Rich Bickle Jr. is back in victory lane at Madison after winning tonight’s 50 lap feature in Round Two of the Super Late Model Triple Crown Challenge. Brian Beale took home the checkered flag in the Late Models while Robert Hansberry Jr. (Sportsman), Steve Dickson (Bandits), and Mike Bollinger (6Shooters) were also victorious all on Bobcat of Janesville Night at the Races.
Rich Bickle Jr. Holds Off Dan Fredrickson in a Thriller
Rich Bickle Jr. held off Dan Fredrickson to win the second round of the Super Late Model Triple Crown Challenge. The win was Bickle Jr.’s eighteenth in his career at Madison that includes two track championships in 1985 and 1986.
Dean LaPointe and Travis Sauter brought the field of twenty cars to the green flag. Sauter took the early advantage followed closely by Rich Bickle Jr. and Jeff Van Oudenhoven. Moving up from his eighth starting position was quick qualifier Austin Nason who was all the way up to fourth on lap 3. Casey Johnson broke into the top five on lap 4. Nason took the third spot from Van Oudenhoven on lap 5.
The first caution flag of the race came out on lap 11 when Mikie Breiner spun coming out of turn two.
Sauter chose the outside on the restart allowing Bickle Jr. to line up on the inside. Bickle Jr. was able to power his way to the lead with Nason passing Sauter for second one lap later. Dan Fredrickson was up to fourth as the top four started to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.
On lap 20 Fredrickson found the room on the inside and passed Sauter for third and began to hunt down Bickle Jr. and Nason. At the half-way point Bickle Jr. had increased his lead to four car lengths as Nason was dealing with the hard charging Fredrickson. Nason got a little loose coming out of turn two on lap 27 allowing Fredrickson to take over the second spot.
In a scene very similar to the first race when he was chasing down Bobby Wilberg, Fredrickson was closing the gap on Bickle Jr. as they worked around lapped traffic.
With ten laps to go Bickle Jr.’s lead was down to a single car length. Fredrickson looked for any opportunity he could find to get by the leader just before the caution flag came out with six laps to go when Nason had a tire go down bringing out the caution flag.
The stage was set for an exciting restart. Lining up side by side, Bickle Jr. was able to regain the lead over Fredrickson with John Beale moving up to third ahead of Sauter. Again Fredrickson did everything possible to get by Bickle Jr. but was unable to do so as Bickle Jr. held him off for the win.
“I started here back in 1981. It’s been a long time. I’ve given away over 450 trophies to kids over my career so this will be another one,” said a very happy Bickle Jr. from victory lane who continued his tradition of presenting his trophy to a lucky fan.
Austin Nason set fast time with a lap of 17.511 (102.793) and took home the Power Source Bonus money for being fastest in both Triple Crown events so far. Bobby Wilberg, Dan Fredrickson, and Austin Nason won the heat races.
Brian Beale Wheels His Way to Victory Lane
Rookie Brian Beale won his first-ever NASCAR Late Model feature tonight at Madison International Speedway by holding off the field in the 30 lap main event. He became the second rookie in 2017 to win in the division.
Beale and Austin Nason brought the field to the green flag with Beale taking the early advantage after Nason was forced to the pits with mechanical issues. That moved Brent Edmunds up to second followed by Tom Gille, Zack Riddle, and Bobby Wilberg.
On lap 6 Edmunds was up to challenge Beale for the lead as the field tightened up behind them. On lap 11 Riddle squeezed by Gille coming out of turn four to take the third spot but was still six car lengths behind the top two. Michael Bilderback cracked the top five on lap 12 when he raced past Gille.
Jeremy Miller worked his way into the top five on lap 18 but was still four car lengths behind the fourth place car of Wilberg. Out front Beale was building his lead over Edmunds to nearly 0.7 seconds.
While the rest of the field was hoping for a caution flag it never materialized as Beale cruised to victory lane. Edmunds finished in second followed by Riddle, Wilberg, and Miller.
“It’s been an awesome season and the car keeps getting better each week,” said Beale in a post race interview.
Fast qualifier was Jeremy Miller with a lap of 18.910 (95.188 mph). Zack Riddle won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash. Heat winners were Matt Lundberg and Tom Gille.
Robert Hansberry Jr. Back in Victory Lane
Robert Hansberry Jr. picked up his third feature win of the season in the Dave’s White Rock Sportsman. As a result he became the all-time winningest feature winner in the Sportsman division at Madison with sixteen victories.
Gary Hellenbrand and Trevor Robinson comprised the front row of the nine car feature. Hellenbrand led for the first three laps before making contact with the wall on the front stretch allowing Robinson to take the point. Hellenbrand was able to continue, but he was quickly passed by Hansberry Jr. who then pulled up alongside Robinson on lap 4.
The two raced side by side with Robinson able to hold off Hansberry Jr. until the caution flag came out on lap 10 for a spin. On the restart Hansberry Jr. was able to clear Robinson and open up a four car length advantage.
Ray Hellenbrand took over the second position on lap 15 before spinning coming out of turn two and bringing out the caution flag. Hansberry Jr. easily maintained his lead following the restart and cruised to victory lane. Gary Hellenbrand finished in second followed by Tim Wondrash, Bryan Hellenbrand, and Robinson.
“The track was slick tonight so we definitely earned this one. Everything worked out for me tonight,” said Hansberry Jr.
Robert Hansberry Jr. was fastest in qualifying for the fourth straight event with a mark of 20.351 (88.448 mph). The RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash was won by Trevor Robinson. Winners in the heat races were Gary Hellenbrand and Mike Taylor.
Steve Dickson Chief of the Bandits Tonight
Steve Dickson won the 20 lap feature for the Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits. It was his eighth career feature win for the 2007 Bandits champion.
Lyle Phillips and Steve Dickson paced the field to the green flag. Dickson took the lead from the start with Dave Schmidt battling it out with Phillips for second taking that spot on lap 3. McKayla Adams raced her way past Phillips for the third position on lap 4 with Jeremy Bredeson and Dan Snyder into the top five on lap 6.
Schmidt had cut Dickson’s lead to a single car length and began to challenge Dickson for the lead. But tonight’s race belonged to Dickson who held off Schmidt to pick up the win.
“We were able to stop Dave Schmidt’s two race win streak. I wasn’t going to give up the bottom groove,” said Dickson.
The quick qualifier was Dan Snyder with a lap of 15.000 (60.000 mph). Dave Schmidt won the RA Heating and Air Conditioning Dash. Bill Kohn and Steve Dickson won the heat races.
Mike Bollinger Top Gun in 6Shooters
Mike Bollinger picked up the win in the 15 lap feature for the Roto Rooter 6Shooters.
Bollinger and Nick Krohn brought the field to the green with Bollinger jumping out to a sizeable advantage. Mike Seidel moved past Krohn for second on lap 4. Ronnie Osborne moved up to fourth on lap 6 followed by Ken Morris and Jim Ronspiez. Seidel had a tire go down on lap 7 ending his night and allowing Bollinger to increase his lead. Osborne was able to get by Krohn for second with three laps to go, but Bollinger was just too fast for the field tonight and picked up his first-ever victory.
“This is awesome. It is such a great time,” said Bollinger who indicated he has a total of $300 invested in his car.
Chris Brugger and Ronnie Osborne won the heat races for the 6Shooters.
Racing continues on Friday, July 14th when it’s Kids’ Night at Madison featuring a $1000 coin scramble and action in the Late Models, Sportsman, Bandits, Legends, and Bandoleros with all kids 11 and under admitted free.
Super Late Models
Feature
1. 45B-Rich Bickle Jr., [4]; 2. 36F-Dan Fredrickson, [9]; 3. 5B-John Beale, [11]; 4. 5TS-Travis Sauter, [2]; 5. 45O-Jeff Van Oudenhoven, [6]; 6. 5J-Casey Johnson, [5]; 7. 12M-Nick Murgic, [12]; 8. 99W-Bobby Wilberg, [15]; 9. 33M-Reagan May, [10]; 10. 39M-Andrew Morrissey, [16]; 11. 7S-Paul Shafer Jr, [7]; 12. 11K-Bobby Kendall, [3]; 13. 15L-Dean LaPointe, [1]; 14. 10M-Andy Monday, [14]; 15. 62H-John Heath, [13]; 16. 22S-Jeremy Spoonmore, [18]; 17. 5H-Jeff Holmgren Jr, [19]; 18. 14N-Austin Nason, [8]; 19. 26B-Chris Blawat, [17]; 20. 13B-Mikie Breiner, [20]
Heat 1
1. 99W-Bobby Wilberg, [3]; 2. 39M-Andrew Morrissey, [4]; 3. 26B-Chris Blawat, [1]; 4. 22S-Jeremy Spoonmore, [2]; 5. 5H-Jeff Holmgren Jr, [5]; 6. 13B-Mikie Breiner, [6]
Heat 2
1. 36F-Dan Fredrickson, [4]; 2. 45B-Rich Bickle Jr., [2]; 3. 45O-Jeff Van Oudenhoven, [3]; 4. 5TS-Travis Sauter, [1]; 5. 33M-Reagan May, [5]; 6. 12M-Nick Murgic, [6]; 7. 10M-Andy Monday, [7]
Heat 3
1. 14N-Austin Nason, [4]; 2. 5J-Casey Johnson, [2]; 3. 5B-John Beale, [6]; 4. 7S-Paul Shafer Jr, [3]; 5. 11K-Bobby Kendall, [1]; 6. 15L-Dean LaPointe, [5]; 7. 62H-John Heath, [7]
Qualifying 1
1. 14N-Austin Nason, [1]; 2. 36F-Dan Fredrickson, [2]; 3. 7S-Paul Shafer Jr, [3]; 4. 45O-Jeff Van Oudenhoven, [4]; 5. 5J-Casey Johnson, [5]; 6. 45B-Rich Bickle Jr., [6]; 7. 11K-Bobby Kendall, [7]; 8. 5TS-Travis Sauter, [8]; 9. 15L-Dean LaPointe, [9]; 10. 33M-Reagan May, [10]; 11. 5B-John Beale, [11]; 12. 12M-Nick Murgic, [12]; 13. 62H-John Heath, [13]; 14. 10M-Andy Monday, [14]; 15. 39M-Andrew Morrissey, [15]; 16. 99W-Bobby Wilberg, [16]; 17. 22S-Jeremy Spoonmore, [17]; 18. 26B-Chris Blawat, [18]; 19. 5H-Jeff Holmgren Jr, [19]; 20. 13B-Mikie Breiner, [20]
NASCAR Late Models
Feature
1. 18B-Brian Beale, [1]; 2. 87E-Brent Edmunds, [3]; 3. 14R-Zack Riddle, [9]; 4. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [8]; 5. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [10]; 6. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, [6]; 7. 40G-Tom Gille, [5]; 8. 15WR-Will Rece, [11]; 9. 19B-John Baumeister, [4]; 10. 1A-Steve Anderson, [13]; 11. 78L-Matt Lundberg, [14]; 12. 15R-Pat Richgels, [12]; 13. 3G-Shawn Gunsolus, [15]; 14. 32H-Ken Hoff Jr., [16]; 15. 14N-Austin Nason, [2]; (DNS) 7H-Rusty Hansen,
Dash
1. 14R-Zack Riddle, [3]; 2. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, [5]; 3. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [4]; 4. 40G-Tom Gille, [6]; 5. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [1]; 6. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [2]
Heat 1
1. 78L-Matt Lundberg, [1]; 2. 15R-Pat Richgels, [3]; 3. 18B-Brian Beale, [4]; 4. 1A-Steve Anderson, [2]; 5. 87E-Brent Edmunds, [6]; 6. 3G-Shawn Gunsolus, [7]; 7. 32H-Ken Hoff Jr., [8]; (DNS) 14N-Austin Nason,
Heat 2
1. 40G-Tom Gille, [1]; 2. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, [2]; 3. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [6]; 4. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [4]; 5. 19B-John Baumeister, [8]; 6. 14R-Zack Riddle, [5]; 7. 15WR-Will Rece, [7]; 8. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [3]
Qualifying
1. 5M-Jeremy Miller, [1]; 2. 14R-Zack Riddle, [2]; 3. 28W-Bobby Wilberg, [3]; 4. 7H-Rusty Hansen, [4]; 5. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, [5]; 6. 40G-Tom Gille, [6]; 7. 15WR-Will Rece, [7]; 8. 19B-John Baumeister, [8]; 9. 87E-Brent Edmunds, [9]; 10. 14N-Austin Nason, [10]; 11. 18B-Brian Beale, [11]; 12. 15R-Pat Richgels, [12]; 13. 1A-Steve Anderson, [13]; 14. 78L-Matt Lundberg, [14]; 15. 3G-Shawn Gunsolus, [15]; 16. 32H-Ken Hoff Jr., [16]; (DNS) 18L-Brady Liddle,
Dave’s White Rock Sportsman
Feature
1. 7H-Robert Hansberry, [6]; 2. 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, [2]; 3. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [8]; 4. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [4]; 5. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [3]; 6. 14DD-Dwight Dunlap, [1]; 7. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [5]; 8. 7MM-Matt Messell, [9]; 9. 4T-Mike Taylor, [7]
Dash 1
1. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [1]; 2. 7H-Robert Hansberry, [5]; 3. 4T-Mike Taylor, [2]; 4. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [3]; 5. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [4]
Heat 1
1. 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, [3]; 2. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [1]; 3. 7MM-Matt Messell, [4]; 4. 14DD-Dwight Dunlap, [2]
Heat 2
1. 4T-Mike Taylor, [2]; 2. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [1]; 3. 7H-Robert Hansberry, [5]; 4. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [4]; 5. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [3]
Qualifying
1. 7H-Robert Hansberry, [1]; 2. 78H-Ray Hellenbrand, [2]; 3. 1H-Bryan Hellenbrand, [3]; 4. 4T-Mike Taylor, [4]; 5. 99TR-Trevor Robinson, [5]; 6. 00H-Gary Hellenbrand, [6]; 7. 14DD-Dwight Dunlap, [7]; 8. 84W-Tim Wondrash, [8]; 9. 7MM-Matt Messell, [9]
Pellitteri Waste Systems Bandits
Feature
1. 10D-Steve Dickson, [4]; 2. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [8]; 3. 49A-McKayla Adams, [6]; 4. 695S-Dan Snyder, [7]; 5. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [5]; 6. 83K-Bill Kohn, [3]; 7. 6R-Ben Rucker, [9]; 8. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [1]; 9. 95L-Dan Lerdahl, [2]
Dash 1
1. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [4]; 2. 10D-Steve Dickson, [2]; 3. 83K-Bill Kohn, [1]; 4. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [3]; 5. 695S-Dan Snyder, [6]; 6. 49A-McKayla Adams, [5]
Heat 1
1. 83K-Bill Kohn, [3]; 2. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [1]; 3. 6R-Ben Rucker, [4]; 4. 95L-Dan Lerdahl, [2]
Heat 2
1. 10D-Steve Dickson, [1]; 2. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [3]; 3. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [2]; 4. 49A-McKayla Adams, [4]; 5. 695S-Dan Snyder, [5]
Qualifying
1. 695S-Dan Snyder, [1]; 2. 49A-McKayla Adams, [2]; 3. 10S-Dave Schmidt, [3]; 4. 7B-Jeremy Bredeson, [4]; 5. 10D-Steve Dickson, [5]; 6. 83K-Bill Kohn, [6]; 7. 95L-Dan Lerdahl, [7]; 8. 35P-Lyle Phillips, [8]; 9. 6R-Ben Rucker, [9]
6Shooters
Feature
1. 01B-Mike Bollinger, [1]; 2. 19O-Ronnie Osborne, [4]; 3. 8K-Nick Krohn, [2]; 4. 78M-Ken Morris, [9]; 5. 18R-Jim Ronspiez, [11]; 6. 101C-Trevor Chilson, [12]; 7. 54B-Chris Brugger, [6]; 8. 83X-Cory Xander, [10]; 9. 16B-Steve Buna, [13]; 10. 11S-Mike Seidel, [5]; 11. 4W-Kevin Whitford, [7]; 12. 08L-Don Ledwidge, [8]; 13. 55N-Chad Niday, [3]; 14. 58P-Ryan Paulsrud, [14]
Heat 1
1. 54B-Chris Brugger, [2]; 2. 18R-Jim Ronspiez, [6]; 3. 8K-Nick Krohn, [4]; 4. 55N-Chad Niday, [1]; 5. 101C-Trevor Chilson, [7]; 6. 83X-Cory Xander, [5]; 7. 16B-Steve Buna, [3]
Heat 2
1. 19O-Ronnie Osborne, [1]; 2. 01B-Mike Bollinger, [4]; 3. 4W-Kevin Whitford, [2]; 4. 11S-Mike Seidel, [5]; 5. 78M-Ken Morris, [7]; 6. 08L-Don Ledwidge, [3]; 7. 58P-Ryan Paulsrud, [6]
