MIS E-News - Week of December 14, 2009
By John Wells
Here is the latest from Madison International Speedway.
From all of us at MIS to all of you we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Please remember to drive safely during this busy season.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you.
Thanks to all of the racing teams who came to race with us at MIS in 2009. We had a very loyal group in all five of our weekly divisions as well as the guest divisions and series that came to race. Without you we wouldn't have a show.
Remember it is our goal for you to feel that you have been treated fairly when coming to MIS.
Thanks to all of the sponsors for making racing possible at MIS. Be sure to always remember to support those who support racing. From our divisional sponsors to our nightly sponsors we say thanks. Don't forget to let any of our sponsors or the sponsors of any of our racers know that you saw them at MIS.
A big thank you to our fans. We hope you enjoyed your weekly visits to MIS and look forward to seeing you again in 2010.
And thanks to all of the employees at MIS who help put on such a great show each week. It's great to see everyone come together once a week and truly work as a team.
It's a fun place to call home every Friday night during the spring and summer.
It's Banquet Time
We will take one final look back at the 2009 racing season at the MIS Banquet on Saturday, January 23rd at The Heights in Verona, Wisconsin. We will be honoring our five track champions, rookies of the year, fan favorites, and many more. Once again the top three in each division will have the opportunity to speak so get those speeches ready.
Doors open at 5:30, dinner at 6:30 and the awards program at 8:00. We will have great food, drinks, fun, and door prizes again this year.
Go to our website at madisoninternationalspeedway.com and click on the banquet information for an order form. Print the order form, complete it, and send it in with your payment.
Here Comes 2010 at MIS
It's time to start thinking about the 2010 racing season at Madison International Speedway.
The countdown is on for the start of the 2010 racing season at Madison International Speedway, an ASA member track. Fans and teams can now officially mark their calendars for Sunday, May 2nd when the ASA Midwest Tour comes to Wisconsin's Fastest Half-Mile. This exciting opening event will also be the second annual Joe Shear Classic.
"This is such a great way to open our racing season," said MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg. "It means a lot to all of us to have the Joe Shear Classic at MIS since he was one of the drivers who put this track on the map of the country's best short tracks."
Five weekly divisions will once again highlight the racing schedule at MIS in 2010. The Late Models, Area Sportsman, Hobby Stocks, Bandits, and Legends will all be back from 2009.
"We really like our weekly lineup. It gives the fans an opportunity to see a great variety of racing both on the half-mile and the "Ring of Fire." Our goal is to continue to build up our weekly car counts, treat everyone professionally and equitably, and get the fans to make this their Friday night destination," added Grueneberg.
"We are working on plans to put together a sixth division that will be something we haven't raced before. It will definitely be an opportunity for the guy who wants to come and race to have a chance to do so without spending much money," commented Grueneberg.
Rules and the full schedule will be posted on the track website very soon.
If you have any questions on the rules please contact Dave Oswald at 608.839.5507 or Dave Grueneberg at 608.513.2278. They have been busy meeting with other tracks and series during the off season.
"We have a couple of things we are finalizing with the rules and the complete schedule, but we expect to have everything ready to go in the next week or so," noted Grueneberg.
Friday night racing will begin in mid-May with open practice sessions set for Saturday, April 24th and Saturday, May 1st.
One date that the fans definitely want to mark on their calendars is the RK Race Promotions All Star Challenge featuring Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart that is scheduled for Tuesday, June 29th.
ASA Educational Series is Back in 2010
With nearly 40 students participating in the program in 2009, we are looking for even bigger and better things from the ASA Educational Series in 2010.
Please consider having a student on your crew in 2010. Drivers at MIS who are in high school are also eligible to be part of the program. If you know of someone in your community please help us get the word out.
More information will be shared at the banquet in January.
Jeremy Miller Track Championship Story
Jeremy Miller of Rockton, Illinois, was very goal-oriented when he prepared for the 2009 racing season at Madison International Speedway, an ASA member track. "I want to win the late model track championship," said Miller in an April interview.
After a sixteen race season Miller would see his goal come to fruition as he took home top honors in the Rockweiler Insulation Late Model division. It was his second title at MIS as he also won the 2006 Limited Late Model championship. Success is nothing new for Miller who won back to back Big 8 Series championships in 2007 and 2008 and has won at just about every track he's ever raced at including eleven wins is a row at the old Lake Geneva Raceway in 2004.
This year it was consistency that truly paid off for Miller. He set fast time on eight nights and picked up a pair of feature wins. But what set him apart from his fellow competitors was the fact that he finished in the top five fourteen times and his lowest finish of the year was seventh place. All of this comes in a division that typically started between twenty-two and twenty-six cars in their features and where the fast qualifier started back in the pack due to the invert. All of this led to Miller earning 1,154 points and easily outdistancing the field for the championship.
MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg added, "The Rockweiler Insulation Late Model division was very competitive in 2009 as it is every year. Jeremy was consistent in every race and had to beat out some talented drivers to win the championship. Our weekly field of late model drivers was as good as you'll find anywhere in the Midwest. And to finish in the top five fourteen out of sixteen times is a credit to Jeremy and his crew."
So what does a title at MIS mean to Miller? "Since I have Swiss Colony and Race Team Gear as sponsors it meant a lot that we could get them a championship at their home track. It was nice to be able to give everyone involved with the #5 car a trophy at the end of the season to show that all of the hard work and commitment paid off," commented Miller.
Miller is the first to admit that winning a championship at MIS isn't something that he can accomplish alone. "It's a group effort. I couldn't afford to do it without my sponsors, I couldn't get to the track or make it through a race without my crew, and it wouldn't be any fun without my family's support. I want to especially thank Swiss Colony, Race Team Gear.com (Joe Hunter), car owners Tom and Carol Atchison, Planet Earth Anti-Freeze and my wife Rene and sons Logan and Max. There would be no racing without them."
Miller's efforts were not only noticed at MIS, but he came close to winning the ASA National Points race and earning a tryout with Joe Gibbs Racing. In the end Miller would finish third overall and second in the East Region. "It would have been an honor to tryout with Joe Gibbs Racing," he noted. "It's definitely something I am focusing on for 2010 when I come back to MIS to defend my championship."
Jeremy Miller is already making plans to be back at Wisconsin's Fastest Half-Mile in 2010 as one of the Friday night stars.
Attention Drivers / Teams
Articles like the one above are ones that I Iove to write.
Here's your opportunity to be included on our website as part of our driver profile series. Last year several of you were featured and we look forward to including more of you. These interviews are sent to media outlets throughout the country including the ASA. We want to highlight your plans for the 2010 season!
It doesn't matter what division you are racing. We believe that it's important to treat everyone the same. I will provide you with a set of questions so it's pretty easy if you can spare ten minutes or so.
Email me at mismedia2@yahoo.com.
Phast Photos
Chuck West and his staff have done an incredible job in their first season at Madison International Speedway. Their work is outstanding and they will work with you to meet any request.
Go to their website at cphastphotos.com to see examples of their work. You can also email Chuck at cphastphotos@gmail.com or call him at 608.225.9166.
Be sure to check out the Phan Cards; they are cool!
Chuck will be at the banquet to handle your requests for 2010 or get you anything from the 2009 season.
That's all for now everyone. Look for the MIS schedule and rules to be updated on our website and be sure to join the MIS Facebook page.