The Scoop
BRAD KEITH – PAVEMENT RACER ENJOYS GETTING “DIRTY” IN ’25
Posted on: Wednesday September 24, 2025
Brad Keith poses next to his IMCA northern sportmod at Outagamie Speedway in July, 2025.
Brad Keith is having fun getting a little “dirty” every now and then.
The 41-year-old pavement racer from Allenton, Wisconsin still enjoys racing on the asphalt – especially at his “home track” Slinger Super Speedway. However, in 2025, Keith has been barnstorming to several different dirt tracks across Wisconsin, racing his IMCA northern sportmod.
While the feature wins haven’t come yet, that doesn’t matter at all to Keith. For now, while Keith still will compete on the tar, he’s enjoyed the laid back atmosphere in the dirt track pit area compared to the often “hot pit” at the pavement ovals. “The pit area culture on the dirt is like night and day compared to asphalt,” Keith said. “At the pavement tracks, there’s a lot more pressure, and people seem to get more tensed up in the pits. Things are ALOT more laid back on the dirt. You don’t spend all day at the track with dirt like you do on pavement. The variables are the same for everyone, Like track conditions, for example. With asphalt racing, you spend all day there. Like Slinger, for example. You pretty much spend the whole day there on a Sunday.”
And as such, Keith and his team have truly relished bouncing around to a bunch of different dirt ovals this year. They’ve traveled with their IMCA northern sportmod as far north as Eagle River Speedway in Eagle River and TNT Speedway in Three Lakes. “We also hit shows at Beaver Dam, 141 Speedway (Francis Creek) and we’ve really enjoyed coming to (Outagamie Speedway) in Seymour on Friday nights,” Keith pointed out. “It works out good on Friday nights with work. I can leave work around 4 or 4:30 p.m. and still make it up to Seymour in plenty of time. We love bouncing around, and we’re learning a lot each time, too.”
Keith had been racing a full-fledged pavement, super late model full-time until a bad crash at Slinger Super Speedway last year. “We wrecked hard towards the end of the ’24 season at Slinger, and I was really burnt out on pavement racing,” Keith said. “That’s when we decided to buy this dirt car.”
The sportmod Keith purchased is a 2024 Rage chassis he obtained from Antigo’s Jason Raab and Dylon Waldvogel. “They have been helping us out, and we’ve been making some headway,” Keith said. “Truth is, I don’t know anything with regards to the tech on the dirt side of things.”
Keith’s racing career got started in 2002, competing in the long-defunct Midwest Enduro stock car series. The tour featured full-sized race cars, and they competed at both dirt and paved tracks all across the Midwest. “I remember we had enduros at 141 Speedway when it was still paved,” Keith recalled. “We’d run shows at Grundy County Speedway (Morris, Il.), State Park Speedway (Wausau) and some other places. We did that for a season, and it was a lot of fun.”
The following year, Keith bought a Mid-American stock car, and ran that mainly at Slinger, and then transitioned to a limited late model in 2007. Keith would also compete in a handful of Big 8 series races around that time period as well.
When 2012 rolled around, Keith and his team went back on the road, chasing the Mid-American stock car series, and winning that series crown in ’13. For Keith, it was back to the super late model in 2015. “We built a new car with Joe Nechodom from Racetech Chassis,” Keith said. “In fact, we won our first super late model feature that year at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway at Oktoberfest during the Futures race.”
With the sportmod, Keith has zero plans to chase weekly points anywhere. “We really take things simply one day at a time,” Keith explained. “When we’re not racing, we enjoy spending some time on the water. We are fair-weather racers. When its hot, we go on the water. When and where I race often is dictated by how many pit crew members can make the shows. We still enjoy some Sundays at Slinger. We are getting faster on the dirt. We led at Seymour earlier this year, until a yellow came out with five laps to go. Then, I screwed things up all by myself. My biggest thing with the dirt is learning the adjustments to the track and learning how that track surface changes during the night.”
Keith has sported the number 48 on his cars for a bulk of his racing career. “I actually started off racing with the number 24 with my first enduro car at Slinger,” Keith said. “ So, when we started running the Mid-American Stock Car series, I decided simply to double the number to 48, as that number wasn’t taken yet in the series.”
Brad Keith in action at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour. (danlewisphoto.net)
When it comes to his pit crew, it varies upon simply who can make it, and when. “My wife Kelly and sons Brayden and Hadley are almost always here, and Jason (Raab) and Dylon (Waldvogel) help with the dirt stuff. When it comes to asphalt, it’s pretty much whoever is available. Gary Pezon helps me out a lot. It’s tough though, as all my buddies have kids and they are busy with their stuff, too. And honestly, that asphalt racing just takes up so much more time. As my son gets older and wants to race his kart more, we’ll do more of that with him.”
Keith’s 2025 marketing partners include Keith’s Marina, Sylvan Pontoons, Boucher Ford – West Bend, Kelly & Company Balloon Creations, Guerndt’s Bar, Little Red Inn, House of Hellman’s, An Outdoor Specialist, Coachwork Auto body, Let’s Get Roasted Catering, Allstate Insurance Penny Zagel, Old Cedar Inn, The Pub and Motel, Reed Racing Enterprises and PMF Lanscape Supplies.