NASCAR phenom Kyle Busch Wins Wisconsin All-Star Race, Chris Wimmer Second Ahead of Matt Kenseth
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Wimmer Second, Kenseth Third in 39 Car Field of ASA Midwest Tour Super Late Models
August 24, 2008 -Kyle Busch notched his name to the prestigious list of winners at the legendary Milwaukee Mile by driving to his first career victory at the facility Sunday afternoon in the “Wisconsin All Star 100 with Matt Kenseth” super late model race that co-headlined the Governor’s Cup Weekend.
The winningest driver in NASCAR this season, Busch fielded his own super late model to race against Kenseth and the touring stars of the ASA Midwest Tour.Kenseth returned to his home state to defend his victory earned last August in a 50-lap super late model event.
Fresh off his second place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Bristol , Tenn.the night before, Busch arrived at The Mile early Sunday morning ready to race.He set the pace in practice, beat Kenseth for quick time in the 39-car field and started 11th with the series-mandated inversion.
Busch put on a show immediately at the drop of the green flag and made a blazing three-wide pass for the lead directly under the flag stand on the eighth lap, as he shot past Mark Kraus and Jeff Storm, a pair of veteran Wisconsin late model racers.
Kenseth had started tenth and used a more methodical approach to get to the front, as the Cambridge , Wis.native worked into second place by lap 30.
Busch had built up a sizeable cushion while Kenseth was on the move, but once Kenseth got clear of all other cars, Busch’s lead began to shrink.
Kenseth began to flex his muscle as the race neared its scheduled halfway break, chipping away at Busch’s lead with each passing lap until he was square on Busch’s bumper as the two worked lapped traffic on lap 37. Never letting Busch get out of sight, Kenseth looked to the inside many times but with each attempt, Busch was able to keep the lead with a strong run off the corners.
Kenseth took to the outside of Busch’s Toyota entering turn three and was able to make the pass for the lead exiting turn four on lap 45.Over the next five laps, Kenseth began to build a lead of his own while Busch clung to second at the race’s scheduled halfway break.
Wholesale adjustments were made by Busch’s team during the break including swapping left front and left rear tires.Kenseth appeared to make small chassis adjustment changes.
Kenseth led the field off pit road when the field realigned behind Kenseth to resume the “Wisconsin All-Star 100 with Matt Kenseth” followed by Busch, Kraus, Wausau, Wisconsin’s Chris Wimmer, and last year’s runner up to Kenseth, Dean Cornelius.
Kyle Busch Takes A Bow on the Start/Finish Line at the Historic Milwaukee Mile
Dean Corelius (#(9) had another solid run, shown here racing with Tim Schedel
Matt Kenseth (#17) and Kyle Busch Battle for Track Position
Madison Int'l standout Andrew Morrissey was one of 39 super late model racers in the field
The second half of the race belonged to Kyle Busch as shortly after the restart, he powered by Kenseth to retake the lead as Wimmer and ASA Midwest Tour point leader Dan Fredrickson formed up to pressure Kenseth for second. Wimmer ducked to the inside of Kenseth with a power move on lap 56 down the historic oval’s front straightaway as Busch began to stretch his lead. Fredrickson dropped Kenseth to fourth with an inside pass on lap 69, as Wimmer was driving as hard as he could to keep pace to keep Busch in his sights. The lone caution flag of the event for debris on lap 70 erased Busch’s advantage and enabled Wimmer, Fredrickson, and Kenseth to close in for the restart.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader began to immediately build a lead on Wimmer when the race resumed.Fredrickson was forced to give up third place with an unscheduled pit stop for a coil wire issue on lap 87, removing the Elko, Minn.driver from contention. Busch drove smooth and steady in the final laps and charged to the win over Wimmer, who completed his strong run with an impressive second place finish. Kenseth finished third while Kraus and Cornelius completed the top five.
Sun Prarie, Wis. native Todd Kluever returned to race a super late model at The Mile and took the checkered flag in sixth place, followed by Wisconsin hot shoes Tim Schendel and Kyle Calmes and a pair of emerging talents from Minnesota, Nick Murgic and Jonathan Eilen.
Unofficial Results - "Wisconsin All-Star 100 with Matt Kenseth" ASA Midwest Tour Race - Sunday, August 24
