By: Sandy Shultz
September 3, 2009(KAUKAUNA, WI) Kevin Eggert ended his rookie season in the late model division in victory lane on Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by Valley Liquor. Eggert claimed his second win in just three weeks, holding off Doug Mahlik by .644 seconds. Mahlik, who started second, took the early lead while Eggert worked his way from fifth place towards the front. Following the restart on lap 21, Eggert pulled to the outside of Mahlik, and took the lead. Eggert was able to pull away from the field in the closing laps. Kyle Calmes finished third, followed by Jeff Van Oudenhoven in fourth, and Mark Schroeder rounded out the top five. 37 late models qualified for the final night of racing, including nine cars from Norway Speedway. Mike Reichenberger was the highest finisher in the feature, coming home in 9th position. Van Oudenhoven held a nine point lead over Lowell Bennett coming into the final night of racing, but a broken axel forced Bennett to pit during the feature, finishing in 16th position. Van Oudenhoven claimed his second championship in a row, finishing 39 points ahead of Bennett.

Dan Lewis Photo - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz
August 27, 2009 (KAUKAUNA, WI) Nate VanWychen returned to victory lane for the third time this season, beating Doug Mahlik to the checkered flag by 0.359 seconds. Van Wychen started the 30-lap race from the fourth position, taking the lead from Tom Gee Jr. on lap three, following the caution when Chris Grimes made contact with the turn three wall. VanWychen continued to lead and was challenged by Mahlik as the laps were winding down. Jeff Van Oudenhoven finished third followed by Lowell Bennett and Robb Vanderloop. With just one week remaining in the 2009 Season, VanOudenhoven leads Bennett by nine points.

Dan Lewis Photo - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz
August 13, 2009 (KAUKAUNA, WI) Kevin Eggert took home his first checkered flag in the 75-lap Blue race at Wisconsin International Raceway. Eggert passed Tom Gee Jr., on lap 68, for the lead and never looked back. Eggert had started the race from third position, following Gee Jr., Kyle Calmes, with John Meidam passing him for third spot on lap two. Gee Jr. pulled away from the field as Lowell Bennett, winner of the Red and White races, worked his way from twelfth position to the front pack. Eggert passed Calmes for third position as Bennett passed Robb Vanderloop for sixth position on lap 17. As the field began to spread out, Gee Jr. pulled ahead for a half straightaway lead on Meidam and Eggert.

Dan Lewis Photo - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz

By Jordan Kuehne
KAUKAUNA, Wis. (Tuesday, August 4th, 2009) – Ross Kenseth had another rocket ship tonight, setting a new track record in qualifying for the BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet and climbing to the top after starting the “Dixieland 38” seventh, grabbing the lead on lap 14 over Wisconsin International Raceway regular Kris Kelly and edging out a hard-charging Jesse Oudenhoven to pick up the trophy. With the victory, Kenseth took back the points lead from two-time defending series champion Jeremy Miller and solidified himself as a contender for the 2009 series championship.

The BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet “Dixieland 38” at the fast half-mile Wisconsin International Raceway got off to a wild start when Jonny Hentges and Keith Romenesko both got turned around on lap one, sending Hentges hard into the turn three wall.

Dan Lewis Photo - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz
July 30, 2009 (KAUKAUNA, WI) Nate Van Wychen won his second late model feature of the season on Thursday night at Wisconsin International Raceway. Van Wychen, who started third, took the lead on lap eight, passing early leader Kevin Eggert as the two battled through turns three and four, with Van Wychen pulling ahead on the front stretch. Van Wychen was able to pull away from the field, giving himself some breathing room from second place Robb Vanderloop. Further back in the field, fast-qualifier Lowell Bennett worked his way from the tenth position to fourth spot by the middle of the thirty lap race. Bennett passed Jason Vandenberg for the position as Kyle Calmes followed. Bennett raced side-by-side with Eggert for the third position, overtaking him on the backstetch on lap 19. Bennett now had eleven laps to catch up to Van Wychen and Vanderloop. With three to go, Bennett had closed in on Vanderloop, but wasn’t able to make the pass. Coming to the checkered flag, Van Wychen, Vanderloop, and Bennett were nose to tail. Van Wychen bobbled a little bit as he accelerated coming out of turn four, but neither Vanderloop or Bennett were able to make the pass. Van Wychen crossed the finish line just .177 seconds ahead of Vanderloop. Bennett held on to third position, followed by Calmes and Mark Schroeder. Point leader Jeff Van Oudenhoven pulled off the track during the warm-up laps and into the pit area, but his crew was not able to get him back in race condition. Van Oudenhoven finished last, completing just two laps. The poor finish allowed Bennett to close the gap. Van Oudenhoven still leads the point standings, now by only 5 points over Bennett.

Dan Lewis Photography - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz
July 17, 2009 - (KAUKAUNA, WI) Lowell Bennett of Neenah took home the checkered flag in the 75-lap White Race, making it two for two in the Red, White and Blue State Championship Series. Bennett started the race from the sixth position, while Doug Mahlik took the early lead, followed by Tom Gee Jr. and Andy Monday. Mahlik pulled out to the early lead, while Jeff Van Oudenhoven worked his way into the top five. Bennett pulled inside Monday on lap eight to take third position, while Van Oudenhoven waited until the next lap to make his move. Bennett closed in on Gee Jr., pulling alongside him on the front straightaway on lap eleven. Bennett now set his sights on Mahlik, who had pulled away from the field. Van Oudenhoven passed Gee Jr. coming out of turn two just two laps later. The field remained single file until Bennett dove inside Mahlik on the front stretch on lap nineteen, leading that lap, while they raced side-by-side through turn three.

Dan Lewis Photo - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz

Dan Lewis - danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz

photos courtesy of www.danlewisphoto.netBy: Sandy Shultz
(KAUKAUNA, WI) Robb Vanderloop started from the pole of the thirty lap late model feature on Thursday night at Wisconsin International Raceway and held off former champion Tim Rothe to win his first feature event. Rothe jumped out to the early lead but was unable to hold off Vanderloop following the restart on lap six. Vanderloop took advantage of the restart and never looked back, winning his first late model feature event in his 14-year career. Vanderloop held off Rothe, who finished second, followed by Doug Mahlik, Brett Piontek and Jeff Van Oudenhoven. Van Oudenhoven remains atop the point standings with a 41 point lead over Tom Gee Jr.