The Vault
2015 – WEDELSTADT RUNS TWO TRACKS, SAME NIGHT IN OSHKOSH, SEYMOUR
Posted on: Thursday May 19, 2022
In late August, 2015 Fremont’s Mike Wedelstadt raced at dirt tracks in Oshkosh and Seymour on the same night. (Derek Sabourin photo)
(This column was penned by Joe Verdegan for the Green Bay Press Gazette September 1, 2015)
Fremont’s Mike Wedelstadt pulled off his best imitation of Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart last weekend, racing two tracks in the same night, a feat normally unheard of on the local scene.
Wedelstadt is an IMCA modified racer who normally competes Friday nights at Oshkosh Speedzone and Sunday nights at Seymour Speedway.
Wedelstadt got a curve ball thrown at him when Oshkosh canceled last Friday because of rain. Because they had the Corn Belt Clash touring series in town, with many drivers from out-of-state, Oshkosh rescheduled the event for Sunday, leaving Wedelstadt with a dilemma of sorts.
“I was leading Oshkosh’s “King of the Ring” point series but was also running for points at Seymour too,” said Wedelstadt, who has the luxury of having two modifieds at his disposal.
From a logistics standpoint Oshkosh started at 5 p.m. while Seymour started their races at 6 p.m. “IMCA modifieds were fourth in the running order at Seymour so that’s when I thought “maybe I can pull this off,” explained Wedelstadt.
Mike’s brother –in-law and fellow modified racer Jon Berna and his nephew Dalton brought one of Wedelstadt’s modifieds to Seymour on an open trailer. Mike’s son Tony, another modified racer, was at Oshkosh to take care of loading up that car. “I ended up finishing 2nd on the feature at Oshkosh and we wound up winning “King of the Ring”, said Wedelstadt. “The car was on the scales and I hopped out and told the tech guys “I’ve gotta go.”
Wedelstadt climbed in his pickup truck and took “the back roads” to Seymour Speedway. Mike left Oshkosh at 7:13 p.m. Mapquest said it’s a 38 minute trip from Oshkosh to Seymour. “We made it in 31 minutes,” said Wedelstadt, who raced 85 miles per hour to make sure he got there on time.
As it turned out Wedelstadt got to Seymour in plenty of time. “We actually had 15 minutes to spare,” said Wedelstadt. “We started dead last in the feature because we missed the heat and we worked our way up to fifth. So I was pretty happy with that.”
Wedelstadt was so busy worrying about racing he didn’t eat anything between the two races. “We stopped at a gas station on the way home and I had some macaroni salad and it hit the spot,” said Wedelstadt. “To have an adrenalin rush twice in a day like that was pretty tough. When I laid down at 11:15 p.m. that night I was toast. I don’t have any regrets, though, because a lot of people didn’t think I’d be able to pull it off. So that’s what motivated me.”
Wedelstadt, who is in his 22nd year of racing, is one of just four area drivers who’ve eclipsed the 100 win mark in IMCA modified competition. He plans on hitting a few late season specials in the area. “We’re also going to the Aftermarket Nationals at Marshalltown (Iowa) Speedway for the $10,000-to-win show on September 25 and 26.”
141 NOTEBOOK – Champions were crowned at the final weekly race of the year at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek Saturday. De Pere’s Johnny Whitman successfully defended his IMCA modified crown while Two Rivers Brett Wenzel nailed down the IMCA stock car title. Hunter Parsons, a junior at Ashwaubenon high school, captured the IMCA northern sportmod championship. Manitowoc’s Paul Diefenthaler won the street stock title and Milwaukee’s Charlie Sancinati won the grand national title. Green Bay’s Scott Johnson made history by becoming Wisconsin’s first ever IMCA sport compact champion. The IRA Outlaw sprint cars will be at 141 Speedway Sunday. INEX legends, street stocks and grand nationals will compete. Sprint car hot laps are slated for 6 p.m. with sprints qualifying and racing to follow.
THUNDER HILL WRAP UP – The final race of the year at Thunder Hill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay was held Sunday. Champions who were crowned included Kewaunee’s Greg Gretz (IMCA modified), Sturgeon Bay’s Cody Rass (IMCA northern sportmod), Algoma’s Dave Bouche (IMCA stock car), Casco’s Marcus Moede (IMCA hobby stock) and Denmark’s James Dahlstrom (street stock).
CHILTON SWAN SONG – Chilton Speedway officials have announced they will no longer continue promoting the annual Chilton Fall Classic September 18 and 19 after 2015. Eight divisions of cars will take part at the quarter-mile, clay oval during the two day show. You can check chiltonspeedway.com for more information.
LUXEMBURG IRA SPRINTS – While weekly racing is done at Luxemburg Speedway the IRA Outlaw sprint cars will host the “Battle by the Bay” at the third-mile, clay oval on Friday, September 25. Sportmods, INEX legends and Micro sprints are also on the card. Hot laps are slated for 6 p.m. with sprint car qualifying and racing to follow.
SEYMOUR NOTEBOOK – The final points night of racing is scheduled for Seymour Speedway Sunday night. Hortonville’s Travis Van Straten holds a 28 point lead over Rod Snellenberger in the IMCA stock car division. Oconto’s Jeremy Cota leads Shawano’s Lucas Lamberies by one point in the IMCA northern sportmods. Oconto’s Allen Schlueter leads Jeff Jungwirth of Oshkosh by 5 points while Lena’s Eric Scribner leads the IMCA modified standings. Gleason’s Kasey Gross leads the four cylinder points with a five point edge over Carl King of Shawano and Tyler Hungerford of Freedom. Racing gets underway at 6 p.m.
TUNDRA RACE RESET – Officials from the TUNDRA super late model series have announced a raindate from a June 20 event that was rained out at Jefferson Speedway. The quarter-mile, paved oval in southeastern Wisconsin will host the final race for the series on Sunday afternoon, September 20. The next series event for TUNDRA is slated for Monday, September 7 at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover.