American Speed Association: From a royal wedding in Munich, Germany, to four days of racing at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway

MIDWEST RACERS CELEBRATE THE 41ST ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST WEEKEND

October 7, 2010 – On October 12th, 1810, a royal wedding took place between Crown Prince Ludwig (King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in Munich, Germany. The citizens of Munich celebrated the royal event with horse races in the presence of the royal family.

In 1810, it was such a highly celebrated event, it was decided to repeat the horse races in the years following, giving rise to the tradition of Oktoberfest. In 1818, small beer stands were set up and grew rapidly in number. By 1896, beer stands were replaced with beer tents, which soon overtook the bulk of the Oktoberfest event, and is now the world’s largest annual beer festival.

It may be a different kind of racing and the beer might be of a different variety, but Oktoberfest weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway carries on its own version of the Munich, Germany celebration. It is the Midwest racing world’s largest annual event.

2010 marks the 200th anniversary of the original Munich, Germany Oktoberfest, and the 41st anniversary of the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway event. What was once a two-day event, has now grown to a full four days of racing action, and one of the most popular camper villages in racing history.

In Munich, Germany, Oktoberfest started as one celebration and has grown to be one of the biggest celebrated events in the world. Each celebration has its own atmosphere and activities that surround it.

From pumpkin coloring contests for the kids, pet costume parades, live after-race entertainment, lots of food, and of course, beer, the La Crosse Fairgrounds Oktoberfest tradition continues to grow each and every year, and the American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and grandstay.net is proud to be a part of it.

This will be the fourth year of participation for the ASAMT. Dan Fredrickson was crowned the Oktoberfest Champion in both 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Travis Sauter added his family name to the history books. With the competition as fierce as it has ever been, who will take home the title of the 2010 Champion?

Camper village has been open since Monday morning and the spots are quickly filling up. Race cars will be hitting the track at 10:30AM this morning, and the roar of the engines and smell of race gas will not end until the 2010 ASAMT Oktoberfest Champion is crowned on Sunday afternoon.

What started 200 years ago in Munich, Germany in celebration of marriage, has reached across the continents and landed in West Salem, WI. For information on all that is taking place this weekend, click on http://www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com/pdfs/10fanInfo_01.pdf.

To learn more about the American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and GrandStay Residential Suites Hotels and Crossings by GrandStay Inn & Suites, log on to http://www.asamidwesttour.com or call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (262) 514-3880 or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.

If you would like to learn more about the ASAMT series sponsors, please visit their websites: Kwik Trip, Inc. (http://www.kwiktrip.com), ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment (http://www.echo-usa.com), and GrandStay Residential Suites Hotels and Crossings by GrandStay Inn & Suites (http://www.grandstay.net).

To learn more about the Midwest Sportsman Tour log on to http://www.asamidwestsportsman.com.

To learn more about the ASA Midwest Truck Tour log on to http://www.asamidwesttrucks.com.

To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association® Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association®, visit http://www.asaracing.com.

ASA®, ASA Racing®, and American Speed Association® are registered trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. ASA International, LLC or Racing Speed Associates, LLC are not related to or affiliated with the ASA Late Model Series.