Nathan Haseleu Sweeps Round One of the Triple Crown Challenge at MIS
Will Rece and Kyle Jusits Also Winners
By John Wells
Oregon, WI- Friday, June 8th– Nathan Haseleu picked up a pair of wins in the Twin 50’s of the Scotty “O” Ollerman Memorial for the Super Late Model Triple Crown Challenge while two first time winners, Will Rece and Kyle Jusits, took home the honors in the Sportsman and Legends divisions.
Haseleu Sweeps Twin 50’s
Nathan Haseleu swept the field to win the first round of the Super Late Model Triple Crown Challenge.
Before the race, the “0” car paced the field of fourteen Super Late Models before the green flag for the first fifty lap segment of the Scotty “O” Ollerman Memorial. From the pole position, Dennis Prunty grabbed the early lead with Dale Nottestad up to second followed closely by Dave Feiler. Feiler moved past Nottestad on lap 5 to take over second while Blake Brown moved up to fourth. One lap later, Rich Bickle went low to get by Brown for fourth.
Prunty enjoyed a sizeable lead over the field with Feiler doing everything in his power to keep it close. On lap 10 Nottestad would experience problems and head to the pits moving Bobby Wilberg and Nate Haseleu into the top five. Five laps later Bickle, Wilberg, and Haseleu would overtake Feiler while Prunty continued to race all by himself out front.
On lap 22 Haseleu dropped to the inside of Wilberg coming out of turn four to move into third while Jeremy Miller passed Wilberg one lap later for fourth.
But Haseleu was far from finished as he pulled side by side with Bickle for second and took the position away on lap 27. Meanwhile, Miller would do the same on lap 29 while Prunty was all smiles as he was enjoying a lead of fifteen car lengths.
It appeared the only thing that could stop Prunty wasn’t going to be another car but would have to be the caution flag. Derek Childs’ spin exiting turn two on lap 28 put an end to Prunty’s huge margin over the field.
Haseleu, who started eleventh, chose to line up outside of Prunty for the restart with Miller choosing to line up inside of row two behind Prunty. While the caution was still out, Brown lost power on the backstretch and needed a push back to the pits.
When the green flag waved again, Haseleu wasted no time from his outside position and vaulted to the lead quickly building up a six car length advantage over his fellow competitors before the caution waved two laps later for debris on the track.
So who would make the move to the outside of row one on the restart? This time it was Miller. However, Haseleu was not about to let anyone take the top spot away from him as he jumped out to a four car lead over Miller.
Haseleu and Miller ran away from the field with Haseleu picking up the win by two car lengths. Prunty finished third followed by Gary LaMonte and Bickle.
“The car was really good and now I want to go out and win the second one,” said Haseleu. “Scotty O was a really intense competitor who taught me so much and this means a lot.”
Two for Two for Haseleu
Haseleu made it a clean sweep by winning the second 50 lap Super Late Model Triple Crown Challenge race.
Kelsey Bauer and Feiler led the way to the green flag in the second fifty lap race for the Super Late Models.
Feiler took the early lead while a pair of Franks, Kreyer and Nitzke, raced side by side for second with Kreyer eventually gaining the upper hand. Out front, Feiler built up a six car length lead, but Kreyer wasn’t going to lose sight of him as he cut into his advantage on each lap.
Meanwhile, a good battle was taking place between Wilberg and Prunty for fourth with Haseleu and Miller directly behind getting a good view.
Kreyer attempted to find space on the low side of Feiler coming out of turn four on lap 18, but he would have to wait two more circuits before he found the space necessary for the lead. Nitzke motored by Feiler for second on lap 21 with Wilberg, Haseleu, and Miller getting past Feiler on lap 22.
Lap 23 found Haseleu moving past Wilberg for third and setting his sights on Nitzke for second. Two laps later Haseleu took the second spot from Nitzke while one lap later Miller moved into fourth with a pass of Wilberg.
Kreyer maintained the lead over Haseleu, but it was clear that Haseleu had the faster car. On lap 30, Haseleu saw the opportunity and grabbed it as he took the point from Kreyer coming out of turn two. From there he built up an eight car length lead over Kreyer who was getting heavy pressure from Miller to hold onto second. On lap 26 Miller was ready to make his move past Kreyer only to get loose coming out of turn two and losing ground.
Haseleu continued to make it look easy out front as he approached and easily cleared the lapped traffic. It was smooth sailing for the leader with the best action taking place in his rear view mirror as Miller and Wilberg moved past Kreyer on lap 45.
It appeared as if Haseleu could walk to victory lane until the caution flag came out on lap 46 for a spin. It was less than good news for Haseleu, but great news for the rest of the field.
Haseleu lined up inside row one as Wilberg made the move to start on the outside after Miller elected to stay on the inside behind Haseleu.
After the green flag waved, Haseleu and Wilberg raced side by side with Haseleu getting a car length advantage on lap 48. Miller passed Wilberg for second on lap 49. Haseleu made it look easy the rest of the way as he cruised to victory lane for the second time tonight. Miller finished second with Rich Bickle in third followed by Wilberg and Kreyer.
“This is a big deal. I had to race hard for the win. The guys did a great job on the car this week and it’s very special to win a race named in honor of Scotty,” said Haseleu.
A lap of 17.391 by Haseleu was the fastest in qualifying with Miller (17.557) and Wilberg (17.617) second and third respectively.
Super Late Models 6/8/2012
Feature:1. Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville, WI), 2. Jeremy Miller (Rockton, IL), 3. Dennis Prunty (Knowles, WI), 4. Gary LaMonte (West Allis, WI), 5. Rich Bickle (Janesville, WI), 6. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 7. Frank Kreyer (Wisconsin Dells, WI), 8. Mike Egan (Slinger, WI), 9. Frank Nitzke (Berlin, WI), 10. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI), 11. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie, WI), 12. Kelsey Bauer (Random Lake, WI), 13. Blake Brown (Franksville, WI), 14. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI),
Feature Two:1. Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville, WI), 2. Jeremy Miller (Rockton, IL), 3. Rich Bickle (Janesville, WI), 4. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 5. Frank Kreyer (Wisconsin Dells, WI), 6. Dennis Prunty (Knowles, WI), 7. Gary LaMonte (West Allis, WI), 8. Frank Nitzke (Berlin, WI), 9. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI), 10. Kelsey Bauer (Random Lake, WI), 11. Mike Egan (Slinger, WI), 12. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie, WI), 13. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI), 14. Blake Brown (Franksville, WI),
Qualifying:1. Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville, WI), 2. Jeremy Miller (Rockton, IL), 3. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 4. Gary LaMonte (West Allis, WI), 5. Rich Bickle (Janesville, WI), 6. Blake Brown (Franksville, WI), 7. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie, WI), 8. Frank Nitzke (Berlin, WI), 9. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI), 10. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI), 11. Dennis Prunty (Knowles, WI), 12. Mike Egan (Slinger, WI), 13. Frank Kreyer (Wisconsin Dells, WI), 14. Kelsey Bauer (Random Lake, WI),
Will Rece Wins Sportsman Feature
Will Rece was the winner in the 15 lap feature for the Ho Chunk Gaming Sportsman.
Tommy Wutke and Matt Lundberg brought the sixteen car Sportsman field to the green flag for their 15 lap feature with Wutke show the most power early on as he took the lead for the first three circuits before a spinning car brought out the caution on lap 3.
Will Rece elected to restart outside Wutke and proved to be the wisest man at the track as he jumped out to the lead over Wutke with Greg Baxter, Mike Taylor, and Matt Lundberg in pursuit.
Kody Hubred cracked the top five on lap 9 as the high-flying Rece continued to put real estate between himself and Wutke. Hubred slipped by Taylor for fourth on lap 11 but would not be able to hold the position as he lost it to Robert Hansberry Jr. one lap later.
But tonight Rece was a driver on a mission and was simply too strong as he held off Wutke to pick up his first-ever feature win at MIS in only his second race. Baxter, Hansberry Jr., and Hubred rounded out the top five.
“It feels great. My first feature win in a Sportsman at this track,” said the twenty-one year old Rece from victory lane.
Kody Hubred passed Greg Baxter with two laps to go in the first eight lap qualifying race to pick up the checkered flag. A pair of Stoughton drivers battled it out in the second qualifying race with TJ Goldade topping Will Rece for the win.
Once again Hansberry Jr. set fast time with a lap of 20.987. Following Hansberry Jr. in time was Wutke at 21.035 and Lundberg with 21.145.
Ho Chunk Gaming Madison Sportsman 6/8/2012
Feature:1. Will Rece (Stoughton, WI), 2. Tommy Wutke (Stoughton, WI), 3. Greg Baxter (Brodhead, WI), 4. Robert Hansberry Jr. (Beloit, WI), 5. Kody Hubred (Cambridge, WI), 6. TJ Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 7. Mike Taylor (Stoughton, WI), 8. Matt Lundberg (Rockford, IL), 9. Jon Coker (Oregon, WI), 10. Pat Fetherston (Byron, IL), 11. Russ Nicholson (Stoughton, WI), 12. Rodger Stephenson (Cambridge, WI), 13. Brandon Skolaski (Fitchburg, WI), 14. Matt Vaade (Stoughton, WI), 15. Chester Ace (Oregon, WI), 16. Dan Snyder (Stoughton, WI), 17. Paul Marti (Albany, WI)- DNS
Qualifying:1. Robert Hansberry Jr. (Beloit, WI), 2. Tommy Wutke (Stoughton, WI), 3. Matt Lundberg (Rockford, IL), 4. Mike Taylor (Stoughton, WI), 5. Will Rece (Stoughton, WI), 6. Kody Hubred (Cambridge, WI), 7. TJ Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 8. Greg Baxter (Brodhead, WI), 9. Jon Coker (Oregon, WI), 10. Russ Nicholson (Stoughton, WI), 11. Chester Ace (Oregon, WI), 12. Matt Vaade (Stoughton, WI), 13. Brandon Skolaski (Fitchburg, WI), 14. Pat Fetherston (Byron, IL), 15. Rodger Stephenson (Cambridge, WI), 16. Dan Snyder (Stoughton, WI), 17. Paul Marti (Albany, WI),
Qualifying Race 1:1. Kody Hubred (Cambridge, WI), 2. Greg Baxter (Brodhead, WI), 3. Mike Taylor (Stoughton, WI), 4. Tommy Wutke (Stoughton, WI), 5. Pat Fetherston (Byron, IL), 6. Russ Nicholson (Stoughton, WI), 7. Matt Vaade (Stoughton, WI), 8. Dan Snyder (Stoughton, WI),
Qualifying Race 2:1. TJ Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 2. Will Rece (Stoughton, WI), 3. Robert Hansberry Jr. (Beloit, WI), 4. Matt Lundberg (Rockford, IL), 5. Chester Ace (Oregon, WI), 6. Jon Coker (Oregon, WI), 7. Brandon Skolaski (Fitchburg, WI), 8. Rodger Stephenson (Cambridge, WI), 9. Paul Marti (Albany, WI),
Jusits Leads When It Counts and Takes Home Legends Checkered Flag
Kyle Jusits took over the lead on the final turn and won his first ever Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends feature.
Fourteen Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends came to the Ring of Fire for their twenty lap feature led by Rachael Pinkerman and Vince Bartolotta. It took a few laps to sort things out with the two racing side by side before Pinkerman took the lead on lap 3. Jusits joined the mix when got to the inside of Bartolotta on lap 4 with Andy Jones running to the outside of Bartolotta.
Running the outside groove, Jusits did his best to get by Pinkerman but was unable to do so. Bartolotta regained the second spot on lap 8 over Jusits with Jones applying heavy pressure.
Pinkerman built a six car length advantage over the competition with Jones powering by Bartolotta on lap 12 and appearing to be her toughest competition. Jones was quickly on Pinkerman’s bumper, but was going to have to get by on the outside if he wanted the lead.
On lap 15 the two were side by side on the backstretch, but Pinkerman was running strong and wasn’t about to give up the lead.
Pinkerman and Jones continued to pace the field with Jones attempting everything he could to get past the leader. It appeared that it was going to be a two car race for the win with Jusits likely having to settle for third.
However, things would get very interesting on the final lap. Jones did everything he could to find a way past Pinkerman coming out of turn three and made contact with the leader causing her to spin.
This opened the door for Jusits who led the final one hundred feet to pick up the checkered flag. As a result of the contact, Jones was relegated to the back meaning Bartolotta finished second followed by Chris Lishamer, Cory Talaska, and Kevin Griffin.
“That was one fun race,” said Jusits who picked up his first ever feature win at MIS. “It’s so hard to get out front and be able to get a win.”
After a lengthy caution period, Chris Lishamer held off Andy Jones and Kyle Jusits to win the first ten lap qualifying race. In the second qualifying race, Cory Talaska took the lead on the third lap and easily outdistanced the field to gain the victory.
Talaska paced the field in qualifying with a lap of 14.015 followed by McNamara at 14.056 and Bartolotta with a 14.174.
Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends 6/8/2012
Feature:1. Kyle Jusits (Kenosha, WI), 2. Vince Bartolotta (West Allis, WI), 3. Chris Lishamer (Elgin, IL), 4. Cory Talaska (Campbellsport, WI), 5. Kevin Griffin (Green Oaks, IL), 6. Anthony Metallo (South Elgin, IL), 7. Tony Moyer (Malone, WI), 8. Max McNamara (Ingleside, IL), 9. Kyle Vergata (New Berlin, WI), 10. Johnny Kringas (Homer Glen, IL), 11. Jeff Lechnir (Oshkosh, WI), 12. Rachael Pinkerman (Barrington Hills, IL), 13. Andy Jones (Gurnee, IL), 14. Jordan Wendt (Stoughton, WI), 15. Brian Griffin (Elk Grove, IL- DNS, 16. Todd Schmitz (Verona, WI)- DNS
Qualifying:1. Cory Talaska (Campbellsport, WI), 2. Max McNamara (Ingleside, IL), 3. Vince Bartolotta (West Allis, WI), 4. Andy Jones (Gurnee, IL), 5. Kevin Griffin (Green Oaks, IL), 6. Rachael Pinkerman (Barrington Hills, IL), 7. Anthony Metallo (South Elgin, IL), 8. Tony Moyer (Malone, WI), 9. Todd Schmitz (Verona, WI), 10. Kyle Jusits (Kenosha, WI), 11. Kyle Vergata (New Berlin, WI), 12. Chris Lishamer (Elgin, IL), 13. Jeff Lechnir (Oshkosh, WI), 14. Brian Griffin (Elk Grove, IL), 15. Johnny Kringas (Homer Glen, IL), 16. Jordan Wendt (Stoughton, WI),
Qualifying Race 1:1. Chris Lishamer (Elgin, IL), 2. Andy Jones (Gurnee, IL), 3. Kyle Jusits (Kenosha, WI), 4. Rachael Pinkerman (Barrington Hills, IL), 5. Tony Moyer (Malone, WI), 6. Brian Griffin (Elk Grove, IL), 7. Jordan Wendt (Stoughton, WI), 8. Max McNamara (Ingleside, IL),
Qualifying Race 2:1. Cory Talaska (Campbellsport, WI), 2. Anthony Metallo (South Elgin, IL), 3. Kevin Griffin (Green Oaks, IL), 4. Vince Bartolotta (West Allis, WI), 5. Johnny Kringas (Homer Glen, IL), 6. Kyle Vergata (New Berlin, WI), 7. Jeff Lechnir (Oshkosh, WI), 8. Todd Schmitz (Verona, WI),
Racing continues on Friday, June 15th when Roto Rooter of Dane and Rock County presents Flag Night at the Races honoring all fathers. Dad’s attending with their families will be admitted free. See the exciting Rockweiler Insulation Late Models, powerful Ho Chunk Gaming Madison Sportsman, and thrilling Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends. Pit gates open at 3:30, practice at 4:45, qualifying at 6:15 with racing to follow. Happy Hour at MIS featuring drink specials is from 5:00 – 6:30. There’s also fun for the kids with a cup toss during intermission.
For more information visit the track website at madisoninternationalspeedway.com or call the track office at 608.835.9700.