The Scoop
GREYSON ARNESON EYES ANOTHER “W” AT THE “BIG HOUSE” IN CRANDON LABOR DAY WEEKEND
Posted on: Tuesday August 30, 2022
Eight-year-old Greyson Arneson is looking for another UTV victory at the World Championship Off Road Races in Crandon, Wisconsin this Labor Day weekend.
Eight-year-old Greyson Arneson is eager to return to “The Big House” in Crandon this weekend in search of another “W.”
The second-generation racer will join tens of thousands of other fans and racers at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway this weekend in Crandon, Wisconsin at what is arguably one of the biggest off road motorsports complexes in the world.
Arneson is the son of IMCA modified champion and Oconto Falls native Lance Arneson. Arneson’s own racing program has taken a back seat in recent years to his son Greyson’s racing efforts. So much in fact that Lance has only raced his own modified five times so far in 2022.
Greyson competes in a 170 mini UTV division which has exploded in popularity around the country. Greyson also battles in a dirt kart making exclusive left hand turns at Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park in Cecil and on occasion at GSR Kartway in Clintonville.
Greyson found victory lane earlier this year at “The Big House” and even though he’s just eight, he’s already well versed in post-race interviews. Most of the off-road races run under the Championship Off Road Series are streamed online on Flo Racing and others broadcast on the popular network MavTV.
“I really love Crandon because it’s really a wide-open racetrack,” Greyson said. “I can go really fast there.”
The younger Arneson also enjoys his time behind the wheel of his dirt kart. “I like racing the karts too and I try to find the fast line when I’m out there,” Greyson said. “I had a bad crash where I flipped my 170 in the driveway once and wiped out a few times in the corners with the off-road stuff. But I didn’t get hurt.”
“He’s been doing this since he was four years old,” said dad Lance Arneson. “The class Greyson runs in is for ages 12 and under. The class he races in has been averaging 34 UTV’s per race.”
The start of a UTV race in Off-Road action.
The format for off-road racing is vastly different than your typical short track, oval race. Typically, stock car races on ovals consist of heat races, B mains if there are enough cars and main events in each class. “With this off-road stuff they throw everybody in one race,” Lance said. “Those races are like a LeMans style start two-by-two and they lineup based upon points.”
What the Arneson family enjoys the most about the off-road racing circuit is it’s vastly different than the week-to-week grind of the short track racing scene. “Most of these events are bigger and you usually have a few weeks off in between the next event,” Lance said. “That leaves you more time in between races for maintenance on the vehicles. Sometimes I think the stock car racing scene burns itself out a little bit. There are so many tracks around running pretty much the same thing. These off-road deals we make a big weekend of it. Greyson races with his cousins. We all camp together, plan meals, have bonfires after the races and kick back and pop a couple of beers. It’s a much more laid-back atmosphere than the stock car gig for sure.”
Greyson Arneson races with his cousins on the weekends, making every outing a true family affair.
The Arneson’s are part of a massive extended racing family which includes the Holtgers. Lance’s wife Emily is a Holtger and that is a familiar name in the off-road scene. “Greyson’s Grandpa is Donny Holtger and Jeff Holtger and Donny’s kids all race,” Lance said. “There are a bunch of cousins Greyson races with including William, Gabe, Finley and Ellah Holtger along with Cam and Collin Paitl. John Holtger is Greyson’s Uncle and John has done a really good job taking all these kids under his wing with both the UTV’s and the karts. Both the UTV’s and the karts provide a great way for the whole family to stay together.”
Although just eight, Greyson has some “skin in the game” and is very hands on with both his kart, UTV and even lending a hand with dad’s modified when he races it. “He’ll pull off the tires and pressure wash all of his own stuff,” Lance explained. “When he pulls stuff apart sometimes I have to coach him on putting it back together. At the kart track he’s in charge of maintaining all his own stuff.”
While the UTV and kart racing with Greyson takes precedence as of late, when the family schedule permits Lance still races the modified and Greyson still has visions of racing on Shawano’s half-mile someday. “He’s one of my pit guys at Shawano and he wants to race a sportmod there when he’s 14,” Lance said. “Before that he wants to move up and run the 570 UTV division. But the half-mile at Shawano is still a big deal to him. And for me it’s also good to stay on top of the latest oval track technology even if we’re not there every week.”
Greyson has not only found victory lane at Crandon but also in the karts Friday nights at Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park in Cecil, Wisconsin.
According to Lance, the same principals apply for the kart racing. “They do a really good job at Cecil (Little Buckaroo) of keeping the kids active with bike giveaways and coin drops and stuff like that. They put a lot of time and effort into that place including track prep and it shows on race day.”
An abbreviated schedule with the off-road stuff is appealing currently with everyone’s hectic, day-to-day lifestyle. “We have two shows at Crandon, and other tracks are in Bark River, Michigan, Dirt City Motorplex in Lena, Wisconsin and another track in Elk River, Minnesota. It’s awesome.”
Lance Arneson grew up exclusively with the oval track, stock car racing but admits the off road and kart stuff has been an eye-opener for him. “I still keep my feet wet with my modified stuff so Greyson can experience that himself someday,” Lance explained. “As for me personally there are days, I could just be done with it and call it good. I just don’t have the pit crew help you used to have. That goes for most everyone else these days. I will probably race another six years until Greyson can get into an IMCA northern sportmod when he’s 14.”
The format of the off-road stuff stretched over a long weekend remains very appealing these days. “I mean you look at stock car racing the show gets crammed into three or four hours,” Lance said. “The off-road stuff is a lot more relaxing. You roll your machine through tech and then you camp. A practice session and then one race. And having a few weeks off in between races is big too.”
Arneson’s racing effort is sponsored by Luisier Drilling and Water Systems, Holtger Bros. Inc, Nick Holtger Construction, Ben’s Construction Services, Victory Sign, Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park, Race Driven, Team Racers for Christ and Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Services.