Schultz takes photo finish win in
Columbus 151 Speedway Late Model action! May 5, 2000; Columbus, WI. - The Columbus 151 Speedway opened its Friday night schedule with WIBA 101.5 FM Night. As was the case in the season opener on the previous Sunday, the late model feature was decided on the final lap.
Mike Kolb of Wauwatosa led the opening lap before John Acker of Spring Green edged out in front on lap two. Acker and Kolb battled for the lead throughout much of the first half of the thirty-five lap event. Kolb then began to fade and Butch Mierendorf of Lake Mills and Terry Sauer of Waterloo staged a battle behind leader Acker. Tom Lorenz of Madison, Al Weishoff of Otsego and Randy Breunig of Columbus also were exchanging positions. As the laps went by Dean Schultz of Juneau had worked his way up and joined in the fight for position. With less than five laps remaining Mierendorf, Lorenz and Schultz were engaged in a heated battle for second. On lap thirty-three, Lorenz tried to dive under Mierendorf and Schultz as the trio made their way around turn four. Lorenz, however, couldn’t make the move work as he made contact with Mierendorf. Lorenz crashed hard into the front straight wall before finally coming to a stop in the infield. Fortunately, Lorenz walked to the ambulance without injury. During the caution, Mierendorf had a tire go down and was forced to go to the pits. This set the stage for the final two laps with Acker out front and Schultz in second. On the restart, Schultz moved to the outside groove and immediately began to work on Acker for the lead. The two raced side by side the rest of the way. As the pair exited turn four and raced to the line, Schultz edged out in front as they crossed the line to claim the victory. It was a big win for Schultz. After seriously damaging his new car in a crash when the throttle stuck on opening day, Schultz brought out the car he drove last season to record the victory. For Acker, it was the second time in as many events this season that he led much of the way only to come up short on the final lap. The two strong races, however, have vaulted Acker into the point lead. Randy Breunig finished in third ahead of Terry Sauer. Jeff Falbe of Beaver Dam drove a consistent race to finish fifth.
Ron Schmitt of Jackson took over the lead just before the halfway mark and went on to record his first win of the season in the twenty-five lap street stock feature. Bob Jacobs of DeForest, who had led the race from lap two before Schmitt was able to get by, finished second. Rick Coppernoll of Marshall drove to third. Ron Preskar of Juneau recovered from an early race incident that put him well over a half lap down to the field to finish in fourth. Dan Schmidt of Watertown followed in fifth. Dennis Gaserude of Oregon drove to victory in the cautioned filled twenty lap hobby stock feature. Andy Junget of Rio came on strong at the end to finish second. Jason Hibner of Pardeeville followed in third ahead of Jerry Chapman of Juneau. Bret Schmidt of Watertown was fifth. Dave Moore of McFarland took over the lead on lap four and went on to score his first back up win of the season. Dan Sheldon drove to second. Ron Schneidewind of Madison took third. Formula Indy Racing Association feature wins were recorded by Jim Bass of Madison in the Pro division and Anthony Wallace of West Chicago, IL. in the Pro Am division. Randy Breunig paced the late model division in qualifying at 13.991. Ron Preskar led the street stocks at 14.641. Ken Scott of Rio was quick in the hobby stocks at 15.643. Wally Reitz of Plainfield, IL. topped the Formula Indy Racing Association at 13.849.
Late model heat race wins were registered by Brent Knight of Watertown and Scott Nottestad of Cambridge. Bob Jacobs and Ron Preskar claimed street stock heat race wins. Hobby stock heat wins went to John Remsik of Sun Prairie and Jason Hibner. Don Spiewak of West Chicago, IL. won the Pro Am division heat in the Formula Indy Racing Association while the Pro division heat win was recorded by Wally Reitz. Adrian Wesoloski of Waterloo won the B.J.’s Roadside Rollover Contest. Racing continues this Friday night at the Columbus 151 Speedway with Miller Lite 50 Night. The late model division will run a fifty lap feature. Junior Motorsports will also be in action. For more information on the Columbus 151 Speedway, check out its web site at www.racingonline.com/columbus151. RESULTS LATE MODEL: STREET STOCKS: HOBBY STOCKS: FORMULA INDY RACING ASSOCIATION: BACK-UPS: |
