The Scoop
BENJI LACROSSE – MAKING MONEY RACING IN ’21
Posted on: Wednesday October 20, 2021
Benji LaCrosse started seventh and dodged several yellows to win the $50,000 top prize at Bateville (AR) Motor Speedway in October, 2021. (photo by Checkered Chic Photography)
2021 will likely go down in the record books as the most profitable ever in Benji LaCrosse’s racing career.
With his $50,000 win in Batesville, Arkansas in the IMCA stock car championships in mid-October, LaCrosse has earned around $92,000 in prize money in ’21 racing in the IMCA modified and stock car classes. During his stellar run this season LaCrosse scored a total of 13 feature wins. Among those victories nine of those came in a modified while four of those visits to victory lane occurred in the fendered stock car.
Those totals included racing in 30 events in the modified and 17 in the stock car. The Luxemburg native also captured the modified track championship at The ‘Burg Speedway in Luxemburg. By the numbers every time LaCrosse’s number 54 hit the track he had more than a one-in-four chance of winning.
Luxemburg, Wisconsin native Benji LaCrosse poses with race organizer Troy “Snoot’ DeGrave after winning the $7,000 Eric Van Iten Memorial race at The Burg Speedway in Luxemburg. Wisconsin July 28. (danlewisphoto.net)
With a penchant for winning the big dollar shows, LaCrosse scored big paydays at Luxemburg with wins in the Eric Van Iten Memorial ($7,000 in the modified) and the Mod Mania ($3,500). At 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, Wisconsin LaCrosse fattened his wallet to the tune of $10,000 in the stock car. LaCrosse also traveled to Minnesota to win the Land of 10,000 Lakes special with another $10,000 payday.
The only Wisconsin driver who’s won more money in one dirt track race is Elk Mound’s Jimmy Mars, who won the $100,000 Dream at Eldora (OH) Speedway in a late model in 1997.
LaCrosse’s modified program is his own where he wheels a VanderBuilt Race Cars chassis. The stock car LaCrosse drove this year is a Kryptonite chassis by White Lightning. White Lightning cars are built and maintained by longtime IMCA stock car champion “Smokin’ Joe” White.
“That stock car deal was kind of funny how that started,” LaCrosse recalled. “I’ve known Joe White pretty much ever since I started racing. He helped me out quite a bit from day one when I started racing part time in 1999. He built this car a few years ago and showed up where I was racing the modified and simply asked me ‘Wanna drive this car tonight?’ Things just sort of took off from there.”
When LaCrosse wins in his modified, he pockets all the race winnings while he does a 50/50 split with his car owner White with all the stock car prize money earned. “That stock car deal is a case where I just show up with my helmet and drive it,” LaCrosse explained. “Joe and Jim White pretty much maintain that car for all the local stuff. But sometimes for the bigger shows I’ll go over and help and maybe fine tune a thing or two. Shocks and springs for the most part.”
“When those two (Benji and Joe White) put their two heads together they always seem to make that car go even faster,” said Jim White. “Every time. And Joe is pretty fussy when it comes to how he does things with that car. The one Benji has been winning with he took a year and a half to build. We’re constantly trying different things to make that car faster. For Joe he pretty much lost his desire to race himself. But he still wanted to own a car and be in the game. I help him out with the car financially because these days it’s tough to swing. That’s why you don’t see many teams running three nights a week anymore. Not many people can afford it.”
The number of high-dollar, IMCA modified and stock car races available to drivers in the Midwest has exploded in recent years. LaCrosse was the first Green Bay area driver to win a local big dollar show – the 2013 Clash At The Creek at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, Wisconsin in a modified. That victory paid $10,000.
In recent years with a busy work schedule and two daughters at home, like many LaCrosse has shied away from the weekly racing grind and focused more on the big paying special events. “I know there are mixed feelings about guys like myself jumping from a modified back into a stock car,” LaCrosse explained. “But honestly I love the competition. And more so the challenge. I loved for example when a guy like Scott Bloomquist or Kenny Schrader or Kenny Wallace come and race modifieds with us. You honestly want to see where you stack up against those guys. And with the money some of these shows are paying out I’d be foolish not to attempt to run them.”
It was in the stock car class Lacrosse started out in with his first full time season in 2000. “The first car I drove is one I wound up buying from Jay Matthias,” LaCrosse explained. “That’s when Billy Van Lieshout was helping me out, too. I love driving the stock car and the modified but if I ever had to choose between the two, I’d stick with the modified just because we’ve been doing it so long and have had a lot of success with it. But I love running both of them.”
Benji LaCrosse in victory lane at Seymour Tri-Oval during his rookie season of 1999. (Panske Enterprises photo)
Despite having raced full time for 21 years and being just 44 years old, LaCrosse currently ranks 11th in all time Wisconsin feature wins with 175. Among those drivers ahead of him in the rankings include Pulaski’s Rod Snellenberger. Other active drivers hail from WISSOTA country in northern and western Wisconsin. They include Kevin “Buzzy” Adams, Curt Myers, Shane Halopka, Craig Thatcher and Darrell Nelson. Chances are strong that LaCrosse could very well continue to climb the charts in the coming years. “I really don’t see myself stopping racing anytime soon,” LaCrosse said. “We moved out to Casco, and we are building a new garage, so we’ll see where things take us down the road. The only thing that would stop me from racing would be if it wasn’t fun anymore of if I got to the point where I couldn’t handle it physically.”
When he’s not racing LaCrosse works for De Groot Construction. “I don’t get vacation so when I take off to go to a race, I don’t get paid,” LaCrosse explained. “So many of these guys I race against take off for a few days during the week at these big shows at 141 for example. I can’t do that. I work the whole time and choose when I take off for a race very carefully.”
Despite closing in on nearly earning six figures racing dirt track modifieds and stock cars this year, LaCrosse readily admits racing for a living would be out of the question. “It’s all good when you’re running well and all of that,” LaCrosse admitted. “But the truth is it’s just too costly to race to make a living doing it. These cars cost too much versus what you get for prize money paid out, especially the weekly payouts. They aren’t really that good even when you do win. At my age and with Carrie and the kids Kendyl and Annaka we do other stuff outside of racing too. We camp on some weekends and enjoy that just as much.”
Benji celebrates with fiancee Carrie and daughter Kendyl after a long 12 hour drive home from Batesville, Arkansas. (LaCrosse Racing photo)
Among LaCrosse’s loyal band of pit crew members are his dad Larry LaCrosse and brothers Tim and Jeff LaCrosse. “Dad’s always been there over the years and Tim and Jeff get to the shop once in a while when they can,” LaCrosse said. “John Vanderbloemen also helps out quite a bit and with the stock car Joe and Jim White are the main guys. We couldn’t do it without them.”
LaCrosse’s team of sponsors between both of the race cars includes Hunters Edge Archery, Quietwoods RV Sales and Service, Paul Georgia CPA, Prestige Custom Cabinetry, Dyckesville Sanitation, DeGroot Construction, Appleton Camping Center, Integra Shocks, Shocks by Brian Mullen, Kryptonite Chassis by White Lightning, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services by Carrie Stec, Victory Sign, Schoenfeld Headers, Bassett Racing Wheels, Nowak’s Steer Farms, Vandenack Construction, Roffers Trucking, Green Bay TV and Pipe, WH Flooring and Webmaster Chewy.
As far as the rest of the 2021 seasons goes LaCrosse has no immediate plans. “My season is pretty much done, and it’s been a good one,” LaCrosse admitted. “I’d fly out to Vegas to race there or something but truthfully I’m content with how things ended up.”