Photos Courtesy Jess Riedner / Website
Dalton Zehr, Rick Coppernoll, Jeremy Bredeson, and Sean Worman also Winners
Zack Riddle held off Rusty Hansen and Shaun Scheel to win the 30 lap feature for the NASCAR Late Models tonight at Madison International Speedway. Dalton Zehr made history by winning the first-ever feature for the Super Late Models on the Ring of Fire while Rick Coppernoll (MISfitz), Jeremy Bredeson (Bandits), and Sean Worman (6Shooters) also took home checkered flags as part of Bobcat of Janesville Night.
Zack Riddle Tops the Late Models
Zack Riddle won the 30 lap feature for the NASCAR Late Models. The victory was the two time champion’s sixteenth career feature win at Madison which ties him with Bobby Wilberg for fourth place on the all-time wins list for the division.
Riddle and Pat Richgels brought the field to the green flag. Richgels was able to lead the first lap, but Riddle took the top spot on the second lap and opened up a three car length lead over Richgels and Shaun Scheel.
Scheel would move past Richgels for second on lap 5 with Rusty Hansen moving into third one lap later. On lap 8 point leader Bobby Wilberg would race past Richgels for fourth.
On lap 10 both Scheel and Hansen had cut Riddle’s lead to a single car length. On lap 12 Scheel moved to the inside of Riddle and the two raced side by side with Hansen also in the mix.
Riddle continued his lead over both Scheel and Hansen. On lap 20 Hansen worked to the inside of Scheel to take second and set his sights on Riddle. Hansen looked to the inside of Riddle for the lead on lap 22 but was unable to make the pass. Hansen wasn’t finished as several times he tried to find the room he needed inside of Riddle, but each time Riddle was able to keep his car out front to pick up the win.
“It was a great race,” said Riddle from victory lane. He also thanked his crew for all of their work in making his win possible.
The Late Model division has raced five times this season with five different winners.
Fast qualifier was John Baumeister Jr. with a lap of 18.737 (96.067 mph). Baumeister Jr. also picked up the win in the Dash. Heat races were won by Rusty Hansen and Pat Richgels.
Dalton Zehr is King of the Ring in Super Late Models
Dalton Zehr won the 12 lap feature for the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association Super Late Models on the Ring of Fire. It was the time in the history of the speedway that the super late models competed on the Ring of Fire. Three drivers took the challenge and proved that these cars can compete on the “little” track too.
Michael Raskovic jumped out to the early lead on the Ring of Fire before Zehr passed him coming out of turn three on lap 3. One lap later Curt Tillman took second from Raskovic but was never able to get within two car lengths of Zehr who picked up the victory.
“It’s not like any track we’ve ever run. It’s unique. This is a better racing surface than people realize and we’re going to make sure we have this race next year,” said Zehr.
It was a clean sweep for Zehr who turned a lap of 12.684 (70.956 mph) to establish a new track record on the Ring of Fire and picked up the heat win too.
Rick Coppernoll Picks Up MISfitz Checkered Flag
Rick Coppernoll won the 20 lap feature for the Dave’s White Rock MISfitz. It was his first win of the season.
Gary Hellenbrand and Rick Coppernoll led the field to the green flag. Coppernoll wasted no time getting out to the lead with Ray Hellenbrand quickly up to second followed by Mike Taylor. Ray Hellenbrand pulled to the inside of Coppernoll on lap 4 and the two raced side by side with Taylor a close third. Coppernoll was able to gain a slight advantage over Ray Hellenbrand and at the half way point had built his lead to a car length.
Coppernoll, Ray Hellenbrand, and Taylor continued to battle it out, but in the end Coppernoll was just too strong and picked up the checkered flag.
“It feels good to win,” said Coppernoll who brought his 602 Late Model out for the first time at Madison this year.
Ray Hellenbrand set fast time with a lap of 20.032 (89.856 mph) which is the closest qualifying lap to 20.000 this season. Dave Edwards won the Dash. Ray Hellenbrand and Mike Taylor were victorious in the heat races.
Jeremy Bredeson Edges Dave Schmidt for Bandits Checkered Flag
Jeremy Bredeson led just one lap, the final lap, and picked up the win in the 25 lap feature for the Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits.
Dave Schmidt took the early lead over Lyle Phillips. After five laps Dave Schmidt had built up a seven car length lead over Phillips and Brandon Junget who were racing side by side with Nick Schmidt and Ronnie Osborne behind them. This allowed Dave Schmidt to increase his lead to ten car lengths after ten laps.
Junget was able to hang on to second with Nick Schmidt up to third at the half way mark.
It looked like it was smooth sailing for Dave Schmidt until a spin with two laps to go brought out the caution flag setting up a double file restart. Dave Schmidt chose the inside with Jeremy Bredeson choosing to start outside the first row. Schmidt was able to retain his lead for a short time, but Bredeson had it hooked up on the outside and was able to edge Schmidt at the line to pick up the win by 0.031 seconds.
“I was able to make the outside work in the heat race so I tried again in the feature,” said Bredeson from victory lane. He became the first repeat winner in the division this season.
Nick Schmidt was quick qualifier with a lap of 14.835 (60.667 mph). Schmidt also won the Dash. Winners in the heat races were Schmidt and Jeremy Bredeson.
Sean Worman Best of the 6Shooters
Sean Worman won the 18 lap feature for the Roto Rooter 6Shooters.
Dan Bishop and Steve Theis brought the twenty-one car field to the green flag. Bishop grabbed the early lead, but Worman powered by him on lap two to take the point. Worman quickly built his lead to five car lengths over Bishop. But on the move was the yellow taxi of Trevor Chilson who passed Theis for third on lap 5 with Steve Buna moving into fourth on lap 6.
Things started to get exciting when the leaders caught the tail of the field on lap 7 and began to weave in and out of traffic. Worman was able to maintain his lead with Buna on the move as he raced up to second and closed the gap to just two car lengths.
On lap 14 the caution flag waved for a spin in turn one thus setting up a single file restart with four laps to go. Worman was able to retain his lead with Buna right on his rear bumper. Chilson was able to work his way past Buna to take second, but Worman was too strong tonight as he showed the way out front and picked up the win. Chilson finished second followed by Bishop, Julie Richter, and Theis.
“This is a lot of fun and exciting. I’ve probably got about $500 in this thing,” said Worman from victory lane.
6Shooter heat wins went to Randy Grant, Todd Carteron, and Cory McCarthy.
Racing at Madison continues on Friday, July 19th when Finks Paving presents Kids’ Night. Free admission for all kids 11 and under plus a candy scramble at intermission. On track racing action includes double features for the NASCAR Late Models, Dave’s White Rock MISfitz, Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits, and Bandoleros.
NASCAR Late Models
A Feature
1. 14R-Zack Riddle, [1]; 2. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [3]; 3. 8S-Shaun Scheel, [4]; 4. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [7]; 5. 19B-John Baumeister, [6]; 6. 38W-Jeff Watters, [9]; 7. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [5]; 8. 4S-Stephen Scheel, [8]; 9. 15R-Pat Richgels, [2]; 10. 14T-Kyle Taylor, [10]; 11. 39M-Colton Morgan, [11]
Dash
1. 19B-John Baumeister, [2]; 2. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [1]; 3. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [3]; 4. 8S-Shaun Scheel, [5]; 5. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [6]; 6. 15R-Pat Richgels, [4]
Heat 1
1. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [2]; 2. 14R-Zack Riddle, [1]; 3. 8S-Shaun Scheel, [3]; 4. 19B-John Baumeister, [4]; 5. 38W-Jeff Watters, [5]; 6. 39M-Colton Morgan, [6]
Heat 2
1. 15R-Pat Richgels, [2]; 2. 14T-Kyle Taylor, [5]; 3. 4S-Stephen Scheel, [1]; 4. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [3]; 5. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [4]
Qualifying
1.19B-John Baumeister, [4]; 2. 51N-Dale Nottestad, [8]; 3. 8S-Shaun Scheel, [11]; 4. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [5]; 5. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [10]; 6. 15R-Pat Richgels, [3]; 7. 14R-Zack Riddle, [1]; 8. 4S-Stephen Scheel, [9]; 9. 38W-Jeff Watters, [6]; 10. 14T-Kyle Taylor, [2]; 11. 39M-Colton Morgan, [7]
NASCAR Dave’s White Rock MISfitz
A Feature
1. 7C-Rick Coppernoll, [3]; 2. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [5]; 3. 4T-Mike Taylor, [7]; 4. 1A-Steve Anderson, [8]; 5. 5E-Dave Edwards, [6]; 6. 33H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [4]; 7. 45H-Gary Hellenbrand, [2]; 8. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [1]
Dash
1. 5E-Dave Edwards, [1]; 2. 7C-Rick Coppernoll, [4]; 3. 45H-Gary Hellenbrand, [3]; 4. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [6]; 5. 33H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [5]; 6. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [2]
Heat 1
1. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [3]; 2. 5E-Dave Edwards, [4]; 3. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [1]; 4. 7C-Rick Coppernoll, [2]; 5. 1A-Steve Anderson, [5]
Heat 2
1. 4T-Mike Taylor, [3]; 2. 45H-Gary Hellenbrand, [1]; 3. 33H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [2]; 4. 2H-Tyler Hansen, [4]
Qualifying
1. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [3]; 2. 33H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [1]; 3. 7C-Rick Coppernoll, [9]; 4. 45H-Gary Hellenbrand, [2]; 5. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [4]; 6. 5E-Dave Edwards, [8]; 7. 4T-Mike Taylor, [7]; 8. 1A-Steve Anderson, [5]; 9. 2H-Tyler Hansen, [6]
NASCAR Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits
A Feature
1. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [6]; 2. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [1]; 3. 11J-Brandon Junget, [3]; 4. 09S-Nick Schmidt, [5]; 5. 10D-Steve Dickson, [7]; 6. 19O-Ronnie Osborne, [4]; 7. 72C-Ronnie Coppernoll, [8]; 8. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [2]; 9. 06L-Dave Lembke, [9]
Dash
1. 09S-Nick Schmidt, [1]; 2. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [2]; 3. 19O-Ronnie Osborne, [3]; 4. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [4]; 5. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [6]; 6. 11J-Brandon Junget, [5]
Heat 1
1. 09S-Nick Schmidt, [3]; 2. 19O-Ronnie Osborne, [2]; 3. 10D-Steve Dickson, [4]; 4. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [1]; 5. 06L-Dave Lembke, [5]
Heat 2
1. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [3]; 2. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [1]; 3. 11J-Brandon Junget, [2]; 4. 72C-Ronnie Coppernoll, [4]
Qualifying
1. 09S-Nick Schmidt, [9]; 2. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [8]; 3. 19O-Ronnie Osborne, [4]; 4. 11J-Brandon Junget, [3]; 5. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [5]; 6. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [2]; 7. 10D-Steve Dickson, [1]; 8. 72C-Ronnie Coppernoll, [6]; 9. 06L-Dave Lembke, [7]
Super Late Models
A Feature
1. 119Z-Dalton Zehr, [3]; 2. 40T-Curt Tillman, [2]; 3. 14R-Michael Raskovic, [1]
Heat 1
1. 119Z-Dalton Zehr, [2]; 2. 14R-Michael Raskovic, [1]
Qualifying
1. 119Z-Dalton Zehr, [3]; 2. 14R-Michael Raskovic, [1]; (DNS) 40T-Curt Tillman,
Roto Rooter6Shooters
A Feature
1. 51W-Sean Worman, [3]; 2. 101C-Trevor Chilson, [8]; 3. 9B-Dan Bishop, [1]; 4. 4R-Julie Richter, [20]; 5. 3T-Steve Theis, [2]; 6. 84M-Steve Mueller, [9]; 7. 1M-Ken Morris, [6]; 8. 18M-Cory McCarthy, [13]; 9. 19B-Kevin Beyer, [12]; 10. 54C-Todd Carteron, [14]; 11. 16B-Steve Buna, [10]; 12. 55N-Chad Niday, [4]; 13. 00H-Joe Hunter, [7]; 14. 52Z-Joshua Zacharias, [17]; 15. 8H-Todd Holerud, [21]; 16. 6K-Dylan Klinger, [18]; 17. 78Z-Kevin Zemp, [11]; 18. 66P-Jaime Prado, [5]; 19. 7G-Tom Goetz, [16]; 20. 27G-Randy Grant, [15]; (DNS) 5JM-Josh Morris, ; (DNS) 4ZS-Zach Smith,
Heat 1
1. 27G-Randy Grant, [1]; 2. 19B-Kevin Beyer, [5]; 3. 84M-Steve Mueller, [3]; 4. 1M-Ken Morris, [6]; 5. 51W-Sean Worman, [4]; 6. 7G-Tom Goetz, [2]; 7. 5JM-Josh Morris, [7]; 8. 4ZS-Zach Smith, [8]
Heat 2
1. 54C-Todd Carteron, [4]; 2. 78Z-Kevin Zemp, [2]; 3. 101C-Trevor Chilson, [5]; 4. 66P-Jaime Prado, [6]; 5. 3T-Steve Theis, [1]; 6. 52Z-Joshua Zacharias, [3]; 7. 4R-Julie Richter, [7]
Heat 3
1. 18M-Cory McCarthy, [2]; 2. 16B-Steve Buna, [5]; 3. 00H-Joe Hunter, [1]; 4. 55N-Chad Niday, [7]; 5. 9B-Dan Bishop, [6]; 6. 6K-Dylan Klinger, [4]; 7. 8H-Todd Holerud, [3]