Inside... - The Midwest Racing Connection

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December, 2009
Inside...
The Days of Bounties
The Inside Dirt
The Racing Geek
NASCAR Shop Tours
In The Drivers Seat
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December, 2009
Publisher's Note
Racing According
to Plan
The Good Things
About NASCAR
The Midwest
RACING
Connection
December, 2009
P.O. Box 22111
St. Paul MN, 55122
651-451-4036
www.theracingconnection.com
Publisher
Dan Plan
Contributing Writers
Jordan Bianchi
Dale P. Danielski
Stan Meissner
Charlie Spry
Molly Vadnais
Photographers
Jim Ambruoso (815-623-3200)
Rick Blewett (507-398-9483)
D's Racing Imagery (608-448-2288)
Martin DeFries (651-457-7719)
Joe Gibbs (612-860-6622)
Doug Hornickel (920-563-0993)
Ken Johnson (218-590-5820)
Mark Melchiori (414-463-0131)
Stan Meissner (651-428-4717)
Mary Schill/Forte Design
Jerry Zimmer (715-792-2174)
Dan Plan
The last year or so, it seems the majority of
discussions regarding NASCAR at the upper levels
have centered on negative vibes. Now, I’m not the
kind of guy to always have my glass half full, or
wear rose colored glasses, but I did see something
recently that reminded me what is good about
NASCAR.
The Camping World Truck race at Martinsville
saw Timothy Peters pick up his first win with the
series. What was good about this deal was a local
boy won a big time race at his home track. You
could tell on the TV broadcast how happy
everybody was. Peters wasn’t driving for a power
house team like Hendrick, Roush or Harvick, but a
lesser known team like Red Horse Racing.
Granted, Red Horse Racing probably has a budget
that exceeds the budget of most teams on the
series, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider them a
top-tier team.
It just goes to show that if you have a good driver,
good team and make smart decisions, you can still
win in the upper levels of NASCAR. All of the
money in the world isn’t going to guarantee a win.
You still have to have your ducks in a row and
work for it. For the most part, short track racing is
the same way, and I like it that way. Now if we can
just convince our friends and co-workers how
much fun each weekend is at our local short tracks,
maybe we can fill the stands every weekend next
year, and keep everybody happy.
And speaking of NASCAR, check out our In The
Drivers Seat feature with Bob White in this issue.
Bob was originally hesitant to conduct his
Timothy Peters in victory lane at Martinsville
Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR
interview, as he didn't feel he was deserving of
recognition. Sometimes timing is everything, and Bob
definitely was pleased with the awards and
recognition he received for winning the Minnesota
NASCAR Rookie of the Year title. It's truly a
pleasure to talk to a humble racer who realizes the
good side of short track racing.
Racing on TV
While there was a time in my younger days that I
looked forward to any little bit of racing coverage
that was on TV, there’s almost an overload of items
available today. I used to wait all week long to catch
glimpse of Sprint Cars at Springfield, IL on Wide
World of Sports. Now, I simply don’t have time to
The Midwest Racing Connection is published ten
times during the summer racing season by The Plan
Company, Inc. All material is copyrighted 2009 and
may not be reprinted without permission.
Subscriptions are $20 for ten issues and are mailed
out first class. Call 651-451-4036.
Cover photos by: Dale P. Danielski, Martin
DeFries, Chris Gaythen/Getty Images, and Stan
Meissner.
Member of the NMPA
National Motorsports Press Association
watch everything that’s available. My satellite
provider recently added the Versus channel to my
lineup, so the DVR is getting fuller by the minute.
Since there’s not much for live racing action in
Minnesota during the
month of November, I
was able to watch a
couple of shows on
Versus. One was the
ASCS 360 race from
the Knoxville Nationals
this summer. That race
was something that
reminds me why I enjoy
oval track racing. I
don’t care if the cars
have fenders or not,
Jimmy Mars won $100,000.00 in one week
Stan Meissner photo
Publishers Note
continued on page 4
December, 2009
Page 4
continued from page 3
watching somebody like Terry McCarl chase down
the leader and pass him out of turn 4 on the last lap,
made me lean forward in my recliner. Watching
McCarl wave goodbye to second place made me
chuckle, even though this race took place about
three months ago. The same thing goes for the replay
of the North/South 100 won by Jimmy Mars. The
week previous to the North/South100, Mars picked
up $50,000 at Cedar Lake. At the North/South,
Mars took the lead on the last corner of the last lap.
As burned out as I get at the end of the season,
these two replays made me anxious for the 2010
season to get underway.
New Tires for NASCAR
NASCAR and Goodyear also recently announced
they have been conducting tests of a new "bigger
tire" for the Cup cars. I’m not sure of the reasoning
behind having a tall wheel with a low profile tire. I
sure hope the Car of Tomorrow (now know as the
Car of Today), doesn’t end up looking like an
Impala SS with a set of “dubs” on it. It will be tough
for the pit crews to change tires if the “spinners” are
still moving when the car comes to a stop.
WoO World Finals at Lowes Motor Speedway
and NASCAR Shops
The Midwest Racing Connections mystery reporter
made the 20-hour
drive to Charlotte for
the World of Outlaws
World Finals. Let me
tell you, it’s
depressing to know
you’re sitting at home
and somebody is at a
show where 80 dirt
Late Models are in
attendance. With the
way my 401k has
performed in the last year, I should be able to
retire by the time I’m 80, so there’s hope for us
yet. Check out our photo gallery for some
highlights of the shop tours and the World of
Outlaws World Finals.
The Economy Strikes Again
Our good friends at My Team Sports in Apple
Valley, Minn. recently announced they will be
closing up shop at the end of the year. Over the
last few years we have looked forward to our
visits with Lori and Larry Ramey at their souvenir
trailer at Raceway Park, or when visiting their
store. We wish the best to Lori and Larry in
whatever the future holds for them. On the bright
side, they may be able to actually watch more
short track racing during the 2010 season.
Kelley Racing
Engines
**New Location**
The Latest attempt by NASCAR to attract younger fans as Jeff Gordon's Impalla SS is shown
sportin' a set of "dubs". Pit stops will be entertaining if the allow spinners.
Dan Plan photo, doctored by Redline Graphics
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December, 2009
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Page 6
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The Inside Dirt
Bill Balog captured the IRA Championship in 2009
Stan Meissner
Since this will be the final issue of MRC for 2009 I
thought it might be fun to review some of my 2009
columns.
As I noted in the February MRC online, my good
friend and fellow photographer Dave “Navy Davy”
Trautmiller passed away on January 4, 2009.
Several things were done to honor Dave including a
memorial flower and photo in Cedar Lake’s Victory
Lane and a Navy Davy Memorial at the Kopellah
Speedway.
In the March MRC online I wondered if 2009
champions Brent Larson and Dave Cain would be
at Cedar Lake defending their 2008 titles. As it
turned out Brent was a yes but Dave spent the
summer racing at a variety of tracks.
I mentioned that the World of Outlaws at Deer
Creek combined with the Jackson Nationals would
provide a four day stretch of Sprint Car racing from
August 19-22. My plans were dashed by the
weather and I ended up missing the rescheduled
Deer Creek event in September.
In my April Online column I mentioned that Chris
Stepan took over the promoting duties at the
Kopellah Speedway for track owner Marguerite
Lindblom. Stepan said that “Kopellah will be the
place to be on Friday nights.”
I stuck my neck out and made a few predictions in
the April column. I predicted that Donnie Schatz
was still the man to beat in WoO Sprints and the
WoO Late Model champion would be Josh “Kid
Rocket” Richards. I was right on both counts. I
predicted that whoever showed up at all the IRA
races and ran good would have a shot at winning
the championship. Bill Balog did just that and as a
result he won the IRA title for the second year in a
row. I said that Cedar Lake Masters winners
would be Travis Whitney in the IRA Sprint Cars
and Jimmy Mars in the WDRL Late Models. Scott
Winters swept in the Sprints and I couldn’t have
gone wrong picking Jimmy Mars for any big race in
2009. My pick for Elko Dirt Week was Brook Tatnell
in the Titan #21. Tatnell was at Elko but the Titan
ride had folded days before Elko Dirt Week so
Brooke was there walking the pits looking for
opportunities. I said that the Deer Creek World of
Outlaws Sprint Car winner would be Steve Kinser
based on his ability to dial in new tracks. Joey
Saldana took the win with Kinser finishing in fifth
place. I predicted that the World of Outlaws
sanctioned Gopher 50 would be won by Chub Frank.
Darrell Lanigan won the Gopher 50, Chubzilla finished
17th.
Apparently I must have felt like I was on a roll
because I ventured out of my comfort zone and gave
my Sprint Cup prediction. I predicted that Jeff
Gordon would win the 2009 Sprint Cup title which, as
you all know, was won by Jimmy Johnson. Some
complain that Jimmy Johnson’s personality is too
bland. As far as I’m concerned aside from Daytona,
Talladega, and Bristol the entire series with their
corporate puppet drivers is too bland. I’d rather
spend my Sunday afternoons catching up on yard
work than watching Sprint Cup racing.
Here are some observations from the ten print
editions with comments added:
MRC #1: The quality of the Late Model field, (Cedar
Lake) especially on Saturday night, was so strong that
it would have been billed as an invitational anywhere
else. Based on opening weekend I would say that
Cedar Lake is going to be the place to be for Dirt
Late Model fans all season. That observation held
true for the entire season. Late Model fans should
keep an eye on the Cedar Lake press releases as
they’ll be thrilled by changes to the Masters and USA
Nationals. My sources tell me that Sprint Car fans
might not be happy with the Masters lineup changes
but there haven’t been any official announcements
made regarding support classes.
The Upper Midwest Sprint Car Series
(umsprints.com) kicked off their inaugural season at
the Kopellah Speedway on Friday April 24 and Cedar
Lake on Saturday April 25. There were some
challenges for the new series starting with Friday’s
weather that went from short sleeve in the afternoon
MRC #2: I lamented the
cancellation of Chris Hawkey’s
KFAN Motorsports show
which was supposed to
continue as a podcast. The
podcast lasted through June 26
and to my knowledge the show
no longer exists in any form.
We’re going to try to fill some
of the void the show’s demise
left for our local racing with my
new website,
midwestracingtalk.com.
Jerry Richert Jr. and Kevin
“Buzzy” Adams both picked up wins at Kopellah on
May 8. Greg Gunderson of Sioux Falls made his first
appearance at Kopellah. The UMSS Sprint Cars
drew the best crowds of the season and put on
some great races. Ironically the UMSS averaged
more cars at Kopellah than the WISSOTA
Modifieds.
MRC #3: On May 15 the Jackson Speedway
Spring Sprint Nationals ran under the windiest
conditions I had ever seen at a race track. Terry
McCarl won and commented about the challenges
presented by the high winds in Victory Lane.
Jackson drew 47 360 Sprint Cars for the May 15
Spring Nationals. If you’re looking for a fun night of
360 racing on a bad fast half mile with good car
counts mark your calendar for Friday May 21, 2010.
Jackson is only a three hour drive from the Twin
Cities.
MRC #4: 2009 saw a new track open in Ogilvie
and I94 Speedway in Sauk Centre remove their
pavement and revert back to dirt. When new tracks
open it seems like racers and fans get struck with
what I call “the grass is gonna’ be greener”
syndrome. There are no guarantees that new tracks
will prosper (remember Fox Ridge?) and the cars
racing at new tracks had to come from somewhere
so it’s inevitable that existing tracks will be affected.
It was recently announced that I94 in Fergus Falls
has also begun the process of tearing up its
pavement and will be a dirt track in 2010. Danny
Schatz, father of WoO driver Donnie, will be
promoting at the Fargo half mile in 2010. Based on
the economy I expected fewer racers and tracks by
the end of 2009 but things turned out better than I
had thought they would. I find it interesting that two
of four Minnesota paved tracks have gone back to
dirt and one of two remaining asphalt tracks will be
covered in dirt for three weeks in 2010.
MRC #5: Jerry Richert Jr. won his fourth
consecutive UMSS Feature at the Kopellah
Speedway on Friday June 12. Racing on the tight
Continued on page 15
Page 7
Kopellah quarter mile sharpened the skills of the
UMSS drivers and by mid season the racing was
awesome. John Nelson, driver of the Protofab #14,
sustained two fractured vertebrae in a June 12 flip.
John sat out the remainder of the season but is looking
forward to racing again in 2010.
MRC #6: Chris Stepan said that the Friday June 26
Kopellah cancellation due to a parched pond was the
first “dry out” he had experienced as a promoter and
announcer. The night following the Kopellah “dry
out” we saw the polar opposite when Cedar Lake
was deluged on lap 12 of the Pro Stock Feature. I
was thankful to the Cedar Lake ambulance crew for
offering me a ride out of the infield before the track
became too slippery.
On Saturday July 4th I went to the North Central
Speedway to watch the UMSS Sprint Cars compete
in the Earl and Ethel Kouba Memorial race. Jimmy
Kouba returned to Sprint Car competition after a
three year layoff. Jerry Richert Jr. won the Kouba
Memorial, an event he had wanted to win since he
returned to racing locally.
MRC #7: On Friday July 10 Pure Stock driver
Krysta Swearingen won her first ever Feature and
Chanda Fjorden-Nord was the Street Stock winner.
Buzzy Adams won his fifth Modified Feature of the
season tying Chanda’s 2009 Street Stock Feature
December, 2009
Modified field included former track champion Dave
Cain who picked up where he left off by winning his
only Cedar Lake Modified Feature of the season.
The World of Outlaws had a great night of racing
with a very exciting Feature race won by Donnie
Schatz. Kasey Kahne showed up in support of his
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars driven by Joey Saldana
and Craig Dollansky. Dollansky never got on track
with KKR and would part company with Kahne after
the September Spencer, Iowa, race promoted by
Craig and his wife Julie.
August 14 the UMSS was only able to field nine cars
for their season finale at the Kopellah Speedway.
Despite a couple of nights that saw lower than
predicted fields the UMSS averaged over 14 cars per
show for the season for a better season average than
Jackson, Arlington and Redwood.
On August 15 I made a trip to the Ogilvie Raceway
to check out the new facility. Ogilvie Raceway is
located on Highway 23 just east of Ogilvie. When I
MRC #8: This issue came out right
after Elko Dirt Nationals and I
commented that I was very
impressed by this unique first time
event. There were a lot of stories
over the weekend but the one that
stood out for me was Jenny
Eriksen finishing second in a Friday
night IRA Heat Race with a 360
engine and starting her first ever
IRA 410 Feature. In racing terms
that’s like taking a knife to a
gunfight. Jake Peters and Bill
Balog were IRA winners with
Travis Whitney turning the fastest
Jenny Ericksen at the Elko Dirt Nationals
lap in the history of the Elko
Speedway. Elko announced that
they will be extending their dirt racing to three weeks
arrived at the track a Modified was turning some
in 2010. The three week time
practice laps and my first impression was how fast
frame should allow them to add
this place was. Unfortunately showers moved into
more dirt track classes to the
the area resulting in the night’s racing being canceled.
program.
I’ll have to try again next season.
Jimmy Mars won the USA
Nationals on August 1st. Mars
went on to win the North/South
100 $50,000 race at Union,
Kentucky, on August 8 for total of
$100,000 in winnings during the
span of just seven days.
MRC #10:
On August 21st I made my first visit to the River
Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
After a two hour delay to blade and pack a path
through the soggy pit area we got to see some racing.
Eighteen cars broke the existing track record with
Jason Meyers setting a NTR at 9.269 seconds for a
116.517 mph average lap speed. Craig Dollansky
won on rough wet track conditions that reminded me
of the first Princeton National. This was Craig’s final
win in the Kasey Kahne owned Direct TV sponsored
#19 before he left to start his own team. Dollansky
wasted no time in putting his own deal together and
will be back in his familiar black #7 in 2010. Check
out dollanskyracing.com for more information.
MRC #9: I commented on Dan
Plan’s editorial about
photographers in the previous
issue of MRC. My photo sales
Buzzy Adams dominated action at Kopellah Speedway
aren’t a priority but in the past
there was always enough to offset
a portion of my expenses. That
total at Kopellah. Two days later FYE Motorsports
was
not
the
case
in
2009 as the weak economy took
promoter Chris Stepan announced that his resignation
its
toll
on
discretionary
spending. As a result I
as the promoter of the Kopellah Speedway. Kopellah
realized that I
continued as the “the place to be on Friday night”
can no longer
without missing a beat.
Robbie Wolfgang made a few starts with the UMSS
count on photo
sales to
The July 11, Cedar Lake Firecracker was awesome
supplement my
as usual. Rick Egersdorf won both the scheduled
racing.
Feature and the June 27 make up Feature that was
Consequently
run earlier in the evening. Egersdorf had a great
projected photo
season and would end up as the 2009 track Late
sales will not be
Model champion. Andy Jones won his first ever
considered when
NASCAR Modified Feature on this night while
I write my 2010
serving a month suspension from WISSOTA racing.
schedule.
On July 12, 29 World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and 26
On Friday
NASCAR Modifieds invaded Cedar Lake. The
In conclusion:
A lot more could be written
about the 2009 season but I
have already exceeded my
allotted space for this column.
In the next online issue of MRC
we’re going to focus on the
2010 season and take a look at
what lies ahead. Have a safe
and happy Holiday season and
we’ll see you next year at the
races!
December, 2009
Page 8
January 8 & 9, 2010
Alliant Energy Center’s Veterans Memorial
Coliseum in Madison, WI.
www.midwestracersauction.com
Bonus photos from Stan Meissner
www.gotomn.com
Page 9
December, 2009
The Midwest Racing Connection Directory Page
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Phone (952) 469 - 3182 * Fax (952) 469 - 7724
www.driverherocards.com
Cedar Creek Inn
1.5 Miles from Cedar Lake Speedway
Great food and drinks!
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(507) 334-2664
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Appleton, WI
920-739-1550
December, 2009
Auto Racing Facts,
Observances and
Opinions
By Dale P. Danielski
We are well into the off-season with much to occur in
the near future pertaining to the 2010 racing season.
But before we get to all of that, let’s again take a step
back in time to when the offering of bounties to
drivers who could win over other prolific winners was
both common and very exciting.
With stock car racing technology evolving rather
rapidly in the mid1960’s and into the ‘70s, it seemed
that someone would hit on a combination that worked
and dominate the action. Usually whatever it was that
worked, worked so well that these drivers would go
on win streaks of great proportion. Marlin Walbeck
was the first driver to dominate short track racing in
the State of Wisconsin in a big way. Walbeck would
Page 10
race four nights a week and twice on Sunday at
tracks in Tomahawk, Wausau, Wis. Dells, Tomah,
Adams Friendship, Black River Falls, Stratford and
select others on occasion before taking time off to
work on his race car on Monday. Often times he’d
win nearly every race he was in during the week
which prompted race track promoters to offer
bounties or bonus money in addition to the events
advertised winning pay to any driver that could beat
him in the featured race. The bounties would start at
$50-$100 and go up in those same increments each
time. More often than not Walbeck took home the
bonus money along with the events winnings. In one
season alone he took home over $35,000 in purse
winnings. In Walbeck’s words, “We only had $500 or
so in the car and the races paid anywhere from $250
to $500 so you could make some good money. Plus,
you didn’t have to buy tires all the time so expenses
were low. One summer I used the same set of tires
all year.” That’s one reason Walbeck raced full time
during this period. He could make more money racing
than holding down a full time job.
The list of drivers Walbeck competed against is a
who’s who of racers. Augie Winkleman, Ev Fox, Ken
Pancratz, Marv Marzofka, Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner
and Jim Back were some of the local group. While
racing in IMCA, Walbeck competed and won against
stars Ramo Stott, Ernie Derr, and Don White.
Walbeck’s biggest win with a good chunk of money
on the line was the National Short Track
Championship at Rockford Speedway of Rockford,
Il., in 1967. As was customary for Walbeck, he
picked his way through the field in a smooth,
calculating manner to win the 200 lap feature event,
the biggest event held anywhere at the time and for
many years after.
Of course when it comes to win streaks and
collecting bounty money Dick Trickle was the king.
When Trickle decided in the 1960s some time that
racing was going to be his full time occupation rather
than an 8-5 job, a transformation of sorts took place.
Racing for a living and having to earn enough cash to
put food on the table put a hunger to succeed in
Trickle that propelled him to great heights of success.
Success as in main event win totals unheard of by any
previous competitors in prior years of Wisconsin
racing.
In 1971 Trickle put together a 1969 Ford Torino that
was nearly unbeatable. It didn’t take long for the
bounty offerings by promoter Sam Bartus to begin as
Trickle took the first three race wins at the Plover,
WI., Golden Sands Speedway along with setting a
new track record in qualifying. With the hot start,
Bartus immediately put up $50 extra dollars to beat
Trickle. With the wins continuing at Golden Sands and
the bounty for him to lose going up, Trickle began a
streak at the Bartus promoted Capital Super
Speedway of Oregon, WI., winning three straight
main events. Bartus put $50 additional dollars on his
head to lose at that track as well. That streak came to
a quick end with Bill Retallick collecting the $50, but
Trickle motored on at Golden Sands winning six in a
row which put the bounty to beat him at $200.
Interesting to note that with the extra pay, fields in the
division swelled to 40 to 50 cars competing for a
regular night of racing. Crowds in the 3,000-4,000
range either coming to see Trickle win again or there
in hopes he’d lose were also common. Finally after
six straight main event wins, Tom Reffner brought his
1969 Mercury Cyclone to victory lane at Golden
Sands holding off Trickle who had started the race
right behind him. Reffner collected the $200 bounty
money and also another $75 from local merchants
that put additional pay on the line for the race. That
was another common occurrence as many area
businesses hopped on the bounty band wagon. And,
as you might expect, Reffner after breaking the
streak started one of his own going on to three
straight wins at the Plover track before being
defeated by you guessed it, none other than Dick
Trickle. Trickle was happy to win with his only
complaint being that no bonus money awaited him in
Trickle's Mustang enters the track
Marlin "Shoes" Walbeck
continued on page 10
Page 11
December, 2009
continued from page 9
victory lane. None was put up while Reffner was
winning. And as has been documented here before,
Trickle went on to 56 feature wins on the season,
dominating racing much as Walbeck had.
With 1971 being one of near total dominance by
Trickle no one expected much in the way of bounties
to be paid in 1972. How wrong everyone was as
Trickle and his 1970 Ford Mustang won even more
races than in 1971.
The Pony Car Revolution, 108 inch wheel based cars
with 11 inch tires began in 1972 with Trickle debuting
a brand new 1970 Mustang in spectacular fashion,
taking fast time, the trophy dash, fast heat and feature
for a true clean sweep at the Golden Sands
Speedway. True, as all four events he was in he won
unlike today when folks brag about winning two races
on a night being a sweep. To top it off, he also set a
new track record in qualifying. And this was just the
beginning. By Mid-May Trickle had won 12 of 13
main events at Wisconsin tracks and that of course
prompted more bounty money on his head as Bartus
again put up an extra $75 and $50 for someone to
beat him at the Plover and Oregon tracks. Drivers
Lyle Nabbefeldt, John Ziegler, Marv Marzofka and
offerings as Trickle continued to steam roll his
competition. Of course by season’s end Trickle had
won 67 main events which established a new win
standard breaking the record of 58 set by Ramo Stott.
It was only a few years before bounty fever again hit
as Tom Reffner in his 1974 AMC Javelin found the
dominating combination winning everything in sight
during the 1975 racing season.
Reffner experienced brake problems at the Capital
Super Speedway opener and only finished 5th in the
feature. That was practically the most trouble he had
all season as Reffner in his Kelvinator Rambler went
on to win an astounding 67 feature races during the
season. With all the winning of course came the cry
and bounty money offered for anyone that could beat
him. Being particularly tough at Capital, the bounty to
beat him there quickly rose to $150. Reffner wasn’t
losing anywhere else either as he had already
captured 18 main event wins by June 5th. With an
amazing 9 feature wins in 7 days streak the bounty at
Capital continued to build reaching $300 in July.
August 8 finally found Joe Shear and John Ziegler
finishing ahead of Reffner in the main at Capital and
the bounty money was at last collected. Bounty pay
Raceway of Kaukauna, WI. Although the two only
raced against each other on rare occasions a battle
was raging as to who would win the most features
during the season. Bonus money of $100 and $200
respectively cropped up to beat both Watson and
Schuler, Watson at the ¼ mile oval Lake Geneva
track and Schuler at the Grundy County Speedway of
Morris, IL., but the two kept winning. As it turns out
neither was defeated at those tracks the rest of the
season only losing when they were away racing in big
money events on the road. By season’s end the tally
for feature wins found Schuler with 43 and Watson at
41.
Other drivers have gone on win streaks since all these
drivers performed their feats but now days with
competition so tight you just don’t see that type of
thing anymore. If you can win a few races in a row at
a track and enough others elsewhere to have a bounty
put on your head you will have done something
extraordinary.
Comments, notes, etc., welcome to Dale P. Danielski,
at [email protected] 967 10th Ave N
Ste A, Onalaska, WI 54650 608-783-5827.
Two drivers who dominated Wisconsin racing in the mid-1970's - Tom Reffer (left) and Dave Watson (right)
Joe Shear debuting a new Chevy Camaro were finally
able to defeat Trickle and collect extra money but
Dick was still winning more often than not.
Without a weight rule on the cars in place as you
have today, it took fellow competitors a long time to
realize that a lot of the Trickle advantage was that his
car weighed anywhere (depending on who you talked
to of course) from 250-500 lbs less than the
competitions. In the meantime the wins kept coming.
By Mid-July Trickle had captured 39 feature wins. By
now promoters had all but given up on the bounty
was pretty much done for the year but Reffner kept
on winning eventually tying Trickle for the National
record.
Dave Watson teamed with car owner Fred Nielsen in
1976 which proved to be the hottest combination
going for that racing season. Watson was particularly
stout at the Lake Geneva Raceway where he was
nearly unbeatable. Illinois racer Larry Schuler was
also winning practically everywhere he went including
racing every week at the Wisconsin International
www.theracingconnection.com
December, 2009
Going in
Circles
By Charlie Spry
Last month we took a look at the season champions
from some of the southern Wisconsin tracks, and this
month I want to look at some of the Wisconsin tracks
from a little further north. Starting off with the
Marshfield Motor Speedway, a track I have enjoyed
watching races at now for several years, we look at
the super late model division, with quite a story line, as
the battle for the points championship came down to
two brothers, Jason and Chris Weinkauf, with Jason
winning the title by a mere two points over Chris.
Might make for interesting talk at Christmas dinner?
While Jason failed to win a single regular season
feature here, he was consistent enough to hold off his
brother, who won four features during the regular
season.
In the super stocks, it was Colin Reffner all the
way, and in dominating fashion, as he won eleven of
twelve regular season feature events here in this
division, winning pretty comfortably over runner-up
Mark Langreck. Colin will be moving up in 2010, as
he has secured a super late model ride with
Minnesota’s Kevin Lang. Colin and team will be
concentrating on the Wisconsin Challenge Series
events, with possibly some weekly stuff as well. I
think this will be a good series for the young driver.
Another youngster, Randall Wilhorn, took the title in
the always tough four cylinder division here, winning
out by eleven points over runner-up Jeremiah Strauss.
Randall won four regular season features, while
Jeremiah won two, including one clean sweep.
Tim Anderson pretty much ruled the Junkyard
Warrior division, winning the title by a wide spread
over Kyle Rasmussen. Tim won ten regular season
features to Kyle’s two. The pure stocks ran only an
abbreviated season, as they couldn’t seem to field
enough cars to make the division go here. Ryan Mork
won the title over Kyle Genett.
I think things will be on the upswing for the
Marshfield track. Promoter and manager Wayne
Brevik seems to have a good handle on things, has a
great attitude to everyone who comes through the
gates, and with the Dells dropping the super stock
Page 12
division, I’d guess there will be a few of those cars
making the short drive north to compete at
Marshfield.
At Golden Sands, Mark Eswein took home another
super late model track championship, winning by eight
points over Chris Weinkauf, who finished second here
as well as at Marshfield. Maybe next year? Anyway,
Mark won two regular season shows here in 2009, as
well as the WCS show on May 25th. Chris also won
two features.
In the super stock division, it was a battle between
Mike Gwidt and Colin Reffner, with Colin having a
bad day with a couple weeks to go, which put
Michael in the lead, which he didn’t relinquish. Mike
won five features to Colin’s two. In the pure stocks, it
was Kyle Genett and Ryan Mork battling it out here
as well. These two have had many good points’
battles in their short careers. Kyle won two features
while Ryan was shut out here. Strong fields of cars
here and it’s usually tough for the fast cars to get to
the front.
Two classes of four cylinders run here, mods and
stock. In the mods, it was Randall Wilhorn capping
off a great season with the points title here as well,
topping Phil Malouf. Randall won two features here
while Phil took three. In the stock class, it was Kelly
Sankey winning the title by eleven markers over
Kevin Burris. Kelly and Kevin each won one feature.
Two classes of cruisers also run. The mods were
getting too “Modded” for some of the more stock
cruisers, so they were split into two divisions. Justin
Spritka and Stephen Berg totally dominated the mod
class, as they went undefeated over the course of the
season. Pretty amazing season when anyone can
accomplish something of that magnitude. Kevin
Berg and Cole Plowman took the championship in the
stock class.
At Wausau’s State Park Speedway, Mark
Mackesy dominated the super late model division,
winning eleven of thirteen feature events run. Yes,
the field was pretty slim on most nights, but then you
have to realize that Mark proved his dominance was
no fluke by winning the feature during the running of
the Wayne Lodholz memorial race, when several big
names were present, including Chris Wimmer and
many other notables. Mark started near the tail of the
field and passed everyone to take the win. Very
impressive. Tucker Miller took home second in points
for the season.
The street stocks had a very interesting point’s
battle, with Jeff Nowak taking the lead early in the
year. Jeff was returning to racing after several years
off, and had his Chevelle running good, but veteran
Wayne Mackesy used his consistency and strong
runs the last half of the season to take over the point
lead and title.
The four cylinder mini-mods also featured a close
battle for most of the season, with veteran Dale
Louze and Phil Malouf the top runners. Try as he
might, Phil couldn’t overtake the wily veteran, and
had to settle for second here as well as at Golden
Sands. Dale added another championship to his
impressive resume. I’ve felt fortunate to have raced
with these people the past couple of years, and have
always enjoyed it.
Now, for 2010, Ron and Scott Wimmer have
purchased the historic speed plant and will try to
revitalize racing in the area. However, I think
everyone needs to give Todd Handrick credit, as he
took over the duties of running the track five years
ago when it seemed doomed. He kept racing going,
which was very important, as I feel that had he not
done so, the track would have sat idle all these years
and be a hopeless basket case now that nobody would
want to do anything with. Todd also did something
that not too many promoters do, thanking the drivers
for coming. You don’t get that too often on a personal
basis, and it’s not hard to do. I personally wish
both Todd and the Wimmer’s well in their future
ventures.
Now, I’ve reached the point where I have one
personal award to give. Every year I like to give out
my “Golden Odometer Award”, which is not really a
physical award, other than someone’s name
mentioned here. Anyway, it is based on what driver
travels to the most year ending specials, while not
belonging to any sanction or group. Basically, they just
race everywhere at the end of the year because they,
well... like to race. This year’s award goes to four
cylinder racer, Phil Malouf, who started off racing at
the Marshfield Fall Spectacular, then the Jefferson
Wisconsin State Championships, then the next day
went to Slinger to run their Futures race. The
following weekend he drove all the way down from
his home in Manitowish Waters, Wisc. (which is
waaay up there.) down to Madison, only to find that
they had cancelled because of water seepage on the
track. He then ran the Oktoberfest at LaCrosse, then
ran all the way down to Rockford Speedway to race
their Bahama Brackets. That is a lot of miles put on
by him and his crew, as well as his family, who take
in most of the events he races at.
I want to personally wish everyone a happy holiday
season, and best wishes for the New Year.
Page 13
December, 2009
2009 In Hindsight
by Jordan Bianchi
Last February, I took the dartboard out of the closet,
blew the dust off of it and played my annual game of
darts. Or as it’s more commonly known as – making
predictions as to what is going to happen during the
2009 Sprint Cup season.
Some picks were inspired – I nailed Kurt Busch and
Brian Vickers making the Chase and I couldn’t have
been more right about the economy and its impact on
NASCAR – but most of my predictions in retrospect
probably makes one wonder if I was indulging in an
adult beverage or four while making my picks.
I mean really, Scott Speed is going to win Rookie of
the Year!?!? No one said I’m perfect or smart for
that matter. So because I like to keep myself humble,
let’s take a look back what I thought was going to
happen and what actually did happen.
2009 Chase for the Championship Drivers
What I said then: Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kyle
Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie
Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers, David
Ragan, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and
Kurt Busch will make the Chase for the
Championship.
What did happen: Edwards, Gordon, Hamlin, Johnson,
Vickers, Martin and Kurt Busch all made the Chase.
Matt Kenseth despite winning the first two races of
the year struggled mightily with a Ford engine that
was significantly down on power compared to the
Toyota and Chevy power plants.
Kevin Harvick hampered by the performance issues
that weighed down RCR for the majority of the year,
had the worst season of his career and has already
started looking towards 2011 when he will be a free
agent. Who knew that RCR was going to completely
fall of the map like they did? They went from having
three cars in the Chase last year to none this year.
David Ragan looked a lot more like the driver who
Tony Stewart once referred to as a “dart without
feathers” then the driver who finished 2008 with more
top-10s than any other non-Chase driver and
appeared to be on the cusp of wining his first Sprint
Chris Gaythen/Getty Images
The Racing Geek
Cup race.
Junior’s season was filled with doom and gloom from
the drop of the flag at Daytona. I expected to him to
struggle for the first part of the year– which he did –
and I expected there to be a crew chief change –
which did occur – but what I didn’t think was going to
happen was that Junior was going to be in a F5
tailspin for the whole year.
Champion: Carl Edwards
What I said then: I’m a big believer that to win a
championship you must first lose a championship.
And that’s exactly what happened to Carl
Edwards in 2008, he lost the championship to
Jimmie Johnson when he slipped up at Talladega
and ignited a multi-car wreck. Here’s thinking that
Edwards has learned from his mistakes in ‘08 and will
seal the deal in ‘09.
What did happen: Let me channel my inner-13-yearold for a moment. This isn’t my fault. At least not
completely. I only picked Edwards to win the
championship because everyone else was doing it. It
seemed like the cool thing to do at the moment. I
mean Edwards was coming off a fantastic season
that saw him win nine times and outperform Jimmie
Johnson during the Chase. What reason was there not
to like Edwards to win his first Sprint Cup
championship?
The answer to that is pretty obvious: Jimmie Johnson
is one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all-time
and just happens to be in the midst of a historic run
and because of that you should always pick him to
win everything until someone actually, you know, does
it. Lesson learned. Now we’re all smarter because of
this.
Rookie of the Year: Scott Speed
What I said then: Joey Logano may have the cool
nickname – “Sliced Bread” – but don’t sleep on
Scott Speed, who can also flat out drive. Logano
will be under immense pressure replacing Tony
Stewart in the Home Depot #20 car and this could
easily affect him as the year goes on.
What did happen: Um, can I have a mulligan? This is
the very reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to make
predictions.
In all honesty though, I did like Scott Speed’s chances
and I certainly thought he would do a lot more than
what he did, which was absolute zilch. Speed showed
–pardon the pun – none of the speed he showed the
year before, running Trucks and the ARCA Series.
While Logano, despite a rough beginning to his rookie
campaign that saw him finish 25th or worse in six out
of the first seven races, rebounded nicely and pieced
together a very solid rookie campaign that including a
win at New Hampshire in July.
Driver Who Will Surprise: Matt Kenseth
What I said then: Driving for the powerful Roush
Fenway team and with a new chief, Kenseth is
going to win multiple races, be a factor in the
championship and finish the year somewhere in
the top-five in points.
What did happen: Can I at least partial credit for this
one? I mean in my defense, Kenseth did win the first
two races of the year and if the season had ended
after the second race of the year, he would have
finished in the top-five in points.
Instead, Kenseth like the rest of his Roush Fenway
teammates struggled with an engine that wasn’t
competitive. As a result, Kenseth was sitting outside
continued on page 15
December, 2009
Page 14
In The Drivers Seat
Martin DeFries photo
Bob White in action during the 2009 season.
Bob picked up theNASCAR Minnesota
Rookie of the Year award.
Did you realize you would be eligible for the
NASCAR Rookie of the Year going into the
season?
No I never thought about it. We raced up at Tim’s
race track (I-94 Raceway) at Sauk Centre under
the ASA banner forever. When that track shut
down, we wondered what we were going to do. I
have a cabin up there, so that’s what made it so
nice about racing up there. We figured if I started
racing Saturday nights down here, that would ruin
the weekend. I had never raced at Raceway Park
in all of the years that I raced. All of my years of
racing, I raced at Elko in the Thunder Car division.
We were just torn. I didn’t know anything about the
rookie of the year or any of that stuff. I went out to
Raceway one night and picked up a NASCAR
license. I think I raced at Raceway three or four
times and raced at Elko twice. I did okay with what
we had. With the lack of experience at either track,
I was pretty happy. One day, I got this invitation in
the mail from NASCAR. I was talking to Tim
(Olson) one day and I asked him when did
NASCAR start inviting everybody to the banquet.
He didn’t know what I was talking about, so I told
him about this big fancy invitation I received in the
mail. I threw the thing away.
Did you end up going to the NASCAR Banquet?
Well yeah. One day I got a call from a gal from
NASCAR. She said her name was Lauren from
NASCAR in Daytona Beach. My first thought was
who’s the smart aleck of the day? I still didn’t have
a clue. I had no idea. She said “You don’t know
what’s going on, do you?” I said help me out here.
She told me that I had won the Rookie of the Year
for the state of Minnesota for NASCAR. I’m not
really fast to come back with a response, but I
figured she had the wrong guy. She told me exactly
where I had raced and where I had finished. I
figured, yeah, that’s me. I won a mid-season
championship in the Thunder Cars at Elko and I
won some features and stuff, but had never won
anything like this. I felt bad, knowing that all these
people are coming down there that have worked so
hard to win a championship, and here I stumble on it
by running six races under my belt. She told me I
shouldn’t feel that way. You were the rookie with the
most points of anyone that was a rookie.
I guess timing is everything?
Luck. That’s the story. I’m kind of bashful about the
way it came about, but I was honored to go to the
banquet. The experience was unbelievable.
What other divisions have you raced in during
your driving career?
That was it. Thunder Cars and Late Models. I helped
Bill Rhode on his Sportsmen car through the years, up
until Bill and I both raced Late Models at Sauk
Centre.
You were part of the Looney Toons team at Elko.
How did this come about?
Well, I wish I knew. That was Bill and Chuck and
Steve. I didn’t even know those guys back then, but
they pitted next to us. We became good friends
through the years, and kind of all stuck together
through the years. I don’t know how they got that
name, other than they weren’t your typical serious
racers. They were out to race, but they had a good
time doing it.
How long have you been racing?
I bought a Thunder Car back in, boy I wish I knew.
Charlie Hendricks was racing and I bought the car
from him. That must have been in the 1980’s. I raced
that car four or five years. I won the mid-season
championship. I raced back when Dan Ryan was
running a Thunder Car. Those were my first years.
What was your first involvement in racing?
That would be through my brothers kid. We went to
World of Wheels one year and the Quarter Midgets
were there. I had two girls and he had a boy. We
thought we should get involved in this. So we bought a
Quarter Midget and my girls didn’t like it. My
brothers kid went into the Quarter Midgets and then
one night we went across the parking lot to the big
track and Charlie Hendricks had a For Sale sign on
his car. Being that my girls weren’t going to race, I
said I’m going to buy that.
Usually the Quarter Midgets get the kids
involved, but I guess in this case the adults
became involved.
Pretty much, that’s it. Of course my brother
(Randy) came with me. After I was done racing,
we built an Impala for my brother. I crew-chiefed
for him for two or three years while he raced.
Have you had any other roles in racing besides
driving and crew work?
Yep, we were the Looney Toon Tech Team for a
while. That was when Renee and Pinger had the
track. I don’t know exactly how it came about.
Renee asked us one day if we would run tech. We
always thought we could do a better job. There
was about six or eight of us that split the money
amongst us. It was a lot of fun, and it was a
learning experience. We worked pretty hard at it.
I’m sure there are a lot of guys, and I’m sure
you’ve heard it before, they weren’t to crazy over
some of the things we did. We probably had more
that said we tried to make things fair and treated
everyone right.
Did being on the other side of the fence as an
inspector bring additional stress?
Oh yeah, it was like anything else. If you want to
know racing, you should race, you should be an
inspector one time and it would be even better if
you owned a track, then you would be a really
good racer. You should actually write the
newspaper, and then you would know more.
There are probably several people that would
disagree with the last statement, but that is
another story for a later date. What are your
plans for 2010?
I know Bill doesn’t have his car done yet, so he
didn’t race last year. He’s chompin’ to get out.
continued on page 15
Page 15
December, 2009
The Racing Geek from page 13
In The Drivers Seat continued from page 14
I’ve got my crew guy and my wife saying that I
should just go up to the cabin on Friday night and
come home Sunday and go racing Sunday night
at Raceway and see what I can do.
Any chance of you building cabin in the south
metro area of the Twin Cities?
I’ve been tying to get my wife to sell the cabin,
but as long as it’s still fun (racing), we’ll keep
doing it. I was really impressed with Raceway
Park. Although Elko is a heck of a fun track to
race on too, and quite a facility, Raceway is a
neat track. I thought I would hate it, we get out
of there early enough of on Sunday nights. I kind
of really thought all of the tech guys out there
were really nice. Everything I thought I wouldn’t
like, I really liked. Raceway gets a bad rap. It’s
Sunday nights and the I’m sure you’ve heard it
all, but it’s just fun.
the Chase for the Championship for the first time in
his career and had his lowest totals in top-5s, top-10s
and laps led since 2001.
Driver Who Will Disappoint: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
What I said then: Here is a general rule that I live
by when picking NASCAR races; if Dale
Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. is
prominently involved on one side of the equation,
go the opposite way. If you’re expecting Dale Jr.
to have more success in year two with Hendrick
Motorsports, you’re fooling yourself. Junior will
continue to have the occasional good run, and
maybe win a race or two.
What did happen: I couldn’t have been more right
about this one – to a degree. The Junior-Junior tag
team was doomed from the start and was such a
failure that Rick Hendrick “reassigned” Eury in late
May. Earnhardt, despite working with the capable
Lance McGrew, never was able to get his season
going and never came close to winning one race, let
alone two. Making Junior’s season even worse in
retrospect is the fact that his three Hendrick
teammates finished the year 1-2-3 in points.
The Biggest Story of 2009 Will Be: The Economy
What I said then: Like everywhere else in America,
the economy will be the most talked about thing in
NASCAR in 2009. Teams will continue to have a
hard time finding sponsors, and many will be faced
with the very real possibility of having to shut their
doors. If the year continues along the way it’s started,
don’t be surprised to see a big name team struggle to
come up with capital and for racetracks to continue to
struggle to fill seats.
What did happen: Call me Nostradamus because I hit
this one exact.
Jimmy Mussino
photo collection
Starting
with the Daytona 500 the economy was
indeed the biggest story of 2009. Tracks had an
exceedingly difficult time selling tickets. Fans
disguised themselves as empty seats. Very few races
were completely sold-out. A few noteworthy tracks –
Milwaukee, Memphis, and Nashville – shut their
doors. And quite a few big-name teams – RCR,
Hendrick, RPM and Roush – have found it difficult to
find sponsorship. Do you realize Mark Martin, who
won five races this year and finished second in points,
doesn’t have full funding for 2010?
And while we’re on the topic of predictions, here’s
another one: The economy will continue to be the
biggest story of the coming year. It’s only a matter of
time before Dodge and GM bow out of the sport.
Costs continue to balloon, while the TV ratings
continue to spiral to new record lows. This is a recipe
for disaster. And until the business model is changed
and NASCAR and its teams learn to adapt, the
economy will continue to be a black cloud hanging
ominously over the sport.
We'll be back with another on-line issue in February
featuring banquet coverage, our regular columns and
a review of the Father Dale Grubba book on the late
NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki.
December, 2009
Page 16
Photo Gallery
The Marcos Ambrose side of the Mikey Waltrip shop
Brooks & Dunn Legend car
The cars of Dale Jr. and Mark Martin at the Hendrick shop
The Intimidator at the Earnhardt Museum
The many colors of the RCR #3
The tire that cost Dale Earnhardt the 1990 Daytona 500
Page 17
December, 2009
Photo Gallery
Straight Line racer, Cruz Pedregon, gets ready to turn left and right
That had to hurt
World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz
The ultimate wedge Late Model of Charlie Swartz
Vintage Modified on display at the RCR museum
Rusty Wallace's first Cup Car