American Speed Association: Carlson and Fredrickson take home championship titles

41ST ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST IN THE HISTORY BOOKS

October 11, 2010 – After starting in the fourth position, Dan Fredrickson took the lead from pole sitter, Nick Panitzke by lap 15 of the 41st annual 100 lap Oktoberfest event. Fredrickson never looked back, dominating the 30-car field all the way to the checkered flag. This was Fredrickson’s third Oktoberfest Championship out of the past four years.

Fredrickson was not the only champion crowned Sunday afternoon. Steve Carlson also became the 2010 American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and grandstay.net series Champion for the second year in a row. This championship became his 11th overall career championship and second ASAMT championship.

Five points separated point leader, Steve Carlson and Chris Wimmer heading into the event. Carlson qualified 17th locking himself into the main event, while Wimmer won his qualifying heat, earning his position into the feature. Nick Panitzke and Nathan Haseleu led the field to the green flag with rookie, Michael Bilderback and eventual winner Dan Fredrickson following in the second row.

Five laps into the race, the #53 of Boris Jurkovic and #64 of Griffin McGrath made contact causing McGrath to spin in turn two. Both drivers were sent to restart at the rear of the field.

Tim Schendel was off the pace on lap six and headed to the pits for early repairs. He unfortunately finished only 34 of the 100 laps.

By lap 11, Dan Fredrickson dove to the inside of the #87 of Nathan Haseleu and took the second position. He now clearly had Nick Panitzke in his sights. It did not take him long before he was pressuring the driver of the #22 for the lead. Fredrickson dove to the inside again, and they raced side-by-side for a few laps before Fredrickson made the pass on lap 15. He then began to stretch out his lead to a full straight-away and was moving through lapped traffic in no time.

Meanwhile, Jacob Goede, who had crashed in an event on Saturday night was all over the back of Haseleu searching for the third position. He was unable to take over the position and settled back into fourth for the time being.

The points battle between Carlson and Wimmer was beginning to spread out as Wimmer was drifting back in the field. Carlson was running in the top ten by lap 50 working his way through a gaggle of cars including lapped traffic. Johnny Sauter snuck to the inside of Carlson and took away the position on lap 50, but Carlson remained cool, calm, and collected with his championship in sight.

Another driver making a statement was the #90 of Rebecca Kasten. Kasten was running in the top ten or twelve most of the afternoon, finishing in ninth. At one point Escanaba, Michigan’s, Jamie Iverson got loose and Andrew Morrissey, Ross Kenseth, Johnny Sauter, Steve Carlson, and Rebecca Kasten were all able to take advantage and move up a position.

Chris Wimmer continued to have problems throughout the race, eventually going one lap down. During the competition yellow on lap 75, Wimmer entered the pits and returned for the restart of the race.

At the restart, Fredrickson once again quickly stretched out his dominant lead. Jacob Goede was able to jump under Panitzke for second while Nathan Haseleu, and Nick Murgic followed suit. With five laps remaining, Nick Murgic was all over the #87 of Haseleu, and eventually took the position away for a podium, third place finish.

Fredrickson dominated the event, taking home the victory. Jacob Goede was second, followed by Nick Murgic. Nathan Haseleu and Nick Panitzke rounded out the top five. Steve Carlson ended up in the seventh position and Wimmer finished a disappointing 20th. The 2010 Rookie of the Year, Ross Kenseth finished 11th.

The 2010 ASAMT racing season is officially in the record books. The year ended with one of the closest points battles in history and two drivers have laid claim to two of the most prestigious Championships in the Midwest.

Congratulations to Steve Carlson on his second ASAMT Championship, Dan Fredrickson on his third Oktoberfest Championship, and Ross Kenseth on his Rookie of the Year Championship.

On behalf of the entire ASA Midwest Tour, we would like to thank all of the sponsors, teams, drivers, and most of all, the fans for making the 2010 season one of the best yet. Stay tuned to http://www.asamidwesttour.com throughout the off-season for continued news about the series and continued upcoming events.

To learn more about the American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and GrandStay Residential Suites Hotels and Crossings by GrandStay Inn & Suites, log on to http://www.asamidwesttour.com or call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (262) 514-3880 or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.

If you would like to learn more about the ASAMT series sponsors, please visit their websites: Kwik Trip, Inc. (http://www.kwiktrip.com), ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment (http://www.echo-usa.com), and GrandStay Residential Suites Hotels and Crossings by GrandStay Inn & Suites (http://www.grandstay.net).

To learn more about the Midwest Sportsman Tour log on to http://www.asamidwestsportsman.com.

To learn more about the ASA Midwest Truck Tour log on to http://www.asamidwesttrucks.com.

To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association® Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association®, visit http://www.asaracing.com.

ASA®, ASA Racing®, and American Speed Association® are registered trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. ASA International, LLC or Racing Speed Associates, LLC are not related to or affiliated with the ASA Late Model Series.