bell. The top five
ran nose to tail the majority of the event with Bell coming across the line
for the win. Rounding out the top five were Lange, Stephen Scheel, Mark
English and Joe Cross.
Kyle Stark of Sun Prairie laid claim to the 25 lap Hobby Stock feature race.
Brett Carson and Mike Mauer made up the front row at the start with Carson
grabbing the early lead. Joe Edwards slipped past Mauer and inside Carson,
taking the lead on lap three just as the caution waved over the field. After
the restart, Stark got to the inside of Carson for second and chugged up
alongside Edwards for the top spot. Stark cleared for the lead on lap 11 as
Dustin Ward followed him into second. On lap 17, Ward had his engine expire,
forcing the second caution period and ending his evening. As the green
returned, Alan Dorn sat in second behind Stark. Dorn attempted to get inside
the leader many times. Finally on the last lap, Dorn got inside Stark and
the two made slight contact in turn two, allowing Jim Tate to slip by for
second. But Stark charged out in front and ran to the checkers for the win.
Tate, Dorn, Steve Sauer and Zac Schmidt completed the top five.
The final race of the evening was the 20 lap Bandit feature which was won by
Brandon Johnson. Johnson began his winning effort from the inside of row
one. Travis Schneeberg shot into second at the start and began to hound the
leader. The only caution of the race flew on lap four when Tony Ciano and
Tom Bleecker made contact sending both into the front stretch wall. Jody
Schmidt and Tommy Pfeifer joined the fight for the lead as green flag racing
resumed. The duo managed to get by Schneeberg for second and third on lap 11
as they set their sights on the leader. Schmidt pulled up the rear bumper of
Johnson and tried every lane possible to get by for the top spot. Pfeifer
watched the battle from third, looking for his own path by. As the laps
wound down, Johnson remained out front with Schmidt close behind in second.
As the trio entered turn three on the final lap, Schmidt got into the rear
of Johnson, forcing him up the track. Schmidt shot by to cross the stripe
first, but after further review Schmidt was disqualified for rough driving
handing the win to Johnson. Rounding out the top five were Pfeifer, Chad
Olds, Waylin Willman and Matt Goodwin.
Next Saturday, August 2, is a full program in all divisions. Time trials
begin at 5:00 with 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 Model-
Miller Lite 50 Feature Results- 1) 71 John Ovadal, Watertown 2) 94 Jason
Erickson, Fort Atkinson 3) 19 Chad Reimer, Watertown 4) 87 Kyle Jarlsberg,
Cambridge 5) 16 Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 6) 29 Scott Lindsay, Dousman 7)
41 Mike Taylor, Stoughton 8) 21 Ryan Zielske, Oconomowoc 9) 13 Andy Brocker,
Jefferson 10) 12 Allen Petrie, Sun Prairie 11) 61 Jerry Eckhart, Johnson
Creek 12) 44 Roger Behlke, Jefferson 13) 33 Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson 14) 4
Chris Quam, Stoughton 15) 52 Steve Dobbratz, Rio 16) 5 Casey Johnson,
Stoughton 17) 7 Bob Kahler, Belvidere, IL 18) 22 Jasper Gronert, Jefferson
Fast Qualifier- 94 Jason Erickson—14.453 seconds
Consy- 01 Bobbi Bishofberger, 4 Luke Padfield
Last Chance- 13 Andy Brocker, 12 Allen Petrie, 41 Mike Taylor, 61 Jerry
Eckhart
Heat Winners- 1) 19 Michael Kruschke 2) 4 Chris Quam 3) 71 John Ovadal
Sportsman-
Feature Results- 1) 22 Brady Lilly, Milton 2) 42 Tom Reents, Janesville 3)
31 Dave Oswald, Cottage Grove 4) 76 Ron Nelson, Jefferson 5) 7 James Helmer,
Oconomowoc 6) 52 Tory Bagley, McFarland
Fast Qualifier- 52 Tory Bagley—15.218 seconds
Heat Winners- 1) 20 Kody Hubred 2) 41 Dick Reents
International-
Feature Results- 1) 27 James Bell, Brodhead 2) 135 Rob Lange 3) 4 Stephen
Scheel, Lake Mills 4) 57 Mark English, Janesville 5) 67 Joe Cross 6) 90 Kyle
Smith, Lake Mills
Fast Qualifier- 57 Mark English—16.630 seconds
Last Chance- 61 Chris Gottschalk, 07 Ken Hoff, Jr, 77 Sean Watters, 21
Brandon Pendleton
Heat Winners- 1) 3 Cody Strese 2) 90 Kyle Smith 3) 57 Mark English
Hobby Stock-
Feature Results- 1) 92 Kyle Stark, Sun Prairie 2) 27 Jim Tate 3) 96 Alan
Dorn, Columbus 4) 11 Steve Sauer, Waterloo 5) 42 Bobby Selsing, Jefferson 6)
85 Joe Edwards
Fast Qualifier- 27 Jim Tate—16.592 seconds
Consy- 43 Scott Bush, 20 Dale Warner, 14 Billy Combs
Last Chance- 99 Lincoln Keeser, 2 Eaan Carson, 71 Jamie Dunn, 49 Buck Stultz
Heat Winners- 1) 08 Kale Peterman 2) 99 Lincoln Keeser 3) 29 Mike Manley
Bandit-
Feature Results- 1) 18 Brandon Johnson 2) 57 Tommy Pfeifer 3) 89 Chad Olds
4) 29 Waylin Willman 5) 45 Matt Goodwin 6) 19 Barrett Hammond
Fast Qualifier- 57 Tommy Pfeifer—14.270 seconds
Last Chance- 93 Heather Stark, 76 Al Stillman, 19 Barrett Hammond, 45 Matt
Goodwin
Heat Winners- 1) 18 Scott Pauls 2) 29 Waylin Willman
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