Stenjem Breaks Through For Win

CAMBRIDGE, WI (Saturday, July 13, 2019)            After a long string of top finishes this season, Riley Stenjem finally broke through and parked his machine in victory lane following the Newville Auto Salvage 50 lap Late Model feature event. The Utica pilot scored his first feature win of the season as he looks to assert himself into the picture for the season title at Wisconsin’s Action Track.

David Malisch and Cole Thomas led the field to green with Malisch taking the early lead on lap one. Stephen Scheel, Kyle Smith and Seth Reamer raced three wide off turn two on the second circuit as they looked to move into the third position behind Thomas. Scheel and Reamer emerged side by side with Scheel eventually taking sole possession of the spot on lap five. Scheel continued to march forward, grabbing second from Thomas on lap  seven and closing in on Malisch. Scheel began peeking low under Malisch on lap 12, gaining momentum and getting by for the top spot on lap 13. Will Rece moved up to challenge Malisch next, taking the second spot for himself on lap 18. Stenjem followed Rece past Malisch and went right to work on Rece for second. Stenjem completed the pass on lap 22 and quickly began to apply pressure to Scheel at the point. At the halfway point of the race, Stenjem turned up the heat on Scheel. A couple laps later, Stenjem charged alongside the leader as they raced side by side for the lead. On lap 31, Stenjem moved ahead of Scheel to gain control of the top spot. A caution slowed the pace on lap 37 with Stenjem leading the pack back to green on the restart and Scheel filling up his rearview mirror. As racing resumed, Stenjem began to separate himself from the field, cruising to the checkers to claim the win. Rece got by Scheel late in the race to claim the second spot. Michael Grueneberg was fourth with Dylan Schuyler rounding out the top five.

Fort Atkinson driver, Tyler Deporter, made a late race pass to net the lead and win the 30 lap Sportsman feature event. Jake Biever led early from the outside of row one while Randy Breunig and Dan Silberhorn battled for second behind him. Breunig moved into second on lap three with Bobby Selsing Jr following into third a lap later. Breunig and Selsing raced up behind Biever as it became a three way battle for the top spot. The trio jostled for position with Biever maintaining the advantage. On lap 15, Selsing completed a pass on Breunig for second and quickly pulled up to the rear bumper of Biever. Lap 16 saw Selsing dive under the leader, stealing the lead for himself just before the caution waved on lap 20 for debris. Selsing lead the field back to green with Biever in second and Deporter now up to third. Deporter slipped by Biever for second on lap 22 as he closed in on Selsing. Deporter applied heavy pressure to Selsing. With three laps to go, Deporter looked to the high side of the leader. Deporter drew even with Selsing as they raced towards the white flag. Deporter gained a slight advantage as they headed down the backstretch on the final lap. As they flew under the checkers, Deporter maintained a fender length lead to score the win. Selsing settled for second followed by Jason Thoma, Mark Deporter and Biever.

Watertown driver, Scott Hoeft, picked up the 20 lap International feature win. Bob Peters took the initial lead on lap one with Tim Higgins trying to get by Josh Tanguay for second. On lap two, Higgins and Tanguay charged up to either side of Peters as they raced three wide for the lead. Higgins and Tanguay emerged alongside each other on lap three with Higgins grabbing control of the lead a lap later. Hoeft fired up to second after a brief battle with Keith Bell on lap six. Hoeft quickly got under the leader, while Mark English moved up behind them in third. English began to look under the two way fight for first between Higgins and Hoeft. After getting to the low side of the duo, English and Hoeft emerged wheel to wheel for the lead. After a good side by side battle, Hoeft moved out front alone on lap 11. English tried to return to the inside of the new leader, but Hoeft held off his advances and drove off to the checkers to get the win. English was second followed by Bell, Higgins and Jason Uttech.

Another great race in the Hobby Stock division ended with Christian Janssen of Richmond, IL, in victory lane with his first career feature win. Chuck Egli and Korey Bengsch lead the field to green with Egli leading early. Janssen charged up alongside Bengsch for second on lap three, grabbing the spot as they raced off turn four. Janssen immediately began looking to the outside of Egli, drawing even on lap five. A lap later. Janssen was out front with Egli back to second and Jared Vike battling Nick Bruley for third. Bruley grabbed the spot on lap nine and drove to the outside of Egli for second. Janssen stretched his lead while Bruley tried to clear Egli for second. Bruley completed the pass on lap 13, with Kolton Guralski eventually following into third. Brandon Riedner moved up to challenge Guralski as the duo waged a fun battle in the closing laps. But Janssen cruised to the checkers to score the win. Riedner got by Guralski for second and third with Scott Riedner and Jim Tate Jr completing the top five.

Bill Sweeney of Lake Mills scored the win in the 15 lap Road Warrior feature race. RJ Nicholson took the lead on lap one while fellow front row starter, Jasper Gronert fell back into a battle for second with Bill Reynolds. Reynolds moved into second on lap three and began to search on the low side of Nicholson. Reynolds moved into the lead on lap four with Jordan Lamb following into second. Lamb immediately went to work on the new leader, peeking under Reynolds. A caution slowed the action on lap seven with Nicholson bounced hard off the back stretch wall. Reynolds and Lamb led the pack back to green with Lamb moving out front on the restart. Sweeney followed past Reynolds into second just before the yellow waved once again on lap eight. This time, Lamb and Sweeney paced the field back to green. Sweeney charged out front as the green waved again while Lamb tried to get back alongside the new leader. But Sweeney held him off to secure the win while Lamb settled for a second place finish. Mark Dewey was third followed by Reynolds and Leroy Gronert Jr.

Bryan Gottschalk of Milton won the 12 lap Bandit feature. Rianne Remsik and Chris Matz lead the field to green. On the opening lap, Remsik got sideways entering turn one as the field scattered to miss her. Travis Rose emerged with the top spot with Gottschalk up to second. After making contact with Rose entering turn one, Gottschalk slipped past for the lead with Matz following back up to second. The yellow flag waved on lap ten, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Gottschalk and Matz led the field back to green with Gottschalk returning to the lead on the restart. Josh Lenz got by Matz in the final laps for second, but ran out of time to catch the leader. At the checkers it was Gottschalk for the win followed by Lenz, Matz, Ashlynn Jarlsberg and Noah Pankow.

Next Saturday, July 20, marks the return of the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series as well as the Midwest Truck Series. There will also be Regional Qualifying races for the INEX Legends and Bandoleros. Time trials 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-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

Sportsman-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

International-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

Hobby Stock-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

Road Warrior-

Qualifying

Heat Races

Feature

Bandit-

Qualifying

Heat Race

Feature