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Night Before The 500 Victory Missing Jewel For Wilke-Pak

Clermont, Ind..—Jerry Coons Jr., and Wilke-PAK Motorsports currently find themselves in ninth place in the Mopar USAC National Midget Championship points. Coons is try for a record-tying third straight drivers championship, while Wilke-PAK has won the car owner championship for the 2005 and ’07 seasons.

The team will be trying for an elusive victory in the 63rd annual Toyota Night Before the 500 Classic at O Reilly Raceway Park. The event is the second-longest active running midget race. The race is considered one of the major “Big 8” midget races run each year (Chili Bowl, Night Before 500, Knoxville, Belleville, Pepsi/Fireman Nat’ls, Hut Hundred, Cooper World,Turkey Night) .

The Wilke-PAK Team is the only team in history to have scored victories in six of the eight events, with only IRP and Knoxville missing. Coons and Wilke-PAK, placed third in the 2005 event. The team had a successful test session a few weeks ago at the track.

This past weekend the series ran three Mopar USAC National Midget Champion events on paved tracks. Debuting a new car at the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway (West Salem, Wis.), Coons placed seventh in the feature, after qualifying fourth quick. The next day mechanical problems sidelined the team in the Slinger (Wis.) Speedway feature event at the midway point.

Sunday afternoon after winning the heat race Coons placed tenth on an “extremely hard to pass” Rockford (Ill.) Speedway. Later that evening Coons drove the Ralph Wilke owned#5 Spike-Mopar to victory in the Badger Midget Series feature event at Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, Wis.). Sponsorship packages are also available for the season and selected race events.

TEAM INFO
Team: Wilke-PAK Motorsports, Milwaukee,Wis.
Driver: Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz.

Chassis: Spike
Engine: Gary Stanton Mopar

Sponsors: Gary Stanton Mopar, Speedway Motors, K & N Filters, Schoenfeld, Kwik Change, BMRS, Fuel Safe, Spike, Safety Kleen, Autometer, DMI, Rod End Supply, Advanced Suspension,Sanders, Kenny?s Components, Hepfner Racing Products, Behling Racing Equip.

UPCOMING EVENTS
May 24 O Reilly Raceway Park (Clermont, Ind.)
May 30 Dodge County Fairgrounds (Beaver Dam, Wis.)

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