News :: Oktoberfest Race Weekend

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.

Big 8 Series Limited Late Models
A-Main 01 -- 1. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley; 2. Michael Bachaus, Milton, Wis; 3. Brent Kirchner, Lacrosse, Wis; 4. Brad Powell, LaCrosse, Wis; 5. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 6. Bob Wilberg, Town of Beloit, Wis; 7. Tony Bagstad, Westby, Wis; 8. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 9. Mike Ehde, Prairie du Chien, Wis; 10. Wes Coon, Nekoosa, Wis; 11. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 12. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 13. Dan Jung, Iron Ridge, Wis; 14. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 15. Paul Proksch, Stoddard, Wis; 16. Michael Pickens, Roscoe; 17. Tim Noble, Madison, Wis; 18. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 19. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 20. Tim Syvrud, Poynette, Wis; 21. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 22. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake; 23. Ty Reedy, Holmen, Wis; 24. Bill Niles, Holmen, Wis; 25. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 26. Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis; 27. Todd Oliver, Bangor, Wis; 28. Jim Duchow, Kaukauna, Wis.
Last Chance "A" 01 -- 1. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 2. Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis; 3. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 4. Tom Thill, West Salem, Wis; 5. Tim Cox, Park City; 6. Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, Wis; 7. Jacob Vanoskey, Hartford, Wis; 8. Cliff Rucks, Deerfield, Wis; 9. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 10. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 11. Matthew Henderson, Coon Valley, Wis; 12. Mark Miller, Columbus, Wis; 13. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 14. Joel Soenksen, Baraboo, Wis; 15. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 16. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wis; 17. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 18. Mike Taylor, Stoughton, Wis; 19. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park.
Last Chance "A" 02 -- 1. Tim Syvrud, Poynette, Wis; 2. Tim Noble, Madison, Wis; 3. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, Wis; 4. Steve Apel, Colgate, Wis; 5. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis; 6. Paul Proksch, Stoddard, Wis; 7. Ryan Goldade, Stoughton, Wis; 8. Brad Keith, West Bend, Wis; 9. Jim Jarlsberg, Cambridge, Wis; 10. Kyle Jarlsberg, Cambridge, Wis; 11. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis; 12. Corey Jankowski, Tomah, Wis; 13. Mondell Peters, Mosinee, Wis; 14. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 15. Larry DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis; 16. James DeVito, New Lisbon, Wis; 17. Luke Westenberg, Jefferson, Wis; 18. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, Wis; 19. Rick DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis.
Heat 01 -- 1. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 2. Bill Niles, Holmen, Wis; 3. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 4. Tim Cox, Park City; 5. Steve Apel, Colgate, Wis; 6. Kyle Jarlsberg, Cambridge, Wis; 7. Matthew Henderson, Coon Valley, Wis; 8. Mark Miller, Columbus, Wis; 9. Ryan Goldade, Stoughton, Wis; 10. Corey Jankowski, Tomah, Wis; 11. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park; 12. James DeVito, New Lisbon, Wis; 13. Rick DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis.
Heat 02 -- 1. Jim Duchow, Kaukauna, Wis; 2. Dan Jung, Iron Ridge, Wis; 3. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 4. Paul Proksch, Stoddard, Wis; 5. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, Wis; 6. Jacob Vanoskey, Hartford, Wis; 7. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 8. Jim Jarlsberg, Cambridge, Wis; 9. Luke Westenberg, Jefferson, Wis; 10. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 11. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wis; 12. Mike Taylor, Stoughton, Wis.
Heat 03 -- 1. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 2. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 3. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, Wis; 4. Tim Noble, Madison, Wis; 5. Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, Wis; 6. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 7. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis; 8. Brad Keith, West Bend, Wis; 9. Joel Soenksen, Baraboo, Wis; 10. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 11. Larry DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis.
Heat 04 -- 1. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 2. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake; 3. Tim Syvrud, Poynette, Wis; 4. Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis; 5. Jim Sauter, Jr, Tomah, Wis; 6. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 7. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis; 8. Tom Thill, West Salem, Wis; 9. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 10. Mondell Peters, Mosinee, Wis.

Time Trial -- 1. Brad Powell, LaCrosse, Wis; 2. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 3. Tony Bagstad, Westby, Wis; 4. Wes Coon, Nekoosa, Wis; 5. Brent Kirchner, Lacrosse, Wis; 6. Mike Ehde, Prairie du Chien, Wis; 7. Ty Reedy, Holmen, Wis; 8. Todd Oliver, Bangor, Wis; 9. Michael Bachaus, Milton, Wis; 10. Bob Wilberg, Town of Beloit, Wis; 11. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley; 12. Michael Pickens, Roscoe; 13. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 14. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 15. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 16. Dan Jung, Iron Ridge, Wis; 17. Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, Wis; 18. Tom Thill, West Salem, Wis; 19. Bill Niles, Holmen, Wis; 20. Paul Proksch, Stoddard, Wis; 21. Tim Noble, Madison, Wis; 22. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 23. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 24. Jim Duchow, Kaukauna, Wis; 25. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 26. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 27. Steve Apel, Colgate, Wis; 28. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 29. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 30. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake; 31. Tim Cox, Park City; 32. Jim Jarlsberg, Cambridge, Wis; 33. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 34. Tim Syvrud, Poynette, Wis; 35. Kyle Jarlsberg, Cambridge, Wis; 36. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, Wis; 37. Brad Keith, West Bend, Wis; 38. Cliff Rucks, Deerfield, Wis; 39. Corey Jankowski, Tomah, Wis; 40. Jacob Vanoskey, Hartford, Wis; 41. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, Wis; 42. Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis; 43. Ryan Goldade, Stoughton, Wis; 44. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 45. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis; 46. Jacob Gille, Winnebago; 47. Matthew Henderson, Coon Valley, Wis; 48. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 49. Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, Wis; 50. Jim Sauter, Jr, Tomah, Wis; 51. Mark Miller, Columbus, Wis; 52. Luke Westenberg, Jefferson, Wis; 53. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 54. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis; 55. Rich Hinerichsen, II, Machesney Park; 56. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wis; 57. Joel Soenksen, Baraboo, Wis; 58. Tim Steinhoff, Cashton, Wis; 59. James DeVito, New Lisbon, Wis; 60. Mike Taylor, Stoughton, Wis; 61. Larry DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis; 62. Mondell Peters, Mosinee, Wis; 63. Rick DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis; 64. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 65. Tim Hagen, La Crescent, Minn.; 66. Matt Pyburn, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis; 67. Bryan Locy, Onalaska, Wis.

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