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LEPAK
SCORES FIRST VICTORY IN KEITH’S MARINA 85!!
By
Dan Margetta |
(Slinger,
WI) July 2, 2006 - Jeremy Lepak put it all together
Sunday night at the Slinger Super Speedway as he charged to his
first career late model feature victory at the world’s fastest
quarter-mile oval in the Keith’s Marina 85.
“To come from where I started racing and to be sitting here now, is
just unbelievable,” Lepak told the large crowd after holding off
David Prunty for the win. “This car has just really been good, “
Lepak continued. “We haven’t taken it anywhere else and have just
been able to fine tune on it.”
Mike Strupp shot from his outside front-row starting position to
pace the opening laps as the outside lane looked fast early on. Also
using the upper groove were Nick Schumacher and David Prunty and
they settled into second and third place while Dennis Prunty, Al
Schill, Lowell Bennett, and Lepak tussled over the fourth place. A
tangle between Ken Wills and Jim Schmittinger in turn one on lap 23
slowed the field under the caution flag with Strupp leading over
Schumacher and David Prunty.
Strupp chose the inside lane for the restart which set Schumacher to
the outside and Prunty used his inside row two restart slot to
pressure Strupp for the lead as racing resumed. Strupp held off
Prunty for an additional ten laps before surrendering the lead when
handling issues made it difficult for him to keep his car down in
the corners. As David Prunty led the way over Schumacher, Schill and
Dennis Prunty as well as Lepak all made their way by Strupp and into
the top five. Once again, the outer groove was worked in well and
Schill used it to build momentum off the turns, which allowed him to
track down and pass Schumacher for second place a few laps later,
bringing Lepak along with him and into third. Lepak paid attention
to Schill’s strategy and he used the same outside groove tactics to
pass Schill for second place by lap 60.
Prunty’s sizeable advantage was erased on lap 61 when Mike Egan spun
directly in front of him, bunching up the field under the caution
flag. Prunty chose the inside lane for the restart while Lepak
looked stout on the top-side and he stayed alongside Prunty as
racing resumed. Lepak was able to gain a slight advantage exiting
the turns and he eventually eased into the lead on lap 63. Behind
the top two, Schill had his hands full with Josh Bauer who built a
strong late run to challenge for third. Bauer looked high and made
the move around Schill by lap 70 just before the final caution flag
appeared on lap 71 as Robert Maynor stalled on the frontstretch.
Lepak took the inside slot for the restart and this time Prunty was
able to stay alongside on the outside as the green flag flew. Prunty
had the horsepower to stay with Lepak and both drivers battled
side-by-side for the lead as the laps wound down. Lepak’s car
handled perfectly in the final laps and he was able to edge ahead of
Prunty, holding him off to score the victory. Josh Bauer finished a
strong third while Schill and Lowell Bennett completed the top five
finishers. Nick Schumacher finished in sixth place ahead of Dennis
Prunty and Rich Loch while Travis Dassow and John Mueller finishing
in ninth and tenth place respectively.
Jerry Eckhardt drove to victory in the 30-lap late model
semi-feature over Conrad Morgan who nipped Randy Schuler for second
place. Wayne Freimund and Scott Schoeni rounded out the top five.
Shawn Roethle took home top honors in the 15-lap late model consi
over Ed Grober and Tim Bennett while Dennis Prunty won the late
model fast dash. David Prunty was the fastest qualifier at 11.335
seconds.
Dean Olla turned back numerous challenges to charge to an exciting
victory in the 30-lap Midwest Sportsman Series feature.
Olla and Scott Ascher led the field to the green and neither was
able to gain an advantage as they battled alongside each other for
the first eight laps. Olla finally used the inside to gain sole
possession of the lead on lap ten while Pat McIntee advanced to
challenge Ascher for second. McIntee took the spot a lap later while
the rest of the field was bunched tightly from third place on back.
The close-quarters racing in the pack assisted in the first caution
flag waving on lap 12 when Ryan Zielski found himself spinning
across the frontstretch after contact with cars behind him,
triggering a multi-car incident. The mishap damaged the cars of Jeff
Holtz and Brad Keith as well as numerous others and Olla led McIntee,
Dave Thomas, Ascher, and George Schultz for the restart. Olla chose
the inside lane and was able to keep the lead as McIntee pressured
him on the outside. McIntee’s bid for the win ended on lap 16 when
he cut down rear tire and spun down the backstretch just as Andy
Haver looped his car in turn one to bring out another caution flag.
This time, Thomas lined up to the outside of Olla as racing resumed
and once again, Olla was able to keep the lead while Thomas remained
alongside, using the outside groove. A final yellow flag on lap 25
occurred after Ascher spun on the main straight while racing for
third place. As was the case before, Olla took to the inside and
turned back more attempts by Thomas to take the lead over the final
five laps, edging Thomas at the stripe for the victory. Schultz ran
a strong race and finished in third place while Jay Shambeau came
from deep in the field to finish in fourth. Rob Braun also advanced
forward for a fifth place result.
Corey Funk took the win in the 18-lap Midwest Sportsman semi-feature
over Scott Shambeau and Troy Weich. Gary Tisler and Tom Elsinger
were fourth and fifth respectively. Ryan Zielski was the winner of
the Midwest Sportsman fast dash and James Swan led paced qualifying,
touring the speedway in 12.741 seconds.
Wes Biswell nailed down his second feature win of the year, taking
top honors in the 25-lap Midwest Modified main event.
Eddie Bentfield charged to the lead at the start and maintained the
top spot for the first seven laps before Joe Houpt was able to pass
by to take command of the event. Biswell worked his way into the
second spot by lap ten while Steve Huelsbeck, Jason Feyereisen, and
Dale Prunty all battled for third place on back. Biswell began to
pressure Houpt for the lead, taking the position on lap 12 while
Huelsbeck, Prunty, and Feyereisen continued their fight for third
place. Biswell extended his lead over Houpt while Huelsbeck, Prunty,
and Feyereisen swapped positions in the closing laps. At the finish,
Biswell crossed the line first to record his second feature win of
the season while Houpt took the checkered flag in second. Feyereisen
made a late charge to snag third place while Huelsbeck and Prunty
completed the top five finishers.
Ron Schmitt won the Midwest Modified fast dash and Feyereisen was
the fastest qualifier at 12.357 seconds.
Eric Schuetz worked his way through lapped traffic and charged to
the win in the 18-lap Thunderstock feature over Brad Jakes and John
Majerus. Ryan DeStefano was fourth and Al Stippich took the
checkered flag in fifth.
Jake Vanosky took the win in the opening Slinger Bees event over Bob
Losiniecki and Tom Berens. C.J. Corallini finished in fourth place
ahead of Josh Wenninger. Travis Buchholz won the second Slinger Bees
race over Mike Haeuser and Frank Verhunce. Jamie Amos and Raymond
Davis rounded out the top five. Dan Ernst was the winner of the
Port-A-John Speedway Guest car race and Russ Lorbecki won the
Spectator Eliminator race. Donald Van Camp was the winner of a wild
and exciting Figure 8 event.
For Complete results from the RACESTAT computer
CLICK HERE
Pepsi
Challenge Round 2 Presented by Nutrisoda
See Culvers of Jackson Scoopie
(Slinger, WI) Special:
Sunday night July 9th Pepsi Challenge Round 2 presented by Nutrisoda
– See a 60 lap Late Model Feature along with MW Sportsman, MW
Modified, Figure 8’s, Complete Car Care Slinger Bee’s, Port A John
Speedway Guest Cars, One on One Spectators, and Thunderstocks. Plus
Scoopie from Culver’s of Jackson will be out with treats for the
kids!
Nutrisoda - Sodas that respect your intelligence and lifestyle and
do more than just quench your thirst and delivery empty calories.
Sodas that actually work for a living. Look for Nutrisoda at your
local Grocery Store in the beverage section. Nutrisoda The original
health spa in a can.
There are select advertising and sponsorship opportunities as well
as company and group outings available for the 2006 season. For more
information, contact the speedway’s public relations department at:
262-370-0440, the track office at: 262-644-5921 or visit our web
site at: www.slingersuperspeedway.com.
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