Sunday, April 13, 2008 Model: 04132008     $10.00

31st Annual Spring Classic- Yellowbook

Nowak Captures Mid-American Spring Classic Win

Sunday, April 13, 2008 (Loves Park, IL) – Lyle Nowak captured the season opening event for the Mid-American Series at Rockford Speedway’s 31st Annual Spring Classic presented by Yellowbook. It was Nowak’s second Spring Classic win in three years, as he captured the 2006 win.

Ryan Finley was the early leader in the 50-lap feature event on a cool afternoon of racing. Finley would lead until Don Wood got into the inside of Finley on lap 11 to challenge for the top spot. The two would battle side-by-side until Wood pulled away on lap 13 to become the new leader.

Nowak, who started from the pole, worked his way back to the front. On lap 15, he would get past Finley for the second spot and set his sights on Wood.

Wood appeared to be in command of the 50-lap event. A caution would fly on lap 39 when Daryl Gerke and Kenny Smart got together in turn four causing Smart to spin.

On the re-start, Wood led the field into turn one. As he went into turn one, Wood realized he had no brakes and would spin in turns one and two. Wood would climb the wall and take out a billboard, thus causing a red flag.

Wood was able to walk away, but his car didn’t look good. After a ten minute red flag, the field re-started with Nowak in the lead with Scott Null in second and defending Mid-American Series Champion James Swan in third.

Nowak would jump out to a five-car length lead while Null and Swan would put on a great side-by-side battle for second with ten laps to go.

The veteran driver would go on to take his second Spring Classic win while Null would hold off Swan for second.

“I am honored to be able to compete and race with them,” Nowak said in victory lane. “I felt bad for Don Wood, he had a strong car and he was going to win this race.”

The Mid-American Series will meet again on Sunday, April 27th for the Golden Sands Spring Spectacular at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, WI.

NASCAR Mid-American
A-Main 01 -- 1. Lyle Nowak, Wausau, WI; 2. Scott Null, Lake Mills, WI; 3. James Swan, Genoa City, WI; 4. Kyle Shear, Roscoe, IL; 5. Daryl Gerke, Whitelaw, WI; 6. Ryan Finley, Shabbona, IL; 7. Gregg Haese, Manitowoc, WI; 8. Rod Brewe, Menomonie, WI; 9. Kenny Smart, Eagle, WI; 10. Troy Shear Jr., Roscoe, IL; 11. Bobby Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI; 12. Bill Prietzel, Richfield, WI; 13. Don Wood, Denmark, WI; 14. Kenny Joosten, Wonder Lake, IL; 15. Mikie Breiner, Johnsburg, IL; 16. Dean Patterson, Bridgeview, IL; 17. Jake Finney, Sycamore, IL; 18. Tom McClintock, Onalaska, WI; 19. Mark Kissinger, West Bend, WI; 20. Dave Obermeyer, Slinger, WI

Last Chance -- 1. Kenny Smart; 2. Dean Patterson; 3. Mikie Breiner; 4. Jim Thorson, Sugar Grove, Il; 5. Brian Back, Rudolph, WI; 6. Billy Tuckwell, Peoria, Il; 7. Butch Mierendorf, Waterloo, WI; 8. Tim Sehr, Des Plaines, IL; 9. Mark Pluer, Brookfield, WI; 10. Ryan Gutknecht, Oak Creek, WI

Michael Bilderback Drives To Big 8 Series Spring Classic Win At Rockford

Sunday, April 13, 2008 (Loves Park, IL) – 16-year-old Michael Bilderback looked like a season veteran has he would go wire-to-wire and capture his second Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet feature win at the 31st Annual Spring Classic presented by Yellowbook at the Rockford Speedway. Matt Byrne would come home second with defending Big 8 Series Champion, Jeremy Miller in third.

“Wow, I can’t thank my crew enough,” an exhausted Bilderback stated in victory lane. Bilderback was in Toledo, OH, the day before for a race event that was rained out. “We got home around midnight and got ready to race here today.”

Bilderback started on the pole for the 100-lap feature event. He would jump out to the lead over outside front row starter, Ed Szelagowski, Jr. “I was afraid to start on the bottom, we hung in there and got it out front and never looked behind,” Bilderback stated.

Bilderback didn’t look behind as he built a straightaway lead over Szelagowski by lap 15.

Byrne, who started third, made his way to second by lap 24 as he worked his way past Szelagowski on the inside line.

Bilderback would continue to have a comfortable lead at the halfway mark.

Three laps later, Lyle Messinger would bring out the second of three cautions as he made hard contact with the tire protecting the point between the pit entrance and turn three. Messinger was able to walk away.

Bilderback would continue to lead with a healthy margin between him and Byrne.

Byrne would finally get past all of the lap traffic and have his sights clearly set on Bilderback with 23 laps to go. Bilderback would see his lead diminish with 10 laps to go as he encountered heavy lap traffic.

“Before I saw the lap traffic, I didn’t think I had a chance,” Byrne stated after the race. “Once I did, I pushed it pretty hard, almost spinning out to try to catch him.”

At the checkers it was Bilderback with the win by a car length over Byrne.

Miller was satisfied with his third place finish, “I just burned too much stuff up trying to get up there,” Miller stated. “Lap traffic was tough today; everybody did a nice job getting out of the way. I will take third today.”

Matt Berger would come home fourth after starting seventh while Bobby Wilberg rounded out the top five.

Wilberg set the fast time with a new Big 8 Series track record time of 13.706 seconds. Ryan Carlson and Ross Kenseth tied for second fastest with a lap time of 13.784 seconds.

Kenseth, making his first Big 8 Series start at Rockford, lasted only a lap in the main event has he was sidelined due with mechanical issues on the second lap. It appeared that he had a fluid leak coming from the rear end of his Ford Fusion.

Earlier in the day, Adam Degenhardt and Ryan Miles would win the qualifying heats while Bilderback and Byrne won the odd/even fast heats. Curt Thompson would win the last chance race.

The “Weekly Warriors” of the Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet will meet up once again on Sunday, May 4th at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, WI.

NASCAR Big 8 Series
A-Main 01 -- 1. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 2. Matt Byrne, Burlington, Wis; 3. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 4. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 5. Bob Wilberg, Town of Beloit, Wis; 6. Chris Purdy, West Bend, Wis; 7. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 8. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 9. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 10. Steve Rubeck, Monroe Center; 11. Kenny Richards, Montello, Wis; 12. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake; 13. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 14. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 15. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 16. Curt Thompson, Ft. Atkinson, Wis; 17. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 18. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 19. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 20. Lyle Messinger, Lone Rock, Wis; 21. Bob Kahler, Caledonia; 22. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 23. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Roscoe; 24. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley.

Last Chance -- 1. Curt Thompson, Ft. Atkinson, Wis; 2. Steve Rubeck, Monroe Center; 3. Lyle Messinger, Lone Rock, Wis; 4. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 5. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, Wis; 6. Chad Stevens, Orfordville, Wis; 7. Dennis Schmidt, Juneau, Wis; 8. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 9. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 10. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 11. Dan Carlson, Rockford; 12. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 13. Mike Taylor, Stoughton, Wis; 14. Becca Kasten, Germantown, Wis; 15. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wis; 16. Zach Fossum, LaCrosse, Wis; 17. Ryan Livieri, Fort Atkinson, Wis; 18. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 19. Jeff Tisler, Reedsville, Wis.

Heat 01 -- 1. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 2. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 3. Curt Thompson, Ft. Atkinson, Wis; 4. Lyle Messinger, Lone Rock, Wis; 5. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 6. Chad Stevens, Orfordville, Wis; 7. Ty Reedy, Holmen, Wis; 8. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 9. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 10. Mike Taylor, Stoughton, Wis; 11. Jon Minor, Stoughton, Wis; 12. Tim Sargent, South Beloit.

Heat 02 -- 1. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake; 2. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 3. Steve Rubeck, Monroe Center; 4. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, Wis; 5. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 6. Wes Coon, Nekoosa, Wis; 7. Becca Kasten, Germantown, Wis; 8. Dan Carlson, Rockford; 9. Jeff Tisler, Reedsville, Wis; 10. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wis; 11. Ryan Livieri, Fort Atkinson, Wis; 12. Zach Fossum, LaCrosse, Wis; 13. Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, Wis.

Heat 03 -- 1. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 2. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 3. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 4. Chris Purdy, West Bend, Wis; 5. Bob Wilberg, Town of Beloit, Wis; 6. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 7. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley, IL

Heat 04 -- 1. Matt Byrne, Burlington, Wis; 2. Bob Kahler, Caledonia; 3. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 4. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 5. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Roscoe; 6. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 7. Kenny Richards, Montello, Wis.

Time Trials -- 1. Bob Wilberg, Town of Beloit, Wis; 2. Ryan Carlson, Loves Park; 3. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley; 4. Jon Reynolds, Jr., Roscoe; 5. Matt Berger, Loves Park; 6. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 7. Ricky Bilderback, Rockton; 8. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, Wis; 9. Matt Byrne, Burlington, Wis; 10. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 11. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit; 12. Kenny Richards, Montello, Wis; 13. Chris Purdy, West Bend, Wis; 14. Bob Kahler, Caledonia; 15. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 16. Steve Rubeck, Monroe Center; 17. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 18. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, Wis; 19. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 20. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake; 21. Lyle Messinger, Lone Rock, Wis; 22. Mike Lloyd, Davis; 23. Curt Thompson, Ft. Atkinson, Wis; 24. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 25. Chad Stevens, Orfordville, Wis; 26. Russ Blakeley, Whitewater, Wis; 27. Jon Minor, Stoughton, Wis; 28. Wes Coon, Nekoosa, Wis; 29. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 30. Becca Kasten, Germantown, Wis; 31. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 32. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wis; 33. Ty Reedy, Holmen, Wis; 34. Dan Carlson, Rockford; 35. Mike Taylor, Stoughton, Wis; 36. Jeff Tisler, Reedsville, Wis; 37. Dennis Schmidt, Juneau, Wis; 38. Ryan Livieri, Fort Atkinson, Wis; 39. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 40. Zach Fossum, LaCrosse, Wis; 41. Shawn Pfaff, Sparta, Wis; 42. Alex Papini, Machesney Park; 43. Jerry Gille, Roscoe; 44. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 45. Tyler Sauter, Necedah, Wis.