MIS E-News
Week of April 28, 2008
By John Wells

It is time to go racing at Madison International Speedway and what better way to start the season than with the ASA Midwest Tour and the Big 8 Late Models. I think it is realistic for us to expect close to 100 cars in the pits on opening day. Let�s take a look at the schedule for opening day:

Opening Day Schedule

Saturday, May 3rd
Viking Lanes- Stoughton, WI
Pre-Race Party and Fundraiser for Trackside Charities
Live Band at 8:30pm Raffles! Prizes!
A great way to kick off opening day at MIS

Sunday May 4th (From the ASA Midwest Tour Website)
7:30am- Officials Meeting
8:00am- Pit Window Opens/Driver Registration Trailer Opens
8:30am- Rig Parking Begins (ASAMT Top 20, Big 8 Top 10)
9:00am- ASAMT Practice Tech Line Open
9:15am- Hoosier Tire Sales Open
10:00am- Crew Chief/Spotter Meeting
10:30am- Driver Meeting
11:30am- Big 8 Series Practice 30 mins
12:00pm- ASAMT Practice 60 mins
1:00pm- Big 8 Practice 30 mins
1:30pm- ASAMT Practice 45 mins
2:30pm- ASAMT Qualifying Tech Opens
2:30pm- Big 8 Qualifying (Staged on Quarter Mile)
3:20pm- ASAMT Qualifying
4:15pm- Driver Autograph Session (Main Grandstand both Divisions)
4:45pm- Opening Ceremonies.
5:00pm- ASAMT Odd/Even Qualifying Races- 8 Laps (Top 2)
ASAMT Odd Even Fast Heat (s)- 8 Laps
Big 8 Last Chance Event (2)
ASAMT Last Chance Event (s)- 20 Laps (Top 2 or 4)
Big 8 Feature Event- 38 Laps
ASAMT Cars Grided for Driver Intros
Echo Chain Saw 100 Feature Event
8:00pm- Racing Complete

Open Practice is Saturday, May 3rd

This Saturday will feature our second practice session with pit gates will opening at 10:00 AM followed by on-track activity from Noon to 5:00 PM. All cars must pass a safety inspection prior to getting on the track. If you were here this past weekend and had a safety check you�re all set to go. Engines may not fire until noon per agreement with the town board.

Drivers competing in the ASA Midwest Tour event on Sunday may not practice on Saturday per series rules.

Many drivers still need to complete driver info and registration forms.

ASAMT & TRACKSIDE CHARITIES HOST A PRE-RACE PARTY THIS SATURDAY NIGHT

By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Monday, April 28, 2008) � The ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment in association with Trackside Charities will be hosting a Race Fan Party this Saturday night, May 3rd at Viking Lanes in Stoughton, WI. The evening will feature a raffle, prizes and live music by the deVillebillies starting at 8:30 pm.

Admission is FREE and everyone is encouraged to arrive early as there will be limited space. A $5 charitable donation will enter you in a 50-50 raffle plus other great prizes � thanks to Trackside Charities.

"The timing couldn't be better," said Gregg Burmeister, Director of Trackside Charities. "We put on concerts with the ASA Midwest Tour last year so when I saw the schedule and realized they would be helping MIS open the 2008 season it was a no-brainer. Dave Grueneberg and I had been talking about kicking off the season with a fun party since we are based out of Verona and consider MIS our home track. This is the time and this is definitely the party with so many race teams staying in Stoughton. In fact, we'll be interviewing drivers during the band's breaks."

In describing the deVillebillies, Burmeister had this to say, "Trackside Charities works with a lot of talented bands but the devillebillies are probably the most fun band we work with. These guys love to party so what better band than what we consider our PARTY band. They call their music Turbo-Twang but it's really some great country rock & roll."

"We'll be conducting a 50-50 raffle that includes additional great prizes," explained Burmeister. "It will be a $5 raffle donation for a local children's charity but the best part is each $5 will be MATCHED so a race fan's $5 becomes $10. We're confident this will be a very successful event."

Viking Lanes is located on Hwy 51 as you enter the west side of Stoughton and is located only 5 miles east of Madison International Speedway.

ASAMT TEAMS PREPARE FOR THE ECHO CHAINSAW 100 AT MIS THIS SUNDAY

By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Monday, April 28, 2008) � Several ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment teams took advantage of an open practice this past Saturday at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, WI. This was the only opportunity for the teams to test given the seven day no test rule, the rule that is enforced at the track hosting the upcoming ASAMT event.

Defending Madison winner, Brandon Hill was on hand and was excited to be back, �I couldn�t wait to get back here, I wish we came more often,� Hill stated. �It�s always been a good place for me. I have only ran here two or three times and some pretty good runs, and last year, obviously, we ran real well. We need a good run.�

Also on hand was defending ASAMT champion, Nate Haseleu, who was also looking to turn things around after his disappointing run at Elko. �Our goal today is to get it the best that we can get it,� Haseleu stated. �Today it�s a little more laid back, we got more time, we can throw some springs and shocks at it and see if we can make it work.�

Haseleu is hoping to turn things around with Madison and Jefferson coming up, that his Swiss Colony Team can turn things around after Elko, �I really like racing at both of them so I am really looking forward to getting on those tracks, but I really like Elko so I guess we will just see how it goes.�

Last year, Haseleu was the ECHO Blow the Competition Away Fast Qualifier with a lap time of 17.701 seconds (101.689 mph) and finished fourth in the feature event.

2007 ASAMT Rookie of the Year, Jonathan Eilen and his team made the trek from Hampton, MN to break in his new super late model that included the Roltek Transmission he received for being the Rookie of the Year.

Eilen, who put on a great battle with Dave Feiler to finish second in last year�s event, is looking forward to Sunday�s event. �That was really cool, because I have never been able to race on the outside with Feiler, especially for second place. It was really cool, we had a real good car here last year and I look forward to hopefully having a good finish next Sunday.�

Nick Murgic also made the trip from Minnesota as he will be competing at MIS for the first time in his career. Murgic received a Touring Star bonus for the Elko event for being the highest finishing rookie.

Also receiving Touring Star status were Jake Ryan, Jacob Goede and Tim Schendel. All three drivers are eligible for Touring Star bonus money based on their attendance of the MIS event and finishing position in relation to all of the other Touring Stars.

Joining the ASAMT at Madison will be the Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet. This limited late model series will feature the best weekly racers competing in a 38-lap feature event on Wisconsin�s Fastest Half-Mile Oval. Such stars competing include defending champion Jeremy Miller, seven-time Rockford Speedway champion Ricky Bilderback, and 14-year-old third generation driver Ross Kenseth.

Trying to Attract New Sponsors

Drivers who were at our opening practice session had an opportunity to pick up information on how MIS can help you attract new sponsors. This is a follow up to what was mentioned at the banquet during the off-season. For more information you can contact Holly Coley.

Opening Day Observations

It was nice to see cars back on the track at MIS after a long, long winter. Of course Mother Nature wasn�t going to make it to easy on us as strong winds from the west made standing up a challenge for just about everyone. Here are some observations about what went on during the day:

Safety Inspection: We just can�t emphasize enough how important safety is in racing. Bobby and Dave do an outstanding job going through the finer points with each of the drivers including those new to a division or new to the sport. These guys are good at what they do and we are very lucky to have them at MIS.

Super late model drivers in attendance were Andy Monday, Zack Riddle, Nathan Haseleu, Blake Horstman, Austin Hensel, Dave Klein, Steve Rubeck, Jeff Storm, Nick Murgic, Jonathan Eilen, Travis Sauter, and Andrew Morrissey.

Limited late model drivers included Brady Liddle, Kevin Knuese, Nate Oppliger, Andy Evraets, Ross Kenseth, Mike Storkson, Tyler Kelley, Ryan Carlson, Ryan Goldade, Scott Broughton, and Andrew Kulka.

We also had several Area Sportsman, Bandits, Legends, and Bandoleros along with an asphalt modified.

It was fun watching some of the drivers who were making the move up to the half-mile after successful runs on the quarter mile. Tyler Kelley and Mike �The Spike� Storkson got a taste of the high speeds for the first time. Some looks are priceless and you just had to be there to see Spike after he logged his first set of laps.

The Chaplain�s Corner
By Todd Christopherson

Well the season is just about here. We are praying at if it would be God�s will we would have good weather and we would be off and running Sunday.

Before a season starts one of the things that is most important to the teams is getting the rulers. Why is it important? That are a bunch of reasons and one of them is they want to get to the track and be able to race and not get sent home or have to change a bunch of stuff right away.

As I was thinking about this I was also reading in Isaiah. God gives us some clear rules also. Listen to this from Isaiah 45, �I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.� Just before that verse it is written, �I am the Lord and there is no other.� I thought about two things from that, 1) Why do we let so many other �gods� in our lives? And 2) what are the clear rules God sets out.

The answer to number one seems clear that we just do not think we will be held accountable. It is like saying, �They are not really going to make me go through tech and if they do they are not going to care what the rule book says.� Now we know how foolish that sounds, yet we do that with God far too often. We need to know the rule book, the Bible and what it says.

The answer to number two is clear in John 14;6 � there is only one way and that is through Jesus. We have to follow His rules and turn our lives over to the Lord. I hope you have and if you have not pick up your Bible and find the answers out from God.
See you SOON!

That�s all for this week. See you all on Sunday for the biggest season opener in MIS history.