ASAMT TOURING STAR: TIM SCHENDEL

NUMBER 8 OF 14 2011 TOURING STARS (Continued from Top Ten of 2010)

By: Kari Shear-Carlson
(Friday, March 18, 2011) The top 14 drivers in the American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and GrandStay Hospitality 2010 points are eligible for 2011 Touring Star status. The ASAMT takes pride in recognizing each of these drivers because of their success leading into the upcoming season.

As the ASAMT continues to recognize the 2011 eligible Swiss Colony Touring Stars, Tim Schendel is next up on the scoreboard. This article is a continuation of the top ten of 2010, which will be extended to all 14 ASA Midwest Tour Swiss Colony Touring Stars.

2011 will be Schendel's fourth year as an ASAMT Touring Star. His 2010 season was definitely one of ups and downs. Tim finished his season with 1637 points in 11 starts, one top-five, five top-tens and one win at Dells Raceway Park.

Schendel qualified fourth for the Joe Shear Classic at Madison International Speedway. Overall it was not a bad day. With the invert, he started eleventh and finished eleventh. Ironically he also qualified eleventh for for the next event at Elko Speedway. However, he finished the Elko 100 in seventh, gaining his first top-ten of the 2010 season.

His best qualifying run came at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, IA. Schendel qualified second. Once again the number eleven was haunting him, as the invert put him in an eleventh starting spot. He finished sixth, adding to his top-ten finishes.

Schendel just barely squeaked into the Elmer Musgrave Memorial at Illiana Motor Speedway. He qualified 17th, but was able to win his heat race. I will give you one guess to where Tim finished in the main event...that's right, 11th! He just could not seem to shake that number 11 off his back.

Eleventh would have looked pretty good after Schendel failed to qualify for the Swiss Colony All-Star Challenge 100 at MIS. Tim raced his way in through the last chance race and ended up finishing in the 16th spot...not his best race of the season. Schendel spun in turn three after he and the #80 of Reffner made contact, which pretty much summed up his night.

His bad luck continued when he qualified 24th for the Kwik Trip 125 at Raceway Park in Shakopee, MN. He once again was able to race into the main event and rallied for another top-ten. Schendel finished 10th in the 125 lap event.

It looked like his luck was finally starting to turn around. Schendel qualified ninth for the Dixieland 150 at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, WI. Unfortunately it did not end as well as it started. Schendel continued to slow off the pace before eventually pulling off the track for mechanical problems. Tim finished 23rd completing only 75 laps.

Ah...now on to Dells Raceway Park! Luck was finally on his side. Schendel picked up his first and only victory in 2010. After qualifying eighth, the invert put him in the third starting spot. "We've had a lot of bad luck this year. But we worked really hard for this race and no one has given up. It feels really good," said a happy Schendel from victory lane.

It is amazing how quickly the tide can turn. At Marshfield Motor Speedway, Schendel qualified 19th missing the event by one spot. However, he was able to race his way in once again by winning the last chance race. It was not all bad, as he did make his way up and finished in 16th on the lead lap.

Okay...as mentioned earlier in this story, Schendel had an up and down year. After Marshfield, the ASAMT headed to Norway where Schendel once again started on a very high note. Tim qualified second for the 125 lap race. The invert put him back to 12th at the start of the race and he was able to get another top-ten, finishing in 10th.

The final race of the season was at Schendel's home track, La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI. The day stared out well. He qualified fourth and was ready to finish this season off on an "up." But, yet again, it was not meant to be. Tim was the first driver out of the event, completing only 34 laps.

Well, 2010 was not his best season. But let's hope that all those 11's were just a foreshadowing of how great his 20"11" season is going to be. One can definitely be assured that this ASA Midwest Tour Swiss Colony Touring Star will be ready for the 2011 season with high hopes of more "ups" than "downs."

To learn more about the American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and GrandStay Residential Suites Hotels and Crossings by GrandStay Inn & Suites, log on to www.asamidwesttour.com or call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (630) 212-6022 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus atsteve@asamidwesttour.com.

If you would like to learn more about the ASAMT series sponsors, please visit their websites: Kwik Trip, Inc. (www.kwiktrip.com), ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment (www.echo-usa.com), and GrandStay Residential Suites Hotels and Crossings by GrandStay Inn & Suites (www.grandstay.net).

To learn more about the Midwest Sportsman Tour log on towww.asamidwestsportsman.com.

To learn more about the ASA Midwest Truck Tour log on towww.asamidwesttrucks.com.

To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association® Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association®, visit www.asaracing.com.