Monday, April 13, 2009   After ALL the Hard Work and countless hours in the shop, ZRR is a GO for Rockford's Big 8 Season Opener.  THANK YOU to the crew for all their time setting up the new Pathfinder Chassis Wegner Ford Fussion. Zack has never raced Rockford before so we are looking forward to a chance to show his adaptability at this track.  Practice is Saturday followed by Sunday's race.  Here's some pre-practice pics.  ALL GRAPHICS done by Royal Sign Cuts - by Zack Riddle - Enjoy! Friday, March 13, 2009  The Shop is plenty busy!  Here's a few pic's of the new Pathfinder. February 19, 2009 - The Shop is a BUSY PLACE right now.  With Indoor kart racing at an end, the team is gearing up for a BUSY outdoor racing season.  Pathfinder Chassis is holding an Open House this Saturday and it looks to be a great event with lots of vendors. ZRR's Chassis will be on display for sale so come take a look under the hood.  The team is planning on holding another "start the engine night" and will keep everyone informed on when it is. January 23, 2009 -  ZRR has made the decision to race a PATHFINDER CHASSIS FORD FUSION powered by WEGNER AUTOMOTIVE for the 2009 Late Model Season.  The team's success with a Wegner for the second half of the 2008 SuperLate season played a big part in the decision and if you add in the knowledge, attention to detail and great name of Wegner - it was a clear choice.  Stay tuned for more updates.   January 17, 2009 - The MIS Banquet held on Saturday at the Verona Heights Center was a good time for the over 300 people in attendance. ZRR's team was in full attendance. Congrats goes out to Nathan on his 2008 Super Late Championship - he TRULY deserved the title. Team friend and writer of the GSLastLapReport for ZRR - Gary Schmelzer was named "OFFICIAL MIS HISTORIAN".  Zack collected his Rookie of the Year Award for SuperLates and 6th Place in Points Award.  Lots of Good Friends and a great time was had by all.  Here's Some Quick Pics.. Thanks Joan! Here's MIS's Newsletter that Answers Some Questions... Zack will be running MIS in the Late Model Class along with the traveling Big 8 Series. ZRR is looking for BIG THINGS in '09. Great Newsletter & Write Up that mentions   Zack, Mike (our ASA Student) and Tyler Kelley. Enjoy! MIS E-News Week of December 1, 2008 By John Wells - Here's the latest news from MIS On behalf of all of us at MIS we would like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season. If you have news you would like us to pass along to our more than one thousand E-News recipients just let me know. Email me at mismedia2@yahoo.com or call 608.225.1913. MIS Banquet - The MIS banquet returns to The Heights in Verona, Wisconsin, on Saturday, January 17th. It will be a special night as Nathan Haseleu, Bob Wilberg, Jay Kalbus, Chester Ace, and Max McNamara will receive their championship trophies. Point fund checks and other awards will also be presented including the Waynes Custom DIECAST Dash and Hard Charger winners. Banquet forms will be sent out this week and a copy of the forms will be available on our website.   The 2009 Racing Season - Only five months stand between us and the opening of the racing season when the green flag flies on Sunday, May 3rd. Two practice sessions will precede the season opener on Saturday, April 25th and Saturday, May 2nd. The format for both practice sessions will be the same as in 2008. The weekly racing program will begin on Friday, May 8th with Late Models, Area Sportsman, Hobby Stocks, Bandits, and Legends. These divisions will be racing the majority of the Friday nights during the 2009 season but fans can expect to see several super late model events in 2009 along with appearances from a variety of other divisions. There will truly be something for everyone at MIS in 2009 including the third annual MIS Fall Classic. Its no secret that the Late Model division will be extremely competitive in 2009 with many of the talented field from 2008 returning to battle it out weekly. The Late Models will be racing nearly every Friday night this year. Two drivers who had impressive seasons in 2008 have thrown their hats in the ring for the upcoming season. Kevin Knuese of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and Jason Hicks of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, are looking forward to the new season. For Knuese, his sixth place finish in the points race came about very quietly. By racing hard and clean each week Knuese proved that conistency has its rewards. His best finishes came in his first and last race of the season when he finished in fourth place. A trip to victory lane is definitely in his future. We want to win the championship, said Jason Hicks who will be back on Wisconsins Fastest Half-Mile in 2009. Hicks had a very solid season in 2008 and finished fifth in overall points. Eight top ten finishes paved the way for his fifth place finish. After finishing sixth in the Super Late Model points race in 2008, Zack Riddle is more than ready to make the transition to the Late Models in 2009. Rumor has it that another well-known driver of a 93 car will also be competing for the track championship in 2009. We will keep profiling other drivers and divisions in future E-News editions. Id love to hear from youmismedia2@yahoo.com. 2009 Rules- Rules for the 2009 season will be available at the banquet if not sooner according to Technical Director Dave Oswald. If you have any questions please contact him at 608-839-5507 days or evenings. Speedway Education Series Enters Second Season-   Last year over $200,000 in scholarships to Ohio Technical College in Cleveland, Ohio, including some worth $25,000, were awarded to high school students who were part of the Educational Series program. The good news is the program will be back in 2009. We are looking for teams who would be interested in having a high school student be part of their pit crew. High school students who are drivers are also eligible for this program. Educational Series members must be registered prior to the season. This is such a great opportunity for the kids. We want the high school kids to get involved in racing and the fact that they can win scholarships as much as $25,000 to such a great school like Ohio Technical College makes it even better, said MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg.   We need everyone to get the word out to their local high schools. Students who are in the Automotive Technology programs couldnt ask for a better way to spend their Friday nights during the summer, added Grueneberg. According to Zack Riddle its a great experience for the students: It's one thing to watch a race from the stands, and another to actually work on a car. What a student deals with at the shop and track are NOTHING like what you see sitting in the stands. Some people don't realize what it takes to hit the track every week and put on the show for them. Riddles teammate Mike Hanson of New Glarus was one of the $25,000 winners last year. If you know of a high school student who is interested or would like a student working with your team please email me at mismedia2@yahoo.com. Rookie Reflections from the 2008 Season - Recently I asked several of our rookie drivers to summarize their experiences from this past season. Over the next couple of months I will be featuring their reflections on their first season in their respective divisions. Tyler Kelley Adjusts to Life in the Limited Late Models Past Bandit track champion Tyler Kelley made a big jump in 2008 by racing in the Limited Late Model division. Our goal was to get seat time in a late model and hopefully have a top ten finish. I actually had two top ten finishes and got lots of seat time, said Kelley who finished the season in thirteenth place in the points race. Kelley also finished with no DNFsa great accomplishment for any driver.   As the season progressed Kelley learned more about the adjustments that needed to be made to his car. I had to work on relaying what I was feeling with the handling of the car to the crew. The better I got at that, the faster we got.   Kelleys crew also learned quickly. I need to thank Todd Skolaski for helping with car setup before and during the season. I could not have done it without him. Other than Todd, my entire team was made up of rookies, all from Oregon, and under the age of 21. All in all, a pretty good year. Kelley is quick to recognize those who helped him out on race nights. Many Super Late and LLM drivers offered advice and encouragement. I hate to name some, because I would not want to leave anyone out. I guess I would thank Zack Riddle and his dad for all of their support. I could also go to Andrew and Charlie Morrissey for advice. I should also thank Jeff Watters, a past LLM track champion. Many years ago, when I first started coming to MIS with my Dad and dreamed of someday racing there, Jeff took the time to talk to me after the races, invited me to his shop to help, and let me help in the pits when I turned 14. I now know how stressful it can be during a race night, and still he always took the time to talk to me. I try to remember that when little kids come up to me after a race. Thanks Jeff! - His goal for 2009 is to win a feature and finish in the top five in points.   Tylers story is so much like the stories of all of our drivers. It started by coming to the race and with a dream. He is one of the fortunate ones who has a chance to live his dream. Contingency Connection Winners Announced- As part of our membership in the Contingency Connection program for 2008, we had the opportunity to submit names for end of the season rewards. Drivers were drawn randomly and their names were given to Contingency Connection. Winning drivers included Andrew Kulka, Mike Storkson, Kevin Knuese, Nate Oppliger, Brady Liddle, Andy Evraets, Steve Rubeck, Alex Jones, Tyler Kelley, Mark Miller and Zack Riddle. Winning drivers in the SLM, LLM, and Area Sportsman this season received certificates from Contingency Connection. They are responsible for the program so I am not certain what awards / certificates the aforementioned drivers will receive. Did You Know? In 12 Limited Late Model races last season Ross Kenseth finished in the top five 11 times!   Chester Ace set the most quick times in 2008 doing it 8 times. Bob Wilberg and Max McNamara were each fast qualifiers on seven nights.   McNamara and Ace led the way in feature wins with seven.