Zack Riddle earned his third Late Model track championship at Madison following a night of racing that included triple features. Riddle also won titles in 2014 and 2018.
“It was a team effort this year. I can’t say enough about my guys and the work all of us puts in to be able to do this,” said Riddle.
Wilberg finished second in points followed by Jacob Goede, Shaun Scheel, and Brent Edmunds.
Wilberg, Edmunds, and Michael Haggar picked up feature wins. For Wilberg it was his 19th career Late Model feature win at Madison while Edmunds notched his second overall and Haggar his first-ever at Madison.
Bobby Wilberg Edges Zack Riddle
In possibly the closest finish in track history, Bobby Wilberg won the opening feature for the NASCAR Late Models edging Zack Riddle by .001 second.
The evening began with the 25 lap make up feature from August 6th for the NASCAR Late Models. Shaun Scheel and Brent Edmunds led the field of eleven cars to the green flag. Scheel took the early lead and after two laps had opened up a three car length lead. On lap 4 Bobby Wilberg and Zack Riddle worked their way into second and third respectively. Two laps later Wilberg worked to the inside of Scheel coming out of turn four to take the lead with Riddle following him.
On lap 11, Riddle moved to the inside of Wilberg trying to take the lead but Wilberg was able to keep the lead from the outside. On lap 13 the leaders made contact coming out of turn one with both able to hang on though Wilberg was able to open his lead to two car lengths. With five laps to go Wilberg’s lead was still two car lengths over Riddle with Jacob Goede a distant third.
On the final lap, Riddle pulled to the inside of Wilberg and the two raced side by side. At the stripe it was Wilberg by inches in one of the closest finishes in recent history at Madison.
“It was a lot of fun. We’re racing hard and having fun,” said Wilberg.
Brent Edmunds Holds Off Jacob Goede for Checkered Flag
Brent Edmunds won the second 25 lap feature for the NASCAR Late Models.
Pat Richgels and Brady Liddle led the eighteen car field to the green flag. Richgels grabbed the early lead with Shaun Scheel up to second and Brent Edmunds in third. On lap 6 Scheel found room to the inside of Richgels and raced side by side with Edmunds close behind. On lap 8 Scheel took the lead with Edmunds following suit. Edmunds took the lead away from Scheel on lap 9 with Jacob Goede joining the mix. At the half-way point Edmunds had increased his lead to eight lengths. On lap 14 Goede moved into second with Will Rece moving into third followed by Scheel and Bobby Wilberg.
Goede was starting to cut into Edmund’s lead with five laps to go. With three laps to go the lead was down to three car lengths, but Edmunds was not going to let this one get away as he picked up the checkered flag. It was his first win of the season.
“This is amazing. We’ve struggled with the car this year and made some adjustments after the first race,” said Edmunds.
Michael Haggar Picks Up First Madison Win
Michael Haggar was the first car in the pits today. Several hours later he wouild celebrate his first-ever win at Madison.
In the third feature, Stephen Scheel and Haggar comprised the front row. Scheel took the early lead before the caution came out for a stalled car after a lap. On lap 3 Haggar worked to the inside to take the lead from Scheel. On lap 5 Zack Riddle took second from Scheel with Bobby Wilberg following him up to third. The red flag came out on lap 7 when two cars made heavy contact in turn four with one winding up on its roof. Both drivers were okay, but the race was delayed for track cleanup.
Haggar led the field back to the green followed by Riddle and Wilberg. With ten laps to go the top three stayed the same with Billy Mohn joining the group in fourth. Haggar was able to maintain his lead over the field and race his way to the checkered flag. Riddle, Wilberg, Mohn, and Jacob Goede rounded out the top five.
“I was surprised we were able to hold Riddle off. This is great, “ said Haggar.
NASCAR Rookie of the Year Kyle Smith added, “It’s been a big learning year since we haven’t run here that much before.”
Zack Riddle was quickest in time trials with a lap of 18.757 (95.964 mph). Billy Mohn won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash with Riddle winning the overall Dash title.
Late Models
Feature One: (1-11) Bobby Wilberg, Zack Riddle, Jacob Goede, Brent Edmunds, Rusty Hansen, Shaun Scheel, Will Rece, Stephen Scheel, Pat Richgels, Jeff Holmgren Jr., Kyle Smith
Feature Two: (1-10) Brent Edmunds, Jacob Goede, Will Rece, Shaun Scheel, Buddy Kofoid, Bobby Wilberg, Brady Liddle, Zack Riddle, Billy Mohn, Pat Richgels
(11-18) Michael Haggar, Stephen Scheel, Bill Baumeister, Jeff Holmgren Jr., Kyle Smith, Adam Peschek, Chase Hunter, Paul Dygon, Rusty Hansen-DNS
Feature Three: (1-10) Michael Haggar, Zack Riddle, Bobby Wilberg, Billy Mohn, Jacob Goede, Buddy Kofoid, Brent Edmunds, Shaun Scheel, Will Rece, Brady Liddle
(11-19) Stephen Scheel, Pat Richgels, Kyle Smith, Chase Hunter, Paul Dygon, Rusty Hansen, Adam Peschek, Bill Baumeister, Gary Krueger
Dash: (1-6) Billy Mohn, Bobby Wilberg, Jacob Goede, Jeff Holmgren Jr., Zack Riddle, Will Rece
Qualifying: (1-10) Zack Riddle, Will Rece, Bobby Wilberg, Billy Mohn, Jacob Goede, Jeff Holmgren Jr., Buddy Kofoid, Rusty Hansen, Brent Edmunds, Shaun Scheel
(11-19) Brady Liddle, Pat Richgels, Michael Haggar, Stephen Scheel, Adam Peschek, Kyle Smith, Bill Baumeister, Chase Hunter, Paul Dygon