Columbus 151 Speedway hosts awards banquet!

March 6, 1999; McFarland, WI. - The Park Ponderosa in McFarland was the sight of the Columbus 151 Speedway Awards Banquet held on Saturday March 6. The fans, sponsors, drivers, owners and all others that contributed to the speedway during the 1998 season were thanked for their support in making the season successful.

All track champions received trophies, season pit pass and a Columbus 151 Speedway jacket. Champions in the late model and street stock divisions also received a Hoosier jacket courtesy of Albert Getzloff Racing Tires. Drivers that had 100% attendance will receive a discount card for the upcoming season. Drivers that made at least 75% of the programs were eligible for the point fund. Frank and Doily Preskar of the Columbus 151 Speedway Fan Club also handed out point fund money to eligible drivers. Ron's Engravables of DeForest provided all the trophies and plaques for the banquet.

Columbus 151 Speedway Champions Honored!
	Champions in each of the four division received awards for their efforts this past racing seasons. Shown here are the champions in each division. From left are: Ron Preskar - Street Stock; Scott Patrick - Late Model; Gerry Junget - Hobby Stock and Bruce Havel - Backup Cars.

In the late model division, nineteen drivers were qualified for the point fund. Drivers finishing in the top ten in the season point standings were Scott Patrick of Dousman, who captured his first track championship, Mike Langsdorf of Doylestown, Dean Schultz of Juneau, Jim Grzanna of Menomonie Falls, Terry Sauer of Waterloo, Al Weishoff of Rio, Jerry Auby of Sun Prairie, Randy Breunig of Columbus, Denny Bergeron Jr. of Waterloo and Bruce Havel of Deerfield.

Fifteen drivers also received point fund money from the Pepsi Triple 60's Challenge Series. Scott Patrick won the series. Jason Erickson of Cambridge and Randy Breunig tied for second. Mike Langsdorf was fourth. Denny Bergeron Jr. was fifth.

Twenty-four drivers were eligible for point fund money in the street stock division. Ron Preskar of Juneau earned his first track championship. Other drivers finishing in the top ten were Brady Liddle of Oregon, Rick Coppernoll of Monona, Ron Schmitt of Jackson, Dave Oswald of Cottage Grove, Kevin Brescia of Baraboo, Will Godding of Cross Plains, John Kolb of Juneau, Chris Ehrhart of Deerfield and Jeni Westergaard of Columbus.

In the hobby stock division, thirteen drivers qualified for point fund money. Gerry Junget of Rio was also a first time track champion. Also in the top ten were Dennis Gaserude of Oregon, John Hibner of Pardeeviile, Ken Scott of Rio, Andy Junget of Rio, Jerry Chapman of Juneau, Mike Goeman Jr. of Hartford, Lincoln Keeser of Jefferson, Jason Hibner of Pardeeville and Dan Schmidt of Watertown.

Seven drivers were eligible for point fund money in the back up divsion. Bruce Havel won his third track championship. Ron Schneidewind of Madison was second. Rick Verdon of Fitchburg was third.

The top rookies from the 1998 season gathered for their photo: From left is former Street Stock champion and now Late Model Rookie of the Year Randy Breunig, in the center is Hobby Stock rookie of the Year Andy Junget and on the right is the top rookie in the Street Stocks, Ed Jackson.

The top rookie in each division received a gift certificate from B & K Metal Fab of Sun Prairie. Rookie of the Year honors went to Randy Breunig in the late models, Ed Jackson of Madison in the street stocks, Andy Junget in the hobby stocks and Mark Remsik of Deerfield in the back ups.

The Hard Charger Award, sponsored by Advance Auto Body, NAPA Auto Parts of Sun Prairie, Artisan Boat and Body Repair of Sun Prairie and Marshall Pub, were presented to Scott Patrick in the late models, Ron Preskar and Brady Liddle (tie) in the street stocks and Gerry Junget in the hobby stocks.

The Hard Luck Award was given to Jamie Sanderson of Madison for his unfortunate experiences throughout the season.

Al Weishoff was named the Most Improved Driver. Weishoff moved up from sixteenth in the point standings in 1997 to fmish sixth in 1998. He had three feature wins including the 50 lap season championship.

Powder Puff Awards were given to Heather Hook for street stock cars, Rachel Langsdorf for hobby stock cars and Vicki Pagel for using back up cars.

Sponsor Awards were presented to Advance Auto Body of Madison and Junior Motorsports of Poynette.

Rick Smith and Randy Knause received certificates for a Columbus jacket for their service to the speedway.

Ron And Michelle Preskar were recognized for their promotion of the speedway in the Milwaukee car show in January.

The Columbus 151 Speedway will open the 1999 season with Tuning and Testing beginning on Wednesday April 7, weather permitting. The track will open at 4:30 p.m. and be open until dark.

The Moore's Towing and Service Racing '99 Car Show will take place at the Columbus 151 Speedway on Sunday April 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The show is open to all types of race cars from any track. The first entry for the show was received from Dean Schultz of Juneau. Schultz has entered His JRC Enterprises '99 Pontiac Grand Prix. Ron Preskar of Juneau has also entered with his Berres Brothers Coffee sponsored '77 Cutlass. Those interested are encouraged to contact Dennis Thompson at 608-837-7024 (evenings).

The first race of the season will be the Wisconsin State Invitational on Sunday April 25. The event for limited late models, street/super stock, hobby/pure stock and back ups will post a $15,000 purse. Junior Motorsports will also participate in the show. Gates will open at 9:00 p.m. Time trials will be at Noon. Opening ceremonies will be at 2:00 p.m. with racing to follow.