CAMBRIDGE — Hartland’s Evan Hassler made his second visit to Wisconsin’s Action Track in the 2024 season and drove home with his first feature win after claiming the Jones Dairy Farm 50-lap main event.
The 17-year-old pilot used his front row starting position to fend off several challenges en route to becoming the eighth different winner in Late Model competition this season.
Tim Coley and Hassler paced the field to green with Hassler getting the jump and taking control of the lead down the backstretch on lap one. Mark Deporter followed up to second as Coley battled Ryan Weyer and Michael Grueneberg for third. Grueneberg eventually took the position while Deporter began to shadow Hassler at the front of the field. This remained the case until the yellow flag flew on lap 15 when Seth Reamer spun on the exit of turn four.
Grueneberg and Hassler made up the front row for the restart with Hassler once again in command on lap 17. Grueneberg settled into second while Chris Chenoweth made his way up to third.
Grueneberg and Hassler led the field back to green following another caution on lap 23. But the result was the same as the previous restart, with Hassler moving back out front and Grueneberg dropping in line behind. But this time Chenoweth mounted a challenge for the second spot, driving to the high side of Grueneberg and claiming the position on lap 26.
Grueneberg remained close to Chenoweth, allowing Hassler to slip away from the race for second. With eight laps to go, the caution flew once again, this time for debris on the racing surface. Chenoweth and Hassler lined up on the front row for the restart. But as they came to the green flag, Chenoweth went sideways, sliding into the front stretch wall and collecting Shaun Scheel.
The melee ended the evening for Chenoweth and relegated Scheel to the rear of the field. Hassler led the field back to racing with Grueneberg back in second. Hassler had the field covered over the final circuits, seeing the checkers first to secure the win. Grueneberg finished second followed by Shane Radtke Jr., Deporter and Carson Phillips.
Tytus Helgestad of Milton claimed the 35-lap Sportsman feature event. Jim Taylor and Paul Johnson Jr. opened the racing action on row one as they battled door to door for control. The duo remained side by side over the course of the opening ten laps until Johnson moved ahead. But contact on lap 11 between Taylor and Jake Biever ended with Biever going around to force the first of two cautions. This moved Helgestad up to second as he restarted alongside Johnson on row one.
Helgestad fired into the lead as racing resumed until the second yellow appeared on lap 14 for a spinning machine. Helgestad and Johnson paced the pack back to green once again with Helgestad regaining the top spot on the restart. Kyle Chwala moved up to challenge Johnson for second as Helgestad moved out ahead of the pack. Chwala completed the pass for second on lap 22, but Helgestad was already well on his way to picking up the win. Chwala settled for second with Matthew Thoma, Jason Thoma and Curt Henning rounding out the top five.
Watertown’s Jason Uttech picked up an exciting 20-lap International feature victory. David Russell and Merek Pankow battled for the early lead with Karter Stark quickly up to third. Stark moved up behind the front row battle, looking to make it a three-way fight for first. Stark began to peak his nose between the two leaders, searching for an opportunity to draw even. Pankow moved ahead of the field on lap five with Stark following his lead into second.
Weston Strese joined the leaders on lap seven while Stark began to work the low side of Pankow for the lead. Uttech also joined the fight as the top four raced side by side for first and third. On lap 11, Pankow got shuffled to the high side exiting turn four and allowing the other three cars to get by. Stark now owned the lead with Uttech trying to pull alongside. Uttech did just that, using the outside groove to draw even with Stark on lap 13.
Uttech cleared for the lead a lap later, bringing Strese along for second. Strese set his sights on the new leader, drawing in behind and filling up Uttech’s rearview mirror. But Uttech kept Strese at bay over the final laps to see the checkers first for the win. Strese came home second with Stark in third. Pankow and Russell completed the top five.
Nick Schmidt of Watertown inherited the late lead of the 20-lap Bandit main event and hung on to get the win. Craig Wilcott owned the early lead with Josh Kienbaum up to second. This remained the case over the course of the first half of the race until Devon Dixon drove to the high side of Kienbaum, stealing second on lap 11 and looking to close on Wilcott out front. Dixon closed the gap, catching Wilcott on lap 13. But a caution on lap 14 slowed the pace, setting up a shootout to the finish.
Wilcott and Dixon restarted on the front row with Dixon moving ahead as racing resumed. Schmidt moved into second as Wilcott began to slow and pull off the track. Dixon began to pull away as the laps wound down with Schmidt now in second. With less than two laps remaining, Dixon fell off the pace and pulled his machine off the racing surface, handing the lead to Schmidt. Schmidt saw the white flag first and hung on to secure the feature win with Kienbaum finishing second. Ryan Oetzel was third followed by Landon Peterson and Tom Schuette.
Steven Mueller picked up the first feature win in the Six Shooter division. Jason VanHise joined Trevor Chilson and Tyler Busch as they battled for the early lead in the 20-lap affair. VanHise moved out front on lap three with Busch into second. Mueller joined Busch on lap four, taking the second position away a lap later. Mueller closed in behind VanHise, moving to his inside on lap nine.
Mueller grabbed the lead on lap ten. After a caution on lap 12, Mueller continued to show the way as Bobby Frisch moved up to second. But Mueller had the field covered, cruising to the feature win with Frisch, Mike Peterson, Ron Osborne and Alexander Livingston rounding out the top five.
Mike Peterson picked up the win in the makeup Six Shooter feature event. After an opening lap incident, Kevin Zimmerman moved out front to grab the early lead. A three-wide fight for second ended with Jason VanHise claiming the spot and quickly closing in on Zimmerman. VanHise stole the top spot away on lap four, bringing Bobby Frisch along for second.
Frisch went right to work on the new leader, driving to the low side while Peterson joined the battle in third. Frisch moved ahead, taking the top position for himself on lap nine. Peterson made the pass for second a few laps later and looked to close in on Frisch. But on lap 16, Frisch fell off the pace, forcing him to retire and handing the lead to Peterson. Peterson remained in control over the final laps, taking the checkers for the win. Zimmerman finished second ahead of Ron Osborne in third.
Racing resumes next Saturday, Aug. 31, with time trials at 4 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m. Visit jeffersonspeedway.com for more information.
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