A bizarre Kings Royal came to a close at roughly 430am local time in Rossburg, OH, and after an extremely long night at the track, Kerry Madsen charged from 18th aboard his Keneric Racing/American Racing No. 29 machine to finish in the ninth spot.

“It was a strange night of racing, that is for sure,” Kerry Madsen said. “We had some wild weather come through, and the track staff did a great job of saving the surface and getting the show in.”

57 cars checked in for the 32nd annual Kings Royal at the famed Eldora Speedway, and Madsen qualified 6th fastest overall before working his way to third in his heat race.

With a unique format in play for this prestigious event, Madsen would lineup 18th for the 40-lap A Main aboard the Keneric Racing/American Racing entry, as he looked to become to first repeat winner of the event.

The green flag would eventually drop on the feature event just before 4am local time, and considering the amount of rain the track was in great shape. Though it did not get nearly as slick as many have become accustomed to, it still allowed for Madsen to work his way forward.

Picking up what he could over the duration of the 40-lap A Main, Madsen would close the Kings Royal out with a ninth place finish.

“We were good in our heat, but the format did not play out to our advantage and we were not good enough to come from 18th and win,” Madsen admitted.

The big weekend kicked off on Friday night for the Knight Before the Kings Royal and Madsen was able to time in fourth fastest in his qualifying flight. Starting on the front row of his heat race, the St. Marys, NSW driver would pick up the win and move into the Dash.

Charging from sixth to third in the Dash, Madsen would line his Keneric Racing/American Racing/KPC backed entry up in the third row for the 30-lap feature event.

Tightening his machine up for the feature event in preparations for a slick track, the Eldora Speedway would not quite do what Madsen and company thought and the 2014 Kings Royal Champion would slip back a few positions.

When the checkered flag flew on the race, Madsen would cross the stripe with an eighth place finish.

“It was not the Kings Royal weekend we had hoped for, but it was still a solid weekend for our team,” Madsen said. “ I have to thank my guys for sticking with me and working hard on a strange night on Saturday, and have to again thank the Gavranich family for all they do for this team, and the American Racing Custom Wheels team for their continued support.”

2015 BY THE NUMBERS- Starts-63, Wins-6, Top-5’s-33, Top 10’s-55

ON TAP: Madsen and the Keneric Racing/American Racing team are back in action tonight for the Don Martin Memorial, Friday and Saturday at the Williams Grove Speedway, and on Sunday at the Lebanon Valley Raceway.