The Scoop
OUTAGAMIE SPEEDWAY – SERVING UP MORE LATE MODEL SHOWS IN ’24
Posted on: Tuesday November 21, 2023
Shawano’s Kyle Raddant (03) leads a pack of late models at Outagamie Speedway in Dirt Kings action in 2023. (danlewisphoto.net)
Dirt late model racers in northeastern Wisconsin will have more opportunities to race closer to home in 2024.
Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, Wisconsin recently released its tentative 2024 schedule. In that schedule six late model races have been added to the Friday night program at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds. Those six dates are in addition to the three traditional Dirt Kings Tour races at the third-mile, clay oval, making nine chances late model teams can race closer to home.
Late models have always had a long-standing tradition at Seymour. During its half-mile days in the 1970s, Seymour was one of the regional fairground, dirt ovals that embraced the division’s explosion which saw exciting battles with legends like J.J. Smith, Roger Regeth, Roger Paul, Jerry Smith, M.J. McBride, Pete Parker & Terry Anvelink.
New London’s own “Flying Farmer” Roger Paul was one of the standouts at Seymour Speedway during the late model heyday in the 1970’s. (Bob Bergeron photo)
Later after the track was converted to a Tri-Oval late models did return over the years – at times running under the WISSOTA sanctioning and other seasons with the local ALMA (All Star Late Model Association) which paid out a healthy point fund to racers who ran a minimum of six times at Seymour, Shawano Speedway and at the Langlade County Fairgrounds in Antigo. That initiative, spearheaded at the time by Ed Bertram and Angie Rosek at the time, worked.
Fast forward to the 2020’s. As has been well documented Shawano remains the only track in eastern Wisconsin to run dirt late models weekly. Plymouth Dirt Track, in 2023, ran an abbreviated six race series called the ‘Super Six’ series. The well promoted series drew healthy enough car counts which has prompted the six-race series to return to PDTR in 2024.
The Dirt Kings Tour has hosted dirt late model races primarily in Wisconsin since 2017. Over the years the Tour has branched out to host shows in northern Illinois and Minnesota as well. The Tour has provided an option for late model teams to race at different venues since their options to race regularly (at least on the eastern side of the state) remain limited.
“We’ve been watching closely in the past few years what’s been going on with the late model division locally and are well aware of the history with late models and the racetrack in Seymour,” said John Tienor of Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car (EWSC). EWSC is the club the promotes the Friday night racing in Seymour. “We know right now there is nowhere for them to race on Friday nights. With the threat of the class possibly being eliminated because of such few places to run we’ve decided to add six additional nights for them at Outagamie.”
According to Tienor no other divisions will get the night off when those additional six late model shows will be run. “Our regular five weekly classes have supported us well since day one,” Tienor explained. “Two seasons ago we gave some divisions nights off when we brought in some visiting classes, and it was not very well received by the drivers. The nights the late models are by us it’s going to be a push, push, push show. We’ve tweaked our processes and procedures for those nights.”
As far as the payout late model teams will battle for on those six non-Dirt Kings shows Tienor said the payout will be ‘comparable’ to the weekly payout that the late models race for at nearby Shawano Speedway.
What type of car count will be considered a ‘success’ in the eyes of the EWSC group? According to Tienor there is no ‘magic number’ per se. “We’re not really putting any limits on that part of the program out of the gate. We will see what happens. I do know that we have interest from both Plymouth area teams and nearby Shawano area teams. So, we will have southern cars that will make appearances with us. Will they attend all six shows? I guess we’ll find out.”
Tienor readily admits there is no way that Outagamie can match the $10.00 adult admission ticket that is available at nearby Shawano. “But honestly our fans will be getting their monies worth on these nights. Late models at Seymour can run three and four wide. We’ve got plenty of late model fans just down the road in Shawano so we think this will be a risk worth taking.”
Hometown driver Mike Mullen, shown here winning at Outagamie with his IMCA modified, will focus more on racing his Ricky Lemmen owned late model in 2024. (danlewisphoto.net)
THE DRIVERS – One driver who is thrilled at Seymour’s added dates is Seymour’s Mike Mullen. The second-generation driver enjoys racing the Ricky Lemmen Motorsports IMCA modified & stock car in addition to the late model. “In my opinion Seymour is the best local track to put on the best show for late models,” Mullen said. “How it will affect Shawano and Plymouth I am unsure. But if you ask the drivers most of them enjoy racing at Seymour. It’s convenient being our own backyard. I know myself and others are excited to be racing the late model on a more regular schedule. It’s that more limited schedule that had prevented us from having one for many years. For our team personally the timing is good as we are stepping back anyways from running the other classes. The amount of time, money and help needed to race numerous cars is a bit overwhelming.”
For Dirt Kings champ Nick Anvelink, who lives a short drive in nearby Navarino, the chance to race more locally is more than welcome for the second-generation hotshoe. “It does seem whenever the late models show up at Seymour the crowd seems to be a bit larger which is good,” Anvelink said. “But I do think the pay will dictate car count overall. I’m not sure how many of those dates will be scheduled against Dirt Kings races as car counts on those nights might be lower. We’ll see what the pay is but yes, we’re happy to race more closer to home.”
Hortonville’s Joel Bennett races his dirt late model typically whenever and wherever he can. “I love the fact that I can race locally on a Friday night,” Bennett said. “This could potentially bring more interest to other drivers to get a late model or stick around here for the weekend rather than traveling.”
Racing his late model at Seymour will be a home game of sorts for third-generation racer Jayden Schmidt in 2024. (Turn 2 Photos and Design)
For Jayden Schmidt the added dates are welcome as Seymour is a home game for the third-generation racer. “That track is an awesome place for late models,” Schmidt said. “And I don’t think the Dirt Kings Tour should have any problems with their car counts with Seymour adding these dates.”
Shawano’s Brett Swedberg has won his share of races at Seymour – dating back to the Fastrak crate late model days. “We’re glad to have a track that wants to support us late models and give us a place to race,” Swedberg pointed out. “The track at Seymour for the most part has been pretty racy, and we’ve always enjoyed whenever we’ve been able to run there.”
Another Shawano veteran late model racer, Troy Springborn, echoed many of Swedberg’s sentiments. “Not only is this great for the late models in general and can give the Seymour fan base a different class of cars to watch on a Friday night. I know there is a lot of excitement about the added dates at Seymour. I was fortunate to win a couple of Dirt Kings races there the past few years so obviously we are very jacked up about these added dates.”
For Shawano’s Kyle Raddant, the success of the late models comes down to two things – money and not scheduling against the Dirt Kings Tour events. “Most drivers will always choose the Dirt Kings races over a regular weekly race,” Raddant said. “The payout they have could make or break their success. No one is going to want to race for any less than the weekly pay at Shawano. But having more nights to run could help this class grow more.”
Shawano’s Lukas Postl – “Overall I think it’s a good move on Seymour’s part. The grandstand does seem to be more full when the late models were there. The bigger thing is it could potentially draw other drivers to the class with more options to race locally. Running on Friday nights though could hurt them as a driver may want to take off of a night of racing. Plymouth I don’t think it will affect as much. As for Dirt Kings it probably won’t hurt the series much as the drivers that chase that will continue to follow it. But the car counts at Seymour will depend upon what the payout is.”
And what does Shawano Speedway think about this move by EWSC with the additional late model dates added? “I think Seymour adding these dates is great for the local late model scene,” said Shawano Speedway’s Brad Luepke. “It gives late model guys more opportunities to race. I also believe that we need a few tracks to take on a crate-type late model class in our area to help the car counts grow. Right now, there is no steppingstone for drivers to move into a late model. With more tracks scheduling late model shows, we need to find a feeder class to make it grow. Drawing 12-15 a week isn’t sustainable for a track.”
The season opens at Outagamie Speedway Friday, May 3, 2024. The first late model race will hit the track Friday May 10. For more information you can check out outagamiespeedway.com or visit the track’s Facebook page.