MIS E-News
Week of September 29, 2008
By John Wells

Here�s the latest from Madison International Speedway. The MIS E-News will continue to be sent directly to you during the off-season coming approximately twice per month. We will be announcing plans for the 2009 season, providing information on our banquet which is scheduled for January in Verona, and much more.

Drivers should email me with any e-mail address changes�send to mismedia2@yahoo.com.

Interested in submitting a story for the newsletter or 2009 MIS Yearbook? Send me your ideas to mismedia2@yahoo.com.

Happy belated birthday to Dave Grueneberg.

Fall Classic Review

The second annual MIS Miller Lite Fall Classic is in the books with close to 280 cars competing over the two nights. It was a long weekend for all who helped out at the track and even though many went with very little sleep it was also rewarding to see a successful two day program.

Here is a review of some of the highlights from this past weekend:

You had to be here early�

JDRF Walkathon: Over 1,000 fans came to MIS on Saturday morning to participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walkathon. A big thank you to all of the teams who put their cars on display on Saturday morning. Since an overwhelming majority of the walkers had never been to MIS before it was great exposure for the teams and the tracks, but most importantly to race money and awareness of juvenile diabetes.

Super Late Models: Congratulations to both Andrew Morrissey and Bobby Wilberg for picking up wins in the Twin 50s on Saturday night. Both drivers tied in points for the overall championship with Wilberg being declared the winner based on a faster qualifying time. A total of twenty-eight SLM were in the house with Shane Morrissey crashing hard during hot laps. It was great to see multi-time past track champion Conrad Morgan along with guys like Matt Kocurek, Randy Rodgers, Rick Corso and others. It seems like Corso has driven just about everything as I remember him winning in a winged car on the quarter mile last year.

Limited Late Models: Ross Kenseth picked up the overall win in the LLM division after winning Saturday night�s feature. Scott Broughton and Brady Liddle finished second and third overall behind Kenseth. Jason Hicks won the feature on Friday night but was fined and lost points following post race inspection. There were several new faces in attendance over the course of the two day event. This division has been so successful and competitive this year and we are really going to see big things in 2009.

USST Super Trucks: Andy Jirik is always strong at MIS and he picked up the win over local favorites Gary Cerny and John Wood. A nice field of eighteen trucks was on hand and the division put on a good race as former series director Chris Stocks dropped the green flag. Drivers from five states made the trip to MIS. Some young talent in this group such as Bobby Yonkee and Colin Laursen.

Mid American Stock Cars: What an impressive group. Over thirty great looking cars, a talented field of drivers, and competitive racing seems to be the norm for this series. Hats off to Doug Strasburg and his staff for all they do with this series. The veteran Lyle Nowak held off the kids to win the feature event. It was great working with the talented Matt Panure, voice of the Mid Am Series.

Legends: The Legends were in action both nights with Friday night�s event being on of the longest races ever on the quarter mile due to two red flags and six cautions. When it was all said and done, Jimmy Hansen of Cedar Lake, Indiana, would pick up his twenty-eighth victory of the season. This is a very diverse division with an age range of fifty years! A lot of future stars are getting their starts in the Legends. Once again tough luck hit the #50 of Rich Miller as he slammed into the wall on the first lap after a spin left him no option.

Area Sportsman: A very competitive field of fifteen cars took the green flag with Mike Heelein winning the feature. Some tough luck for drivers Tory Bagley and Jason Thoma who saw their nights end early and for Bagley major damage on his car. Let�s hope the great field we had at the Fall Classic is a sign of things to come as we welcome back the Area Sportsman as a weekly division in 2009.

Hobby Stocks: Wow�very nice to see a twenty car field on the half-mile. The �Bat Boy� Bobby Selsing Jr. became the only driver in 2008 to win on both the quarter and half-mile. I believe Michael Bilderback accomplished the same thing in 2007 with a Legends and Limited Late Model victory. The guys put on a good show and were pretty excited about running on the big track. Brad Luck provided some excitement for me as his #76 machine slammed into the inside wall just a few feet from where I was standing writing my race report. Might we see more of these guys in 2009?

International Four Cylinders: Rodney Mundt did it again as he won for the third time this season. The move to the big track has been a positive one for the four cylinders. The car counts the past two races have been good and the racing equally as good. That�s a tribute to the drivers who took the shot at the big track in 2008.

Short Trackers: Aaron Rude and George Sparkman put on a good battle with Rude picking up the win on the half-mile. We ran the two four cylinder divisions separately since there are a lot of differences between the cars even though it might not look that way from the stands. Definitely looking at more opportunities for the two four cylinder divisions to see action on the half mile in 2009.

Bandoleros: Twelve year old Caylie Duncanson ran away from the field for the fourth time in 2008. A lot of fans are wondering what is going to be next for Caylie but as she puts it so well, �I am keeping my options open.�

Grand National Vintage: The vintage teams raced both nights with Chris Loberg and Bob Heine earning the wins. These cars look good and some think they are just for show, but these guys race hard.

Super Cups: Camden Murphy (Jr. Division) and Erik Gehrke (Adults�don�t call them seniors) won the features for the Super Cups with the majority of the drivers making the haul from suburban Chicago.

All Fall Classic winners will be featured on our website banners that rotate through as you go to our website. Not sure of the exact date when it will be ready to go.

Quick Fall Classic Notes�

Who was that singer? Of course the singing voice of MIS is the very talented Paula Hinerichsen from the Rockford area who is with us for just about every race. But on Saturday night a young fan from Madison named Kevin Wagner sang the National Anthem and received a rousing ovation. Kevin�s been practicing for a long time and did a super job that certainly made parents and grandparents very proud. Kevin was featured in the MIS Yearbook a couple of years ago.

Who were those guys in the trailer race? Brian Helmintoler, Jim Rosenberger, Joe Belahauvy, Brian Beebe, Brad Jones, Gary Oscarson, Randy Nottestand, and Chad Osmuson.

Thanks to all of the MIS employees for working together to make this major show possible.


Wayne Forsythe Update

Please keep Wayne in your thoughts and prayers. It�s been a very challenging summer for Wayne to say the least as he has undergone a series of treatments. Despite medical bills and missing work, Wayne continued to promote racing at MIS through his Wayne�s Custom DIECAST Dash Series and the Wayne�s Custom DIECAST 40 on September 5th. Here is a note from Wayne and Donna:


From Wayne and Donna Forsythe
I would like to take time to say a big thanks to my two sisters who got together with Holly
to collect money for medical bills, and to all the drivers who helped along with the fans. It was very generous on everyone�s part for what they dug deep to give to help out. It means a lot.
Thanks and see you at the races.

Wayne

This says a lot about Wayne. Now it�s our turn to help.

Classic Videos and More

The MIS Classic was taped both Friday and Saturday. With many hours of racing, I have produced separate DVDs from the weekend. Here is what's available: Friday night-all big track racing, Saturday night-all big track racing, Friday + Saturday-all short track racing, Saturday night-trailer race.

To order one of these four DVD's, just call ar send an email, each disc is priced at $15, shipping included. You can send a check to:

Jake Roth 2740 Tareyton Circle Stoughton, WI 53589

Thanks to all the racers for putting on a great show!

www.miraclevideojake.com or miraclevideo@msn.com

Photos, Photos, Photos

If you are interested in purchasing photos from any of our races please email DeAnna Blaser at deeblaser@gmail.com. She has great photos, picture cards, etc. of just about everyone who has raced at MIS in 2008.

The Chaplain�s Corner
By Todd Christopherson

What a great weekend to end a great season at MIS! We had good side by side racing and good finishes all season. It has been great to see so many different classes and racers. It was good to see some of the NASCAR guys come up and race with the local boys.

As we end our season I have many thoughts and I have to settle on one and this is what I should share. As I think about the end of a season I think back to the season. My guess is that you will too. You will think about the great runs and then those that were not so good and the ones in between. Some of you were �so close� and you wonder if you would have changed this or that it would be different. For some you were just learning every week and getting better each week. For other you were almost unbeatable but not perfect.
That reminds me of life. We have challenges and struggles and success. Even if we have almost everything there is still this void. The void is that we can not be perfect. We mess up something and fall short of the glory of God. We have the Ten Commandments that short us we can not keep all God�s Law. That falling short is sin. It (sin) separates us from God because He is perfect, sinless, and holy. There is only one fix for that. It is confessing, agreeing with God the Father that God the Son, Jesus Christ is the only way and that He is LORD. We have to give our life up to have life eternal in heaven (Gal 2:20). God gives us the choice. I hope you have made the right choice because the alterative is also forever. It is separation from God, it is life in hell. So there you have it. The most important decision you will make in the offseason. I hope you know and know for sure that you have eternal life to worship God in heaven.

I would ask that you keep the Slater family in your prayers.

If I can help in any way please get a hold of me. I would be glad to grab a cup of coffee and sit down and talk with you.
Have a great day racin� in the SONshine,

Todd

On a side note, the Christopherson children will be saying �Gentlemen start your engines� on a race night in 2009!!!

That's all for this week...more in a couple of weeks.