Steve Dobbratz Is Big Winner In Summer Rumble
By Andrew Schaller
June 21, 2008; Jefferson WI — Rio’s Steve Dobbratz laid claim in convincing fashion to the 2008 Summer Rumble presented by Suburban Wheels of Madison. Dobbratz combined his fourth place finish the night before at Columbus 151 Speedway with the victory in the 50 lap Late Model feature presented by Showcase Awards of Milwaukee to win the overall Summer Rumble title. Chuck Duncan grabbed the early lead from fellow front row starter Jason Deppe.
The two raced nose to tail over the first 11 laps until the first caution of the event flew. After the restart, Trent Erdman went to work on Deppe for the second spot, eventually clearing Deppe on lap 18 and going right to work on Duncan for the lead. A lap later, Erdman looked to have cleared Duncan, but the two made contact down the backstretch resulting in the second caution period of the race and sending both competitors to the rear for the restart. This handed the lead to Deppe with Roger Behlke right behind in second. As the green returned, Behlke began looking for a way around the leader. Behlke repeatedly got a run to the inside of Deppe through turns one and two, but Deppe powered back out front down the backstretch and into turn three. The final yellow appeared on lap 43, setting up a seven lap shootout for the win. By this time, Dobbratz was occupying the third spot with Aaron Wilke in fourth. Dobbratz needed to separate himself by at least one more car to claim the Rumble title from Wilke. On the restart, Dobbratz immediately went to work on Behlke, charging past into second and right alongside Deppe for the lead. The two drivers raced side by side as they passed under the while flag. As they motored across the line for the checkers, Dobbratz held the slight advantage for the win and the title. Deppe was second followed by Behlke, Wilke and Jason Erickson.
Brady Lilly of Milton captured the 30 lap Sportsman feature event after making his way to the front from his mid pack starting spot. Kyle Watters took control of the race on the opening lap with Dick Reents moving into the second spot. Watters maintained his lead while the top five positions were swapped amongst several drivers. Lilly finally entered the top five to fourth on lap 15 with Tom Reents in tow for fifth. Lilly moved into third and had just managed to claim the second spot when the only caution of the race flew on lap 24. Lilly used the restart to slip under Watters looking for the top spot. They raced side by side until Lilly claimed sole possession of the lead with three laps to go. Tom Reents followed Lilly into second as they cruised to the stripe. Watters finished third while Dave Oswald was fourth and Dick Reents fifth. Kyle Watters combined a second place finish at Columbus with his third place finish to claim the overall Sportsman Summer Rumble championship.
Stephen Scheel of Lake Mills lead flag to flag en route to his win in the 20 lap International feature event. Scheel took control on the first lap while Ashley Smith slid into second. Scheel survived two cautions in the first ten laps while Mark English and Rodney Mundt made their way into the top five. Mundt slipped by Smith on lap 10 with English in tow for third. As Mundt peeked to the inside of Scheel for the lead, he broke loose in turn two allowing English to take over second. A lap later, English began to experience mechanical difficulties as he started to fade. Mundt regained second and looked to get by Scheel again. With two laps remaining, caution flew a final time setting up a green/white/checker finish. But Scheel had enough to hold off the field for the win followed by Mundt, Joe Cross, Matt McKinney and Scott Hoeft. Cross took the win at Columbus and combined it with his third place finish to take the overall title for the International division.
Johnson Creek’s Lincoln Keeser battled back to take the lead and the win in the 25 lap Hobby Stock feature. Keeser started alongside Joe Edwards on the front row with Edwards taking the initial lead. Keeser fought back on lap six to get alongside Edwards and finally take the lead on lap 11. Steve Sauer followed Keeser into second and began to look for a way around the leader. Sauer got a run several times through turns one and two but Keeser proved too strong as he sped to the checkers for the win. Rounding out the top five were Sauer, Alan Dorn, Roger Stephenson and Jim Tate. Tate was crowned the Hobby Stock Summer Rumble champ after finishes of second and fifth.
In Bandit action, Chad Olds took the win in the 20 lap feature event. Terry Ciano took the early lead on the opening lap and began to pull away from the field. Meanwhile, Kyle Padfield was slicing his way through the field with Olds in tow. Padfield and Olds began to close the gap on the leader when Ciano began to encounter lapped traffic. Ciano’s lead was erased completely when the yellow appeared on lap 14. On the restart, Olds got to the inside of Padfield and flew by to second and alongside Ciano. Olds cleared Ciano with two laps remaining and breezed to the stripe for the win. David Schmidt, Tommy Pfeifer, Ciano and Padfield rounded out the top five. Schmidt combined two solid finishes to claim the Bandit Summer Rumble championship.
Next Saturday night is Mid Season Championships sponsored by Smith Motors of Fort Atkinson. Time trials begin at 5:00 with racing at 7 pm sharp. For more information, please visit www.jeffersonspeedway.com.
Jefferson Speedway Race Summary
Late Model–
Feature Results- 1) 52 Steve Dobbratz, Rio 2) 71 Jason Deppe, Waterloo 3) 44 Roger Behlke, Jefferson 4) 8 Aaron Wilke, Waterloo 5) 94 Jason Erickson, Fort Atkinson 6) 71 John Ovadal, Watertown 7) 16 Luke Westenberg, Jefferson 8) 81 Don Gaserude, Fort Atkinson 9) 61 Jerry Eckhart, Johnson Creek 10) 4 Luke Padfield, Jefferson 11) 29 Scott Lindsay, Dousman 12) 4 Chris Quam, Stoughton 13) 13 Andy Brocker, Jefferson 14) 3 Chuck Duncan, Milwaukee 15) 33 Dylan Schuyler, Jefferson
16) 11 Trent Erdman, Fort Atkinson 17) 7 Bob Kahler, Caledonia, IL 18) 21 Ty James, Oconomowoc
Fast Qualifier- 71 John Ovadal– 14.311 seconds
Last Chance- 4 Chris Quam, 81 Don Gaserude, 4 Luke Padfield, 13 Andy Brocker
Heat Winners- 1) 13 Andy Brocker 2) 4 Chris Quam 3) 81 Don Gaserude
Sportsman–
Feature Results- 1) 22 Brady Lilly, Milton 2) 42 Tom Reents, Janesville 3) 7 Kyle Watters, Stoughton 4) 31 Dave Oswald, Cottage Grove 5) 41 Dick Reents, Portage 6) 19 Dan Schmidt, Watertown
Fast Qualifier- 31 Dave Oswald– 15.177 seconds
Last Chance- 4D Brandon Riedner, 19 John Handeland, 45 Dennis Schwark, 82 Mike Acheson
Heat Winners- 1) 4D Brandon Riedner 2) 55 Terry Wangsness 3) 26 Scott Riedner
International–
Feature Results- 1) 4 Stephen Scheel, Lake Mills 2) 21 Rodney Mundt, Lake Mills 3) 67 Joe Cross, Sun Prairie 4) 95 Matt McKinney, Jefferson 5) 00 Scott Hoeft, Jefferson 6) 66 Neil Higgins
Fast Qualifier- 57 Mark English– 16.447 seconds
Last Chance- 1 Sean Watters, 5 Peter Shelley, 22 Trent Rueth, 27 Keith Bell
Heat Winners- 1) 22 Trent Rueth 2) 21 Rodney Mundt 3) 57 Mark English
Hobby Stock–
Feature Results- 1) 99 Lincoln Keeser, Johnson Creek 2) 11 Steve Sauer, Waterloo 3) 96 Alan Dorn, Columbus 4) 88 Roger Stephenson, Cambridge 5) 27 Jim Tate, Watertown 6) 9 Dustin Ward, Waterloo
Fast Qualifier- 27 Jim Tate– 16.430 seconds
Last Chance- 96 Tim Lange, 41 Nick Newton, 32 Craig Staude, 55 PJ Johnson
Heat Winners- 1) 96 Tim Lange 2) 96 Alan Dorn 3) 11 Steve Sauer
Bandit–
Feature Results- 1) 89 Chad Olds 2) 10 David Schmidt, Cudahy 3) 57 Tommy Pfeifer, Fort Atkinson 4) 66 Terry Ciano, Janesville 5) 27 Kyle Padfield, Stoughton 6) 42 Travis Schneeberg
Fast Qualifier- 57 Tommy Pfeifer–14.554 seconds
Last Chance- 31 Mike Heimann, 63 Mitch Drunaske, 93 Heather Stark, 76 Al Stillman
Heat Winners- 1) 31 Mike Heimann 2) 66 Terry Ciano 3) Chad Olds