ROSS KENSETH WINS BRP BIG 8 SERIES FEATURE AT OKTOBERFEST

Miller Wins Championship by One Point over Bilderback

By: Kevin Ramsell
WEST SALEM, WI (Saturday, October 04, 2008) – It was 15 years ago this weekend that a young driver named Matt Kenseth held off Ken Lund to win the Oktoberfest 100 feature. Tonight, his 15-year-old son Ross took home his first Oktoberfest win by capturing the BRP Big 8 Series 48-lap feature event. Also Jeremy Miller defended his Big 8 Series championship as he won it by one point over Michael Bilderback.

“It’s just awesome, there is a lot of history here and you can by the names that have won here,” Kenseth stated in victory lane. “Dick Trickle was here and he is a really cool guy, it’s just cool to win here as well.”

Kenseth and Bobby Wilberg led the field to the green flag of the 48-lap feature event. At the break, it was Wilberg jumping to the lead over the rookie.

Wilberg had a five car-length lead on Kenseth until the caution flew on lap eight for Tyler Sauter’s spin in turn four.

On the re-start, a nine-car pile up slowed up the field to bring out the second caution. Fortunately, all were able to continue.

Kenseth looked to the inside of Wilberg on the re-start. Wilberg would hold on to the position but the young driver continued to look as ten laps were completed.

Kenseth would get on the inside of Wilberg going down the backstretch on lap 17. The two touched in turns three and four causing Wilberg to get loose coming off of turn four. Kenseth would power to the front and Michael Bachus would take over second.

“That was my best shot to get him, but I guess he decided to come down,” Kenseth stated. “I will take it any way I can get it.”

Two laps later, Brent Kirchner would run into the same situation with Wilberg in turns three and four and would take over the third position.

At the halfway mark, it was Kenseth with a ten-car lead over Bachaus with the same distance back to Kirchner in third. The best battle was for fourth between fast qualifier Bradley Powell and Ty Reedy. The two raced side-by-side until Powell was able to get the position on lap 28.

Kenseth continued to lead with 15-laps to go. Way back in the pack the battle for the championship got intense as Michael Bilderback was chased down by Jeremy Miller. Miller would get past him with 13 to go.

The caution flew on lap 36 when Ryan Miles spun in turn three at the time Bachaus was passing the lapped car.

On the re-start, Bachaus looked to the inside of Kenseth, but the door was shut and Kenseth held on to the top spot. Kenseth would begin to pull away.

With five laps to go, Kenseth continued to lead while Bachaus was being challenged by Kirchner for the second spot.

Bachaus was able to hold off Kirchner for the position, but at the checkered flag, it was Kenseth taking his second Big 8 Series win of the year.

Jeremy Miller got past Mike Ehde in the late stages of the race. That move proved to be important as he was able to defend his Big 8 Series championship by one point over Michael Bilderback who finished 11th.

For Miller, winning the championship was a great end to a stressful day as he had to win the last chance race to get into the feature field.

“We worked and worked and worked. The car was good in practice and when we went out to qualify it was dead sideways,” Miller stated about his day. “We qualified 15th and had to come through the last chance race. But I am so happy with our run in the feature and have to thank my team.”

The Big 8 Series would like to thank BRP for their title sponsorship and Gandrud Chevrolet as the presenting sponsor to an incredible 2008 season. Please visit www.big8series.com for off-season updates.

The Amazing Kenseths

Thursday, September 25, 2008 7:18pm
by Renee Tarnutzer

 If you've ever watched Matt or Ross race, you know that amazing is just the first word that describes these two. After seeing them meet and greet customers and sign over 500 autographs tonight, remarkable, authentic and first-class come to mind as well. Fans of all ages came out to see the three generations, Roy , Matt and Ross and the excitement that was in the air could be felt throughout the store. Really, it was an awesome experience and I'm sure anyone who was here would tell you the same thing.

So, our hats off to these guys for making tonight a spectacular night for Farm & Fleet and all our customers.

If you get a chance to watch tonight, Channel 15 and Channel 27 both paid us visits tonight while the Kenseth's were here. Don't forget tomorrow night will be Bob Harlan!

Kenseth King of the Limited Late Models on Saturday Night

Madison International Speedway
2008 Fall Classic Recap

Ross Kenseth returned to victory lane by winning the 40 lap feature for the Limited Late Models and taking home with him the overall championship for the MIS Miller Lite Fall Classic for the dvision.

Brady Liddle took the early lead from the pole position with Dann Barber and Ryan Goldade fighting it out for second place behind him. Barber would eventually clear Goldade for second with Jason Hicks and Matt Byrne running in fourth and fifth respectively.

The caution flag came out on lap 6 for a spin and then again on lap 11 which resulted in both Barber and Goldade going to the back of the pack. This moved Byrne to second followed by Kyle Shear, Hicks, and Kenseth.

Looking for the lead on lap 24, Shear moved to the inside of Liddle only to see his car get loose and spin and bring out the caution flag and end his hopes of a first-ever feature win in the division at MIS.

The restart resulted in Liddle still leading the field followed by Byrne, Kenseth, Wilberg, and Kyle Jarlsberg. On lap 30 Byrne would spin bringing out the caution flag and just like Shear earlier saw his hopes of picking up a win end.

Biding his time in second place would be Kenseth who was waiting for the right opportunity. His chance came on lap 38 when he took over the lead from Liddle by making a pass on the outside coming down the frontstretch. From that point it was all Kenseth as he powered his way to the win. Liddle would hang on to second place followed by Wilberg, Hicks, and Scott Broughton.

Kenseth would finish with a combined 140 points to take home the overall championship followed by Broughton with 135 points and Brady Liddle with 125 points.

Fast Qualifier: Bobby Wilberg

12 Lap Qualifying Race: Greg Pawelski

Overall Fall Classic Champion: Ross Kenseth

There's No Denying Kenseth in First Supply 40

Madison International Speedway
09.05.08

Ross Kenseth had to control his own destiny in his quest for a track championship, and that's exactly what he did by winning the First Supply 40 and besting a huge field of thirty-one cars in a caution free event.

Nathan Oppliger and Andrew Kulka had the honor of pacing the field to the green flag with Oppliger out to the early lead. By lap 2 Kyle Jarlsberg would overtake Kulka for second with Scott McGettigan and Jason Hicks getting by Kulka two laps later.

With Oppliger running out front, Kenseth would move to the sixth position on lap 8. Out front it was clear that Jarlsberg was closing the gap and on lap fourteen was right on his rear bumper. Two laps later on lap 16 Jarlsberg would become the new leader as he passed Oppliger coming out of turn two. On this same lap Kenseth also joined the top five and was quickly working his way to the front.

By lap 23, Kenseth was up to second and ready to challenge Jarlsberg as the two had put some real estate between themselves and the fieldÉat least the field behind them. Lapped traffic was now a real issue as the two worked their way adeptly through the tail end cars. Keeping a close eye on this entire situation was Bobby Wilberg who quietly had moved into the top five.

On lap 30 it appeared that Kenseth was going to have to make his move on the outside and while coming out of turn two that's exactly what he did as he cleared Jarlsberg to take the lead. From there Kenseth worked inside and outside of lapped traffic including a potentially disastrous situation on lap 34 when a car spun just ahead of him.

But there would no stopping Kenseth who picked up his second feature win of the season and put himself forty-four points behind Wilberg going into the second feature. Jarlsberg would finish second followed by Oppliger, Hicks, and Wilberg.

Wilberg set fast time with a lap of 18.654.

“It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of lapped cars in the way and I wasn't always sure what they were going to do,” said Kenseth from Smart Motors Victory Lane.

Ross Kenseth Wins First Feature at MIS

Madison International Speedway
Friday 08.08.08

Fifteen year old Ross Kenseth of Spring Valley, Illinois won his first-ever feature at Madison International Speedway tonight by winning the 40 lap feature for the Rockweiler Insulation Limited Late Models on JP Cullen and Sons Night. Other feature winners included Nathan Haseleu in the Weaver Auto Parts Super Late Models, Jay Kalbus in the Bryden Motors Area Sportsman, Chester Ace in the Roto Rooter Bandits, and John Wood in the USST Super Trucks.

Kenseth Captures the Checkered Flag

Ross Kenseth became the youngest winner ever on Wisconsin's Fastest Half-Mile when he won the JP Cullen and Sons 40 for the Rockweiler Insulation Limited Late Models.

Everyone who has seen Ross Kenseth race at MIS knew it was just a matter of time before he reached victory lane and tonight was the night. But it wouldn't come easily in this highly competitive field of talented drivers.

From the start it appeared that it was going to be Brady Liddle's night as he started on the front row alongside fellow Oregon driver Nathan Oppliger. Liddle quickly moved to the front of the twenty-five car back and checked away from the field early. On lap 5 Andy Evraets was up to second followed by Kevin Knuese, Scott McGettigan, and Oppliger.

By lap ten Liddle's lead had increased to ten car lengths over Evraets and it appeared that it was all smooth sailing for Liddle. Meanwhile, Kenseth had worked his way up from his thirteenth starting position to seventh by lap 19.

The first caution of the race came out on lap 23 and negated the sizeable advantage Liddle had over the field. Liddle would continue to lead following the restart with Evraets, Scott McGettigan, Knuese, and Johnny Baumeister comprising the top five. On lap 28 the caution flag came out when the car of Chad Stevens made heavy contact with the wall going into turn three.

Liddle would continue to lead after the restart with McGettigan up to second with a close battle for third taking place between Evraets and Baumeister. On lap 30 the two (Baumeister and Evraets) got together which also collected Knuese ending his night. Kenseth was able to avoid making heavy contact and somehow dodged the mishap with only minor damage. With Baumeister and Evraets going to the back of the field, Kenseth would move up to third followed by Ryan Goldade and fast qualifier Bobby Wilberg.

The green flag would come out for just a short time as debris was on the track. When the race went green again Kenseth would power his way to the inside of McGettigan on lap 31 to take second place and turn his attention to Liddle.

One lap later Kenseth would get by Liddle on the inside to take the lead and hold off the field for the win. A strong run by both Wilberg and Michael Bilderback would fall just short as Kenseth cruised to his first-ever feature win at MIS. Rounding out the top five behind Kenseth, Wiberg, and Bilderback were Goldade and Liddle.

A very excited Kenseth climbed out of his battered and smoking Ford Fusion and received a large ovation from the crowd. As he checked out his car Kenseth said, “I had something dragging the last eleven laps. I was really worried about the tire when I went around Baumeister. I want to thank everyone from Farm and Fleet, my parents, Joe from Pathfinder, we've had a great car all year.”

Wilberg set fast time 18.769 and Ryan Miles won the 12 lap qualifying race.

By: Eric Huenefeld
It’s often said that it takes several different components to make a championship caliber driver. Firstly, the equipment must be there for a driver to compete. Also that driver must have more than an average amount of skill to wheel the great equipment. But also, no matter how good a driver and his equipment are, that driver can always use a little luck to go there way and push them towards their ultimate result.

The above three components were on the side of current Big 8 Series point leader and defending series champion Jeremy Miller Tuesday night, as he powered through the field and inherited the lead through a late race spin to win the ‘Dixieland 38’ at Wisconsin International Raceway, in front of a large Tuesday night crowd.

Miller would have to work from deep in the field to pick up his 7th career Big 8 Series win though, as he took the green flag from 12th in the 24-car starting field. Big 8 series rookie Ty Reedy led the field to the green flag, but relinquished the lead on the backstretch to fellow rookie Wes Coon. Coon made it look very early like it may be a runaway up front, as he stretched his lead to 15 car lengths by lap six. But soon, Coon’s lead began to shrink, as emerging from the field in the early going was another Late Model rookie, Kyle Shear. From his sixth starting spot, Shear found second by lap 5 and set sail for Coon and the lead that he held. By lap 11, Shear made the move out of turn two and led the field on circuit number twelve.

And while the lead was being traded, the action was furious behind the leaders as well. Miller began to slice through the field, along with defending WIR champion Kris Kelly. The two made there way through the field and into spots two and three by lap 20. Behind Miller and Kelly, fast-timer Ryan Carlson also was on the charge. Carlson rolled a full invert on the dice in pre-race ceremonies, putting him in the challenging starting spot of 14th. Carlson made nine spots in the first 11 laps and found fourth by lap 20.

Meanwhile, Shear paced the field and, after Miller passed Kelly for second, it seemed that barring a yellow flag, the young Shear would hold off the veteran Miller for his first-ever Late Model win. Unfortunately, that yellow came. And unfortunately, is was for Shear. As Shear exited turn 4, he lost control of his #36 car and spun around, narrowly missing the infield wall. The spin was part Shear and part liquid-aided, as Kris Kelly had laid fluid on the track the lap before and Shear was the first and only driver to hit it. Kelly would be sent to the pits and Miller would be handed the lead with 12 laps to go.

As the race went back to green, a new contender emerged from the pack. It was 15-year old Ross Kenseth, winner of the Big 8 Series’ last event at Golden Sands Speedway. Behind him sat Carlson in third. Kenseth would catch Miller and go side-by-side with him as five laps remained. Miller would get away, and one last Kenseth challenge would come up short. Miller took the win, ahead of Kenseth and Carlson. The top three drivers all made their way to the Top 3 from starting spots deep in the field. Miller started 12th, Kenseth 11th and Carlson, as mentioned, 14th.

Ryan Miles ended the night with his best ever Big 8 finish, taking home fourth spot. And Michael Bilderback kept in step with Jeremy Miller at the top of the Big 8 Series points standings, bringing home a fifth place finish.

Carlson’s fast time earlier in the night set the new Big 8 Series track record at WIR. The Loves Park, Illinois driver toured the challenging half-mile with a time of 20.690 seconds.

Kenseth Gets His First Big 8 Win In the Last Laps at Golden Sands

Kenseth Wins First Big 8 Feature At Golden Sands
by Mike Barrett
7/11/2008

Kenseth Wins Big 8, Weinfurter grabs another Feature, and Genett Takes the High Road to Win at Golden Sands by Mike Barrett                          

Ross Kenseth made the most of his 1st feature win in the Big 8 series Friday Night at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover WI. Starting a few spots back in 5th did not seem that far back, but in a field separated by mere tenths, Kenseth had to rely on more patience than might be expected of such a young driver. As he worked his way past racers like Steve Dobbratz of Rio, Wi, Ken Richards of Montello and in the final 10 laps Appleton's Jim Duchow, Kenseth showed a smooth style reminiscent of another Wisconsin racer; his father Matt. Duchow did his utmost to maintain a lead he almost kept the entire race, but the #25 of Kenseth had a very fast run into turns 3 and 4 and nearly literally ran up the tailpipe of Duchow's red #27. The resulting contact, which Kenseth was quick to apologize for afterwards, wiggled Duchow's car enough to give the youngster a run on the inside, allowing him to lead the final 5 or so with no real challenge. Duchow settled for 2nd, Eric Klawitter of Montello 3rd, Jeremy Miller 4th and Michael Bilderback of South Beloit, Il finished 5th.

Brian Weinfurter may or may not have had the fastest car tonight, but he ended up winning a wild one after Mike Brooks and Adam Krzykowski spun on the final lap of the Super Stock feature Friday night. Krzykowski kept an early lead going until lap 20, when Brooks dove alongside Krzykowski to try for the win. The pair thrilled the crowd until the final lap, screaming into turn 3 side by side, but grip failed for both, they came together and spun, handing another feature win to 3rd place runner Brian Weinfurter. Colin Reffner's 2nd place was completely overshadowed by all the drama, Scott Hamel, Dean Zakrzewski and Michael Gwidt filled out the top five. Fast Qualifier Greg Back fought his way 10 spots forward and finished 6th.

Kyle Genett of Auburndale, Wi reminded everyone of a driver named Marv Marzofka Friday night when he passed 11 cars, most of them on the outside to roll to an exciting feature win in the Pure Stock Class. Genett simply went where the others weren't and won himself another feature, his 2nd. Kyle was followed by Darren Jackson of Wisconsin Rapids, Mike Kasperek of Clintonville, Wi, Ron Grabarski of Grand Marsh, Wi, and Ryan Mork of Wisconsin Rapids. Fast Qualifier Rebecca Grabarski picked up 6 spots to finish 9th.

The 2 Man Cruiser Stock Class capped off with exciting 3 wide racing, Nicholson & Radke notching a win. They were followed by Meyer & Meyer along with Harvath & Coulthurst.

The Mod Class was decided on a restart when Wheelock and Green bolted out front, leading Wheelock & Miller and Kampert Jr & Blenker.

The best of 4 spectator racers ended up with a 1935 hot rod on top driven by Jeff Schroeder. Racing next Friday is the Team Schierl Companies Big Bad Bus Races (SLM, SS, 4C, Cruisers)

Please check out our complete results at www.gssraces.com/results.php