Madison International Speedway
Official Press Release
Contact John Wells 608.225.1913
Dale Nottestad Returns to Victory Lane at MIS
Will Rece and Andy Jones Also Earn Checkered Flags
Oregon, WI- Friday, August 10, 2012- Dale Nottestad picked up his fifth win of the season in the Rockweiler Insulation Late Models and added to his points lead with one week of racing to go. Will Rece topped the field in the Ho Chunk Gaming Madison Sportsman and Andy Jones was the winner in the Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends on a beautiful night for racing at Madison International Speedway. Charlie Roland of Rockford, Illinois, bested Taz Becker to win the One on One Spectator Drags topping a field of seventeen cars and trucks.
Nottestad Notches Another Late Model Victory
Dale Nottestad won the 40 lap feature for the Rockweiler Insulation Late Models. The win was his fifth of the 2012 season and increased his lead in the point standings over Zack Riddle to a 935-908 margin.
Don Wickstrum and Chad Stevens paced the field to the green flag. Stevens grabbed the early lead with Casey Johnson and Zack Riddle up to second and third with Dale Nottestad in fourth. Johnson took the lead on lap 5 with Riddle and Nottestad up to second and third one lap later.
Johnson built up a six car length lead over Riddle and Nottestad who were racing side by side for second. Riddle gained the advantage for second on lap 10, but only for four laps as Nottestad charged past him on lap 14.
Nottestad was gaining quickly on Johnson and by the half way point the lead was down to two car lengths. On lap 23 Nottestad dropped to the inside of Johnson coming out of turn three and made the pass coming out of turn four for the lead. By lap 30 Nottestad had built his lead to nearly ten car lengths over Johnson and Riddle hoping the race would stay green the rest of the way…but it didn’t.
On lap 33 the car of Jason Hicks slowed coming out of turn three bringing out the caution flag. On the restart Riddle chose to line up outside of Nottestad in the front row with Johnson lining up on the inside of the second row.
Nottestad regained his lead while Johnson and Riddle were battling it out side by side for second place. Johnson was able to take second, but Bobby Wilberg would get by Riddle for third. Riddle now had his hands full with Kevin Knuese racing for fourth.
Out front it was all Nottestad who would hold off Johnson for the win followed by Wilberg, Knuese, and Riddle.
“It couldn’t have gone any better. We just need to keep winning and stay up front. I knew Zack would try to go to the outside on the restart, I would have done the same thing,” said Nottestad.
Casey Johnson won the six lap Morrison’s Auto Parts Dash. Johnson and Zack Riddle raced side by side to start the Dash with Johnson gaining a car length lead after one lap. Dale Nottestad was able to pass Riddle for second on lap 2, but it was money in the bank for Johnson who picked up his first Dash win of the season. Nottestad finished second with Riddle close behind in third place.
In the first ten lap qualifying race Jason Hicks took the early lead before Casey Johnson powered by him on lap 2. On lap 5 Dale Nottestad moved to the inside of Hicks coming down the front shoot to take over second place. Out front Johnson was enjoying a comfortable six car length lead over Nottestad. Johnson was able to lead the rest of the way and beat Nottestad by a car length.
Zack Riddle won the second qualifying race for the Late Models. Chad Stevens took the early lead in the second qualifying race and held the top position for the first five laps before Riddle nudged his way past for the lead and easily led the rest of the way to gain the win. Bobby Wilberg finished second followed by Kevin Knuese and Stevens.
Dale Nottestad snapped Zack Riddle’s qualifying streak with a lap of 18.863. Riddle, who had set fast time each week this season, was second with a circuit of 18.867 followed by Casey Johnson (19.024), Kevin Knuese (19.073), and Chuck Garetson (19.117).
40 Lap Feature:1. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI), 2. Casey Johnson (Stoughton, WI), 3. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 4. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI), 5. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 6. Chad Stevens (Orfordville, WI), 7. Don Wickstrum (Monroe, WI), 8. Chuck Garetson (Albany, WI), 9. Andy Evraets (Menomonee Falls, WI), 10. Casey Strese (Jefferson, WI), 11. Jason Hicks (Elkhorn, WI), 12. Cory Skolaski (Evansville, WI),
Morrisons Auto Parts Dash:1. Casey Johnson (Stoughton, WI), 2. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI), 3. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 4. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI), 5. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 6. Chuck Garetson (Albany, WI),
Qualifying:1. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI), 2. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 3. Casey Johnson (Stoughton, WI), 4. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI), 5. Chuck Garetson (Albany, WI), 6. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 7. Jason Hicks (Elkhorn, WI), 8. Chad Stevens (Orfordville, WI), 9. Don Wickstrum (Monroe, WI), 10. Andy Evraets (Menomonee Falls, WI), 11. Casey Strese (Jefferson, WI), 12. Pat Richgels (Middleton, WI), 13. Cory Skolaski (Evansville, WI),
Qualifying Race 1:1. Casey Johnson (Stoughton, WI), 2. Dale Nottestad (Cambridge, WI), 3. Jason Hicks (Elkhorn, WI), 4. Don Wickstrum (Monroe, WI), 5. Chuck Garetson (Albany, WI), 6. Casey Strese (Jefferson, WI),
Qualifying Race 2:1. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 2. Bobby Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 3. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI), 4. Chad Stevens (Orfordville, WI), 5. Andy Evraets (Menomonee Falls, WI), 6. Cory Skolaski (Evansville, WI),
Will Rece Brings His “A” Game to MIS
Will Rece led wire to wire to pick up his third feature win of the season in the Ho Chunk Gaming Madison Sportsman twenty lap feature.
Will Rece jumped out to the early lead leaving Greg Baxter, TJ Goldade, and Todd Ambrose fighting it out for second place behind him. By the fifth lap Rece had built a twelve car length lead over his fellow Sportsman competitors while Baxter had a nearly ten length lead over the third place car of Goldade.
With a huge lead the last thing Rece wanted to see was a caution flag. On lap 11 a spin on the front stretch brought out the caution and negated Rece’s sizeable advantage.
On the restart Robert Hansberry Jr. chose to line up outside of Rece in the front row. Rece would regain his lead by two car lengths over Hansberry Jr. as the two distanced themselves from the field. Behind the top two a pack was battling it out for third place with Tommy Wutke gaining the advantage.
Hansberry Jr. was able to keep Rece in his sights never falling more than two car lengths off the pace. Rece was simply too strong for the field as he hung on to win his third feature of the season. Hansberry Jr. finished in second but was placed fourth with Wutke and Matt Lundberg moving up to second and third respectively with Mike Taylor rounding out the top five.
“The car was definitely fast tonight,” said Rece from victory lane. “We definitely brought our “A” game tonight.”
TJ Goldade jumped out to the early lead in the first ten lap qualifying race for the Sportsman with Will Rece and Matt Lundberg fighting it out for second place. Rece and Lundberg raced side by side for second, but neither one was able to find the grip to get by Goldade who led wire to wire to gain the victory. Lundberg finished in second while Todd Ambrose nipped Rece for third.
Robert Hansberry Jr. threaded the needle coming out of turn two on the first lap of the second qualifying race to take the lead and check away from the field to pick up an easy win. The hottest competition on the track was for second where Tommy Wutke and Greg Baxter raced side by side with Wutke finally gaining the advantage and finishing second.
Fast qualifier for the Sportsman was Matt Lundberg with a trip of 21.107 followed by Tommy Wutke (21.180), Will Rece (21.221), Robert Hansberry Jr. (21.270), and Todd Ambrose (21.344). This was Lundberg’s third fast time this season.
Hansberry Jr. leads the points chase 1127-1068 over Matt Lundberg with one week to go.
20 Lap Feature:1. Will Rece (Stoughton, WI), 2. Tommy Wutke (Stoughton, WI), 3. Matt Lundberg (Rockford, IL),4. Robert Hansberry Jr. (Beloit, WI), 5. Mike Taylor (Stoughton, WI), 6. Todd Ambrose (Sauk City, WI), 7. Greg Baxter (Brodhead, WI), 8. TJ Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 9. Brandon Skolaski (Fitchburg, WI), 10. Matt Vaade (Stoughton, WI), 11. Paul Marti (Albany, WI),
Qualifying:1. Matt Lundberg (Rockford, IL), 2. Tommy Wutke (Stoughton, WI), 3. Will Rece (Stoughton, WI), 4. Robert Hansberry Jr. (Beloit, WI), 5. Todd Ambrose (Sauk City, WI), 6. Mike Taylor (Stoughton, WI), 7. TJ Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 8. Greg Baxter (Brodhead, WI), 9. Brandon Skolaski (Fitchburg, WI), 10. Matt Vaade (Stoughton, WI), 11. Paul Marti (Albany, WI), 12. Jon Coker (Oregon, WI),
Qualifying Race 1:1. TJ Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 2. Matt Lundberg (Rockford, IL), 3. Todd Ambrose (Sauk City, WI), 4. Will Rece (Stoughton, WI), 5. Brandon Skolaski (Fitchburg, WI), 6. Paul Marti (Albany, WI),
Qualifying Race 2:1. Robert Hansberry Jr. (Beloit, WI), 2. Tommy Wutke (Stoughton, WI), 3. Greg Baxter (Brodhead, WI), 4. Mike Taylor (Stoughton, WI), 5. Matt Vaade (Stoughton, WI), 6. Jon Coker (Oregon, WI),
Jones Wins For Sixth Time in 2012
Andy Jones won again in the Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends and increased his lead in the points race with one event remaining on the schedule. Jones now has a 1092-1041 advantage over Cory Talaska in the championship points chase with one race remaining.
Eleven Legends cars answered the call for their twenty-five lap feature. Todd Schmitz and Chris Lishamer had the honors of bringing the field to the green flag. Schmitz took the early lead for the first two laps followed by Tony Moyer before the caution flag came out for an incident on the front stretch that sent Kevin Griffin, Vince Bartolotta, and Andy Jones to the rear of the field.
Schmitz continued to lead after the restart with Cory Talaska passing Moyer for second. Talaska quickly cut into the lead of Schmitz and on lap 5 passed him on the inside coming out of turn four. On lap 8 Jones, who had worked his way up through the field, moved past Moyer for third and began working on Schmitz for second place. Three laps later Jones found the necessary room to get by Schmitz and moved into second place but with a lot of real estate to make up in order to catch Talaska.
By lap 15 Jones had caught Talaska and began working his way to the inside. On lap 17 Jones had all the room he needed coming out of turn three and took the lead. He quickly built up a ten car length lead over Talaska whose only hope was a late caution flag.
Talaska’s wishes were answered but unfortunately at the expense of Tony Moyer whose car started on fire while coming out of turn two on lap 23. The safety crew was quickly on the scene to extinguish the blaze.
Jones led the field back to the green with Talaska and Bartolotta right behind him in the second row. It was a great start for Jones who jumped out to two lengths over Bartolotta and hung on to win for the sixth time this season. Bartolotta took home second place followed by Talaska, Lishamer, and Griffin.
“I was able to work my way up through the field after being sent to the back,” said Jones. “It’s not how I wanted to do it, but it was a nice win.”
Andy Jones cruised to victory lane in the first twelve lap qualifying race. Chris Lishamer took the early lead in the first qualifying race for the Legends but could only hold the point for two laps before surrendering the top spot to Jones. Cory Talaska drove to the inside of Lishamer on lap 7 to take second place, but Jones’ lead was simply too large as he easily picked up the win.
The second qualifying race was known as the “Legends of the Legends” for the drivers who were at least forty years old. Kevin Griffin jumped out to the early lead with Tony Moyer and Vince Bartolotta chasing him down. Bartolotta passed Moyer for second on lap 4 and then found room to the inside of Griffin to take the lead on lap 6 while coming out of turn four. Bartolotta was able to hold off Griffin to pick up the win and take home the honor of being the “Legend” of the Legends.
In Legends qualifying it was Andy Jones with a lap of 14.009 setting fast time for the third time this year on the “Ring of Fire.” Cory Talaska was second fastest with a lap of 14.062 followed by Vince Bartolotta (14.113), Todd Schmitz (14.147), and Tony Moyer (14.233).
25 Lap Feature:1. Andy Jones (Gurnee, IL), 2. Vince Bartolotta (West Allis, WI), 3. Cory Talaska (Campbellsport, WI), 4. Chris Lishamer (Elgin, IL), 5. Kevin Griffin (Green Oaks, IL), 6. Todd Schmitz (Verona, WI), 7. Kyle Jusits (Kenosha, WI), 8. Tim Narr (Raymond, WI), 9. Jordan Wendt (Stoughton, WI), 10. Tony Moyer (Malone, WI), 11. Jeff Lechnir (Oshkosh, WI),
Qualifying:1. Andy Jones (Gurnee, IL), 2. Cory Talaska (Campbellsport, WI), 3. Vince Bartolotta (West Allis, WI), 4. Todd Schmitz (Verona, WI), 5. Tony Moyer (Malone, WI), 6. Kyle Jusits (Kenosha, WI), 7. Kevin Griffin (Green Oaks, IL), 8. Chris Lishamer (Elgin, IL), 9. Tim Narr (Raymond, WI), 10. Jordan Wendt (Stoughton, WI), 11. Jeff Lechnir (Oshkosh, WI), 12. Johnny Kringas (Homer Glen, IL),
Qualifying Race 1:1. Andy Jones (Gurnee, IL), 2. Cory Talaska (Campbellsport, WI), 3. Chris Lishamer (Elgin, IL), 4. Jordan Wendt (Stoughton, WI), 5. Kyle Jusits (Kenosha, WI), 6. Johnny Kringas (Homer Glen, IL),
Qualifying Race 2:1. Vince Bartolotta (West Allis, WI), 2. Kevin Griffin (Green Oaks, IL), 3. Tony Moyer (Malone, WI), 4. Todd Schmitz (Verona, WI), 5. Jeff Lechnir (Oshkosh, WI), 6. Tim Narr (Raymond, WI),
Racing continues next Friday night (August 17th) for the Bob Schmelzer Memorial Season Championships with action in the Rockweiler Insulation Late Models, Ho Chunk Gaming Madison Sportsman, and Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends. Plus there will be bike giveaways and bus rides around Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile for the kids. Pit gates open at 3:30, grandstands at 4:30 with practice set for 4:45, qualifying at 6:15 and racing to follow.