LEPAK MAKES MEMORIAL DAY - MEMORABLE BY TAKING FIRST CAREER WCS VICTORY!
By Jeffrey Sachse

Monday, May 28, 2007 (Plover, WI) – There had be occasion in past Wisconsin Challenge Series events where Jeremy Lepak of Wausau, Wisconsin appeared headed for victory lane, only to have his effort thwarted by mechanical failure, or by losing momentum in the closing stages of the race.  Such would not be the case on a sunny, Monday Afternoon, before a large crowd at the Memorial 100 at Golden Sands Speedway.  Lepak would fend off a hard charging Andy Hanson who was making his first career WCS start to grab his first feature win in WCS competition.

Andrew Morrissey of DeForest, a title contender for the 2007 WCS championship would sit on the pole for the start of the 100 lap feature contest, with local favorite Frank Nitzke of Berlin starting aside him on the front row as the 24 starters accepted the green flag in the premier event of the day on the high-banked third mile oval.

Morrissey would hug the low line while Nitzke opted for the high groove as the pair ran wheel to wheel the opening laps of the contest.  The battle would be short lived however as Morrissey lost power on the second lap and darted into the infield where his day would end as the first driver to drop from the contest.  This would leave Nitzke in command as the first caution of the event appeared on lap four after contact between Greg Ruffalo and Jason Weinkauf caused Weinkauf to spin in turn two.  Ruffalo was able to resume the event without losing a lap, while Weinkauf headed to the pits for work, returning later in the event.

The green flag would return with Nitzke leading the way, followed by Lepak, Blake Horstman, Hanson and Tim Hintz.  By lap 15, Nitzke and Lepak would begin to separate themselves from the pack, with Nitzke retaining control of the pace.  Lepak would often look low under Nitzke, but Nitzke's skill in the challenging out groove kept him out front as the duo blazed around the raceway.

Meanwhile deep in the field several drivers began to march forward in the event including second quick qualifier Steve Holzhausen, defending Marshfield Super Speedway champion Eugene Gregorich Jr., and defending Golden Sands champion Kenny Richards.

Lapped traffic began to come into play at the lap 30 mark, where Nitzke has extended his lead on Lepak to six car lengths.  Lepak meanwhile had a comfortable margin on Hanson, who had started sixth in the contest.

The gap between the lead pair of Nitzke and Lepak began to shrink by the lap 40 mark as Lepak slowly began to close in on Nitzke, who while still being fast, no longer appeared to have the speed he had during the opening laps of the contest.  Lap by lap Lepak closed until the pair were nose to tail on lap 46.  Lepak would then opt for the low line in effort to move alongside Nitzke, but before the pass could be complete, Hintz, who had been running fifth, looped his ride in turn one, just prior to the halfway point in the race.  Hintz would resume the event, but would start from the tail of the field negating a fine showing.

When the green flag returned Nitzke and Lepak began their showdown for the top spot.  Nitzke again kept his car in the outside line while Lepak hugged the corners.  This time the tactic would play into Lepak's favor and Lepak would inch ahead for the top spot on lap 56 before pulling away with the lead.   Nitzke would hold down the number two slow until lap 65, when Hanson would also work unto Nitzke to take over second.

Holzhausen meanwhile began to work quietly into contention reaching the third spot prior to the third caution which appeared on lap 79, as Ruffalo and M.G. Gajewski locked horns.  Both would resume from the tail of the field.

Only five quick laps would click off with Lepak showing the way before the final caution of the day flew with 16 laps to go, as Hintz sailed off the track in turn one, tagging the water barrels, resulting in the only damaged car of the contest. 

The sprint to the finish would see Lepak show the way, while Hanson searched both high and low for a way to the front of the field.  Holzhausen challenged briefly in the third spot but would settle in behind the lead pair as he began to defend the third position from a hard charging Richards who quickly closed the gap on the leaders as the laps ticked off.

With five laps to go Hanson sat squarely on Lepak's rear bumper still waiting for a mistake to make a passing attempt.  On the final lap Hanson opted to dive deep into the turns on the low side and with a solid run off turn four he managed to work under Lepak.  Lepak however was able to keep his momentum and would reach the finish line first by a half car length.  Hanson in a very solid outing would finish second.  Holzhausen, who has lost power steering midway through the contest would claim a respectable third followed by Richards and Gregorich in the top five.

Nathan Haseleu the current WCS point leader and defending champion lurked just outside the top five all day and would settle for sixth, but would retain the point lead by a slim margin over Richards.

Blake Horstman in his first WCS showing of 2007 would record a seventh place finish.  Nitzke meanwhile fought hard in the closing laps to retain an eighth place run.  The WCS all-time point lead, and two-time title holder Mark Eswein would add another top ten performance to his resume taking ninth and staying in the title chase.  The day's fastest qualifier Andy Monday would complete the top ten finishers.

Earlier in the program, M.G. Gajewski would fend off the challenges of Neil Knoblock to win the 30 lap qualifying race.  They would be followed by Tim Rothe, Don Turner, Ruffalo and Ken Reiser as drivers would make the main event via the qualifying race by taking spots in the top six.  Benjamin Brinkman making his first start of 2007 would just miss the main event by taking seventh.  Of the group making the main event by way of the qualifier, Knoblock would fair best reaching the 12th spot.

Jacob Humphrey would earn the point provision for the race and eventually finish in the thirteenth spot.  Brandon Selle, would be awarded the WCS qualifying provisional making the show with the 17th fastest lap, however he would drop from the contest late in the race to finish 18th.

The Wisconsin Challenge Series now heads to Wisconsin International Raceway located just south of Kaukauna, Wisconsin for the next event on the 2007 season schedule.  The contest, part of the Red Race, will be held on Saturday Night, June 9th.  The series is making it's first appearance of the year on the unique D-shaped half-mile oval.  Twin 50 lap feature contest will highlight the program.  All the series top competitors are expected for the event and will be challenged by a strong local contingent of cars.  As the home track for top ten series point runners Andy Monday and Tim Rothe, it is expected that it will be their best opportunity to close up ground in the season long point chase.

For additional information on the Wisconsin Challenge series, you can check out the official series website at www.wisconsinchallenge.com

WCS - A FEATURE