2008 Recap

MIS has teamed up with the American Speed Association Educational Series to bring an opportunity to area High School students to be eligible to win college scholarships to Ohio Technical College worth as much as $25,000.00.   In 2008, students who are enrolled in high school and are working as a crew member at MIS, can be eligible to win one of many scholarships.   There will be six-$25,000 scholarships, 6-$12,000 scholarships, and 6-$6,000 scholarships available for 2008.   In addition, every student that participates in the program will receive a $1,500 scholarship for every year that they are involved in the series.   MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg is very excited about the program coming to MIS.   "We feel this program will introduce racing to alot of young people who otherwise would not have an opportunity to experience this great sport.   Young people need early involvement if a sport is to survive in these busy times.   These young people will be teamed with a working weekly division team.   A point system will be established to determine placement". Madison International Speedway is the ONLY TRACK in the US who will   be in the program for 2008. A 10 Series Race Schedule where points will be acquired by our "student", is shown below.   Award's will be made on August 1st on track at MIS.   August 1st is also the date of the Laborer's Union Night at MIS - Zack is the 2007 Defending Race Champion. ZACK RIDDLE RACING is proud to support the program and has selected Michael Hanson of New Glarus WI for the 2008 season.  

Michael is a 15 year old Sophmore at New Glarus High School who excels at sports & school.  Michael is also active in 4H and small engines. His father Mike has raced Slinger Super Speedway & MIS. Stay tuned and results for Mchael will be posted or you can check results at http://www.asa-racing.com "Educational Series". Zack is a 2007 Oregon High School Graduate with a young crew. The team is PROUD to support a program that enables area young people to learn and excel in motor sports.

UPDATE! CONGRATULATIONS MIKE ON YOUR $25,000 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD FOR THE 2008 SEASON - YOUR HARD WORK & DEDICATION PAID OFF AND THE TEAM IS VERY PROUD OF YOU!

Here's a Link to the Wisconsin State Journal - Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 - About the Program: http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/303896

An Award Winning Night at MIS By John Wells- Monday, August 7, 2008 (Oregon, WI)

For twelve high school students it was truly an award-winning night at Madison International Speedway (MIS) in Oregon, Wisconsin, as nearly $200,000 in scholarships to Ohio Technical College in Cleveland, Ohio, were presented to them this past Friday night as part of the Speedway Educational Series (formerly the ASA Educational Series). Five students were awarded $25,000 scholarships while five others took home $12,000 scholarships and two students netted $6,000 scholarships. Awards were determined based on a point system for participating teams similar to the weekly point system. Students were presented scholarships during a trackside ceremony during intermission. Presenting the awards were Raskovic, MIS Owner Terry Kunes, MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg, and Randy Dziadowicz, Midwest Regional Manager at Ohio Technical College.

Winning the $25,000 scholarships and their racing teams were Nicholas Jungenberg (Team Haseleu), Benjamin June (Urban Force Racing), Courtney Hanke (Team Lawver), Stephen Scheel (Team Scheel), and Michael Hanson (Team Riddle). Taking home $12,000 scholarships were Matthew Noyce (Team Kreyer), Vern Fagerberg Jr. (Team Fagerberg), Pat Richgels (Team Richgels), and Tom Landwehr. Winning $6,000 scholarships were Shaun Scheel (Team Scheel), Addison Graves (Urban Force Racing), and Zach Reining (Team Reining).

“This was a great program for the kids. They were able to help out with a race team and learn what's involved not only in getting a car ready during the week but on race night too. The kids were also a big help to the race teams,” added driver Nathan Haseleu. Founded by Peter Raskovic of Beloit, Wisconsin, the Speedway Educational Series gives high school students an opportunity to work with race teams at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wisconsin. High school students were eligible to sign up at the beginning of the year to work as a crew member with one of the teams. High school students who were drivers at the speedway were also eligible. In some cases the students may have already been working with a team or in other cases MIS helped connect them with a team. “As a sport we must do more to get our young people involved at the grassroots level of racing. With this program we have a unique opportunity to match high school students up with race teams and let them experience racing up close and personal,” said Raskovic. “Ohio Technical College is an outstanding, state of the art automotive technology school. We are very happy to partner with them and offer this wonderful opportunity to the kids.” Raskovic received an award during the ceremony for his efforts in developing this program and bringing it to Madison International Speedway. “I want to thank Ken Hendricks for making all of this possible,” noted Raskovic in reference to the late Hendricks of ABC Supply who passed away earlier this year. “Ken was all about giving young people opportunities to learn new skills. This is the perfect program for kids to get involved in racing.”

Ohio Technical College (OTC) is located in Cleveland, Ohio, and offers more than 25 technician training programs with facilities encompassing more than 500,000 square feet. The school dates back to 1969 when it began as the Ohio Diesel Mechanics School. For more information about OTC checkout their website at ohiotechnicalcollege.com. The Ohio Technical College scholarships may be applied towards tuition for study in the areas of Automotive, Diesel, and Powersport and Auto Body Technology. It was also announced that the Speedway Educational Series will not only be back next year but for at least the next five years. “We are very excited to continue this partnership with Ohio Technical College. They are the premier automotive technology school in the country,” added Raskovic. “Our goal would be to have a Speedway Educational Series member on each of our race teams. I would like to see all of our teams have a high school student part of their team next year. This is an outstanding program and I'd like to see all of our area high schools represented in 2009,” said MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg. More information about the Speedway Educational Series will be regularly updated on the MIS website at madisoninternationalspeedway.com. Madison International Speedway is located on Sunrise Road just south of Highway 138 between Stoughton and Oregon. The track phone number is 608.835.9700.

ASA Educational Series Scholarships Awarded -The first year of the ASA Educational Series scholarship program came to a close on Friday night with awards handed out during intermission. Scholarships to Ohio Technical College were presented to twelve area students. Here's a list of the winners and their teams:

Nicholas Jungenburg (Haseleu) $25,000; Benjamin June (Wilberg) $25,000; Courtney Hanke (Lawver) $25,000; Stephen Scheel (Scheel) $25,000; Michael Hanson (Riddle) $25,000; Matthew Noyce (Kreyer) $12,000; Tom Landwehr $12,000; Vern Fagerberg Jr. (Fagerberg) $12,000; Pat Richgels (Richgels) $12,000; Addison Graves (Lensing) $6,000; Zach Reining (Reining) $6,000; Shaun Scheel (Scheel) $6,000

A total of $191,000 in scholarships were presented.High school students were eligible to sign up at the beginning of the year either as a crew member or driver. In some cases the students may have already been working with a team or in other cases MIS helped connect them with a team. Peter Raskovic, founder of the Educational Series, gave credit to the late Ken Hendricks for helping get the program started. “This is just such a great opportunity for kids who want to get involved in racing and pursue a career in automotive technology. Ohio Technical College in Cleveland, Ohio, is a wonderful school and we are happy to be able to work with them to make this opportunity possible. And what a great opportunity it is for young people,” said Raskovic. Randy Dziadowicz, Midwest Regional Manager at Ohio Technical College was on hand to present each student with their scholarships. “What a great way to get our youth involved in racing. They can be part of a race team or be a driver here at MIS and win scholarships. It is a very unique opportunity that we're happy to offer to high school kids in the area,” added MIS General Manager Dave Grueneberg.It was also announced that this program will continue in 2009 and beyond. “I know we will be having many more kids involved next year and it's our goal to try to have an Educational Series member on each team,” said Grueneberg. “It's not too early for teams to start thinking about this for next year.”