News :: Oktoberfest Race Weekend

OKTOBERFEST NOTES…LESS THAN 24 HOURS UNTIL THE 40TH EVENT STARTS

By: Kevin Ramsell
WEST SALEM, WI (Wednesday, October 07, 2009) – The 40th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI will start this Thursday, October 8 and will go through Sunday, October 11. This is already looking like a great event is shaping up for this year.

CAMPER VILLAGE OPENS

A record number of campers arrived on Monday, October 5 as the Camper Village officially opened at noon. Over 200 campers arrived on the first day which is a new record. More campers are expected over the next few days and a full campground is expected for the 40th annual event.

RECENT NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES WINNER COMING TO FEST

Johnny Sauter, a native of Necedah, WI and recent winner of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be competing at Oktoberfest this weekend.

Sauter plans on competing in the Dick Trickle “99” Wisconsin Super Late Model event on Friday night as well as the American Speed Association Midwest Tour event on Saturday and Sunday.

Sauter is pumped up about returning to compete at Oktoberfest and hopes to become the member of the Sauter family to win it.

ROSS KENSETH TO HAVE A BUSY SATURDAY

Ross Kenseth will make his third appearance at Oktoberfest this weekend and he will have a busy schedule as he will be looking to lock up the BRP Big 8 Series championship and win the Rookie of the Year title in the ASA Late Model Series North Division.

The son of the 2009 Daytona 500 champion has had an impressive record at Oktoberfest. In 2007, he made an impressive debut as he was the fast qualifier and finished fourth in the Big 8 Series event. Last year, he won the Big 8 Series race on the 15th anniversary of his father earning his only Oktoberfest championship.

So far this season in the Big 8 Series, Kenseth has won four of the six events which include his latest win this past Sunday at the National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway.

CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES ARE A BIG THEME AT THIS YEAR’S FEST

As noted above, Ross Kenseth has a comfortable points lead over Jeremy Miller in the BRP Big 8 Series standings coming into this weekend. But there are other series and divisions that will not have their championships decided until their final checkered flag falls.

The American Speed Association Midwest Tour will come into this weekend with three drivers within 52 points for the championship. Nathan Haseleu currently holds a 10-point lead over Steve Carlson and a 52-point lead over Chris Wimmer in the standings. With the ASAMT’s points every event from qualifying to heat races to the feature event will have an impact on who will be the 2009 ASAMT champion.

The Mid-American Stock Car Series will also have a close battle coming into their 35-lap main event on Saturday night. Bill Prietzel currently holds a 21-point lead over Paul Neisius with one event remaining. Neisius and Prietzel have been swapping the lead back and forth in the latter part of the season. Last Sunday at Rockford, Prietzel finished third while Neisius had a rough outing and came home with a 19th place finish.

Eddie Hoffman is hoping that his experience at Oktoberfest will be enough to defend his championship in the ASA Late Model Series North division. Hoffman, the 2007 ASALMS North Oktoberfest winner and three-time Oktoberfest Race Weekend Champion, is currently 40 points behind Chris Eggleston in the standings. Earlier this year, the ASALMS North competed at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway where Eggleston finished third behind winner Steve Carlson and runner-up Ross Kenseth. Hoffman was fifth in the event.

The La Crosse Speedway’s North Country Contractors Sportsmen will come into the opening night of action with six drivers within 100 points for the championship. Jes Tenner of Melrose, WI has a 24-point lead over Rick Schermerhorn of Westby, WI. Randy Humfeld of Chaseburg, WI is only 38 points behind the leader with John Olson of Sparta, WI in fourth sitting 77 points back. Jimmy Glister of West Salem, WI is in fifth, 91 points back with Dan Glister also from West Salem in sixth only 97 points behind Tenner. The Sportsmen championship will be decided in a 20-lap feature on Thursday night, October 8th.  Only 67 points separate the top-six in the La Crosse Speedway’s United Auto Supply Thunderstox division. The top-four drivers all hail from Sparta, WI with Jason Stark leading the way with 1013 points. Adam Moore is only 13 points behind Stark in the standings with Harley Jankowski in third only 51 points back. Brad Warthan is in fourth sitting 56 points behind the leader. Josh Inglett of La Crosse is in fifth only 62 points behind and Jason Bolster of Sparta is in sixth and is 67 points back. A 15-lap feature on Thursday night will determine their 2009 track champion.

And finally, the United States Super Truck Northern Series will decide their 2009 champion in a 25-lap feature race on Sunday afternoon. John Wood will be looking for his second straight title but is facing some strong competition from Todd Lockington who is only 32 points back from the veteran truck driver. Butch Mierendorf and Jerry Wood are tied for third only 88 points back. The USST North division will be competing at Madison International Speedway this weekend before coming to Oktoberfest to decide their championship.

RANDY’S La JOIE’S “THE JOIE OF SEATING” TO BE AT FEST

“The Joie of Seating”, Randy La Joie’s custom fitted high performance aluminum seats company will have a display at Oktoberfest for competitors this weekend. They will have many of their products on display.

For more information about the 40th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend, please visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com. The site has all of the information you need for this year’s event including: schedules, ticket prices, competitors Guide, Entry Forms, History, Camper Village Information and area lodging information. You can also contact the track office at (608) 786-1525 or email lacrossespeedway@yahoo.com for more information.  20 Divisions, over 500 cars, 800 laps of feature racing, 1000 campers, 1,300 laps of total racing, Six Late Model Divisions & more over four days will make up the 40th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI on October 8-9-10-11, 2009.

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