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Wendt Wins Over Deppe in
Photo Finish at 151!
By Natasha Fabian |
July 9, 2004; Columbus, WI. - Andy Wendt won by
mere inches over Duane Deppe on the final lap of the Late
Model feature at the Columbus 151 Speedway Friday night. Deppe started the 35-lap dual
from the front of the field, but Wendt worked his way up from an eighth row starting spot
to claim the victory.
On the opening lap of the contest the field was brought under caution when rookie
Jason Deppe and Delbert Desjarlais made contact. On the restart Bill Retallick spun in
turn two and Toph Gray spun in turn four, causing a melee for cars on both ends of the
track, Jerry Auby among those caught up in the action. However, the yellow flag was
displayed for Retallick's scene in which Nick Wendt played a part, so only those two were
sent to the rear of the field.
Mike Taylor, who had been running in the second spot behind the senior Deppe wasted no
time in getting on the inside to pass for the lead, and did so successfully at the line.
but not for long. Dean Schultz spun solo in turn four, drawing the yellow, returning the
leading reigns to Deppe.The Rev. Scott Buhrow retired from the event early on lap ten, but
rejoined
the action on the racing surface three laps later.
Gray may have been lucky earlier in the race getting his spot back when the caution was
displayed for a separate incident, but his solo spin on lap fourteen was unforgiving and
he was sent to the back on his own.
Taylor had made it look so easy passing Deppe for the lead in the opening laps, but he
was never able to gain enough ground to try for the spot again, and remained in second
place throughout his run. Bill Retallick also saw misfortune again after his disturbance
with Wendt and found himself sailing through the infield and over a tractor tire. At the
restart, Deppe still held the point, Taylor ran second, Auby third, Tyler James fourth and
Andy Wendt rounded out the top five. Wendt saw enough single-file racing for the time
being and quickly shot up through the field, advancing to fourth by lap 18, then up to
third by lap 22 - proving once again that Columbus is a two groove track. With ten laps
remaining in the feature, fast-time qualifier Wendt passed Taylor for second to gain the
position one lap later. By this time, Deppe had nearly a quarter-track lead on the rest of
the field, but Wendt closed it to four car lengths by lap 28.
The lead was closed up for good shortly thereafter when Jason Deppe, Desjarlais and
Brent Knight clashed in turn two. The damage wasn't severe on any of the machines, but
Wilke was unable to continue until he was pulled out of the water hole in the infield.
Once the track was cleaned up, Deppe was still leading, but Wendt was running a solid
second. Taylor had been running third, but some sort of a mechanical failure sent him into
early retirement, and his Ford was escorted off the track courtesy of Moore's Towing. Gray
also took the opportunity to leave the race at that time.
With five laps to go, Wendt was looking to the outside and was hot on the tail of
Deppe's ride. Meanwhile, Dean Schultz sighted a strong push on Deppe's car that was not
only making it difficult for Wendt to get by, but was also opening up room on the inside
of the track. Schultz tried sticking his nose under Deppe on such an occasion but never
got the position. At the line it was Wendt by a matter of inches over Deppe, Schultz
settling for third.
Bret Schmidt came close to recording a clean sweep in the Street Stock division, but Luke
Padfield took top honors in the feature race over Schmidt's close second. On only lap
three of the race something broke in Kurt Kleven's car, repositioning the cars out of
order and drawing the yellow flag. Brent Gergen was leading at the time, and Padfield was
already working the outside for the position. The two ran side-by-side with Schmidt right
behind, Craig Henning and Kevin Anderson ready behind them in the event of a clash.
Rookie Rikki Bishofberger lost the fight with her ill-handling car on lap seven, part
of Grant Lindner's bumper going along with her when she spun in turn four. Only nine cars
were left to run the duration of the race, but they made it a good one.
Dennis Schmidt won the feature in the Hobby Stock division over Mike Kearney who held a
close second. On lap six Alan Dorn lost control in turn three, almost causing a disaster,
but all drivers were watching. Mike Amador joined Dorn at the rear of the field. Schmidt
was already leading while everything went on behind him. At the halfway point the yellow
flag was
drawn for contact between David Schwark and Andy Raley. The top five finishers were
Schmidt, Kearney, Tylor Schultz, Lincoln Keeser, and Gary Pashley.
Nick Nolden was the winner of the 4-cylinder Bandit feature race. Steve Privett lead at
the start of the race, but it wasn't long before Brandon Riedner was on his bumper.
Riedner looked to the inside on lap four and took the lead on lap six. Jody Krueger was
leaking fluid but left the track on the driver's own caution to avoid making a mess on the
track. Meanwhile, at the front of the pack the action was nothing less that fiery hot.
Riedner was leading, but fearless Danny Birkett was on the outside and Bryan Johnson full
throttle for three wide on the inside.
It wasn't long before Johnson hit the grass and flew right up into Birkett, Riedner
somehow managing to dive by and avoid contact. Johnson left on the hook and Birkett never
lifted before taking a digger into the front stretch wall where paramedics quickly joined
him. Birkett, living up to his reputation of being fearless was only slowed for a few
minutes by the crash. The paramedics left the scene and he jumped back in the car. During
all this Ryan Oetzel overheated while stopped on the backstretch and he was serviced
before racing resumed. Nolden pulled away on the restart. Tina Remsik had a good deal of
traffic to work through, but she was flying. She was never able to catch Nolden before
running out of
laps. Troy Yohn and Dan Gosda crossed the line behind them, and Birkett finished in the
fifth position.
Steve Oetzel cruised to victory in the Backup race, piloting his Oldsmobile around the
track in reverse. Mark Remsik finished second, and Rick Verdon third.
When Q106 comes to the races, something fun is always in store. This year on-air
personalities Brent Allen and Kari Williams joined in on one-on-one Blindfold racing.
Allen's favorite movie is Smokey and the Bandit and he says if he weren't on Q106 it would
be a no-brainer that he'd want to be a racecar driver. His daring style along with
Williams' love for fun made them quite the entertaining team. The two ran exceptionally
well, but at the end driver Pat McDermot and co-pilot Larry Schoenbechler came out on top.
Friday night, July 16, is Sherman's Garage and Body Shop night at the races. In addition
to the full racing program will be trailer races and a bonus toy toss at intermission. The
week after includes chain races and a coloring contest so the fun just doesn't stop during
July at the Speedway. Adult admission is a fan-friendly $8, seniors and students are $6,
children
ages 6-10 are $2 and those under age 5 are always admitted free. Qualifying is at 6:30
Friday evenings with racing to follow at 8:00.
For complete results from the RACESTAT computer click here
RESULTS
Late Model
Fast time: Andy Wendt, Watertown 13.575 secs
Heats: Tony Schuchardt, Oregon; Scottie Hatton, Waterloo
Feature: Wendt; Duane Deppe; Dean Schultz; Jerry Auby; Rob Retallick
Street Stock
Fast time: Bret Schmidt, Watertown 14.137 secs
Heats: Joe Roatch, Brooklyn; Schmidt
Feature: Luke Padfield, Jefferson; Schmidt; Kevin Anderson, Cottage Grove;
Don Trush, Sun Prairie; Brent Gergen, Jefferson
Hobby Stock
Fast time: Gary Pashley, York Center 15.425 secs
Heats: Lincoln Keeser, Johnson Creek; Pashley
Feature: Dennis Schmidt, Johnson Creek; Mike Kearney, Rio; Tylor Schultz,
Rio; Keeser; Pashley
Bandit
Fast time: Dan Birkett, Lodi 16.064
Heats: Bryan Johnson, Stoughton; Birkett
Feature: Nick Nolden, Lodi; Tina Remsik, Watertown; Troy Yohn, Waterloo; Dan
Gosda, Sun Prairie; Birkett
Backup
Feature: Steve Oetzel, Marshall; Mark Remsik, Deerfield; Rick Verdon,
Fitchburg; George Wachuta, Brooklyn; Dave Moore, McFarland |
