Posted by Madison Speedway on 11/9/2005, 1:14 am
Board Administrator

**THE SHORT TRACK IS BACK AT MIS IN 2006** Promoter Steve Einhaus has announced that Madison International Speedway will not only feature Wisconsin's Fastest Half-Mile, but will also be home to a new short track. The short track will be a D-shaped oval which will incorporate part of the front stretch. "After evaluating the differences in costs between reconstructing the former short track and building the new track, Terry Kunes, Dave Grueneberg, and I decided that this would be the best direction to go as far as adding a new track. This will enhance the appearance of the facility as a whole as we continue to make capital improvements in an effort to assure that MIS continues to be one of the top short track racing facilities in America," stated Einhaus. Constrution of the track has already begun, and weather pending, will possibly be paved before winter. "The installation of the short track will allow us to offer so many more varieties of racing," noted Einhaus. "With just the half-mile track we were really limited as to which divisions could race at MIS. The short track means that many drivers will now have an opportunity to race at MIS either as part of our weekly show and at special events. I think the fans will really appreciate the range of divisions in 2006. Fans will now have the best of both worlds with two exciting tracks," added Einhaus. Fans will have an opportunity to see photos of the track construction on our newly revamped website. **WEEKLY RACING AT MIS TAKES ON A NEW LOOK IN 2006** Weekly Divisions: ASA Late Models, Area Sportsman, Bandits Rotating Weekly Divisions: Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks Highlighting the weekly racing divisions in 2006 will be the ASA Late Model Series. In only its second year at MIS, this division averaged nearly thirty cars each week. "I am getting calls nearly everyday asking about the series. Drivers have been watching it closely for the past two years and realize that this is a great series. We are expecting car counts to go even higher in 2006," said Einhaus. Returning to Madison International Speedway in 2006 after a two year absence will be the limited late models who will be racing twice monthly. "I have had so many requests from drivers to bring this division back in 2006 and we will be doing just that," stated Einhaus who indicated the division will be following the Big Eight Series rulebook. The limited late model division will be racing on the half-mile in 2006. After a successful debut season in 2005, the Area Sportsman division will also return to MIS in 2006. "These guys put on a great show last year and were very loyal to this track. We want to continue to see this division grow in 2006 as the Area Sportsman will be running on the big track once again," said Einhaus, who indicated that the possibility of the division occasionally running on the small track is something he is considering. Two new divisions will see action on the short track in 2006. A four cylinder "Bandit" division along with hobby stocks will make their debut at MIS. "Support divisions help a track survive because they bring in so many new and young racers. These are drivers who will eventually make the move up to the big track," commented Einhaus who indicated he expects solid fields in both divisions. Information on memberships, pit stalls, etc. will be released very shortly via this newsletter. Driver meetings for the 2006 season will not be held. Several exciting special events will take place at MIS in 2006 for the super late models even though the division will no longer be featured weekly at Madison International Speedway. This was a very difficult decision for Einhaus who stated, "This track has always had the best divisions and competition in the country. Along with that came the expenses of paying a weekly purse that overall was one of the highest in the midwest. With a dwindling super late model car count which was in part due to the popularity of the ASA Late Models and the trend towards drivers running more specials, we have decided to discontinue racing super late models weekly." The Midwest Truck Series will not be racing weekly at Madison International Speedway in 2006. "There's no question this was some of the best side by side racing at MIS. However, the truck count never reached the levels we were hoping to see even after all the work was done to even the playing field with the Mid Am Super Trucks," said Einhaus. **MANY SPECIAL EVENTS PLANNED FOR 2006** Einhaus was excited to mention some of the special events coming to Madison International Speedway in the '06 season. He did indicate that this schedule is tentative: Matt Kenseth will be returning to MIS in an event promoted by RK Race Promotions that has been scheduled for June 27. The Wisconsin Challenge Series (WCS) will be at MIS to open the season on Sunday, May 7 as part of the season opener. The series will return to MIS for the track's final event of the year on Sunday, September 10.