By Jordan Kuehne

WEST SALEM, Wis. (Saturday, October 10, 2009) -- Ross Kenseth ended his historical season on a fitting note, going wire-to-wire to collect his record-setting fifth series victory of the year and collecting the 2009 BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet championship. Kenseth took home the title by 149 points over two-time defending champion Jeremy Miller. The 16-year-old phenom held off a hard-charging Skylar Holzhausen for his record seventh career series victory, fending off the second generation driver's late challenge to find victory lane in the 'Oktoberfest 48' at the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway tonight. Kenseth jumped out front on lap one and held off Holzhausen and Jeremy Lepak's efforts, triumphing over the 26-car field and finding his way to the winner's circle again. Holzhausen challenged Kenseth on the inside over the closing laps but couldn't make the move stick, settling for the bridesmaid's position.

A prevalent theme in the 2009 BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet season continued tonight as 16-year-old rising star Ross Kenseth jumped out front early, snatching the top spot away from Jeremy Lepak in the beginning stages of the ‘Oktoberfest 48’ at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Lepak settled into the second spot while third place Kris Kelly slowly closed up on his back bumper.

Kenseth was still out front when a multicar pileup on the front stretch collected six cars on lap 10 bringing out the red flag and ending the nights of Andrew Kulka, Shayne Poehnelt and Jay Foster prematurely. Scott Broughton, Brady Liddle and Dan Ryan found themselves making repairs in the pits before rejoining the field in the back.

On the restart, Kenseth grabbed a three-car length advantage over Lepak as Kris Kelly began to put the pressure on for second. Skylar Holzhausen continued to work his way through the field from his seventh place starting position, using the outside groove to drive by Ty Reedy for fourth.

The caution flew as Lepak and Kelly battled for second, as Adam Degenhardt’s machine came to a screeching halt in turn one with 17 laps in the books. When the green flag flew, Holzhausen maintained his assault on the 26-car field, turning the heat up on Kelly for third, working the bottom of the track to take the position away. Holzhausen wasn’t done, immediately blowing past Lepak for second exiting turn four with 20 laps remaining.

Kelly followed Skylar Holzhausen, pushing past Lepak on the inside to take away third. With Holzhausen’s sights set squarely on the leader, Kenseth’s lead began to slowly evaporate with 12 laps to go. A break came for Holzhausen with 11 laps remaining, as the caution flew for a spin by two-time defending champion Jeremy Miller in turn two, placing the second generation driver on Kenseth’s back bumper.

Holzhausen had a great restart, immediately putting pressure on the leader, peeking on the inside of Kenseth before another caution bunched the field back up. Holzhausen wasted no time, battling on the inside of Kenseth for the lead as Kelly tried to make it a three car breakaway up front.

Kenseth managed to find a little breathing room with five laps to go as Kelly dropped back in third. Holzhausen made a last ditch effort, trying to push past Kenseth on the inside for the win but the young driver couldn’t make the move work, forcing him to settle for the bridesmaid’s position.

Ross Kenseth held on for the victory, tacking on to his record-setting season with his fifth win of the year, breaking the career series wins mark with his seventh BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet triumph. Kenseth’s coronation ended with the crown as he wrapped up the championship on Super Saturday at Oktoberfest.

“The car was great from the start,” stated an excited Kenseth in victory lane. “I really tightened up when Skylar got behind me, but I rolled through the corners and got it done like we have all year. Five wins is great, this whole year has been great. With the caliber of drivers in this series, five wins is awesome. It feels great to be the champion and to finish what we started, to get it done. I have to thank my family and my team for supporting me and helping make this possible. It was a great year from start to finish.”

A tired Skylar Holzhausen accepted second but wanted just a little bit more. “It’s nice to finish second,” Holzhausen admitted after the race. “It would feel a little bit better to be first. I thought we had something for Ross at the end there but I just couldn’t quite get by him. I wasn’t going to wreck anyone to win, so we’ll take second.”

Kelly managed a solid third while Jeremy Lepak held on for fourth. Fast qualifier Steve Rubeck rallied from his tenth place starting spot to round out the top five in fifth.

For more information on the BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet, please visit the series website at www.big8series.com.

Big 8 Series Late Models

A-Main 01 -- 1. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley; 2. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 3. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 4. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, Wis; 5. Steve Rubeck, Monroe Center; 6. Ty Reedy, Holmen, Wis; 7. Mike Ehde, Prairie du Chien, Wis; 8. Zach Riddle, Brooklyn, Wis; 9. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 10. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 11. Davey Pennel, Sparta, Wis; 12. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 13. Corey Jankowski, Tomah, Wis; 14. Todd Oliver, Bangor, Wis; 15. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis; 16. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 17. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 18. Brad Powell, LaCrosse, Wis; 19. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 20. Dan Pat Ryan, Farmington, Minn.; 21. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 22. Doug Brown, Prior Lake, Minn.; 23. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, Wis; 24. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 25. Jay Foster, Sycamore; 26. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis.

Last Chance "A" 01 -- 1. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 2. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 3. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis; 4. Doug Brown, Prior Lake, Minn.; 5. Jay Foster, Sycamore; 6. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 7. Rod Brewe, Appleton, Wis; 8. Danny Heying, Waukesha, Wis; 9. Cliff Rucks, Deerfield, Wis; 10. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 11. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 12. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale; 13. Jody Krueger, Edgerton, Wis; 14. Mark Brooner, Warrens, Wis; 15. Rick DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis; 16. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 17. Jesse Bernhagen, Markesan, Wis; 18. Rob Myers, Hartford, Wis; 19. Jon Lemke, Greenfield, Minn.; 20. Brent Kirchner, Lacrosse, Wis; 21. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 22. Dann Barber, Oregon, Wis; 23. Andy Niles, Holmen, Wis; 24. Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, Wis; 25. Matthew Henderson, Coon Valley, Wis; 26. Travis Stanley, Prior Lake, Minn.; 27. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis.

Heat 01 -- 1. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 2. Dan Pat Ryan, Farmington, Minn.; 3. Doug Brown, Prior Lake, Minn.; 4. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis; 5. Danny Heying, Waukesha, Wis; 6. Cliff Rucks, Deerfield, Wis; 7. Rob Myers, Hartford, Wis; 8. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale; 9. Rick DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis; 10. Travis Stanley, Prior Lake, Minn.; 11. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis.

Heat 02 -- 1. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, Wis; 2. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis; 3. Jesse Bernhagen, Markesan, Wis; 4. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 5. Jay Foster, Sycamore; 6. Brent Kirchner, Lacrosse, Wis; 7. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 8. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 9. Dann Barber, Oregon, Wis; 10. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 11. Jody Krueger, Edgerton, Wis.

Heat 03 -- 1. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 2. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 3. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 4. Andy Niles, Holmen, Wis; 5. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 6. Steve Lichtfeld, Pardeeville, Wis; 7. Jon Lemke, Greenfield, Minn.; 8. Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, Wis; 9. Matthew Henderson, Coon Valley, Wis; 10. Mark Brooner, Warrens, Wis; 11. Rod Brewe, Appleton, Wis.

Time Trial -- 1. Steve Rubeck, Monroe Center; 2. Jeremy Miller, Rockton; 3. Adam Degenhardt, LaCrosse, Wis; 4. Mike Ehde, Prairie du Chien, Wis; 5. Skylar Holzhausen, Bangor, Wis; 6. Brad Powell, LaCrosse, Wis; 7. Todd Oliver, Bangor, Wis; 8. Ty Reedy, Holmen, Wis; 9. Kris Kelly, Norway, Mich.; 10. Ross Kenseth, Spring Valley; 11. Jeremy Lepak, Ringle, Wis; 12. Corey Jankowski, Tomah, Wis; 13. Davey Pennel, Sparta, Wis; 14. Zach Riddle, Brooklyn, Wis; 15. Dan Pat Ryan, Farmington, Minn.; 16. Jesse Bernhagen, Markesan, Wis; 17. Jimmy Dragich, Germantown, Wis; 18. Cliff Rucks, Deerfield, Wis; 19. Rich Schumann Jr., Portage, Wis; 20. Todd Korish, Holmen, Wis; 21. Kyle Shear, Roscoe; 22. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis; 23. Scott Broughton, Stoughton, Wis; 24. Danny Heying, Waukesha, Wis; 25. Jacob Finney, Sycamore; 26. Rod Brewe, Appleton, Wis; 27. Shayne Poehnelt, Spring Green, Wis; 28. John Baumeister, Jr., Lake Geneva, Wis; 29. Andrew Kulka, Deerfield, Wis; 30. Travis Stanley, Prior Lake, Minn.; 31. Jay Foster, Sycamore; 32. Steve Lichtfeld, Pardeeville, Wis; 33. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis; 34. Ed Szelagowski Jr, Westfield, Wis; 35. Matthew Henderson, Coon Valley, Wis; 36. Doug Brown, Prior Lake, Minn.; 37. Brent Kirchner, Lacrosse, Wis; 38. Andy Niles, Holmen, Wis; 39. Rob Myers, Hartford, Wis; 40. Dann Barber, Oregon, Wis; 41. Jon Lemke, Greenfield, Minn.; 42. Vern Fagerberg, Bloomingdale; 43. Jody Krueger, Edgerton, Wis; 44. Mark Brooner, Warrens, Wis; 45. Rick DeVito, Camp Douglas, Wis; 46. Tim Sargent, South Beloit; 47. Scott Ollerman, Sun Prairie, Wis; 48. Jimmy Ganski, Rosholt, Wis; 49. Brady Liddle, Oregon, Wis; 50. Tony Leis, Onalaska, Wis; 51. Jonny Hentges, Jordan, Minn.; 52. Chris Eggleston, Erie, Colo..