OREGON, Wis. — Some of the top Super Late Model drivers will have their sights set on the $15,000 top prize at Madison International Speedway (MIS) this Sunday, May 1, when the ‘Stars and Cars’ of the ARCA Midwest Tour are joined by 2003 NASCAR Cup Champion Matt Kenseth for the Joe Shear Classic 200 presented by Keen Parts.
The 28-car starting field will include headline makers from across the Midwest in a 200-lap contest paying tribute to one of the finest short track racers.
Joining the Super Late Models will be the Midwest Trucks and 602 Outlaw Late Models.
This event will be broadcast live by SPEED SPORT affiliate, MidwestTour.tv.
Names To Watch:
Luke Fenhaus
Last Sunday, Fenhaus swept the day at Slinger Super Speedway, setting the fast time, winning his qualifying feature and then he was the first to race under the checkered flag in the 75-lap finale, securing his first ARCA Midwest Tour feature win.
2021 Slinger Super Speedway Track Champion, Midwest Tour point runner-up, and rookie of the year.
He finished second to Marco Andretti in Slinger SRX action, a race he earned a start in by winning the Slinger Nationals.
Casey Johnson
No driver may have carried more speed than Johnson to end the 2021 Midwest Tour season and he does not appear to have slowed down.
Johnson was second last Sunday at Slinger. The two-time tour champion won the Howie Lettow Classic at MIS last August and LaCrosse’s Oktoberfest.
Johnson has amassed two championships at Wisconsin International, three at Jefferson, two in Big 8, two Tundra titles, six Wisconsin State Championships, the 2013 and 2016 MIS Triple Crowns and two National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway.
Matt Kenseth
Kenseth returns to MIS to compete for the first time ever in the Joe Shear Classic.
The 1994 Madison International Speedway Track Champion has 27 career Super Late Model wins at MIS, including his lone tour victory.
Kenseth will make his first Super Late Model start since leading and eventually finishing fourth during the Howie Lettow Classic at MIS in August, 2019.
The 2003 NASCAR Cup Champion is slated to compete in Sunday’s Joe Shear Classic, the Slinger Nationals and three SRX events this summer.
Kenseth’s son Ross won the Joe Shear Classic in 2011, the race is named after one of the eldest Kenseth’s mentors in racing.
Shaun Scheel
Last May he made his first Midwest Tour start and he is back for more at this year’s Shear Classic.
Shaun Scheel won back to back Championships at Jefferson Speedway in 2019 and 2020 after claiming the Late Model title at Slinger in 2018.
Scheel has scored three feature victories at Madison including one last season, and has finished fifth and fourth in the point standings the last two seasons.
Derek Kraus
The youngest winner in Midwest Tour history returns to his Midwest roots again this weekend, after charging from fifteenth to fourth last Sunday.
Currently in the mix of contenders each week in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the former K&N West Series Champion is quickly making a name for himself in the NASCAR Garage.
Kraus is currently twelfth in the Truck standings, less than 75 markers out of the top five. Kraus has two top fives to start his Super Late Model racing season.
Gabe Sommers
Sommers recorded his breakthrough win at the Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway in 2019.
He went on to become the 2019 Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year and backed up that effort with a runner-up points finish in 2020 and fifth a season ago.
A winner last June at California’s Irwindale Speedway, the young driver placed second at Milwaukee on Father’s Day in 2021.
Sommers found himself in a battle with NASCAR Cup Series winner William Byron during the 2022 World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway in February, eventually finishing second.
Levon VanDerGeest
VanDerGeest became the youngest winner in Milwaukee Mile history when he rolled to the Midwest Truck Series victory on Father’s Day in 2019.
Levon went on to become the 2019 Truck Champion and finished second in the 2021 ARCA Midwest Tour rookie of the year standings.
Levon started 2022 on the right foot, qualifying tenth at Slinger, finishing third in his qualifying feature and overcoming oil pressure issues to finish ninth last Sunday.
Levon has one Midwest Truck Series victory at MIS coming in August, 2019.
Mark Lamoreaux
Some drivers are referred to as veteran drivers, but few in the field can say they won a track championship in the 70’s and the 90’s.
Having won the title at Elko Speedway in 1976 and then becoming the final CWRA Champion at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in 1991, Lamoreaux has numerous wins at those two tracks as well as Raceway Park in Shakopee, MN.
The Minnesota native intends to run the full Midwest Tour schedule in 2022.
Carson Kvapil
The CARS Super Late Champion and current CARS Tour Late Model Stock point leader returns to the Midwest in search for his second big payday of the young season.
Carson Kvapil won his first ever tour start in August of 2018 at Golden Sands and hasn’t stopped winning around the country since.
The eldest of 1996 MIS Champion Travis Kvapil’s sons, Carson was signed to drive for JR Motorsports this season and kicked the season off by winning the Old North State Nationals at Caraway Speedway.
Andrew Morrissey
His tour starts are few and far between these days as the 2011 Midwest Tour Champion has positioned himself as one of the top setup men in the region.
Sunday, Morrissey chases his third Joe Shear Classic, having won the event in 2012 and again in 2017.
The 2018 Oktoberfest winner has five Midwest Tour wins in his career and trails only Jonathan Eilen in career starts.
His MIS record includes twelve Super Late Model wins and he holds the all-time track record at MIS in a Late Model, turning a lap of 16.639 second, 108.180 MPH in an Outlaw Late Model in 2017.
Jonathan Eilen
Having to use a provisional to make the starting field last Sunday, you’d never have known it by the end of 75 laps at Slinger.
Eilen was the hard charger of the race, charging his way to an eighth place effort after starting 21st.
The 2012 ARCA Midwest Tour Champion and 2007 Tour rookie of the year has a total of five career feature victories including the first ever tour event in 2007 held at his home track, Elko Speedway.
Eilen, who is seventh on the all-time wins list will make his 144th tour start on Sunday.
Eilen has one Super Late Model win at Madison in 2019 and also has a Mid-American Stock Car win at MIS in 2005.
Ty Majeski
Recording his fifth ARCA Midwest Tour Championship in 2021, the all-time tour win leader will run a partial schedule in 2022 when his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule allows.
He was the fast qualifier for the Trucks at Daytona and has a season-best finish of third at Atlanta.
Majeski recorded his record fifth Rattler 250 victory in March at South Alabama Speedway and continues to be amongst the elite in Super Late Models.
Majeski has 29 tour wins and won the 2020 Snowball Derby.
He rallied to a third place tour finish as Slinger last week and seeks his second Joe Shear Classic win this Sunday.
Keyword: Kenseth, Fenhaus Headline Midwest Tour Joe Shear Classic