Junget scores again in Late Model action
at Columbus 151, Scott scores victory in Street Stocks! June 29, 2001; Columbus, WI. - - The last event in the month of June yielded some of the best racing to this point in the season at Columbus 151 Speedway. Despite the close door to door racing, the yellow flag did not fall the entire first half of the program.
Gerry Junget of Rio took top honors in the Mountain Dew Code Red Cherry Bomb 50. The fifty-lap feature race was lead out of the pit area by Aaron Wilke of Waterloo and Gerry Junget. The outside lane of Junget followed by Don Gaserude of Fort Atkinson took control early, by lap three they held the one, two positions followed by Dean Schultz of Juneau. Schultz made his move for the second position on lap twelve and cleared Gaserude on lap fourteen. By the halfway point Junget was being pressured by Schultz and coming
upon lapped traffic. Caution fell on lap thirty-four, as Denny Bergeron Jr. seemed to lose
power in turn two. On the restart Junget and Schultz were once again battling for the lead
with Gaserude in tow. Caution again slowed the race on lap forty-five as Bruce Havel of
Deerfield with no place to go t-boned Clayton Braaksma of Beaver Dam. Andy Tomlinson of
Poynette then rear-ended Havel in the multi-car incident. Tomlinson and Braaksma had
qualified in the top two spots respectively. Back they went to racing and ran caution free
for the duration, at the finish line they came across Gerry Junget, Dean Schultz, Don
Gaserude, Aaron Wilke, and Steve Dobbratz of Rio. fter racing the entire night without a caution the "big one" finally came on lap three of the street stock feature. After contact Joe Roatch found himself broadside on the start finish line, and so did the rest of the field. Seven cars dove to the infield narrowly avoiding the wall of tires protecting victory lane. The remainder of the field squeezed between the wall and the stopped car. Roatch's car was disabled by the initial contact and left on the back of the Moores' Towing wrecker. On the restart Scott continued to lead the field followed by R.C. Coppernoll of Bristol, Bobby Stough Jr. of Waunakee, and Ron Schmitt of Jackson. Coppernoll was slow to accelerate and allowed Schmitt up to the third position. On lap six R.C. Coppernoll suffered mechanical troubles and looped his car in turns one and two. By lap twelve Schmitt had taken over the lead from Scott, with Ron Preskar and Scott Riedner moving up from the rear of the field. Lapped traffic became a factor on lap twenty-one as Bobby Stough Jr. tightened up on the rear of Ron Schmitt. It was on lap twenty-seven however where traffic played a deciding
factor in the race. As Schmitt and Stough maneuvered around lapped traffic they came upon
James Pankow who began to race the leaders. In their efforts to get around Pankow, Schmitt
and Stough got together and spun in turn three. Dave Oswald inherited the lead on the
restart followed by Preskar, Riedner and the lapped car of Kevin Anderson. At the
checkered it was Oswald, Preskar, Riedner, Ken Scott, and Ed Jackson of Madison. |
