The Vault
2011 – 141 SPEEDWAY RETURNS TO SATURDAY NIGHTS
Posted on: Tuesday September 19, 2023
141 MOVES BACK TO SATURDAYS FOR 2011 by Joe Verdegan
(Reprinted from Joe Verdegan’s Green Bay Press Gazette motorsports column from April 14, 2011)
Change is nothing new for 141 Speedway promoters Bruce and Renee Conard.
Perhaps the most drastic change occurred at the track after the 2009 season, when the ¼ mile paved oval in Francis Creek was dug up and a banked 1/3-mile clay oval was built.
After a season of hosting weekly racing on Wednesday nights, the Conard’s made another switch back to their old regular night of Saturdays.
The season is scheduled to open Saturday, with racing to begin at 7 p.m.
“We took a long, hard look at things and with our facility being privately owned, we felt it was in our best interest to go to Saturday nights,” Conard said.
Most area racetracks are county-owned facilities leased by independent promoters. The facilities at 141 are different in that there are large catwalks in the pit area and the grandstand. The track also has a spacious sports bar, which can be inviting to fans when the weather is either too hot or too cold.
The move has not come without some backlash, however. The track had run with IMCA sanctioning with many of its classes, including modifieds, sportmods and stock cars. The track was denied sanctioning by IMCA last fall.
“We had preferred to stay sanctioned, but IMCA basically has said there were too many unknowns with other area tracks running on Saturdays,” Conard said.
Thunderhill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay races on Saturdays with mostly IMCA-sanctioned divisions as does Shawano Speedway.
But even without sanctioning, the rules in the IMCA-style classes will remain the same as the area’s sanctioned tracks. “Basically, guys can come by us on Saturday nights and roll their cars off the trailer and be legal, just as if we were running IMCA,” Conard said.
Last year, when the track ran on Wednesday nights, drivers who were chasing state, regional or national IMCA points were aided by an extra night of racing. While some drivers will stick with the IMCA sanctioning, others can take it or leave it.
“I guess from my perspective it doesn’t make that much difference to me,” said Jared Siefert, last year’s modified champion at 141.
Siefert will continue to race at the IMCA sanctioned Luxemburg Speedway on Friday nights and at 141 on Saturdays.
With the move back to Saturdays, some area asphalt drivers who parked their cars last year have decided to get back in the game, converting their race cars over to dirt.
“I think from the standpoint of our local drivers and fans, the switch to Saturdays may help us out a ton,” Conard said. “Especially with gas prices as high as they’ll be this summer, we’re counting on local fans and drivers to make this work. There are plenty of cars in the area to go around for everyone.”
AREA NEWS AND NOTES
141 notebook: Last year’s track champions at the Francis Creek oval – slated to open the area season at 7 p.m. Saturday – are Jared Siefert of Green Bay (modifieds), Rod Snellenberger of Pulaski (stock cars), T.J. Smith of Menasha (grand nationals) Johnny Whitman of De Pere (sportmods) Ryan Brandes of Brillion (street stocks) and Pulaski’s Sam Ambrosius (sport 4’s).
Siefert was still building his car late this week, and it likely won’t be done in time for the opener, making many wonder if Siefert will borrow a ride.
At a practice session Wednesday 43 cars – 14 modifieds, eight sportmods, six sport fours, five street stocks, five late models, three stock cars, one hobby stock and one grand national – showed up.
Travelers: Fremont’s Mike Wedelstadt finished second and Green Bay’s Eric Van Iten took ninth in the IMCA modified feature at Marshalltown (Iowa) Speedway on Friday night. Green Bay’s Troy Jerovetz finished third in the IMCA northern sportmod feature at Boone (Iowa) Speedway on Saturday night and was fourth in the main event at Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa on Sunday. Shawano’s Tracy Wassenberg was 17th in the sportmod main at Vinton.
Luxemburg practice: The practice session scheduled for tonight at Luxemburg Speedway has been canceled. “We added clay and it’s just a wet, soupy mess out there right now,” track promoter Rick Goral said. “We’ll just go with our opener next week (April 22) and see how things shake out. We simply don’t want to risk ruining the track.”
Beaver Dam postponed: The Bumper to Bumper IRA sprint car/WDLMA late model doubleheader scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Dodge County Fair Speedway in Beaver Dam has been called off because of wet weather and cold temperatures. The sprint car program will be held April 23, while the late model show, which will include modifieds and grand nationals, will be rescheduled later.
Mid-Am opener: Reedsville’s Tyler Bauknecht and Manitowoc’s Travis Rodewald are among the early entrants for the Mid-American Stock Car Series season opener at Rockford (Il.) Speedway Sunday. Joining the Mid-Ams will be the Big 8 late models. Racing begins at 1 p.m.