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Lepak Scores First Victory In Keith's Marina 85
By Dan Margetta
(Slinger, WI) July 2—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.
Event: Keith’s Marina 85
Date: July 2, 2006
Late Model Feature 85-laps
1. Jeremy Lepak (Wausau) 15. Mike Egan (Slinger)
2. David Prunty (Brownsville) 16. Tommy Hromadka (Brookfield)
3. Josh Bauer (Random Lake) 17. Mike Strupp (Theresa)
4. Al Schill (Franklin) 18. Robert Maynor (Colgate)
5. Lowell Bennett (Neenah) 19. Jim Schmittinger (West Bend)
6. Nick Schumacher (Hartford)
7. Dennis Prunty (Lomira)
8. Rich Loch (Muskego)
9. Travis Dassow (West Bend)
10. John Mueller (Hubertus)
11. Ken Wills (Slinger)
12. Chad Barker (Franksville)
13. Dave Teske (Richfield)
14. Fred Winn (Milwaukee)
Late Model Semi Feature- 30 lap
1. Jerry Eckhardt (Watertown) 4. Wayne Freimund (Elkhorn)
2. Conrad Morgan (Waukesha) 5. Scott Schoeni (Slinger)
3. Randy Schuler (Mequon)
Late Model Consi. Feature- 15 lap
1. Shawn Roethle (Hartford) 4. Jim Jesoshek (Milwaukee)
2. Ed Grober (Milwaukee) 5. Ron Ragan (Hartford)
3. Tim Bennett (Neenah)
Late Model Fast Dash- Dennis Prunty (Lomira)
Late Model Fast Time- David Prunty (Brownsville) 11.335seconds
Midwest Modified Feature 20 laps
1. Wes Biswell (Sussex) 4. Steve Huelsbeck (Milwaukee)
2. Joe Houpt (Mequon) 5. Dale Prunty (Allenton)
3. Jason Feyereisen (Random Lake)
Midwest Modified Fast Dash- Ron Schmitt (Jackson)
Midwest Modified Fast Time- Jason Feyereisen (Random Lake) 12.357
seconds
Midwest Sportsman Feature 30 laps
1. Dean Olla (Milwaukee) 4. Jay Shambeau (Hubertus)
2. Dave Thomas (Franklin) 5. Rob Braun (Wales)
3. George Schultz (Bristol)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Dash- Ryan Zielski (Oconomowoc)
Midwest Sportsman Fast Time- James Swan (Lake Geneva) 12.741
seconds
Midwest Sportsman Semi-Feature 18 laps
1. Corey Funk (Slinger) 4. Gary Tisler (Cato)
2. Scott Shambeau (Milwaukee) 5. Tom Elsinger (West Bend)
3. Troy Weich (Fond du Lac)
Thunderstocks Feature 12 laps
1. Eric Schuetz (West Bend) 4. Ryan DeStefano (Colgate)
2. Brad Jakes (Lannon) 5. Al Stippich (Kewaskum)
3. John Majerus (Saukville)
Slinger Bees Heat #1 8-laps
1. Jake Vanosky (Mayville) 4. C.J. Corallini (North Lake)
2. Bob Losiniecki (Richfield) 5. Josh Wenninger (Lomira)
3. Tom Berens (Slinger)
Slinger Bees Heat #2 8-laps
1. Travis Buchholz (Hartland) 4. Jamie Amos (Hartford)
2. Mike Haeuser (Milwaukee) 5. Raymond Davis (Slinger)
3. Frank Verhunce (Mayville)
Port-A-John Guest Cars Winner- Dan Ernst
Spectator Eliminator- Russ Lorbecki
Figure 8 Winner-Donald Van Camp (Seymour)
Point Standings
Late Model Point Standings
1. David Prunty Brownsville 457; 2. Al Schill Franklin 452; 3. Lowell Bennett
Neenah 403; 4. Josh Bauer Random Lake 343; 5. Nick Schumacher Harford 330; 6.
Dennis Prunty Lomira 317; 7. Fred Winn Sussex 274; 8. John Mueller
Hubertus 255; 9. Ken Wills Slinger 235; 10. Collin Bamke Slinger 234; 11. Mike
Egan Slinger 223; 12. Travis Dassow West Bend 213; 13. Gary LaMonte West Allis
203; 14. Dave Teske Richfield 196; 15. Randy Schuler Mequon 194; 16. Scott
Schoeni Slinger 192; 17. Jeremy Lepak Wausau 192; 18. Conrad Morgan Wales 185;
19. Tommy Hromadka Brookfield 168; 20. Rich Loch Muskego 166
Midwest Sportsman Point Standings
1. Mike Graczkowski Jackson 409; 2. Brad Keith West Bend 387; 3. Jeff Holtz
Muskego 371: 4. Rob Braun Wales 328; 5. Jay Shambeau Hubertus 300; 6. Pat
McIntee West Bend 294; 7. Dean Olla Milwaukee 285; 8. Mike Borchardt
Greenfield 257; 9. Ryan Zielski Slinger 257; 10. Dave Thomas Franklin
256
Midwest Modified Point Standings
1. Steve Huelsbeck Milwaukee 735; 2. Dale Prunty Allenton 667; 3. Ron Schmitt
Jackson 622; 4. Joe Houpt Mequon 575; 5. Jason Feyereisen Random Lake 573; 6.
Wes Biswell Sussex 471; 7. . John Kruschel Sussex 357; 8. Joey Bentfield
Gerkes Corners 332; 9. Eddie Bentfield Gerkes Corners 313; 10. Matt Pate
Menomonee Falls 231
Figure 8 Point Standings
1. Donald VanCamp Jr Seymour 575; 2. Willie VanCamp Appleton 520; 3. Jeff
Wohlabe Appleton 500; 4. Scott Goetzke Iron Ridge 460; 5. Paul Williams
Hartford 400
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