by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, July 14, 2012) As the lightning flashed beyond the turn three wall, Wisconsin’s Action Track came to life with 18 of the best Late Model pilots taking the green flag to begin the Fair Week 50 lap feature event. When the dust settled, Stoughton’s Casey Johnson sat in victory lane with a convincing win, his third such triumph of the season.

Bruce Lee and Tom Schuette made up row one at the start with Schuette moving out front on the first lap. Chris Quam followed around the outside of Lee to claim second on lap three and immediately begin to challenge the early leader. On lap four, with Quam underneath Schuette, the two drivers touched in turn four resulting in both spinning and bringing out the first of two cautions. Both were forced to the rear for the restart, handing the top spot over to Lee with Jerry Eckhardt riding second and Shaun Scheel in third. Johnson began his trek through the top five on lap eleven, getting past Doug Hahn for the fifth spot. Johnson moved around John Ovadal Jr for fourth on lap 17. Just as Johnson slipped by Scheel for third on lap 20, the second caution appeared when Dale Nottestad and Scott Lindsay got together down the back stretch. When racing resumed, Johnson quickly charged under Eckhardt, clearing for the position on lap 22 and setting his sights on Lee at the front of the pack. Johnson drew even with Lee on lap 23, clearing for the lead as they exited turn four. Johnson immediately began to pull away from the rest of the field on his way to the checkers for the win. Lee finished second followed by Eckhardt, Dylan Schuyler and Scheel.

by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, July 07, 2012) Jefferson’s Kyle Jarlsberg topped a strong field of Late Model competitors to claim the Bill Collins Memorial 50 sponsored by Tired Iron Promotions on Saturday night at Jefferson Speedway. The win marked Jarlsberg’s second feature victory of the 2012 season, allowing him to close slightly on the leaders in the standings.

Stephen Scheel and Bruce Lee paced the field to green with Scheel taking early command entering turn one. Shaun Scheel followed into second as the two brothers made up the one-two punch at the front of the field. Shaun wasted little time behind his younger sibling, moving to the inside and challenging Stephen for the top spot on lap three. Two laps later, Shaun Scheel moved to the point with Noel Ramge trying to follow. Ramge made the pass for second on lap seven with Jarlsberg in tow for the third spot. Jarlsberg quickly moved to the low side of the speedway and took second from Ramge, setting his sights on Shaun Scheel at the front. On lap 12, Ramge got loose entering turn one allowing Jason Erickson and Doug Hahn to slip past for third and fourth respectively. The first of two cautions waved on lap 13 when the point leader entering the evening, Casey Johnson, connected with Brady Liddle entering turn one. The resulting wreck forced Johnson to retire from the event and sent Liddle to the rear for the restart. As racing resumed, Jarlsberg began to apply pressure to Scheel for the lead. On lap 17, Scheel got loose through turns one and two, opening the door for Jarlsberg to shoot past into the lead. Hahn followed Jarlsberg into second and immediately went to work on the new leader. The second and final caution waved on lap 24 for an incident in turn two involving Ramge and Lee. As the green flag waved again, Jarlsberg and Hahn broke away from the pack while Erickson and Scheel battled for third. Hahn stuck close to the rear bumper of Jarlsberg, waiting for him to make a mistake. But with 10 laps to go, Jarlsberg began to stretch his lead over Hahn slightly as he cruised to the checkers to get the win. Hahn finished second with Erickson, Scheel and Dale Nottestad rounding out the top five.

by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, June 30, 2012) One week after point leader Casey Johnson doubled his feature win total for the 2012 racing season, Dale Nottestad of Cambridge followed suit and picked up his second main event victory as well. Nottestad got to the front of the field and hung on to win the Mid-Season Championship 65 lap Late Model feature on Saturday at Wisconsin’s Action Track, Jefferson Speedway.

Stephen Scheel and Tyler Peterson paced the field of competitors to the drop of the green flag with Scheel taking control of the point on lap one. Jerry Eckhardt followed him into second as Peterson dropped back into the pack. Shaun Scheel followed Eckhardt into third as the leaders lined up single file with Steve Dobbratz and Nottestad joining them in the top five. Nottestad slipped by Dobbratz for third just before a caution slowed the field on lap 12 when Kyle Jarlsberg spun by himself in turn four. Once racing got back underway, Nottestad resumed his trek to the front as he motored under Eckhardt and stole away the second position. A lap later, Nottestad was challenging Stephen Scheel for the lead as he drove underneath him in turns three and four. Nottestad cleared for the lead as they raced down the front stretch to complete lap 20. As Nottestad’s new lead grew, Casey Johnson was making his way through the top five as well. Every other lap, Johnson found himself another position closer to the front until he was riding at the midway point of the race. Johnson looked to close in on Nottestad who was enjoying a healthy advantage, but another caution on lap 35 aided his cause and closed up the leaders for the final 30 laps. Two more cautions before lap 40 slowed the field, but not Nottestad as he remained on the point. A final yellow with ten laps to go set up a shootout to the finish. Johnson did his best to apply heavy pressure, but Nottestad stayed strong out front on his way to the victory. Johnson settled for second followed by Dylan Schuyler, Jason Erickson and Stephen Scheel.

by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, June 23, 2012) Stoughton's Casey Johnson became the first Late Model pilot at Jefferson Speedway to repeat as feature winner in the 2012 race season. Johnson charged through the field and made a late race pass to net the win in the Sullivan Saloon 50 lap feature event.

Tommy Pecaro and Noel Ramge paced the field to green as they battled wheel to wheel for the top spot. Ramge claimed the early lead on lap two with Chris Quam trying to follow around the outside of Pecaro for the second spot. Quam cleared for second and pulled up behind Ramge with Pecaro falling in line behind him in third. The first of two cautions waved on lap 11 for raindrops on the speedway. After the sprinkles passed and racing resumed, the leaders once again lined up single file with Ramge showing the way. On lap 20, Pecaro experienced mechanical difficulty as he fell off the pace and was forced to retire from the event. A lap later, the caution waved for a final time as John Ovadal spun down the front stretch. Once racing resumed, Dylan Schuyler moved around Trent Erdman for the third spot with Johnson in tow for fourth. Johnson quickly moved to the low side of Schuyler as they raced side by side for third. Johnson made the pass and continued forward under Quam for second. Johnson cleared for the second position on lap 34, pulling up behind Ramge on the point. Johnson charged under Ramge on lap 37, pulling alongside and looking to lead. A lap later Johnson was out front all alone with Kyle Jarlsberg trying to follow past Ramge as well. Jarlsberg made the pass and looked to catch the new leader, Johnson. But Johnson stayed strong out front on his way to the checkers for the win. Jarlsberg finished second followed by Ramge, Doug Hahn and Schuyler.

by Andrew Schaller
JEFFERSON, WI (Saturday, June 16, 2012) Johnson Creek’s Jerry Eckhardt made his triumphant return to Jefferson Speedway victory lane after a several year absence on Saturday night. The over 40 year racing veteran led flag to flag to became the seventh different Late Model feature winner in as many weeks after capturing the Ken Olson’s Used Cars 50 lap main event.

Starting alongside Chris Quam, Eckhardt led lap one by a slight margin as they crossed the stripe. On the second circuit, Eckhardt claimed sole possession of the point as they exited turn two with Dylan Schuyler trying to follow around the high side of Quam for second. Schuyler completed the pass on lap three as he pulled up behind Eckhardt with Doug Hahn moving into third. Eckhardt and Schuyler began to pull away from the rest of the pack as the field sorted itself out behind them. By the midway point of the race, the pair of drivers were enjoying a large lead that continued to grow lap after lap. With the laps beginning to tick away, Schuyler mounted a charge to challenge Eckhardt for the top spot. Schuyler searched for a way to get past the leader, but Eckhardt maintained his advantage despite the pressure. Schuyler and Eckhardt made contact one time in the closing laps, but Eckhardt hung on and held him off to see the checkers first for the win. Schuyler settled for second with Casey Johnson finishing a distant third. Hahn and Trent Erdman rounded out the top five finishers.