Matt Kenseth (left) and Tony Stewart talk before last year's All-Star Challenge race at Madison International Speedway near Oregon.

Although his father is accustomed to the spotlight, third-generation driver Ross Kenseth is certain to generate his own share of attention tonight at Madison International Speedway.

Ross, the 14-year-old son of Cambridge native Matt Kenseth, will compete in a Legends race in his debut at the Town of Rutland track. The Legends event is scheduled to run after the 100-lap First Supply All-Star Challenge, which will feature Matt and fellow NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Tony Stewart.

Compared to his father, Ross got an early start with his racing career. He won his first race at age 3 in a Big Wheel division at Wisconsin International Raceway, moved to kid go-karts, Big Stock class and the Burris Circle Tour. Ross, who resides in Spring Valley, Ill., with mother Lisa Bandaly, has competed in the INEX Legends for three years.

Matt struck a deal with his father Roy at 13 and worked on Roy's race cars for several years before getting behind the wheel of a Late Model car at 16.

Ross, who will be a high school freshman this fall, is beginning his own Limited Late Model career and already has driven in two races this season. He briefly grabbed the lead early in a Limited Late Model race Friday at Columbus 151 Speedway, but settled for a 10th-place finish.

Roy said his 5-foot-10 grandson is "taller than Matt already" and shows the potential to be a fierce on-track competitor.

"Matt has told me that Ross' driving resembles more of my style," Roy said. "I was a little more aggressive and Matt wasn't. We've got to rein him in a little bit. He's not passive, that's for sure.

"His personality, though, is a lot like Matt's. He's going to be a kid who is not going to be a showoff and not going to have a problem with ego. He's got enough good people around him to keep him that way."

The Legends event tonight will be a family affair, as Stewart's father Nelson, 69, also is expected to compete. That decision prompted a handful of race fans to inquire if Roy was going to get behind the wheel, too.

"I don't have time for that," Roy said. "I have to put out fires and have plenty to do. Tony's dad is a pretty cool guy and I think it will be fun watching Nelson and Ross in Legends."

Meanwhile, even after becoming a Nextel Cup star, Matt has regularly returned to Wisconsin to race, claiming Miller Lite Nationals victories at the quarter-mile Slinger Super Speedway in 2002 and 2006, as well as feature wins on the half-mile track at MIS in 2003 and 2004. He had poor performances at MIS in 2003 and 2004, with 25th- and 24-place efforts, and he notched a sixth-place finish at Kaukauna's Wisconsin International Raceway in 2005.

Roy said he anticipates a decent crowd will be on hand to see the All-Star Challenge event, the sixth race he's promoted at MIS with Matt as the featured driver. Matt, the 2003 NASCAR Cup champion, finished second to Mauston native Kelly Bires last June.

The race will be the second consecutive installment to showcase Tony Stewart, the 2002 and 2005 Cup champion. Stewart finished eighth last season at MIS.

Approximately 10,000 spectators packed the grandstands for last year's event, and while Roy expects strong walk-up ticket sales, he said a crowd of 8,000 to 9,000 will make him happy.

Much like Matt and Tony, Roy said he enjoys the opportunity to support short track racing at the local level.

"Their schedules are really tight, they're not getting paid and they're doing it for me as a favor," Roy said. "But they're not doing it for the money. When they go to the short tracks, they're doing it because they grew up in short track racing and they want to do see the short tracks survive.

"With my ticket orders, you'd be surprised how many people write a note and say, 'We're so happy you're doing this because we can't afford to go to a Cup race.' By doing this and helping, a lot of those spectators will come back on a Friday night."

Matt is set to return to the state for two other races this summer. He's scheduled to take part in the Miller Lite Nationals July 17 at Slinger Super Speedway and will compete in the Wisconsin All-Star 50 Super Late Model race Aug. 26 at The Milwaukee Mile.

Tamira Madsen  —  6/26/2007 10:03 am

Kenseth victorious in return to his roots at MIS 

TOWN OF RUTLAND -- Tony Stewart advocates giving back to the sport that has given him his livelihood.

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champ spends a good chunk of his free time competing at short tracks and said he can relate to local drivers.

"They come out here every week and spend every dime they have on their race cars," Stewart said. "That's how we started, and we understand what every one of these people in the pits is like. It brings back memories of a lot simpler time when it wasn't nearly as complicated and difficult as it is now at the Cup level.

"It's nice to be able to go to a track and not worry about points, fines, penalties, templates and all that stuff."

Stewart, who grew up in Indiana and cut his teeth racing sprint cars at places such as Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, joined fellow Cup driver Matt Kenseth in getting back to their roots on Tuesday night. The duo competed for a second straight year in the First Supply All-Star Challenge before a packed house at Madison International Speedway.

Kenseth left the field in the dust, beating runner-up Mark Eswein of Wisconsin Rapids by 12 car lengths to collect his 27th career victory at the half-mile paved oval. The 35-year-old Cambridge native, who won an MIS track title in 1994, has three wins in six appearances at MIS since joining NASCAR's top circuit, also prevailing in 2003 and 2004.

Kenseth took second spot from Jeremy Lepak on the fifth lap and slipped past Steve Carlson with an outside pass in turn 2 on Lap 22 to take the lead for good in the 100-lap event, which had a brief break at Lap 50. Marshall native Nate Haseleu finished third after being passed by Eswein with nine laps to go.

Stewart, who started 16th, wound up with a seventh-place finish in what he said was only his fifth late model event on pavement. He finished eighth last season in his first race at MIS.

Kenseth gave much of the credit for the triumph to his friends Joe Wood and Jason Schuler from Pathfinder Chassis, who built the late-model car used Tuesday by the 2003 Cup champion.

"It was a really good car and it made me look good tonight," said Kenseth, who started third. "You'll win any way you can get it. I've never been one to want to slow down. It's called racing and you want to run as fast as you can.

"As good as the car felt, I would have been very surprised if we would have got beat. I would have felt embarrassed if I would have got beat as good as my car drove, because I didn't know what to do to make it faster."

NASCAR runs a grueling schedule, with races almost every week from the season-opening Daytona 500 in February to the mid-November finale in Miami. But many of the top drivers find time to race even on their days off.

Kenseth, for instance, competed in a late model event several weeks ago on the dirt at Eldora Speedway in western Ohio, one of three short tracks in which Stewart has a share of ownership. In his third consecutive year running at Eldora, Kenseth won the B main race and finished seventh in the main feature against the likes of Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.

"If I had more time, I would do it more," Kenseth said. "This is what got me interested to get doing what I'm doing. This is where I got my passion for racing. You get back in the car and it brings back all the feelings and it's so much fun."

The 36-year-old Stewart, who has competed at the Cup level for nine seasons, said his bosses at Joe Gibbs Racing know it is a high priority for him to race short tracks and don't question these midweek commitments.

"I made sure I could go out and race," Stewart said. "There's no way I could survive if all I had to do was run a Cup car. Last week I ran a winged sprint car on Wednesday night and seven days later I'm running a late model.

"I have to do this kind of stuff to have a release and get away and have fun again."

Family affair: Third-generation driver Ross Kenseth finished sixth in a Legends event in his track debut at MIS.

The 14-year-old son of Matt Kenseth has moved up to limited late models and competed in two races at Columbus 151 Speedway, finishing sixth this past Friday.

Matt is helping out his son, but wouldn't go as far to say that Ross has a burgeoning career in auto racing.

"Right now he really likes to race, but he's 14 years old, so it's not about trying to build a career," Matt said. "It's about having fun right now. That's what you're supposed to do when you're a kid.

"Actually, that's what you're supposed to do when you're an adult, too, especially if you're having fun and making a living at it."

Laid back and subdued like his father, Ross, who will be a high school freshman this fall, has enjoyed spending time with his Matt at the track.

"Racing is a lot of fun. It's more fun and interesting than playing basketball or a sport like that," said Ross, who lives with his mother, Lisa Bandaly, in Spring Valley, Ill. "It's cool. It's not as physical, but you still have to have the strength to be able to turn the car all the time.

"Just be smooth and don't run into anybody, that's been the main thing my dad told me."

The Legends race was another battle between famous racing families. While Ross Kenseth finished sixth, Nelson Stewart finished one spot back of Kenseth for a seventh-place finish in the 19-car field.

E-mail: tmadsen@madison.com

Tamira Madsen  —  6/27/2007 7:57 am

   Ross Kenseth is the youngest driver to compete in the late model series at the quarter-mile track in Columbus                   

SUN., JUL 8, 2007 - 1:24 AM

Auto racing: Kenseth's son, 14, is on track                          

By JESSE OSBORNE
608-252-6176

josborne@madison.com

When it comes to auto racing, Ross Kenseth is already faster than his famous father, Matt, in at least one regard.

Ross Kenseth, who made his late model stock car debut at Columbus 151 Speedway in early June, did so at age 14 -- two years younger than NASCAR Nextel Cup Series star and Cambridge native Matt Kenseth was when he made his first late model start -- also at Columbus, Wis., -- in 1988.

"It's kind of overwhelming to see Ross as big as he is and to see him running a late model," Matt Kenseth said recently. "He's really excited about it. I've been up (to Columbus ) with him testing a couple times, but I haven't been able to see him race. I can't wait to get there and watch him."

Ross Kenseth, who lives with his mother, Lisa Bandaly, and her husband in Illinois , has raced INEX Legends cars for the past few years and did so at Madison International Speedway June 26. But the move up to late models represents the next step for a racer who turned his first laps in a Big Wheel race at Wisconsin International Raceway in Buchanan as a 3-year-old.

"He's 14 years old and he's having fun, and that's all it's about. Right now he's having a really good time, he's really interested in (racing). For 14, he's really got his head on straight and he's doing all the right things, so we're trying to help him do some racing," said Matt Kenseth, 35, who has no qualms about his son running late models at his age.

"A lot of people have run (late models) at 14 years old. Running that car at Columbus . ... is way safer than running those Legends cars at a bigger track. The safety factor is good, and obviously everybody is starting younger and younger."

Columbus director of operations Pete Moore said Ross Kenseth is the youngest driver who has run a late model at the quarter-mile track. And in order to allow Ross Kenseth to race, Moore needed to get permission from the track's insurance company.

Ross Kenseth, meanwhile, quickly proved he belonged, finishing ninth in the semi-feature June 8, and finishing sixth in the feature June 22.

"He's definitely a wheelman," said Cambridge native and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Schuler, a childhood friend of Matt Kenseth who has been on hand for Ross Kenseth's two testing sessions and both races at Columbus . "He's young and inexperienced. ... but other than that, he's got the talent. He's got what it takes to do it."

Schuler also said Ross Kenseth is similar to Matt Kenseth when it comes to racing. Both Kenseths, Schuler said, are "go-getters," adding that Ross Kenseth has "caught on super fast" while making the transition to the bigger, heavier and more powerful late model.

"I'll tell you what, most of the time, he's pretty darn smart for 14, too," Matt Kenseth said of his son. "He sees what's going on and he's pretty good at figuring out how to get to the end of the race. That's the main thing."

And Ross Kenseth, who will be a freshman in high school this fall, will be driving in perhaps a handful more late model races at Columbus before the end of the season, supplementing a busy Legends schedule that runs through the end of September.

"Racing is a lot of fun, it's more interesting than playing basketball or a sport like that," Ross Kenseth said. "It's cool."

But don't call it a career -- yet.

"I don't know if you can call it a career when you're 14 years old," Matt Kenseth said. "Right now, he really likes to race, But he's 14 years old, so it's not about trying to build a career. It's about having fun right now. That's what you're supposed to do when you're a kid.

"He's having a good time. He's running that Legends car a little bit, he's run a late model. ... and he's been doing really good with that. Right now he really likes it, and he's really interested in it. So as long as he's having a lot of fun and he's safe and he's real interested in it, certainly it's something I want to help him do."

Young and driven

Ross Kenseth isn't the only race car driver to start young. The top young driver in the country right now is 17-year-old Joey Logano. Logano was the youngest driver to compete in a Legends car, at age 9 in 2000, and won the national championship in the Pro Legends Series when he was 12. In 2004, he drove in an American Speed Association Late Model Series race at Madison International Speedway in the Town of Rutland . That year, Nextel Cup star Mark Martin called the native of Middletown , Conn. , "the best young race car driver I've ever seen in my life. Beyond the shadow of a doubt he is ... Nextel Cup material today at 14." Logano signed with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005, and is leading the NASCAR Grand National Busch Series East this year, having won three of six races. Logano also is featured in this week's edition of Sports Illustrated as one of "13 Young Stars" in sports. Last month, 10-year-old Stephanie Beane of Grafton , Ohio , became the youngest stock car driver in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. She eclipsed Amanda "A.K." Stroud, who was 12 when she made her debut in North Carolina in 2001.

Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at http://www.lacrossetribune.com 

Oktoberfest races: Ross Kenseth follows in his father's race tracks

Nextel Cup driver Matt Kenseth, left, and his son Ross look over Ross' car at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Ross is racing in the Oktoberfest races. Erik Daily Erik Daily

WEST SALEM, Wis. — Ross Kenseth realizes that once he’s on the race track, he’s the farthest thing from “just another driver.”

He’s “Matt’s kid.”

And everybody, I mean everybody, wants to beat “Matt’s kid.” It doesn’t matter if you grab a checkered flag or not. If you beat the son of a Nextel Cup driver, it somehow means something more. A notch in your racing belt. A bit of notoriety for yourself, perhaps?

Whether it’s fair or not doesn’t matter. When you have a famous father — as in 2003 Nextel Cup champion Matt Kenseth — and a famous last name, some things in life are already decided for you.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t live with your famous father, but instead reside in Illinois with your mother and stepfather. Once Ross decided to leave his relatively quiet life as an average kid and enter the racing world, attention soon followed.

Not to paparazzi levels, but Ross couldn’t be invisible even if he wanted to be.

“There is always going to be that type of thing out there. Who doesn’t want to beat Matt’s kid?” Lisa said of the challenges her son faces. “It’s always out there and we have to accept that. Matt, he lives a different life and Ross has seen parts of that. When Ross is with his dad, Matt knows what direction he should help him go.”

By most accounts, Ross seems to be a typical 14-year-old kid. He’s wearing a race suit all right, but a full set of braces is a dead give-away that this kid is probably as wrapped up with the challenges of adolescence as he is becoming a top-flight stock car driver.

“I try to help him out and give him advice about his driving,” said Matt, who was at the Fairgrounds Speedway both Wednesday and Thursday. “I’m trying to be as helpful as I can when I can.”

Ross spent Thursday afternoon hot-lapping, then qualifying his Late Model car for the final Big 8 Series race of the season. And if you had any doubt the kid can drive, the fact that he turned in the fastest qualifying lap among 51 drivers should give you a clue. The Big 8 Series race is just one of many over the next four days at the 38th annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend.

A freshman at St. Bede Academy in Peru, Ill., Ross had to make sure one thing was done before he could make the trek to West Salem: His homework.

“I did most of it ahead of time, and did some on the way up here,” Ross said.

Ross realizes school is important, and that belief is reinforced by his father and his mother, Lisa Bandaly, with whom he lives in Spring Valley, Ill.

“As long as he gets good grades, he can race. That’s the deal he made with his dad and me,” Lisa said. “Matt has been down this racing road, so right now it’s up to Matt which road he (Ross) takes.

Lisa knows full well that Ross loves racing, and has ever since he started racing go-karts at age 5. He progressed from go-karts to Legends cars to stock cars this summer. He has competed in about eight to 10 races at Wisconsin Dells and Columbus Speedway.

“I definitely wanted to do this. Nobody forced me to do it,” Ross said. “It’s so much fun, you don’t want to stop. After my first couple of races, it was so much fun I wanted to continue to race as much as I could.”

And who better to learn from than one of the best drivers ever to come out of Wisconsin than his father, Matt? Matt cut his racing teeth at short-tracks around the state, including the Fairgrounds Speedway (where he became the youngest winner of the Oktoberfest ARTGO race when he won it in 1993 at age 21), Madison International Speedway and Wisconsin International Speedway in Kaukauna.

“My dad and I enjoyed racing and got to spend some time together at different tracks,” Matt said of he and his father, Roy. “I don’t get to spend much time with him (Ross) because he races on Saturday nights, which is the same time we are racing somewhere across the country.”

Ross said he is able to go to about six or so Nextel Cup races a year, and loves being around the action in the pit area. He knows a number of the Nextel Cup drivers, and many of the crew members. He sees Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya and other Cup drivers a bit differently than you and I, however.

“I see them as professional athletes, but I more so I see them as people just like you and I,” Ross said. “It’s fun to be around them. It’s fun to be at the races.”

It may be even more than to race, although Ross didn’t say that — yet. Talking about his car and the chance to race it at the Fairgrounds Speedway — which, at five-eighths of a mile long, is the biggest track he has raced at — Ross couldn’t help but smile.

“It is a lot faster and more fun here,” Ross said. “I’m not worried about winning. I just want to make the show and see what happens.”

What happens with Ross’ career will be closely monitored by Matt, who lives in North Carolina with his wife, Katie, and by Lisa and her husband, Don Bandaly. And, it’s a good bet racing fans will follow the young Kenseth, too, just like they did when Matt tore up the Wisconsin tracks.

“When he’s in Matt’s world, Matt keeps him grounded,” Lisa said. “When he’s at home, we keep him in line.”

So far, that doesn’t sound like too tough a job. But as he continues racing — and likely winning a race or two — the challenges will mount.

“We followed Matt around when he was a 16-year-old tearing up the tracks,” said Ken Beach, who is Ross’ grandfather. “Now it’s Ross’ turn around here. I’m already looking forward to next year.”

Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com

All stories copyright 2000 - 2005 La Crosse Tribune and other attributed sources.

Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at http://www.lacrossetribune.com

Big 8 Oktoberfest feature

The top three

1. ANDY BURGESS, Fall Creek, Wis. (started 3rd): Burgess, who finished third in the Kwik Trip Late Model points standings at the Fairgrounds Speedway this season, had a rocket-ship Thursday night in the Big8 Series season finale. Burgess took the lead from Jason Schuler on Lap 7, and held off a race-long charge from Ryan Carlson of Loves Park, Ill.

“I couldn’t do it without my crew,” Burgess said, naming nearly everyone around him. “We had an awesome car here tonight.“

Burgess topped the 26-car feature field for his first Oktoberfest feature win. He was impressed with the Big 8 Series field, which consists of drivers from around the Midwest.

“These guys are tough out here,” Burgess said. “I was driving a little erratic out there. Once I settled down a little bit, we were fine.“

2. RYAN CARLSON, Loves Park, Ill. (started 4th): Carlson gave Burgess everything he could, but he simply couldn’t run down the frontrunner. He nearly had Burgess several times coming out of Turn 4, but couldn’t power past Burgess on the front stretch.

Carlson said he used up what he left of his tires on the last few laps, and couldn’t get his car to stick as well as he would have liked in the corners.

3. MATT BYRNE, Burlington, Wis. (started 13th): Byrne started in a tough spot, but moved his way up through the field and finished a solid third. He never threatened the top two, but was able to hold off 14-year-old Ross Kenseth, the son of Nextel Cup driver Matt Kenseth.

FAST FACTS

THE CHAMP: Jeremy Miller finished fifth in the season-ending race, but that was more than enough to win the Big 8 Series championship. Miller finished with 736 points, while Ricky Bilderback was second with 636 points. Matt Byrne finished third (574), while Prairie du Chien’s Mike Ehde was fourth with 561.

STEALING THE SHOW: Ross Kenseth, who was making his Big 8 Series debut, turned some heads in a big-time way when he earned his first pole, then finished fourth in the 26-car Big 8 Series championship field. Kenseth, who started ninth, passed three cars on the outside groove on Lap 27, drawing plenty of oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

All stories copyright 2000 - 2005 La Crosse Tribune and other attributed sources.

Stewart, Kenseth relish chance to race for 'fun' 

Tony Stewart, center, and Cambridge native Matt Kenseth, right, enjoy a moment Tuesday with Kenseth's son, Ross, 14, at the Madison International Speedway in Oregon. At a press conference before the All-Star Challenge, Stewart and Kenseth, a Cambridge native, said racing during the week at local tracks was essential to their overall routines. Al Hoch/Gazette Staff

Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth hang out before Tuesday night's race. Al Hoch/Gazette Staff