By Matt Panure
(Oregon, WI) June 24, 2008 - Michael Bilderback could only shake his head and the
hand of Ryan Carlson in victory lane after Tuesday's Rockweiler Insulation 38 lap
feature for the BRB Big 8 Late Model Series. In early May, Bilderback led the white
flag lap at Madison International Speedway only to be passed by Jeremy Miller on
the final circuit. Working the high line around "Wisconsin's Fastest Half-Mile,"
Bilderback went wheel to wheel with Carlson for the final five laps only to fall short for a second time in 2008. In a finish almost too close to be decided by
transponders, Carlson nipped Bilderback by a matter of 0.003 seconds for his third
career Big 8 win.
Chad Stevens and James Swan paced the 26 car field to the green flag. The two raced side by side through the first lap until Stevens pulled ahead on lap two. While
Swan tried to hold on up high, Carlson moved into second. Ryan Goldade and Bilderback snuck through the open door on the following lap.
Jeremy Miller mounted an early charge through the field. The night's fast qualifier
moved from his tenth place starting spot to sixth on lap four. The following lap
Miller slid past Andrew Kulka in turn three. Miller's charge began to lose momentum, however, after he swept past Bilderback on lap eight for fourth.
While Miller was moving to the front, Carlson began to feel out Stevens' line.
A slight touch out of turn four allowed Carlson to find an open inside lane on Stevens.
Stevens hung with Carlson for a lap and a half until his car no longer could find
enough grip on the outside line exiting turn two on lap eleven. Goldade followed
Carlson after a charge down the back stretch and pulled into second.
The first caution of the event happened on lap 13. A bobble by Stevens set off
a chain reaction that ended with Ross Kenseth spinning. Kenseth collected Kulka,
who received some cosmetic damage but was able to continue. After a brief stint
in the pits, Kenseth rejoined the field.
Four laps after the lap 13 restart, Miller maneuvered past Stevens for third. The
pass left an open door for Bilderback who followed him into fourth. At that point,
the top three began to break away from Bilderback. Miller then took several looks
at Goldade for second, who was pressuring Carlson for the lead.
With the heat of last year's Big 8 champion on his tail and less than ten laps remaining,Goldade made contact with the leader. Carlson hung on to his machine and the lead.
Goldade surrendered the second spot a lap later when Miller took a desperate dive
into turn three. Again Bilderback followed Miller a lap later, moving past Goldade
and bringing 2007 Big 8 rookie of the year Matt Bryne along for the ride into fourth.
A final caution on lap 32 caused by Mark Miller stalling in turn three set up a
breathtaking six lap shoot out between Carlson, Miller and Bilderback. Those top
three drivers broke away immediately on the restart. Coming to lap 34, Miller applied his noise to Carlson. Bilderback seized his opportunity on the outside and pulled even with Carlson down the front stretch. The two jousted back and forth for the final laps, as they traded the lead several times. "Honestly, I'm surprised [Bilderback] could hang out there like that. I thought we would take off on the inside but he was killing me in three and four," said Carlson.
The lead was given to Bilderback as the white flag flew, but Carlson was resolute
to pick up the win. With their mirrors full of Miller, the two banged doors coming
out of turn four and remained in contact all the way to the stripe. A thrilled
crowd anxiously awaited the official word of Carlson's win over Bilderback who was
also shocked at how well his car worked on the high line. "The high line isn't
usually that good here," Bilderback commented. "I thought I would have had him
at the end but we banged doors and he got me."
Miller held on to third. "We probably didn't have a good enough car to win, but
we worked hard and these cars are so much fun to race," said Miller. Byrne finished
fourth, and Scott Broughton rounded out the top five.
Tim Springstroh won the 18 lap non-qualifiers race to round out the evening. The
young driver went wire to wire in the event but was pressured several times by Jimmy Gansky.
Rockweiler Insulation 38 Lap Feature
1. Ryan Carlson, Love's Park, IL; 2. Michael Bilderback, South Beloit, IL; 3. Jeremy
Miller, Rockton, IL; 4. Matt Byrne, Burlington, WI; 5. Scott Broughton, Stoughton,
WI; 6. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, WI; 7. Ryan Goldade, Stoughton, WI; 8. Bobby Wilberg, Beloit, WI; 9. Chad Stevens, Orfordville, WI; 10. Brady Liddle, Oregon, WI; 11. James Swan, Lake Geneva, WI; 12. Nathan Oppliger, Oregon, WI; 13. Mike Ehde, Prairie du Chien, WI; 14. Rob Braun, Wales, WI; 15. Ed Szelagowski, Westfield, WI; 16. Ryan Miles, Crystal Lake, IL; 17. Tim Sargent, South Beloit, IL; 18. Kyle Shear, Roscoe, IL; 19. Becca Kasten, Menominee Falls, WI; 20. Kevin Knuese, Waukesha, WI; 21. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley, IL; 22. Jim Duchow, Appleton, WI; 23. Steve Dobbratz, Rio, WI; 24. Tyler Sauter, Necedah, WI; 25. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, WI; 26. Mark Miller, Columbus, WI
18 Lap Consolation
1. Tim Springstroh, Freedom, WI; 2. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, WI; 3. Mike Taylor,
Stoughton, WI; 4. Ed Dunne, Park Ridge, IL; 5. Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, WI;
6. Mike Storkson, Brooklyn, WI; 7. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale, IL; 8. Dave McCardle, Menominee Falls, WI; 9. Alex Jones, Oregon, WI
15 Lap Last Chance Race One (Top 5 Transfer)
1. Oppliger; 2. Szelagowski; 3. Shear; 4. Sargent; 5. Sauter; 6. Curt Thompson,
Fort Atkinson, WI; 7. Knuese; 8. Ty Reedy, Holmen, WI; 9. Kasten; 10. Tyler Bauknecht, Reedsville, Wi; 11. Taylor; 12. Keith Tolf, Portage, WI; 13. Peterson; 14. Brett Moffit, Grimes, IA; 15. Jody Kreger, Edgerton, WI; 16. McCardle
15 Lap Last Chance Race Two (Top 5 Transfer)
1. Ehde; 2. M. Miller; 3. Miles; 4. Braun; 5. Duchow; 6. Wes Coon, Nekoosa, WI;
7. Springstroh; 8. Ganski; 9. Paul Truhardt, Monroe, WI; 10. Jones; 11. Fagerberg;
12. Storkson; 13. Dunne; 14. Dann Barber; 15. Tyler Kelly
Qualifying (Top 14 Transfer by Time)
1. J. Miller (18.824); 2. Kenseth (18.841); 3. Holzhausen (18.887); 4. Kulka (18.948);
5. Bilderback (18.967); 6. Wilberg (19.018); 7. Carlson (19.053); 8. Goldade (19.112);
9. Swan (19.114); 10. Stevens (19.148); 11. Byrne (19.168); 12. Dobbratz (19.196);
13. Broughton (19.209); 14. Liddle (19.222)
