Kaukauna, WI- The list of local Fox River Racing Club drivers that have won the Gandrud Auto Group 250 is short. Scott Hansen, that’s the list. Calling Green Bay home, he won the 1993 running of the annual race event which will take place again this Tuesday night August 4 at Wisconsin International Raceway. The five-time WIR Champion Hansen beat Michigan’s Butch Miller and Wisconsin’s Bryan Reffner to the checkered flag that night. Now current FRRC Point Leader Bobby Kendall, another five-time Champ in Jeff Van Oudenhoven and 2017 Champion Andy Monday are amongst the local contingent that look to keep the trophy and $10,000 winner’s check in the area as drivers from around the nation come to Kaukauna for the ARCA Midwest Tour special event to take on the region’s best drivers Tuesday night.
Bobby Kendall is on a bit of a streak right now, two of them depending on how you look at it. The first is a streak of top ten finishes in the Gandrud Auto Group 250 events dating back to 2016 when he finished third. Since then he has been 9th, 6th and 8th last season. While that one is nice to talk about, the one that has caught the attention of his fellow competitors is the three-win race streak the Montello driver has put together. The current FRRC point leader has been dominant the past three weeks on Thursday nights, and now he brings the hot hand into Tuesday night’s event against an all-star cast of short track drivers from around the nation. There is a buzz building around Kendall’s chances of winning on the big stage at his home track. Kendall is a two time Red, White and Blue State Champion at WIR in 2017-18.
Jeff Van Oudenhoven has the third best finish of any FRRC in the last five years during the 250, trailing only Kendall’s third place effort in 2016 and early season FRRC point leader Brent Strelka, who finished third in 2018 and is also entered for Tuesday night. JVO as he is known locally, finished fifth following 250 circuits in 2017 and his team once again has this event circled on their calendar. A five-time FRRC Champion that also has 3 Red, White and Blue Championships to his credit as well as a three-time Midwest Allstar Racing Series Champion. While traveling with the MARS Series he won at the monster half mile at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO.
2017 FRRC Champion Andy Monday has been part of the traveling crew for last year’s second place Gandrud Auto Group 250 finisher John DeAngelis, Jr in addition to his FRRC racing endeavors. Monday will once again climb behind the wheel of his family owned #10 on Tuesday night. Other notable FRRC favorites entered are former event winner and two-time FRRC Champion Casey Johnson from Edgerton, two-time Red, White and Blue Champion Maxwell Schultz, Grant Griesbach, Dixieland Delight Winner Braison Bennett, Corey Manders, Tim Springstroh, mainstays Pete and Trevor Vandermolen, as well as part time NASCAR truck driver Louis Goss from Green Bay.
Advance discount tickets for the Gandrud Auto Group 250 are $20 and can be purchased online at www.midwesttour.racing through August 3. Tickets will also be available on race day at the gate for $25. Spectator gates open at 4pm, qualifying will begin at 5pm with the first race at 7pm during the Tuesday Night August 4 Special Event at Wisconsin International Raceway. As a reminder, masks are recommended but not required for outdoor events in the state of Wisconsin.
A 28 car field is scheduled to start ‘Wisconsin’s Richest One Day Race’ which pays $10,000 to the winner of the 250 lap event and $1,200 to start. Drivers from ten states and Canada are expected to attempt to make the starting grid including defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch. The Midwest Truck Series will join the ARCA Midwest Tour with the trucks contesting a 35 lap feature event.
