|
Zimmerman Zips To Dairy Days 75 Victory In WCS Action At Marshfield
by Mary Langreck
MARSHFIELD, WI. (June 7, 2003) -- John Zimmerman of Markesan, scored perhaps
the biggest win of his career as he fended off a late race challenge for Jeff
Watters on his way to winning the Dairy Days 75 at Marshfield Super
Speedway. The fourth event of the 2003 Wisconsin Challenge Series has
seen four different winners take to victory lane. Zimmerman became the
fifth and final driver to pace the contest having taken the lead from Watters
with 29 laps remaining in the race. Watters would hound Zimmerman to the
checkered with Zimmerman taking the win by a couple car lengths.
The day had began with a field of 39 cars appearing in spite of threatening
weather conditions. Qualifying concluded with Krzykowski turning a lap
of 17.914 seconds topping the time trial session. Darnell, who had
already turned in a fat time effort this season sat second with a lap of
17.994 seconds, and third quick went to Eswein with a run of 17.998
seconds. The trio were the only drivers to eclipse the 18 second mark.
Run under cool and cloudy conditions, a field of 22 cars hustled to the
opening green flag with 2000 Marshfield Super Speedway track champion Judd
Brandl going to the lead from his pole starting position, with fellow front
row starter M.G. Gajewski slipping back on the outside lane. Multi-time
Golden Sands Super Stock champion Keith Bohmsach was making a rare Late Model
start, wheeling a car owned by Mark Eswein quickly moved into the runner-up
slot and he began to pressure Brandl for the lead position.
Bohmsach running hard in the outside lane drove deep into turn the corners in
the outside lane was able to power past Brandl for the lead position of lap
five. Brandl would fade quickly, as Jason Weinkauf would nab second on
the next lap, and Watters would drop Brandl back another spot on before the
conclusion of the lap. Royle was next to steal a spot from Brandl
on lap eight to run in the fourth position.
Bohmsach was able to hold the lead over Weinkauf by a car length over the next
ten laps as Weinkauf, Watters and Royle gave chase. Weinkauf was able to work
the outside line and he became the third different leader of the event when he
annexed the position from Bohmsach on lap 16. On lap 18, Bohmsach
slipped up the track just a bit, allowing Watters and Royle to slip
by.
The first of three cautions appeared on lap 25, with Weinkauf setting the pace
over Watters, Royle and Bohmsach. Zimmerman, by this point had been
working traffic and slowly moving forward, running in the seventh position.
When action resumed the battle for the lead heated up. Watters and
Weinkauf would run side by side around the half-mile paved oval.
After slight contact Watters would nose ahead on lap 28, with Royal taking
advantage of the situation to gain second, as Weinkauf slipped to the third
spot. Further back Zimmerman was continuing his march forward using the
outside lane. He reached the third position on lap 33 and began to reel
in the lead duo of Watters and Royle who were contesting the lead
position. Royle searched high and low for a way past Watters.
The lead trio were nose to tail at the halfway point of the contest, while
Eswein had quietly worked his way into contention securing the fourth
spot. Royle was able to get a good run on Watters using the
outside lane on lap 45. He made his pass in the outside groove
stick and he slowly began to pull away from Watters. However two laps
later, while extending his lead, Royle slipped off the backstretch and spun
heading into turn three forcing the second caution of the event and relegating
the former leader to the tail of the field.
This left Watters back in the lead with Zimmerman, Eswein and Jeff Weinfurter
the winner of the most recent WCS event which was held at Golden Sands
Speedway on Memorial Day in the top four spots. Ryan Mathews making his
second career WCS start had worked his way into the fifth spot after starting
deep in the field.
With 30 laps remaining all-time WCS point leader Ken Reiser who was running
inside the top ten, looped his car in turn three, sliding up an embankment
resulting in the third caution of the event.
Underway again Watters set the pace with Zimmerman hot on his heels.
Watters would slide up the track one lap after the green appeared and
Zimmerman was quick to capitalize on the situation slipping past underneath
for the lead. Watters, quickly regained his momentum and attempted
to retake the lead sticking to the low line of the track. Zimmerman was
up to the challenge and held fast to the top spot as Watters, Eswein,
Weinfurter and Mathews gave chase.
While the positions at the front began to stabilize as each driver sought to
make a move for a better spot, attention was focused a bit further back in the
field as Jeff Kendall was making a brilliant charge through the
pack. Kendall, has started the race in the 17th spot after winning
one of the qualifying races. He had moved to seventh when the fourth
caution appeared as fast qualifier Joe Krzykowski spun with 15 laps remaining
in the race. Kendall had reached fifth at Mathews expense when the final
caution appeared with seven laps remaining.
Erik Darnell, the current WCS point leader had come to a halt with mechanical
difficulties in turn three necessitating that caution and negating a top ten
finish. The end result was an official placing of 19th on the scoring
chart. However, that was enough for him to maintain the point lead
by a 444 to 422 point margin over Kendall.
With the green flag returning, Zimmerman assumed his role as the race leader
and he pulled away as Watters and Eswein engaged in a battle for
second. Kendall again went to work, powering past Weinfurter for
fourth with only a handful of laps remaining.
With two laps to go Eswein attempted to nose under Watters for the second
position but with Watters able to hold fast to the spot. This allowed
Zimmerman to stretch out to a six car length lead which he would hold to the
finish. Watters would maintain second ahead of Eswein, Kendall and
Weinfurter who made up the top five runners. Mathews, Bohmsach, Dean
LaPointe, Gajewski and Jason Weinkauf completed the top ten runners.
Royle, who set the pace fore his spin rebounded to take eleventh.
In the qualifying races Kendall and defending track champion Rory Melbinger
were able to secure victories. The first contest saw Kendall work from
the sixth spot to the lead, sweeping pass Chris Weinkauf for the top spot in
the closing laps of the race. Kendall would comfortable take the win
with Weinkauf and Ken Reiser reaching the main event. Rocky Breezer and
Mark Mackesy finished fourth and fifth.
The second race was marred by a severe accident with five laps remaining in
the race. Veteran racer Mike Langsdorf became tangled with Dave Lawrence
and Allen Check and impacted the outside wall in turn two. The race was
halted due to the crash. Langsdorf was in need of medical assistance and
transported to a nearby hospital for assessment and treatment. The cars
was considered complete. Melbinger who was in the lead at the time
was awarded the win, with transfer spots going to Jim Carlson and Kyle
Kinder. As of Monday morning Langsdorf remained in the hospital
continuing to receive treatment. Updates will be made available shortly.
The next event on the Wisconsin Challenge Series schedule will be the 23rd
Annual Larry Detjens Memorial race held at State Park Speedway in Wausau,
Wisconsin. The quarter-mile semi-banked paved oval will host the show on
Thursday evening, June 26th. Time trials are set to begin at 6:15 p.m.,
with racing planned to begin at 7:15 p.m.
The highlight of the program will be a 100 lap feature contest featuring the
Wisconsin Challenge Series Super Late Models. Twin 30 lap qualifying
races will also be on the agenda for the Super Late Models. Mini-Stocks
and Street Stocks will be on hand as support classes for the event.
State Park Speedway is located in Wausau, Wisconsin at the foot of Rib
Mountain. The track is just west of town on County Road NN. The
easiest route to the track is to take U.S. 51 to exit 190 and head west on
County NN. The track is about 2 miles from the exchange. For additional
information on State Park Speedway call (715) 842-4777 or consult the track
website at www.racingonline.com/wausau
or the official Wisconsin Challenge Series website located at www.wisconsinchallenge.com
One week later the Wisconsin Challenge Series stars are back in action for the
10th Annual North American Cup event at Dells Motor Speedway on Thursday
evening July 3rd, marking their final appearance at the third-mile paved oval
this season..
Wayne Elmhorst led lap one of the 4-Cylinder feature. Lap two Robert
Dalsky led and then Stephen Stewart took the lead for the win. Paul Berg
tried to chase down Stewart but the 12 lap contest didn't give him enough
time. Stewart won, Berg second, fast timer Keith Wirtz third, Jason Bell
fourth and Dalsky fifth.
The Cruiser feature was led and won by Randy Meyer. Pat Dickman held
second throughout the race. Sam Sudduth held third for a few laps before
relinquishing the position to Nick Klimpke. Travis Zvolena came up to
take fourth and Matt Gurnoyer grabbed fifth.
Join us again next Saturday for another night of exciting racing action on the
new asphalt. Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m., Miller Time Trials at 6
p.m. and racing starts at 7:30. Next Saturday's racing is sponsored by
Mid-States Equipment, Inc. Hydraulics, Meyer's Equipment Mfg. Corp.,
Nelson-Jameson and WDLB/WOSQ featuring CARQUEST Super Late Models, CARQUEST
Super Stocks, Motorcycles and 1-Man Cruisers. Marshfield Super Speedway
is located 3.5 miles West of Marshfield on County Trunk H.
Summary
WCS - Wisconsin Challenge Series
75 Lap Feature: 1.) John Zimmerman, Markesan; 2.) Jeff Watters, Mineral Point;
3.) Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapids; 4.) Jeff Kendall, Montello; 5.) Jeff
Weinfurter, Wisconsin Rapids; 6.) Ryan Mathews, Lake Geneva; 7.) Keith
Bohmsach, Wisconsin Rapids; 8.) Dean Lapointe, Marshfield; 9.) M.G. Gajewski,
Wausau; 10.) Chris Weinkauf, Merrill; 11.) Adam Royle, Farmington, MN; 12.)
Jason Weinkauf, Merrill; 13.) Kevin Brescia, Baraboo; 14.) Jim Carlson,
LaCrosse; 15.) Judd Brandl, Arpin; 16.) Kyle Kinder, McFarland; 17.) Joe
Krzykowski, Junction City; 18.) Ken Reiser, Waukon, IA; 19.) Erik Darnell,
Beach Park, IL; 20.) Frank Kreyer, Cottage Grove; 21.) Gary Back, Vesper; 22.)
Rory Melbinger, Marshfield.
First 25 Lap Qualifier: 1.) Kendall; 2.) C. Weinkauf; 3.) Reiser; 4.) Rocky
Breezer, Portage; 5.) Mark Mackesy, Wausau; 6.) Burton Brown, Freemont; 7.)
Kurt Guralski, Wausau; 8.) Pete Kempf, Nekoosa; 9.) Bruce Havel, Deerfield;
10.) Paul Knoblock, Schofield.
Second 25 Lap Qualifier: (Event shortened to 20 laps due to red flag) 1.)
Melbinger; 2.) Carlson; 3.) Kinder; 4.) Mike Budleski, Hatley; 5.) Scott
Broughton, Edgerton; 6.) Dan Howard, Baraboo; 7.) Brandon Selle, Dale; 8.)
Mike Langsdorf, Rio; 9.) Allen Check, Rosholt; 10.) Dave Lawrence, Baraboo
Qualifying
Super Late Models: Joe Krzykowski 17.914
4-Cylinders: Keith Wirtz 22.923
Cruisers: Randy Meyer 23.525
Heats
4-Cylinders
Heat 1: Schlough, Gascoigne, Elmhorst, Havlicek, Eckes.
Heat 2: Berg, Wirtz, Dalsky, Stewart, Hauser.
Cruisers
Heat 1: Meyer, Dickman, Klimpke, Sudduth, Zvolena.
WCS Last Chance 1: Kendall, C. Weinkauf, Reiser, Breezer, M. Mackesy,
Brown, Guralski, Kempf, Havel, P. Knoblock.
WCS Last Chance 2: Melbinger, Carlson, Kinder, Budleski, Broughton,
Howard, Selle, Langsdorf, Check, Lawrence.
Features
WCS Super Late Model: Zimmerman, Watters, Eswein, Kendall, Weinfurter,
Mathews, Bohmsach, LaPointe, Gajewski, C. Weinkauf.
4-Cylinder: Stewart, Berg, Wirtz, Bell, Dalsky, Hauser, Deven Adams,
Doug Adams, Nitzsche, Gascoigne.
Cruiser: Meyer, Dickman, Klimpke, Zvolena, Gurnoyer, Sudduth.
Point Standings as of June 7, 2003
CARQUEST Super Late Model
1. #32 Doug Drost243
2. #27 Judd Brandl227
3. #14 Eugene Gregorich Jr. 180
4. #95 Danny Heinritz166
5. #15 Dean LaPointe159
6. #17 Eric Wisz158
7. #97 Pete Kempf149
8. #88 Rory Melbinger145
9. #14 Wayne Breitenfeldt141
10. #94 Dave Cabelka141
CARQUEST Super Stock
1. #28 Larry Schultz 216
2. #80 Tim Plowman 208
3. #6 Matt Raykowski201
4. #1 Tim Hintz 185
5. #43 Kyle Davis 183
6. #66 Brendan Klueckman167
7. #99 Don Tieman Jr. 164
8. #78 Scott Havlicek156
9. #74 Bruce Stanley 149
10. #4 Randy Emmerich147
Cruiser
1. #04 Travis Zvolena170
2. #6 Randy Meyer 156
3. #55 Mike Dodson 129
4. #83 Sam Sudduth110
5. #21k Nick Klimpke102
6. #02 Pat Dickman99
7. #99 Nathan Briski95
8. #33 Ken Meyer 54
9. #40 Justin Moore 51
10. #21k Steve Bores 41
4-Cylinder
1. #0 Keith Wirtz103
2. #02 Paul Berg 98
3. #4Q Stephen Stewart 98
4. #64 Robert Dalsky76
5. #19 Steve Hauser 75
6. #22 Scott Gascoigne71
7. #15 Deven Adams 71
8. #43T Torey Nitzsche70
9. #88 Wayne Elmhorst66
10. #45 Erin Schlough63
Legend
1. #01 Elliott Weiler114
2. #8 Eric Lokemoen114
3. #2x Dave Keays102
4. #44 Josh Schoenick98
5. #6 Curt Gnatzig97
6. #81 Russ Weiler79
7. #14x Dan McGiveron76
8. #36 Mike Bula74
9. #13 Tim Brockhouse46
10. #7 Bryan Cataldi42
|
|
