The Scoop
KESLIE RICHARDS -14-YEAR-OLD MAKING NOISE ON THE DIRT SCENE
Posted on: Monday October 5, 2026
Third-generation driver Keslie Richards made Wisconsin IMCA history by becoming the first female racer to capture an IMCA stock car feature win in Wisconsin at Eagle River Speedway July 28. (Castle Creations Media)
Despite being just 14, Keslie Richards continues to make noise on the Wisconsin dirt track scene.
The freshman at Montello High School made IMCA history earlier this summer – becoming the first lady to capture a sanctioned-stock car division win at Eagle River Speedway.
This third-generation racer is the daughter of Kenny Richards – an accomplished racer in his own right. Keslie’s grandpa is racing legend Larry Richards. Both of them are inductees into the Southeastern Wisconsin Motorsports Hall of Fame.
“My earliest memories of my family racing was when dad raced, and won the track championships at three tracks when I was just three years old,” Richards recalled. “It was when dad drove the grand national car and won the track titles at Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Beaver Dam Raceway, and Oshkosh Speedzone. I was so little, but when I was able to go, it was usually with my grandparents.”
With the family’s long history in motorsports, no one was surprised when Keslie began her own racing career when she was six, wheeling a kart at the 1/5 mile kart track in Beaver Dam. It wasn’t long after that when Keslie started spreading her wings, and began racing on Wednesdays at GSR Kartway in Clintonville as well. “That was sort of a learning curve around that time,” Keslie said. “Dad started dabbling with an IMCA stock car when I was eight years old, and that’s when I really started to tag along more with him, and began learning more and more.”
It was also at the age of eight when Keslie bumped up to racing in the junior sprint class at the kart oval at BDR. “I ran those for a long time, or so it seemed,” Keslie pointed out. “When I turned 11, I was still racing the junior sprint. Grandpa Larry and dad were racing for points at the same track I was at Beaver Dam.”
Larry, Kenny, and Keslie Richards made track history at BDR, when all three family members earned track titles at the same track during the same season. These days, Kenny’s curtailed his racing – focusing more on getting his daughter’s racing career up-and-running. “Dad has pretty much handed down the throne to me, and we are here for it,” Keslie suggested.
Keslie Richards poses next to her street stock at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour.
Keslie’s last season racing a junior sprint took place when she was 12. She competed during the winter months in Missouri, logging thousands of road miles along the way. She captured a division title while wnning four feature races out-of-state. “We basically raced two days – one weekend a month in Missouri,” Keslie explained.
Also when she was 12, Keslie climbed behind the wheel of a full-sized, IMCA-style stock car at Gravity Park USA in Chilton. “I was able to run at Gravity when I was 12 because the stock cars aren’t IMCA-sanctioned there,” Richards explained. “In 2025, I raced the non-sanctioned shows at Chilton.”
When Keslie turned 13, she added a full-sized street stock to her plate. Again, because of her age, she was restricted to running at the non-sanctioned program at Gravity Park USA. “There is a big difference in my opinion between racing the street stock and the IMCA stock car,” Keslie explained. “Driving the street stock is more like a Sunday drive. That stock car is very much an ‘elbows up’ class, for sure. Many more heavy hitters. You’ve always got to be on your “A” game without question. I mean, the street stocks are good, too. But, there are sooooo many good drivers in the IMCA stock car class. Good luck trying to pick a winner.”
One of Keslie’s favorite tracks is close to three hours from home – Eagle River Speedway. “We love running up there, and we had a really good year this season,” Keslie said. “Most of the time, when my feature race is done, I’ll drive the car right into the hauler and we’d leave right away. Most nights we will roll into our driveway around 1 or 1:30 a.m. But, they run a pretty good show up there. It’s worth the trip.”
Keslie ran the final race of the season at ERS in 2025. “I got lapped in the last corner by my dad in that race,” Keslie said. “I was just hoping to be a little bit better up there this season. I did not expect to win a feature race up there this year.”
One of her weekly competitors at ERS is one of the best in the business – Pulaski’s “Hot Rod” Snellenberger. The former IMCA national champion is also Wisconsin’s all-time winningest driver in the division. “I learn things just by following (Snellenberger),” Richards admitted. “I do try and figure some stuff out on my own yet. Hot Rod is a little too wild out there for my liking. I’m just not gusty like he is on the track – at least not yet.”
Even at 14, Richards fully realizes that seat time is the name of the game. It doesn’t matter what track, or what division. “Up until this year, I had only really run Chilton and Eagle River on a regular basis with the full-time cars,” Keslie admitted. “The competition in the stock cars is a little bit tougher at Eagle River, and the track is a lot wider than Gravity Park.”
This year, Richards also won in her maiden voyage in Gravity Park’s new LS late model division. “That car is an entirely different animal, because the big, gummy tires really stick,” Richards said. “It’s a huge difference from the IMCA tires that have a lot of plastic in them. I’d honestly equate the LS late model at Chilton to a junior sprint more than either the stock car or street stock. I mean, you can really throw those cars into the corners.”
Richards gets a lot of support from her band of non-racing friends. “Truthfully, I don’t have that many racing friends,” Richards admitted. “The friends I do have at school are very supportive of what I do. Angel and Selah are two friends I often text and provide them updates of what I’ve got going on during race nights. The are excited to see what my next move is.”
And what will that ‘next move’ entail? In 2027, Richards plans on racing a little bit of everywhere. “We are going to use next season as preparation for the following year, when in 2028 and I’m 16, we plan on a run for the Wisconsin state IMCA stock car title,” Richards said. “It helps that Eagle River runs Tuesday nights. We get an extra night of racing in during the week, and It’s a well-run place, too.”
Richards plans also include running for IMCA’s junior Lady Eagle crown.
How long does Richards want to keep racing? “If I could somehow ever turn this into a career, I’d love to someday be a World of Outlaw late model driver,” Richards explained. “I know it’s a longshot. But, if it’s not racing for a living, I’m not really sure what I’d want to do for a living.”
Keslie’s team is sponsored by Outlaw Chassis & Suspension, Advanced Engine Concepts, Sorce Services, Lakeview Campground & Bar, Lefthander Performance, Performance Bodies, Mueller’s Service Center, Pecaro Motorsports, TJ’s Auto Salvage, MB Auto Sales & Service, Hoeppner Racing Products, Six08 Graphics, Larry Richards and Trailer Express.
2026 REGIONAL DIRT TRACK FEATURE WINNERS (as of 10-02-26)
(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
Nick Anvelink 8
Joel Bennett 8
Brett Swedberg 4
Mitch McGrath 2
Turk Letizia 1
Jesse Glenz 1
Troy Springborn 1
Andy Karl 1
Taylor Scheffler 1
Paul Parker 1
Brad Mueller 1
IMCA MODIFIEDS
Cole Czarneski 11 (Dakota Mod Tour)
Johnny Whitman 6
Jayden Schmidt 5
Russ Reinwald 4
Dylon Waldvogel 3
Benji LaCrosse 3
Lucas Lamberies 3
Steve Mueller 3
Will Garceau 3
Kevin Feck 3
Mike Mullen 3
Jesse Cullen 3
Mike Mueller 2
Travis Hansen 2
Joel Seegert Sr. 2
Marcus Yarie 2
Tanner Janke 2
Noah Schepp 2
Jeffrey Teske 2
Brandon Schmitt 2
Zachary Raab 1
Greg Gretz 1
Mike Wedelstadt 1
Todd Dart 1
Jason Ebert 1
Adam Abbey 1
Colton See 1
Trent Nolan 1
Eric Scribner 1
Josh Long 1
Wyatt Block 1 (ERS)
IMCA STOCK CARS
Trent Nolan 9
Cole Czarneski 8 (IA)
Brad Lubach 7
Brett Wenzel 7
Rod Snellenberger 6 (FLA)
Tyler Wilson 5 (IA)
Marcus Hoeppner 5
Nick Buckarma 5
Luke Lemmens 5
Benji LaCrosse 4
Jeremy Christians 4
Mike Mullen 4
Dustin White 3 (ERS)
Caden LeMieux 3
Dan Michonski 3
Jerry Wilinski 2
Chase Parker 2
Eric Mahlik 2
Mitch Stankowski 2 (ERS)
Presley Harrington 2 (IA)
Kyle Frederick 2
Tyler Schrimpf 2
Zackary Marg 1
Brandon Schmitt 1
Travis Welch 1
Jeremie Hedrick 1
Shawn Kilgore 1
Shanon Guelette 1
Kegan Van Ooyen 1
Jeremy Anschutz 1
Marcus Hoepper 1
Dylan Stedjee 1
RM Van Pay 1
Keslie Richards 1
Junior Karcz 1
Travis Van Straten 1
Daniel Sell 1
Jamison MacDonald 1 (IA)
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMODS
Coy Vlies 20
Travis Schmidt 6
AJ Springborn 6
Craig Dorner 4
Tim Jorgenson 3
Max Oreskovich 3
Cole Magnin 3
Brady Harshbarger 3
Dylan Schmidt 3
Ryan Schmidt 3
Justin Green 3
Dustin White 2 (ERS)
Matt Urban 2
JJ Vander Loop 2
Tim Sheppard 2
Shane Bahr 2
Brayden Carter 2
Alec Wery 2
Tom Schneider 2
Carsin Cullen 2
Joey Taycher 1
Owen Wilcox 1
Tony Gates 1
Brad Buckman 1
Logan Brass 1
Cole Thomas 1
Kaden Besaw 1
Trevin Veeser 1
Tony Gates 1
Jacob Rens 1
Elijah Koening 1
Tucker Pari 1
Derek Fehling 1
George Henkel 1
Steve Lorier 1
Randy LeMieux Jr 1
Dakota Johnson 1
Brad Miller 1
Travis Kleindl 1
Frank Gasperini 1
Cory Kemkes 1
Eric Craine 1
Jake Sachau 1
Chris Budzban 1
Austin Zdroik 1 (ERS)
Brian Konitzer 1
Cole Czarneski 1
UNIFIED DIRT STREET STOCKS
Derek Moede 7
Trey Van Straten 7
Phillip Wuesthoff 7
Paul Diefenthaler 7
Cody Potter 7 (TNT, ERS)
Dave DeGrave 5
Alex Haese 5
Shanon Guelette 5
Roman Blank 4
Travis Zirbel 3
Dave DeGrave 2
Jason Eisel 2 (ERS)
Hope Eisel 2 (ERS)
Garrett Geyer 2
Austin Steinke 2
Brayden Lundquist 1
Cory Romenesko 1
Todd Berzowski 1
Paul Ambrosius 1
Kyle Genett 1
Brian Gundrum 1
James Riske 1
Jake Brickner 1
Chad Vetting 1
Tyler Fox 1
Tucker Bodendorfer 1
Quentin Morrison 1 (ERS)
GRAND NATIONALS
Jeff Richards 10
Jake Richards 8
Jeff Muehlbauer 5
Brad Weiss 3
Mavrick Ruh 3
Tyler Kulow 2
Luke Scholten 2
Nate Ruh 1
Will Sorce 1
Nick Schumacher 1
Brad Lubach 1
Josh Pierce 1
Marshall Plate 1
Matt Urban 1
Rick Mahlberg 1
FOUR CYLINDERS/IMCA SPORT COMPACTS
James Reese 9
TJ Everard 8
Tanner Westphal 5
Cody Booth 5
Brian Watzka Jr 5
Scott Schlafke 4
Mike Meier 4
Kyle Jorgenson 3
Cody McClain 3
Lucas Hacker 2
Nathan Lisowe 2
Thomas Schulte 2
Calvin Stueck 2
Brett Deprez 2
Dan Thomson 2
Brad Wedde 2
Bennett Glidden 2
Autumn Allard 2
Chase Ertel 2
Brian Hillringhouse 1
Tony Everard 1
Jake Peters 1
Robbie Holst Jr 1
Shaun Bangart 1
Dallas Topel 1
Skyler Bork 1
Todd Boehlein 1
Derek Crane 1
Dylan Henry 1
LS/USRA LATE MODEL
Mark Hoeppner 8
Jason Zdroik 3
Lucas Peterson 3
Eric Klawatter 3
Jeff Thomas 2
Todd Gorny 2
Guy Carley 2
Logan Fleischmann 2
Jason McFadden 1
Corbyn Wassenberg 1
Dave Bennett 1
Pat Kelley 1
Keslie Richards 1
Jake Binash 1
Chad Lederer 1