By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Thursday, July 10, 2008) – Matt Kocourek appeared to have a strong hold on the 2008 Lane Automotive Rookie of the Year presented by Red Line Synthetic Oil and Hyperco title. But after last Saturday’s ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100 at I-94 Raceway, an ASA Member Track, the title is up for grabs among the top three competitors.

Kocourek was coming off an 11th place finish at Grundy County Speedway and was sitting ahead of Nick Murgic and Adam Hensel in the point standings. He, along with Murgic has made every ASAMT start up to last Saturday’s event.

But the tough 3/8-mile seasoned asphalt track appears to cause a hiccup in Kocourek’s run for the ROY title.

It’s becoming well-known in the ASAMT of how important qualifying is for any event. A good qualifying run will help set you on your way to a good night or a bad night, and for Kocourek it was almost a nightmare as he qualified 33rd out of 39 drivers. While Murgic would qualify 11th and Hensel would qualify into his second event by qualifying 13th.

Dan Fredrickson, 1st Place: AVCOMM, $100; Penske Racing, $100; Schaeffer’s Oil, one case of oil; Tilton, $125; Tex Racing, $100, ASAMT Touring Star Bonus: $400.

Nathan Haseleu, 2nd Place: Hawk, $100; Penske, $100; Schaeffer’s Diesel Treat, 12 pints; Joe Gibbs Racing Oil: one case of oil; ASAMT Touring Star Bonus: $350.

Steve Anderson, 3rd Place: PF Friction: $100, Quarter Master: $100.

Donny Reuvers, 4th Place: Hypercoils, One-Spring; Powertrain Tech, $150; Touring Star Bonus, $325.

Jonathan Eilen, 5th Place: PF Friction, $100; Avcomm, $100; ASAMT Touring Star Bonus, $300.

Eugene Dick, 6th Place: AP Brakes, Set of Discs; Joe Gibbs Oil, One Case of Oil.

Adam Hensel, 7th Place: Lane Automotive, $100; Lane Automotive Highest Finishing Rookie, $100; Touring Star Bonus (Highest finishing Rookie), $275.

Travis Sauter, 8th Place: Tex Racing, $50; Tilton, $75; Landrum, $50; ASAMT Touring Star Bonus: $250.

Jeff Storm, 9th Place: Hawk Performance, $50; Hypercoils, 1 Spring.

Chris Wimmer, 10th Place: Quarter Master: $50, Redline: $100; Avcomm: $50, Ferodo, one box of pads, ASAMT Touring Star Bonus: $225.

Event Photos

By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Tuesday, July 08, 2008) – Dan Fredrickson’s win this past Saturday in the ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100 at I-94 Raceway, an ASA Member Track, allowed him to increase his points lead over second place runner Donny Reuvers. He currently has an 85 point lead after six of the 14 events in the 2008 ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment.

Fredrickson picked up 150 of the 160 points he was eligible to get this past Saturday night. He received 100 points for the win, 12 points for qualifying 5th, 18 points for finishing second in his fast heat, and 20 appearance points.

Reuvers picked up 134 points. He received 82 points for his fourth place finish in the feature, 16 points for qualifying third, 16 points for finishing third in his fast heat, and 20 appearance points.

Travis Sauter sits third only 160 points behind Fredrickson in the standings. Sauter started 25th and finished 8th in the feature event to keep him within reach of Fredrickson.

All Photos are courtesy of Doug Hornickel - Fast Lap Photos
www.fastlapphoto.com

Photo Gallery

By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Monday, July 07, 2008) – I-94 Raceway, the oldest active ASA Member Track, was the host of the sixth event on the 2008 ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment. A great crowd was on hand at the seasoned 3/8-mile asphalt oval it provided some great two-wide racing with Dan Fredrickson taking home his fifth ASAMT win in a dominating performance.

ANYONE HAVE A HEADACHE?

For many of the 39 ASAMT teams that competed, their headaches would start in the late afternoon once qualifying was over. With the competition being so tough, that if you don’t get out of the gate fast, you could have a long night ahead of you.

The top-16 in qualifying was separated by .32 seconds. Joe Berthiaume had an early headache and heartache as he and Jeff Storm had the same qualifying time of 17.08 seconds, which was the 16th fastest in time. But, because Storm set that time first, he was credited with having the last starting spot for the feature event while Berthiaume had to earn his spot by winning his qualifier race.

FULL RESULTS

By: Kevin Ramsell
SAUK CENTRE, MN (Saturday, July 05, 2008) – At the last ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment event at Grundy County Speedway, Dan Fredrickson stated that wanted to start getting some trophies since he had not won one since May 4th at Madison International Speedway. Tonight, the hungry point leader from Elko, MN dominated the ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100 at I-94 Raceway by lapping 24 of the 26 cars in the field.

Fredrickson started tenth and quickly jumped to the lead by lap 12 over Adam Hensel. “I knew it was hot rod in the heat race,� an exhausted Fredrickson stated in victory lane. “We struggled all day, the car was fast, but it wasn’t how I wanted it to feel. This is sweet, never lapped the field before.�

Main Event Finish
1 - 36 - Dan Fredrickson (TS) - Elko, MN
2 - 87 - Nathan Haseleu (TS) - Marshall, WI
3 - 50 - Steve Anderson - Lakeville, MN
4 - 41 - Donny Reuvers (TS) - Dundas, MN
5 - 77 - Jonathan Eilen (TS) - Hampton, MN
6 - 500 - Eugene Dick - Kimball, MN
7 - 44 - Adam Hensel (R) - Barron, WI
8 - 5 - Travis Sauter (TS) - Necedah, WI
9 - 25 - Jeff Storm - Waterford, WI
10 - 52 - Chris Wimmer (TS) - Wausau, WI
11 - 97 - Jamie Iverson (TS) - Norway, MI
12 - 72 - Jacob Goede - New Germany, MN
13 - 175 - Blake Horstman (TS) - Bangor, WI
14 - 122 - Nick Panitzke - Sauk Centre, MN
15 - 78 - Jon Olson - Hamel, MN
16 - 9c - Kyle Calmes - Freedom, WI
17 - 94 - Paul Paine - Mound, MN
18 - 22 - Russ Blakeley (TS) - Whitewater, WI
19 - 12 - Nick Murgic (R) - Rosemount, MN
20 - 02 - Tyler Sjoman - Alexandria, MN
21 - 51 - Joey Johnson - Alexandria, MN
22 - 77k - Kris Kelly (TS) - Norway, MI
23 - 21 - Tim Schendel (TS) - Sparta, WI
24 - 91 - Gordy Swanson - Northfield, MN

8:30PM Last Chance Results & Main Event Line-Up
Tim Schendel and Russ Blakeley finished first and second in the last chance race and earned their spots into the ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100. Schendel started on the pole and led all 20 laps while Blakeley started 16th out of the 17 cars attempting to make the main event.

Travis Sauter will get the ASAMT provisional while Tyler Sjoman will have the I-94 Raceway provisional.

Jake Ryan was third with Andrew Morrissey in fourth while Frank Kreyer rounded out the top five. Sadly, they will not make the feature event.

Kevin Cywinski ran into engine problems and failed to finish.

The ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100 is coming up!!!

7:45PM Qualifier/Fast Dash Results
Kyle Calmes took home the Odd fast heat win with current ASAMT point leader Dan Fredrickson in second and Donny Reuvers in third.

Jon Olson won the Even fast heat with Jeff Storm in second and Joey Johnson in third.

By: Kevin Ramsell
SAUK CENTRE, MN (Friday, July 04, 2008) – Supporters of the ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment met at the Lynx National Golf Club for an afternoon of golf followed by a steak dinner at I-94 Raceway as a fundraiser for the St. Francis Cancer Center. As darkness fell over the track, some of the ASAMT competitors started to arrive and park their haulers in preparation for tomorrow’s ASAMT ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100.

The pit window opens at 10:45 am with the first ASAMT practice starting at 1:30 pm.

Qualifying will start at 5:00 pm with the popular autograph session to follow. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to meet their favorite ASAMT drivers and get their insights to the upcoming action as ASAMT track announcer Matt Panure will interview many of the stars during the autograph session.

The first race will get underway at 7:00 pm with the odd/even qualifying races and local division heats with the UCARS, Modifieds, Legends and Thunder Cars also in action.

For more information on I-94 Raceway and directions to the track, please visit their site at www.i94raceway.com.

Kevin Cywinski to drive the ECHO Bear Cat Super Late Model in the Event

By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Thursday, July 03, 2008) – ECHO Bear Cat has signed on as the title sponsor for this Saturday’s July Spectacular 100 at I-94 Raceway in Sauk Centre, MN. The ECHO Bear Cat July Spectacular 100 will be the sixth event of the 2008 ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment.

“ECHO Bear Cat is excited to be a part of the ASA Midwest Tour, and we are proud to be the title sponsor of I-94 Raceway’s ASA July Spectacular race,� Jerry Kobza, Marketing Manager for Golden Eagle Distributing stated. “ECHO Bear Cat is excited to have a championship winning driver with the caliber of Kevin Cywinski behind the wheel of the Bear Cat race car this weekend.�

ECHO Bear Cat offers the Broadest Offering of Outdoor Power Equipment for: homeowners, commercial landscapers, arborists, hobby farms, municipalities, golf courses, and rental stores.

Their product line includes: chipper/shredders, chippers, wheeled trimmers, stump grinders, debris loaders, wheeled vacuums, and log splitters.