 SCHULER RETURNS TO ROOTS, WINS INAUGURAL APPEARANCE OF WCS AT JEFFERSON
SPEEDWAY!
JEFFERSON, WI. (June 6, 2004) -- It may have been since the 1992 season, that Cambridge Wisconsin native
Jason Schuler last competed at Jefferson Speedway on a regular basis. But, his
knowledge of the raceway, and the location of victory lane, didn't escape his memory in
the passing years. Schuler, who has competed on a semi-regular basis on the NASCAR
Busch Series tour, returned to the raceway at which he began his career, and dominated the
final third of the First Supply 100 presented by the Bold Look of Kohler. The race
was the inaugural event of the Wisconsin Challenge Series at the Jefferson Speedway
oval. The event marked the first appearance of Super Late Models at the facility since the
1992 season, with a solid showing of fans and drivers for the event.
On his way to victory, Schuler took advantage of a tangle on a
restart between Jeremy Lepak and Jeff Kendall, to roar into the lead position, and once
out front his prior knowledge of the raceway proved to be his advantage as he sailed away
from the pack behind to score a reasonably comfortable victory. Second place went to
WCS series regular Adam Royle of Farmington, MN, who made an impressive charge through the
field to garner runner-up honors. Former series champion and new point leader Mark
Eswein of Wisconsin Rapids would reach the podium in third.
Run under nearly ideal weather conditions, the WCS Late
Models took to the track for qualifying, where Orfordville, IL native, Bobby Wilberg
established a new all-time track record by turning in a lap of 14.040 seconds. Four
drivers eclipsed the old all-time mark established by Matt Kenseth on July 28, 1992, when
he had turned in a lap of 14.103 seconds.
22 cars took the green flag in the 100 lap feature contest with
Waukon, IA native Ken Reiser, the all-time WCS point leader, garnering the initial lead,
outsprinting polesitter Adam Royle for the top spot.
John Ovadal Jr., a regular at the Jefferson Speedway oval,
slipped past Royal for second during the opening round and quickly ran down Reiser.
Ovadal worked the low line past Reiser to assume command of the contest on lap ten.
Jeremy Lepak, who had led much of the contest during the most
recent WCS race at Golden Sands Speedway on Memorial Day, has assumed third position
before the first of four cautions appeared when Steve Dobbratz, who turned in the fourth
fastest qualifying effort of the day, looped his ride in turn two.
Underway again Ovadal brought the field to the green with Reiser,
John Zimmerman and Lepak in tow. Zimmerman worked bast Reiser for the second spot on
lap 18, when Reiser slipped up the racing surface losing several spots in the process.
Ovadal showing his strength motored away from the field, while
Zimmerman, Lepak and Jeff Kendall followed. Schuler meanwhile was stalking the
leaders in the fifth spot.
On lap 29 a pair of incidents slowed the contest. Terry Van
Roy slapped the wall out of turn two, while at the same time Dean Schultz looped his mount
in turn four, forcing the second yellow flag to fly.
As he had after the earlier caution, Ovadal proved to be the
class of the field, motoring away from the pack. Zimmerman's strong showing began to
go awry as his pace slowed allowing Lepak to motor past into second on lap 39. On
the very next lap Kendall dropped Zimmerman another notch to reach third, and moments
later Schuler and Kevin Tunks went by dropping Zimmerman from the top five.
Ovadal's domination of the event began to evaporate as his
straightaway lead slowly began to shrink as Lepak began to reel in the leader. On
lap 47, Lepak moved to Ovadal's inside and had just completed a pass, when Ovadal's
car veered toward the wall in turn four, slamming hard into the concrete retaining wall.
The accident ended Ovadal's day after an impressive showing.
Lepak would bring the field back around for the green with Kendall and Schuler in
pursuit.
Just after the green flag flew the lead duo of Lepak and Kendall
became momentarily tangled, which allowed Schuler to shoot past for the lead coming off
turn two. Tunks followed Schuler past the pair into the runner-up spot. Lepak
regained his momentum to run third, with the days fastest qualifier, Wilberg running
in the fourth spot. Kendall gathered up his errant ride but fell several positions
in the process. Schuler would set the pace while Tunks and Lepak did battle for the
runner-up spot.
Schuler would show the way pacing the field at a rapid pace until
the final caution of the day on lap 71. Lepak has been running in the third spot, doing
battle with Wilberg when the pair touched in turn four, resulting in a spin by Lepak.
As a result, both drivers would have to restart the contest from the tail of the
field. Unfortunately for Lepak, his car developed mechanical problems shortly thereafter,
forcing him form the contest.
When racing began again, Schuler shot out to the lead. His
closest rival at the time, Tunks, developed a flat tire and was forced to pull into the
infield, leaving the runner-up slot to Kendall. Mark Eswein, the 2001 series
champion, had patiently worked his way into contention, now running in the third position.
Schuler would slowly pull away from the field, leaving the real
battle for second. Royle, who had started on the pole, had fallen deep into the
field during the opening rounds, now appeared to have the only car which could match
Schuler's pace. He steadily worked traffic, putting himself back into contention.
On lap 78 he motored past Eswein for third and then closed in on Kendall.
Royle would work past Kendall on lap 92, but by this point Schuler had build a
straightaway lead.
Over the remaining laps Schuler turned in flawless laps and Royle
was unable to cut into his lead. At the checkered Schuler still had a dozen car
lengths over a hard charging Royle. Eswein meanwhile would annex the third spot in
the contest with five laps remaining with a pass of Kendall. Eswien's third place
finish, coupled with an 11th place run for Don "Thunder" Turner, the point
leader heading into the contest, allowed Eswein to become the series new point leader.
Jeff Storm would work by Kendall in the closing laps to record a
fourth place finish after a solid run. Kendall would fight an ill handling car over
the final circuits to bring his ride home in fifth.
M.G. Gajewski, who had started deep in the field after earning a
spot in the feature through a qualifying race turned in a respectable sixth place showing.
Wilberg would rebound for seventh, while Reiser, Jason Weinkauf and defending
Jefferson Speedway champion Scott Nottestad would complete the top ten finishers in the
contest.
Earlier in the day, and eventful 40 lap qualifying race was held,
but the contest was concluded one lap short of it's intended distance as Jeff Falbe
slapped the wall coming off turn four coming to a halt on the front stretch. The
race was considered complete and the top six finishers were transferred to the main event.
Jason Weinkauf was awarded the victory, followed by Tony Strupp, Turner, Gajewski,
Nottestad and Schultz. Strupp had the contest in hand when his car developed mechanical
difficulty during the final laps, turning the lead over to Weinkauf.
The next event on the WCS schedule is the first appearance of the
series this season at the Marshfield Super Speedway on Saturday Night June 19th. The
half-mile paved oval will host two events this year including the series championship race
on September 11th.
Pit gates for the June 9th contest will open at 2:00 p.m., with
qualifying at 6:00 p.m., and racing at 7:30 p.m. In addition to the WCS Super Late
Models the evening will feature Super Stocks, 2-Man Cruisers and Motorcycle racing. Adult admission for the show is a fan friendly $12.
For racers the show is another cost cutting two-new tire program.
The left front tire must be a used marked and branded Hoosier 3035,
available from over a half-dozen area tracks as well as WCS series competition.
The car must also have one other marked and branded used tire that must have
been used previously in WCS competition. This cost cutting effort has saved
racers thousands of dollars each season in WCS competition making participation in a WCS
event an affordable proposition for Super Late Model competitors.
Marshfield Super Speedway is located three miles west of Marshfield, Wisconsin on
County Highway H. Additional information about this event can be had by calling (715)
387-2717 or (715) 384-8325. Information is also posted on the track website at
www.marshfieldspeedway.com or the official Wisconsin Challenge Series website located at
www.wisconsinchallenge.com
For
complete RACESTAT Computer Results Click Here
First Supply 100
presented by The Bold Look of Kohler - Results
Jefferson Speedway - June 6, 2004
100 Lap Feature: 1.)
Jason Schuler, Cambridge; 2.) Adam Royle, Farmington, MN; 3.) Mark Eswein, Wisconsin
Rapids; 4.) Jeff Storm, Waterford; 5.) Jeff Kendall, Montello; 6.) M.G. Gajewski, Wausau;
7.) Bobby Wilberg Orfordville; 8.) Ken Reiser, Waukon, IA; 9.) Jason Weinkauf, Merrill;
10.) Scott Nottestad, Stoughton; 11.) Don Turner, LaCrosse; 12.) Steve Dobbratz, Rio; 13.)
Chris Weinkauf, Merrill; 14.) Jeremy Lepak, Wausau; 15.) Kevin Tunks, Edgerton; 16.) John
Ovadal, Watertown; 17.) John Zimmerman, Markesan; 18.) Dean Schultz, Juneau; 19.) Jimmy
Jarlesberg, Cambridge; 20.) Terry Van Roy, Darboy; 21.) Scott Broughton, Stoughton; 22.)
Tony Strupp, West Bend
40 Lap Qualifier: 1.) J.
Weinkauf; 2.) Strupp; 3.) Turner; 4.) Gajewski; 5.) Nottestad; 6.) Schultz; 7.) Andy
Tomlinson, Pardeeville; 8.) Brian Johnson Jr., Roscoe, IL; 9.) Jim Carlson, LaCrosse; 10.)
Jeff Falbe, Beaver Dam |
