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July 2018 Vol. 22, No. 3

Inside...

First Time Winner

Racing Nuggets

Going In Circles

A Series Within A Series

Modified Masters

Page 2July 2018

Page 3 July 2018

The MidwestRACINGRACINGRACINGRACINGRACING

ConnectionJuly 2018

Vol. 22, No. 3

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

651-451-4036www.theracingconnection.com

PublisherDan Plan

Contributing WritersDale P. DanielskiJacklyn Daniels-NuttlemanDean RellerJason SearcyCharlie Spry

PhotographersGuy Adams (815-980-0354)Jeff Blaser (715-498-7544)Martin DeFries (651-346-1199)TJ Harron (608-301-5258)Doug Hornickel (920-563-0993)Stan Kalwasinski (219-923-1475)Tom Loos (715-370-7895)Mark Melchiori (414-463-0131)Bruce Nuttleman (612-860-6622)Vince Peterson (612-419-6372)Jess Riedner (608-334-5329)

The Midwest Racing Connection is published six timesduring the summer racing season by

The Plan Company, Inc.All material is copyrighted 2018 and may not be

reprinted without permission. Subscriptions are $20for six issues. Call 651-451-4036.

Cover photos by: Martin DeFries, BruceNuttleman, Vince Peterson and Charlie Weber

Dan Plan

Racing According to PlanRacing According to PlanRacing According to PlanRacing According to PlanRacing According to PlanPublisher's NotePublisher's NotePublisher's NotePublisher's NotePublisher's Note Preserving the Past

CEDAR VIEWELECTRIC, INC.

New Construction - Remodel - Service Work

952-469-2100

Lakeville, MN

Those of us that attended the annual Labor Day raceat the Minnesota State Fair, often made a visit toHeritage Square by the midway. This area of thefairgrounds had a racing history section. After theracing ceased at the State Fair, the memorabilia itemswere still located in this area. I know my wife wasprobably bored walking through the racing historysection, as the items were the same from year to year,but I religiously made the trek through HeritageSquare each time I went to the Fair.

In recent years, the State Fair went through anotherremodeling project, and demolished this section of thefairgrounds. They created a new history building thathad far less racing memorabilia included. I’m sure I’mnot alone in thinking the fair board probably tossedaway most of the historical racing items. That wouldhave truly been a shame.

Turns out, that wasn’t the case. In the June issue ofthe IMCA Oldtimers newsletter, club president MarkLanger announced the club had reached an agreementwith the Minnesota State Fair to obtain many of theitems from “Speedy’s Garage”. So many items wereretrieved, it actually took about six pickup truck loadsto retrieve. The items include old driver’s suits,helmets and other memorabilia from the days gone byat the State Fair.

The IMCA Oldtimers picked up the items and plan topreserve the racing history of the State of Minnesotaat their display, located on the Dakota CountyFairgrounds. The clubs display at the Dakota CountyFairgrounds is located in the area known as theDakota Village, with many historical buildings andother vintage items. The 2018 version of the DakotaCounty Fair will take place from August 6th throughAugust 12th.

Personally, I can’t wait to see these items on displayagain. Kudo’s to all of the members of the IMCAOldtimers for obtaining these items and helping topreserve Minnesota racing history.

Page 4July 2018

Going in CirclesGoing in CirclesGoing in CirclesGoing in CirclesGoing in Circles

Charlie Spry

Madison International Speedway has gotten into the“meat” of their schedule now, with various divisionsand types of race cars competing, in addition to theregular divisions.

It was nice to see sportsman division racer SamMessell get her first win ever, taking a heat race winin late May. Just starting her second year ofcompetition in this division, she looks much faster andsmoother this year, and looks like good things will becoming her way!

The hobby stocks ran a show here recently, and didvery well. Good, tight racing on the “Ring Of Fire,”and it was Brandon Angilieri getting the feature winonce again. In their appearance last season, he wonthe feature on that night as well. He may have a targeton his back in further competition here!

The Midwest Compact Series also ran here, withvarious cars from various tracks competing. PhilMalouf had the transmission fail on his car, and he andhis crew had a new one installed in time to qualify late.That is pretty impressive wrenching!

Scott Ciesielski had good things to say about theseries, stating, “We are like one big family, everyone

works together, helps each other, and has fun.” Scotthadn’t done much racing yet as the weather hasplayed a big part in racing in central Wisconsin, wherehe is from. “We had 32 inches of snow in the month ofApril,” Said Scott.

The entry level Six Shooter division once again looksstrong, with drivers of varied backgrounds andexperience competing. Bud Riedner has wonchampionships and many features on both dirt andasphalt, and is competing. There are also some driversgetting onto the track for the very first time. Ron“Ozzy” Osborne is racing the car his son raced lastyear. I don’t think he has bitten the head off of a batyet, however, or named his car the “Crazy Train.”

Ken Morris is fielding at least three cars in the SixShooter division, saying, “I really want this division togrow and prosper. We need something like this that isrelatively cheap to get into. I plan on building somecars and then selling them to people that want to getinto it. The one guy I have racing my car tonight hasnever been on the track before.” Ken also raced

himself, and another of hisdrivers is former Columbus 151Speedway backup racer RandyGrancorvitz, who led most of thefeature only to get passed at theline.

I’ve noticed plenty of fansleaving the facility before the SixShooters run their feature. Theyare making a mistake, as thisdivision puts on some very closeand exciting racing.

At the Rockford Speedway, Icontinue to be very impressedwith the racing put on by youngMax Kahler. At fifteen years of

age, he has a few years of racing under his beltalready. “I started out racing go-karts on the dirt atage nine, then in 2016 I raced the late model atJefferson twice, then last year here, and now this yearas well.” Max became the youngest driver in thehistory of the Rockford Speedway to win a late modelfeature, when he did so on 6-24-17. This season hehas had several really strong runs and strong finishes,and finally got that second career late model featurewin just recently. He is an impressively smooth andtalented driver, and he is getting just a bit moreaggressive as well in dealing with other drivers whowill take advantage if you don’t! I look for big thingsout of this driver in the future, as he also speaks welland is very articulate.

Late model veteran Jerry Gille has been fast inqualifying, but it hasn’t resulted in top feature finishesas of yet. “It’s the tires. We are having troublefiguring them out. I might be fast in one corner andthen the guy I am racing with will be fast in the nextcorner. Most of us are in the same boat other than acouple of exceptions. We just have to keep working onit.” I’m sure he and his crew will solve the problemquickly.

Shannon Stoltz has finally broken through and grabbedhis first American Short Tracker division feature winof the season, holding off a hard charging FrancBeldowski, who has been pretty dominant this year.Beldowski and Aaron Rude had been the only twodrivers in this division to get feature wins up until Mr.Stoltz got the job done.

Rockford AST racer David Russell Jr. has honored hisfamilies’ involvement in getting him started in thesport, and even brought out his backup car recently tolet his Dad, David Russell Sr. take the wheel and race.

Going In Circles continued on page 5

Guy Adams/HotShot Photography

Hobby Stocks lined up and ready to take on the "Ring of Fire"Jess Riedner photo

Page 5 July 2018

David Jr. said “I wanted Dad to get a chance to raceagain, with me, and I asked him when he wanted to doit, and he said Father’s Day would be a good time, sohere we are.” The elder Russell noted that it had beenquite some time since he last raced, saying, “It’s beenabout thirty years, 1987 or so. It was back when wewere racing (Chevrolet) Vega’s. We ran on streettires that had to be shaved.” He also noted that thetrack was virtually the same back then, but that thespeeds are much greater now and the cars muchdifferent. When asked later if he wanted to get backto racing weekly, he replied, “No, I’ll leave it to theyoung guys.”

The Six-cylinder division is taking off here as well,with fourteen showing up on the first of nine “WildWednesday” shows. Very competitive and fun towatch racing, and the fans were really getting into it.Cars of various makes and models were present, butthe one that stood apart from the others was the Buickraced by Sean Worman. A nicely painted and letteredcar with a very strong looking roll bar and door bars.A well built car that shows pride in ownership.

Nice to see Ashley Matts get her first career featurewin in the Wednesday night WWOW (WingedWomen On Wheels) competition. She is another driverwho has gotten faster as time goes on and is lookingstrong. She held off Cassidy Frisch to get that firstwin, and that isn’t easy!

We took a three-day racing vacation into central/western Wisconsin, stating off with a stop at the StatePark Speedway near Wausau for a regular show. Ireally like the pure stock car driven by Chad Dietsche.It is a 1970 Chevelle, painted a beautiful blue and goldcolor. “This car is owned by Brandon Fraaza, and wasbuilt back in the 1990s, going through severalevolutions. “We decided to re-do the car and build it tolook like it would be back in the day. The lettering is allby hand, and the body has been all re-done with partsfrom various sources,” said Chad. He has won threefeatures so far, this season as of this writing. Salvageyards and body shops have been the sources for mostof the body panels. Parts for a car of this popularityand vintage are usually not cheap, but they got somepanels that were refused by body shops for restorationpurposes, but just fine for a race car.

Rayce Haase (Isn’t that the best racing name, ever?)is racing a car that formerly was raced by his Dad,Jesse. “He is going to be a way better driver than Iever was,” said Jesse. “He just needs to gain theexperience and get the seat time.”

Nice to see super late model racer Mike Olson get thefeature win on this night. He has really stepped up hisgame the past couple of seasons after some ratherlean years, and has really come into his own lately,setting fast times and winning features. He has paidhis dues and has earned everything he gets.

Dillon Mackesy got a little emotional in victory laneafter winning the limited late model feature, his firstcareer. Another driver who has paid his dues, he isstepping right up and winning in every division hemoves up to.

Derek Doerr is making the two-and-a-half hour trip uphere from his home in Watertown every time theyrace here. The 19 year old driver is racing his superlate model here, after moving up the ranks in racing.He raced karts for a couple of years, then steadilymoved up through the ranks, saying, “I started outracing the mini-cup cars when I was fourteen yearsold, ran them for a couple of years, then raced in theMidwest Truck Series in 2016 and 2017, and nowthis.”I always liked this track (Wausau) when I racedthe truck here, so we thought it would be a good placeto race the super late, plus, the racing is pretty clean.”Derek’s Dad, Randy, has been a crew chief for many,many top ranked teams, and brings a wealth ofknowledge to help Derek get acclimated. “TheWimmer’s have treated us real well here, so we arehappy to be racing here,” said Randy. Derek wouldscore a heat race win on this night, his first career in asuper late, then led the feature for many laps. He hasproven himself in every racing vehicle he hascompeted in, and I’m sure he will in the super late aswell. The car is one that had sat around for a coupleof years and had been through various drivers beforethat, and at one time had belonged to Steve Carlson.

We then took a trip up to the Red Cedar Speedwayfor a Friday night show. Had never been there before,and it was nice to mark that off the list. Had a chanceto see many drivers that I never get to see or haveonly read about. Fun time!

We then stopped off at the Marshfield MotorSpeedway on Saturday for the second annual BevAschenbrenner Memorial, Bev was Mom toannouncer Brandon, and track mom to so manyothers. She lost her life two years ago, and Brandondid a great job in organizing and putting this showtogether in her honor. Largest car count and fan countthat I have seen in awhile here, so great to seeeveryone respond in a positive manner to honor Bev.

The TUNDRA super late models were headlining,with Colin Reffner setting fast time and then winningthe feature. Nice to see Colin get the win on the trackwhere he has scored many feature wins in otherdivisions, but first in a super late model. I know thatColin and the whole team were ecstatic, and rightfullyso! Nice job!

Going In Circles continued from page 4

Super Stock action at Red Cedar Speedway(right photo) and a big win for Colin

Reffner in the TUNDRA Super Late BevAschenbrenner Memorial race at Marshfield

Speedway (photo below)

Vance Birno photo

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Page 6July 2018

Family TimeOne of the greatest things going for short track racing is the family involvement. With Father’s Day taking place in the month of June each year, we

dug through our archives from this year. Here are several Father/Son racing teams as they prepare to hit the track this season.

Mike and Dustin Tuma

Daryl and Bryce Blohm Don and David Swearingen

Dan and Adam Oxborough

Page 7 July 2018

Brett Moffitt grew up in Grimes, Iowa, about 44 milesfrom Newton, Iowa, where Iowa Speedway islocated.

Moffitt didn’t always have the lifelong dream of racingat Iowa Speedway though, as he remembers a timewhen there was no Iowa Speedway yet. “I rememberwhen this was just a cornfield,” he said.

Yet Moffitt found himself standing in Victory Lane ashe was the winner of the NASCAR Camping WorldTruck Series race at Iowa Speedway, the lone trip theseries takes to the 7/8-mile speedway that races like asuperspeedway. It was the second time Moffitt drovethe No. 16 Destiny Homes Toyota Tundra to VictoryLane for Hattori Racing Enterprises in the 2018campaign.

It’s not the first time Moffitt has visited Victory Laneat Iowa Speedway though. In 2011, he won the K&NPro Series East race at Iowa Speedway driving forowner, Michael Waltrip. “To win here…and to do it inthe Truck Series on the national level is huge and Idon’t think many people know the sacrifices we’vemade this year to get to the racetrack as a team,”Moffitt said.

The win was also special for Moffitt as it happened onFather’s Day weekend. Moffitt attributes a lot of thesuccess he has had to his father and said he is the onewho keeps him motivated. “To have all these thingsadd up and to go to Victory Lane at Iowa Speedwayunder these circumstances, it will go down in my mindas one of the best victories of my life,” he said.

Wins never come easy, as was the case on a blisteringhot Saturday afternoon turned evening. The last stageof the race, Moffitt held off a hard-charging NoahGragson who was searching for his second win of theyear as well in the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass ToyotaTundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

With Moffitt leading into Turn 3 of the final circuit,Gragson drove his truck in hard on the bottom with adive-bomb move to go for the win. Gragson drifted upthe track and hit the wall. Moffitt eased into Turn 3knowing Gragson was going to try and drive in hardand carry a lot of speed. “Luckily, I backed up theentry enough to stay wide open from the middle of(Turn) 3 and (Turn) 4 to the start-finish line.

The win was Moffitt’s second of the season, as hisfirst win of the year came in the season’s second raceat Atlanta. Moffitt’s first career Truck Series victorycame last year at Michigan.

With the win, Moffitt is third in the standings, trailingJohnny Sauter and Noah Gragson but should have aspot in the playoffs if the No. 16 team can manage torun the whole schedule.

As it stands, it’s a big “if,” as Moffitt indicated there isstill a lot of uncertainty as far as the rest of the seasongoes. In his post-race press conference at IowaSpeedway, fresh off the win, he was already startingto look forward to thesituation his race team is in.“Certainly, we’re in a greatspot in the points and in a spotto compete for achampionship, and there’s stilla few open races coming up,”Moffitt said. “I know we’regood for Gateway and then Ithink Chicago we’re lookingfor a sponsor to partner withthere. It’s certainly on all ofour minds all the time and it’ssomething we’re working onto try and close that gap,” hesaid.

“There’s a lot of uncertaintyon those open races, so we’llkeep working,” Moffittindicated. “Winning Iowa ishuge. I think it’s going to bebe big momentum for theteam, I think it’s going to helpus fund the rest of the season.I don’t know how yet, buthopefully it does.”

In between trying to findfunding to run the entireseason and preparing racetrucks for Gateway andChicagoland, Moffitt plans tocelebrate winning in his homestate accordingly. “I’m goingto have fun with this one. It’sbeen a rough month-and-a-

Hometown hero gets Truck Series win at Iowa Speedwayhalf I would say with just the results we’ve had. Therace trucks that we’ve had have been great and I feellike we’ve given a couple away.”

There was no taking the smile off of the 25-year oldfollowing his win. “To finally come out here tonight, atmy home track, with my family here, with my friendshere, with a new sponsor on board, this is the perfectstorm.”

by Shane Carlson

Getty Images for NASCAR

Getty Images for NASCAR

Page 8July 2018

Dean & JasonDean & JasonDean & JasonDean & JasonDean & JasonTalkin' Racin'Talkin' Racin'Talkin' Racin'Talkin' Racin'Talkin' Racin'

Gramm Takes New WISSOTA Position

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Dean Reller

Carson Gramm might not be someone you recognizeby sight or name, but he’s quickly trying to change thatas he gets acclimated to all of WISSOTA. Earlier thisyear, Gramm took the new position of AssociateExecutive Director of WISSOTA. WISSOTA is thepromoters association that governs several tracksthroughout the upper Midwest. Later this year, he willdrop the Associate title and become the ExecutiveDirector when Terry Voeltz retires from the long heldposition.

Gramm has virtually grown up around racing. From ayoung age, he accompanied his dad, Mark Gramm, inthe booth as he announced the races at Brown CountySpeedway in Aberdeen, SD. That was just thebeginning of what would become a career in racing.

“My dad made the mistake of taking me to the go-karttrack,” joked Gramm during a recent interview. “Atthat point we left the go-kart track and I looked at mydad and said “I want one of those right now” andthat’s when it all started.”

Once his karting career started, Gramm didn’t miss asingle season. The only races he missed were at theend of one year due to a broken leg, which happenedplaying football at school. From karts, he moved on toLegend cars. The Gramms purchased a car fromMike Dillon, whose son, NASCAR driver Ty Dillon,previously raced it in the southeast. Gramm’s firsttime out was a very short outing as he crashed anddestroyed the car on his first lap and a half on thetrack. After purchasing another car, he raced aroundthe area for a couple of years. Then, once he startedcollege at Minnesota State University Mankato, heswitched to a Super Stock and ran mostly at his hometrack, the 3/8ths mile Brown County Speedway duringthe Summer months.

While at Minnesota State Mankato, he obtaineddegrees in both Sports Management and Economics.The focus was trying to get into the business side ofracing. During his senior year he interned at ElkoSpeedway a 3/8ths mile paved track located in ElkoNew Market. Then, after graduating in 2018, he tookthe position of General Manager/Promoter at GraniteCity Speedway in Sauk Rapids. During the wintermonths between seasons, a phone call changed it all.

“I was sitting at home one Sunday afternoon and I gota call from a WISSOTA board member asking to talkto me about some things,” said Gramm. “I thought ohman, what did I do at the racetrack?” “They ended uptalking to me about the position (at WISSOTA). Then,I officially put in my resume, had an interview and itjust kind of all fell into place.”

The role of Associate Executive Director allowsGramm to get a feel for what he will be taking overwhen Voeltz retires.

“My role this year ismeeting everyone.That’s why I’mgoing fromracetrack toracetrack.”

Besides, getting toknow the tracks anddrivers, he isworking onobtaining additionalsponsorship for thesanctioning bodyand for events suchas the WISSOTA 100. The headliner event forWISSOTA is moving to a new location in Fergus Fallsthis September. Gramm has already secured someadditional sponsorship and is continuing to work ongetting more.

As young drivers are slowly replacing the veterans onthe racetrack, Carson Gramm is working to becomethe next generation of executives who will be thefuture of racing off the track as well.

Page 9 July 2018

Modified Masters at Cedar Lake SpeedwayThe 2018 version of the Masters at Cedar Lake Speedway featured the USMTS Modifieds for the second year in a row. While

Rodney Sanders may have led all 70 laps, the charges through the field and the battles for positions two through twenty-six wereepic. Additional photos from the Masters of the Gustin/Thornton Jr. incident can be found on page 21 of this issue.

Vince Peterson photos

Rodney Sanders celebrates in victory lane at Cedar Lake Speedway (left photo), and just like the chessclub president on prom night, he was all alone at the front of the pack (right photo)

Dereck Ramirez and Cade Dillard battled for the runner-up postion. Dillard would end up second at theend of the night (left photo). A.J. Diemel was the highest finishing local driver in 4th place (right photo)

Page 10July 2018

Dirt Late Model DreamRookie of the Race

Lake Elmo, Minnesota’s Brent Larson left The LateModel Dream at Eldora Speedway with a little extrabonus. The 2018 Craftsman World of Outlaws LateModel Rookie of the Year candidate picked up theEldora Dream Rookie of the Race bonus for being

the highest place rookie in the field. Duringpreliminary events, Larson raced his way into the

field via third place heat race finish. The 2018 LateModel Dream entry list consisted of nearly 80 Late

Models. As we go to press, Larson currently sits thridin the rookie points battle and 11th overall in the

World of Outlaws point standings.

Melanie Larson photo

Page 11 July 2018

Old school is still coolOld school is still coolOld school is still coolOld school is still coolOld school is still coolMidwest Modified driver Cody Giles utilizes the hauler built by his dad (Perry Giles) 25 years ago, and

carries a paint scheme that mirrors his dad's ride from the early 1990's.

Page 12July 2018

Home THome THome THome THome Track Photo Gallerrack Photo Gallerrack Photo Gallerrack Photo Gallerrack Photo Galleryyyyy

Chad Walen hoists the American flag at Elko SpeedwayMartin DeFries photo

Paul Niznik on kids night at Spring Lake SpeedwayTom Loos photo

The King of the Short Tracks, Steve Carlson in action at LaCrosse SpeedwayBruce Nuttleman photo

Sportsman action at Rockford SpeedwayGuy Adams photo

Zack Riddle in Late Model action at Madison International SpeedwayJess Riedner photo

Jake Redetzke at Cedar Lake SpeedwayCharlie Weber photo

Page 13 July 2018

A Series Within A SeriesFor the fourth year since its inception, severalMidwest Power Series events will be included in theUMSS schedule. In 2018, those shows will includetracks such as Cedar Lake Speedway, Clay CountySpeedway, Deer Creek Speedway, JacksonMotorplex, Ogilvie Raceway and PrincetonSpeedway. The Midwest Power Series will also racethree additional shows at the Jackson Motorplex in2018 for a total of twelve dates. The Midwest PowerSeries is basically as series within a series, andincludes bonus money available for teams who raceboth shows on weekends that feature multiple events.

One of the principle parties involved in the series isGreg Parent. Greg is known throughout the upper-Midwest as an avid race fan, and a great contributorto short track racing. The Midwest RacingConnection recently caught up Greg to discuss theMidwest Power Series.

Most of the shows are affiliated with the UMSS. Isthe term a series within a series an accuratestatement?Yes, that’s correct. The Midwest Power Seriesstarted in 2015 with the UMSS as a series within a

series, and RandyGrages of MidwestPower Equipmentcame up with the idea.I supported it inconjunction withUMSS at the time.Last Fall, Randy and Isat down and met withJackson Motorplex.With Jackson changingtheir racing format toFriday nights andseveral 360 showsinstead of 410 shows,it was an appropriatetime for us to expandout.

How did the idea forthe Midwest PowerSeries come about?Basically, from the beginning it was one of our ideas toget a bunch of different series and tracks to worktogether. The Midwest Power Series has been a

catalyst for that and it remainsthe same today. I’m glad to sayit appears to be moving in theright direction.

The MPS shows typically bringdifferent sanctioning bodiestogether for events. What aresome of the other regionalseries that have run with theUpper Midwest SprintCarSeries (UMSS) in the past?We’ve got UMSS, MSTS, andthe Nebraska 360 working inconjunction down at JacksonMotorplex. That’s a positive and

we’re certainly going to continue to try and get thedifferent groups and organizations to work together.

continued on page 13

Vince Peterson photo

Vince Peterson photo

Vince Peterson photo

Page 14July 2018

Page 15 July 2018

Discount TDiscount TDiscount TDiscount TDiscount TaxiaxiaxiaxiaxiDriver of theDriver of theDriver of theDriver of theDriver of the

MonthMonthMonthMonthMonthEric Campbell

Hometown: Lonsdale, MNDivision: Thunder Car

The 2018 edition of the FANS Fund is up and running with a new look, andfeel but with the same ultimate goal in mind. The objective is still to attract

new and upcoming drivers to attend the USA Nationals at Cedar LakeSpeedway. Voting is now open. Please check out the website to make your

donation and cast your vote for the 2018 drivers.

www.fansfund.com

It’s a whole heck of a lot better for all parties if you’retrying to pull in the same direction rather than bangingheads and trying to work against each other all of thetime.

You’ve got established racers such as BrookeTatnell running and up and comers such as ChaseViebrock. Is the goal of the series to provide racersa stepping stone to Knoxville, IRA or the World ofOutlaws?Well, it certainly could be. The primary goal is topromote the exciting and thrilling form of 360 SprintCar racing here in the upper-Midwest. That’s reallygoal number one. I know people get tired of me sayingthis sometimes, but another primary goal is to worktogether. That’s certainly something we’re striving toaccomplish. We’re laying some groundwork andframework in place. It’s coming together, but we’vestill got more work to do. As far as the racers go,

many of them are local. Very few of them areprofessional race car drivers. They’ve got full-timejobs and they're weekend racers. If they aspire tomove forward, a series like the Midwest Power Seriesin conjunction with and all the rest of the racingavailable in the upper-Midwest, certainly a few ofthem will move forward. I mean Donny Shatz cameout of WISSOTA 360’s getting his experience. Ineedn’t say where he is today. Is there another DonnyShatz out there? You bet there is. Is he going to comefrom this area? He sure could. Take for exampleBrooke Tatnell. He supports us when he can, but hedoes run weekly at Knoxville Raceway. He can onlysupport races that do not conflict with his Knoxvilleschedule.

Where do you see the Midwest Power Series in 5years?We see it still as a series within a series, with respectto working with the different groups. Hopefully all ofthem continue to work together.

continued from page 11

Vince Peterson photo

Page 16July 2018

Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Observances andObservances andObservances andObservances andObservances and

OpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinions

Dale P. Danielski

continued on page 15

Dale's picture from the past

The Central Wisconsin Racing Association heldanother Stars to Legends Tour event here at DellsRaceway Park, Wis. Dells, WI., June 16th, this onehonoring past racing hero, Lyle Nabbefeldt.

Nabbefeldt was one of the original stars of racing inWisconsin, dating back to the early 1960s. Beforestars like Trickle, Back, Reffner, Marzofka andDetjens arrived on the scene there was Nabbefeldttraveling the State and winning at numerous venues.Lyle never had much in the way of money to back hisefforts, but none the less made do with what ever hehad and carved out a nice career in racing as a result.Often times, Nabbefeldt would race other drivers carsif he had nothing of his own to compete with. He did

well approaching the sport that way as well. It reallywasn’t so much about wins for Nabbefeldt though,although he took more than his fair share of mainevents, but the comradery of competing and helpinghis fellow competitors become better people anddrivers. Consequently, Nabbefeldt was one of themost popular racers of his time. Unfortunately, Lylemet his untimely death while taking time trials at theDells race track in 1973. Exactly what happened onthat day was debated for a long time, was it a stuckthrottle? Did a heart attack occur to create thatscenario? Was it some other mechanical issue thatforced Nabbefeldt hard into the number 1&2 wallwhere he was killed instantly? No one knows for sure,but an event in his honor continues his legacy in racingand that more than anything, was the prize here fordrivers racing on this Saturday night.

The name Mackesy has history in racing as Bobcompeted on the CWRA circuit for many years. Itwas almost inevitable that his son Mark would do the

same at some point, and now competing, is consideredone of the veterans of the short track scene. Markwho had never won much of anything at the Dellstrack picked a good time to do just that as he won both55 lap Features held on the night in honor of LyleNabbefeldt. The number 55 was a popular one forLyle in his racing days, thus the two feature events ofthat length. Mackesy was fast throughout the nightand proved he had the winning combination bymethodically passing cars in both features, ultimatelyfinding himself first at the checkered flag. It wasn’tthat he didn’t have good competition, Darek Gress, anup and coming driver tried his best but came up justshort in both main events. Jeff Weinfurter was inposition to win as well but had to settle for 3rd and 2ndin the feature races. The racing was close and all in allvery entertaining, something Lyle Nabbefeldt wouldcertainly have appreciated if he’d been here to witnessit. And that, after all, is what it should be all about.

Dale’s Pics...Bones, the Throttle Popper, Lyle Nabbefeldt was a popular racer. He drove this #55s Camaroin 1972 (left photo). Another number Nabbefeldt made famous, X. (middle, Bob Bergeron photo) Jim Back

wins in one of his famous #61 race cars, this one sponsored by Larry Wehrs Chevrolet (right photo).

Darek Gress and Mark Mackesy battle for the lead in the Nabbelfeldt Memorial race at DellsRaceway Park. Mackesy would go on to capture both 55-lap events.

Jeff Blaser photo

Page 17 July 2018

Racing Facts, Observances and Opinionsfrom page 13

Upcoming EventsJuly 28

Cedar Lake Speedway

Here and there...Finishing order in 55 lap main eventone at Dells Raceway Park found Mackesy firstfollowed by Gress, Weinfurter, Frank Nitzke, RachalKallas, Monte Gress, Darren Jackson, Derrick VanDreel, Brian Henry and Tod Stenson. 55 lap mainnumber two had Mackesy 1st followed by Weinfurter,D. Gress, M. Gress, Jackson, Jesse Pockscyk, Kallas,Stenson, Nitzke and Dave Neitzke...The Towel CityRacing Tire required in CWRA competition continuesto be a huge money saver for drivers as some are stillracing on tires that are two years old!..Nick Panitzkegot back on the winning track here at La CrosseFairgrounds Speedway, West Salem, WI., as he wonthe NASCAR Late Model Feature Saturday, June23rd. It came down to the last 4 laps to determine thewinner as Nick Clements put up a gallant fight only tohave Panitzke and Steve Carlson pass him to finishone and two. Clements wound up 3rd and wasfollowed by Mike Carlson, Michael Beamish, earlyleader Mike Ehde, Cole Howland, Devin Schmidt,Tom Carlson and Brent Kirchner...Brian Hesselberg

who is racing a limited schedule at Lax. Speedway thisyear looked like a main event winner in the SportsmanDivision. He came up two laps short however, asChris Weber made the pass for the lead and took thewin...Adam Moore won the Thunderstox Feature withGarrett Thicke taking the Hornet main...The CWRAStars to Legends Tour, Jim Back Memorial race washeld at Marshfield Motor Speedway, Marshfield, WI.,May 26th and it was Jeff Weinfurter taking the win inthe first Feature, 30 laps, over Darren Jackson andMark Mackesy. Mackesy turned the tables in the 2ndmain, 31 laps, winning over Weinfurter and Jackson.The combined total feature length, 61, represented thenumber Back raced with for his entire racing career.Next up for the CWRA Stars to Legends Tour will beat Marshfield Motor Speedway, July 6th and at DellsRaceway Park, July 21st. The Dells race will be theMarlin Walbeck Classic, honoring Walbeck who wasone of the first true super stars of Wisconsin shorttrack racing. The event will feature two 30 lap mainevents, 30 being the number Walbeck raced with...

In the quote of the column department it was MarkMackesy commenting on his twin wins in theNabbefeldt Memorial race. “I’d really never won

anything here. Had a 2nd in qualifying back in the’90s, but that was it. I thought I could win one of thefeatures here today, but to win both, that was reallyspecial.”

And in the looking back category, on September 15th,1963 it was Lyle Nabbefeldt winning the feature atDells Motor Speedway. On May 14th, 1966 it wasLyle Nabbefeldt winning the 30 lap feature at DellsMotor Speedway. Following Nabbefeldt at the finishwere Dave Marcis, Dick Trickle, Jere O’Day, andJohn Mc Namara. On June 22nd, 1968, it was JimBack winning the 35 lap feature race at Dells MotorSpeedway. Back also won the 4th heat race.

Questions, comments, opinions and other informationwelcome at Starmaker Multimedia 967 10th Ave N SteA, Onalaska, WI 54650 608-783-5827 or atdale@starmakermultimedia.com

Page 18July 2018

Racing NuggetsRacing NuggetsRacing NuggetsRacing NuggetsRacing Nuggets

PJ "Jacklyn" Nuttleman

Old School-Style: Catching Up with Bubba Pollard

If you’re a short track racing fan, you surely haveheard of Bubba Pollard. The Senoia, Georgia driverhas racked up an impressive resume of wins acrossthe country—including some pretty big-buck wins, likethe Winter Showdown at Kern County Raceway($40k) and just this past month, he knocked down twobig wins in two days—the Master of the Pros ProLate Model race at Birch Run Speedway in Michiganon June 8th, pocketing $10,000—and the next day hewas at South Carolina’s Anderson Motor Speedwaywith his Super Late Model for the Southern SuperSeries/CARS Tour, where he picked up another$10,000 for grabbing the checkered flag.

Two days later, he was back in Michigan to defend hisSuper Late title in the Money in the Bank 250 at BerlinRaceway. He came up one spot short—finishingsecond to Brian Campbell. Finishing anything less thanP1 can bring on a whole lot of frustration and hindsightsecond guessing for any racer, but getting tweeted atfrom Mark Martin to let you know he thinks you’re apretty amazing driver had to take some of the sting out

of that loss.

“It definitely makes you feel good,” Pollard said.“Mark Martin is one of the guys I’ve always looked upto. It’s cool that Mark, Rodney Childers (KevinHarvick’s crew chief), and others at the NASCARlevel still follow short track racing,” staying connectedto their roots. “It not only makes me and my family—but my guys feel good with all of the effort they putin,” Pollard added.

Much like many short track racers, Pollard’s crew isall volunteer-based. Nobody draws a paycheck. Thatmakes his recent ambitious schedule of Michigan toSouth Carolina, and back to Michigan in four dayseven more impressive. It takes a lot of dedicatedpeople to pull something like that off—let alone wintwo out of three of the races—completely with avolunteer crew.

“Over the years I’ve been fortunate to have goodhelp. I can’t thank them enough. They sacrifice theirweekends and weekdays to make it possible for me torace like this. I’ve been really lucky to have great helpand sponsors to make it all come together.”

The next big race on Pollard’s calendar that he andthe crew will run is back in the Midwest—for theSlinger Nationals—a race that he grabbed the win atlast year in just his second effort.“That first year we just weren’t prepared. Didn’t havethe tools we needed. But we did our homework andcame back better prepared,” he said. “We’re excitedabout coming back this year. The fans in the Midwestprovide a great atmosphere to show what we’recapable of.”

Pollard says he was reading the names on the trophyagain just last week; seeing names like Matt Kenseth,who won the Nationals six times, Dick Trickle, and somany other legends. He’s honored to have his nameamong them and hopes to have it engraved again thisyear.

When asked what his favorite trackin the Midwest he immediately says,“Slinger.” But then after somethought he adds that he enjoyedMadison—and really loved theatmosphere and the fans atOktoberfest. He was bummed bythe bad weather last year atOktoberfest and will be back for thefestivities at La Crosse FairgroundsSpeedway again this year to fullyimmerse himself in the experienceagain—this time hopefully withoutthe rain—and hopefully be able toput his No. 26 machine into VictoryLane at the prestigious event.

Living in the south, it’s obviously where Pollard racesthe most—but when pressed to answer what thedifference is between racers in the Midwest and theSouth—Pollard says that the Midwest drivers seem tohave a lot more respect for each other, likely becausethere are a lot more true racers in the Midwest whohave to work on their own cars during the week.

He got his first taste of the “Gentleman’s Rule” lastyear at the Slinger Nationals when he and Ty Majeskimade contact and Pollard was able to keep his positionwhen Majeski stopped on the frontstretch and tappedhis roof—taking the blame for the incident.

“I didn’t even know what the hell a ‘Tap Out’ rulewas,” he said. “It shows what kind of person you are;what kind of racer you are. There are times that Icould’ve used a ‘Tap Out’ rule over the years.”

There are several races that are still on Pollard’s“Bucket List” to win: The Snowball Derby at FiveFlags Speedway in Pensacola and the Oktoberfest 200at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway.

Both are tracks that many of the great racers from theAmerican Speed Association (ASA) days frequented,and those drivers are a lot of the short track racingheroes that Pollard had grown up watching inGeorgia—Gary St. Amant, Mike Garvey, Mike Eddy,and Butch Miller to name a few.But his dad was probably his biggest hero in racing. Itwas his dad who taught him to race and is still a majorpart of his program. Which has us circling back to thevolunteer help; Pollard is like many racers who will tellyou their first pit crew was comprised of family and afew friends. Generally speaking, they’re the mostdedicated ones who are with you over the years.That’s yet another thing that sets racers like Pollardapart from others who run big events around thecountry.

Pollard says that perhaps the growing disconnectbetween NASCAR and the short track communitystems from racers not becoming hometown heroesand working their way through the ranks, slugging itout like the racers of days gone by did.

And while many of the up-and-coming drivers are“getting the job done,” and are decent racers—thefans don’t really know who these kids are becausethey’re moved through the system too quickly anddon’t have a fully developed fan base from doing it the“hard way.”

Money definitely opens doors, and leaves proven,winning drivers like Pollard on the sidelines when itcomes to moving up through the ranks.

Racing Nuggets continued on page 19

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Page 19 July 2018

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“Ty Majeski has been successful, and he deserves abetter shot than what he’s got right now. He’s notshown his potential yet, and one day he’ll get thatopportunity. He’s had to come up the hard way,because if he had plenty of money he would be at JoeGibbs or Hendrick right now,” Pollard said.

There’s truth in his sentiment. Many of us canremember seeing Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, DarrellWaltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Bobby Allison, and moremaking the rounds in the Midwest and making a namefor themselves before they hit the big stage ofNASCAR. Of course this was also a time wheninnovation and creativity helped to showcase a driver’stalent. These days there seems to be a shortcut withfinancial backing to get the best equipment thatsomeone else innovated. When it’s all said and done,money can’t buy talent; a driver still has to pilot thecar and get the job done. And whether we like it ornot—times change. It’s a different world we live innow, so we all have to adapt.

Pollard is doing just that thanks tothe support of his crew, sponsors,and of course it does help to winbig purses like the ones he’spicked up over the years. It begsthe question: Does Pollard desireto move up into NASCARhimself?

“I don’t know NASCAR is a fitfor me, and my personality, and thethings I like to do. I feel like Icould do it. I’d like to have a shotto show what I could do.”

But in the next breath, Pollard saysthat there’s no greater feeling thanwinning a major short track event,and he thoroughly enjoys doing that.

It’s safe to say that Pollard is cut from the same clothas Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth—doing it the “hard

way,” and all three have their names etched onto thatSlinger Nationals trophy. We’ll see if Pollard can addit again come July 10th. Tickets are available online athttps://slingersuperspeedway.com.

Racing Nuggets from page 18

Bruce Nuttleman photo

Page 20July 2018

First Time WinnerFirst Time WinnerFirst Time WinnerFirst Time WinnerFirst Time Winner

Photo FinishPhoto FinishPhoto FinishPhoto FinishPhoto FinishTo start of the month of June, Elko Speedway saw two feature events end in a photo finish. Jacob Goede narrowly defeated Devyn

Stocker in the Late Models (left photo) and Jeremy Wolff edged Eric Campbell in the Thunder Cars (right photo)

Martin DeFries photos

Martin DeFries photos

Julie Jorgenson was born into a family of racers. Her dad (Conrad) has numerous track championships, in numerous divisions at Elko Speedway andRaceway Park. Her mom (Lisa) had several brothers that racked up wins and championships throughout the upper Midwest. With the blending ofJorgenson and Tuma family experience, it was just a matter of time before Julie visited victory lane. In her second full year of competition, Julie

picked up her first win. When asked how the first win felt, Julie stated; “It was amazing. Seeing the checkered flag, and me being the first one over it,I was literally out of breath.” It didn’t take long for Julie to pick up win number two, as she won again the following weekend.

Page 21 July 2018

Ryan Gustin Versus Ricky Thornton JrRyan Gustin Versus Ricky Thornton JrRyan Gustin Versus Ricky Thornton JrRyan Gustin Versus Ricky Thornton JrRyan Gustin Versus Ricky Thornton Jr.....During the middle portion of the Masters at Cedar Lake Speedway, Ryan Gustin and Ricky Thornton Jr. had this altercation that ended with

Thornton Jr. rolling over several times. This photo sequence was taken by Charlie Weber, also known as Fotos by Fizzle. Both drivers were OK.

Page 22July 2018

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