Bobby Wilberg (Late Models), Robert Hansberry Jr. (Sportsman), and Dave Schmidt (Bandits) were crowned 2017 track champions at Madison International Speedway tonight.
For Wilberg it was his thirteenth track championship at Madison. His total is the most for a single driver in speedway history. “it’s amazing. It just shows what hard work does. We’ve been working on this car all year. We got a little behind the eight ball early on in the season. This is something very special. This one’s for mom and dad…I hope you’re watching,” said an emotional Wilberg from victory lane.
Jeremy Miller finished in second place while Zack Riddle was in third place. Will Rece, who finished in fourth place overall, won the Late Model Rookie of the Year.
Robert Hansberry Jr. won his fourth title in the Dave’s White Rock Sportsman.
“There are so many people who make this happen, but I have to start by thanking my family,” said Hansberry Jr. who became the winningest Sportsman driver in Madison history this season.
Mike Taylor finished in the runner-up position with Trevor Robinson taking home third place. Bryan Hellenbrand won Rookie of the Year honors for the division.
Schmidt won his first-ever track championship at Madison in the Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits. “I wanted to win them both tonight. We were going for it, but what can you do,” said Schmidt.
Dan Snyder finished second overall with McKayla Adams taking third place.
Three drivers also won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash Series for their respective divisions: Zack Riddle (Late Models), Robert Hansberry Jr. (Sportsman), and Steve Dickson (Bandits).
Andrew Morrissey drove Dave Klein’s Outlaw Late Model in the Mad Town Meltdown Time Trials and set a new stock car record on Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile with a lap of 16.639 (108.180 mph)
Late Model Checkered Flags Go to Wilberg and Riddle
Bobby Wilberg and Zack Riddle each won a 30 lap feature in the NASCAR Whelen All American Late Models.
In the first feature, the field was brought to the green flag by John Baumeister Jr. and Tom Gille. Baumeister Jr. quickly took the lead with Jacob Goede up to second followed by Gille, Will Rece, and Miller.
Miller was on the move through the field as he moved into fourth on lap 6 with Wilberg up to fifth one lap later. On lap 7 Miller worked his way past Gille to take third with Wilberg right behind him. Out front Baumeister Jr. was holding on to a two car length lead over Goede. But Miller was quickly moving up and pulled to the inside of Goede on lap 13 to take second and on lap 14 powered his way past Baumeister Jr. to take the lead just before the caution flag waved for a spin.
Miller continued to lead after the restart, but Wilberg was not going to let him out of his sight. On lap 18 Wilberg pulled to the inside going into turn three and made the pass for the lead. The two then began to put some distance between themselves and the top five cars of Zack Riddle, Goede, and Rusty Hansen. Wilberg was able to increase his lead over Miller to three car lengths with five laps to go. From there it was all Wilberg who cruised to victory lane. Miller finished second followed by Riddle, Goede, and Hansen.
“It was good hard racing there with Jeremy. It’s good racing and I like racing with Jeremy. It’s going to go down to the wire,” said Wilberg.
The track championship was now down to the final race. Wilberg had a one point advantage over Miller and the title would go to whoever finished higher in the second feature. It was that simple.
Wilberg and Miller would be starting side by side in row four.
Brian Beale jumped out to the early lead and led the first lap before the caution flag came out when Jeremy Miller’s motor expired bringing out the caution, ending his night, and eliminating him from title contention.
Beale continued to lead after the restart with Brent Edmunds, Zack Riddle, Will Rece, and Rusty Hansen in pursuit. On lap 6 Riddle moved up to second followed by Rece and Hansen. On lap 10 Dale Nottestad joined the top five with Wilberg in sixth.
Riddle was doing everything possible to get past Beale and made the pass for the lead coming down the front shoot on lap 14. Rece moved up to second ahead of Beale but was still multi-car lengths behind Riddle. With ten laps to go Wilberg slid by Hansen to take fourth. Trouble struck for Rece who dropped off the pace with five laps to go allowing Wilberg to move up to second.
But Wilberg wouldn’t be able to catch Riddle who picked up his second win of the season. Beale, Hansen, and Nottestad rounded out the top five.
“It’s been a roller coaster year. Tonight we had a real good car,” said Riddle.
Riddle won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash while Jeremy Miller set fast time with a lap of 18.690 (96.308 mph).
Hansberry Jr. and Weber Take Home Sportsman Checkered Flags
Robert Hansberry Jr. and Chris Weber each won a feature in tonight’s Dave’s White Rock Sportsman.
Hansberry Jr. took the checkered flag in the first 20 lap feature.
Gary Hellenbrand and Mike Taylor brought the field of ten cars to the line in the first 20 lap feature. Taylor quickly jumped out to a six car length lead over Hellenbrand and the rest of the field. On lap 9 Ray Hellenbrand took over the second position with a great distance still between himself and the leader. On lap 11 Chris Weber moved up to third while Ray Hellenbrand was closing the gap on Taylor.
Not only did Taylor have his hands full with Ray Hellenbrand, but Weber and Hansberry Jr. had joined the mix with four laps to go. Weber was putting heavy pressure on Ray Hellenbrand for second when the two made contact sending Hellenbrand spinning in turn four who was then collected by Gary Hellenbrand bringing out the caution.
On the restart Hansberry Jr. powered his way to the outside of Taylor to take the lead and sprint his way to victory lane. Taylor finished second followed by Trevor Robinson, Tim Wondrash, and Weber.
“We got lucky and pulled it off and we’ll try to get the second one,” said Hansberry Jr.
In the second feature Chris Weber took the lead on the second lap and began pulling away from the field, but Robert Hansberry Jr. wasn’t about to let that happen as he was up to challenge for the top spot on lap 5. At the half-way mark the two were side by side with both Trevor Robinson and Mike Taylor closing in on them.
On lap 13 Weber was able to open up some running room while Hansberry Jr. and Trevor Robinson were fighting it out for second. Robinson took over the second position on lap 16 while Weber was building his advantage.
But Weber was simply too fast in this race as he picked up his first win at Madison. Robinson finished second followed by Hansberry Jr., Taylor, and Bryan Hellenbrand.
“The car wasn’t too bad. It still needs some work,” said Weber.
Bryan Hellenbrand was honored as the 2017 Rookie of the Year for the Sportsman.
In his first appearance at Madison in 2017, Chris Weber set fast time with a lap of 20.036 (89.838 mph). Weber also won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash. Hansberry Jr. won the overall Dash title.
Schmidt and Dickson Get Wins in the Bandits
Dave Schmidt and Steve Dickson picked up the wins tonight in the Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits.
Schmidt won the first 20 lap feature
McKayla Adams jumped out to the early lead after getting ahead of Bart Brockman at the wave of the green flag. Dan Snyder and Dave Schmidt were quickly up to battle Adams for the lead. On lap 5 Schmidt moved to the inside of Snyder for second. On lap 8 Schmidt pulled to the outside of Adams and the two raced side by side with Snyder close behind in third.
On lap 12 Schmidt passed Adams to take the lead with Lyle Phillips moving ahead of Snyder for third. Schmidt opened up a big lead over Adams and the rest of the field and cruised to victory lane. Adams finished in second followed by Phillips, Snyder, and Steve Dickson.
“One more to go,” said Schmidt who was on his way to a track championship.
Steve Dickson jumped out to the early lead with Lyle Phillips and Dave Schmidt in second and third. Schmidt took the second spot from Phillips on lap 6 and began hunting down Dickson. When it appeared that Schmidt might be ready to take the lead, he got loose coming out of turn four giving Phillips back the second position.
Dickson was able to keep Phillips at bay until the caution flag waved for a spin on lap 17. On the restart Phillips gained the advantage over Dickson from the outside, but Dickson fought back and got the win at the stripe.
“We thought this might be our year,” said Dickson who picked up his third feature win of the season.
Dave Schmidt had the fastest time in qualifying with a lap of 14.790 (60.852 mph). Steve Dickson won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash.
Next Friday (September 8th) at Madison it’s the Night of Destruction featuring a wide variety of events including Monster Trucks, 6Shooters, and much more. A gigantic fireworks program will also be featured. Adult tickets are $20.00, Whelen Heroes and Seniors are $16.00, Students 12-17 are $10.00, children 6-11 are $5.00, and 5 and under free. Save big money by purchasing a “Family” ticket that includes two adults and up to four students / children for just $40.00. Grandstands open at 6:00 with the first event slated for 7:30 PM.
Results
NASCAR Late Models
A Feature 1 30 laps
1. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [8]; 2. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [7]; 3. 14R-Zack Riddle, [6]; 4. 72G-Jacob Goede, [3]; 5. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [9]; 6. 22P-Nick Panitzke, [14]; 7. 15WR-Will Rece, [5]; 8. 50G-Jake Gille, [13]; 9. 18B-Brian Beale, [11]; 10. 87E-Brent Edmunds, [10]; 11. 66P-Adam Peschek, [16]; 12. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [20]; 13. 19B-John Baumeister, [1]; 14. 1A-Steve Anderson, [15]; 15. 15R-Pat Richgels, [12]; 16. 32D-Paul Dygon, [18]; 17. 3G-Shawn Gunsolus, [17]; 18. 40G-Tom Gille, [2]; 19. 5J-Casey Johnson, [4]; 20. 64P-Jesse Pokszyk, [19]
A Feature 2 30 laps
1. 14R-Zack Riddle, [9]; 2. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [11]; 3. 18B-Brian Beale, [3]; 4. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [7]; 5. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [12]; 6. 22P-Nick Panitzke, [6]; 7. 72G-Jacob Goede, [8]; 8. 87E-Brent Edmunds, [2]; 9. 19B-John Baumeister, [13]; 10. 50G-Jake Gille, [4]; 11. 15R-Pat Richgels, [15]; 12. 66P-Adam Peschek, [1]; 13. 1A-Steve Anderson, [14]; 14. 3G-Shawn Gunsolus, [17]; 15. 32D-Paul Dygon, [16]; 16. 15WR-Will Rece, [5]; 17. 64P-Jesse Pokszyk, [20]; 18. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [10]; (DNS) 2MB-Michael Bilderback,
Dash 1 6 laps
1. 14R-Zack Riddle, [2]; 2. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [1]; 3. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [3]; 4. 15WR-Will Rece, [4]; 5. 5J-Casey Johnson, [5]; 6. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [6]
Qualifying 1
1. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [11]; 2. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [2]; 3. 14R-Zack Riddle, [13]; 4. 15WR-Will Rece, [14]; 5. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [19]; 6. 5J-Casey Johnson, [10]; 7. 72G-Jacob Goede, [5]; 8. 40G-Tom Gille, [21]; 9. 19B-John Baumeister, [17]; 10. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [12]; 11. 87E-Brent Edmunds, [6]; 12. 18B-Brian Beale, [16]; 13. 15R-Pat Richgels, [15]; 14. 50G-Jake Gille, [1]; 15. 22P-Nick Panitzke, [18]; 16. 1A-Steve Anderson, [7]; 17. 66P-Adam Peschek, [4]; 18. 3G-Shawn Gunsolus, [9]; 19. 32D-Paul Dygon, [20]; (DNS) 64P-Jesse Pokszyk, ; (DNS) 2MB-Michael Bilderback,
NASCAR Sportsman
A Feature 1 20 laps
1. 95H-Robert Hansberry, [4]; 2. 4T-Mike Taylor, [2]; 3. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [6]; 4. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [7]; 5. 97W-Chris Weber, [5]; 6. 14DD-Dwight Dunlap, [8]; 7. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [9]; 8. 7M-Sam Messell, [10]; 9. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [3]; 10. 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, [1]
A Feature 2 20 laps
1. 97W-Chris Weber, [4]; 2. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [6]; 3. 95H-Robert Hansberry, [8]; 4. 4T-Mike Taylor, [7]; 5. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [2]; 6. 7M-Sam Messell, [1]; 7. 14DD-Dwight Dunlap, [3]; 8. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [5]; (DNS) 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, ; (DNS) 78H-Ray Hellenbrand,
Dash 1 6 laps
1. 97W-Chris Weber, [1]; 2. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [2]; 3. 4T-Mike Taylor, [3]; 4. 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, [5]; 5. 95H-Robert Hansberry, [6]; 6. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [4]
Qualifying 1
1.97W-Chris Weber, [3]; 2. 95H-Robert Hansberry, [2]; 3. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [10]; 4. 4T-Mike Taylor, [7]; 5. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [4]; 6. 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, [5]; 7. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [1]; 8. 14DD-Dwight Dunlap, [9]; 9. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [6]; (DNS) 7M-Sam Messell
NASCAR Bandits
A Feature 1 20 laps
1. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [8]; 2. 49A-McKayla Adams, [5]; 3. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [6]; 4. 695S-Dan Snyder, [7]; 5. 10D-Steve Dickson, [4]; 6. 83K-Bill Kohn, [2]; 7. 70B-Bart Brockman, [1]; 8. 6R-Ben Rucker, [9]; 9. 7S-Dakota Smith, [3]
A Feature 2 20 laps
1. 10D-Steve Dickson, [3]; 2. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [5]; 3. 695S-Dan Snyder, [4]; 4. 49A-McKayla Adams, [6]; 5. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [7]; 6. 70B-Bart Brockman, [1]; 7. 83K-Bill Kohn, [2]; 8. 6R-Ben Rucker, [9]; 9. 7S-Dakota Smith, [8]
Dash 1 6 laps
1. 10D-Steve Dickson, [2]; 2. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [4]; 3. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [3]; 4. 49A-McKayla Adams, [6]; 5. 695S-Dan Snyder, [5]; (DQ) 7S-Dakota Smith, [1]
Qualifying 1: Lineup
1. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [7]; 2. 695S-Dan Snyder, [4]; 3. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [9]; 4. 49A-McKayla Adams, [1]; 5. 10D-Steve Dickson, [6]