Wisconsin's Fastest Half Mile Belongs to Matt Kenseth

HOME • NEWS & RESULTS • ASA NEWS • SCHEDULE • STANDINGS • PHOTOS • RECORDS
HISTORY • INFO • CONTACT • VICTORY LANE • VIDEO • CANCELLATIONS • DOWNLOADS

Madison International Speedway
08.30.09

Wisconsin's Fastest Half Mile Belongs to Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Star Sweeps Twin 50s at MIS.

By John Wells

Oregon, WI (Sunday, August 30, 2009)- Matt Kenseth made a triumphant return to Madison International Speedway by sweeping the Twin 50s for the Rockweiler Insulation Late Models. Kenseth edged his son, Ross, to win the first feature and held off Nathan Oppliger enroute to taking home the checkered flag in the second feature. The event was run on Sunday after rain washed out the show on Saturday night.

Zack Riddle and Ross Kenseth brought the field of twenty-two cars to the green flag in the first feature with Kenseth going to the outside to take the early lead after the two raced side by side for the first three laps. Matt Kenseth, who started seventh, quickly worked his way up to fourth on lap 5 and passed Nathan Haseleu for third on lap 7.

On lap 14 Kenseth was ready to challenge for second as he dropped to the low side of the track to make his way past Riddle. Now it became father chasing son, but Ross had built up a multi-car advantage and Matt was going to have his work cut out for him.

As the laps ticked off the scoreboard, Matt was beginning to cut into the advantage Ross had built. Matt got what he needed when the caution flag came out on lap 32 when the car of Cliff Rucks suffered mechanical problems.

On the restart, Matt looked to the inside of Ross but wasn't able to get the room he needed to make the pass. As the Kenseths battled out front, Bobby Wilberg was up to join the pair followed by Haseleu and Jeremy Miller.

Not finding room on the inside, Matt took to the outside and on lap 37 made the pass on the outside while coming out of turn four and finally clearing Ross on the front stretch. From this point Matt quickly started to check away from Ross and the rest of the field and cruise his way to victory lane. Ross would finish second followed by Wilberg, Haseleu, Miller, Dave Feiler, John Baumeister Jr., Nathan Oppliger, Chad Stevens, and Michael Bachaus.

“That was an awesome race. I had a lot of fun with Ross. It was a great race and I'm looking forward to another fifty,” said Matt Kenseth from victory lane. “He (Ross) gets around here pretty well. Really all of these guys do as there is a lot of great competition out there.”

“The car was a little loose, but his (Matt's) car was faster than ours,” added Ross Kenseth.

Third place finisher Bobby Wilberg added, “It was kind of fun watching those guys battle it out. They weren't giving each other anything out there.”

It took awhile to get the second feature going after the caution flag waved twice on the opening lap for a spin and when the car of Kevin Knuese made heavy contact with the wall in turn three.

The third time was a charm as front row starters Michael Bachaus and Chad Stevens led the field to the green flag. Stevens would garner a slight advantage before the caution flag came out on the second lap for a spin in turn two.

After the restart, Stevens continued his advantage over the field of twenty-one cars with John Baumeister Jr. up to second followed by Nathan Oppliger, Dave Feiler, and Jeremy Miller. The color of the day seemed like it was yellow as the caution would come out on laps 5 and 9 for spins.

On the restart, Stevens would continue his lead over the field with Matt Kenseth joining the top five from his tenth starting position on lap 11. With Stevens in command, Oppliger would take over the second position on lap 16 when he passed Baumeister Jr. with Kenseth right behind him.

By lap 20 Oppliger was closing the gap on Stevens and was setting himself up for the pass. But Kenseth was putting heavy pressure on Oppliger and on lap 25 powered by him on the inside to take over second place. Kenseth began to go to work on Stevens and on lap 27 would get by for the lead with an inside pass coming down the front shoot. Once again, Kenseth began to put some distance between himself and Stevens, Oppliger, Baumeister Jr., and Jeremy Miller.

Oppliger would move into the second spot on lap 34 when he motored past Stevens. But Kenseth was simply too fast for his fellow competitors as he raced his way to victory lane and picked up the sweep of the Twin 50s. Oppliger would finish second followed by Stevens, Baumeister Jr., Miller, Ross Kenseth, Scott Broughton, Wilberg, Dave Feiler, and Nathan Haseleu.

“It was a lot of fun out there. We made some adjustments to the car after the first race. I want to thank all of the fans for coming back out today. It was a long two days,” said Kenseth.

When asked if he could go another fifty laps, Kenseth commented with a smile, “Gosh, I hope so. This is a lot fewer laps than I'm used to running on a Sunday.

Picking up one of his best finishes of his career, Nathan Oppliger added, “We had way too much stagger in the first one but got it tightened up and the car was on a rail in the second one. It feels good to finish second behind Matt.”

“It was great and a lot of fun racing with Matt and Nate out front. I appreciate Matt coming to do this and for all the fans for coming out,” said third place finisher Chad Stevens.

Kenseth would finish first in the overall feature summary followed by son Ross in second place. Rounding out the top five were Jeremy Miller, Nathan Oppliger, and Bobby Wilberg.

Racing continues Friday, September 4th with action in the Rockweiler Insulation Late Models, Brown Heating and Air Conditioning Area Sportsman, Weaver Auto Parts Hobby Stocks, Roto Rooter Bandits, and Pellitteri Waste Systems Legends. It will be championship night for the Late Models, Bandits, and Legends. Pit gates open at 3:30 with practice at 4:45, qualifying at 6:15, and racing at 7:30. Wayne Ace of Wayne Ace Bus Service will be giving bus rides around the track for the young fans.

50 Lap Feature #1

1.Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI), 2. Ross Kenseth (Spring Valley, IL), 3. Bob Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 4. Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville, WI), 5. Jeremy Miller (Rockton, IL), 6. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie, WI), 7. John Baumeister Jr. (Lake Geneva, WI), 8. Nathan Oppliger (Oregon, WI), 9. Chad Stevens (Orfordville, WI), 10. Michael Bachaus (Milton, WI), 11. Ryan Miles (Crystal Lake, IL), 12. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI), 13. Scott Broughton (Stoughton, WI), 14. Ryan Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 15. Tyler Kelley (Oregon, WI), 16. Brady Liddle (Oregon, WI), 17. John Ovadal Jr. (Watertown, WI), 18. Kyle Shear (Roscoe, IL), 19. Jimmy Ganski (Rosholt, WI), 20. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 21. Jason Hicks (Elkhorn, WI), 22. Cliff Rucks (Deerfield, WI),

50 Lap Feature #2

Feature:1. Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI), 2. Nathan Oppliger (Oregon, WI), 3. Chad Stevens (Orfordville, WI), 4. John Baumeister Jr. (Lake Geneva, WI), 5. Jeremy Miller (Rockton, IL), 6. Ross Kenseth (Spring Valley, IL), 7. Scott Broughton (Stoughton, WI), 8. Bob Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 9. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie, WI), 10. Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville, WI), 11. Jason Hicks (Elkhorn, WI), 12. Ryan Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 13. Brady Liddle (Oregon, WI), 14. Michael Bachaus (Milton, WI), 15. Ryan Miles (Crystal Lake, IL), 16. John Ovadal Jr. (Watertown, WI), 17. Jimmy Ganski (Rosholt, WI), 18. Kyle Shear (Roscoe, IL), 19. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 20. Cliff Rucks (Deerfield, WI), 21. Tyler Kelley (Oregon, WI), 22. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI),

12 Lap Last Chance Race # 1:1. Brady Liddle (Oregon, WI), 2. Ryan Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 3. John Ovadal Jr. (Watertown, WI), 4. Andy Evraets (Hartland, WI), 5. Corey Funk (Slinger, WI), 6. Rusty Hansen (Sun Prairie, WI), 7. Paul Edmundson (Whitewater, WI), 8. Mackenzie Piller (Amboy, IL), 9. Bruce Lee (Cambridge, WI), 10. Jesse Oudenhoven (Freedom, WI), 11. Steven Schulz (West Bend, WI), 12. Jake Finney (Sycamore, IL),

12 Lap Last Chance Race # 2:1. Kyle Shear (Roscoe, IL), 2. Cliff Rucks (Deerfield, WI), 3. Jimmy Ganski (Rosholt, WI), 4. Shayne Poehnelt (Sun Prairie, WI), 5. Steve Litchfeld (Pardeeville, WI), 6. Mike Storkson (Evansville, WI), 7. Brad Becker (Elkhorn, WI), 8. Alex Jones (Middleton, WI), 9. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI),

Qualifying:1. Bob Wilberg (Beloit, WI), 2. Dave Feiler (Sun Prairie, WI), 3. John Baumeister Jr. (Lake Geneva, WI), 4. Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI), 5. Nathan Haseleu (Pardeeville, WI), 6. Nathan Oppliger (Oregon, WI), 7. Scott Broughton (Stoughton, WI), 8. Jeremy Miller (Rockton, IL), 9. Ross Kenseth (Spring Valley, IL), 10. Zack Riddle (Brooklyn, WI), 11. Chad Stevens (Orfordville, WI), 12. Kevin Knuese (Waukesha, WI), 13. Michael Bachaus (Milton, WI), 14. Jason Hicks (Elkhorn, WI), 15. Ryan Miles (Crystal Lake, IL), 16. Tyler Kelley (Oregon, WI), 17. Ryan Goldade (Stoughton, WI), 18. Cliff Rucks (Deerfield, WI), 19. Jake Finney (Sycamore, IL), 20. Kyle Shear (Roscoe, IL), 21. Brady Liddle (Oregon, WI), 22. Jimmy Ganski (Rosholt, WI), 23. John Ovadal Jr. (Watertown, WI), 24. Shayne Poehnelt (Sun Prairie, WI), 25. Andy Evraets (Hartland, WI), 26. Steve Litchfeld (Pardeeville, WI), 27. Steven Schulz (West Bend, WI), 28. Vern Fagerberg Jr. (Bloomingdale, IL), 29. Jesse Oudenhoven (Freedom, WI), 30. Dan Heying (Waukesha, WI), 31. Corey Funk (Slinger, WI), 32. Brad Becker (Elkhorn, WI), 33. Paul Edmundson (Whitewater, WI), 34. Mike Storkson (Evansville, WI), 35. Rusty Hansen (Sun Prairie, WI), 36. Derek Childs (Poynette, WI), 37. Bruce Lee (Cambridge, WI), 38. Alex Jones (Middleton, WI), 39. Mackenzie Piller (Amboy, IL).