RUBECK OPENS 2006 WISCONSIN CHALLENGE SERIES WITH VICTORY IN FRONT OF HOMETOWN FANS AT ROCKFORD SPEEDWAY!

ROCKFORD, IL. (April 2, 2006) - Steve Rubeck overcame the challenges of Mother Nature, and some of the Midwest's finest Super Late Model drivers to lay claim to victory in front of hometown fans in the season opening event of the Wisconsin Challenge Series. Traveling outside it's namesake state, the Wisconsin Challenge Series paid visit to the historic Rockford Speedway oval to start it's 2006 racing season, the first venture for the six year old Super Late Model tour outside the state of Wisconsin.

Photo Highlights
	Steve Rubeck (#61), a former weekly competitor at the Rockford Speedway used his knowledge of the tricky quarter-mile oval to take a convincing win at the first ever Wisconsin Challenge Series appearance at the facility. The top three finishers of the International Truck Spring Classic 150 included third place finisher Jeremy Lepak (left), winner Steve Rubeck (center) and runner-up Nathan Haseleu (right). Jeremy Lepak (#40) set the pace for the first 40 laps of the main event, before Steve Rubeck (#61) worked to his inside for the top spot. A stellar field sits trackside prior to the green flag with Jeremy Lepak (#40) and Steve Rubeck (#61) holding down the front row. Jeff Kendall (#00) and Jeremy Lepak (#40) show fans some great side by side racing during the feature contest. Fast qualifier Steve Holzhausen (#97) would have the unfortunate experiance of being invovled in the only contact producing yellow flag, as he hit a spinning Rory Melbinger (#88) after working quickly forward in the field. The closing laps of the contest saw Dave Feiler (#96) working past multi-time regional NASCAR champion Steve Carlson (#66) for the fifth spot.  Feiler started deep in the field and advanced the most positions on the day. Nathan Haseleu (#87) the defending series champion would pass Jeremy Lepak (#40) for the runner-up spot, but was unable to close the gap on race leader Steve Ruebeck. All-time series point leader and two-time series champion Mark Eswein (#71) does battle with Dave Feiler (#93).  Edwein turned in a solid showing for his first ever appearance at the raceway taking an eighth place finish. Nathan Haseleu (#87) used the low line to advance toward the front of the field.  He's shown taking a position from Jeff Kendall (#00) who would finish seventh. Multi-time Rockford Speedway champion Ricky Bilderback (#02) worked into the top five before he slid up and tagged the wall.  Brian Johnson Jr. (#38) another driver with many laps at Rockford Speedway would work past and go on to a fourth place finish. The Rockford Speedway experiance was new to many Wisconsin Challenge Series competitors including young chargers like Kenny Richards (#9) and even seasoned veterans like Don "Thunder" Turner (#7).  Both drivers would qualify for the main event. Chris Weinkauf (#75) claimed a victory on the second of two qualifying races which set the field for the main event. Chris Weinkauf (#75) fends off a late race charge by Dave Feiler (#96) to win the second qualifying race. Jeff Holmgren Jr. (#5) works the low line past Jeff Weinfurter (#3) during the closing laps of the B-feature to win the contest. Weinfurter would settle for second.

46 race teams checked into the pit area to begin the weekends events which were plagued by less than favorable weather conditions.  However when the final checkered flag fell on Sunday afteroon, fans were treated to a fast paced, well run show, with a local hero in victory lane.

Rubeck of Cherry Valley, IL, would squirt past Wisconsin Challenge Series front runner Jeremy Lepak of Wausau, Wisconsin  and then fend off defending series champion Nathan Haseleu of Pardeeville, Wisconsin to collect a well earned victory in the 150 lap contest that was slowed by just two cautions flags aside from the mandatory pit stop at lap 80.

The main event, contested at 150 laps, saw the lineup determined by a dice roll from fast qualifier Steve Holzhausen of Bangor, Wisconsin.  Holzhausen, a veteran racer with numerous track titles to his credit had proven to be the man to beat throughout practice and quaifying having turned in the fastest time trial effort with a lap of 13.241 seconds.  Multi-time NASCAR Midwest Elite series title holder Steve Carlson of West Salem, Wisconsin had turned in the second fastest qualifying effort with a lap of 13.280 seconds followed by multi-time Rockford Speedway title holder Ricky Bilderback who as making his first WCS appearance turning in a trip of 13.323 seconds.

Holzhausen's luck however began to fade with the roll of the dice to determine the invert, as he rolled the maximum invert possible, placing himself 14th on the starting grid.  This would place Lepak on the pole for the conest with Rubeck starting on his outside as the green flag fell.  Lepak, hungry for his first WCS victory would spring ahead of Rubeck at the drop of the green with defending Dells Motor Speedway champion Jeff Kendall of Montell, Wisconsin in tow.

Dexter Bean of Westby, Wisconsin, who will be spending much of his season in the ARCA Super Car series, was hoping to claim his second career victory ran strong in the fourth spot until mechanical ills dropped him from the contest on lap 15.  Bean would return later many laps down.

The event clicked off the first 25 laps uninterupted with Lepak, Rubeck, Kendall, locak racer Brian Johnson Jr. ( who lives two blocks from the raceway ) and defending champion Haseleu holding down the top five.

Lap 29 proved to be the undoing of Holzhausen who had worked into the 9th spot.  Rory Melbinger former Marshfield Speedway title holder, slipped coming off of turn two going for quick spin.  Holzhausen would make contact damaging his left front suspension. Melbinger was able to continue the contest, whole Holzhausen's damage would rop him from the contest.

With the green flag returning Rubeck began to apply the pressure to Lepak, seeking a way to the top spot.  Lepak would show the way until lap 40, when Rubeck would nose under him coming off turn two.  As the pair raced to the stripe, Rubeck would nose ahead on lap 41 to take the lead. 

Slowly but surely Rubeck would begin to stretch his advantage while Haseleu began to work forward taking fourth from Johnson Jr. on lap 46.

The second and final slowdown would appear in lap 63, when series regular Adam Royle of Farmington, MN sufferad a flat tire and slowed on the backstretch.  Royle was able to enter the pits under caution and return without losing a lap.

The green flag returned again and Rubeck went back to the lead while Lepak, Kendall and Haseleu constested the second spot.  At lap 80, the caution again flew for a mandatory pit stop allowing teams to add fuel and prepare their cars for the final 70 laps. 

As the green flag flew again, Rubeck shot back to the top spot with Lepak applying the pressure seeking a way back to the lead.  After a dozen laps Rubeck finally managed some breathing room ads Lepak and Kendall dueled for the second spot.  That battle allowed fourth place Haseleu to close in on the pair and the ballte for second became a three way contest.  Haseleu would show some muscle as he worked past Kendell for third on lap 105, and then began to close on Lepak.  On lap 116, Haseleu worked under Lepak off turn two and annexed the second position.

By now Rubeck had built a quarter-lap lead.  Rubeck would flawlessly drive through lap traffic and prove to be error free during the final 34 circuits, and still maintained a 8 car length margin at the checkered to earn his first career Wisconsin Challenge Series victory.  Haseleu would open his title defense with a strong second place showing.  Lepak would settle for the third position in the contest.  Johnson Jr.,  a former weekly competitor at Rockford Speedway who also owns the track record at the speedway in Super Late Model competition would finish fourth.   Dave Feiler of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin who owns track titles at both Madison International Speedway and Dells Motor Speedway would reach the top five in the closing laps after starting in the 22nd position.

Steve Carlson nailed down the sixth spot followed by Kendall who faded in the closing laps. The series only multi-time champion Mark Eswein turned in another solid performance with a eighth place run after turning in his first laps on the Rockford oval this past weekend. John Zimmerman and Chris Weinkauf would complete the top ten runners.

The next event on the WCS appearance will be at Madison International Speedway on Sunday Afternoon, May 7th.  The stop will mark the first ever show for the series on the high-banked half mile oval.  Last season the series was to have run at the raceway, but inclement weather had postponed the show until this year.

Pit gates will open at 9:00 a.m., with practice set to begin at Noon.  Qualifying will begin at 2:00 p.m., and the first green flag of the day will fly at 2:00 p.m. 

Madison International Speedway is located between Oregon and Stoughton, Wisconsin on Sunrise Road, just off Highway 138.  For additional information on Jefferson Speedway the track has a website available at www.madisoninternationalspeedway.com

Information on the Wisconsin Challenge Series can be found at www.wisconsinchallenge.com

29th Annual Spring Classic presented by International Truck and Yellow Book
Rockford Speedway - April 2, 2005

150 Lap Feature:  --  1. Steve Rubeck, Cherry Valley; 2. Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville, Wis; 3. Jeremy Lepak, Wausau, Wis; 4. Brian Johnson, Jr., Machesney Park; 5. Dave Feiler, Sun Prairie, Wis; 6. Steve Carlson, West Salem, Wis; 7. Jeff Kendall, Montello, Wis; 8. Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapds, Wis; 9. John Zimmerman, Markesan, Wis; 10. Chris Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis; 11. Adam Royle, Farmington, Minn.; 12. Dale Nottestad, Cambridge, Wis; 13. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton;  14. Jeff Storm, Waterford, Wis; 15. Jamie Wallace, Pell Lake, Wis;  16. Andrew Morrissey, DeForest, Wis;
17. Frank Kreyer, Pardeeville, Wis; 18. Rory Melbinger, Marshfield, Wis; 19. Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis; 20. Dexter Bean, Westby, Wis; 21. Kenny Richards, Montello, Wis; 22. Ken Reiser, Waukon, Iowa; 23. Don Turner, LaCrosse, Wis;24. Steve Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis.

30 Lap B-Main  --  1. Jeff Holmgren, Jr, East Troy, Wis; 2. Jeff Weinfurter, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis; 3. Burton Brown, Fremont, Wis; 4. Andy Monday, Appleton, Wis; 5. Chris Skrede, Sparta, Wis; 6. Tim Hintz, Nekoosa, Wis; 7. Eric Klawitter,
Montello, Wis; 8. Mike DeKeuster, Franksville, Wis; 9. Chad Davidson, Lodi, Wis; 10. Brandon Selle, Hortonville, Wis.

First 30 Lap Qualifier --  1. Andrew Morrissey, DeForest, Wis; 2. Jeff Storm, Waterford, Wis; 3. Dale Nottestad, Cambridge, Wis; 4. Burton Brown, Fremont, Wis; 5. Bryan Roach, Goodhue, Minn.; 6. Jeff Holmgren, Jr, East Troy, Wis; 7. Dean Cornelius, Chaska, Minn.; 8. Chris Skrede, Sparta, Wis; 9. Andy Monday, Appleton, Wis; 10. Nick Hammer, Sun Prairie, Wis; 11. Tim Hintz, Nekoosa, Wis; 12. John Fraiser, Merrill, Wis; 13. Frank Kreyer, Pardeeville, Wis; 14. Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis.

Second 30 Lap Qualifier --  1. Chris Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis; 2. Dave Feiler, Sun Prairie, Wis; 3. Ken Reiser, Waukon, Iowa; 4. Chad Barker, Raymond, Wis; 5. Dennis Prunty, Lomira, Wis; 6. Adam Degenhardt, Coon Valley, Wis; 7. Jeff Weinfurter,
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis; 8. Chad Davidson, Lodi, Wis; 9. Mike DeKeuster, Franksville, Wis; 10. Darren Wolke, Mendota
Heights, Minn.; 11. Brandon Selle, Hortonville, Wis; 12. Matt Kocourek, Franklin, Wis; 13. Jeff Way, Burlington, Wis; 14.
Eric Klawitter, Montello, Wis.

Time Trial --  1. Steve Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 2. Steve Carlson, West Salem, Wis; 3. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 4.
Jamie Wallace, Pell Lake, Wis; 5. Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville, Wis; 6. Adam Royle, Farmington, Minn.; 7. Brian
Johnson, Jr., Machesney Park; 8. Kenny Richards, Montello, Wis; 9. Dexter Bean, Westby, Wis; 10. Don Turner, LaCrosse, Wis; 11. Jeff Kendall, Montello, Wis; 12. Rory Melbinger, Marshfield, Wis; 13. Steve Rubeck, Cherry Valley; 14. Jeremy Lepak, Wausau, Wis; 15. Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapds, Wis; 16. John Zimmerman, Markesan, Wis; 17. Frank Kreyer, Pardeeville, Wis; 18. Matt Kocourek, Franklin, Wis; 19. Dale Nottestad, Cambridge, Wis; 20. Dave Feiler, Sun Prairie, Wis; 21. Jeff Storm, Waterford, Wis; 22. Jeff Way, Burlington, Wis; 23. Bryan Roach, Goodhue, Minn.; 24. Chad Barker, Raymond, Wis; 25. Burton Brown, Fremont, Wis; 26. Chris Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis; 27. Andrew Morrissey, DeForest, Wis; 28. Mike DeKeuster, Franksville, Wis; 29. Jeff Holmgren, Jr, East Troy, Wis; 30. Adam Degenhardt, Coon Valley, Wis; 31. John Fraiser, Merrill, Wis; 32. Ken Reiser, Waukon, Iowa; 33. Chris Skrede, Sparta, Wis; 34. Dennis Prunty, Lomira, Wis; 35. Andy Monday, Appleton, Wis; 36. Brandon Selle, Hortonville, Wis; 37. Dean Cornelius, Chaska, Minn.; 38. Jeff Weinfurter, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis; 39. Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis; 40. Chad Davidson, Lodi, Wis; 41. Nick Hammer, Sun Prairie, Wis; 42. Darren Wolke, Mendota Heights, Minn.; 43. Tim Hintz, Nekoosa, Wis; 44. Eric Klawitter, Montello, Wis.