MIS E-News
Week of November 3, 2008
By John Wells

It�s been awhile since you last received an MIS E-News from me, but we have some very important information to share with you with this edition. The MIS E-News focuses entirely on Madison International Speedway and is the source of information from Wisconsin�s Fastest Half-Mile.

If at any time you have questions about the track feel free to contact Dave Grueneberg, Holly Coley, or myself. If you have suggestions for us please email me at mismedia2@yahoo.com.

Drivers: We�d like to hear your plans for 2009. Email them so I can pass them along to the one thousand plus readers of our MIS E-News.

Even though it seems pretty quiet around Madison International Speedway, there is actually much going on being the scenes as we prepare for the 2009 racing season. Dave is finalizing the schedule, Holly is working with sponsors, and I am trying to keep all you informed about what is going on.

Here are the latest press releases along with a look back at some of the highlights of the 2008 racing season.

MIS Banquet

This year�s Madison International Speedway banquet will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at The Heights in Verona, Wisconsin. More information will be coming out at a later time.

MIS Announces Weekly Racing Divisions for 2009

The racing program at Madison International Speedway will feature five weekly divisions in 2009 according to General Manager Dave Grueneberg. Returning for 2009 will be the Limited Late Models, Area Sportsman, Bandits, and Legends. Joining the weekly racing program in the upcoming season will be the Hobby Stocks who will be competing on the half-mile.

Super late model fans will be happy to know that several SLM events will be on the schedule for 2009 even though the division will not be racing weekly. �We had a very talented group of super late model drivers who supported us weekly in 2008. We hope they will be back with us for these big shows,� said Grueneberg.

�The limited late models will be our feature division at MIS in 2009. We averaged over twenty-five cars per night in 2008 and we are committed to making this the premier limited late model weekly program in the Midwest,� said Grueneberg. �This is a growing division throughout the Midwest and all indications seem to be that it will continue to grow. We�re very excited about the growth potential for this division at Madison.�

Joining the limited late models on the half-mile will be the Area Sportsman and Hobby Stocks. �This is a great track for the Area Sportsman and we are confident this division will grow in 2009. We let everyone know half way through the 2008 season that they will be back and we have already heard from several drivers who plan to race with us weekly in 2009. The Hobby Stocks made the move to the half-mile during special events in September and the response was very positive,� added Grueneberg.

The quarter mile �Ring of Fire� will be hot in 2009 with both Bandits and Legends returning to action. �These two divisions are very competitive on the quarter mile and we are looking forward to an increased car count in both divisions. Fans seeing these guys race last season know how close the racing can be,� noted Grueneberg.

Like in years past, fans can also expect to see a wide variety of other divisions coming to MIS in 2009. For example several Short Tracker / International Four Cylinder events will be scheduled on the half-mile. Grueneberg is still meeting with several traveling series before finalizing the 2009 schedule.

The tentative opening date for 2009 is Sunday, May 3rd. Pre-season practice days are tentatively set for Saturday, April 25th and Saturday, May 2nd.

We are really looking forward to the upcoming season. We feel that our limited late model program will be simply outstanding with thirty plus drivers racing each week. The limited lates will be on the schedule pretty much every Friday night in the 2009 season.

The Area Sportsman and Hobby Stocks will be in action on the half-mile and we are hoping to build on the momentum of solid car counts at the Fall Classic.


Back to School for Dave and Holly

Madison International Speedway General Manager Dave Grueneberg and Marketing Manager Holly Coley got to go back to school recently when they visited John Wells� fifth grade classroom at Waubesa Intermediate School in McFarland. Wells is also the Media / PR director at MIS.

Their visit was all part of the McFarland School-Business Partnership initiative in which area businesses and organizations are paired with K-8 classrooms. This is the fourth year the track has been involved in this program.

After explaining their responsibilities at the track and distributing yearbooks to all of the students, Grueneberg and Coley were ready for questions.

�What do you like most about your job?�

�What skills do you look for in employees?�

�What type of advertising works best for MIS?�

And the questions continued on and on while the students and their guests enjoyed a pizza lunch.

�This was a lot of fun,� said Coley. �Of course the kids were somewhat familiar with the track because of their teacher, and they asked some great questions.�

Grueneberg added, �This is a neat program. It is one way for kids to learn about the business world, but we can also reach out to educate the young race fans.�

All of the students and their families will be visiting the speedway in April of 2009 and will be working on promoting a special event.

A big thanks to both Dave and Holly for taking time to come and visit with my fifth grade students.

Fan Favorites Announced at MIS

In August fans at Madison International Speedway had the opportunity to vote for their favorite drivers in all five weekly divisions along with the �Best Appearing Car� award.

Steve Rubeck edged Nathan Haseleu to take home top honors in the Weaver Auto Parts Super Late Model division. This is Rubeck�s first fan favorite award at MIS. Ryan Goldade won for the second time in the Rockweiler Insulation Limited Late Models as he narrowly defeated Ross Kenseth. In the Bryden Motors Area Sportsman it was rookie TJ Goldade receiving the most votes while Max McNamara topped the Legends voting and Chester Ace made it two in a row in the Bandits.

TJ Goldade�s #81 Area Sportsman car received the most votes for �Best Appearing Car�. Twenty-one different cars received votes.

The Fan Favorite drivers will be recognized at the MIS banquet on January 17, 2009 at The Heights in Verona, Wisconsin.

My apologies for not getting this information out sooner.

Please note that Rookie of the Year drivers will also be honored at the banquet: Zack Riddle (Super Late Models), Ross Kenseth (Limited Late Models), Steve Dickson (Area Sportsman), Pat Richgels (Bandits), and Aaron Moyer (Legends).

A Look Back at 2008

I wanted to take this opportunity to look back at the 2008 season by talking about some of the talented drivers who raced with us weekly but might not have made the headlines.

Super Late Models: With the ability to race each week, Nathan Haseleu earned the 2008 track championship at MIS and joins an incredible list of track champions. These guys put on some great racing in 2008 and we are looking forward to seeing them in special events in 2009.

Guys like Steve Rubeck, Bob Wilberg, Andrew Morrissey and others are the best around. They put on a great show each week in 2008.

Limited Late Models: It was a great points race between Bob Wilberg and Ross Kenseth this season. Kenseth gave it everything he had but came up just short as Wilberg won back to back titles in the Rockweiler Insulation Limited Late Models.

Three drivers in the limited late model divison who raced their way to top ten finishes in points were Kevin Knuese, Andrew Kulka and Nate Oppliger. Although they didn�t record victories during the season their solid performance week in and week did not go without notice. These guys are great competitors and race clean and are what this division is all about.

A strong rookie crop in the limited late models was proof that support divisions at MIS are key in developing new talent. With Kenseth and Kulka picking up top ten finishes, former track champion Tyler Kelley made great strides in his move from a Bandit to a Limited Late Model. With a crew all under twenty years of age (except for dad) Kelley put together some strong runs to close out the season. Another former track champion, Mike Storkson, suffered mechanical challenges on and off during the year. �Spike� did make it to victory lane in a qualifying race much to the approval of his cheering section. Former Bandit driver, Alex Jones, made the move to this division and was plagued by mechanical issues. Look for big things from Jones in 2009.

Area Sportsman: Nobody could catch the �Rock Star� Jay Kalbus this season as he won his first MIS track championship. This division has a ton of potential with rookie drivers such as Steve Dickson and TJ Goldade gaining valuable experience. Bret Schmidt made the most of his visits to MIS picking up multiple feature wins.

Bandits: Talk about being close�Kyle Padfield had a string of second place finishes but wasn�t quite able to get to victory lane. Kyle ran strong each and every week and was right there at the end no matter what. The Brothers Skolaski also put together solid seasons. A big thanks to the Skolaski family for all they do for MIS.

Did any of you happen to catch the story on the Ace family in the Wednesday Capital Times insert in the Wisconsin State Journal a few weeks back. Great story!

Legends: A great battle between Mad Max McNamara and The Southside Hitman Alex Arelano captured the attention of the fans in 2008. Aaron Moyer picked up a third place finish in his first full season in a Legends car. But the two drivers I would like to talk about are Tim Narr and Rich Miller.

The division featuring great diversity when it came to age and Tim and Rich were on the upper end of the range. Unfortunately bad luck seemed to be just about the only luck these two had in 2008. It was great to see them back at the track by the end of the season; However, the Fall Classic was not kind as Miller made hard contact with the outside wall coming out of turn one in the Friday night event.

These are great cars and we hope to see the numbers grow in 2009.

Time for a Thank You or Two

Here are some thank yous I would like to pass along�

A big thank you to all of the MIS employees for a great season. Were it not for a great staff what you see on Friday nights would not be possible. There are way too many people to mention by name, but you are truly team players. It�s a lot of Friday nights to devote to racing and most of the workers at MIS never see the races!

Thanks to Bob Blaschke for the outstanding job he has done on our website. Each week I try to get the schedule for Friday night to Bob by Monday and the results to him the day after the races. I always know I can count on Bob to have the information up for the drivers and fans. The feedback on our website has been extremely positive.

Thanks to Paula for singing for us each week. She is a gifted singer and we appreciate her bringing those talents to MIS every week.

I�d also like to thank Todd Christopherson for his contributions to the E-News and the outreach he does for the track. It�s not unusual for Todd to call a driver the morning after an accident, visit a family in need, or making a hospital visit.

Updates when necessary. Please enjoy the off-season.

Check out our website for the latest updates.