The Scoop
TODD KLUEVER – FROM NASCAR’S BIG LEAGUES TO SLINGIN’ DIRT WITH THE BADGER MIDGETS
Posted on: Friday August 8, 2025
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Todd Kluever led wire-to-wire, winning the Badger Midget feature at Eagle River Speedway August 2. (Castle Creations photo)
After racing for a living in two of NASCAR’s top-tier series, Todd Kluever is enjoying getting “dirty” closer to home.
The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin racer has ditched the politics of living in Charlotte, North Carolina in NASCAR’s “hub” and is enjoying racing in his backyard – slinging clay with the BMARA (Badger Midget Auto Racing Association) midgets, just minutes from his home at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
In the 2000’s, Kluever was literally “living the dream,” racing full time in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and also in the Busch Series (Now called Xfinity) for Roush Racing.
But, according to Kluever, the politics and backstabbing that often occurs at NASCAR’s highest level sent him back home to Wisconsin. And right now he couldn’t be happier.
“I started racing flat track motorcycles around 1990 or 1991,” said the 47-year-old Kluever. “I did that up until 1999, and we won some championships and had some success.”
However, Kluever eventually started to question what type of future there was for him looking long term in motorcycle racing. So, Todd’s brother sold his boat, and they bought a truck and began racing it regularly at Madison International Speedway (MIS) in nearby Oregon, Wisconsin. “Those trucks were actually what wound up pretty much being the start of what is now known as the Midwest Truck Series,” Kluever said.
Kluever ran about 2/3 of the season in 1999, and after winning a truck race at MIS, Kluever jumped up to a pavement super late model the following year. Despite winning the rookie-of-the-year SLM crown at Dells Raceway Park in 2000, Kluever had his share of bad stuff happen. “I always said I hit everything BUT the lottery that year,” Kluever joked.
Still, Kluever stuck with the pavement super late model scene, and wound up with R-O-Y honors and the MARS series championships in 2001. “We were decent then, and we decided to jump up and run the ASA Tour from 2002 through 2004,” Kluever recalled. “We had enough money to do that traveling gig, but not quite enough to the level it took to be competitive back then.”
It was during this era where Kluever sold a car to noted All-Star Racing team owner Gerry Gunderman. “That’s how Gerry and I became friends, and eventually he asked me to drive for him with his All-Star Racing team,” Kluever pointed out.
After running with Gunderman with some success, Gunderman went to bat for Kluever with one of the biggest car owners in NASCAR – Jack Roush.
Around the mid-2000’s, Roush was having tryouts for one of his Truck series rides through a “Gong Show” type of audition. “Gerry made that call to Jack Roush and told him “you’re going to want this kid (Kluever) in his gong show auditions,” Kluever said. “We won that audition, and got a full time truck ride with Roush in 2005.”
Kluever packed his bags, leaving the friendly confines of Wisconsin to the hub of NASCAR down in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I really did like running the trucks, and eventually I’d bump up and land a Busch series ride too,” Kluever said. “When it came to the truck series, I’m guessing I may hold some sort of record for the most second place finishes without a win!”
For many weekly short track racers, most would relish the chance to go down south and race for a living at the sport’s highest level. But like the popular Dan Seals’ song “Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold” – things aren’t always as rosy as they may appear. “Truthfully, the NASCAR world was tough – very tough,” Kluever confessed. “I can honestly say though, that I was probably one of the last guys to come out of Wisconsin as a hired racer. I brought no sponsor money to the table.”
Kluever admittedly loved racing the trucks, but faced numerous challenges while competing in the Busch series. “We had a really good truck team,” Kluever recalled. Kluever points to barrel-rolling an ARCA car at Daytona – a mangled machine that still hangs in the Roush Racing museum to this day. After wrecking at Daytona, Kluever followed it up with a solid fourth place finish at California.
When Kluever dabbled in the Busch series, things started to come unglued with a rookie crew chief and a rookie engineer. “It really started going south in 2006 just before the the world’s economy started crashing around 2008,” Kluever said. “We started to struggle, and things quickly went from bad to worse.”
Todd Kluever, shown here during his NASCAR Busch series days in 2006. (seeking photo credit)
Roush had expanded his number of teams in both the Truck and Busch series, and Kluever began to feel like he was on the back burner with everything going on. “Greg Biffle had Ameriquest for a sponsor, and they went bankrupt,” Kluever said. “Then, all of a sudden, Greg Biffle didn’t have a sponsor. Biffle had a good relationship with 3M, which was my sponsor. All of a sudden, my team had sponsor troubles because I lost my sponsor money to Biffle. That’s the kind of stuff that happens down in Charlotte all the time, unfortunately.”
Dejected, Kluever quickly realized that running in the big leagues doesn’t come without it’s own set of headaches. “I tell people many times that my parents raised me with too many morals to survive down in Charlotte,” Kluever said. “There are a lot of really good people there. But, also there is a lot of stabbing people in the back, even with people you think are close to you. If it’s going bad it can’t by your fault, it’s got to be somebody elses fault. There always seemed to be a lot of finger pointing. I had a lot of fun. But, it was also pretty miserable at times, too.”
After Kluever’s departure from Roush, he took 10 years off of racing. Kluever did manage to run a couple of races in Scotty Ollerman’s super late model, but overall Kluever really wasn’t racing much. It was around 2016 when Kluever went around and started catching some different races as a fan. “I had Jeff Steenbergen build me a sportmod for the dirt tracks in 2017,” Kluever said. “I had a couple of Lethal A mods that I ran for two years. But, those modifieds just aren’t for me. To me, with the mods, those guys who run that class must really enjoy spending time fixing up their bodies every week. They must enjoy straightening body panels.”
Todd Kluever (55) at speed at Eagle River Speedway August 2. (Castle Creations)
Kluever has a dirt track that was always in his backyard – Angell Park. “I always have been a midget fan, having grown up at Angell Park,” Kluever said. “It’s the place I grew to love racing, and it’s only five minutes from my house. I love the Badger midgets. Granted, they went through a transition period of sorts.”
So in 2025, Kluever enjoys racing in his backyard, and also chasing some of the other dirt tracks the series runs. In fact, Kluever led every lap en route to winning the A main at Eagle River Speedway August 2. “I’d rather race with my friends, and in front of my friends,” Kluever admitted. “It’s all about having fun. We’ve been having a ball. When we got into this midget deal, we hooked up with my friend Brandon Waetli and he took me under his wing. That got us going.”
Kluever’s racing effort is fueled by family and friends. “It’s my dad, my brother, my nieces and some friends I’ve known since I was in kindergarten,” Kluever exclaimed. “It’s a pretty close-knit deal.”
So how does the maintenance compare from a pavement super late model to a midget that races on dirt? “Our midgets run either a four cylinder Honda motor and I also have a Kippley Performance Ford motor, too,” Kluever said. “These cars are cheaper than a pavement super late model. But they aren’t quite to that level. They are a lot of fun to drive. What I don’t miss with the pavement is the long days. For those afternoon races, you’re often at the track as early as 7 a.m. That does make for a long day. And, I don’t burn up nearly as many tires as I did when I was running the tar.”
Kluever remains good friends with a lot of folks from his pavement days, including Pathfinder Chassis’ Jason Schuler. “We are still good friends, but maintaining those pavement super lates is almost like having another full time job,” Kluever said. “They keep trying to get me to come back to the pavement. Plus, all my buddies are all older now, with a family and kids. Their kids are in sports. That’s the good thing about Angell Park – they race on Sundays. After the races, we are five minutes from home, we can share a couple of beers and still be home by 10 o’clock at night.”
When he’s not racing, Kluever works for his father’s company, servicing games to more than 70 bars and restaurants in the region.
Kluever’s team of marketing partners includes BIG Daddy Games, Badger Music & Entertainment, Nora’s Tavern, Chubbyshine, The Fox Bar & Grill, Bradley Farms, Olson Vacuum,Seminary Springs Tavern, Fowler Heating & Air Conditioning, Hypersports, JWF, Kippley Performance, BMRE Electric Karts, B.R.S. Radiator, Machine & Fabrication, Behling Racing Equipment, Bulldog Track Tech and Club LaMark.