Hunter Stenson, Chris Weber, and Jackson Martindale Also Winners
Oregon, WI (June 2, 2023)
Fenhaus Wins Two
It was a huge night for Luke Fenhaus of Wausau, Wisconsin, as he swept a pair of 50 lap features for the Alive for 5 UMA Super Late Model Series Capital 100 at Madison. The wins were his first super late model checkered flags at Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile.
Fenhaus held off Gabe Sommers to pick up the win in the first 50 lap Capital Classic feature for the Alive for 5 UMA Super Late Model Series. It was his first Super Late Model win at Madison.
Brent Edmunds and Mike Lichtfeld paced the twenty car field to the green flag. Lichtfeld jumped out to the early lead with Luke Fenhaus up to second and Jeff Storm to third. After five laps Lichtfeld’s advantage over Fenhaus was up to three lengths with the top five distancing themselves from the pack. On lap 7 Gabe Sommers passed Edmunds for fourth. On lap 9 Fenhaus looked to the inside of Lichtfeld for the lead but was unable to make the pass before the caution flag waved for a spin back in the field.
Lichtfeld and Fenhaus led the field back to green with Fenhaus rocketing out to the lead with Storm overtaking Lichtfeld for second. Riley Stenjem powered his way past for Lichtfeld for third on lap 11 with Sommers doing the same one lap later. After twenty laps Fenhaus had opened up a seven car length advantage over Storm. At the half-way mark Stenjem was closing quickly on Storm with Sommers pressuring Stenjem for third. On lap 28 Sommers passed Stenjem for third with John DeAngelis Jr. passing Stenjem for fourth.
On lap 35 Sommers moved to the inside of Storm to claim the second position which allowed Fenhaus to increase his sizeable lead over the field. Fenhaus was able to maneuver his way through lapped traffic but it allowed Sommers to close the gap down to five car lengths. But a slowed car prevented Sommers from closing the gap allowing Fenhaus to increase his lead. But much to the delight of Sommers and company, a stalled car on lap 46 brought out the caution flag and took away Fenhaus’ advantage.
Time for the restart. Fenhaus chose the low side while Sommers selected the high side with Storm and DeAngelis Jr. doing the same in the second row. The first start was waved off. Fenhaus was able to maintain his lead after the second attempt and from there led the rest of the way to pick up the win followed by Sommers, DeAngelis Jr., Stenjem, and Storm.
“We struggled early on, but the track cooled off and we made some adjustments,” said Fenhaus.
Fenhaus made it two for two by winning the second 50 lap Capital Classic.
Storm and Fenhaus brought the field to the green flag. Fenhaus took a slight advantage from the outside but was unable to clear him with Storm eventually getting the lead on lap 5. Dalton Zehr moved into third on lap 6 followed by DeAngelis Jr. and Sommers. The top three were quickly checking themselves away from the field, but a caution flag for a spin in turn four on lap 18 behind the leaders would take away the advantage.
It was a great restart for Fenhaus who cleared Storm for the top spot. On lap 20 Zehr got past Storm for second with DeAngelis Jr. putting the pressure on Storm for third. Out front Fenhaus was increasing his lead over Zehr as the two began running away from the field. At the half-way point the lead was five lengths for Fenhaus with a huge gap between the top two and the third place car of Storm. Lap by lap Zehr was starting to dial in Fenhaus with the lead down to 0.5 seconds with seventeen laps to go. Disaster struck for Zehr on lap 35 when he made contact with the front stretch wall bringing his car to a complete stop and ending his run for the night.
Fenhaus and Storm brought the field back to the green with Fenhaus getting back out front with DeAngelis Jr. moving up to second followed by Storm and Sommers. From here it was all Fenhaus who pulled away from DeAngelis Jr. and the rest of the field to earn his second trip of the night to victory lane. Completing the top five were DeAngelis Jr., Storm, Sommers, and Brent Edmunds.
“When you work hard and come together as a team that’s when you succeed,” said Fenhaus in a post-race interview.
Dalton Zehr set fast time with a lap of 17.686 (101.775 mph).
Hunter Stenson Best of the 602s
Hunter Stenson picked up his first-ever win at Madison by taking home the 30 lap feature for the 602 Late Models.
Bobby Wilberg had the honors of starting on the pole for the thirty lap 602 Late Model feature. Before a single lap could be completed a pile up in turn 3 that involved ten of the twelve cars not only brought out the red flag but the full fleet of trucks from Seitz Towing. Six cars were able to continue when the race went green after a lengthy delay and it was Bobby Wilberg jumping out to the early lead followed closely by Hunter Stenson.
Stenson and Wilberg battled side by side for the lead with Stenson working his way to the inside coming out of turn 4 on lap 12 to take the top spot. Stenson built up a four car length lead at the half-way mark while Brady Liddle was catching Wilberg for second. On lap 18 Liddle passed Wilberg for second while out front Stenson was checking away from the field who had put his car on cruise control. With four laps to go Wilberg pulled off the track allowing Mason Hellenbrand to claim the third position. At this point only a caution flag could slow the leader Stenson, but it didn’t happen as Stenson put himself in victory lane. Liddle, Hellenbrand, Rick Coppernoll, and Charlie Bates rounded out the top five.
“That was something,” said Stenson referring to the opening lap melee.
Fast time was set by Brady Liddle with a lap of 19.340 (93.071 mph). Heat winners were Bobby Wilberg and Mason Hellenbrand.
Chris Weber Tops the Area Sportsman
It’s been five years since the Area Sportsman were on the half-mile, but that didn’t matter to Chris Weber who made the long trip from western Wisconsin to pick up the win in the 25 lap feature.
The Area Sportsman were led to the green by Mike Krueger and Brandon DeLacy. The front row stayed the same for the first seven laps with Chris Weber doing everything he could to get to the front and finally on lap 8 was successful. On lap 10 three cars behind Weber spun in turn four bringing out the caution flag.
Weber paced the field back to green followed by Carson Sillars. Weber opened up a nearly two second lead over the field and it appeared that only Jeff Steenbergen may have a chance to catch him. But it was too little, too late as Weber easily took a trip to victory lane. Steenbergen, Sillars, Krueger, and Taylor completed the top five.
“The car was pretty good tonight,” said Weber who was in victory lane for the second time in his career at Madison.
Jeff Steenbergen was fast qualifier with a trip of 19.975 (90.113 mph) and also won the heat race.
Jackson Martindale finds HSRA Victory Lane
Jackson Martindale from Stillman Valley High School held off Kennedy Krueger from Melrose Mindoro High School to win the HSRA feature on the famous “Ring of Fire.”
Martindale also won the six lap heat race.
“It’s a great feeling and a great experience,” said Martindale who also plays soccer at his school.
Results
Alive for 5
Super Late Models – Feature 1 50 Laps
1.4LF-Luke Fenhaus , Wausau, WI[4], 2. 15GS-Gabe Sommers , Plover, WI[5], 3. 7JD-John DeAngelis Jr. , Hubertus, WI[7], 4. 77RS-Riley Stenjem , Stoughton, WI[10], 5. 25JS-Jeff Storm , East Troy, WI[3], 6. 119DZ-Dalton Zehr , Verona, WI[8], 7. 28BB-Braden Berge , Elkhorn, WI[9], 8. 44ML-Mike Lichtfeld , Pardeeville, WI[2], 9. 38JD-Jordan DeVoy , Lake Geneva, WI[14], 10. 8BM-Billy Mohn , Lakeville, MN[13], 11. 17MK-Max Kahler , Caledonia, IL[18], 12. 7MH-Mitch Haver , West Bend, WI[19], 13. 13NE-Nicholas Egan , Slinger, WI[15], 14. 79BP-Barret Polhemus , Wimberly, TX[16], 15. 4ST-Scott Tomsik , Avon, IN[11], 16. 66JS-James Storey , Burlington, WI[17], 17. 80RF-Ryan Farrell , Big Bend, WI[6], 18. 101CT-Curt Tillman , Rockford, IL[20], 19. 95HJ-Harley Jankowski , Sparta, WI[12], 20. 87BE-Brent Edmunds , Brodhead, WI
Super Late Models – Feature 2 50 Laps
1. 4LF-Luke Fenhaus , Wausau, WI[2], 2. 7JD-John DeAngelis Jr. , Hubertus, WI[3], 3. 25JS-Jeff Storm , East Troy, WI[1], 4. 15GS-Gabe Sommers , Plover, WI[6], 5. 87BE-Brent Edmunds , Brodhead, WI[20], 6. 8BM-Billy Mohn , Lakeville, MN[10], 7. 4ST-Scott Tomsik , Avon, IN[15], 8. 44ML-Mike Lichtfeld , Pardeeville, WI[8], 9. 38JD-Jordan DeVoy , Lake Geneva, WI[9], 10. 17MK-Max Kahler , Caledonia, IL[11], 11. 7MH-Mitch Haver , West Bend, WI[12], 12. 77RS-Riley Stenjem , Stoughton, WI[5], 13. 79BP-Barret Polhemus , Wimberly, TX[14], 14. 13NE-Nicholas Egan , Slinger, WI[13], 15. 95HJ-Harley Jankowski , Sparta, WI[19], 16. 66JS-James Storey , Burlington, WI[17], 17. 28BB-Braden Berge , Elkhorn, WI[7], 18. 119DZ-Dalton Zehr , Verona, WI[4], 19. 80RF-Ryan Farrell , Big Bend, WI[16], 20. 101CT-Curt Tillman , Rockford, IL[18]-DNS
Qualifying
1. 119DZ-Dalton Zehr, 17.6860; 2. 7JD-John DeAngelis Jr., 17.7250; 3. 80RF-Ryan Farrell, 17.7490; 4. 15GS-Gabe Sommers, 17.8360; 5. 4LF-Luke Fenhaus, 17.8620; 6. 25JS-Jeff Storm, 17.8660; 7. 44ML-Mike Lichtfeld, 17.8830; 8. 87BE-Brent Edmunds, 17.8860; 9. 28BB-Braden Berge, 17.9270; 10. 77RS-Riley Stenjem, 17.9750; 11. 4ST-Scott Tomsik, 18.0100; 12. 95HJ-Harley Jankowski, 18.0820; 13. 8BM-Billy Mohn, 18.0980; 14. 38JD-Jordan DeVoy, 18.1210; 15. 13NE-Nicholas Egan, 18.1350; 16. 79BP-Barret Polhemus, 18.1480; 17. 66JS-James Storey, 18.2850; 18. 17MK-Max Kahler, 18.2900; 19. 7MH-Mitch Haver, 18.3260; 20. 101CT-Curt Tillman, 18.4440
602LM – Feature 30 Laps
1. 50HS-Hunter Stenson , Wisconsin Dells, WI[5], 2. 5BL-Brady Liddle , Brooklyn, WI[8], 3. 67MH-Mason Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[4], 4. 7RC-Rick Coppernoll , Stoughton, WI[11], 5. 36BW-Bobby Wilberg , Beloit, WI[1], 6. 34CB-Charlie Bates , Wisconsin Dells, WI[9], 7. 78RH-Ray Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[6], 8. 77MW-Michael Winters , Madison, WI[7], 9. 6DS-Dan Snyder , Stoughton, WI[10], 10. 9SJ-Scott Jensen , Evansville, WI[12], 11. 71LM-Larry Middleton Jr, Schererville, IN[2], 12. 35TB-Tanner Berge , Elkhorn, WI[3]
Qualifying
1. 5BL-Brady Liddle, 19.3400; 2. 77MW-Michael Winters, 19.3620; 3. 78RH-Ray Hellenbrand, 19.3990; 4. 50HS-Hunter Stenson, 19.4190; 5. 67MH-Mason Hellenbrand, 19.4640; 6. 35TB-Tanner Berge, 19.5120; 7. 71LM-Larry Middleton, 19.5790; 8. 36BW-Bobby Wilberg, 19.6530; 9. 34CB-Charlie Bates, 19.6850; 10. 6DS-Dan Snyder, 19.7070; 11. 7RC-Rick Coppernoll, 20.0260; 12. 9SJ-Scott Jensen, 20.9220
602LM – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 36BW-Bobby Wilberg , Beloit, WI[4], 2. 6DS-Dan Snyder , Stoughton, WI[2], 3. 34CB-Charlie Bates , Wisconsin Dells, WI[3], 4. 71LM-Larry Middleton Jr, Schererville, IN[5], 5. 9SJ-Scott Jensen , Evansville, WI[6], 6. 7RC-Rick Coppernoll , Stoughton, WI[1]
602LM – Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 67MH-Mason Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[2], 2. 78RH-Ray Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[4], 3. 35TB-Tanner Berge , Elkhorn, WI[1], 4. 77MW-Michael Winters , Madison, WI[5], 5. 5BL-Brady Liddle , Brooklyn, WI[6], 6. 50HS-Hunter Stenson , Wisconsin Dells, WI[3]
Area Sportsman – Feature 25 Laps
1. 97CW-Chris Weber , West Salem, WI[5], 2. 62JS-Jeff Steenbergen , Watertown, WI[6], 3. 2CS-Carson Sillars , Wausau, WI[3], 4. 34MK-Mike Krueger , Sparta, WI[1], 5. 4MT-Mike Taylor , Stoughhton, WI[7], 6. 119BD-Brandon Delacy , Utica, WI[2], 7. 75CC-Cainen Clemons , Woodstock, IL[8], 8. 57CP-Cody Potter , Pell Lake, WI[4]- DNS
Qualifying
1. 62JS-Jeff Steenbergen, 19.9750; 2. 97CW-Chris Weber, 20.0350; 3. 57CP-Cody Potter, 20.3510; 4. 2CS-Carson Sillars, 20.3880; 5. 119BD-Brandon Delacy, 20.5890; 6. 34MK-Mike Krueger, 20.8150; 7. 4MT-Mike Taylor, 21.1210; 8. 75CC-Cainen Clemons, 21.6190
Area Sportsman – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 62JS-Jeff Steenbergen , Watertown, WI[4], 2. 97CW-Chris Weber , West Salem, WI[3], 3. 57CP-Cody Potter , Pell Lake, WI[2], 4. 2CS-Carson Sillars , Wausau, WI[1], 5. 119BD-Brandon Delacy , Utica, WI[5], 6. 34MK-Mike Krueger , Sparta, WI[6], 7. 4MT-Mike Taylor , Stoughhton, WI[7], 8. 75CC-Cainen Clemons , Woodstock, IL[8]