The Scoop
CLINTONVILLE, WISCONSIN’S GSR KARTWAY OFFERS DIVERSE 2023 SCHEDULE
Posted on: Friday April 28, 2023
A popular Waupaca County karting oval is prepping for its 24th season of mid-week, dirt track racing.
GSR Kartway, located in Clintonville, Wisconsin is set to kick off it’s 2023 season Wednesday night, May 17. The eighth-mile track’s season schedule oozes diversity as in addition to its staple of kart racing, the lawnmower races will continue along with an appearance for the first time ever a pair of flat track motorcycle races.
Since 1999 the track has been owned by Ed and Kim Bertram of Clintonville, who for decades have had a hand in the stock car racing community in parts sales with the old Gold Star Racing Supplies and in more recent years K and E Sales and Service.
The track promoters are an ambitious couple with roots deep in racing as well – Brandon and Sarah Blashe. Brandon is the nephew of Shawano Speedway Hall of Famer Doug Blashe while Sarah’s dad is one of the winningest drivers ever in Wisconsin International Raceway (WIR) history Terry Baldry.
Doug Blashe raced for Ed Bertram early on during his racing career. Both Brandon and Sarah have had their own racing careers as well.
Their son Wyatt Blashe came up through the karting ranks and has dabbled in the pavement super late model scene. Brandon is also well experienced on the promoting end as well as he served as the president of the Fox River Racing Club (FRRC) – the long-standing club that has promoted the weekly, Thursday Night Thunder racing action at WIR.
This is the Blashe’s second stint as promoters of GSR. The couple leased the track back in 2009 and 2010. “We took a break after that and then we returned many years later,” Brandon Blashe said. “2023 will mark our seventh season back operating GSR.”
Wednesday night karting action kicks off May 17 at GSR Kartway in Clintonville, Wisconsin.
In some ways the karting scene has remained the same with multiple families of racers climbing up through the ranks of the karts and into the full-sized racers on both pavement and dirt. “What’s changed for us since the last time we promoted the races is the motor programs with the karts,” Blashe explained. “Years ago, you had more motor options where these days we typically go with the sealed motor options served up by Briggs and Stratton.”
Over the years dozens of families have come and gone through the karting scene. Muenster, Bartz, Swedberg, Michonski, Hirt, Ritchie and Long are just a few of the names of popular racing families who’ve cut their teeth at GSR. “What’s neat is we’ve got a great mixture of the familiar racing families that have made their way through GSR over the years and some new ones, too,” Blashe pointed out.
One key factor that comes into play into luring new blood is the kart rental program served up at GSR. You can rent a kart in one of the starter divisions for as little as $50 for a night of racing. “That rental program has spurred many racing careers and fourth-generation racer Elliott Michonski of nearby Leopolis comes to mind,” Blashe said. “And it’s good because you hate to see some parents spend around $2,500 on some gently used karting equipment only to find out the kid hates it. So, our rental program works well.”
In addition, someone can rent a kart in one of the higher divisions for a higher price. “We only do that because sometimes I might have two- or three-hours’ worth of time scaling the kart, moving the pedals and there’s more time involved with that,” Blashe said.
While the practice of “softening” or “doping” one’s tires on the local stock car circuit is an illegal practice it’s something that is allowed on the karting scene, including GSR. “It’s something I knew that teams were doing both at home and at the track,” Blashe admitted. “So, I pushed to allow teams to do that back in 2009 already.”
One of the draws of racing karts is the chassis’ typically have a longer life span than full sized race car frames do. “At GSR we have stuff that’s more than 15 years old that is still competitive and winning races,” Blashe pointed out. “That’s especially true in some of the lower divisions. There is typically less weight on them and therefore less flexing of the chassis. That’s good because you can remain competitive and don’t need to wind up buying a new kart every year or two.”
Most nights GSR will draw an average of 60 to 70 karters on a Wednesday night to compete. On any given evening 100 to 200 paid adults will be in the bleachers watching those races. With the track sunk into the ground a bit viewing area exists where fans can sit in their cars or trucks and enjoy the races. According to Blashe, that area is full most every week.
While there are no alcohol sales a full concession stand serves up burgers, hot dogs and perhaps one of the more popular menu items – soft serve ice cream.
GSR works well with another somewhat close kart track in terms of rules and scheduling – Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park in Cecil, Wisconsin. The tracks are a little over a half hour away and with GSR running Wednesdays and Little Buckaroo racing on Friday nights, the two work with each other with regards to scheduling. “We both sanction with the NKA (National Karting Association) and we talk every week,” Blashe explained. “Brian (Ambrosius, Little Buckaroo promoter) and his family even race at our track with their kids. We used to host meetings with promoters of other tracks the first time we did this and even included Beaver Dam and the old Ringle Brickyard track. You’ve got to work together.”
Lawn mower races are an added attraction on Wednesday nights at GSR Kartway.
Surprisingly though the amount of crossover with the race teams themselves that compete regularly at both tracks only stands at 20 percent. “A lot of that has to do with the night we run,” Blashe explained. “A lot of these kids come from racing families. So, if mom or dad races at Seymour on a Friday night, for example, they may wind up racing karts by us on a Wednesday. We run into some situations like that because that’s simply what works out best for them.”
Families who enjoy camping on the weekends may be more prone to race their kart on a Wednesday night at GSR. “Also, youth baseball is pretty big in our area and many of those towns host games on Wednesday nights,” Blashe said. “So, there are some racers like Chase Olson who play baseball and we may not see him on Wednesday nights until his baseball season is done.”
GSR pulls teams from the Shawano, Clintonville, and New London communities along with some teams who tow from further away. “We have had teams pull from as far as away as Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point, Wausau and Green Bay to race by us weekly,” Blashe said. “The Fox Valley is big drawing area for us in terms of racers, too. We even get some Beaver Dam area racers on occasion.”
One other element both GSR and Little Buckaroo have in common – the same track prep guy. Mike Steinke, a former racer himself, chips in with preparing both ovals for racing on their respective nights. “You just can’t dump some water on it on race day and that goes for both tracks,” Blashe said. “You’ve got to water it three or four days in a row some weeks. That on top of really watching the weather closely, too. I work the track during the week too same as Brian at Little Buckaroo.”
As if the Blashe’s weren’t busy enough – Brandon works full time for a major insurance company for his ‘real job’ while Sarah owns and operates Vera’s Academy of Dance and Gymnastics.
They also own a local restaurant which is open from April thru September. When it comes to the GSR ’23 schedule several special events dot the track calendar. The season opening practice day is set for Saturday, May 13. Wednesdays, June 7, July 12 and August 23 will mark a trio of bicycle giveaways for the year while June 21 will mark the Kim Parsons Memorial trophy night.
New for 2023 at GSR will be pair of American Motorcycle Association (AMA) District 16 flat track motorcycle races on Saturdays July 8 and August 5. “I was approached by one of the racers and after conferring with Kim and Ed we’ve agreed to give it a try,” Blashe said.
Current NASCAR Craftsman truck series point leader Ty Majeski will be at GSR Kartway Wednesday August 2. (photo courtesy of Ty Majeski Racing page)
A kid’s coin toss on August 2 sponsored by Premier Community Bank with a special GSR alumni sponsoring that night – current NASCAR Craftsman truck point leader Ty Majeski of Seymour. Majeski will attend GSR August 2. “I’ve known Ty a long time and when Wyatt moved up to the super late models in the TUNDRA series they raced against each other on occasion,” Blashe said. “Ty reached out to me last year about doing something like this and while his schedule didn’t work out last year, we’re pleased to announce he’ll be at GSR on August 2.”
A free corn roast sponsored by Mares Market will take place August 16 with the final points night of racing taking place August 30 presented by Hein’s Appliance. The 2nd annual Badger 50 money race will take place on Saturday night, September 23. “We usually run extended features that night and we will likely draw a lot of new faces from southern and western Wisconsin for that one,” Blashe explained.
Joining the karts weekly are the lawn mower races. “They are a riot to drive,” admitted Blashe, who races one of them himself. You can learn more about GSR by visiting their Facebook page.