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Speedweeks 2018Speedweeks 2018

Inside...

March 2018

Smooth Sam

Talkin' Racin'

The Dean of Dirt Tracks

Page 2March 2018

Page 3 March 2018

Dan Plan

March 2018

P.O. Box 22111St. Paul MN, 55122

651-451-4036www.theracingconnection.com

PublisherDan Plan

Contributing WritersDale P. DanielskiJacklyn Daniels-NuttlemanJason SearcyDean RellerCharlie Spry

PhotographersJim Ambruoso (815-623-3200)Jeff Blaser (715-498-7544)Martin DeFries (651-346-1199)TJ Harron (608-301-5258)Doug Hornickel (920-563-0993)Tom Loos (715-370-7895)Mark Melchiori (414-463-0131)Bruce Nuttleman (612-860-6622)Vince Peterson (612-419-6372)Mary Schill/Forte Design (608-792-1317)Jerry Zimmer (715-792-2174)

The Midwest Racing Connection is published six timesduring the summer racing season by The Plan Company,Inc. All material is copyrighted 2017 and may not bereprinted without permission. Subscriptions are $20 forsix issues. Call 651-451-4036.

Cover photos by: Kim Kemperman, Bruce Nuttleman,Adam Oxborough and Dan Plan

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Racing Accordingto Plan

Publisher's NoteSpeedweeks Inside & Out

continued on page 4

This year was my 5th consecutive year attendingSpeedweeks. Each year I look forward to seeing shorttrack action and visiting with friends. This column willconsist of random thoughts and highlights ofSpeedweeks 2018.

I’ve always wanted to see the race carsrun down the beach on the historicbeach/road course. This year was thefirst year I was able to get out of bed intime to make the event. The cars startout at the historic North Turn restaurant,head one mile down highway A1A, makea left on to the beach and then head onemile back up the beach. I can onlyimagine what it was like to see these carsrunning at speed on the beach back in theday.

One night at New Smyrna, I had a niceconversation with a gentleman standingby Derek Kraus’ car in the upper pits.

After 10 minutes or so, he mentioned he was Derek’sgrandfather. It’s always nice to meet someone andjust have a good conversation about racing.

While strolling through the pits at Volusia for theWorld of Outlaws Late Model show, I came acrosspast ARCA Midwest Tour champion DannyFredrickson and defending LaCrosse Late Modelchampion Nick Panitzke. They were on hand toprovide help to Brent Larson. Pretty cool to seecrossover between the dirt and pavement guys.

The crowds at Volusia were phenomenal once againthis year. It’s hard not to draw a comparison betweenthe crowds at Volusia and New Smyrna, but you haveto keep one thing in mind. There are probably 10 timesthe number of dirt tracks compared to asphalt tracks.The pool of dirt short track fans is much larger thanthe pool of asphalt short track fans.

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Dan Plan photo

Page 4March 2018

The coolest thing I spotted at Volusia was theBatmobile East Coast Modified piloted by Gary “HotShoe” Balough in the spectator area. Balough was oneof the guys I remember from New Smyrna on my firsttrip to Speedweeks with my dad in 1979. Gary and thiscar turned Modified racing upside down back in the1980’s. He was on hand promoting an upcoming bookrelease. The book is titled “My Checkered Past” andis a book I’ll definitely want to get my hands on.

I had just limited knowledge of Wisconsin’s SammyMayer prior to Speedweeks this year. The kid looks tohave genuine talent. He didn’t win any races, but kepthis nose clean and ran up front every night. Sammywas leading on the final night, only to come up a fewpoints shy to Stephen Nasse.

I attended the Promoters Workshopon Monday of Speedweek. It’salways interesting to listen to thegroup of people that are doing whatthey can to keep short track racingalive and well. Despite what manyfans and racers may think aboutpromoters, these guys get togetherto try and make things better foreveryone. It was great to see GreggMckarns (and Angie) pick up one ofthe regional promoter of the yearawards and Steve Beitler pick upthe overall award. Having knownGregg for many years now, andreading about Beitler all of theseyears, it was fitting they were givenawards for their hard work.

Nights 1 and 2 at New Smyrna sawPaul Shafer Jr. run up front andnearly pick up a win. Shafer wasstrong every night he competed in,with his limited appearances due toschool back home. I swear hepicked up at least 2 tenths by cuttinghis hair.

Cole Anderson simply dominatedthe Pro Lates at New Smryna. Tosteal a quote from Dan Fredrickson,he made it look easy.

Late in 2017, the East Coast lostlegendary Modified driver TeddyChristopher. It was awesome to seeseveral cars paying tribute toTeddy.

It’s not often somebody from theupper Midwest gets a shot to run atDaytona, and even less frequentthey can run up front. Being onhand to see Natalie Decker start on

the pole at Daytona and end upin 5th place was a specialmoment.

And finally, my post race groupconsists of several people frommy home state of Minnesota. Ihad known of the Larson/Barta/McGinnis/Johnson group fromthe tracks back home, but onlymet them in person for the firsttime 5 years ago at Daytona.The after race activities withthese guys are truly the highlightof my visit each year these days.Hanging out with Bruce, Greg,Denny, Danno and Ross eachnight leads to plenty of storiesthat are not suitable for print.

Racing According to Plan from page 3

Teddy Christopher tribute during theWorld Series, Garty Balough's

Batmobile on display at Volusia,Gregg McKarns name up in lights atthe RPM Workshop, Natalie Decker'sVenturini ride at Daytona and Paul

Shafer Jr. after another podium run atNew Smyrna Speedway

Dan Plan photos

Page 5 March 2018

Annual Swap MeetApril 28, 2018

Page 6March 2018

Mike "Lumpy" LemkeMike "Lumpy" LemkeMike “Lumpy” Lemke, theoriginal and only Tech Directorfor the ARCA Midwest Tour,our fellow employee and friend,passed away at 12:10am Sunday,February 25th after a briefillness.

Lumpy was instrumental in thedevelopment and growth of theTour since it’s inception in 2007.

With his unique character andastute knowledge of the rules,Lumpy’s rule packages helpedcreate the excellent racing thatfans and teams enjoyed being apart of for 11 seasons. Alwaysmaking sure his tech staffprovided a friendly and funenvironment when cars rolledthrough the tech line at eachevent.

He especially took the time togive special attention to theteam’s children knowing theywill be the next generation to keep short trackracing moving forward.

Along with the Midwest Tour, he was alsoserving the same duty with the Midwest TruckSeries, State Park Speedway, Norway Speedway,and Marshfield Motor Speedway.

He was also the lead tech official for theOktoberfest Race Weekend at the La CrosseFairgrounds Speedway.

Lumpy started his tech career in the early 80’swhen he partnered up with longtime friend BobAbitz and would share the tech duties atWisconsin International Raceway, along with

working on race teams. In 1984, both focused on beinga tech official full-time at the track and soon after washired by Wayne Erickson at Slinger Super Speedwayand the career took off from there all the way up tohis death where he was still working on the 2018season.

Not only was his expertise used at the track, but allaround the USA as part of the ABC Body Committee,developing the LST and ACE engine packages andmore.

He was a huge advocate of trying to getting the SuperLate Model rules close for all competitors with othertop Super Late Model Series across the United Statesand Canada.

He also served as a tech advisorfor ASA Racing.

In 2010, he was the Tech Directorfor the ASA Free State 500 at thePhakisa Freeway track locatesoutside of Welkom, Free State,South Africa where he developedthe rule package and led the techteam for this unique event. Anspecial event where he not onlyworked at the track, but also got toexperience a safari, cuisine andculture in a once in a lifetimeexperience.

Prior to the Midwest Tour, heserved as the tech director formany tracks and series includingARTGO, MARS, WisconsinInternational Raceway, MadisonInternational Speedway, SlingerSuper Speedway and many more.

He also partnered with Five StarRace Car Bodies in presentingthree Tech Seminars and Promoter

Workshops as well as being a featured speaker at theRPM Promoter workshops.

He will be missed by all in the racing community bymany drivers, teams, fellow officials, promoters, fellowtech officials, friends and fans.

Most of all, he will missed for many contributions toshort track racing. Contributions that included manyhours of time, phone calls, personal investment, andeducation. Many that will continue for futuregenerations in short track racing.

God Speed Lumpy!!!

Story courtesy of https://MidwestTour.racing

Doug Hornickel photo

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Page 7 March 2018

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Page 8March 2018

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The Inside DirtDean & JasonTalkin' Racin'

Jason Searcy

I’ve long lamented that Minnesota race fans do nothave a hometown hero to cheer for in the NASCARranks. It seems unfair that Wisconsin fans have manydrivers to choose from. Even though Matt Kensethdoesn’t have a ride Wisconsin still has veteran driversPaul Menard, Johnny Sauter and Travis Kvapil andeven young guys like Josh Bilicki and Ty Majeskirising up the various NASCAR ranks.

Provincial Iowa race fans are still hoping LandonCassill will catch on with a team and continue his eightyear long run in the Cup series, but they still have theopportunity to cheer for Bret Moffitt (who just won atAtlanta), Joey Gase and Michael Annett.

You might not have heard of him yet, but we finally aMinnesota born and raised driver in the NASCARCamping World Truck series. His name is ScottStenzel who was born in Makato (MN) and livedmany of his formative years in Alexandria (MN). Scott raced locally at both the I-94 Tracks in SaukCentre and Fergus Falls (MN) competing in the

Enduro Car series of races in the late 1990’s. “ThoseEnduro cars really gave me the racing bug,” saidStenzel “It was an affordable way to get behind thewheel and turn a multitude of laps.” Stenzel didn’t winany of those 200-300 lap events at I-94 but his teamwas always in the hunt at the end. “We were on ashoe-string budget, my dad worked at the Post Officeand my mom taught Nursery School so money wastight, but it made me want to do more, I was hopingfor a chance to showcase some talent.”

That opportunity came to Stenzel a few years later in2007 when he met Charlie Patterson who has helpeddrivers like Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman advancetheir careers in NASCAR. “Charlie believed in me,he got me a Super Late Model test at New Smyrnaand that’s when it sank in that if I can get a goodpiece under me, we can do well” said Stenzel.

Stenzel ran three ARCA races in 2010 and 2011 witha best finish of seventh at Talladega. In 2012 through2014 he drove part-time in the Truck series for theMittler Brothers who has fielded trucks for dozens ofdrivers including Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards andBrad Keselowski. He had some good runs but thebest finish he could muster in ten races was a 22ndplace finish at Talladega.

Now in 2018 he is back racing in the Truck seriesracing for #83 DJ Copp and E2 NortheastMotorsports, Stenzel scored a lead lap career best15th place finish at Daytona. “It was fun, we startedin the last row and worked our way up,” said Stenzel.“Ninety-nine cars were wrecked at Daytona over theweekend so we got pretty lucky too.”

“This has been a long ten years of pushing my careerforward,” said Stenzel “we want to be the best of theB class, we now have the equipment to do it, now weare looking for the right people.” After DaytonaStenzel made the race at Atlanta but had a mechanicalproblem and finished 32nd, he will be racing the #83Truck at the Las Vegas race weekend alsoMartinsville and most likely Talladega. After that the

schedule is up in the air. Hopefully he can add someraces to schedule becauseus race fans up here aredesperate to have moreMinnesota Nice inNASCAR.

Stenzel now lives in Floridaand started an E-commercecompany in 2012, whenasked if he misses theMinnesota weather he said“I kind of miss the snowdays, but now I just like tovisit.” You can watch hisvideos on YouTube bysearching Yellow StripesMaking the Driver.Kim Kemperman photo

Page 9 March 2018

Racing Nuggets

Jacklyn Daniels-Nuttleman

Racing Nuggetscontinued on page 10

If ever there was a sure-fire plan to help ensuresuccess in racing, I’d venture a guess that 14-year-old,Sam Mayer is on that path. Additionally, the Franklin,WI youngster has quite a smorgasbord of asphaltracing slated for his 2018 season.

Mayer, the 2017 US Legends Asphalt NationalChampion will be competing in the CARS Tour,NASCAR K&N Pro East Series, the ARCA RacingSeries, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, aswell as the US Legends Cars.

It’s an ambitious schedule—dappling in so manydifferent forms of racing on asphalt, but the youngman is brimming with excitement for the opportunities.Fresh off of his Super Late Model debut at NewSmyrna Speedway in the World Series of Asphalt; it’ssafe to say that Mayer made his presence known.

People were definitely talking about him—but not forany flashy or daring moves he made on the track.Rather, it was because of his smooth driving style andsheer consistency in performance. Plus he was able tohold his own against veterans such as Stephen Nasse,

who ultimately snatched that Super Late ModelChampionship during Speedweeks from him by asingle point on the final night.

But how did Mayer get his start in racing? The roadbegan with his father, Scott who raced Indy Car forseveral years in the early to mid-2000s, as well asInternational Motorsports Association (IMSA) events.The younger Mayer was intrigued by auto racing afterwatching his father run at Road America, and wantedto follow in his footsteps. At the tender age of four,he began to race Kid Karts at Badger Raceway inDousman, WI. By his second year in the Kid Karts,Mayer had notched two victories and the fever forracing was solidified.

When you’re a kid, your opportunities are a bit limitedas to what you can race. Mayer spent much of hisformative years piloting Go-Karts with increasingsuccess year after year—securing two nationalchampionships by the time he was 10 years old. Hejumped to Legends cars in his pre-teen/early teen

years and the trend for success continued.

Mayer points to a race last year, when hewas driving for Farbo Motorsports asbeing the real spark for his career. It wasa Legends event—The Shamrock Shuffleat Anderson Motor Speedway in SouthCarolina. It was his first big race inLegends, featuring Pro, Semi-Pro, andYoung Lions & Masters all combined intoone class. Mayer was competing againstthe best of the best on the 3/8-miletrack—and he pulled off the victory. Thatbuilt a ton of confidence for him; as hewent on to win 19 races the rest of theseason.

Smooth Sam

Also last year, Mayer was able to finally get behindthe wheel of a Late Model, running in the MyrtleBeach 400—and finishing fifth. He will continue to dosome Late Model racing in 2018 in the North Carolinaarea, as well as the CARS Tour—where he will beteammates with the 2017 Champion, Josh Berry—bothyoung men running under the JR Motorsports banner.

Success breeds confidence, and his string ofaccomplishments obviously helped to propel hisstandout performances at New Smyrna.

Mayer says the one of the best things aboutparticipating in the World Series of Asphalt this pastmonth at New Smyrna Speedway was racing sevenout of nine days at the same track. He says it was funto work with the changing track conditions with somany different types of rubber being laid down eachday. The biggest challenge was learning how to readwhat the car was doing during the day, and trying topredict what it would be like at night. The learningcurve can be steep, but Mayer navigated it fairlydeftly, securing six top 5s and a 7th place finish inseven starts.

Mayer’s agent knows Harrison Burton and it wasthrough that connection that he was able to have theFury Chassis house car secured for the World Seriesof Asphalt. He says it was an excellent piece for himto pilot. And while he’s still learning how to givefeedback for adjustments, racing so many nights in arow provided tremendous opportunity to develop thatcommunication channel.

Smooth Sam

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Page 10March 2018

Racing Nuggetscontinued from page 9

It’s almost unfathomable that he came just one pointshort on securing the Super Late Modelchampionship at New Smyrna in his first-everventure in that type of race car—particularlybecause Mayer isn’t even old enough to have adrivers license yet. That fact begs the question, withsuch an ambitious schedule on tap for 2018—howdoes he plan to keep up with his school work?

“I have the blessing to be home schooled, so I cango where ever I need to and can take my schoolwork with me,” Mayer said.

He has a game plan to get ahead on his schoolwork, to free up more time to work the Late Modelevents down in the Charlotte area—and also focuson schoolwork during mornings when necessary inan effort to keep the evenings open when he startsto run the scheduled ARCA races and K&N ProEast Series events.

Interestingly enough, the reason that those two series’races won’t show up until later in the 2018 season isbecause a driver has to be 15 to participate in them.Mayer won’t turn 15 until June 26th, but he’ll hit theground running then in July with his ARCA debutslated for July 7th at Iowa Speedway, and his K&NPro East debut on July 21st at New Hampshire MotorSpeedway.

Mayer will have his hands full adapting to differentcars and crew chiefs in 2018, as he jumps betweenfive different series. He’ll be working with some ofthe best in the business—including Mardy Lindley andMike Fritts.

Part of staying focused and not letting his nerves getto him involves keeping a clear head before he gets inthe car. He tries to leave worry on the sidelines by notthinking about things too much before any given race,until he straps in to start an event. At that point, hisfirst move after buckling up is to say a little prayer.

Prayers seem to have been answered with a string ofopportunities that together will provide a dream seasonof exposure. Mayer has already signed three different

contracts for the various programs he will berunning this year. Having that confirmation thatthese events are firmly on the schedule gives himincredible motivation to perform.Whatever Mayer thinks he’s capable of—healways pushes a little more to keep reaching.

He hopes to eventually reach the NASCARMonster Energy Cup Series. The thrill of going 150to 200mph is something he can’t wait toexperience. His “hero” that he looks up to in thesport is Ganassi Racing’s driver, Kyle Larson—someone he hopes to emulate in style of driving ashe moves forward. And like Larson, he may evenexplore running at the Chili Bowl next year if thingswork out for him to do so.

The schedule for 2018 is plumb full of racing forMayer and can be viewed at his website:www.sammayerracing.com. While the familycontinues to call home Franklin, WI—they will befrequent fliers in 2018 to take on the rigorousracing schedule. And chances are, there will beplenty of success when it’s all said and done.

Page 11 March 2018

The Dean of Dirt Tracks

Dean Cornelius recently made the long tow fromhis home in Minnesota to the Dallas/Fort Wortharea of Texas to participate in the Lone Star StockCar Tour. Cornelius picked up 2 wins out of 4shows, but headed home early after the final 4shows were cancelled due to weather. We caughtup with Dean after the long drive home.

How did the idea to take an IMCA Stock Car all ofthe way to Texas to race come up?Well, it’s kind of what I’ve been dabbling with the lastcouple of years. I like the Stock Car. It’s a good groupof people. The racing is really competitive. I like theStock Car because I’m a little overwhelmed with all ofthe adjustment on other dirt cars. Now that I’m into it,it’s kind of like the way NASCAR used to be. It’ssteel-bodied, real cars, rubbing fenders and racinghard. I really enjoy it and I can afford to do it. We’vegot our choice of 20 some tracks around the area. Theweekly turnaround is something a working man canhandle on his own. I don’t have to worry aboutreplacing fiberglass fenders every week. You justbang the sheet metal out, clean it up and go again thenext week. The tire bill is minimal, compared to whatwe're used to on the asphalt. It’s a return to grassroots racing. We go out, we race, and depending onthe conditions of the track, this guy wins or that guywins. I enjoy the heck out of it.

We all know racers always want to win, but did youthink you would bat .500 with the first laps on anew car?No, not at all. Especially with that group down there.Just going down there, you just hope to make theshow. There were 50-some cars there and we hadsome good draws, but we still had to hold them off inthe heat race to transfer into the main. The new carwas good. We tried a couple of things the secondnight, which didn’t work. That screwed us up andfinished 11th. On Saturday, we had a bad draw and

just had a bad day. Started in the back of a muddyheat race and finished there. Came rocketing throughthe B-main and passed 3 or 4 cars in one lap to get inthe transfer spot. When I went into 3, a guy got spunout and I clobbered him. That was the end of ournight. Had we not had that goose egg, we might havebeen in the top 2 in points.

What did you do with your old car?I don’t know yet. We plan on it being our backup car,but really haven’t decided yet. We really like our newchassis and just plan on running the one car primarily.

If money gets tight, we’ll probably let it go. Otherwisewe’ll keep it here ready to go.

You had your dad and your son with you for thetrip. How cool was that?That was pretty neat. That was another thing on thedirt is the welcoming of families. Growing up with mydad dabbling in asphalt, the family didn’t get involveduntil after they were 16. I don’t know why it is, buteverybody comes along on the dirt side. We got a littlemotor home and don’t do hotels. We camp it out,move on to the next one and everyone has a goodtime.

What are your plans for the 2018 racing season?That’s kind of up in the air. With the dirt car, you justdo what you want to do. If we want to race 3-4 nightsa week, we can. If we have a wedding to go to, we godo that and not race at all that weekend. If we end uprunning well, we’ll look into some of the big moneyshows and double headers. Basically, race aroundlocally, travel when can, and do family stuff on top ofthat.

Photos courtesy of Adam Oxborough

Page 12March 2018

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Page 13 March 2018

Dale P. Danielski

Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,

Observances andObservances andObservances andObservances andObservances and

OpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinions

Racing Observances continuedon page 13

Yes, we have had this conversation before, but thewreck to win mentality in NASCAR racing needs tobe put to pasture!

I don’t like to continually bash NASCAR, but they areeasy prey when it comes to doing things the way youshouldn’t.

I still look forward to the first racing of each new year,and that means Speedweeks activity at Daytona.After watching this years Cup Daytona 500 I’m ready

to say that’s enough for NASCAR National for 2018.Again, when did it become acceptable to wrecksomeone to get a win? The way I was brought up onthe sport was you passed who was in front of you, andif you couldn’t do it cleanly you settled for a positionbehind them. How many more times are we going tohear, I hated that I hit him, but I had to, to win. What!Had to? It’s almost to the point of being nauseating.This year’s Cup Daytona 500 was again case in point.Austin Dillon hated that he had to hit Aric Almirola totake the lead and ultimately the win in this yearsDaytona 500. Almirola gets wrecked from the contactwithin a lap of victory and Dillon wins the Daytona500. So because it’s the Daytona 500 it’s justifiable.Wrong! Sadly, it isn’t just races of this magnitude thathave lead to the wreck to win mentality, it has becomewidespread and entered the short track World at alllevels of competition. I’m of the opinion anymore thatif it is NASCAR endorsed, and/or condoned it is areally bad deal and not good for racing. Following theirlead here is really affecting the sport in a verynegative way. Interesting to note I saw an interviewwith Dillon where he admitted he was willing tobecome the bad guy as others previous driving the #3car. He sure accomplished that in this year’s Daytona500. Should we now call him Villain Dillon?

Here and there...It was good to see Natalie Decker dowell in ARCA competition this year at Daytona. Againthough, just finishing these races practically insures agood finish as the wrecks eliminate a lot of thecompetition...See where Wisconsin racers Ty Majeskiand Derek Kraus did some Speedweek racing at theshort track New Smyrna Speedway. Majeski didmanage to pick up a win at ‘Smyrna while Kraus wasconsistent throughout including a 4th place finish in the

NASCAR K&N Series race there...Upper Midwestracer Cole Anderson dominated the Pro Late ModelDivision at ‘Smyrna. Will be interesting to see whatthat translates to in Midwest racing come this summerof 2018... So it’s the biggest race of the year forwhatever you are racing at Daytona and a greatopportunity to showcase your skills, so where was theRoush/Ty Majeski entry in something? I hope this kidisn’t getting hung out to dry, he has talent anddeserves a better shot than he is getting. We’re allgetting older here, Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Kyle Busch?Why don’t you get this guy in something...The elementof speed really is impressive when you first see howfast these racers are going on Super Speedways. Itwas a big WOW! factor when I first witnessed this atDaytona way back when. But really, it’s that speedthat’s ruining the racing. Realistically, how fast do youneed to go? Over 200 mph at Daytona with whateverNASCAR racecar package they are racing with hasmade it to where these drivers are out of control theentire race. It isn’t a race, it’s survival. If they wereslowed down 30 mph but could race with each otherand put on a good, clean racing show would anyonenotice the speed difference? I doubt it...Is it just me orare the CUP cars dog tracking around the race trackagain? That just looks weird, and it looks a lot likesome years back where the two car drafting chainswere popular. I don’t like the dog track thing but Ithought the slingshot moves they could make thenwere pretty cool! And, having to watch the 500 on thetube it sure was annoying watching more ads thanrace laps toward the end. Why can’t they do thereside by side thing near races end? Do these

Dale's Pictures from the Past

The #18 Mike Miller Olds Cutlass as he raced it in 1980 (left photo) and #19 Harold Mueller doing some pavement racing in theearly ’70s at the Dells Motor Speedway, Wis. Dells, WI (right photo)

Page 14March 2018

Racing Observances from page 12

company’s with ads at the end expect me to endorsetheir products when they are interfering with what Ituned in for in the first place...a race!

And in the looking back category, Jere O’ Day,Central Wisconsin racing hotshoe, who recentlypassed away, was the victor in the first 5 of 7 stockcar races held at the all new paved Griffith ParkSpeedway of Wisconsin Rapids, WI. O’ Day won thefirst ever stock car 25 lap Feature race there on July17th, 1960 and was followed by Don Ruder, KenPancratz and G. Hall. The semi-Feature also went toO’ Day followed by J. Gurnes and J. Detert. Heatrace winners were John Moquin, Gus Winkleman andRuder. O’ Day set fast time around the 1/4 mile, flatpaved oval. Looking back on August 6th, 1961, it wasJere O’ Day winning the Feature race at Griffith ParkSpeedway. Following O’ Day at the finish was AuggieWinkleman, Vic Kopacz, Marlin Walbeck and KenPancratz. Semi-Feature honors went to Ron Gagasfollowed by Irv Kurth, John Moquin and Mel Kuehl.The Consolation race winner was Glen Katzenbergerfollowed by Larry Baumbeck and Harold Bertram.Heat race victors were Harold Gruenwald, Gagas,Mike Luebeck and O’ Day. The Trophy Dash went toJerry Duel with fast time honors garnered by Kopaczat 15:97 seconds. O’ Day who raced on dirt at theCrowns Speedway of Wisconsin Rapids, WI., beforeGriffith opened won the Feature there on June 30th,1955. O’ Day was followed by Carl Buelow, JackDahlke, Ernie Dombrowski and Rudy Bandt. DonRuder and Chet Sergo won the heat races while Bandttook the Semi-Feature. Looking back on May 9th,1980 it was Mike Miller winning the Feature race atGolden Sands Speedway, Plover, WI. Following Millerwas Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner, Joe Krzykowski,Marv Marzofka and Jim Back. Semi-Feature winnerwas Gary Porter followed by Rich Bickle, Roy Bohm,Jim Dumdey and Vic Getzloff. Heat race winnerswere Bickle, Lyle Nowak and Reffner. The Dashwent to Miller with Trickle setting fast time at 12:80seconds around the 3/10ths mile oval. Looking back atJune 25th, 1980 it was Harold Mueller winning thefeature at the Tri-County Speedway of Colby, WI.Following Mueller around the slightly banked clay ovalwas Kerry Hanson, Chuck Abraham, Dave Bauer andClarence Oertel. The Semi-Feature went to R.RAshbeck. followed by Al Schulz and Ivan Fraaza.Heat race winners were Russ Weiler, Oertel and

Dale’s Pics from thepast...A Steve

Holzhausen racingmachine, #78 from the

year 2000. GaryPorter #78 in the

former Dave Fieldraced Mustang. The

#74, a car Jere O’ Daydrove back in the day.

Mueller. The Dash winner wasAbraham. Looking back toJune 26th, 1999, it was SteveHolzhausen winning the 25 laplate Model Feature race.Following Holzhausen wasBrad Powell, Mike Belling,Mike Koeneke, Paul Prokschand Kevin Nuttleman. TheSemi-Feature went to JimHagel followed by KenChristenson, Tom McClintockand Tim Nelson. Heat racewinners were Jim Christenson,Marv Degarmo and BrentKirchner. Dash winner wasHolzhausen. The Sportsmanmain event winner was BlakeHorstman. 36 Late Model carsparticipated in the programalong with 44 Sportsmanmachines.

Questions, comments, opinionsand other information welcomeat Starmaker Multimedia 96710th Ave N Ste A, Onalaska,WI 54650 608-783-5827 or atdale@starmakermultimedia.com

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Page 15 March 2018

Page 16March 2018

Speedweeks 2018Nasse takes Super Late title; Anderson dominates Pro's

Speedweeks 2018 on the short tracks saw two drivers capture World Series titles at New Smyrna in different ways. Stephen Nasse usedconsistent finishes and one feature win to take home the Super Late Model title. Minnesota’s Cole Anderson simply dominated the Pro Late

Model division, picking up 5 wins out of the 7 shows run for the Pro’s.

The East Coast Mod guys are always impressive during Speedweeks. For a group of cars that are regionally based and not run nationally, theMod guys on the pavement and dirt side continue to bring strong numbers to Speedweeks the last several years. New Smyrna had 30

pavement Tour Mods on hand and Volusia had 40+ Big Block Dirt Mods for their shows.

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Bruce Nuttleman photo Dan Plan photo

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Page 17 March 2018

Works Like Adding Two or More Rows of Tubes to your Radiator• Increases horse power

• Smooths gear changing

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Page 18March 2018