GERKE EARNS 2ND WIN IN 141 MIDAM THRILLER

(Francis Creek, WI – August 30, 2008) – Daryl Gerke swept from third to first in the closing laps to win his second MidAmerican Sportsman feature of the season Saturday night at the 141 Speedway in Francis Creek.

In other action, Nathan Wegner survived a battle royale in the Super Stocks to win for the first time, Allen Dillon raced away to the Mini-Stock trophy, Bruce Sand captured his third in the Sport 4 class and Mark Christensen tightened his grip on the Hobby Stock division with his fourth win.

Gerke’s win came at the expense of Josh Sand who had paced the field from the start.  Sand fought off challenges from Crystal Wood and Monte Strouf through three caution periods over the course of the event’s first half.

Meanwhile, title contenders Brett Piontek and Gerke were working their way forward.  A final caution for a Dave Marshall and Mark VanRite tangle on the 22nd lap set the stage for some late race dramatics.  Sand and Monte Strouf chose the inside for the restart with Piontek and Gerke the outside.

At the drop of the green, Piontek challenged Sand from the high line but was unable to make the pass.  Instead, he dropped into second in front of Strouf in the low lane, tight on Sand’s back bumper.  Gerke continued to run the top, first taking third, and then closing on the lead duo.  Pulling even with Piontek, he edged into second with four laps to go.

Keeping the momentum up, he inched forward, just nipping Sand across the line as the white flag flew.  Sand kept the pressure up through the final lap, but it was Gerke by a matter of feet at the wire.

Piontek came across in the leader’s shadow for third with Strouf fourth and Wood fifth.  Former track champ Mike Rahn made his first appearance of the year in the car normally driver by his brother Randy, and raced it to a sixth place finish.

For a large portion of the Super Stock feature it appeared like Greg Thompson would have to make room in the trophy case.  After taking the lead from Wegner on the sixth lap, he managed to build a steady cushion over Kraig Koehler as the laps ticked away.  But then came the 26th lap.

It began when Jason Kostichka’s car locked up and spun in a cloud of smoke on the front stretch bringing out the first in a string of cautions.  The first attempt at a restart ended in disaster as a slight bobble from Matt Cherney turned into an all-out pile-up on the front stretch.

Cherney ended up hard into the wall, with title contender Lee Kielpikowski and rookie Dave Satorius knocked out of action in the ensuing melee. 

Thompson and Koehler went toe to toe for the lead in the next attempt to drive to the checker, but contact between the two send Koehler skidding head-on into the turn two retaining tires and onto his roof.

Once the dust cleared again, Wegner found himself back out front for good.  Jo Gauger managed to stay clear of the mayhem to finish second.  Points leader Tim Conard was caught up in a couple of incidents but still finished third.

Things were much calmer for Dillon as he drove away to his second Mini-Stock feature win of the year.  He took the lead from Jason Novak with an inside move on the sixth lap then pulled away to a comfortable margin.

Novak held the second spot to the finish, leading a tight pack of cars that included Kevin Naidl, Kurt Naidl, Jason Wiladsen and Todd Hebel.

Caught up in an early incident with Aaron Dalton, Bruce Sand had to fight his way through the entire field to win the Sport 4 feature.  He shot to the outside of Jake Fuller on a restart at the halfway make, then held on through a final caution period with just two to go.

Fuller held off a late charge from Mike Blashka to take second, Dalton recovered from the early spin for fourth, followed by Parker May and Nick Wacek, scoring a career best sixth.

Christensen used a steady drive on the outside line to march to the front, passing Mike Wilde on the 18th lap as he cruised away to win.  Jon Hansen carded a solid second, but was unable to close the gap on Christensen.

This Saturday night, Pepsi will host the second to last point night of the 2008 season.  Qualifying for all five divisions starts at 5:30 p.m., with the first race at 7:00 p.m.  For more information and directions to the track, visit the Speedway’s website at www.141speedway.com.

Race Summary

Mid American 35 Lap Feature – Daryl Gerke, Whitelaw; Josh Sand, Mishicot; Brett Piontek, Green Bay; Monte Strouf, Menchalville; Crystal Wood, Denmark; Mike Rahn, Green Bay

Heat 1 – Strouf; Travis Groelle, Manitowoc

Heat 2 – Andy Casavant, Two Rivers; Piontek

Fast Qualifier – Gerke (12.324)

Super Stock 30 Lap Feature – Nathan Wegner, Maribel; Jo Gauger, Two Rivers, Tim Conard, Manitowoc; Pete Kumbalek, Green Bay; Greg Thompson, Denmark; Dan Krause, DePere

Heat 1 – Conard; Wegner

Heat 2 – Dave Satorius, Appleton; Matt Cherney, Mishicot

Fast Qualifier – Conard (12.466)

Mini-Stock 30 Lap Feature – Allen Dillon, Two Rivers; Josh Novak, Cato; Jason Wiladsen, Waldo; Todd Hebel, Green Bay; Kevin Naidl, Denmark; Kurt Naidl, Denmark

Heat 1 – Kurt Naidl; Brian Watzka, Green Bay

Heat 2 – Dillon; Hebel

Fast Qualifier – Hebel (13.244)

Sport 4 25 Lap Feature – Bruce Sand, Two Rivers; Jake Fuller, Cato; Mike Blashka, Reedsville; Aaron Dalton, Gillett; Parker May, DePere; Nick Wacek, Green Bay

Semi-feature – Dave Wacek, Green Bay; Brandon Tegen, Two Rivers; Jerry Duggan, Whitelaw; Chris Schneider, Two Rivers

Heat 1 – Blashka; Jeremy Hebel, Two Rivers

Heat 2 – Fuller; May

Heat 3 – Ed Klug, Oregon; Dave Gauger, Sr, Two Rivers

Fast Qualifier – Hebel (14.616)

Hobby Stock 25 Lap Feature – Mark Christensen, Mishicot; Jon Hansen, Whitelaw; Mike Wilde, Manitowoc; Ray Fuller, Manitowoc; Jarred Anderson, Denmark; Travis Kronforst, Two Rivers

Heat – Wilde; Christensen

Fast Qualifier – Christensen (14.359)