MIS E-News Week of December 10, 2007
by John Wells

General Manager Dave Grueneberg 608.513.2278
Marketing Manager Holly Coley 608.332.9445
Media / PR John Wells 608.225.1913
MIS E-News mismedia2@yahoo.com

Madison International Speedway is an ASA-sanctioned racing facility. Get close to the action...close to home...that's MIS.

Hi Everyone,

Its been awhile since our last MIS E-News. Weve made some changes during the off-season with our website which has put us slightly behind schedule on our E-News mailings. I would encourage all of you to check out the new look of our website by going to madisoninternationalspeedway.com. My goal is for newsletters to come out at least twice monthly during the off-season.

It may be the off-season for racing in this part of the country, but much work is being done in preparation for the 2008 racing season.

Mark your calendars for our season opener on Sunday, May 4th with the return of the highly-successful ASA Midwest Tour.

John

Here Come Matt and Tony&All Star Challenge Returns in 2008

RK Race Promotions has announced plans for the return of the All Star Challenge to Madison International Speedway. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24th with a rain date set for the following night. Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart will be returning to take on a talented field of super late model drivers from throughout the Midwest.

Also on the racing program will be the limited late models featuring Matts son, Ross.

Grandstands will open at noon with practice from noon to 3:30. Qualifying is set for 4:00 with racing at 7:00.

For more ticket information please go to our website at madisoninternationalspeedway.com.

Area Sportsman Return to MIS in 2008

MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg has announced that the Area Sportsman will return to MIS as a weekly division in 2008. We are really excited to be able to have the Area Sportsman back on the half mile weekly. There seems to be solid interest in racing weekly so were going to make this work, said Grueneberg. The Area Sportsman last raced weekly in 2006 on the quarter mile.

It was also previously announced that the Madison Late Models, Limited Late Models, and Bandits will all return in 2008. Several super late model events along with some never before seen events are slated for 2008 as well. We are putting the final touches on the schedule and will be releasing it very soon.

MIS Banquet Date and Location Set

Our annual banquet honoring the accomplishments of the 2007 racing season will take place on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at The Heights in Verona, Wisconsin. The Heights has hosted the banquet the past two seasons and has proved to be a great location.

More information on times and agenda will be released soon.

Check Out Our Website

Madison International Speedway is pleased to announce that our website has taken on a completely new look. Check it out at madisoninternationalspeedway.com.

We hope that you'll find it easy to navigate with plans for a wide variety of pictures. Keep in mind that it is still a work in progress. Thanks to Bob at Krown for a job well done.

In 2008 all drivers will be featured with bios and a list of your sponsors. If you have your own website we can include a link to it as well. You can see that we have Madison Late Model bios / sponsors from 2007 already included.

Attention Drivers

We want to help promote your team in 2008. If you are planning on racing with us weekly let us know how we can help you. We can include you in our press releases, include biographies on our website and in our E-News, and much more.

We have already heard from LLM driver Doug Hahn of Whitewater who will be racing with us in 2008.

We can't help you if you don't let us know your plans. Contact me at mismedia2@yahoo.com

Its Back to School at MIS

By John Wells

Its been awhile since MIS Marketing Manager Holly Coley was in fifth grade. Its been even longer for MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg. But recently they both had the opportunity to go back to school when they visited the fifth grade class of John Wells at Waubesa Intermediate School in McFarland, Wisconsin. McFarland is located approximately ten miles from Madison International Speedway.

Madison International Speedway is part of the McFarland School-Business Partnership in which area businesses pair up with different classrooms in the McFarland School District. The program provides students with an opportunity to learn about the business world as well as give business people the chance to see whats happening in schools.

Both Coley and Grueneberg met with the students to discuss the aspects of their particular responsibilities at the track. We talked to them about how the race track operates as a business. There were a lot of things the kids didnt realize were part of running a business, said Grueneberg. I was pretty impressed with how muchthey knew about racing and how many of the kids had been to the track. The kids learned about income and expenses including things such as payroll, insurance, promotions, and advertising.

I was surprised how much the kids knew about the track, said Coley, who presented each of the students with a 2007 yearbook. The kids really enjoyed the yearbook especially when they realized that their teacher had written most of the articles.

The fifth graders will now be working on a promotional activity to be held at the track in May. A field trip to the track will definitely be in the works and the kids are looking forward to possibly doing some box car racing.

Both Coley and Grueneberg are available to meet with area school groups and organizations during the off-season. We are committed to getting involved in the area communities. From meeting with groups to helping organize fund raisers, MIS wants to work with our neighbors, added Grueneberg. This is the third year MIS has been part of the McFarland School-Business Partnership. MIS has also been involved with the Pinewood Derby for the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts in McFarland as well.

If your school or organization is interested in becoming partners with MIS please contact Holly Coley at mishollycoley@yahoo.com.

Marketing Opportunties at MIS

Want to be part of the racing program in 2008? Sponsor a night of racing...purchase a billboard or barrier...be a Turn Four Kids' Club sponsor...bring a corporate gathering to the track...advertise in our program...these are just some of the opportunities for you to join us as a marketing partner.

Contact Holly at 608.332.9445.

Trophy Dash / Hard Charger Update

by Wayne Forsythe

The Trophy Dash Series was a big success with two drivers getting their first win at MIS, and a driver that has tried to make the Series for three years. And finally made it. Hard work at the shop and a good car and his sights on the Dash, Brady Liddle came out wide open. Brady drove hard and consistent. Brady made four of six races for the series.

He came out of the block with determination. Brady is the first driver to win three straight events. Scott Broughton was very consistent. He was the only driver to make all six events. Scott edged Brady by 87 points to claim the over-all Championship.

All the drivers did a great job. Racing hard and clean. Good Job.

The Hard Charger Award was down to the last checkered flag again this year. Bobby Wilberg and Scott Broughton went back and forth all year. When it was all said and done, Scott Broughton just slipped by Bobby Wilberg by one point. In the last four years of running the Hard Charger Award, the difference between first and second has been a total of five points.

Donna and I want to thank everyone at the track for all the help and support they have given. It is a privilege to be able to run these two events at Madison International Speedway. Also a big thanks to all the drivers for signing up for the two programs.

The Trophy Dash Series and the Hard Charger Award will be back in 2008 plus something special for the LLM. Details about this event will be announced with the release of the schedule. Thanks again to Dave Gruenberg, John Wells, Terry Kunes and Holly Coley.

Give Us Your Feedback

Let us know your suggestions for 2008. What do you think about our new website? Let me know at mismedia2@yahoo.com.

What were your favorite highlights of the 2007 season? Share them with me and read them in an upcoming newsletter.

Questions and Answers

Dan from Madison asks, "Why don't you have more practice nights during the season?" Great question Dan. We are only allowed a certain number of racing dates each season per our conditional use permit. A practice date counts just like a race date. We have to be careful how we use our dates.

Courtney from Janesville asks, "How do I go about having a birthday party at MIS for my eight year old son?" Contact Holly Coley at 332.9445. Each season we have several parties at the track and when you consider that kids eleven and under are free it's a great deal.

Allen from Beloit asks, "I came to MIS as part of a corporate outing. We had a blast and would like to bring our company up. What do we have to do to make this happen?" Once again you could contact Holly Coley and work out the details with her.

Charlie from Sun Prairie asks, "How soon do the race reports get posted on the website? I noticed last year it took a few days sometimes." I generally take my notes during the race and put thereport togethter the following morning. I then send it to our webmaster and our media outlets later on Saturday morning. So it should be posted by mid-day the day after racing.

The Chaplain's Corner

by Todd Christopherson

It is Holiday time, come on it is Christmas!

Not that it bugs me that people say, "Happy Holiday", but the reason behind it bugs me.

It is like this. If you call a bandit a super late or a super late a bandit we would correct you right away. We all enjoy the racing of each class and we recognize them all for their talent, but we also know that the fastest class has that edge in talent and speed and handling the car. I enjoy each of the classes we run at MIS.

I enjoy a bunch of the holiday's at this time of year.

Thanksgiving is such a good time to refocus on giving thanks to God for all we have and the family He places us in, the country we live in, the work He gives us, the protection of housing, the food He comforts us with.... New Year is a great time to commit to God and be reminded that God is a God of second chances and restarts.

There are other holiday's in there also but the greatest is Christmas. Not because of the presents under the tree or the big guy in the red suit or the bright lights, but because it is a special time of the year to remember that God loves us so much that He came down in human form (Phil 2:5-10), that Jesus, the Son and God (John 1:1-5) came with a purpose, knowing He would die for me and you, for us. What a gift! (Romans 6:23)

So let me ask you a question. How many presents are you not going to open this year? My guess is none. It pains me that so many never open the free gift of salvation.

We have talked about it a bunch but let me remind you. To be saved you need to agree with God on a couple of points.

God is God. He is perfect in every way, gave us His Word in the Bible and is God the Father, Son and Spirit

I have sinned. (Romans 3:23) I broke a (many) commandments. I missed up. I broke mans law and God's law.

There is only one way (John 14:6) to be forgiven and because God is perfect and Jesus is God He is the only one that can pay for my sin. I need to agree that Jesus is Lord and God and give Him reign in my life.

It is cool to think about that God allows us to be with Him for eternity, but He also allows us to choose. I hope you have opened the great gift salvation and are living daily for His glory

If I can help torch_for_jesus@yahoo.com

Have a great day racin' in the SONshine oh and by the way Merry Christmas, Jesus is the reason for the season.

Thats all for this week.

John