By Chris Budzban
September 20, 2008; Sturgeon Bay, WI – Oconto Falls’ Julie McDermid took home the top prize in the IMCA modified division at the Forest County Potawatomi Thunderhill Raceway’s Fall Classic special.

Denmark’s Tim Czarneski set the pace early on, hugging the bottom groove around the slick race track. McDermid shot into second, then hopped up to the outside to try and make the pass around Czarneski. Shawn Kilgore also got into the mix, as he tried to thread the needle between the two. They would run 3-wide around the track for 5 laps, with Kilgore slicing through into the top spot; however a caution flag flew just as Kilgore completed his move, handing the lead to McDermid. Once she got on the bottom, McDermid was able to pull away from the bunch, and held off a late charge by Mike Wedelstadt to pick up the win. Wedelstadt finished second, followed by Todd Dart, Kilgore and MJ Hintz.

By Andrew Schaller
With Mother Nature threatening to ruin the night’s festivities, the racing action got underway to decide the 2008
champions at Columbus 151 Speedway. Andy Wendt of Watertown laid claim to the 50 lap Late Model season championship feature while Ron Bishofberger of Fort Atkinson tried to hold off Don Gaserude in the points standings. Two cautions on the first four laps slowed the field, and after the dust settled, Dan Lensing sat in front of the pack with Wendt on his rear bumper for second. As the field returned to green flag racing, Wendt began hounding the leader, looking for an opportunity to pass. Meanwhile, Bishofberger battled in the top five

By Andrew Schaller

After a rain shortened show on Friday and a lengthy delay on Saturday, the racing action went into the early morning hours of Sunday ending with Rio’s Steve Dobbratz claiming the overall title at the 28th Annual Miller Brewing State Championships at Jefferson Speedway. Dobbratz combined finishes of 4th and 6th in the dual 50 lap features to get the championship after coming up two points shy of the track championship only week earlier.

Jeremy Miller of Rockton, IL set the pace for the Late Models in qualifying, turning a lap of 14.232 seconds. Miller encountered problems during the first feature and never seemed to recover fully to mount a challenge. Fort Atkinson’s Jason Erickson dominated the first of two 50 lap Big 8 Series feature events after starting on the outside of row one and leading every lap of the contest. Two early cautions slowed the race, but Erickson maintained complete control over the field.

By Jerry O'Brien
The 20th annual Budweiser Northern Nationals scheduled for Friday and Saturday September 5th & 6th stood on a precarious precipice as Mother Nature threatened to shut down the event on Friday night.

By Andrew Schaller
September 6, 2008; Jefferson WI --A great season of racing came to a culmination as five champions were crowned on Havill Spoerl of Fort Atkinson Season Championship night at Jefferson Speedway. Jason Erickson of Fort Atkinson capped a strong final month of the season by catching point leader Steve Dobbratz and overtaking him on the final lap of the Havill Spoerl 50 lap Late Model main event in the standings to lay claim to the 2008 title.

Saturday night brought the 2008 racing season to an end at Charter Raceway Park. Three of the five divisions had already determined their champions but the Modifieds and Grand Nationals champs were yet to be decided.

By Chris Budzban
August 30, 2008; Sturgeon Bay, WI - Sturgeon Bay’s Randy LeMieux Jr. captured his second straight IMCA modified feature win at the Forest County Potawatomi Thunderhill Raceway.

LeMieux Jr., Dan Ratajczak, Kyle Kudick and Billy LeMieux quickly separated themselves from the rest of the field in the IMCA modified feature, but Billy LeMieux’s car went up in smoke, dropping him out of the race. Ratajczak and Kudick would battle for second, until Ratajczak sailed off of turn 4, ending his night as well. LeMieux Jr. went on to win uncontested, followed by Kudick, Todd Dart, Kevin Sternard and Jay Matthias.

With his 3rd place finish, Dart captured his unprecedented 6th track championship in the IMCA modified division at Thunderhill.

Thirty-four of the best midgets in the country took shots at qulifying for the Fireman’s Nationals presented by Pepsi on Saturday. At $15,000 to win and a total purse of over $35,000, this was one of the riches midget races in the world.
The day started with a big trophy dash payout, as the six fastest Badger regulars drove for a purse of over $3,000 in the Dave Schulenberg Memorial Dash. Jerry Coons Jr. added his name to the unique trophy of trowels as he lead every lap of the event. Schulenberg was a Sun Prairie High School grad, who owned Dave’s Masonry. He was a regular fan at Angell Park Speedway and a sponsor of Brandon Waelti’s car. He was tragically killed while driving home after a midget race in Illinois and since then his family and friends have supported this race in his memory.

By Andrew Schaller
August 29, 2008; Columbus, WI. - Juneau's Dean Schultz laid claim to his second feature win of the season in the 35 lap main event while the battle for the championship is as tight as ever heading into the final week of the season. With the Season Championships on the horizon, Ron Bishofberger holds a slight 11 point advantage over his closest competitor Don Gaserude. But it was Schultz grabbing headline after his feature winning performance at Columbus 151 Speedway.

Zeke Bishofberger took the early lead as the field crossed the stripe to complete lap one. The first of two cautions slowed the pack on lap two, setting up Al Weishoff to Zeke Bishofberger's outside for the restart. Weishoff pulled even on lap three, and took control of the point two laps later with Schultz in tow for second. The duo began to separate themselves from the field as Schultz pressured the new leader. Meanwhile, Gaserude and Ron Bishofberger fought their way into the top five with Gaserude holding off Bishofberger for third. On lap 19, Weishoff and Schultz made contact through turns one and two, allowing Schultz to shoot into the lead and forcing Weishoff to fall to fourth. Schultz battled through the final caution on lap 24 to see the checkers first followed by Gaserude, Ron Bishofberger, Weishoff and Jeff Falbe. Andy Wendt was fastest in qualifying with a lap of 13.361 while heat winners included Delbert Desjarles and Mike Taylor.

by Gene Harmelink
A nearly perfect weather night greeted those in attendance at Eagle Valley Speedway on Sunday, August 24, as they enjoyed the night’s races presented by River Country Coop. Just one race remains on the schedule, that being the seventh annual Lonnie Leu Memorial on August 31 with enhanced pay in all classes provided by Southworth Chevrolet and Lisa Leu. Races previously scheduled for September 5 and 6 have been cancelled.

In WISSOTA/Amsoil Modified action, Dan Hesch and Kevin Rogers started on the front row with Hesch taking an early lead. A caution for heat winner, Mike Anderson, spinning in turns three and four, prior to the completion of lap three, resulted in Anderson going to the pits with his night done and the field being reset with Hesch once again taking the lead.