DRAKE DOMINATES PEPSI NATIONALS
HATTON & HUSTON EARN BADGER TITLES
PHOTOS
By Bryan Gapinski
SUN PRAIRIE, WI September 3-----Jay Drake continued his winning ways, by capturing the 19th annual Pepsi Nationals, Badger Midget Series event, Sunday Night at the Angell Park Speedway. Scott Hatton, and car owner Dwight Huston emerged as the series champions, in a close point battle. For each it was their first career Badger Championship.
Hatton started the feature twelve points ahead of Dan Boorse, and Kevin Doty, while Kevin Olson trailed by two more points. Doty jumped into the lead at the start, Drake quickly moved into second on the third lap, with Boorse taking third place on the sixth lap. Doty blew his oil filter on the eighth circuit, with his title chances going up in smoke. On the restart Drake led Boorse, with Hatton in fourth place.
Boorse's hopes of a third straight title ended on the 14th lap, when his u-joint exploded, causing him to coast to a stop. On the restart Drake set a blistering paced pulling away from the field. At the midway point Drake held a 4.2 second lead over Jerry Coons, and Hatton. Contenders Tony Elliott, and Kasey Kahne, also retired by the midway point.
Drake's blistering pace, allowed him to lap up to fifth place, when the caution appeared for a stalled car with eight laps remaining, erasing his three quarter lap lead. On the restart Drake cruised unchallenged to a 2.27 second lead over Coons, Hatton, A.J. Fike, and Aaron Fike. Drake drove the Keith Kunz Motorsports Stealth-Gaerte#67 entry.
It was a long awaited championship for Hatton who has finished in the top six in series points the past seven years. The final point tally showed Hatton with 1366, trailed by Kevin Olson(1324), Boorse(1300), and Doty(1297).
The series will run a special non-point event, co-sanctioned with MARA on Saturday Night September 9, at the Raceway at PowerCom Park.

DRAKE REMAINS HOT, GOOD CAR COUNT
HATTON GETS LONG AWAITED TITLE
By Bryan Gapinski
SUN PRAIRIE, WI---- For Jay Drake his win 
For Badger Champion Scott Hatton, the title ends a series of close but unsuccessful title tries. Hatton has been in the top six in points the last seven years. Second in '93, third in '96, '97, '99, fourth in '94, '95, sixth in '98.
It was also Hatton's first year driving for Dwight Huston's Houston Solution Team. Huston topped Wilke/PAK
Racing by twelve points to win
A great crowd was on hand to view the "Fab Four" Hatton, Dan Boorse, Kevin Doty, and Kevin Olson battle it out for the title. Fifty three cars turned out for the event up from last year's total of 48 cars. Both Boorse's, and Doty's title hopes were ended by often unseen mechanical failures. Boorse retired were his u-joint caught fire, and exploded, running second, and Doty, the leader at the time had his seal blow in the oil filter causing all the oil to exit his engine. Doty's teamate Tracy Hines, suffered a slimier fate in his heat race.
Jason Leffler was on hand to view the events, after competing the previous day in NASCAR Busch Series competition, at Darlington, SC. Leffler was coaching Kasey Kahne, on his first visit to Angell Park. Kahne, Leffler, Hines, Tony Elliott, and Jerry Coons Jr., all left the track immediately after the event to compete in Monday afternoon's USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series Event at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. 
Remarkably all twenty Badger events were won this year by a Stealth Chassis, stretching their winning streak in Badger competition to twenty nine events. The last non-Stealth winner was on July 4, 1999, when Leffler was victorious at Angell Park. 

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