The Scoop
Troy Springborn – DLM Elder Statesman
Posted on: Sunday October 11, 2020
Troy Springborn remembers as a kid riding his bicycle to the Shawano Speedway races to cheer on his favorite driver Pete Parker.
Troy’s buddy Tom Moesch was a huge M.J. McBride fan. Throughout the ‘80’s, 90’s and into the 2000’s M.J. and Pete along with the “Navarino Nightmare” Terry Anvelink were often considered “The Big Three” when it came to the northeastern Wisconsin dirt late model scene.
Now 54, Springborn, the Shawano native, is one of the elder statesmen of dirt late model division along with Tom Naeyaert and “Rocket Ron Berna. The second-generation racer, who copped the division title at Shawano Speedway in 2020, admits it seems like getting a car ready to race is a lot more work than it was when he started racing late models in the mid-90’s. “Heck we used to drink beer, work on the race car and race sometimes four nights a week,” Springborn recalled. “Nowadays we don’t drink, we race one night a week and we want to win. We didn’t care as much when we started out if we won or not. But now it’s about winning.”
Springborn’s Dad Gary Springborn used to compete at Shawano Speedway but according to Troy he was too young to remember watching his father race. “Me and some high school buddies got started in racing when we built an enduro car for the Shawano County Fair in either 1983 or 1984,” Springborn said. “We had some misfortune as our fuel cell shifted and cut the fuel line off, ending our day.”
One of Springborn’s buddies, Curt Braatz was a division representative at Seymour Speedway, which was still racing on it’s half-mile, clay oval yet in the mid-80’s under NEW DIRT. “We used to snowmobile with Curt, and he suggested to us that we come and run that car at Seymour in their bomber class,” Springborn said. “While our car didn’t really match their rulebook it was a huge 4 door so they just let us race.”
It was in these early days where Springborn earned his number 81 although that was not his first choice. “I wanted to have number 6,” Springborn explained. “We had come to Seymour for one of their enduros. Somebody already had 6 so we switched it to 8. Well that number was also taken so we added a 1 afterwards and we were good with 81. We’ve stuck with it ever since.”
With their home track Shawano within minutes of their house Springborn and his buddies rebuilt that bomber car and made it legal to run with the Shawano hobby stocks. “We really didn’t know what we were doing back then and didn’t really take things that seriously,” Springborn said. “Racing was nowhere near as technical back then as it is these days for us. We didn’t even expect to win.”
It was conversations Springborn had with a pair of co-workers who just happened to be dirt late model frontrunners at Shawano that swayed him to make the move up to late models. “I worked at TIMBCO with Chuck Buckbee and Tom Naeyeart,” Springborn said. “After talking with those two guys they convinced me that if I wanted to eventually move up to the late model class that I could start out right away and start building up my program.” This was in 1996. At the time Shawano was running the IMCA modifieds and the sportsman class as well.
Springborn bought a stripped down, Pete Parker-built Reliable Welding chassis from Mike Weisnicht. “Pete’s cars were the chassis to have back then and we bought that chassis for $400,” Springborn explained. “We didn’t even have close to the sponsors we had back then that we do now.”
Although late models were running weekly at Langlade County Speedway in Antigo Friday nights at the time, the lack of a reliable racing hauler and trailer kept the Springborn racing team close to home at Shawano. “Hell, when I started out if we finished in the top ten we’d consider that a good night and we’d be happy to drink beer after the races,” Springborn said. “Back then we were racing against the guys we idolized growing up like Pete, M.J. and Terry. We just tried to stay out of their way. We wanted to be respected and not cause any problems. When you were able to beat them years down the road it really made you feel good.”
Springborn’s first time beating “The Big Three” was at Antigo. “It was one of those deals where we started up front and stayed up front,” Springborn said. “It seems easy but one slipup can cost you the win.”
As Springborn began to get more comfortable in his late model and began winning more, he’d begin running the three night swing with Antigo Fridays, Shawano Saturdays and Seymour Tri-Oval Sundays. “Heck I remember when Oshkosh was open and they were running Tuesday nights we were late model racing four nights a week sometime,” Springborn said. “We even chased the WISSOTA national title one year.”
Over the years the wins and track crowns have piled up for Springborn. To date he’s won more than 12 track championships and scored more than 100 career feature wins, including the 2001 and 2004 Wisconsin state and Tri-Track titles. 16 of those feature wins came in a banner season in 2006.
Nowadays it’s tougher to assemble a pit crew that can not only travel to the tracks on race day but more importantly lend a hand in the shop on weeknights. “We laugh about that all the time,” Springborn said. “We had three or four guys who came to the shop and worked on the car. Nowadays everybody’s got families and things have changed from that aspect quite a bit. Myself I own my own business now and I don’t have the time to dedicate to it like I used to.”
Springborn is quick to go to bat for the late model division – a class that has a tough time in recent years drawing new blood. “Let’s face it – racing is expensive no matter what division you are in,” Springborn said. “But when people start talking about how expensive running a late model is they are often talking about costs they know nothing about. I guarantee I can put anyone in a decent late model for the same price if not cheaper than what some of these drivers are spending on their IMCA modified programs. I think Shawano’s Kyle Raddant is a good example of that. Obviously with a mod or sportmod you can race multiple tracks around here weekly but with a late model weekly it’s Saturday nights either at Shawano or Plymouth.”
Springborn is “almost-a-regular” on the Dirt Kings late model tour. “That series is good but for me there is an expense for me to pull from Shawano to Wilmot four hours,” Springborn said. “It’s a good series but being a business owner, I just don’t have the time to devote to towing real long distances anymore. We’re not as young as we used to be.” Springborn suggested that perhaps area dirt tracks can consider hosting dirt late models every second or third week.
Springborn’s crew consists of Tom Moesch. His son Zach Kroenke, Andy Springborn and Troy’s Dad Gary Springborn. “Dad’s at Shawano every week,” Springborn said. “I race for him and we call him the supervisor. He makes laps around the car checking out our work at the shop too.”
Springborn’s team of sponsors includes Scott Construction. CPF Metal Fabrication of Crandon, Bolin’s Speedy T’s, Raddant Electric, Amsoil and Pro Power Racing Engines. “The sponsors we’ve had we’ve had for quite a while,” Springborn said. “Bill Plucker does our website for us and has done a great job for a long time. He used to follow us everywhere. But his kids are growing too. Times are changing for everyone.”