Steenbergen still perfect at Beaver Dam

Beaver Dam Raceway Report: July 13, 2013

http://www.racingwisconsin.com/story.asp?aid=5261

By Nicholas Dettmann

BEAVER DAM, Wis. - Jeff Steenbergen is back in the sport modified division at Beaver Dam Raceway and all he's doing is picking up where he left three years earlier.
Steenbergen made it 5-for-5 this season in "A" main feature victories, easily winning Saturday's race by more than three seconds over Brandon Schmitt. Jeff Schmuhl was third, followed by Ezekiel Bishofberger and Brandon Riedner.
"It's very cool," Steenbergen said. "Every week I expect it to end. This car is making me look a lot better than I am.
"It's really hooked up on a rail."
Either way, Steenbergen has looked good driving that No. 62. And because of that, fans are getting a glimpse of the past with Steenbergen.
"It's definitely not easy, but it's rewarding against these guys," Steenbergen said.
Steenbergen won the 2010 sport modified championship at Beaver Dam. Then he took some time off from the division. In 2011, he raced in the grand national division. He had 14 top-10 finishes in 16 starts, 10 top-fives and three feature victories. He also won six heat races. In 2012, he competed in the modified division. He won one feature, finished in the top-10 six times. He also had two top-10 finishes with the Badger Modified Tour.
Dating back to 2010, Steenbergen has won 11 straight sport mod features he's run at Beaver Dam.
Steenbergen also won the 2002 Mid-American Supertruck championship. In Steenbergen's sport modified championship season, he had seven feature victories, including six in a row to end the season. He also had 12 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in 17 starts. He also won eight preliminary races.
"That was really cool," said Steenbergen about winning a mod feature at Beaver Dam. "That's all I really wanted to do (at Beaver Dam), so I did more traveling after that.
"It was kind of a dream come true. It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time because I used to come here as a kid and watch the races."
Steenbergen is back in the sport mod division because the engine blew on his modified. Plus, the costs were piling up.
"I was planning on running a mod again this year until that happened," Steenbergen said.
In all, Steenbergen has won nine features at four tracks this season, also winning at Manitowoc, Oshkosh and Lafayette County Speedway in Darlington. His goal is to win 10 features.
And why 10? In 2009, he won nine legends features between Beaver Dam and Chilton.
While he's had all the luck at Beaver Dam this year, the same can't be said for the other tracks he's raced at this season.
On Wednesday night, while racing at Darlington, he got into a scary accident, causing about $600 damage and he had little time to get the car ready for Saturday's events. He worked on the car until just hours before the night started.
"It took a lot just the car to the track (Saturday)," Steenbergen said.
Steenbergen, 30, is in his sixth year of racing on dirt after eight years of racing on asphalt. He enjoyed a lot of success on the asphalt as well, including set fast time at the 2007 Slinger Nationals in a late model and won a Big 8 Late Model Series race at Jefferson in the same season. He's also won features in a truck and an open-wheel car, and almost won the 2011 grand national championship at Beaver Dam.
Winning the modified feature last year was important for another reason. In all of his years of racing, he never competed in the top division at a respective track. That feature victory, which came June 16, 2012, fulfilled that wish.
"It was really special," said Steenbergen, who couldn't start racing until he graduated from high school. The next day, Steenbergen was in a race car after his dad helped sponsor sprint cars during the 1990s.
He downplayed the possibility of running the table this season. He said it's going to be too difficult with this year's competition.
"I can't believe (the win streak) will hold up (that long)," Steenbergen said. "I think this is one of the best tracks in the state as far as competiton goes. Everybody's really stepped up their game this year."
Still, Steenbergen has made it look easy. But he's also had to work for it. In the five starts this season, Steenbergen has started sixth, ninth, 10th and 12th twice.
Schmitt led the opening four laps of the 20-lap feature until Bishofberger took the lead on lap five and it was short lived. After a caution, Steenbergen sped past Bishofberger, who won 12 of 13 features in 2011 in the sport mod division, for the lead.
Steenbergen and Bishofberger won the division's heat races.
Jeremy Christians won his first modified feature of the season, a night after finishing third in the Badger Modified Tour feature at the Dodge County Fairgrounds. Craig Priewe was second, followed by Dave Schoenberger, Andrew Araco and Edward Lemay Jr. Don Scheffler, the division points leader going into the night, finished eighth and is now tied with Christians, the two-time defending division champion.
Three of the top-nine in the points were in the "B" main, Scheffler, Daniel Roedl and Will Sorce. Roedl and Sorce finished outside the top four and missed the "A".
Priewe, Brian Crapser, Christians and Matthew Rechek were the modified heat winners.
Eric Barth won his first feature of the season, while Kim Clover was second, followed by Michael Mueller, James Bucher and Nathan Chitko. Barth led 18 of the 20 laps in the feature.
Clover, Barth and Joe Johnson were the heat winners.
Mueller took over the legends points lead from Johnson with his third-place finish. Johnson was running second on the last lap but spun coming off Turn 2. Johnson went on to finish 16th. Mueller leads Johnson by 19 points.
Kenny Richards led each of the 20 laps in the grand nationals "A" main for his third feature victory of the season, including two in a row. Kodiak Wirtz was second, followed by Thomas Moore, Todd Ascherien and Charlie Sancinati.
Daniel Schumacher, Wirtz and Richards won the heat races.
Kyle Riedner won the street stock feature, his second of the season. Jesse Krahn was second, followed by Scott Riedner, Karly Stadler and Michael Heimann.
Roger Frank, Krahn and Heimann won the heat races.

RESULTS
Grand Nationals
Heat winners: Daniel Schumacher, Kodiak Wirtz, Kenny Richards
Feature - 1, Kenny Richards; 2, Kodiak Wirtz; 3, Thomas Moore; 4, Todd Ascherien; 5, Charlie Sancinati; 6, Daniel Schumacher; 7, Aaron Streblow; 8, Nicholas Schumacher; 9, Brian Vinney Jr.; 10, Tim Thompson; 11, Dustin Weiss; 12, Arianna Beattie; 13, Jay Schaalma; 14, Scott Hermersmann; 15, Donald Schumacher; 16, Patrick McGwin; 17, Michael King; 18, Pat Heaney.
Legends
Heat winners: Kim Clover, Joe Johnson, Eric Barth
Feature - 1, Eric Barth; 2, Kim Clover; 3, Michael Mueller; 4, James Bucher; 5, Nathan Chitko; 6, Austin Wiese; 7, Joseph Bongiorno; 8, Larry Zirbel; 9, Matthew Streekstra; 10, Christopher Flick; 11, William Lehmann; 12, Scott Wiegele; 13, Mark Ritger; 14, Marlena Boyd; 15, Francesca Hoch; 16, Joseph Johnson; 17, Anthony Jagoditsh; 18, Kevin Schutz; 19, George Giesen.
Modifieds
Heat winners: Craig Priewe, Brian Crapser, Jeremy Christians, Matthew Rechek
"B" main advancements: Don Scheffler, Mike Sandholm, Steve Mueller, Nicholas Firari
Feature - 1, Jeremy Christians; 2, Craig Priewe; 3, Dave Schoenberger; 4, Andrew Araco; 5, Edward Lemay Jr.; 6, Matthew Rechek; 7, Brian Crapser; 8, Don Scheffler; 9, Noah Schepp; 10, Joel Crowbridge; 11, Steve Mueller; 12, Ben Godlewski; 13, Mitchell Webber; 14, Nicholas Firari; 15, Daniel Tafelski; 16, Mike Sandholm; 17, Dustin Smits; 18, Nicholas Woods; 19, David Jaeger; 20, Dustin Jackson.
Sport Modifieds
Heat winners: Jeff Steenbergen, Ezekiel Bishofberger
Feature - 1, Jeff Steenbergen; 2, Brandon Schmitt; 3, Jeff Schmuhl; 4, Ezekiel Bishofberger; 5, Brandon Riedner; 6, Aaron Muhle; 7, Colten Van Hierden; 8, Chad Martin; 9, Matthew Bedker; 10, Travis Kleindl; 11, Gary Bauer; 12, Joel Wyttenbach; 13, Nickolas Heelein; 14, Leroy Ostrowski; 15, Jeremy Schwoch.
Street Stocks
Heat winners: Roger Frank, Jesse Krah, Michael Heimann
Feature - 1, Kyle Riedner; 2, Jesse Krah; 3, Scott Riedner; 4, Karly Stadler; 5, Michael Heimann; 6, Charles Hummelmeier; 7, David Kinjerski; 8, Aaron Falbe; 9, Douglas Draheim; 10, Roger Frank; 11, Kyle Neuman; 12, Alexander Crapser; 13, Brandi Lubke; 14, Aaron Stolp; 15, Mitchell Brockway; 16, Justin Lueck; 17, Derek Childs; 18, Craig Lepple.