Columbus honors best of 2001 season at banquet!
By Dennis Thompson

March 16, 2002; Columbus, WI. - The Columbus 151 Speedway took a look back at the 2001 racing season at its annual awards banquet held at the East Side Business Men's Association on Saturday March 16. The event also served as a kick off to the 2002 season ahead.

Photo Highlights

The 2002 Columbus 151 Speedway track champions gathered for this group photo after the awards. From left to right are Dennis Gaserude (Hobby Stock), Scott Riedner (Street Stock), Gerry Junget (Late Model), Bruce Havel (Back-Ups). Best of the class!  The Rookie of the year were honored.  Shown from left to  right are Brett Schmitt (Street Stocks), Tim Nunn (Backups), and Gerry Junget (Late Models.)

Gerry Junget of Rio took top honors in the late model division as he drove to the championship in his rookie season. Junget also was the hard charger champion for the division. Among his other accomplishments were a third place finish in the Pepsi Triple 60's Challenge Series, second in the Miller 50 Challenge Race Series, three feature wins, nine top five feature finishes, two times fast qualifier and one heat win. Al Weishoff of Columbus finished second in points for the season followed by Don Gaserude of Fort Atkinson, Dean Schultz of Juneau and Steve Dobbratz of Rio. Finishing in sixth through tenth were Butch Mierendorf of Waterloo, Russ Goodwin of Beloit, Jeff Falbe of Beaver Dam and Will Godding of Cross Plains.

Scott Riedner of Waunakee dominated the street stock division enroute to his first track championship. Riedner also took the honors for the hard charger award. Riedner recorded five feature wins, fourteen top five feature finishes, eight times fast qualifier and five heat wins during the season. Ron Preskar of Juneau followed his championship season up with a second place finish in points for 2001. Ron Coppernoll of Madison finished third in points followed by Bobby Stough Jr. of Waunakee and Bret Schmidt of Watertown. Sixth through tenth in points were Ron Schmitt of Jackson, R.C. Coppernoll of Bristol, Ken Scott of Rio, Dan Schmidt of Watertown and Tom Collins of Lake Mills.

Dennis Gaserude of Arena captured his third consecutive track championship in the hobby stock division. It is his fifth title in the division. Gaserude also was the hard charger champion. His stats for the season included six feature wins, eleven top five feature finishes, one time fast qualifier and three heat wins. Grant Lindner had a strong season and finished second in points. Jerry Chapman of Juneau was third in points ahead of Jim Rohrbeck of Portage and Justin Schultz of Columbus. Sixth through tenth in points went to John Remsik of Madison, Lincoln Keeser of Milton, John Hibner of Pardeeville, James Schmidt of Jefferson and Dennis Schwark of Sun Prairie.

Bruce Havel of Deerfield returned to racing following a season off for health reasons and went on to claim his fifth track championship in the back up division. Havel recorded eight wins during the season. Dave Moore of McFarland finished in second. Mark Remsik of Deerfield took third in points followed by Jim Remsik Jr. of DeForest and Matthew Wachuta of Brooklyn.

Greg Bowers was awarded with a Pepsi Wall Clock for his championship in the Pepsi Triple 60's Challenge Series. Bowers drove to victory in rounds one and two and finished fifteenth in round three to capture the title. Ken Olson of Fort Atkinson finished second in the series followed by Gerry Junget, Randy Breunig of Columbus and Don Gaserude.
Steve Dobbratz raced to the Miller 50 Challenge Race Series title by finishing first in round one, tenth in round two and fifth in round three. Gerry Junget took second place honors in the series standings followed by Russ Goodwin, Al Weishoff and Dean Schultz.

The late model Hard Charger Award went to Gerry Junget. Butch Mierendorf received recognition for second. Scott Riedner took the street stock Hard Charger Award. Ron Preskar took second place honors. Dennis Gaserude was the hobby stock Hard Charge award winner. Grant Lindner took second in points. The awards were sponsored by Valley Welding and Supply, JRC Enterprises, Polk Performance, NAPA Auto Parts of Sun Prairie, J & L Repair of DeForest, The Engine Shop of Waterloo, John K. Raimer Construction Company of Rio and Robert Vogus.
Scott Riedner was the recipient of the Street Stock Fast Time Feature Winner Bonus fund sponsored by Jeche Garage and S.R.R. Chassis.

Rookie of the Year Awards were presented to Gerry Junget in the late models, Bret Schmidt in the street stocks, James Schmidt in the hobby stocks and Tim Nonn of Madison in the back ups.

The drivers voted for the hard luck awards and the sportsmanship awards. Hard Luck awards were given to Dan Lensing of Rockton, Il. in the late models, Joe Roatch of Stoughton, and Bobby Stough Jr. in the street stocks, Larry Moen of Madison in the hobby stocks and Wayne Hook of Oregon in the back ups. Sportsmanship awards went to Gerry Junget in the late models, Bobby Stough Jr. in the street stocks, John Remsik, Dennis Gaserude and Grant Lindner in the hobby stocks and Rick Verdon of Fitchburg in the back ups.

Appreciation Awards were presented to Dave and Pennie Schultz of the Columbus 151 Speedway Fan Club. A Sponsorship Appreciation Award was given to E.C.P. of Madison.

The Columbus 151 Speedway will launch the 2002 season with Tuning & Testing beginning on Wednesday evening April 3, weather permitting. The Moore's Towing & Service Race 2002 Car Show and Flea Market will take place on Sunday April 21. The first race of the season will be on Sunday April 28.

A special Tuning & Testing session will be held on Saturday April 27. Friday night racing begins on May 3. The Wisconsin Challenge Series late models will visit the speedway for a special event scheduled for Sunday May 5. More details on these events and the upcoming season will be coming in the weeks ahead.