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Dobratz Scores 2007 Season Opener At Columbus 151 Speedway
The 2007 racing season got underway at Columbus 151 Speedway under sunny skies
last Sunday afternoon. Steve Dobratz of Rio cruised to victory in the 35
lap late model main event. Bobbi Bishofberger and Shaun Scheel led the
21 car field to the drop of the green flag. Bishofberger grabbed the early
lead out of turn two and the inside line followed her past Scheel. Rob
Retallick lined up behind Bishofberger, followed by her father, Ron
Bishofberger, in third. The first of two cautions in the event flew on
lap three. Dobratz used the competition cone on the restart to move past
Retallick into second just as the second caution slowed the field on lap
five. Dobratz was able to fight off the challenges of defending champion
Dean Schultz on the second restart and immediately went to work on the
leader. On lap eight, Dobratz got to the inside of Bishofberger and took
over the top spot. Upon taking the point, Dobratz began pulling away
from the pack. Lapped traffic would allow Retallick to close the gap
between himself and Dobratz, but Dobratz proved too strong as he crossed the
line first followed by Retallick, Ron Bishofberger, Don Gaserude and Dean
Schultz rounding out the top five. Quick time was held by Dobratz with a
fast lap of 13.412. Heat winners included Steve Schlosser and John
Acker.
In street stock action, Scott Lawver of Roscoe, IL took top honors in the 25
lap feature event. Lawver made up one half of the front row on the start
along with Johnny Robinson, Jr. The two raced side by side until the
second lap when Lawver gained the advantage. Dale Weatherwax moved into
second behind the leader, followed by Robinson in third. Weatherwax
began a race long effort to find a way around Lawver. The next 15 laps
saw Weatherwax try the outside groove more than once as well as look for an
opening under the leader, all to no avail. Lap 17 saw the only caution
fly over the field. Defending champion Kevin Anderson used the restart
to charge alongside the leader, Lawver. The two battled over the final
laps with Lawver holding the slight advantage at the checkers. Anderson
owned second followed by Weatherwax, Robinson and Mike Amador. Fast
qualifier was Don Trush with a 14.156 second tour of the quarter mile.
Tony Showers and Robinson were heat winners.
Fall River's Andy Raley dominated every lap of the 20 lap hobby stock feature
en route to victory. Raley started on the pole and took the lead on the
lap one from Mike Storkson as the inside line followed him through. The
pack was slowed only once for a caution on lap six. Larry Moen mounted a
charge to the front on the restart, but got caught on the high side and slid
back a couple spots. Kyle Stark used the opening to begin his trek to
the front. Stark battled stiff competition from Gary Pashley and Dustin
Ward, all while Raley held the point. Raley took the win while never
being seriously challenged.
Stark earned the second spot followed by Pashley, Jim Tate and Ward rounding
out the top five. Heat winners were Raley and Mike Myers while the fast
time in qualifying was held by Ward with a lap of 15.415.
A crazy finish in the bandit main event saw Sean Watters of Sun Prairie take
the win. Steve Privett and Rory Padfield paced the pack of 18 machines
to the start. The two battled for the lead with Padfield gaining the
position on lap three. Watters followed into second with Stephen Scheel
in third. Meanwhile, fast qualifier, Jake Wasserburger was charging his
way to the front. Passing competitors on the outside, sometimes going
three wide, Wasserburger moved into third by lap 11. Lapped traffic
began to come into play and slow the leaders which allowed Wasserburger to
move alongside the leader, Padfield. The two drivers waged a fierce
battle for the top spot, making heavy contact several times. As the two
battled down the backstretch on the final lap, they made contact again and
Wasserburger spun into turn three. Due to the involvement of both
drivers toward the caution, the win was awarded to Sean Watters. The
rest of the top five consisted of Scheel, Gary Stark, Tyler Kelley and Kyle
Watters. Wasserburger fast lap in qualifying was 15.809 seconds. Heat
winners included Phil Denikas, Kyle Watters and Carlyn Voigt. Tiffany
Desjarles claimed the win in the last chance race.
Rounding out the afternoon's activities was the 10 lap backup feature.
Defending champion, Ryan Oetzel used his front row starting spot to lead all
10 laps en route to winning the event. Oetzel was not without a
challenge though as George Wachuta pressured him on each lap. But Oetzel
proved to be too strong as he crossed the line in first followed by Wachuta in
second and Bruce Havel in third.
Next week, Columbus 151 Speedway will once again host Sunday afternoon racing
action before moving to the regular Friday night schedule the following week.
There will be a full program of racing in all divisions. Time trials
start at 12:30 with racing beginning at 2 pm.
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