Late Model Drivers Receive Honors at MIS Banquet

Dale Nottestad Wins Late Model Title at MIS

by John Wells

In a hotly contested battle for the coveted Rockweiler Insulation Late Model championship, Dale Nottestad of Cambridge, Wisconsin, came out on top and picked up his first Late Model crown at MIS.  It also marked the first title for long-time car owner Sonny Clifcorn and Clifcorn Motorsports.  He received his award at the MIS Banquet held at Banushi’s Bar and Grill in Stoughton on November 3rd.

Nottestad completed the season with 1048 points fueled by five feature wins and eight top five finishes in a total of nine starts.  He also set fast time on one night and took the checkered flag in four qualifying races.

“I’d like to thank Terry and Marianne Kunes for keeping the track going this year.  I really love racing there and hope to be at it again next season.  I really have to thank Sonny Clifcorn for giving me the opportunity to race.  If it weren’t for him I might not be racing.  I have to thank my mom and dad for all of their support, my wife Nicole for everything she does to allow me to race.  I have to thank my crew for giving me a great car each week.  It wouldn’t be possible to do what we do without them,” said Nottestad.

The team also purchased an identical track championship trophy to present to car owner Sonny Clifcorn.  “I’ve been doing this for over thirty years and this is my first track championship,” said Clifcorn.  “This really means a lot to me to see Dale win this title.”

 

“I want to congratulate Dale on his championship and all of the guys in the division for putting on a great show each week.  It would have been great to have more cars, but the guys who were here did a great job all season long.  I really appreciate your efforts,” said Gary Rockweiler of Rockweiler Insulation, a long time sponsor racing at MIS.

Zack Riddle of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, finished with a total of 1012 points and second place in the final standings.  For the year Riddle had nine starts with no feature wins, eight top five finishes, four qualifying race wins, and a division high eight fast times.  Despite not winning a feature in weekly racing, Riddle won the non-points season opener plus the Big 8 Late Model race plus set a new track record for the late models.

“These third place finishes are kind of getting old, but I’m happy to have the chance to race every week thanks in part to my wonderful sponsors,” said Bobby Wilberg of Beloit, Wisconsin.  Wilberg finished with a total of 955 points which included two feature wins and nine top five finishes.  He also added two wins in qualifying races.  For his career at Madison, Wilberg is nearing the sixty feature win mark in five different divisions.

Other drivers recognized included Jason Hicks, Don Wickstrum, Nathan Oppliger, Chuck Garetson, Chad Stevens,Casey Johnson, and Kevin Knuese.

Dale Nottestad also picked up big winnings in the Morrison’s Auto Parts Dash Series.  He finished with 66 points in nine dash starts and won three of the events.  Riddle finished second with 46 points followed by Kevin Knuese and Casey Johnson (35 points), and Wilberg with 23 points.

The Wayne’s Custom DIECAST Hard Charger Award presented in memory of Wayne and Donna Forsythe was won by Nottestad who finished with 46 points.  The Forsythes began presenting this award several years ago and we are honored to be able to continue it in their memory.

The Fan Favorite Award was presented to Nottestad while Wilberg’s #28 car picked up the award for “Best Appearing Car.”

Pat Richgels of Middleton, Wisconsin, was presented with the 2012 Rookie of the Year Award.

The Five Star gift certificate was won by Chad Stevens.

On behalf of all of us at Madison International Speedway we would like to thank the Late Model teams that raced with us in 2012 and especially our division sponsor, Rockweiler Insulation and Gary Rockweiler.