Oregon, WI (August 18, 2023)
Zack Riddle (Late Models) and Dave Edwards (MISfitz) became track champions tonight as part of Bobcat of Janesville Season Championship Night.
Eight features were contested for the night with Riddle and Jeremy Miller (Late Models), Bobby Frisch and Mason Hellenbrand (MISfitz), Dylan Klinger and Cory McCarthy (6Shooters), and Mitchell Berg (HSRA) all capturing feature wins.
Fueled by five feature wins, Riddle won his third straight track championship and fifth overall at Madison. His previous championships came in 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2022. Riddle now has 33 career Late Model wins placing him second on the all-time list. Riley Stenjem finished second in the points race with five-time Late Model champion Bobby Wilberg in third. Riddle topped the chart with 711 points while Stenjem (1 feature win) finished with 621 and Wilberg with 600 in the seven race season. Shaun Scheel and Brent Edmunds completed the top five.
For Edwards it was his second Dave’s White Rock MISfitz championship as he also won in 2019. He had two feature wins and finished with 666 points while Dan Snyder finished second and Mason Hellenbrand in third. Snyder picked up one feature win and finished with 632 points while Hellenbrand added two wins and 582 points in the seven race series. Chris Wangrow and Justin Sellers rounded out the top five in the standings.
The track would like to thank Al’s Dayton Place located in downtown Dayton, Wisconsin, for the bonus money presented to the best overall combined finishers which went to Jeremy Miller (Late Models), Dave Edwards (MISfitz), and Trevor Chilson (6Shooters).
Zack Riddle and Jeremy Miller Pick Up Late Model Wins
Zack Riddle and Jeremy Miller each won a 30 lap feature as part of Championship Night at Madison.
Carson Phillips, who was making his Late Model debut at Madison, and Morgan Schissel brought the field to the green flag. Schissel jumped out to the early lead followed by Shaun Scheel before the caution flag waved on lap two for an incident that resulted in Stephen Scheel and Riley Stenjem going to the pits for repairs. Scheel was able to rejoin the field before the green flag while Stenjem was unable to return. When the race went green Schissel was able to continue to lead as Shaun Scheel tried to get by on the inside. On lap 4 Scheel took the lead from Schissel with Jeremy Miller, Zack Riddle, and Will Rece behind the leaders in the top five. On lap 7 Wilberg passed Rece to take the fifth position. Miller pulled to the inside of Schissel on lap 10 to take second with Riddle moving past Schissel one lap later. On lap 12 Wilberg went low and raced his way past Schissel for fourth. But out front Scheel had built up a 1.64 second lead over Miller at the half-way point and appeared to be on his way to his first feature win of the season.
A spin on lap 16 brought out the caution flag and took away Scheel’s margin out front. It was now time for the cone to make its first appearance of the race. Scheel chose to line up on the inside with Miller on the outside followed by Riddle and Wilberg. Scheel jumped back out to the lead while Miller and Riddle raced side by side for the second position. On lap 17 Riddle would secure the second position followed by Miller, Rece, and Wilberg. An incident on the backstretch coming out of turn two involving two cars brought out the caution flag on lap 19 which led to a lengthy cleanup.
On the restart it was Scheel on the inside with Riddle on the outside followed by Milller and Rece. Riddle jumped out front ahead of Scheel and quickly put six car lengths between the two, but once again the caution flag would come out on lap 22 when Wilberg and Rece made contact on the backstretch sending both to the back of the field.
Riddle and Miller brought the field back to the green flag with Riddle continuing to show the way. Shaun Scheel was a distant third followed by Brent Edmunds and Steve Lichtfeld. On lap 26 Rece broke back into the top five. Out front with two laps to go Riddle continued to lead by two lengths and from there it was all Riddle who picked up the win followed by Miller, Scheel, Edmunds, and Rece.
“This one feels great. We were able to get it done. Hats off to Shaun for a good clean race out front. It was a good show and we have another one coming,” said Riddle.
Jeremy Miller took the checkered flag in the second 30 lap feature earning him his 19th career Late Model win at Madison.
Trevor Robinson and Steve Rubeck brought the field to the green flag with Rubeck taking the early lead before a multi-car incident on the front stretch brought out the caution flag on the second lap. The incident involved points leader Zack Riddle, Stephen Scheel, Bobby Wilberg, and Kyle Taylor. Riddle, Wilberg, and Scheel would not return.
Rubeck took control of the field for the restart followed by Robinson and John Beinlich with the caution flag coming out one lap later when Beinlich and Robinson got together coming out of turn one in an incident that also collected Steve Lichtfeld. During the caution flag the leader Rubeck also took his car back to the pits but was quickly able to return.
This put Brent Edmunds out front for the restart with only ten cars on the track. Three cars, Edmunds, Shaun Scheel, and Riley Stenjem, checked away from the field. On lap 8 Scheel moved to the inside of Edmunds coming out of turn four to take the lead. Stenjem would overtake Edmunds one lap later for the second position. A spin on lap 15 brought out the caution flag once again. Scheel led Stenjem back to the green flag with Jeremy Miller and Edmunds fighting it out for third. The action was wild out front as Stenjem and Scheel were making contact with each other with Scheel able to hold on to keep the lead. With ten laps to go a stalled car brought out another caution flag.
Scheel and Stenjem brought the field back to green with ten laps to go. The leaders remained side by side with Miller up to join them with eight laps to go. Miler then made it three wide going into turn three and somehow found his way to the front. Bad luck would strike Scheel with five laps to go when he had to pull into the infield. It was now the Miller and Stenjem out front as the two fought it out for the lead with Miller able to hang on for the win. Stenjem finished second followed by Edmunds, Robinson, and Paul Dygon.
“That was pretty crazy,” said Miller. “That was a lot of fun and thanks to Riley for running me clean.”
Zack Riddle was fast qualifier with a lap of 18.608 (96.733 mph)
Bobby Frisch and Mason Hellenbrand Winners in the MISfitz
Bobby Frisch and Mason Hellenbrand each won a 20 lap feature for the Dave’s White Rock MISfitz.
Dave Edwards and Brian Ulrich led the field to the green flag in the first 20 lap feature. Edwards quickly jumped out to the early lead followed by Bobby Frisch and Chris Wangrow before a spin brought out the caution on lap two. Edwards led the field back to the green flag with Wangrow and Frisch side by side for second. On lap 5 both Frisch and Dan Snyder were able to pass Wangrow. On lap 7 Frisch moved to the inside of Edwards while Snyder and Wangrow were side by side for third.
At the half-way mark the leaders were still side by side with Frisch on the inside and Edwards on the outside. With five laps to go Edwards and Frisch were still side by side with Snyder patiently waiting behind the pair. With two laps to go Edwards had a half car length lead with Frisch making the move as he drifted up the track on the final lap to take the lead with Edwards and Snyder nearly even as they crossed the line for second. Edwards would take the second position followed by Snyder, Ulrich, and Wangrow.
“I love that kind of side by side racing,” said Frisch who was making his first start of the season. It was his fourth career win in the division.
Going into the second feature only seven points separated the leader Dave Edwards from Dan Snyder.
The second 20 lap feature was brought to the green flag by a couple of veterans, Mike Taylor and Rick Coppernoll. But before a lap could be completed it was Mason Hellenbrand getting the lead with Brian Ulrich and Dan Snyder running second and third. Coming out of turn four on lap 2 Snyder spun bringing out the caution flag. When the green flag waved, Mason Hellenbrand led the field back to the green followed by Bobby Frisch and Ray Hellenbrand. Another spin on the backstretch quickly brought out another caution flag and ended the night early for Coppernoll.
Frisch would take the lead from Mason Hellenbrand on lap 4 with Ray Hellenbrand taking second on lap 5. Out front Frisch and Ray Hellenbrand were battling for the lead with Frisch taking the top spot after Ray Hellenbrand “broke out” for the second time on lap 7. Out front it was a three car fight between Mason Hellenbrand, Frisch, and newcomer Bill Schott. Frisch was able to keep the lead with Hellenbrand running a close second. Unfortunately, Snyder’s bid for a championship would end on lap 11 as he took his car to the pits. With two laps to go Hellenbrand had a slight lead on the outside over Frisch and would clear him for the lead. On the final lap Frisch gave it his best shot to get the win but “broke out” on the final lap which gave the win to Mason Hellenbrand. Schott finished second followed by Edwards, Wangrow, and Justin Sellers.
Bobby Frisch set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 20.033 (89.852 mph)
6Shooter Wins Go to Dylan Klinger and Cory McCarthy
Klinger won the first 18 lap feature for the Roto Rooter 6Shooters.
Jason Morgan and David Killerlain brought the field to the green flag. Killerlain jumped out to the early lead with Klinger, Robert McKeown, and Trevor Chilson chasing him down. On lap 3 the top three were three wide with Klinger taking the lead followed by Chilson. With McKeown behind the leaders in third, the top three checked away from the field with ten laps to go but lapped traffic was just ahead. The top three were able to maneuver their way through lapped traffic with Klinger holding a narrow lead over Chilson. With two laps to McKeown pulled ahead of Chilson for second while Klinger was increasing his lead out front which would be good enough to carry him to victory lane.
For Klinger it was his second feature win on the season..
Although he came across the line second, Cory McCarthy was awarded the win in the second 18 lap feature following a disqualification in post-race tech. .
McCarthy took the early lead followed by Nicholas Miller and Gene Robbins. On lap 3 Jacob Hillery pulled to the outside of Miller to take the second position with Randy Grancorvitz in fourth and Jason Van Hise in fifth. On lap 7 Hillery took the lead from McCarthy and built up a five car length lead at the half-way point. On lap 12 Trevor Chilson raced is way to fourth and then passed Miller for third one lap later and set his sights on the second place car of McCarthy. Out front Hillery was working his way around lapped traffic and was able to hold off McCarthy and Chlson to unofficially pick up the win.
Unfortunately, the strong run by Hillery would not stand up. The win for McCarthy was his first at Madison. Chilson finished second followed by Miller, Grancorvitz, and Jason Van Hise.
Mitchell Berg Sweeps the HSRA at Madison
Mitchell Berg made the most of his 150 miles one way trip to Madison as he swept both 15 lap features for the High School Racing Association. The wins were his second and third of the season and sixth in his career at Madison making him the all-time winningest HSRA driver here.
The field was paced to the green flag by Xander Weeks and LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway Champion Braydon Lockington. Weeks led most of the first lap before Jackson Martindale snuck by on the inside coming out of turn four. Charging quickly up to the front were Ryatt Dobrattz and Mitchell Berg with Berg pulling to the outside of Martindale on lap five and eventually taking the lead on lap 8. Martindale continued to chase Berg who had opened up a four car length lead. Deagen Smith was up to third followed by Caleb Arneson.
Out front it was smooth sailing for Berg while Martindale and Smith were fighting it out for second with Martindale eventually getting the advantage.
“With all the hard work we put into these cars it’s great to be recognized,” said Berg who will be a senior at Melrose Mindoro High School.
Kennedy Krueger and Landin Frye had the honors of bringing the field to the green flag. Krueger took the early lead before he made contact with Frye on lap 2 bringing out the caution flag and sending both drivers to the back of the pack. Braydon Lockington brought the field back to green followed by Mitchell Berg and Ryatt Dobrattz. Berg quickly moved to the outside of Lockington and would take the lead on lap 3. On lap 4 Deagan Smith moved into second place shortly before the caution flag came out for another incident.
Berg brought the field back to the green followed by Dobrattz and Jackson Martindale. The leader wasted no time checking away from the field and flew to victory lane followed by Dobrattz and Martindale.
Next Friday night at Madison is the Howie Lettow Classic 100 for the ASA Midwest Tour paying $5000 to win plus the Midwest Truck Series all capped off with a gigantic fireworks display.
Late Models Qualifying
1. 14ZR-Zack Riddle, 18.6080; 2. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg, 18.6590; 3. 5JM-Jeremy Miller, 18.7210; 4. 28RS-Riley Stenjem, 18.8490; 5. 8SS-Shaun Scheel, 18.8700; 6. 15WR-William Rece, 18.8890; 7. 71MS-Morgan Schissel, 18.9440; 8. 15CP-Carson Phillips, 18.9890; 9. 61SR-Steve Rubeck, 19.0160; 10. 87BE-Brent Edmunds, 19.0450; 11. 4SS-Stephen Scheel, 19.0710; 12. 32SL-Steven Lichtfeld, 19.1880; 13. 25WN-Willie Nelson, 19.2800; 14. 93JB-John Beinlich, 19.3410; 15. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, 19.3670; 16. 14KT-Kyle Taylor, 19.5290; 17. 32PD-Paul Dygon, 19.6760; 18. 17CG-Cole Gray, 20.1450; 19. 49MA-McKayla Adams, 20.2260
Late Models – Feature 1 30 Laps
1. 14ZR-Zack Riddle , Brooklyn, WI[8], 2. 5JM-Jeremy Miller , Rockford, IL[6], 3. 8SS-Shaun Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[4], 4. 87BE-Brent Edmunds , Brodhead, WI[10], 5. 15WR-William Rece , Stoughton, WI[3], 6. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg , Beloit, WI[7], 7. 32SL-Steven Lichtfeld , Pardeeville, WI[12], 8. 93JB-John Beinlich , Lincolnshire, IL[14], 9. 61SR-Steve Rubeck , Rockford, IL[9], 10. 99TR-Trevor Robinson , South Beloit, IL[15], 11. 14KT-Kyle Taylor , Stoughton, WI[16], 12. 32PD-Paul Dygon , Wind Lake, WI[17], 13. 49MA-McKayla Adams , Sun Prairie, WI[19], 14. 15CP-Carson Phillips , Edgerton, WI[1], 15. 71MS-Morgan Schissel , Rio, WI[2], 16. 17CG-Cole Gray , Endeavor, WI[18], 17. 4SS-Stephen Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[11], 18. 28RS-Riley Stenjem , Stoughton, WI[5]
Late Models – Feature 2 30 Laps
1. 5JM-Jeremy Miller , Rockford, IL[9], 2. 28RS-Riley Stenjem , Stoughton, WI[18], 3. 87BE-Brent Edmunds , Brodhead, WI[7], 4. 99TR-Trevor Robinson , South Beloit, IL[1], 5. 32PD-Paul Dygon , Wind Lake, WI[12], 6. 49MA-McKayla Adams , Sun Prairie, WI[13], 7. 14KT-Kyle Taylor , Stoughton, WI[11], 8. 8SS-Shaun Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[8], 9. 15WR-William Rece , Stoughton, WI[6], 10. 61SR-Steve Rubeck , Rockford, IL[2], 11. 93JB-John Beinlich , Lincolnshire, IL[3], 12. 32SL-Steven Lichtfeld , Pardeeville, WI[4], 13. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg , Beloit, WI[5], 14. 14ZR-Zack Riddle , Brooklyn, WI[10], 15. 4SS-Stephen Scheel , Lake Mills, WI[17], 16. 17CG-Cole Gray , Endeavor, WI[16]
MISfitz Qualifying
1. 5BF-Bobby Frisch, 20.0330; 2. 6DS-Dan Snyder, 20.0730; 3. 31CW-Chris Wangrow, 20.1550; 4. 23BU-Brian Ulrich, 20.1920; 5. 5DE-David Edwards, 20.2300; 6. 21BS-Bill Schott, 20.3760; 7. 7RC-Rick Coppernoll, 20.3780; 8. 67RH-Ray Hellenbrand, 20.5170; 9. 99JS-Justin Sellers, 20.5640; 10. 84TW-Tim Wondrash, 20.5980; 11. 4MT-Mike Taylor, 20.6010; 12. 78MH-Mason Hellenbrand, 49.9990; 13. 93CA-Chester Ace, 50.0000
MISfitz – Feature 1 20 Laps
1. 5BF-Bobby Frisch , Beloit, WI[5], 2. 5DE-David Edwards , Salem, WI[1], 3. 6DS-Dan Snyder , Stoughton, WI[4], 4. 31CW-Chris Wangrow , Avalon, WI[3], 5. 23BU-Brian Ulrich , Racine, WI[2], 6. 21BS-Bill Schott , LaCrosse, WI[6], 7. 78MH-Mason Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[8], 8. 7RC-Rick Coppernoll , Stoughton, WI[7], 9. 4MT-Mike Taylor , Stoughhton, WI[11], 10. 84TW-Tim Wondrash , Brooklyn, WI[10], 11. 99JS-Justin Sellers , South Elgin, IL[9], 12. 67RH-Ray Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[12]
MISfitz – Feature 2 20 Laps
1. 78MH-Mason Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[11], 2. 21BS-Bill Schott , LaCrosse, WI[4], 3. 5DE-David Edwards , Salem, WI[8], 4. 31CW-Chris Wangrow , Avalon, WI[6], 5. 99JS-Justin Sellers , South Elgin, IL[10], 6. 84TW-Tim Wondrash , Brooklyn, WI[12], 7. 4MT-Mike Taylor , Stoughhton, WI[1], 8. 5BF-Bobby Frisch , Beloit, WI[9], 9. 23BU-Brian Ulrich , Racine, WI[5], 10. 6DS-Dan Snyder , Stoughton, WI[7], 11. 67RH-Ray Hellenbrand , Verona, WI[3], 12. 7RC-Rick Coppernoll , Stoughton, WI[2]
6Shooters – Feature 1 18 Laps
1. 1DK-Dylan Klinger , Albany, WI[4], 2. 01BM-Robert McKeown , McFarland, WI[3], 3. 101TC-Trevor Chilson , Middleton, WI[6], 4. 03JM-Josh Morris , Stoughton, WI[8], 5. 71JVH-Jason VanHise , Roscoe, IL[15], 6. 33RG-Randy Grancorvitz , Fort Atkinson, WI[11], 7. 74DK-David Killerlain , Madison, WI[2], 8. 9DB-Dan Bishop , Lodi, WI[7], 9. 22NM-Nicholas Miller , Brodhead, WI[13], 10. 4GR-Gene Robbins , Evansville, WI[9], 11. 18CM-Cory McCarthy , Brooklyn, WI[16], 12. 76JM-Jason Morgan , Evansville, WI[1], 13. 10KT-Kevin Turner , Juda, WI[12], 14. 8KM-Kenny Morris , Windsor, WI[17], 15. 2TK-Todd Klinger , Madison, WI[10], 16. 6JH-Jacob Hillery , Madison, WI[5]
6Shooters – Feature 2 18 Laps
1. 18CM-Cory McCarthy , Brooklyn, WI[1], 2. 101TC-Trevor Chilson , Middleton, WI[9], 3. 22NM-Nicholas Miller , Brodhead, WI[3], 4. 33RG-Randy Grancorvitz , Fort Atkinson, WI[5], 5. 71JVH-Jason VanHise , Roscoe, IL[6], 6. 03JM-Josh Morris , Stoughton, WI[7], 7. 4GR-Gene Robbins , Evansville, WI[2], 8. 74DK-David Killerlain , Madison, WI[16], 9. 9DB-Dan Bishop , Lodi, WI[17], 10. 1DK-Dylan Klinger , Albany, WI[11], 11. 76JM-Jason Morgan , Evansville, WI[12], 12. 10KT-Kevin Turner , Juda, WI[13], 13. 24JM-Julie Morris , Windsor, WI[4], 14. 8KM-Kenny Morris , Windsor, WI[14], 15. 2TK-Todd Klinger , Madison, WI[15], 16. 01BM-Robert McKeown , McFarland, WI[10], 17. 6JH-Jacob Hillery , Madison, WI[8]
HSRA – Feature 1 15 Laps
1. 2MB-Mitchell Berg , Mindoro, WI[5], 2. 13JM-Jackson Martindale , Stillman Valley, IL[3], 3. 8DS-Deagen Smith , Rockton, IL[4], 4. 12CA-Caleb Arneson , Melrose, WI[9], 5. 05RD-Ryatt Dobrattz , Elroy, WI[7], 6. 89BL-Braydon Lockington , Melrose, WI[2], 7. 98LF-Landin Frye , Kendall, WI[8], 8. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger , Sparta, WI[6], 9. 48ZZ-Zach Ziegler , Sycamore, IL[10], 10. 27ZW-Xander Weeks , Sauk City, WI[1]
HSRA – Feature 2 15 Laps
1. 2MB-Mitchell Berg , Mindoro, WI[8], 2. 05RD-Ryatt Dobrattz , Elroy, WI[4], 3. 13JM-Jackson Martindale , Stillman Valley, IL[7], 4. 98LF-Landin Frye , Kendall, WI[2], 5. 8DS-Deagen Smith , Rockton, IL[6], 6. 48ZZ-Zach Ziegler , Sycamore, IL[9], 7. 12CA-Caleb Arneson , Melrose, WI[5], 8. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger , Sparta, WI[1], 9. 27ZW-Xander Weeks , Sauk City, WI[10], 10. 89BL-Braydon Lockington , Melrose, WI[3]