(West Salem, WI - Friday, October 6, 2006) - It started out with a two point difference between Dan Fredrickson and Tim Schendel.  It ended with a three point difference and a new winner in victory lane as the final NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Midwest Series ran its final laps at the Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.

La Crosse native, Brent Kirchner took home the victory by taking over the lead from Tim Schendel with two laps to go in the Farewell 150 lap event.  Schendel’s second place finish gave him his first Midwest Series Championship over Fredrickson.

Schendel and Fredrickson were the class of the 20-car field that took the green flag on the second night of the four day race weekend.

Josh Bauer and Ronnie Hawley led the field the green flag in front of a packed house with Grand Marshal Dick Trickle waving the green flag. 

Bauer would grab the early lead while Schendel, who started sixth and Fredrickson, started eighth, quickly made their way to the front.  Fredrickson would take over the top spot on lap 13 with Schendel right on his rear bumper. 

The two would pull away from the rest of the field and put on a show for the fans.  Schendel would be patient as he looked for a way to get past Fredrickson.  On lap 29, Schendel would get on the inside of Fredrickson coming out of turn two.  At the line, Schendel take the lead by the fender.  A lap later, Schendel would pull away from Fredrickson.

Four caution flags would fly throughout the event.  Fredrickson admitted after the race that his car was better right after the cautions.  “I think we started the tires to high, we were real good on re-starts and I could have gotten by him but I didn’t want to get dirty with him and have it bite me in the long run.” Fredrickson stated.  “We gave it our all, we tried our best.”

Kirchner would stay quiet throughout the race running in the top five.  With 30-laps to go, he would get on the bumper of Fredrickson to challenge for second.  Kirchner would get past Fredrickson on lap 128 and set his sights on Schendel.

With 15 laps to go, Kirchner would catch Schendel and put the pressure on him for the top spot.  With two laps to go, Kirchner would get on the inside of Schendel going into turn three.  Schendel would try to close the door but the two touched sending Schendel up to the marbles.  Kirchner would take over the lead coming down for the white flag.  Schendel would quickly recover and hold on to second.

“I don’t know where the 88 (Kirchner) came from,” Schendel stated after the race.  “I tried to hold him off but he was faster than me and my right rear was getting down there and I couldn’t hold the bottom.  He got into me a little bit but that’s racing.  It’s a good win for him and for me it was a battle of survival to the checkered flag.”

Kirchner, who has three top-ten finishes coming into this event, surprised the hometown crowd by taking the win with Schendel taking second and Fredrickson in third.  Steve Carlson would come home fourth with Josh Vadnais rounding out the top five.

The final checkered flag was waved by longtime ARTGO flagman Bill Gronley.

“It was pretty wild; I had a better bite coming off the corner.  He was better through the center,” Kirchner stated in victory lane.  “I knew I was little bit better coming off, we touched a little, and I made the pass and was able to get the win.  It was great to win on our home track.”

Schendel’s second place finish was enough for him to capture his first ever NASCAR Autozone Elite Division Midwest Series Championship.  He captured the title by three points over Fredrickson.  Schendel ended with 1000 points with Fredrickson capturing 997 points.  Steve Carlson would finish in third with 940 points with Scotty Backman in fourth with 874.  Kirchner’s win vaulted him from seventh to finish fifth in points with 864 points.

“This is great to win this at my home track,” the excited Sparta, WI driver stated after the race with fireworks in the air off of turn three and a hug from his father and spotter Ron.

The top drivers in the Midwest Series will now travel to Irwindale, CA to compete in the Toyota All-Star NASCAR Showdown on October 20-21.  The event will be shown live on Speed Channel.

Nascar AutoZone Elite Division 150
Feature (20 cars) — 1. Brent Kirchner, La Crosse; 2. Tim Schendel, Sparta; 3. Dan Fredrickson, Lakeville, MN; 4. Steve Carlson, West Salem; 5. Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, MN; 6. Bryan Roach, Becker, MN; 7. Todd Hansen, Minneapolis, MN; 8. Mark Kraus, Strattford; 9. Russ Blakeky, White Water; 10. Tom Kippenberg, Channahon, IL; 11. Darren Bucklin, Greeley, CO; 12. Scotty Backman, Littleton, CO; 13. Ronnie Hawley, Winona; 14. Josh Bauer, Random Lake; 15. Bruce Yackey, Greeley, CO; 16. Mike Gallegos, Wheat Ridge; 17. David Finney, Sycamore; 18. Greg Fowler, Longmont, CO; 19. A J Rhoads, Hastings, MN; 20. danny Darnall, Beach Park, IL;

Qualifying — 1, Dan Fredrickson, Lakeville, 19.054 seconds, 103.049 MPH; 2, Josh Vadnais, White Bear Lake, 19.253 secs, 101.984 MPH; 3, Tim Schendel, Sparta, 19.377 secs, 101.331 MPH; 4,Todd Hansen, Minneapolis, 19.525 secs, 100.563 MPH; 5, Mike Gallegos, Wheat Ridge CO, 19.548 secs, 100.445 MPH; 6, Russ Blackley, Whitewater, 19.601 secs, 100.173 MPH; 7, Ronnie Hawley,  Winona, 19.618 secs, 100.087 MPH; 8, Josh Bauer, Random Lake, 19.711 secs, 99.614 MPH; 9, Mark Kraus, Strattford, 19.749 secs, 99.423 MPH; 10, Brent Kirchner, La Crosse, 19.787 secs, 99.232 MPH.

FREDRICKSON’S LEADS AUTOZONE QUALIFYING AT FEST
By: Kevin Ramsell

Friday, October 06, 2006 (West Salem, WI) – Current NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Midwest Series point leader, Dan Fredrickson set the fast time at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.  The Series will compete in later on tonight in the final ever Midwest Series event.

The Lakeville, MN driver picked up the “Faster than a Speeding Bullet” award for his fast time of 19.054 seconds (103.348 mph).  “We had a pretty good car all day,” Fredrickson stated prior to receiving his “Bullet.”  “We wanted to show Schendel that we got the car to beat.” 

Fredrickson currently holds a two-point lead over Sparta, WI’s Tim Schendel going into the final Midwest Series ever.   Schendel qualified third with a time of 19.377 seconds (101.626 mph). 

Josh Vadnais qualified second with a time of 19.253 seconds (102.280 mph).

With an invert, Fredrickson will start eighth while Schendel will right front of him in the sixth starting position for the 150-lap event to be raced later on tonight.

Dick Trickle will serve as the Grand Marshal for the event.