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Bires Wins First Career ASALMS Feature In Miller Lite 200 At Madison
By: ASA Late Model Series
Oregon, Wisconsin (05/27/2006): The televised ASA Late Model Series Challenge
Division has now completed the third event of the 2006 season for the crown
jewel of the ASALMS.
The Madison (WI) International Speedway located just south of the Wisconsin
state capital of Madison, in Oregon, Wisconsin served as gracious hosts of the
third event of the 2006 season for the ASALMS Challenge Division, the Miller
Lite 200.
The premiere drivers in the country have taken on the fast ½ mile high-banked
paved oval at the Oregon, Wisconsin speed plant located South of the Wisconsin
state capital of Madison.
The televised ASALMS Challenge Division events in 2006 will be televised on
The Men’s Channel and IDrive TV. The airings for the events will be on a
tape delayed basis beginning in September of this season.
When all was said and done, Pat Bourdow Memorial Rookie of the Year Points
Leader, Kelly Bires added his name to an impressive list of accomplished
driver in the United States in winning his first career ASALMS Challenge
Division feature in the Miller Lite 200.
The Mauston, Wisconsin freshman withstood a ferocious challenge from ASALMS
Challenge Division Overall Points Leader heading into the night, Chad Wood, to
take home the feature win and in doing so, Bires also took over the overall
points lead away from Wood by just four markers!
Former Madison Super Late Models Track Champion, Dale Nottestad and Charlie
Menard brought a star studded 28-car field to chief starter, Tom Powell’s
green flag to begin the Miller Lite 200. Menard beat out Nottestad to the
first corner to take the early lead while Jack Smith, who started outside the
second row and behind Menard, followed through and jumped into the second
spot.
On lap two, the first of only four cautions flew when Frank Kreyer and Terry
Schoppenhorst collided causing drivers behind them to check up, resulting in a
massive seven car pile-up in turns three and four. The end result saw Troy
Hintzsche, Dan Lensing, and Schoppenhorst’s nights all end.
On the restart, Menard pulled out to a sizable advantage while the rest of the
field settled in formation. C-DOC Systemized Performance Fast Qualifier, Chad
Wood was picked off cars at a rapid pace and by lap 50, he was up to fifth
from his 10th starting spot.
Kelly Bires, who started in the sixth spot had moved up to the third spot
behind Smith when on lap 73, Smith lost a motor going down the backstretch
resulting in the second caution of the evening. This moved Bires up to second
and right on the back bumper of race long leader, Menard.
Bires chased Menard across the stripe as the lap 100 break was reached. At the
10-minute break, it was Menard, followed by Bires, Landon Cassill, Wood, Jake
Ryan, Jonathan Eilen, Travis Dassow, Nottestad, Andrew Morrissey, and Ken
Wills, the Top 10.
On the ensuing restart, Menard tried in vain to pull away from the Pat Bourdow
Memorial Rookie of the Year Points Leader, but Bires stayed glued to
Menard’s back bumper while sizing up the Eau Claire, Wisconsin veteran.
Finally on lap 125 Bires was able to maneuver around Menard and took over the
lead.
Five laps later the last caution and most serious accident of the night
occurred when pole sitter, Nottestad and Morrissey slammed into each other
heading into turn three and both ended up in the turns three and four wall
hard.
The contact resulted in Morrissey’s machine climbing the outside retaining
wall and landing on his roof! Both drivers were ok, but done for the evening.
On the restart, Wood got around the second place car of Menard and set his
sights on Bires. Both drivers were gunning for their first career ASALMS
feature win! Bires would try desperately to lose Wood in lap.ped traffic, but
Wood would never let the freshman points leader stray to far in front of him.
With less than 10 laps to go, Wood pulled up to the back bumper cover of Bires
and the two Wisconsin pilots duked it out for the feature win. Wood would look
high and look low, trying to figure out a way around the WalTom Racing
Chevrolet
But in the end, Bires was determined not to let his chance at his first career
win slip away as the Mauston, Wisconsin freshman would hold off the constant
and determined efforts of Wood, to win his first career ASALMS Feature win in
the Miller Lite 200.
Wood settled for second and to a standing ovation from the hometown crowd
while 16-year-old Landon Cassill finished a season high third. Menard would
settled for fourth while 2004 ASALMS Challenge Division Champion, Bobby
Stremme, in his first appearance of 2006, would complete the Top Five.
Brent Downey won the Hard-Charger of the Race Award with his 22nd to sixth
place run while Travis Dassow, Jake Ryan, Bobby Wilberg, and Jonathan Eilen
would round out the Top 10.
Earlier in the evening, hometown favorite, Chad Wood, from Madison, Wisconsin
shattered the ASALMS Challenge Division track record in C-DOC Systemized
Performance Qualifying with a blistering 18.009. His time measures out to
99.950 MPH.
The track record for the ASALMS was an 18.116 set back on May 8, 2004 when
current NASCAR Nextel Cup star and former Winston Cup Champion, Matt Kenseth.
In all, eight drivers broke the record previously held by the Cambridge,
Wisconsin star.
Stratford, Wisconsin’s Mark Kraus won the 25-lap GM Performance Parts
Shootout over Nick Hammer, Brett Piontek, Mike Osgar, and Doug True, the Top
Five.
The Memorial Day Holiday racing weekend continues on Memorial Day Monday May
29th at the Grundy County (IL) Speedway for the ASALMS Northern Division. The
8th annual George Appleton Memorial 125 Presented by Rod Baker Ford and 100.7
RXQ.
Racing action will get underway with Qualifying at 1:30pm and Racing starting
at 3:30pm. The Mid-American Stock Car Series will join in the holiday racing
extravaganza.
The fast 1/3 mile semi-banked paved oval expects a large car count and a large
contingent of Illinois based drivers hoping to turn back the traveling
invaders from the Northern Division in a special Monday afternoon affair.
Also with many teams traveling from Madison or just for Grundy County over the
weekend, the ASALMS Northern Division is having a get together at Ebbey
George’s Bar and Grill in Morris, Illinois on Sunday, May 28th from 5pm to
9pm.
This will be a meet and greet for teams, sponsors and officials in a relaxed
setting while watching the NASCAR Nextel Cup event, the Coca-Cola 600 from
Charlotte, North Carolina.
Keep up to date all race day long with the ASALMS Northern Division from
Grundy County beginning at the conclusion of the first practice session on
Memorial Day Monday morning, by clicking on the link below: 8th
annual George Appleton Memorial 125 Race Day
As for post holiday racing, the ASALMS Southern Division returns to action
after a well deserved Memorial Day Holiday weekend off with its’ fifth event
of 2006 at the Southern National (NC) Raceway Park in Kenly, North Carolina
for the running of the Kenly 100 on Saturday June 3rd.
Then on the weekend of June 9-10, both the ASALMS Northern Division as well as
the crown jewel of the ASALMS, the televised Challenge Division will both be
in action beginning on Friday June 9th at the Lake Erie (PA) Speedway in Erie,
Pennsylvania for the ASALMS Northern Division and the Erie 100.
The following day, the televised ASALMS Challenge Division will embark on a
historic event with its’ fourth race of the 2006 season. The historic Oswego
(NY) Speedway in upstate Oswego, New York will host the Challenge Division on
Saturday June 10th in the running of the Fleet Pride 200. The “Steel
Palace” will host the first ever ASALMS event to be held in the Empire State
of New York.
Finally four days later a special Wednesday night extravaganza will see the
Challenge Division back in action at the famed Berlin (MI) Raceway. The famous
Marne, Michigan speed plant will host the televised ASALMS Challenge Division
and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star and part Berlin owner, Johnny
Benson Jr., on Wednesday June 14th for the running of the Safety Kleen 200.
MIS is located at 1122 Sunrise Road in Oregon, Wisconsin. To learn more about
the Madison International Speedway “Where the Stars Shine on Friday
Nights”, please call: 1 (608) 835-9700 or log onto their website at: Madison
International Speedway
For more information about the 2006 season with the ASALMS Challenge
Division, as well as the ASALMS Northern and Southern Divisions; You can also
call the ASALMS home offices during normal business hours Monday through
Friday (9am-5pm Eastern Standard Time) at: 1 (800) 385-2503.
You can also log onto any of the three websites for more information. For the
Challenge Division, go to: ASA Late
Model Series For the Northern Division, log in at: ASA
Late Model Series Northern Division and finally for the Southern Division
click on: ASA Late Model Series
Southern Division
Miller Lite 200 UNOFFICIAL Results
Pos. Start Car #/Driver Laps Status
1. 6 89 Kelly Bires-R 200 Running
2. 10 2 Chad Wood 200 Running
3. 3 7 Landon Cassill 200 Running
4. 2 13 Charlie Menard 200 Running
5. 11 25 Bobby Stremme 200 Running
6. 22 23 Brent Downey 200 Running
7. 9 92 Travis Dassow 200 Running
8. 8 19 Jake Ryan-R 200 Running
9. 7 20 Bobby Wilberg 199 Running
10. 5 77 Jonathan Eilen-R 199 Running
11. 19 5 Ken Wills-R 199 Running
12. 21 16 Nick Schmuacher-R 199 Running
13. 23 8 Eddie Hoffman 199 Running
14. 28 35 Kris Stump 199 Running
15. 12 08 Jeff VanOudenhoven 198 Running
16. 15 32 Ryan Carlson 195 Running
17. 14 11 Peter Cozzolino 194 Running
18. 27 30 Mark Hartline 193 Running
19. 26 3 Bill Tomlinson 148 Running
20. 1 39 Dale Nottestad 128 Accident
21. 16 139 Andrew Morrissey 128 Accident
22. 13 99 Frank Kreyer 104 Handling
23. 4 28 Jack Smith 74 Engine
24. 24 81 Jesse Smith 71 Electrical
25. 15 44 Terry Schoppenhorst 3 Accident
26. 18 18 Dan Lensing 3 Accident
27. 20 87 Jesse Saunders-R 2 Accident
28. 17 34 Troy Hintzsche-R 2 Accident
Lap Leaders: 39 Dale Nottestad-Pole, 13 Charlie Menard 1-124, 89 Kelly Bires
125-200.
Cautions 4.
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