Columbus 151 opens Racing Season with the Wisconsin State Invitational!
By Dennis Thompson

April 25, 1999; Columbus, WI. - The Columbus 151 Speedway dropped the green flag on its first racing event of the season, the Wisconsin State Invitational, on Sunday afternoon April 25th. The opener provided plenty of close racing for fans ready to take in all the action in this special opening event.

Rick Nelson made his trip to the Wisconsin State Invitational at Columbus 151 Speedway pay off when he captured the 50-lap feature event for the Late Model division.  Nelson also posted quick time for the class.

In the fifty lap late model feature, Rick Nelson of Deerfield sprinted from his outside fifth row starting position and took only twelve laps to move into the top spot. Nelson pulled away several times during the event only to have the caution come out.

They don't always go straight!  Some of the drivers found themselves in a traffic jam in the Late Model feature event!

Dean Schultz of Juneau made several attempts to get by Nelson following restarts, but was unable to outpower Nelson. As the checkered flag waved, it was Nelson followed by Schultz. Andy Tomlinson of Poynette drove a strong race and wound up in third. Randy Breunig of Columbus led early in the event and finished in fourth. Al Weishoff of Otsego moved up from the fifth row to take fifth.

Gary Kasperek of Tigerton grabbed the lead from the pole position and went on to win the forty lap street stock feature. Despite Kasperek's starting position, the win did not come easy as several drivers engaged in heated battles to wrestle the top spot away.

Rick Coppernoll of Marshall moved up and pressured Kasperer early in the event. Coppemoll worked the high side and moved alongside of Kasperek in his bid for the lead. However on lap sixteen, Coppernoll spun as he went through turn four ending his hopes for a win. Dan Howard of Baraboo challenged Kasperek over the next few laps and actually had the edge on lap nineteen. Kasperek prevailed in the battle however resuming the point on the next lap.

Gary Kasperek had to work for the win in the Street Stock division and even gave up the lead very briefly with less than six laps to go in the feature race.  In the end however Kasperek was the man in victory lane.

Brady Liddle of Oregon entered the battle getting by Howard and set his sights on Kasperek. Liddle looked strong using the outside groove and also was able to move alongside Kasperek. Liddle's day would end, however, as his car broke and he slid up to the wall in tum one.

When racing action resumed Howard again battled with Kasperek. Howard tried high and low and was able to nose ahead on lap thirty-four. Kasperek fought back and was scored out in front on lap thirty-six and went on to the win. Will Godding of Cross Plains ran near the front all afternoon and finished in third behind Kasperek and Howard. Jeni Westergaard of Columbus moved up from the seventh row to take fourth. Ron Schmitt of Jackson was fifth.

Jeff Kohloff came from the fifth row to the front in order to win the Hobby Stock feature event.

Jeff Kohloff of Watertown worked his way up from the fifth row to race to the win in the twenty-five lap hobby stock feature. John Hibner of Pardeeville drove a strong race to finish in second. Mike Goeman Jr. of Hartford crossed the line in third ahead of Jerry Chapman of Juneau and Mike Kesperek of Clintonville.

Ray Kreyer of Poynette took over the lead on lap four and went on to the win in the fifteen lap Junior Motorsports feature. Ray Kreyer led most of the way giving up the lead only briefly to Ben Kreyer of Poynette. Ben Kreyer gave the lead back to Ray after spinning and then getting upside down between tums one and two. He was not injured in the crash. Following Ray Kreyer across the line at the checkered was Jeremy Gray of Poynette. Bryan Pautsch of Sun Prairie drove to third. Denver Lapacek of Madison was fourth. Scott Kleist of Poynette took fifth.

More winners!!  In the left photo, defending Backup car champion Bruce Havel (#15) visited the Columbus 151 Speedway winners circle after the feature race in that class, while Ray Kreyer (#9) topped the feature race in the visiting Junior Motorsports division.

Bruce Havel of Deerfield picked up where he left off last season by driving to victory in the eight lap back up race. Havel slipped by Ron Schneidewind of Madison with only a couple of laps to go to record the win. Dave Moore of McFarland was third.

Fast times for the afternoon were tumed in by Rick Nelson in the late models at 13.426, Ron Preskar of Juneau in the street stocks at 14.264, Gerry Junget of Rio in the hobby stocks at 15.514 and Steve Hustad of Arlington in the Junior Motorsports at 17.257.

Late model dash wins were recorded by Steve Dobbratz of Rio and Troy Meister of Marshall. Street stock dash wins went to Gary Kasperek and Karl Wahlgren of Cross Plains. Jim Rohrbeck of Portage and Jerry Chapman won the hobby stock dashes. The Junior Motorsports dash was taken by Jamie Moll of Madison.

Qualifier race wins were recorded by John Sherman of Madison in the late models, Fred Strobel of Hartford and Ron Schmitt in the street stocks and Charlie Frisch of Beloit in the hobby stocks. Ben Kreyer and Ray Kreyer won heat wins in the Junior Motorsports.

Jeni Westergaard raced to the win in the street stock last chance race recording the victory over Ed Jackson of Madison and Rodger Stephenson of Cambridge.

Racing will continue this Friday night at the Columbus 151 Speedway with the WIBA-FM Friday Night Points Opener. The Formula Indy Racing Association will also be in action. The first Ad World spectator race of the season will close out the action for the evening.

Special; Columbus, WI - The first Friday night event of the season will take place on April 30.

Flyway Automotive of Horican and Beaver Dam has committed to a new Rookie of the Year program for the season. A rookie will be considered any driver who has not raced in more than five race programs in any previous season. The driver must declare him/herself to be a rookie to the track officials.

At the end of the season, the driver must have participated in at least 50% of the programs. The award will be given out at the annual awards banquet. The award will pay 50% of the fund to the highest finishing rookie in any of the regular race divisions. The second highest rookie finisher for the season among the divisions will receive $300 and the third highest rookie will receive $200. Flyway Automotive will make an initial $500 donation to the fund. An additional $50 donation will be made to the fund each time a rookie wins a feature event (one per race night maximum).

A $50 donation will also be made to the fund each time a used vehicle is purchased from Flyway Automotive and the purchaser states that they are a fan at the Columbus 151 Speedway and have heard the advertisement at the speedway. The sales period will run from April 1 thru November 15. The customer will also receive with the purchase of a vehicle during the season, two grandstand tickets to the Season Championship.

Also new at the Columbus 151 Speedway will the addition of the RaceStat computer program to assist the scorers. Shirley Moore will also be taking an active part in the overall operation of the scoring tower. Dave Rottiger will moving to rules and tech enforcement. Dave Draheim will take over the flagging duties. Draheim has flagged in the past at the Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway and has been involved in racing since 1969 having worked at both Beaver Dam tracks.

The Moore's Towing and Service, Columbus 151 Speedway Racing '99 Car Show held on Sunday April 18 drew forty entrants. Luke Westenberg of Palmyra claimed the fan voted Best Appearing Car award in the late model division. Dennis Schmidt of Juneau won the award in the street stock division. The hobby stock award went to Gerry Junget of Rio. Jamie Moll of Arlington won the open division with his Junior Motorsports entry. Trophies were provided by Ron's Engravables of DeForest.

RESULTS

LATE MODEL:
50 LAP FEATURE: 1.) # 6 Rick Nelson, Deerfield; 2.) #34 Dean Schultz, Juneau; 3.) #31 Andy Tomlinson, Poynette; 4.) #76 Randy Breunig, Columbus; 5.) #46 Al Weishoff, Ostego
FIRST DASH: 1.) #52 Steve Dobbratz, Rio
SECOND DASH: 1.) #21 Troy Meister, Marshall
QUALIFYING RACE: 1.) #70 John Sherman, Madison
FAST QUALIFIER: # 6 Rick Nelson, Deerfield....... 13.426 Seconds

STREET STOCKS:
40 LAP FEATURE: 1.) # 2 Gary Kasperak, Tigerton; 2.) #25 Dan Howard, Baraboo; 3.) #67 Will Godding, Cross Plains; 4.) #91 Jeni Westergard, Columbus; 5.) # 6 Ron Schmitt, Jackson
LAST CHANCE: 1) #91 Jeni Westergaard, Columbus; 2.) Ed Jackson, Madison; 3.) Roger Stephenson, Cambridge
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: 1.) #15 Fred Strobel, Hartford
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: 1.) # 6 Ron Schmitt, Jackson
FIRST DASH: 1) # 2 Gary Kasperak, Tigerton
SECOND DASH: 1) #36 Carl Wahlgren, Cross Plains
FAST QUALIFIER: #71 Ron Preskar, Juneau....... 13.246 Seconds

HOBBY STOCKS:
25 LAP FEATURE: 1.) #98 Jeff Kohloff, Watertown; 2.) #68 John Hibner, Pardeeville; 3.) Mike Goeman Jr., Hartford; 4.) #7 Jerry Chapman, Juneau; 5.) # 8 Mike Kasperak, Clintonville
QUALIFYING RACE: 1.) #11 Charlie Frisch, Beloit, WI
FIRST DASH: 1) #99 Jim Rohrbeck, Portage
SECOND DASH: 1) # 7 Jerry Chapman, Juneau
FAST QUALIFIER: #71 Gerry Junget, Rio...... 15.514 Seconds

JUNIOR MOTORSPORTS:
15 LAP FEATURE: 1.) # 9 Ray Kreyer, Poynette; 2.) #18 Jeremy Gray, Poynette; 3.) # 2 Bryan Pautsch, Sun Prairie
FIRST HEAT: 1.) #95 Ben Kreyer, Poynette
SECOND HEAT: 1.) # 9 Ray Kreyer, Poynette
DASH: 1) # 6 Jamie Moll, Madison
FAST QUALIFIER: #28 Steve Hustad, Arlington.......17.257 Seconds

BACK-UPS:
8 LAP FEATURE: 1.) #15 Bruce Havel, Deerfield; 2.) #CYA Ron Schneidewind, Madison; 3.) #11 Dave Moore, McFarland.