Vandermeir Jr. and Flanagan Also Victorious
Michael Bilderback (Big 8 Late Models / All Star Challenge), Ron Vandermeir Jr. (Mid Am Racing), and Gracie Flanagan (High School Racing Association) were all winners tonight as part of Liuna! Union 464 Night. Young fans were able to continue a long-standing tradition at Madison as they participated in bike and big wheel races on track during intermission during Kids’ Night.
Michael Bilderback Goes Wire to Wire for Big 8 Win at Madison
Points leader Michael Bilderback started on the pole and never looked back in winning the 48 lap feature for the Big 8 Late Models / All Star Challenge at Madison. It was his fourth win in five Big 8 races in 2024 and his 20th in series history. This was the 25th Big 8 event at Madison dating back to 2005.
Twenty-four cars headed to the green flag with points leader Michael Bilderback and Landry Potter comprising the front row. Bilderback took the early lead over Potter with Penn Sauter, who was making his debut on Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile, Bobby Wilberg and Casey Johnson running third through fifth. On lap 8 Johnson passed Wilberg for fourth with Carson Phillips, Jeremy Miller and Zack Riddle closing in on joining the top five.
Bilderback was building a huge lead out front by lap 10 with Sauter in second just ahead of Casey Johnson. But the best racing was behind him which actually allowed him to increase his advantage. On lap 12 Johnson worked his way past Sauter for second with Wilberg in fourth and Phillips and Potter racing hard for the fifth spot. On lap 17 Riddle moved past Potter to take the sixth position. On lap 21 Riddle pulled ahead of Phillips for fifth with Miller doing the same to move up to sixth.
At the half-way point, Bilderback was cruising through lapped traffic while the rest of the field was hoping to see the yellow flag. The top seven were running in straight alignment through the field, but nobody was close to catching the leader who only had one close call getting by lapped traffic.
With ten laps to go the top seven remained the same as the race continued under green flag conditions. Out on the front end it was smooth sailing for Bilderback who led all forty-eight laps on his way to the green flag. Johnson finished second followed by Zack Riddle, Penn Sauter, and Bobby Wilberg. Completing the top ten were Miller, Phillips, Kendrick Kreyer, Mark Eswein, and Randy Sargent.
“We didn’t qualify the way we wanted to tonight. My guys really changed some things to make this car the way it was. This thing has been really good for us this season,” said Bilderback in a post race interview. “It’s a full team…not just me.”
Runner-up Casey Johnson added, “The car was really good. We had a heckuva a field and by the time I got to second Michael was way out in front and the caution never came out.”
Third place finisher Zack Riddle said, “The bad thing is the caution flag never came out, but that’s how it goes.”
Ronnie Osborne won the 12 lap Last Chance race and along with runner-up Mahlon Borntreger punched their tickets to the feature.
Nineteen cars took the green flag with only two cars earning an automatic transfer position. Josh Lundy and Ronnie Osborne led the field to the green flag. Osborne took the early lead followed by Lundy, Mahlon Borntreger, and Michael Guderski. On lap four Guderski was on the move and powered by Lundy to take the second position. Osborne and Guderski were checking away from the field with Borntreger a distant third. The caution flag came out on lap 9 when a car made hard contact with the wall in turn three.
After a lengthy caution, Osborne led the field back to the green flag with three laps to go. Borntreger was able to pass Guderski to take the second spot. With a lap to go Guderski worked to the inside of Borntreger but could’nt make the pass as Borntreger captured the final transfer spot behind the winner Osborne.
Randy Sargent, Brady Liddle, and Grant Brown each picked up a checkered flag in the eight lap qualifying races. The top four finishers in each qualifying heat earned starting positions in the 48 lap feature.
Zack Riddle was quick qualifier with a lap of 18.729 (96.108 mph). The top eight qualifiers automatically earned a starting position in the main event. Riddle was joined by Casey Johnson, Jeremy Miller, Bobby Wilberg, Jon Reynolds Jr., Carson Phillips, Penn Sauter and Landry Potter.
Ron Vandermeir Jr. Takes Home a Checkered Flag
He’s been so close to winning at Madison over the years, but that all changed tonight as Ron Vandermeir Jr. took home his first checkered flag at Madison by winning the 30 lap Mid Am feature event.
Long-time Mid Am racer Jim Thorson along with Tim Stewart had the honors of bringing the field to the green flag. Stewart raced out to the lead followed by Thorson, Bill Prietzel, and Rick Redig-Tackman. On lap 3 Prietzel and Redig-Tackman moved into second and third and were racing door to door while Stewart was increasing his lead. On lap 6 Redig-Tackman took second from Prietzel with Connor Kosowski and Daniel Calhoun completing the top five. On lap 10 Kosowski pulled to the inside of Prietzel for the third position while a lap later Ron Vandermeir Jr. moved by Kosowski for fourth.
At the half-way mark Stewart and Redig-Tackman were pulling away from the field before disaster struck as the two made contact and went sailing into the infield bringing out the caution flag and sending both drivers to the back of the field for the restart.
Bill Prietzel inherited the lead and along with Vandermeir Jr. would bring the field back to the green. Vandermeir Jr. vaulted out to a four car length lead over Prietzel and Kosowski. Two laps later Kosowski took the second spot while Scott Gardner Jr. was challenging Prietzel for third. Out front Vandermeir Jr. had opened up a five car length lead over Kosowski while Prietzel and Gardner Jr. were fighting it out for third. As the laps were ticking off, Vandermeir Jr. was able to maintain his lead over Kosowski and race his way to victory lane. Gardner Jr., Prietzel, and Cameron Vandermeir rounded out the top five.
“I’ll tell you what. We’ve had a lot of second place finishes up here so this is great,” said Vandermeir Jr.
Heat race wins were captured by John Ventrello and Cody Clubb.
Fastest in qualifying was Scott Gardner Jr. with a lap of 19.582 (92.921 mph)
Nobody Can Catch Gracie Flanagan
For the second time this season, Gracie Flanagan won the 15 lap feature for the High School Racing Association.
Six cars took the green flag with Gracie Flanagan and Peyton Payne showing the way to the green flag with Flanagan wasting no time getting out to the lead. Flanagan built up an eight car length lead over the field while Kennedy Krueger was challenging Payne for second. On lap 9 Krueger took over the second spot and tried to catch the speedy Flanagan.
Krueger was starting to close the gap but was running short on time. But Flanagan was too fast tonight and cruised to victory lane. Krueger finished second followed by Payne, Charlie Thompson, and Jackson Martindale.
“I want to thank all my sponsors for making this happen,” said Flanagan who also spends her Friday nights working at the speedway when she’s not racing. Flanagan has a 395-386 advantage in the points race with double features ahead on August 16th.
Charlie Thompson won the eight lap heat race.
Next Friday night (August 9th) at Madison it’s the fourth annual Cheese Curd Cup with all action taking place on the Ring of Fire. See the Midwest Dash Series, Hobby Stocks, Bandits, 6Shooters, Legends and Bandoleros and find out who will add their name to the record books. Grandstands open at 6:00 with qualifying at 6:15, opening ceremonies at 7:25 and racing at 7:30.
Results
Big 8 Qualifying
1. 14ZR-Zack Riddle, 18.7290; 2. 5CJ-Casey Johnson, 18.7310; 3. 5JM-Jeremy Miller, 18.7900; 4. XJR-Jon Reynolds Jr, 18.8900; 5. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg, 18.9140; 6. 15CP-Carson Phillips, 18.9460; 7. 17LP-Landry Potter, 18.9650; 8. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, 18.9730; 9. 5PS-Penn Sauter, 18.9850; 10. 71ME-Mark Eswein, 19.0180; 11. 66KK-Kendrick Kreyer, 19.0230; 12. 17BB-Billy Braun, 19.0350; 13. 6TR-Thayran Rezin, 19.0650; 14. 14GB-Grant Brown, 19.0660; 15. 18BL-Brady Liddle, 19.0690; 16. 11RS-Randy Sargent, 19.0690; 17. 5RR-Robbie Rucks, 19.0970; 18. 11JL-Josh Lundy, 19.1320; 19. 61SR-Steve Rubeck, 19.1480; 20. 88RC-Rick Corso, 19.1890; 21. 19RO-Ronald Osborne, 19.2010; 22. 08MB-Mahlon Borntreger, 19.2390; 23. 90MG-Michael Guderski, 19.2400; 24. 5NE-Noah Eisenhower, 19.2620; 25. 13BL-Brandon Laing, 19.2710; 26. 39CM-Colton Morgan, 19.2910; 27. 3LO-Laney Osborne, 19.3280; 28. 61FB-Franc Beldowski, 19.3320; 29. 70BB-Brady Bill, 19.3470; 30. 10NB-Nick Beaver, 19.3960; 31. 9BB-Braison Bennett, 19.4020; 32. 52SR-Shane Radtke Jr., 19.4390; 33. 28DB-Drew Bernhagen, 19.5000; 34. 08DS-Dennis Smith Jr, 19.5020; 35. 52CH-Cole Howard, 19.5200; 36. 10DM-Danny Mann, 19.6700; 37. 52MS-Max Steinhorst, 19.7200; 38. 2DS-Del Schuler, 19.9850; 39. 41JT-Jim Taylor, 20.4110
Big 8 Late Models – Qualifier 1 Top 4 Adv. to Feature 8 Laps
1. 11RS-Randy Sargent, South Beloit, IL [2], 2. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, South Beloit, IL [4], 3. 17BB-Billy Braun, Wales, WI [3], 4. 5NE-Noah Eisenhower, Freeport, IL [11], 5. 11JL-Josh Lundy, Roscoe, IL [1], 6. 3LO-Laney Osborne, Janesville, WI [6], 7. 19RO-Ronald Osborne, Fitchburg, WI [5], 8. 10NB-Nick Beaver, Farmington, MN [7], 9. 28DB-Drew Bernhagen, Markesan, WI [8], 10. 10DM-Danny Mann, Elko, MN [9], 11. 41JT-Jim Taylor, Stoughton, WI [10]
Big 8 Late Models – Qualifier 2 Top 4 Adv. to Feature 8 Laps
1. 18BL-Brady Liddle, Oregon, WI [2], 2. 71ME-Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapids, WI [4], 3. 6TR-Thayran Rezin, Tomah, WI [3], 4. 9BB-Braison Bennett, Neenah, WI [8], 5. 08MB-Mahlon Borntreger, Elroy, WI [5], 6. 13BL-Brandon Laing, South Beloit, IL [6], 7. 61FB-Franc Beldowski, Rockford, IL [7], 8. 08DS-Dennis Smith Jr, South Beloit, IL [9], 9. 52MS-Max Steinhorst, Reedsburg, WI [10], 10. 61SR-Steve Rubeck, Rockford, IL [1]
Big 8 Late Models – Qualifier 3 Top 4 Adv. to Feature 8 Laps
1. 14GB-Grant Brown, Jordan, MN [3], 2. 88RC-Rick Corso, McHenry, IL [1], 3. 5RR-Robbie Rucks, Deerfield, WI [2], 4. 66KK-Kendrick Kreyer, Wisconsin Dells, WI [4], 5. 39CM-Colton Morgan, Mazomanie, WI [6], 6. 90MG-Michael Guderski, Manchester, WI [5], 7. 52SR-Shane Radtke Jr., Johnson Creek, WI [8], 8. 70BB-Brady Bill, Reedsburg, WI [7], 9. 52CH-Cole Howard, Baraboo, WI [9], 10. 2DS-Del Schuler, Mequon, WI [10]
Big 8 Late Models – Dash 8 Laps
1. 5JM-Jeremy Miller, Rockford, IL [2], 2. 5CJ-Casey Johnson, Edgerton, WI [3], 3. XJR-Jon Reynolds Jr, Loves Park, IL [1], 4. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg, Beloit, WI [5], 5. 15CP-Carson Phillips, Edgerton, WI [6], 6. 5PS-Penn Sauter, DeForest, WI [7], 7. 14ZR-Zack Riddle, Brooklyn, WI [4], 8. 17LP-Landry Potter, Twin Lakes, WI [8]
Big 8 Late Models – Last Chance Top 2 Adv. to Feature 12 Laps
1. 19RO-Ronald Osborne, Fitchburg, WI [3], 2. 08MB-Mahlon Borntreger, Elroy, WI [4], 3. 90MG-Michael Guderski, Manchester, WI [5], 4. 13BL-Brandon Laing, South Beloit, IL [6], 5. 39CM-Colton Morgan, Mazomanie, WI [7], 6. 61FB-Franc Beldowski, Rockford, IL [9], 7. 28DB-Drew Bernhagen, Markesan, WI [13], 8. 52SR-Shane Radtke Jr., Johnson Creek, WI [12], 9. 11JL-Josh Lundy, Roscoe, IL [1], 10. 10NB-Nick Beaver, Farmington, MN [11], 11. 52CH-Cole Howard, Baraboo, WI [15], 12. 08DS-Dennis Smith Jr, South Beloit, IL [14], 13. 2DS-Del Schuler, Mequon, WI [18], 14. 61SR-Steve Rubeck, Rockford, IL [2], 15. 52MS-Max Steinhorst, Reedsburg, WI [17], 16. 41JT-Jim Taylor, Stoughton, WI [19], 17. 70BB-Brady Bill, Reedsburg, WI [10], 18. 10DM-Danny Mann, Elko, MN [16], 19. 3LO-Laney Osborne, Janesville, WI [8]
Big 8 Late Models – Feature 48 Laps
1. 2MB-Michael Bilderback, South Beloit, IL [1], 2. 5CJ-Casey Johnson, Edgerton, WI [8], 3. 14ZR-Zack Riddle, Brooklyn, WI [9], 4. 5PS-Penn Sauter, DeForest, WI [3], 5. 28BW-Bobby Wilberg, Beloit, WI [5], 6. 5JM-Jeremy Miller, Rockford, IL [7], 7. 15CP-Carson Phillips, Edgerton, WI [4], 8. 66KK-Kendrick Kreyer, Wisconsin Dells, WI [11], 9. 71ME-Mark Eswein, Wisconsin Rapids, WI [10], 10. 11RS-Randy Sargent, South Beloit, IL [15], 11. 17BB-Billy Braun, Wales, WI [12], 12. 14GB-Grant Brown, Jordan, MN [14], 13. 18BL-Brady Liddle, Oregon, WI [16], 14. 9BB-Braison Bennett, Neenah, WI [20], 15. 88RC-Rick Corso, McHenry, IL [18], 16. 5NE-Noah Eisenhower, Freeport, IL [19], 17. 6TR-Thayran Rezin, Tomah, WI [13], 18. 5RR-Robbie Rucks, Deerfield, WI [17], 19. 08MB-Mahlon Borntreger, Elroy, WI [22], 20. 19RO-Ronald Osborne, Fitchburg, WI [21], 21. 11JL-Josh Lundy, Roscoe, IL [23], 22. 17LP-Landry Potter, Twin Lakes, WI [2], 23. XJR-Jon Reynolds Jr, Loves Park, IL [6], 24. 61SR-Steve Rubeck, Rockford, IL [24]
Mid Am Racing Qualifying
1. 13SG-Scott Gardner Jr, 19.5820; 2. 4DC-Daniel Calhoun, 19.7110; 3. 28RV-Ron Vandermeir Jr, 19.7530; 4. 43CK-Connor Kosowksi, 19.8170; 5. 21RT-Rick Redig-Tackman, 19.9400; 6. 5BP-Bill Prietzel, 20.0060; 7. 6PS-Phil Speciale, 20.0800; 8. 18TS-Tim Stewart, 20.0980; 9. 99JT-Jim Thorson, 20.1820; 10. 3KB-Kyle Brick, 20.1890; 11. 32CV-Cameron Vandermeir, 20.2840; 12. 74SB-Steve Blair, 20.3050; 13. 42TH-Tytus Helgestad, 20.3190; 14. 22JV-John Ventrello, 20.4110; 15. 23CC-Cody Clubb, 20.4810; 16. 54TS-Timmy Spatz, 20.5700; 17. 66TL-Tadd LaBuda, 21.0520
Mid Am Racing – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 22JV-John Ventrello, Minooka, IL [2], 2. 18TS-Tim Stewart, Gary, IN [5], 3. 3KB-Kyle Brick, Joliet, IL [4], 4. 4DC-Daniel Calhoun, Johnsburg, IL [8], 5. 43CK-Connor Kosowksi, Chicago, IL [7], 6. 5BP-Bill Prietzel, Hubertus, WI [6], 7. 74SB-Steve Blair, Brownsburg, IN [3], 8. 54TS-Timmy Spatz, Hanover Park, IL [1]
Mid Am Racing – Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 23CC-Cody Clubb, Coal City, IL [2], 2. 28RV-Ron Vandermeir Jr, Sheridan, IL [8], 3. 13SG-Scott Gardner Jr, Dyer, IN [9], 4. 21RT-Rick Redig-Tackman, Hartford, WI [7], 5. 32CV-Cameron Vandermeir, Sheridan, IL [4], 7. 99JT-Jim Thorson, Sugar Grove, IL [5], 8. 66TL-Tadd LaBuda, Morris, IL [1], 9. 42TH-Tytus Helgestad, Edgerton, WI [3]
Mid Am Racing – Feature 30 Laps
1. 28RV-Ron Vandermeir Jr, Sheridan, IL [7], 2. 43CK-Connor Kosowksi, Chicago, IL [6], 3. 13SG-Scott Gardner Jr, Dyer, IN [9], 4. 5BP-Bill Prietzel, Hubertus, WI [4], 5. 32CV-Cameron Vandermeir, Sheridan, IL [11], 6. 6PS-Phil Speciale, Elgin, IL [3], 7. 22JV-John Ventrello, Minooka, IL [14], 8. 21RT-Rick Redig-Tackman, Hartford, WI [5], 9. 3KB-Kyle Brick, Joliet, IL [10], 10. 18TS-Tim Stewart, Gary, IN [2], 11. 23CC-Cody Clubb, Coal City, IL [15], 12. 99JT-Jim Thorson, Sugar Grove, IL [1], 13. 42TH-Tytus Helgestad, Edgerton, WI [13], 14. 74SB-Steve Blair, Brownsburg, IN [12], 15. 54TS-Timmy Spatz, Hanover Park, IL [16], 16. 4DC-Daniel Calhoun, Johnsburg, IL [8], 17. 66TL-Tadd LaBuda, Morris, IL [17]
HSRA – Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 95CT-Charlie Thompson, Hixton, WI [1], 2. 73GF-Gracie Flanagan, Oregon, WI [3], 3. 19PP-Peyton Payne, Elroy, WI [2], 4. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger, Sparta, WI [4], 5. 27XW-Xander Weeks, Sauk City, WI [5], 6. 13JM-Jackson Martindale, Stillman Valley, IL [6]
HSRA – Feature 15 Laps
1. 73GF-Gracie Flanagan, Oregon, WI [2], 2. 34KK-Kennedy Krueger, Sparta, WI [3], 3. 19PP-Peyton Payne, Elroy, WI [1], 4. 13JM-Jackson Martindale, Stillman Valley, IL [5], 5. 95CT-Charlie Thompson, Hixton, WI [4], 6. 27XW-Xander Weeks, Sauk City, WI [6]