Mid-American "Sweet 16 Season" Rewind

Matt Panure
Mid American Stock Car Series
December 18, 2008

Fort Atkinson, WI (December 18, 2008) – In the spirit of the Christmas season, the Mid-American Stock Car Series 2008 season can be paralleled to the three ghosts in Charles Dickens’ [i]A Christmas Carol[/i]. Fans were given a reminder of the banner past of Mid-American, were thrilled by incredible feature events and were given glimpses into a very bright future.

GHOST OF MID-AMERICAN PAST

Over half of the previous 15 Mid-American championships were represented during the 2008 season. Three-time champions James Swan and Bill Prietzel were joined in action by 2002 MASCS champion Rod Brewe . Joining the fray as well was 1996 Mid-American champion Mark Pluer , who ran 8 races in 2008.

To no one’s surprise the two three-time champions battled for yet another title. It was the third time since 2001 that Prietzel and Swan played king of the hill atop the point standings. Once again Swan got the best of Prietzel and all of the MASCS competitors. The championship was Swan’s third consecutive and fourth overall. He became the first to accomplish that feat.

“My goals were easy for this season,” said Swan. “[I wanted] to win the championship, try and top my seasonal win record of 11, and have more fun than ever before.

“In 2006, this was only supposed to be a one year deal. I knew in November of 2007 that this was going to be it. Our goals never changed from year to year. I knew it was coming so it wasn't a big let down. Adam and I are and hopefully will remain great friends,” remarked Swan.

The roads to the past three championships for Swan were unique. Swan ran amuck in 2006 winning multiple features and wrapping the title before Oktoberfest. In 2007 he had a difficult time breaking into victory lane and had many bad breaks along the way. A strong late season charge gave Swan the momentum to take the title. The 2008 season was similar to 2007 only in that Swan had difficulty finding victory lane. On his way to the championship and his win in the final race of the season, Swan had no DNFs and did not finish outside of the top five.

After three incredible runs to a championship since his return in 2006, Swan could only think of positives from those campaigns. “I cannot even count or rank all of my memories of the past 3 years. My wins at Golden Sands, Milwaukee, the Vercauteran Memorial, and La Crosse will stand out obviously, but it is the fun times I have had with the Shears, Bobby Gutknecht , the Nowaks, Prietzels, the Finneys, and every one of the officials that I will never forget. It means a lot to win championships, but it’s the friends that make the Mid-Am series worth being a part of,” Swan concluded.

GHOST OF MID-AMERICAN PRESENT

When attending a Mid-American event, it is very difficult not to live in the moment. A total of 89 drivers entertained fans this season through 13 events. Parity helped keep fans involved in each an every event. Of those 89 drivers, 25 recorded a top five finish and 43 recorded a top ten.

The parity was present at the top of the charts as well. Twelve different drivers visited victory lane this past season, half of which were first time winners. Only Lyle Nowak, Jake Finney and Prietzel recorded multiple wins in 2008.

Each of those first time wins came in thrilling fashion. Darren Wolke picked up his and Dodge's first ever Mid-American win when the rains poured down at La Crosse with Bill Prietzel in hot pursuit. Finney finally found victory lane at the Tisler Salvage Red race at WIR after being held winless in his first two seasons. Crystal Wood bested the field at 141 to become the first ever female to win a MASCS event. Tim Schmitt picked up a win in the second feature of the Hankscraft Dells Duel Two after putting the final touches his Monte Carlo on the ride to Dells Raceway Park. The final two came under incredible circumstances.

Brian Back was one position in his heat race short of a clean sweep at Marshfield in July on the way to his first ever Mid-American win. The feature event is heralded as one of the greatest Mid-American races of all time. The event went 40 laps green to checkered, boasted four different leaders and a last turn pass by Back.

The final first time winner picked an incredible venue to notch his first victory. Eighteen-year-old Ross Zumbach almost had to bring his Monte Carlo home in pieces from Milwaukee in 2007. In 2008 he fended off the likes of Prietzel, Finney and Swan to take the Governor’s Cup.

With so many talented drivers of varying ages and background, it is certainly easy to sit back and be entertained by Mid-American events. Fans were treated to plenty of side by side racing, an incredible amount of passing and some of the best competition in the Midwest at each and every stop Mid-American made in 2008.

GHOST OF MID-AMERICAN FUTURE

Through those incredible races, it seemed as though Mid-American fans were staring into a crystal ball and witnessing what is yet to come. Drivers such as Finney, Kyle Shear and Mid-American Rookie of the Year Mark Kissinger gave fans a reason to come back for future Mid-American campaigns.

There was no sophomore slump for last year’s MASCS Rookie of the Year Shear this season. With a win in the Tisler Salvage White Race, seven top fives, ten top tens and two fast times, Shear surprised many by finishing in the runner-up spot to Swan. The realization slowly began to hit Shear that he had a shot at the title.

“I was within reach of James all year, but I think it was right around the second race at the Dells when I realized that if I [could] finish the year out strong I may have a chance,” said Shear.

Although he could not make enough of a push to get past Swan, Shear recognized where he may have left something on the table. “I went into Milwaukee with high expectations but with the cloud cover we had to loosen the car up for qualifying, then when the sun came out before the race and the team asked me if I wanted the car tightened up. I told them no,” Shear recalled. “I can only blame Milwaukee on myself because I should have had them change it; but you live and you learn.”

Shear certainly broke out of his rookie shell in a hurry in 2008, something Mark Kissinger will hope to do in 2009.

Although the stats may not reflect it, Kissinger had an incredible rookie season topping three other hungry competitors. Much can be said about the experience that Kissinger and his team gained in 2008.

“I had a blast,” said Kissinger. “I had dabbled in Mid-Am before but racing the whole schedule was definitely a challenge for me and the team. Learning the ‘new’ tracks and racing with the best of the best Mid-Am drivers was a challenge.

“Ryan [Gutknecht] and Mikie [Breiner] gave me a very good run and there were many weeks where the Mid-American rookie could have changed by just a few positions,” stated Kissinger.

While the future looks bright for those younger drivers, the veterans of Mid-American gave indication in 2008 that they will remain tough to beat. Preitzel struggled in the final few races of the season, Nowak struggled on several occasions but showed his strength and Bobby Gutknecht will hope to show his resiliency after a rough 2008.

Those competitors will certainly keep the Mid-American youth on their toes next season and, with 2009 approaching, only time will tell which driver of the future will become a winner in the present and perhaps a legend of the past.

Mid-American will round out its 2008 season with its annual awards banquet on Saturday January 17, 2009 at the Wintergreen Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI. More information will be available shortly through our website.

For more information about the Mid-American Series including results, the final 2008 standings and driver info please visit www.midamericanracing.com