The Scoop
KYLE KIRBERGER – FROM TAR TO DIRT IN ’21
Posted on: Tuesday September 21, 2021
After 13 seasons of racing on paved tracks, Ramsey, Minnesota’s Kyle Kirberger got his shoes dirty racing his WISSOTA Midwest Modified at tracks in Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2021.
For the first time in his racing career Kyle Kirberger started getting his shoes muddy on a regular basis.
That’s because after 13 seasons of racing primarily on paved tracks in Minnesota and Wisconsin The Ramsey, Minnesota driver made the switch to a WISSOTA Midwest Modified in 2021.
By mid-September Kirberger hit a total of 10 different tracks and got a ton of seat time in, racing 40 nights in total.
Kyle Kirberger poses next to his WISSOTA Midwest Modified at Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Falls, Wisconsin in April, 2021. Kirberger raced 40 nights on the dirt at 10 different tracks in Minnesota and Wisconsin in ’21.
While he didn’t plan on racing anywhere weekly when the season kicked off in April, the 31-year-old Kirberger wound up 3rd in the weekly points at Red Cedar Speedway in Menominee, Wisconsin.
Kirberger also finished seventh at Ogilvie (MN) Raceway running a limited schedule. “We just wanted to get as much seat time as we could this year because running dirt is such a different style of driving,” Kirberger said. “It’s been a learning curve but it’s also been a lot of fun, too.”
Heading into this weekend Kirberger ranks sixth in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified national rookie-of-the-year standings.
In addition to Menominee and Ogilvie, Kirberger mixed it up with other WISSOTA Midwest Modified and USRA B mod racers at tracks in Superior, Madison, Fergus Falls, Jim Falls, KRA Speedway, Rice Lake and Cedar Lake
One of the main reasons Kirberger opted to switch to dirt was he had many more options on the dirt closer to home. “Within an hour or two of our house we’ve got like eight dirt tracks we can run at so that certainly was factored in when we decided to make the switch,” Kirberger explained. “We started the season out in April at Cedar Lake Speedway and it took us hours to clean up the car and trailer and everything else. So that took some getting used to but we’re ok with that! It’s just dirt.”
The transition from the tar to the dirt has gone better than expected for the Minnesotan. “Don’t get me wrong we did enjoy the years we raced on the pavement,” Kirberger explained. “But after 13 years we wanted our family and friends to be able to come and see us race at different venues. As our ’21 season begins to wind down we’re happy with our decision.”
Kirberger with his Mid-American sportsman type car at Elko (MN) Speedway.
For paved tracks in Minnesota Elko Speedway is sort of the ‘last man standing’ so to speak. “We used to race at Shakopee (MN) in a Thunder Car but unfortunately they closed that one down years ago,” Kirberger explained. “We started racing at Sauk Centre for one year before they covered that one with dirt and eventually that track closed up, too. But for the years I did race on pavement Elko was what I’d consider our home track. We had some good times there.”
It was while racing at Elko where Kirberger earned rookie-of-the-year honors in 2013.
Kirberger takes the checkered flag for a ride at Elko (MN) Speedway in 2013. (Cricket Prints photo)
As the years went on Kirberger raced a Mid-American sportsman type car, and also a Big 8 rules late model. “With the Big 8 late model car we ran a bunch of different tracks,” Kirberger explained. “We ran at Dells Raceway Park pretty regularly for a while. We raced at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, Rockford, Illinois, and I remember we made our way over to Wausau to compete at State Park Speedway every year, too. We’d run at Madison International Speedway as well.”
During the time period Kirberger was racing on the pavement he was still attending races at dirt tracks in Minnesota and Wisconsin as a fan. “We had some good times traveling to race on the pavement but we’re having more fun and racing a lot more on the dirt tracks,” Kirberger admitted.
Kirberger’s Midwest Modified is an MB Customs chassis he purchased from another racer in South Dakota. He’s had an ‘assist’ of sorts from his buddies who are dirt racers – Ashley and Brandon Mehrwerth from Saint Stephen, Minnesota. “They run Ogilvie and Fergus Falls in Midwest Modifieds as well,” Kirberger explained. “They’ve been helping me with questions as well as the folks at MB Customs. Whenever I call them with any questions they are pretty good about assisting too.”
In terms of what he’s spending to go racing compared to his pavement days – Kirberger admitted it is slightly less than what he ran on the pavement. “I’ll say we’re not in too deep with our expenses racing the dirt,” Kirberger said. “We spent a little more running in the late model class on the pavement. There are just so many more option with dirt tracks close to home. The more you run you can get some of those expenses back. We’ve got a good car and a setup. Overall, it’s slightly more affordable for us to run the dirt.”
The pit crew members who assist Kirberger with his racing efforts include his dad Tom Kirberger, Joey Chlan and Dustin Peterson. “Those guys have been helping me out for many years when I was doing the asphalt thing and they make it out to help us with the dirt track stuff whenever they can,” Kirberger said.
The team of marketing partners who came on board with Kirberger and his dirt track effort include Lakeside Cabinets and Woodworking, Legends Companies, Master Electric, Infinity Investment Company, LLC, Elite Auto Works, Thompson Construction Concrete and Masonry, Rizer Fabrication and JT Engineering.
“Overall, we’re pretty happy with how things turned out on the dirt this year,” Kirberger admitted. “We knew it would be a learning curve so we hit a bunch of different race tracks and learned as much as we could. Like I said earlier driving on the dirt is a completely different style of racing then the asphalt is. We tried a lot of different things this year and we’ll keep plugging along.”