MIS E-News
Week of April 16, 2007
by John Wells

Attention Race Fans

It's hard to imagine but the racing season at MIS is just a couple of weeks away.

Racing season marks a reunion of sorts as we see people we haven't seen for awhile. For me that includes fans, drivers, and co-workers who call MIS home during the May - September months.

Reserve Pit Stalls Now

Call Dave Grueneberg at 608.513.2278 to reserve your pit stall for the 2007 season.

Practice Sessions Scheduled

Practice and inspection day is set for Saturday, April 28th from Noon to 5:00. Pit gates will open at 10:00 AM. All cars must go through a safety inspection before going on the track. Pit passes are $10.00.

There will be a second practice date on Saturday, May 5th also from Noon to 5:00. Gates also will open at 10:00 AM.

All drivers from divisions / series that will be racing at MIS in 2007 are welcome.

Weekly MIS drivers should have all paper work completed regarding your pit stalls, memberships, driver info sheets, etc. Having this done beforehand will save a lot of time on practice day for you and your team.

Racing Season Never Ends

Dave has done a superb job getting the 2007 schedule put together. There really is something for everyone this season and it will be fun to see a lot of first time drivers come to MIS. Holly Coley is working with sponsors and has some great promotions in the works. Chuck West has the Turn Four Kids Club running on all cylinders with a wide variety of events planned forthe season. It's amazing to see all of the off-season energy that goes into planning the season. Now if we can just have the weather cooperate!

Divisional Sponsors Announced

We are pleased to announce that Weaver Auto Parts (Madison Late Models), Rockweiler Insulation (Limited Late Models), and Roto Rooter (Bandits) all return for 2007. Roto Rooter returns for the second season while both Weaver and Rockweiler have a long standing relationship with the speedway. We want to remind everyone to support those who support racing and MIS.

It's always a great idea to mention to any of our sponsors or car sponsors that you saw them at MIS.


The Tires Have Arrived

The shipment of Hoosier Tires has arrived at Madison International Speedway. Drivers and teams should contact Dave Grueneberg at 608.513.2278 to make arrangements to purchase your tires. The shipment included Hoosier 1070, 3035, and 3045 tires.

The Goodyear tires have not arrived yet, but we will let you know as soon as they do.

Transponder Update

Once again MIS will be using transponder scoring for the Madison Late Models and the Limited Late Models. This seems to be the direction that many tracks are going to this season. It's pretty interesting to stand by Mike Wilson in the tower and see how the system works.

There will be one very noticeable change this year at MIS and that is in the area of qualifying. We will be returning to single car qualifying in the Madison Late Models and Limited Late Models. This will allow sponsor information and driver features to be included during the qualifying run...I want to remind drivers to make sure you get us the pertinent information before you race or see me in the pits before hot laps. The crowd loves to hear those interesting stories and we love to tell them!

A Look at 2007

What's the most exciting date on the 2007 MIS racing schedule? In my opinion that's a tough call because there is such a variety on this year's schedule:

Super Lates Times Five! There are five super late model events on the schedule for this season.

The Wisconsin Challenge Series (WCS) returns for two races this year and they will certainly bring solid car counts and exciting racing...remember last September! Jeff Sachse has done an outstanding job with this series and this year will be another great one for the WCS.

The biggest event on the MIS schedule will be the First Supply All Star Challenge featuring Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. This year it will be a super late model event meaning cars will be coming to MIS from throughout the midwest.

The new ASA Midwest Tour will make a stop at MIS in 2007. Tim and Steve have really been working hard this winter and spring to bring this series together. Looking forward to working with Steve Einhaus for this race.

MIS will be sponsoring it's own super late model event on Friday, August 3rd. A one-hundred lap feature is planned on Union Local 464 Night at the races...over 1200 from the union expected to join us that night.

Sears Auto Center 200 presented by BF Goodrich Tires

The northern division of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup will be making an earlier appearance at MIS in 2007 as they will be with us on Memorial Day weekend for a Saturday night race. The Pro Cup people are great to work with and this should be a big night of racing featuring live pit stops. Last year's MIS race was a unique one in that they went more laps of consecutive green flag racing than any other race on their schedule.

Check out our complete schedule at our website.

Legends, Bandoleros, Super Cups...what are they?

I've had many questions from both media and fans regarding these divisions. Here's a synopsis of each one:

Legends:

The Legends series has been around since 1992 when they were presented at Lowe's Motor Speedway and features a spec class of racing in a 5/8 scale car built to look like one of ten styles of coupes and sedans from 1934 to 1940.

The cars feature a Yamaha 1250cc sealed engine with 122 horsepower and weigh 1300 pounds with the driver. The cars have a wheelbase of 73 inches and are 46 inches high.

Bandoleros:

The Bandolero Car is a turnkey, spec-series racer designed for drivers as young as eight years old and the young-at-heart at any age. Just 150 parts make up the entire car compared to nearly 300 in the Legends. You could say it's somewhere between a go kart and a car.

The Bandolero is powered by a Briggs & Stratton 570cc Vanguard engine mounted behind the driver. Small modifications have been made to the engine to bring the once 20HP stock engine to nearly 30HP. The wheelbase is seventy inches and the car is 34 inches high. It weighs just 550 pounds.

Super Cups:

The Central StatesSuper Cup car looks just like a Nascar car but is exactly 1/2 the size. The cars come complete with a full tube chassis, rack & pinion steering, upper & lower control arms and fully adjustable coil over shocks both front and rear. It includes a full cage and five point harness. You'll notice the paint schemes will look very similar to the NASCAR cars.

The cars can go between 60-80 mph on the quarter mile. They are powered by a Honda GX 390 engine. You can check out more about the series at supercupracing.com.

Open Wheel Night

If you are a fan of open wheel racing you're going to definitely want to be at MIS on Saturday, July 28th. The USAC Regional Midgets will be racing on the half-mile with Ford Focus Midgets, Kenyon Midgets, Formula Indy Racing Association, and Rascal Outlaws on the quarter mile.

Special Thanks

We would like to thank Wayne Forsythe for once again bringing his dash series and "Hard Charger" programs to MIS. This year Wayne's dash series will expand to six events.

MADISON INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY MOVES UP A LEVEL IN THE ASA MEMBER TRACK PROGRAM

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 10, 2007) – Madison (Wis.) International Speedway was one of the first racetracks to join the ASA Member Track program back in 2003. Since then they have remained in the program as Level II participants, but in 2007 MIS owner Terry Kunes made the decision that the time was right, and it was the right thing to do, to move up to a Level I status.

“I really like the direction that Dennis (Huth, president of the ASA Member Track, Regional and National Racing programs) is taking the ASA Member Track program,” Kunes said. “I believed in his vision back in 2003 and joined on his promises. So far Dennis has kept to his word and delivered more than he saidhe would. The ASA Member Track program is gaining a lot of momentum, and there is no way that we wouldn’t remain a part of it.”

Kunes said that the decision to move up to the Level I membership, the top level offered by the ASA Member Track program, was simply a reflection on his desire to provide the best for his competitors.

“I want to make sure that our driver’s have the best possible items available to them, whether it is something on the racetrack, around the facility, or an intangible like the insurance package that ASA offers. Without them I wouldn’t have a racetrack, the fans wouldn’t have a place to come watch racing, and they deserve to have everything I can provide,” he explained.

MIS is billed as “Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile” and has long been a fixture with the ASA. In the past, theASA National Tour made this a regular stop on their schedule, and today they play host to both the newly formed ASA Midwest Tour on July 20 and the ASA Late Model Series, Northern Division on July 7.

The 2007 season begins May 6 and a combination of Friday night weekly racing along with a variety of special events will keep the track busy until the season-finale Fall Classic on September 21 and 22. The full schedule, along with news, results, and loads of information can be found online at www.MadisonInternationalSpeedway.com or by calling (608) 835-9700.

Home to a number of different touring series, MIS will once again play host to the Wisconsin Challenge series two times this season, on May 6 and again on September 7. The Hooter’s Pro-Cup makes a May 26 stop, and sprint car fans will be delighted with the addition of the July 28 Open Wheel Extravaganza with USAC Midgets and four other divisions.

“This is going to be a very fun and exciting year at MIS. We will be featuring three solid weekly divisions and some of the finest special events you’ll find at any track in the Midwest,” said track promoter Dave Grueneberg.

Perhaps the most anticipated event of the season, and certainly one of the most popular, will be the First Supply All Star Challenge featuring Matt Kenseth and
Tony Stewart racing Super Late Models. Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, honed his skills at MIS and being a Wisconsin native is one of the most popular drivers to move up the ranks. The local drivers are sure to have their sites set on beating both of these NASCAR Nextel Cup champions so that they
can have the bragging rights, and a story to tell. The fans, of course, love having Kenseth “back home” and seeing if he still knows his way around the MIS oval.

“Madison International Speedway can easily be considered one of the most historic racetracks in the country, and has had so much history and so many championship drivers come across the asphalt it is remarkable,” Huth said. “Taking a look through the results names such as Matt Kenseth, Dick Trickle, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Travis Kvapil, and Joe Shear have all raced there or won titles at MIS before progressing into the spotlight. It is no wonder that they call themselves ‘The Track of Champions’ and their history is so intertwined with the ASA over the decades that it is an honor to have them part of the ASA Member Track program.”

As a Level I participant in the ASA Member Track program, MIS is entitled to contributions to their year-end point fund, marketing assistance, and enhanced participant accident insurance. The ASA insurance program, always noted for its excellence with an expanded ASA $500,000 participant accident medical program. ASA Member Track operators are able to purchase general and excess liability, automobile, workers compensation and health insurance directly from Topic Motorsports Insurance. Details are available online at www.TOPICinsurance.com.

To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based ASA Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from all the racetracks and regional tours involved in the ASA, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.