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Woller Continues Winning Weekend At 151; Tomlinson Pepsi Champ
By Natasha Fabian
August 22, 2003 (Columbus, WI) – Coming into the evening, Andy Tomlinson had
a first and a third place finish in the Pepsi Triple Sixties standings at
Columbus 151 Speedway. Scott Patrick was in a close second in standings. The
two raced down to the wire before Tomlinson was named Challenge champion. Of
the three part deal, Scott Patrick won the first race, Tomlinson the second,
and Justin Woller the third.
Woller, who won the Late Model feature just the night before at State Park
Speedway is the son of Donnie Woller, who is atop the Mid-American Super Truck
standings. In his first trip to Columbus, the young driver's talent drove him
to victory in the sixty-lapper.
The Pepsi Triple Sixties have a lot of interesting history throughout their
ten-year span at the Speedway. The champion of the first ever challenge held
was NASCAR Busch star Scott Wimmer, a battle in which Keith Reamer won the
first round.
The crowd was entertained during the out-of-car driver introductions for the
Late Models, as announcer Dennis Thompson was costumed in Dave Rottiger
apparel, after someone had confused the two at one time. Thompson was hard to
miss with his blaze orange suspenders and baseball cap.
Racing started out regularly for the Late Model main event but quickly turned
to disaster. Jason Deppe took the early lead from the pole and led for the
first two laps, until Delbert Desjarlais was forced up into the marbles,
bouncing him into the wall. Coming off, he was slightly loose, enough so that
Tyler James of Oconomowoc just clipped the end. James hit hard enough and at
the right angle that he rolled up the side of another car, and continued into
a roll down the backstretch. Flying through the air upside down, he smashed
into the turn three wall, cracking through the cement, and finally coming to
rest on the racing surface right side up. The 19-year-old Rookie was
transported to the hospital for examination, and was released without injury.
Ty was wearing a Hutchen's device at the time of the crash, and he recommends
every driver look into investing in a head and neck restraint system. Scott,
Ty's father commented, "I think our season is done, we can't build up a
new chassis fast enough. I bet if we had a car to race, he would be back at it
next week."
Only eleven cars did not pit after that incident. The running order after two
laps in had Woller at the point, followed by Terry Sauer, Dean Schultz, and Ed
Wolff Jr. Four laps later, Wolff slowed in turn two, causing Scott Patrick to
get caught underneath him, collecting Randy Breunig on his way around. Breunig
complained of a hurting wrist and was advised to seek medical attention, but
the avid racer had no time for that, as he got a flat tire changed and pulled
back onto the track to rejoin the field two laps down. On the completion of
lap eight, Rob Retallick spun into the infield on the front straightaway,
slowing the field once again.
By halfway, Woller had a huge lead on Schultz, who was running second, and
concluded the remainder of the race as such.
Street Stock drivers competed in a twenty-five lap main event, in which Kevin
Anderson bested Bret Schmidt after a hotly contested duel. On lap six of the
race, Dustin Ward broke a ball joint on his machine, causing him to ride high,
but Tony Chase found himself stuck behind him with no where to go. With
fifteen laps in the books, Dale Weatherwax's lead on the field was lessened
when James Helmer of Fox Lake and Ken Scott mangled in turn two. Anderson and
Weatherwax raced side by side, but Anderson's pass on the high side was enough
to get it done. Schmidt then tried to pass Anderson on the same line, but
settled for second.
Dustin Ward, the winner of the second Street Stock heat race wished to
dedicate his win to Dennis "Strawberry" Welch who passed away that
day.
Sixteen-year-old Garrett Goth won his second Hobby Stock feature of the year.
Early in the race, Jason Deppe, Larry Moen and Jason Finnegan ran three wide,
but something had to give. It did, when Lincoln Keeser and Tylor Schultz got
together, Mike Kearny and Deppe being the other involved cars. Rookie Eric
Gardner was sent to the pit area to remove his rear bumper, which was
hazardously hanging off his car. Goth won with a healthy lead to put him in
the top spot in Rookie standings and ninth overall. Front-runner Jim Wingett
was forced to scratch for the evening after his torque converter froze up.
Allen Petrie Jr. was the big winner in the four-cylinder Bandit division. The
race saw several showings of three-wide competition on the speedway, always
fearless. Petrie took the win over Brian Paulson, and Chris Higgins notched
out Michael Miescher for the third spot in the finishing order.
Coming up Friday, August 29, is Fan Appreciation Night at Columbus 151
Speedway featuring a complete race program, with spectator races and stock
cars rides at intermission. Once again, the IMCA/Midwest Modifieds will be
racing on the schedule along with the Late Models, Street Stocks, Hobby
Stocks, Backups, and four-cylinder Bandits. The regular season wraps up with
Championship Night on September fifth. There will be extended features in the
top three divisions, along with the Bandits and Backups racing that evening.
In addition, there will be the annual Powder Puff Races and Mechanics Race,
where the crew members get to swap seats with the drivers for a fun-filled
event. To top it off, there will be a Halloween toy hunt for the kids.
Friday evening pits open at 5:00, qualifying is at 6:30 with racing to follow
at 8:00. Admission is just $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $2 for
kids ages 6-10, and children under five are free. Tune into 94.1 WJJO for up
to date race information. The track is located off Highway 151 between
Columbus and Sun Prairie on exit 111 (Hwy V). More information is available by
going online to www.racingonline.com/columbus151.
RESULTS
Late Model
Quick Time: Aaron Wilke, Waterloo 13.592 secs
Heat 1: Terry Sauer, Waterloo
Heat 2: Scott Patrick, Sullivan
Feature: Justin Woller, Wausau; Dean Schultz, Juneau; Patrick; Andy Tomlinson,
Poynette; Sauer
Street Stock
Quick Time: Bret Schmidt, Watertown 14.344 secs
Heat 1: Dale Weatherwax, Cambria
Heat 2: Dustin Ward, Beaver Dam
Feature: Kevin Anderson, Cottage Grove; Schmidt; Weatherwax; Scott Nelson,
Cambridge; Ed Jackson, Madison
Hobby Stock
Quick Time: Gary Pashley, Marshall 15.339 secs
Heat 1: Tylor Schultz, Rio
Heat 2: Larry Moen, Madison
Feature: Garrett Goth, Cottage Grove; Alan Dorn, Waterloo; Pashley; Grant
Lindner, Poynette; Chuck Egli, Waterloo
Bandit
Quick Time: Brian Paulson, Edgerton 16.545 secs
Heat 1: Mike Amador, Mazomanie
Heat 2: Tina Remsik
Feature: Allen Petrie Jr.; Paulson; Chris Higgins, Watertown; Michael Miescher,
Reeseville; Joe Cross
Backup
Feature: Mark Remsik, Deerfield; Steve Oetzel, Marshall; Rick Verdon,
Fitchburg; Dave moore, McFarland, Tom Gross
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