the Issue - The Midwest Racing Connection

www.theracingconnection.com
May 2016 Vol. 20, No. 1
IceBreaker && FrostBuster
FrostBuster Action
Action
IceBreaker
Sprint Car
Car Restoration
Restoration
Sprint
Inside...
Photo Gallery
Going In Circles
20 Years of MRC
May 2016
Page 2
Page 3
May 2016
The History of MRC
Publisher's Note
The Midwest
RACING
Connection
Racing According to Plan
May 2016
Vol. 20, No. 1
P.O. Box 22111
St. Paul MN, 55122
651-451-4036
[email protected]
www.theracingconnection.com
Publisher
Dan Plan
Contributing Writers
Shane Carlson
Dale P. Danielski
Jacklyn Daniels-Nuttleman
Dean Reller
Jason Searcy
Charlie Spry
Dan Plan
This issue of The Midwest Racing Connection marks
the 20th year of the publication in print. Originally
started by Rob Hahn as Minnesota’s Racing
Connection, yours truly purchased the publication in
2006 and ten years later, here we are.
I didn’t set out with a goal in life of owning a racing
paper as part of my career. Sometimes things just
happen. Rob presented the opportunity, and it seemed
like a good idea to me. Now, I would be lying if I said
everything has gone as I had envisioned 10 years go.
When I purchased the publication, my intent was to
gradually step away from my daytime job, and grow
MRC into my full-time occupation. I was hoping for
the opportunity to have a job in the racing industry and
be my own boss. Well, things didn’t necessarily pan
out the way I had hoped for. I still have a daytime job,
but the paper is still here too. A big part of why the
paper is still here is due to the great advertisers in this
publication. Make sure you support their businesses
whenever you get a chance.
Mike Tuma and the late Dan Ryan battle for
position on the cover of the first issue of MRC
I’ve had a lot of fun in the past ten years and had the
opportunity to meet a number of new people. Despite
not growing as much as I would have liked to have
seen, the paper still has grown a decent amount in the
last 10 years. The distribution of the paper at race
tracks has doubled, and you can now pick up a copy of
The Midwest Racing Connection in three different
states. Each issue is also now available in electronic
format (free of charge) on our website. We’ve tried to
keep up with the changing times.
Photographers
Jim Ambruoso (815-623-3200)
Jeff Blaser (715-498-7544)
Martin DeFries (651-346-1199)
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 times
during the summer racing season by
The Plan Company, Inc.
All material is copyrighted 2016 and may not be
reprinted without permission. Subscriptions are $20
for six issues. Call 651-451-4036.
Cover photos by: GRP Motorsports collection,
Jimmy Ambruoso, Jeff Blaser, Bruce Nuttleman and
Vince Peterson
continued on page 10
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Page 4
Page 5
May 2016
Going in Circles
Charlie Spry
My regular season of racing started off on the dirt at
the Lafayette County Speedway in Darlington,
Wisconsin. The weekend of April 15-17 was
absolutely gorgeous, weather wise, and the temps for
the regular season opener here were very pleasant,
even at night.
Brandon Wilson took the win in the A-mod feature,
after an intense battle with Jason Buss, while Eddie
LeMay was also a factor. Nothing like a side by side
finish on opening night to set the stage for a great
season!
The new limited late model class started off with a
field of seven, which is a good start for a new division.
Winner Jason Robbins hardly got his car dirty in taking
the opening night feature. He explained the class a bit
to the crowd, stating that the vehicles run a sportmod
motor in a late model chassis, with a spec shock
package.
easy to pass, but Michael waited patiently for the right
time to make his move, and then did it with little fuss.
Casey Johnson was running in second when his car
just up and quit on him, ending the day.
Surely, he would have been a factor, but I still don’t
know if anyone was going to stop Bilderback on this
day at least.
Finally, Cam Wahl took the win in the four cylinders in
his “2EZ” machine.
Many others were in the midst of having good runs
going, but had troubles. The ever-patient 2015 track
champion Jake Gille was running near the top, when
once again, his car misfired and quit during a caution
late in the race. Rookie Kyle Chwala was having a
good run, but found himself riding the wall and
billboards in turn 1-2 late in the race, but possibly the
racer with the worst day was Adam Peschek, who
seemed to find trouble everywhere, and in every race.
One driver that usually has bad luck here actually had
a pretty good day, as Rich Schumann Jr. moved up
and finished third. Former Columbus 151 Speedway
racer Tory Adams got into the show through the last
chance race, and was running steadily, until very late
in the race he slowed, but still finished. Have a soft
After getting chores done on the home front on
Saturday, I returned to more racing action on Sunday,
this time on the asphalt at the famed Rockford
Speedway, for the annual “Spring Classic.” Once
again, the weather was fantastic. I don’t think I have
ever gotten sunburned during the running of this race,
but it happened in 2016! I have seen snow and sleet
and bitter cold temps, but not too many 80 degree days
for this show.
Michael Bilderback served notice to all competitors
that he isn’t messing around at all in 2016, as he broke
the track record in qualifications for the Big 8 cars. He
backed that up with an impressive win in their
headliner, making the pass on Dale Nottestad for the
lead and ultimate win. Mr. Nottestad is not exactly
Going In Circles continued on page 17
Jeff Willis dominated the sport mod feature. Jeff made
the trip over from Iowa to race, living near another
track that also races on Friday nights. He alluded to
the fact that he drove right by his hometown track to
come race here, and that he plans on racing here
weekly.
Roger Winkers took the win in the sportsman truck
feature over rookie Beau Ploessl in the former Travis
Fecht championship truck from 2015.
Kim Kemperman photo
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May 2016
Page 6
Racing Nuggets
Mind Your Nuts
How could teams justify putting drivers at risk in an
effort to shave a second or so off of their pit-stop?
Perhaps peer pressure forced hands? If one team
chooses to do it, it essentially obliges another team to
do the same, in an effort to keep pace or risk getting
beat off pit road. It’s like a sick game of Reverse
Russian Roulette, only it’s with fewer lug nuts instead
of more bullets.
Jacklyn Daniels-Nuttleman
When I initially heard that NASCAR was not
enforcing the rule that all lug nuts must be secure on a
wheel after a pit-stop, I thought that was bizarre.
Why is this not an important safety issue that they
would want to continue to police? Not enough
manpower? Was there too much difficulty in spotting
an infraction? Or was this new fold in pit strategy
created after someone had a drunken and drug-addled
night? (That last one was the only one that made
sense to me.)
According to Jeff Gluck of USA Today, he says it
was in direct connection to the reduction of NASCAR
officials in the pit boxes. With no officials keeping an
eagle eye on the tire changers, the onus was put on
each team to make the decision on how many lug nuts
they want to secure per wheel. This is a safety issue
that seems ridiculous for any team to even consider
doing—regardless of whether or not there is a rule in
place to require all five. But I was wrong. Teams are
doing it quite a bit in an effort to save precious pit road
time. Sometimes only three lug nuts on the wheels,
instead of all five; such madness!
I realize that it’s a serious challenge to find an
exclusive competitive advantage with NASCAR
shrinking the parameters of the strategy box these
days. The sanctioning body tends to sniff and snuff
out any creative ideas for developing a unique edge,
but giving teams the option of putting less than all five
lug nuts on the car seems ludicrous.
With Mother’s Day upon us, it makes me wonder if
crew chiefs would continue to do this risky strategy if
their mothers got involved and pointedly quizzed them
about their decision to act like lemmings: “If the other
crew chief only put three lug nuts on his wheels,
risking his driver’s life and fans in the stands, would
you do it too?!”
But apparently, they do. The pressure to perform is
great, and the lure of shaving time off a pit stop is too
tasty for them to consider the greater potential of
hurting a driver, or more heinously maiming fans in the
stands should a loose wheel go flying up there.
I was talking with Brian Bank, who has been a tire
specialist here in the Midwest since 1994, working
with teams like Eddie Hoffman and Ty Majeski. His
view is pretty straightforward. “Race cars have five
studs and five lug nuts. If you don’t have all of the lug
nuts on, wheels are going to be loose. Wheels come
loose, wheels come off—drivers are going to wreck.
We have HANS devices, safer driver cockpits,
collapsible steering wheels, cut off switches for the
brakes to the ignition, all of this is about safety for the
drivers, but (in NASCAR) they don’t have to have all
lug nuts on the car?! In my opinion, from a safety
standpoint, it’s a no brainer; you have to have five lug
nuts on them.”
Yet in NASCAR, it seemingly takes a tragedy to
prompt rules for safety to be implemented. Head and
neck restraints weren’t mandatory, until we lost Dale
Earnhardt in that fateful crash. SAFER barriers
weren’t put into place until WELL after a string of
deaths, including Kenny Irwin Jr. and Adam Petty.
So why would NASCAR take what is essentially a
step backward and allow only 3 or 4 lug nuts per
wheel, when it poses a serious threat to drivers, and
fans in the stands?
It boggles the mind. Tony Stewart notably spoke out
on this issue recently, and actually did so in a very
eloquent manner, which is not always the norm for
him.
Again, Jeff Gluck with USA Today explained that
Tony Stewart had been at a quick lube shop to
promote a sponsor event with NASCAR, when a
reporter asked for Stewart’s thoughts on the lax lug
nut rule, which has been in place since the start of last
season.
Stewart pointed out that a tragedy borne from the
fewer lug nuts would cause a serious “black eye” to
NASCAR after they have been working so diligently
improving safety in recent years. It’s a solid point, and
he even complimented the sanctioning body for their
work thus far on safety. One would think that the
mere thought of a lawsuit, stemming from a wheel
flying into the stands because it didn’t have all five lug
nuts on it would have NASCAR shaking in its fine
Corinthian leather boots. But apparently, it doesn’t.
Instead, the sanctioning body fined Tony Stewart
$35,000 for breaking a rule; “disparaging the sport and/
or NASCAR leadership,” which apparently is an
infraction that gets NASCAR more fired up than the
serious potential of a wheel flying into the stands, or a
driver being killed in connection with a lack of lug nuts.
Weird.
NASCAR could be the big hero here, in many ways, if
they were to reinstate the lug nut rule for all wheels.
They would be returning to a safer standpoint for
drivers and fans in the stands, and they could help the
unemployment rate, by hiring back all of the pit road
officials that were cut when this lug nut decision was
made at the end of the 2014 season.
Sometimes cost-saving measures don’t end up saving
money in the long run. A lawsuit could wipe that
savings out completely.
Honestly, the fact that this is even a heated issue with
the sanctioning body is quite literally, NUTS.
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Page 7
May 2016
Dean & Jason
Talkin' Racin'
Some slight format changes on race night will occur as
well. In previous years in addition to the normal show
double features were run in three divisions on Eve of
Destruction nights making for a very compact race
schedule when you consider all of the extra
entertainment that happens on those very long race
nights.
This year, in addition to the normal show, double
features in four divisions will be run on the NASCAR
nights, giving the die-hard traditional race fan exactly
what they want, more racing. Eve of Destruction
nights will have single features in all the division
except for one (either the Big 8 or Super Late
Models), reducing the chance of an extra long race
night, that dear sir is a win-win scenario.
Jason Searcy
Elko Speedway begins its 51st season with an Eve of
Destruction on the Saturday night of Memorial
weekend, a couple weeks later than usual.
The Super Late Model and Big 8 divisions will each
have four nights off this year, they rotate doing the
Eve of Destruction nights, all other nights they will run
double features. Giving those drivers an opportunity to
travel with the car if they wish or simply just spend
more time with the family. Having a shorter season
with some off nights has been more of a priority for
families in this modern age of racing.
Some new but familiar faces will be taking over race
control at Elko. Midwest tour founder Tim Olson was
hired to oversee race day operations and two time
former Super Late Model champion Jason Schneider
has taken over the race director role. Both men are
well respected in the racing community and have been
open to suggestions coming into the 2016 season.
Some season schedule notes: The popular MN Corn
Growers night will return on Saturday June 4th. Elko
Speedway will have fireworks on Saturday July 2nd
and on the final race night Eve of Destruction October
1st. The 8th annual Thunderstruck93 event will be a
one day event on Saturday September 24th.
One thing that will be a change at Elko will be the new
“gentlemen’s tap out” rule. This has been used at
some Wisconsin tracks for years. If a driver feels
they are solely at fault for an accident they may pull to
the bottom of the start/finish line and tap their roof, at
that time only that driver will be sent to the tail of the
single file line with all others deemed involved
awarded their prior position. This rule will surely
provide some additional drama to every caution period,
so I would advise people to plan their bathroom breaks
accordingly.
Some story lines to follow coming into the 2016 season
include: How will Chris Marek do in his first year
racing with the Super Late Models? Marek has done
things the right way, he has climbed the ladder one
rung at a time. Winning a Hornets Championship in
2005, then a Power Stock title in 2006, he then won
the ASA Sportsman Championship in 2010 & 2011
before moving up to the Big 8 division and winning the
Championship 3 years in a row 2013-2015. In 2015 he
won an incredible 12 features at Elko Speedway.
Next is his biggest challenge but, if history means
anything, expect Marek to challenge the Goede
brothers for the Super Late Model title in the next
couple of years at Elko Speedway.
Can Grant Brown continue his rise? Fifteen year old
Grant Brown won the NASCAR division 4 National
title in the Power Stock division at Elko Speedway in
2015. Now he moves up to the highly competitive Big
8 division and if that is not enough of a challenge, he is
also recovering from a pretty serious injury. Brown
hurt in his lower leg while skiing this winter. On a
warm day Brown caught a rut and his foot jerked
backwards and off to the side, when that happened his
ankle folded over and smashed his leg against the side
of the ski boot causing a spiral fracture that wrapped
all the way around the bone. He spent the off season
rehabbing, just got the boot off his left leg and plans on
being ready for the season opener at Elko Speedway.
Grant said he feels like he has “a lot to prove” this
year and is motivated to do well.
Will the Kane vs Wolff rivalry continue to grow? The
best rivalry at Elko Speedway might be in the Thunder
Car division. Brent Kane and Jeremy Wolff had a
great point battle in 2015 and they seemed to always
be racing near each other. The rivalry is also fueled
by intensity, a mutual respect and a passionate fan
base supporting each driver. I’m curious if it will be
the Kane-iacs vs the Wolf pack again in 2016.
How will the KDDP help Michael Ostdiek? Michael
Ostdiek was chosen from hundreds of applicants to be
part of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program in
2016. His race team is granted a prize of $7,777 with
a chance to win $54,439 at the end of the year if he is
the chosen winner of the Kulwicki Cup. Ostdiek is a
former Great North Legends Champion in 2013 and he
had three Big 8 division wins in 2015 at Elko
Speedway. He plans on racing in both the Super Late
Model and Big 8 divisions this year on a semi-regular
basis at Elko Speedway while traveling as well.
Tons of stories to follow this year, don’t miss out, I
hope to see you all at the track this summer.
May 2016
Page 8
Auto Racing Facts,
Observances and
Opinions
Dale P. Danielski
When there’s a Sauter in a race you know there will
be excitement. If there’s two Sauter’s and a
Fredrickson in the same race you can’t possibly know
what will happen next! This was the case at the Dells
Raceway Park, Wis. Dells, WI., season opener 4/17/
16 as the Icebreaker 100 featured all three of these
drivers going for the big bucks on a perfect Sunday
afternoon for racing.
Sauter for the lead on lap 69. At this
point Morrissey was in control and it
was Dan Fredrickson moving up
through the field to challenge Sauter
for second. With double file restarts in
effect after caution periods
Fredrickson found himself next to
Sauter. Sauter was able to pull away
a bit but Fredrickson, after slight
contact, was poised to take the spot.
On the next lap he did but Sauter not
liking the previous laps slight contact
flew into corner one taking
Fredrickson out of the position. Sauter
Don Thunder Turner back racing at La Crosse
maintained the spot although
Fairgrounds on a regular basis in 2016.
Fredrickson tried his hardest while
spinning sideways to take Sauter with
him. Both would ultimately start in the back on the
car field was racing for second and when all was said
restart and with too few laps left had no opportunity to and done it was the short track king himself in that
challenge for the win. They did place 5th and 9th
spot, Steve Carlson. Carlson was however no match
respectively.
for Majeski but was able to out distance Mike Carlson
Morrissey meanwhile maintained his spot winning the
race and the over $3,000 that went with it. Tim
Schendel quietly made his way to the front and wound
up second at the finish. Rounding out the top 5 was Ty
Majeski, youngster Derek Kraus and Sauter.
As we said before with Sauter(s) and Fredrickson in a
race there will be fireworks. There certainly was no
shortage of that today and it will definitely give the
crowd something to talk about heading into the next
episode between the drivers whenever that may
occur.
Johnny Sauter and nephew Travis were both in
today’s main event and with a past history of contact
with not so good consequences it was anyone’s guess
what might come up. What came up was a slight love
tap early in the feature between the two which sent
Travis to the rear of the field. Shortly thereafter the
day was done for Travis but making his way back
through the field was Johnny Sauter taking the lead
from race long leader Andrew Morrissey on lap 47. At
that point it appeared the race was his as generally
when this happens its long gone Johnny. But not this
time as Morrissey hung in and actually repassed
And we go from the Icebreaker to the Frostbuster
with La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, West Salem,
WI scheduling that event Sunday 4/24/16 to open their
2016 season. With weather iffy a full show was
nonetheless completed and depending on your
perspective there could already be some controversy
brewing. Maybe controversy isn’t the right word but
the allowance of Crate engines in the Late Model
Division this year already in the opening race appears
to have created an advantage for Ty Majeski who is
one of two drivers to have one. Shattering the track
record in qualifying,
winning the dash
event along with
the feature will get
that kind of
discussion going as
that’s exactly what
Majeski
accomplished on
the day. He did it in
convincing fashion
as well taking the
lead in the main on
lap 8 after starting
In the defunct race track file it’s the Fox Ridge Speedway of Arcadia,
deep in the feature
WI in a photo taken in 2010. Dave Hesch built, owned and promoted
field. So with
the Speedway until it closed after the track in Fountain City, WI
Majeski long gone
opened creating a feud between the two for Friday night racing
the rest of the 17
Dale's Picture from the past
(Who had the other Crate) Adam Degenhardt, Brad
Powell, Shawn Pfaff, Cole Howland, Jerimy Wagner,
Matt Henderson and Don Turner the top 10. Is it the
engine that’s a big advantage or is it the engine/chassis
combination in Majeski’s car that already appears
unbeatable? Is a wait and see approach the way to go
about it or do changes need to be made as in now?
With the next race scheduled for May 14th there is
time to think about it so stay tuned as we will have
more next time!
Here and there…Also on the Dells racing card was
the Great Northern Sportsman Series. It’s always
exciting, competitive racing with this group and today
was no exception as track regular Dave Trute took the
win holding off Dustin Mann at the stripe…Midwest
Dash Series cars were on the card as well and it was
George Sparkman taking that feature win…Great to
see the large crowd on hand for the Dells opener.
Only draw back on the day was not possibly
anticipating such nice weather and a crowd this size as
the speedway ran out of numerous food and beverage
items… Rick Schermerhorn was on hand for the Lax
opener and he promptly picked up the feature win in
the Sportsman Division. Schermerhorn raced to the
win over Brian Hesselberg who beat Randy Humfeld
who is back this year by a foot at the line…With
drivers getting to race twice besides qualifying
Majeski’s feat can be classified as a modern era
“Clean Sweep”…Just received word that Dave Evans
has passed away. We remember seeing “Dynamite”
Dave race at a lot of venues all over the Midwest and
he fared pretty well through the years. He definitely
helped a number of top notch racers with their careers
in an ownership capacity as well. Again, another
familiar face in our era of racing is gone…The ARCA
Midwest Tour is set to get it’s 2016 season going May
1, with the Joe Shear Classic at Madison International
Speedway, Oregon, WI. Always a great event with
Racing Facts, Observances and Opinions
continued on page 17
Page 9
May 2016
Full Throttle
publication, he finally got his season rolling in
Richmond.
As Smoke rejoined the circuit for his final tour, it got
me to thinking about his legacy and his impact on the
sport.
That said, it’s nearly impossible to boil Smoke’s career
down to one moment. There were so many moments
from Stewart’s career, and hopefully there’s still a
few more to come. Some have left me scratching my
head, while others had me fist-pumping and cheering
him on.
There was the brash young gun in the No. 20 Home
Depot Pontiac, banging doors with anyone and
everyone. One incident in particular is still vivid in my
mind. The Bristol spring race in 2001 was classic
Stewart. Jeff Gordon and Stewart were battling for a
top 5 at the end of the race when Gordon got into
Stewart and spun him. To retaliate, Stewart returned
the favor on pit, turning Gordon into the outside pit
wall.
Shane Carlson
There was another Bristol incident where he made
helmet-chucking look good.
Getty Images
past few seasons, but one win could change his whole
season.
If there’s one thing I know, Smoke rises.
When I think of Tony Stewart, the first adjective that
comes to mind is ‘racer.’ He embodies the word.
Tough, gritty, smart, and willing to wreck his mom to
win a championship, Stewart, needless to say is a
character NASCAR will miss on-track.
A fractured L1 vertebrae kept Stewart out of the car
for the first eight races his final season of Sprint Cup
Series competition, and just prior to this month’s
His 2011 title fight with Carl Edwards was the
definition of an epic performance, and will go down as
one of the best championship
duels in history. It’s certainly
a race I still revisit from time
to time.
Perhaps the thing I
appreciate most about Tony
is his honesty. He’s one of
the best interviews in sports,
and he isn’t afraid to tell it
how it is. These days it’s
rare to hear someone speak
their mind, but he’ll still
throw barbs at Goodyear,
much to their chagrin.
Fans gravitate to Stewart
because he is his own
person. There’s no one else
like him on the NASCAR
circuit, and there won’t be
another like him. He’s a man
of the people. Sundays are
just a small part of Smoke.
During the week, he’s at dirt
tracks as an owner,
promoter, and hopefully as a
driver soon again. He stays
close to his roots, yet can
still go out and put on a show
on Sundays.
Lawdermilk/Getty Images
I have tempered my
expectations for the No. 14
team this season, purely
judging off performance the
May 2016
Page 10
Publishers note
from page 3
There is no doubt the founder
of this publication (or he
prefers to be called, Publisher
Emeritus - Rob Hahn) liked to
be on the leading edge of
controversy. On the flip side,
I’ve tried to stay in the
background and let the racing
and racers themselves make
the headlines. I still find it odd
that Rob was so
“controversial”, yet I’m the
one that had the paper banned
at one race track. It’s is
strange how this world works,
but fences have been mended
and we’ve all moved on.
Over the years, we’ve added
several new columnists with
unique views of the sport.
Some of the columnist we’ve
added were new to the
concept of writing a column,
while two of them (Dale P.
Danielski and Charlie Spry)
were formerly columnists in
the racing paper I grew up
reading, The Checkered Flag
Racing News. I was such a
fan of CFRN, we even made
tribute issues for a couple of
seasons. Another columnist
(Stan Meissner) recently
retired from his role, but we’re
hoping for another return from
the “Brett Favre of MRC.”
In addition to the columnists,
we’ve also added
photographers from across
this region of the country that
provide us with phenomenal
photos.
If you were to ask me if the
paper is where we had
planned it to be at this point,
the answer would be no. If
you asked me if I’m satisfied
of the growth of the paper in
the last 10 years, I would
most definitely say yes.
There simply aren’t many
racing papers left in this day
and age, but there still seem
to be a number of people out
there that like to physically
pick something up and read,
rather than looking at the
screen on their phone. To this
day, I still enjoy when I see
people in the pits or in the stands reading a copy of
The Midwest Racing Connection. Hopefully I’ve got
10 more years in me.
Miscellaneous news & notes;
Cedar Lake Speedway kicked off their 59th season
early in April. The Traditional Sprints have been a
great addition to their weekly show, and actually stole
the show opening weekend. In addition to the Sprints,
several other new improvements were put in place
during the off-season; new seats in the bleachers and
gravel added to the tailgate section in turns 3 & 4. The
really neat deal this year is their ability to show instant
replays on the Jumbotron. One can only imagine what
they’ll have in store when the track celebrates its 60th
season next year.
Dells Raceway Park and LaCrosse Speedway also
held their annual Icebreaker and Frostbuster events.
The 2nd Annual Icebreaker at Dells Raceway Park
once again had a large number of Super Late Model
drivers from the area, and strong numbers in the Great
Northern Sportsman Series and Midwest Dash Series.
Awesome weather and great racing all day long. I
won’t choose sides in the Fredrickson/Sauter deal, but
if this would have happened at Johnny’s daytime job,
he probably would have been parked, and called to the
hauler after the race.
The Frostbuster at LaCrosse was another great show
with all of the regular cast of characters on hand. One
of the divisions I enjoy most is the Sportsman type
cars. LaCrosse has always had a unique blend of body
styles in this division, and this year is no exception.
Some sharp looking Camaro and Challenger bodies,
but the best one in my book is Bill Martin’s AMC
Matador body. That car and paint job is sure to bring
back memories for many race fans.
Page 11
Race fans from the upperMidwest that had the pleasure of
growing up in the 1980’s were
able to witness some great Sprint
Car racing during this era. The
major circuit for these cars
during this time frame was the
Midwest Sprint Association and
featured the drivers in all of their
glory on the big half-miles of
Fairmont and North Starr
Speedway.
May 2016
Sprint Car
Car Restoration
Restoration
Sprint
One of the MSA circuit
champions and top drivers of this
era was Bob Hop in the Gillund
Enterprise/Justice Brothers car.
The car pictured on this page last
raced in 1988 and is currently
Greg Parent collection photo
owned by Glenn Gillund and
family. Gillund Enterprises is a
long time sponsor of many race tracks and drivers
over the years, and are dedicated to preserving the
history of these cars.
part of this restoration is
seeing all the faces of the
people smiling and talking
about this car that love to
see this car race back in the
day on the track. Almost
everyone has a story.”
There are a large number of
fans that still remember Bob
Hop, John Stevenson and
Jerry Richert battling across
the region. Thanks to Rob
Caho Sr. and the Gillunds’s,
another generation of fans
will have the opportunity this
year to see one of the
legendary cars in action
once again.
This year, Gillund Enterprises will be the title
sponsor for the Mississippi Valley Vintage Race
Car Association. The MVVRCA will race in Iowa
at some big name tracks like Knoxville, and
Oskaloosa.
Recently, Rob Caho started working on restoring
the Bob Hop car to its former glory. “I went to
them and asked if we could restore this beautiful
car and race it this season with the MVVRCA.”
Rob is looking forward to getting this car back into
shape, “The most challenging part of restoring this
car was it sat outside year-round and the weather
did a number on it. The mice filled the headers up
with dog food and got into the engine. We had to
pull apart the engine because it would not
turnover.”
Rob Caho photo
When asked about what it will feel like to have the
car completed, Caho stated. “The most rewarding
Rob Caho photo
May 2016
Page 12
Photo Gallery
Rockford Speedway kicked off their 69th season early in April
Jimmy Ambruoso photo
Devan Knipfer adjusts tire pressure on Andrew Morrisey's race winning ride
Doug Hornickel photo
Bill Martin's AMC Matador Sportsmen
Bruce Nuttleman photo
Dan Fredrickson and Jeff Storm at the Dells. Both were OK after this hit
Scott Swenson photo
Bryan Roach made his Sprint Car debut opening weekend at Cedar Lake
Vince Peterson photo
Jody Deery with Spring Classic winner Michael Bilderback
Jimmy
Ambruoso
photo
The
Inside Dirt
continued on page 17
Page 13
May 2016
Photo Gallery
Dennis Prunty set fast time at the Icebreaker
Mark Melchiori photo
The Parade lap on opening weekend at LaCrosse Speedway
Bruce Nuttleman photo
The unique roof line of Corey Williams "W" Modified
Vince Peterson photo
David Reutimann drove the Modified of Jason Gross at Cedar Lake Speedway
Vince Peterson photo
Mid American Stock Car action at the Spring Classic
Kim Kemperman photo
The Dodge Challenger of Brian Hesselberg
Bruce Nuttleman photo
May 2016
Page 14
Midwest Representation in the 2016
Kulwicki Driver Development Program
Bruce Nuttleman photo
Kim Kemperman photo
Two drivers from the upper-Midwest made the final roster for the 2016 Kulwicki Driver Development program.
Alex Prunty (left photo) and Micheale Ostdiek (righ photo) were selected from a long list of candidates. Prunty started off his season at the Dells
Raceway Park Icebreaker and Ostdiek raced in the Spring Classic at Rockford Speedway
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Page 15
May 2016
May 2016
Page 16
Cedar Lake Speedway Opening Weekend
Cedar Lake Speedway kicked off their 59th
consecutive season early in the month of
April with their annual two-day special
event. Phenomenal weather greeted race
fans of the one-week delayed event.
Highlights of the weekend featured Jesse
Glenz of Cadott, WI, picking up his first
career Late Model win, Mitch Weiss
topping the Midwest Modifieds, and Rick
Kobs sweeping both nights in the
Traditional Sprints. Other main event
winners for the weekend included; Steve
Laursen (Late Model), Joey Jensen &
Lucas Schott (Modifieds), Eric Martini &
Dave Maas (Pro Stocks) and Jason
Vandekamp (Midwest Mods).
(All photos courtesy of Vince Peterson)
"Marty on the mic" interview's Jesse Glenz
following his first Late Model main event win (top),
Jake Kouba and Rick Kobs put on an epic battle in
the Traditional Sprints (left) and Mithe Weiss
made a victory lap in the Midwest Modifieds on
opening weekend at Cedar Lake Speedway.
Page 17
May 2016
Going In Circles continued from page 5
place in my heart for those racers who ran at
Columbus!
The Mid-Am feature was one that seemingly
nobody wanted to win. Jeremy Bloomberg led early,
and then Ryan Gutknecht took over, as Dan Gilster
followed. During a caution period, Gutknecht
suddenly pulled in the infield and over to the rescue
truck with his car on fire, ending his day. Then,
Gilster took the lead, but later pulled into the pits
with an unspecified malady. Then, Mark Pluer and
Bill Prietzel spun while running one-two, again giving
the lead back to Bloomberg once again. Bloomberg
got the win, saying afterwards that he had the
fortune to have a car that just kept going when
others had troubles.
The Midwest Ethanol Super Trucks only had three
present, but they still ran twin features, which were
pretty evenly matched. Ken Calhoun won the first
one and Chester Ace the second. Calhoun noted
that this was his very first career feature win.
Chester Ace took the overall.
In coming issues I will give some updates on some
of the weekly racers at many tracks, including
Rockford, Madison International and Marshfield
amongst others.
Racing Facts, Observances and Opinions
from page 8
the hugely popular Joe Shear name attached to it
makes it even greater…Looking at a couple close to
home tracks Mississippi Thunder Speedway of
Fountain City, WI is set to open for the season on
Friday, April 29th…Meanwhile Tomah/Sparta
Raceway, Tomah, WI. is set to begin its racing
season may 8th. Sundays will be the norm through
May before action commences on Friday nights…
And looking back on June 4, 2004 it was Brady Smith
winning the 50 lap feature at Fox Ridge Speedway,
Arcadia, WI. Looking further back on Thursday night
June 18th 1964 at the Dells Motor Speedway, it was
Everett Fox taking the feature win over Marv
Marzofka, Marlin Walbeck and Lyle Nabbefeldt. The
semi-feature win went to John McNamara.
And on a final note I want to dedicate this racing
season and these columns to my father in law who
unexpectedly passed away
April 17th. Gary Luing was
a big racing fan and at 75
years of age had a lot of life
left in him. As sad as it is, at
least now he’ll have a
chance to meet his favorite
driver at that Super
Speedway in the sky Dale
Earnhardt, Sr. Rest in peace
Gary, we won’t forget and
we are really going to miss
you!
Questions, comments,
opinions and other
information welcome at
Starmaker Multimedia 967
10th Ave N Ste A,
Onalaska, WI 54650 608783-5827
Tim Schendel off to a good start in 2016 and continuing to build off of a
successful 2015 season where he was the Central Wisconsin Racing
season Champion.
May 2016
Page 18
2nd Annual Icebreaker at DRP
The second annual IceBreaker at Dells Raceway
Park featured chamber of commerce weather once
again. A stout field of Late Model competitors from
the upper-Midwest converged at the facility for this
early season special event. Andrew Morrisey took
home the big win on Sunday afternoon, but his win
may be overshadowed by the Sauter/Fredrickson
incident that took place near the end of the race.
Unfortunately, many fans will forget that Sauter and
Morrisey raced each other without contact and
exchanged the lead back and forth. Many will just
remember that one driver lost his temper and dumped
another driver, which ended up taking out an innocent
bystander. The weekend also featured the Great
Northern Sportsman Series and the debut of the
Midwest Dash Series. The Great Northern Sportsman
Series (GNSS) main event had
multiple race leaders over the
course of the feature race.
Dave Trute picked up yet
another GNSS win and Boyce
Sparkman was the winner in the
inaugural Midwest Dash main
event.
Left photo - Icebreaker top
three; Tim Schendel, Andrew
Morrisey and Ty Majeski.
Bottom photo - Dave Trute and
Dustin Mann battle for first
place in the GNSS main event.
Scott Swenson photo
Jeff Blaser photo
Frostbuster kicks off season at LFS
The annual Frostbuster kicked off the season for
weekly competitors at LaCrosse Speedway. Ty
Majeski continues a strong start to the 2016 by setting
a new track record and recording a clean sweep in the
Late Models. Rick Schermerhorn held off Brian
Hesselberg for the Sportman win. Hornet and Thunder
Stox main events were captured by Jordan Young and
Jason Bolster.
Bruce Nuttleman photo
Ty Majeski is surronded by
members of the media (right)
Hornet action on the quarter mile
(bottom-right) Rick Schermerhorn
takes the checkered flag (below)
Bruce Nuttleman photo
Bruce Nuttleman photo
Page 19
May 2016
The Shot
Shot Heard
Heard 'Round
'Round The
The World
World
The
trackratphotos.vfcfunding.com
Jeff Blaser photo
651-346-1199
www.redlinegraphics.net
The Next Issue of
will be available
June 2016
www.theracingconnection.com
May 2016
Page 20
2016 Spring Classic
The 39th running of the Spring Classic took place at Rockford
Speedway early in the month of April. Michael Bilderback
passed early race leader Dale Nottestad just passed the midpoint of the race to pick up the win. The right photo shows
Bilderback making the race-winning pass. Below (right) is
2015 track champion Jake Gille and "Driver X" Jon Reynolds
Jr.. Photo (directly below) shows the Spring Classic top-3
(Rick Schuman, Bilderback and Nottestad)
(All photos courtesy of Jimmy Ambruoso)
Division - Traditional Sprint
Home Town - New Richmond, WI
Driver of the
Month
Chase Viebrock
Charlie Weber photo
Page 21
International fluid transfer
solution specialists PIRTEK
have created the opportunity
of a lifetime for Matt
Brabham in next year’s 100th
Indianapolis 500, set to take
place on May 29.
May 2016
PIRTEK to
to Sponsor
Sponsor Matt
Matt Brabham
Brabham at
at 100
100thth Indy
Indy 500
500
PIRTEK
Brabham, just 21, will become
just the third third-generation
driver to qualify for the 500,
following in the footsteps of
his grandfather Sir Jack who
drove the first ever rearengined car in the race in
1961 and his father Geoff,
who had a best finish of
fourth from his 10 starts
(1981-1993).
The team has been created
by Australian motorsport
identity, Brett “Crusher”
Murray and will be run in
conjunction with KV Racing
that the 100th running of
the Indy 500 will provide
the perfect platform to
accelerate awareness of
the PIRTEK franchise
system and products to
the wider US market.
While preparing for the
100th Indy 500 will be
significant enough,
PIRTEK will be working
with Team Murray
management on a series
of business and charitable
initiatives leading up to
the May events. The
investment will also be
leveraged globally, but
especially in the
Australian and New
Zealand markets where
the Brabham name is
legendary.
Team Murray photo
Team Murray photo
Technology, who won the Indy 500 in
2013 with Tony Kanaan. The entry will
be known as PIRTEK Team Murray
and will compete in the Angie’s List
Grand Prix road course race at
Indianapolis on May 9 and the 100th
running of the Indy 500 on May 29.
The PIRTEK program holds even more significance
when you realize that Matt was born in the US, raised
in Australia and now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Brabham has spent the last four years forging his
open-wheel career in the US. He won the USF2000
and Pro Mazda Championships before progressing to
Indy Lights.
Executive Director of PIRTEK
International, Glenn Duncan, is
overseeing a national expansion plan of
its unique franchise model that
integrates mobile and ‘bricks and
mortar’ service and supply centers
across the 48 mainland US states.
Globally, PIRTEK has successfully
used sports – and motorsport in
particular – to promote its brand for
more than 30 years. Duncan believes
He is set to get seat time in a varied list of events in
preparation for this year’s Indy 500, which he is
hoping will lay the foundation for a full-time IndyCar
drive.
Upcoming Events
July 30, 2016
Cedar Lake Speedway
21-year-old Brabham will be the ninth Australian to
qualify for the Indianapolis 500 since Rupert Jeffkins,
from Maitland in NSW, drove in the very first event in
1911 in a car entered by the Velie Motor Company,
from Illinois.
May 2016
Page 22
The Midwest Racing Connection Directory Page
Methanol Available
Red Wing, MN
1-800-634-9666
www.wilsonoilcompany.com
Hillside
Drywall
Shakopee, MN
612-812-0278
Downtown Shakopee
952-445-9668
Monthly Racing
Commentary with
LEW BOYD
Street Stock/Sportsmen Parts
LaCrosse, WI
wwww.speedtalkon1360.com
www.coastal181.com
www.dcaracefab.com
www.aRaceWorthWinning.org
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
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Page 23
May 2016
May 2016
Page 24