The Scoop
LOWELL BENNETT – STILL RACING AFTER 50 YEARS
Posted on: Thursday May 22, 2025
Lowell Bennett poses next to his super late model – built by himself and Mike Randerson in 2012.
The sport of stock car racing has seen significant changes since Lowell Bennett turned his first laps at Shawano Speedway in 1976.
The then teenage racer was wheeling an older, gently used but fast Chevelle he bought from Dad, “Mr. B” Bobby Bennett. Prior to that, that red Chevelle won a lot of races with Jerry “Medina” Smith behind the wheel in the early 1970’s.
Fast forward to 2025. Bennett is embarking upon his 50th year of making left hand turns. Bennett’s career up until the early 1980’s consisted of racing on both the dirt and the paved tracks in Wisconsin. Around 1982, Bennett stuck with the pavement, and thousands of races, multiple wins and track championships behind him, the 67-year-old “youngster” shows no signs of slowing down whatsoever.
In fact, if you ever engage in a conversation with Lowell at the race track, you’d think you were chatting with a driver who’s in his or her 20’s or 30’s. “I feel spry and ready to go yet,” Bennett admitted. “I don’t get fatigued behind the wheel. Last year, I ran a 200 lapper and a 250 lapper. So I’m feeling good yet. I’m a blessed man.”
What motivates Bennett to keep on going? “It’s simple – I just keep on racing,” Bennett explained. “I don’t know much else. I’ve been around it since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I can’t watch the t.v.”
Lowell at 17 years old at Speedway USA in De Pere in 1976. (Pete Vercauteren photo)
This writer himself was “blessed” to see Lowell’s first ever race at Shawano Speedway in 1976. “It was a different world back then,” Lowell recalled. “I bought the car from dad without an engine. I built a smaller motor with steel heads, and I prepped it all winter long at 17 years old. It was a mad scramble just to get it to the track.
“We had a double decker open trailer, and it was a challenge just to load the car and get it to the track. We got up there and during qualifying, the carburetor didn’t work. So, we started in the back of the 1st heat. We had probably 55 or 60 cars there that night. You had to be on your “A” game to make a 14 car feature field.
“The green flag dropped. I’m way in the back. We go into the first corner and I’m like “why is everybody going so slow?’ So I went up to the high side and sailed past a lot of cars. I had two laps to go, and I looked at the temperature gauge and it was getting hot. I pulled up on the rear bumper of Jerry Running and I went for it. I passed him and got the win. That heat win (which paid $56) cost me a set of head gaskets. That was good money for a heat win back then.”
When it comes to setting a timetable of sorts on his racing career, Bennett is quick to point out that “There is no time table.” “There is no timetable set as Dad raced into his ’70’s,” Bennett pointed out. “As long as the good Lord keeps giving me good health, we will keep on racing. For me, it’s really fun with my kids. Braison races a lot, and he recently won the feature at Plover. My daughter Season made her debut there, and blew a clutch in hot laps. And then we go drag racing with Jurnee. So, racing continues to be a big part of our family. And it likely always will be.”
Lowell married into racing family. His wife Sue – her dad was Lynn Blanchard. Lynn was a longtime motor builder. Who remembers Blanchard Speed Shop?
Lowell Bennett shown here in 1981. This is the last car Lowell raced with on birth dirt and asphalt. (Vercauteren family photo)
In the early 1980’s, Lowell was one of the last drivers in Wisconsin to compete on both dirt and asphalt with the same car. After the 1982 season, Bennett switched to racing pavement exclusively. Why? “I enjoyed racing on the dirt, and I still enjoy watching dirt racing to this day,” Lowell explained. “We won the title at Shawano in 1981. But, in the off season, the powers in charge at Shawano Speedway decided to change the rules and allow these bigger Hoosier humper tires, along with the big motors. Thing is though, they never even invited me to their rules meeting in the off season.”
Bennett added: “It was a big deal to switch stuff over. We’d race the dirt Saturday nights at Shawano. We’d come to WIR for Sunday afternoon Red, White and Blue races, and then we’d also run Slinger on the pavement with the same car, same day. Then, we’d do it all over again with switching the car back to pavement for WIR on Thursday nights. There were times the car didn’t get real clean.”
Lowell shown here with one of his late model rides from the 1980’s. (Vercauteren family photo)
Like many others, Bennett has genuine concerns regarding the future of pavement super late model racing in the Midwest. “Sooner or later, the rules with this class are going to have to get reeled back in for the future of this division to remain solid,” Bennett suggested. “Your modern day Pro late model car is truly what we should be using for rules when it comes to weekly racing. When I look back, Mike Randerson (noted car builder) and I often have many conversations about this. You go to a race years ago, every repair shop and service station had someone who raced. It’s such an expensive sport now. We can’t charge the fans anymore to make it up on our end. And so, we’re still racing for basically the same or less money than we were making in the ’90’s. In the ’90’s at Slinger, we came out of there three straight years just shy of earning $30,000 in prize money. You can’t do that now. Wayne Erickson (former Slinger promoter) always paid very well.
“Costs have tripled on a lot of the parts and stuff. It’s gotten to the point where if you don’t buy one of these really expensive cars from down south, you’re out to lunch.”
The car Bennett competed with at the TUNDRA series opener at WIR is the last car Mike Randerson put together with Lowell. The duo built the car in the 2012 season.
Bennett’s 2025 marketing partners include Ken’s Sports, Monday and Associates, Theimer’s Auto & Salvage, Toby Race Products, Lee’s, Wegner Motorsports, No Limits Graphics and Signs, El Shaddai Church, John J. Mayer Insurance, Goldin Iron & Metal Recycling Corp., P.M.F., Landscape Supply, CJG, Stockbridge Engineering, Pierri Pizza, Dale Gas & Oil, Ken Frederickson Masonry and Sunoco.