Like they did a week ago, Bobby Wilberg and Zack Riddle each won a 30 leap feature for the NASCAR Late Models at Madison. It was Wilberg’s second win of the season while it was number four for Riddle. Each driver received $1000 each for their feature wins thanks to bonus money from Performance Racing Engines.
Scott Ciesielski won the Midwest Dash Series feature. That story appears in a separate article.
Wilberg Holds Off Riddle for NASCAR Late Model Win
Bobby Wilberg held off Zack Riddle to win the first 30 lap feature for the NASCAR Late Models. It was Wilberg’s second consecutive win of the season and his 21st in his Late Model career at Madison.
Kevin Knuese and Shaun Scheel led the field to the green flag. Scheel took the early lead with Bobby Wilberg up to second and Knuese in third after two laps. On lap 3 Wilberg pulled to the outside of Scheel and took the lead on the front shoot on lap 4. On lap 6 the cars of Rusty Hansen and Will Rece tangled on the front stretch bringing out the caution flag.
Wilberg paced the field back to the green flag and opened up a four car length lead over Shaun Scheel. Meanwhile, Zack Riddle cracked the top three after passing Knuese on lap 8. One lap later he took the second spot from Shaun Scheel. On lap 12 Ryan Goldade worked his way past Shaun Scheel for third. Stephen Scheel moved into fourth when he passed his brother on lap 16.
With twelve laps to go, Riddle had cut Wilberg’s lead down to two car lengths with Goldade still a distant third. With ten laps to go the lead was back to four car lengths and stayed that way until a spin on lap 23 brought out the second caution of the race and negated Riddle’s multi-car length lead.
This brought out the cone for a double file restart. Wilberg chose the inside with Riddle lining up outside him with the second row finding Goldade inside and Stephen Scheel outside. Wilberg was able to keep his lead with Goldade pulling to the inside of Riddle for second. With five laps to go Wilberg’s lead was increasing while Goldade and Riddle were trading paint for second shortly before a spin back in the pack brought out a caution with four laps to go.
Wilberg chose the inside for the restart with Goldade also electing the inside and lining up behind the leader in the second row while Riddle claimed the outside of row one. After a lap Riddle had a half car length lead over Wilberg, but Wilberg was able to regain the lead with one lap to go and held on to win by a short margin over Riddle. Goldade, Brent Edmunds, and Stephen Scheel rounded out the top five.
“Me and Zack always seem to bring out the best in each other. It’s a lot of fun racing,” said Wilberg.
Zack Riddle Takes Home the Checkered Flag
Riddle held off Bobby Wilberg to win the second 30 lap feature for the NASCAR Late Models. He now has 24 career feature wins at Madison in the Late Model division.
Kevin Knuese and Colton Morgan had the honors of pacing the field to the green flag. Knuese took the early lead with Ryan Goldade flying up to second on lap 2, quickly pulling to the inside of Knuese and taking the lead on lap 4. But right behind Goldade were the cars of Bobby Wilberg and Zack Riddle.
On lap 12 the top three were bunched up with Wilberg working his way to the front followed by Riddle and Goldade. On lap 14 the caution flag waved when a car lost power on the backstretch.
Wilberg led the way back to the green on the single file restart. Wilberg and Riddle pulled away from the field with Riddle taking the lead on lap 16 coming out of turn four. Goldade continued to run third while Shaun Scheel was taking the fourth spot from Knuese with eight laps to go.
With five laps to go, Riddle’s lead was up to three car lengths. Despite Wilberg’s best efforts, he was unable to close the gap as Riddle picked up the checkered flag.
“We both raced hard; we’ve been racing together for a long time,” said Riddle from victory lane.
Riddle was fastest in qualifying with a lap of 18.673 (96.396 mph). Goldade received $200 from Ziegler Crane Service for being the highest finishing driver who hadn’t earned points in June.
Qualifying
1. 14ZR-Zack Riddle, 18.6730; 2. 39RG-Ryan Goldade, 18.7470; 3. 77WR-William Rece, 18.9140; 4. 4SS-Stephen Scheel, 18.9640; 5. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg, 18.9840; 6. 7RH-Russ Hansen, 19.0170; 7. 8SS-Shaun Scheel, 19.0740; 8. 33KK-Kevin Knuese, 19.1720; 9. 87BE-Brent Edmunds, 19.2000; 10. 25WN-Willie Nelson, 19.2430; 11. 24JO-Jim Olson, 19.2710; 12. 39CM-Colton Morgan, 19.2840; 13. 14HR-Hanna Raley, 19.5600; 14. 49MA-McKayla Adams, 19.8670; 15. 32PD-Paul Dygon, 20.1980
Late Models – Feature 1 30 Laps
1. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg , Beloit, WI[4], 2. 14ZR-Zack Riddle , Oregon, WI[8], 3. 39RG-Ryan Goldade , Edgerton, WI[7], 4. 87BE-Brent Edmunds , Monticello, WI[9], 5. 4SS-Stephen Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[5], 6. 8SS-Shaun Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[2], 7. 33KK-Kevin Knuese , Waunakee, WI[1], 8. 39CM-Colton Morgan , Mazomanie, WI[12], 9. 25WN-Willie Nelson , Richmond, IL[10], 10. 14HR-Hanna Raley , Fall River, WI[13], 11. 49MA-McKayla Adams , Sun Prairie, WI[14], 12. 32PD-Paul Dygon , Wind City, WI[15], 13. 24JO-Jim Olson , Harvard, IL[11], 14. 7RH-Russ Hansen , Sun Prairie, WI[3], 15. 77WR-William Rece , Stoughton, WI[6]
Late Models – Feature 2 30 Laps
1. 14ZR-Zack Riddle , Oregon, WI[10], 2. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg , Beloit, WI[11], 3. 39RG-Ryan Goldade , Edgerton, WI[9], 4. 8SS-Shaun Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[6], 5. 33KK-Kevin Knuese , Waunakee, WI[5], 6. 4SS-Stephen Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[7], 7. 87BE-Brent Edmunds , Monticello, WI[8], 8. 24JO-Jim Olson , Harvard, IL[13], 9. 25WN-Willie Nelson , Richmond, IL[3], 10. 49MA-McKayla Adams , Sun Prairie, WI[1], 11. 32PD-Paul Dygon , Wind City, WI[12], 12. 39CM-Colton Morgan , Mazomanie, WI[4], 13. 14HR-Hanna Raley , Fall River, WI[2]