The Scoop
WOODS WINS 2ND STRAIGHT AT OUTAGAMIE – EAGLE RIVER SPEEDWAY SHUNS MOTHER NATURE & MORE
Posted on: Monday July 7, 2025
This past Saturday’s “Open Wheels and Wings” race at Eagle River Speedway provided the ultimate example of the challenges modern day short track promoters face when it comes to dealing with Mother Nature.
The prior Tuesday night, the popular northwoods oval hosted a standing room only crowd for an IMCA stock car special event, capped off with fireworks.But on Saturday, July 5, with close to a 90 percent chance of rain forecast the day before, promoter Pat Zdroik was faced with a stressful day of battling Mother Nature. But what do you do if it’s not yet actually raining on raceday?
Virtually all other tracks quickly pulled the pin Saturday – some as early as mid-morning. Based simply on a very much doom-and-gloom forecast of rain. With a majority of the MSA sprint car teams residing anywhere between Plymouth, Beaver Dam and Milwaukee, some teams opted not to tow north and run the risk of spending several hundred dollars in fuel only to get washed out.
I get it. This sport is costly enough these days. But apparently, Zdroik never got the memo that all the other promoters in Wisconsin pulled the pin and opted to maybe enjoy what was left of the holiday weekend.
Zdroik forged ahead and hosted a show. Car counts were a tad on the short side. But fans came late, and filled the stands slightly better than expected with a light drizzle falling. But the show went on. Remember, at Eagle River Speedway, they have a shorter season than their tracks to the south. Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend is pretty much it. They’ve got a much smaller window to squeeze in as many shows as possible.
In a day and age when most promoters simply take the easy way out (and I get WHY on the business end of things) it’s refreshing to know there is a northwoods promoter who will push to get the show in virtually at all costs. This Tuesday night at Eagle River it will be “Christmas In July” night at the races. The fendered classes will return to the third-mile, clay oval with action getting underway at 7 p.m.
141 SPEEDWAY – IMCA stock cars will scrap for a $1,000 top prize this Saturday night, July 12 at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek for the “Red, White & Blue” series event. Thanks to Carter Construction, bonus cash has been tossed in for the other divisions as well.
What’s arguably the most competitive dirt track division in the Midwest will take center stage at 141 July 14-16 for the “King Of The Creek”. The IMCA stock cars will compete for a $10,000 top prize on Wednesday night. Qualifying races will take place Tuesday night, July 15. Check the track’s Facebook page for the latest and greatest.
OUTAGAMIE – IMCA modifieds will battle for a $1,000 top prize at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour Friday, July 11. The track’s other regular, weekly divisions will be in action including IMCA stock cars, northern sportmods, sport compacts and Unified dirt street stocks. The hammer drops at 6:30 p.m. at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds.
SHAWANO SPEEDWAY – IMCA modifieds will race for a $1,000 top prize at Shawano Speedway Saturday, July 12. The rest of the track’s weekly divisions will be in action with racing getting underway on the clay, half-mile at 6 p.m.
THE HILL IS OFF – A friendly reminder that The Hill Raceway is off this weekend. Racing will resume at the clay oval at John Miles Park for Hall of Fame night Saturday, July 19 at 6 p.m.
GRAVITY PARK USA – A friendly reminder that there will be NO racing at Gravity Park USA in Chilton this Friday, July 11. Weekly, Friday night action will resume July 18 with racing getting underway at 7 p.m.
LUXY – Luxy Raceway’s next event is slated for Sunday, July 13 for the “Prelude” to 141 Speedway’s King of The Creek. A 6 p.m. start time is on tap at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds.
KARTING KORNER – Bike giveaways will be a part of the Wednesday show at GSR Kartway in Clintonville Wednesday, July 9. Lawn mower and kart racing action gets underway at 7 p.m. Check the track’s Facebook page for raceday and any weather-related information.
After being off for the July 4th holiday weekend, Sunday afternoon racing resumes at Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park July 13. The Ken’s Sports/Autoworx LLC program is set to commence with kart racing at 2 p.m. at the Cecil oval.
PAVEMENT PONDERINGS – The 46th running of the Slinger Nationals takes place Tuesday, July 8. Dubbed the “World’s Fastest Quarter-Mile, drivers from four states will embark on the popular bullring for the one the biggest short track, pavement super late model races in the United States.
Leading the entry list of 35 entrants is former Nationals winner and defending NASCAR truck series champion Ty Majeski, a Seymour native. Four time Nationals champion Rich Bickle will make a rare appearance behind the wheel in ’25 as well. Opening ceremonies are set to commence at 5:45 p.m.
TUNDRA AWASH – Mother Nature washed out the North American Cup TUNDRA super late model event at Dells Raceway Park Saturday, July 5. The next scheduled event is the co-op event with the Alive For Five Saturday, August 9 at DRP.
DUKE OF WIR – The WIR ¼ Mile late models will scrap for some extra cash during the “Duke of WIR” race Thursday, July 10 during Fox River Racing Club (FRRC) action at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. The full, “Thursday Night Thunder” program will be in action, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
STATELINE CHALLENGE RAIN – The Stateline Challenge super late model event was washed out at Norway (MI) Speedway as well last Saturday. No word yet on a raindate, although one possibility is to move that event to Labor Day weekend during the Dickinson County Fair races.
Remember to get out and support your local short track IN PERSON whenever possible! Nothing wrong with the multiple online streaming services. But NOTHING beats BEING THERE in person.
2025 REGIONAL DIRT TRACK FEATURE WINNERS (as of 7/05/25)
(Tracks included, but not limited to: Outagamie Speedway, Gravity Park USA, Luxy Raceway, 141 Speedway, The Hill Raceway, Plymouth Dirt Track & Shawano Speedway. We’ll also include feature wins by N.E. Wisconsin drivers scored at other tracks, including out-of-state and series victories. These include both IMCA sanctioned & non-sanctioned wins)
LATE MODELS
Mike Mullen 3
Andy Karl 3
Nick Anvelink 2
Taylor Scheffler 2
Troy Springborn 1
Lukas Postl 1
Joel Bennett 1
Mitch McGrath 1
Brett Swedberg 1
Jayden Schmidt 1
IMCA MODIFIEDS
Benji LaCrosse 6
Johnny Whitman 4
Konnor Wilinski 3
Jesse Cullen 3
Matt Klenz 2
Tanner Janke 2
Joel Seegert 2
Cole Czarneski 2
Ethan Braaksma 2 (141 Clash)
Todd Dart 2
Lucas Lamberies 2
Race Van Pay 2
Skyler Woods 2
Marcus Hoeppner 1
Tony Wedelstadt 1
Geoff Jeche 1
Mike Wedelstadt 1
Brian Mullen 1
Kevin Feck 1
Steve Schneider 1
Jayden Schmidt 1
Steve Mueller 1
Joel Crowbridge 1
IMCA STOCK CARS
Tyle Wilson 8
Cole Czarneski 6
Mike Mullen 4
Jeremy Christians 4
Benji LaCrosse 4
Luke Lemmens 3
Rod Snellenberger 3
Mark Hoeppner 2
Dylan Stedjee 1
Nick Buckarma 1
Trent Nolan 1
Brandon Schmitt 1
Phil Mott 1
Trentin Bell 1
Tyler Schrimpf 1
R.M. Van Pay 1
Nate Michonski 1
Caden LeMieux 1
Marcus Yarie 1
Devin Snellenberger 1
Shannon Guelette 1
Shawn Kilgore 1
Vern Stedjee 1
Troy Muench 1
Aaron Karcz 1
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMODS
Coy Vlies 6
Brian Konitzer 3
Tim Warner 3
Tommy Rindt 3
Jake Carpenter 2
Ryan Schmidt 2
Max Oreskovich 2
Brady Harshbarger 2
Cole Slezewski 2
Jay Schaalma 2
Dylan Schmidt 2
Craig Dorner 2
Travis Schmidt 2
Cory Kemkes 1
Dustin White 1
Cole Thomas 1
Jordan Jahnke 1
Jim Zdroik 1
Jeffery Teske 1
Spencer Long 1
AJ Springborn 1
Cole Magnin 1
Robert Wittkopf 1
Nick Kresbach 1
Tim Jorgenson 1
Colton See 1
Bernie Reinhardt 1
Jared Spaulding 1
Trevin Veeser 1
Matt Urban 1
JJ Vander Loop 1
UNIFIED DIRT STREET STOCKS
Paul Diefenthaler 5
Derek Moede 5
Trey Van Straten 5
Jeff Richards 4
Ryan Sullivan 2
Shannon Guelette 2
Mark Hoeppner 2
Dave DeGrave 2
Cory Romenesko 1
Austin Steinke 1
Jason Piron 1
Danny Gracyalny 1 (Eagle River)
Garrett Geyer 1
Phillip Wuesthoff 1
Kyle Gennett 1
Jacob Ambrosius 1
GRAND NATIONALS
Jeff Richards 5
Jeff Muehlbauer 4
Jake Richards 2
Brian Gilles 1
Maverick Ruh 1
Tyler Wilson 1
Jeff Steenbergen 1
FOUR CYLINDERS/IMCA SPORT COMPACTS
Brian Watzka Jr. 6
James Reese 5
Skyler Bork 4
Adam Broehm 3
Cody Booth 3
Shawn Bangart 3
Dalton Nelson 2
Thomas Schulte 2
Brad Wedde 2
Clint Malueg 2
Tanner Westphalt 2
Scott Schlafke 2
Seth Collar 1
Ben Schulte 1
Missy Clark 1
Chase Ertel 1
Brett Deprez 1
Jeffrey Meyer 1
Scott Blanke 1
Ricky Kaufert 1