Mahder Making Most of Rookie Run

Rocco Maintains NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Lead

Daytona Beach, FL — When the regional touring series Chad Mahder ran last year in Iowa closed down, he went looking for something closer to home. The 25-year-old from Eou Claire, Wisc., found it in the form of Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisc.

He also found plenty of success.

Mahder, who is coming off a weekend where he finished first and third in twin features, has six wins and nine top fives in 12 races in his first year running in a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Feature Division. That has him leading the track’s Impact Printing Late Model Division, fifth in the Wisconsin state standings and, at 40th in the national standings, Mahder is the highest rookie.

The Rookie of the Year Award presented by Jostens is open to any first-year NASCAR Feature Division license holder and is awarded on the U.S. state and Canadian provincial level as well as to the highest finishing rookie in the nation. California’s Jacob Gomes won the national Rookie of the Year last year.

“Once things started clicking, they were really clicking,” said Mahder of his success this year.

The same can be said for Keith Rocco, who picked up his 18th win of the season last Saturday at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl and moved within two races of a perfect season. The 25-year-old from Wallingford, Conn., has led NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national points standings the entire season. Sixteen of the 18 wins Rocco has collected at the three Connecticut short tracks he’s run on a regular basis – Thompson International Speedway on Thursdays, Stafford Motor Speedway on Fridays, and Waterford on Saturdays – have come with a maximum field of 20 cars for 45 points.

Of the 18 races that will count toward his NASCAR points total that he can still improve on, was a 43-point (19-car) win at Thompson on April 10 and a 39-point (17-car) win at Thompson on May 27.

Overall, Rocco has 18 wins, 28 top fives and 35 top 10s in 38 starts for 802 points.

A driver’s best 18 results through Sunday, Sept. 19 are counted toward their state and national points totals, and the champions are decided on overall points total.

Under the points structure for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the race winner received two points for every car in the event up to 20. Second place received two fewer points, and so-on through the field. Race winners received an additional five bonus points. For example, if there are 20 cars, the winner received 45 points, second gets 38 and third 36. If there are 15 cars, the winner received 35 points, second gets 28 and third, 26.

Craig Preble of Yuma, Neb., improved his second-place total to 769 points. He had a pair of wins this past weekend – one with a maximum field – in the crate dirt Late Model division on Saturday at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., and at I-80 Speedway in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday.

Preble has 19 wins, 29 top fives and 29 top 10s in 30 starts.

NATIONAL TOP 500 | STATE/PROVINCE TOP 20

Justin Johnson, of Durham, N.C., did not race and remains third at 701 points. He has 11 wins, 16 top fives and 19 top 10s in 20 races in the asphalt Late Model divisions at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va.

CE Falk III swept the asphalt Late Model features at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., to move up to fourth with 668 points, and Ted Christopher – who competes at Thompson and Stafford on a weekly basis – is fifth with 663.

Matt Buller and Bill Leighton Jr., who race against at Junction and I-80, are sixth and seventh, respectively. Defending national champion Philip Morris jumped to eighth with his win at Motor Mile Saturday, while Duane Howard of Bechtesville, Penn., and Greg Edwards of Langley round out the top 10.

Mahder is also looking to close the season strong. He added a three-hour commute to Superior (Wisc.) Speedway to his race calendar in hopes of picking up points in pursuit of the Wisconsin state title. While he’s 98 points behind leader Steve Carlson, Mahder has run three fewer races.

In the past, Mahder had only run a select schedule at Cedar Lake while competing at various dirt tracks.

“This year I went up there and decided I would run there every week,” said Mahder, who added the secret to running well at the .375-mile high-banked clay oval is simple. “You’ve got to have no fear. You have to be able to run right against the wall and not worry about running into it. … Cedar Lake has probably the toughest competition we have in the area here.”

Mahder has a 59-point lead over second-place Brent Larson, who won the 2008 NASCAR Wisconsin state title. Mike Nutzman is third in points, followed closely by defending track champion Rick Egersdorf.

Mahder, who has been racing for six years, maintains a fairly small operation. A machinist at Wisconsin Metal Fab Inc., in Chippewa Falls, Wisc., Mahder and his brother, Shawn, maintain the car at their parents’ house and have an additional assist from friend Steve Hoffmeister on weekends. Mahder’s dad, Duane, is a former racer who retired last fall and drives the truck to the track.

In addition to honoring track champions, NASCAR will crown 25 U.S. state and Canadian provincial champions, continuing a tradition that dates back to the sport’s early years.

Track, state and provincial champions and the top three finishers in the national standings earn invitations to the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet. The winner of the national championship will also earn a secure spot in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR PR

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